Tag: COVID-19 Vaccine

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Here We Go Again

I’ve just re-read my post from this time last year. On Dec 22nd 2020 we had been told that non-essential shops were closing (again), and most people’s plans for Christmas had been curtailed, cancelled or, at the very least, altered in some way. Fast forward to today and we are in an exhaustingly similar position, but with Covid case numbers at a point I never imagined they would actually reach. I will be surprised if they don’t go over 100,000 cases a day this week. Ronnie (pictured) is clearly feeling it too.

So, I’m even more grateful to have had my booster jab last Tuesday. Side effects were one afternoon of being really cold and a couple of days of being foggy-headed (I forgot to go to the hair-dressers – and only remembered seven hours after the appointment!), which is fine by me considering what it might help me avoid. My lovely wife has managed to get hers as well. Thank you NHS Wales.

On a more creative note, I’ve been swatching like mad for my new design idea – I keep wanting to try out tweaks and different combinations of colours. I managed to get my responses to the tech edit that came in last week done, though it did involve a few more hours of number crunching. Fortunately the foggy head was wearing off by then!

The socks are so *very* nearly finished. Here they are. Just one toe to go, right?

A pair of almost completed hand knit socks on a wooden desk. The upper sock has needles in still and the toe is not yet made. The yarn is self-striping in yellow, blue, purple, red, green and pink, although the two socks do not start with the same colour.

Actually, no. I got the recipient (my lovely wife, of course!) to try the first one on, and the toe was a couple of rounds short. Not loads, but enough to feel a little tight. This would no doubt consign them to the back of the sock drawer, which is not the aim of knitting socks – they need to be worn and worn out with joy and comfort. So, once I have completed the second sock (later today), I will be undoing the first sock toe and re-knitting it to match. They’ll still be done in time.

I got some spinning in this morning for the first time in a week or so.

An overhead view of a spinning wheel with a half-filled bobbin of singles. The yarn is two shades of purple, with a more bluey shade in the top quarter of the bobbin. A chunk of grey-purple fibre rests on top of the wheel, on the band.

I’m not one hundred percent sure what’s happened to stop me spinning so regularly of late, but maybe it’s something to do with the big pile of knitting project bags by the sofa? It’s daft though, because I set the timer for 20 minutes on my phone this morning and got a good chunk of fibre spun up. It’s much more productive than spending the same amount of time playing games on your phone and that is SO easy to do (and then some).

There was a request for dystopian sci-fi recommendations on Twitter recently and I remembered a book called Wool, by Hugh Howey that stayed with me long after I had read it. Having recommended it I then looked it up as an audiobook and I’m right back in that world, just over halfway through. Quite why listening to dystopian fiction seems appropriate right now I couldn’t tell you, but maybe it’s something to do with the national mood?

I’m hoping to be with mum over Christmas as long as the lateral flow tests keep showing negative and we don’t get told we can’t travel. Whatever you’re planning, I hope you enjoy it and stay safe at the same time.

See you on the other side – my next blog post will be Jan 4th 2022, when it will be marmalade making season again! Kx

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Snowdrop

The first snowdrop is in flower in the garden! It’s called Gabriel and is one of the earliest, always flowering before Christmas. Seeing these always lifts me – they are so delicate and yet so very resilient. I couldn’t understand how they survived the frost and snow until Mum told me that they contain their very own version of anti-freeze.

Why are booster jabs like buses? You wait for ages for one and then two turn up at once! On Sunday evening I received a text message giving me an appointment date in January for my booster. Then, yesterday evening I got another text offering an opportunity to book one sooner if I wanted to, by clicking on the link. So, my booster jab will be happening this afternoon! Don’t worry, the whole text message thing isn’t dodgy – I’ve had all my notifications from NHSWales this way.

This has made me replan today a little, just in case I feel a bit ropey later on, but that is a benefit of being self-employed; I can organise my time to suit, which makes me very lucky indeed.

The knitted baubles are in the post, as are two wooden coasters that were ordered last night. If you are thinking of ordering a kit or anything else that needs to be posted for Christmas please do so by the end of this week (17th December). The lady at the post office thought I should sell the baubles (I’d need to develop my own base pattern to do that, but that is fine), although I’m not sure people would pay for the time/skill involved. Would you purchase one of these? If so, what would you be willing to pay? Answers in the comments please!

My sock knitting is on schedule as I finished one yesterday and started the second. I should get some more done later while I wait for my jab.

I’ve also made progress with two of my Fasten Off Yarn-a-Long pattern purchases! Gridlock Mitts by Karen Butler is now into the main colourwork (that was during Only Connect last night).

Water Dragon Wrap/Shawl by Red and the Wolf Designs is skipping along. I began with 140 sts and currently have 340 sts on the needle. The increasing will continue for a while yet and that will mean the rows get slower, but it’s great telly knitting!

The first deadline project that was due at the end of November has now had its first tech edit and has come back to me to be checked. This is where I get to see if I can remember how to use ‘track changes’ in Word…

My other secret deadline project (so no pics) is also coming on, though I haven’t touched it for a couple of days while I’ve been knitting other things – I’m still totally in love with the yarn though and plan to knit a lot of it in the next few days!

And… I’ve been swatching for another design and I’m really quite excited by how it’s working out. The submission deadline for this one is early next year and I’m keeping everything crossed that they want it. 🤞

It’s getting a bit scary again out there with Covid-19, so please take care and do the things you know will keep you and your loved ones as safe as possible. K x

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On My Own

It’s amazing how quickly you adjust to new routines, isn’t it? Having initially found it very strange NOT to be on my own during the day, now that my lovely wife’s self-isolation is over (all negative tests too thankfully) and she is back at work today, I now feel a bit like I’m bouncing around an empty house.

Into the Vortex MKAL is still going well – Part Two is out and I love seeing people enjoying it and sharing their progress. If you’re knitting along with us remember to share your pics (with a spoiler warning ideally) on social media using the hashtags #kathandrewsdesigns & #yomkal. Here’s Part One as completed in Riverknits Chimera:

I had jab number two (Astra-Zeneca) this morning (YAY! If you haven’t had yours yet, please do as soon as you can) and, of course, I took my knitting along again. They had opened the centre up to walk-ins as well as appointments from today and the queue was enormous – right to the very end of the car park. I had enough time before reaching the door (45 minutes) to slowly knit 20 rounds on the second sock. I’m now almost at the toe, which should mean that Sue gets a new pair of socks to come home to tonight. So far, I just have a sore arm so, on the basis that the same side effects as after the first jab might creep up on me, I’m getting as much done as I can while I can!

Last week I went out to check the courgettes and promised to let you know how they are doing. There are five plants and I saw two courgettes growing well with lots of flowers on the other plants. Maybe we’ll be able to harvest some at the weekend. I had managed to rescue a pumpkin plant from the snails/slugs that had eaten all the other seedlings and get it into the ground, but that has now gone the same way as the others. Half the gooseberries were picked on Sunday and there will be crumble tonight. Yum!

The blackcurrants can be harvested soon – and there might even be a few redcurrants left by the time they ripen as long as the pigeons leave us some. There are also some broad bean plants that are rather on the bonsai side and some purple mange tout plants and a couple of tomatoes. Nothing seems to be getting very big this year – apart from the raspberry canes which are suddenly about 6-7 feet tall! And the potatoes growing in the sacks. It must be all this rain.

I’ve been spinning every day so far this month and my latest yarn is lovely, though I’m still not sure I’m getting enough twist into the ply. 200g of Blue-faced Leicester from Fibrehut in Purple Rain.

I’m not exactly doing the Tour de Fleece, but seeing other people’s posts online has certainly been encouraging. Next up will be one of the lovely braids I got from Hilltop Cloud.

This time next week I *should* be at my Mum’s, making chutney. With any luck I’ll be able to write my blog as usual from there and will share how it goes!

Stay safe, wear a mask, and keep knitting, Kx

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Needles and Pins

An overhead shot of three knitted hexiflats lying in a horizontal row

Well, the Covid jab knocked me sideways for a good few days. I had the Astra Zeneca one and side effects have been varied and wide-ranging! My arm is still sore and when I went out for my first walk five days after the jab I was so wobbly we had to cut it short and come home very gently. But I’m taking comfort in the thought that this probably means my immune system is doing what it should.

My plan of knitting some hexiflats to add to my Beekeeper’s Quilt was a good idea. The queue outside the vaccination centre was very long (but at least it was dry), so I knitted whilst waiting beforehand. I’ve made a few more since then too – it’s useful to have a small project to hand when your arms and fingers are tired. Not only can you feel like you’ve actually achieved something tangible, as one hexiflat takes about 40 minutes, but also you’re not having to wrangle large quantities of fabric.

And what news of the Grand Secret Project? Well, it’s finished! It’s blocking (has had a long soak in the sink, been rolled up gently in a towel, been laid out flat on a mat and patted into shape) and I’m now just waiting for it to dry. I’m so pleased with it and can’t wait to be able to share it with you. I also worked out a really nifty way to accurately calculate the yarn quantities for all the different sizes. The pattern and associated files all need tidying up and double checking and then it’s good to go!

What will be next once the loose ends are all tied up? Well, I’m going to talk to Anne at Yarn O’clock soon about plans for the next Mystery Knit-along and I will be able to finish recording my Introduction to Lace Knitting course for Craftucation. I also have plans for a new shawl design using Knitting Fever yarn.

The wholemeal and seeded loaf was gorgeous by the way. So much so that I’ve made a second one just the same. I do want to get more rise (also called Oven Spring) into my sourdough loaves; the dough is now a good consistency when it goes in the banneton, but the loaves do tend to grow sideways rather than upwards in the oven. Some experimenting is called for, I think.

An overhead shot of a sourdough loaf scored with five lines spiralling to the centre

Having caught a crow in the act of removing and stealing the filled half coconut from the apple tree I’m keeping an even keener eye on it than before. That was the second one that had been taken; the first had moved from the tree to the lawn one day and vanished the next. I’m sure it’s the same bird that has made a few skirmishes on the replacements too – it gets a loud ‘shoo!’ which seems to do the trick at the moment. An alternative feeding solution has been ordered from C J Wildlife which should put a stop to the thefts.

A crow caught stealing, flying in front of a camellia bush with the coconut hanging from it's beak

It’s been lovely to see the range of birds that visit the garden increase since putting the feed out. There have been robins, blackbirds, pigeons and sparrows which we’ve usually had, but also blue tits, coal tits, gold finches and even a pair of thrushes! The magpie is quite keen on it too. There was a pair of coal tits yesterday on the tree, one of which was feeding the other (as a sign of being a good provider I think) and I’m hoping we’ll get visits from any offspring they have too.

That’s all from me for today. Stay safe and keep knitting, Kx

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Early Bird

A close-up of knitted hexagons made from a random mix of leftover sock yarns

Last week was a first as I wrote my blog post sitting outside. Today’s first is that I’m drafting this a day early – on Monday! Normally I like to write about how things are right there and then, with the topics inspired in the moment (though you have probably noticed some regular themes).

So, why am I writing ‘early’ this week? Well, early on Tuesday morning (I wanted to write ‘tomorrow’, but then that gets confusing as I intend to post this on Tuesday morning!), I am due to have my first Covid-19 jab! I’m both excited and a bit nervous and not sure what sort of side-effects I might get – I’m keeping my fingers crossed for not much more than a sore arm – so I’m trying to clear the decks a bit.

The Grand Secret Project is coming on really well. I did the really scary part today and now it’s just the finishing touches. The pattern itself is written up to almost the same point which is great. Do you remember how I was feeling a little apprehensive about the 1st June deadline when I got my commission through? It seems like I *should* (touching wood and hoping the gods aren’t reading this) even be able to send it in early!!

There’s some sourdough having it’s ‘bulk proof’ in the kitchen right now. I’m trying seeded and wholemeal flours for the first time with sourdough – that’s the mix I tend to use with instant yeast so it will be interesting to see how it comes out. It’s going to have a sleep in the fridge overnight and be baked first thing tomorrow. Elaine Boddy‘s method is brilliant – and I especially like the fact that you can put the loaf (inside a lidded roasting pan) into a cold oven so no waiting for the oven to heat up first.

I’m trying to decide what knitting to take with me to my appointment tomorrow. My lovely wife has already been there for hers and they ask you to sit and wait for 15 minutes afterwards to make sure you’re ok. 15 minutes isn’t a lot of time, but it’s long enough to need some yarn between my fingers. My advent calendar sweater is rather large – I think I would prefer to take something small. I had to look for my 3mm crochet hook earlier today and I discovered it in a bag with my left over sock yarn that I’m using for my Beekeeper’s Quilt. The fab thing about this project is you only have a small hexagon to work on at a time and, once you’ve joined them all together, you can keep adding to it over time. I did stuff some of my hexagons initially as the project suggests, but I definitely prefer ‘hexiflats’ to ‘hexipuffs’.

Has anything been early for you lately?

Take care and keep knitting, Kx