Having sorted out a structure of things to do each week there is still lots of time left to fill. One of the things I have been doing is knitting. I mostly do this when listening to the radio – unless I have some ironing to do, which is also best done when listening to something I want to hear on the radio.
I started by completing the squares for a blanket which I had been doing on and off (mostly off!) for years. Lots of blue as I was using up wool that I had and I seem to have made a lot of blue things. I think I also used up wool from my mother and grandmother, but also bought the odd “remnant” ball that was cheap!
I use it when I want extra warmth (usually for my feet) at night or if I want to curl up on the sofa. I have since done another blanket of squares, which went to Bulgaria with the Trussell Trust last year. The trouble with blankets of squares is the sewing up. I quite enjoy doing a crochet edge, though.
Before the second blanket, I did a jumper for a friend – a Christmas present! Since then I have done a jumper for myself, using a free pattern from the internet. It is a bit shapeless and not exactly elegant but I liked the wool and the jumper is warm, which was good last winter.
I have also done a cardigan for myself. It has rather more shape and is a useful colour – which is why I chose it! That means it goes well with jeans, so I wear it quite a lot.
I started another cardigan (different pattern and colour) but am having a break from that at the moment. That is because I am working on scarves for choir which are more exciting colours(!) and need less concentration.
Our choir “uniform” is black skirts or trousers and a white top, but the we either wear a coloured T-shirt under the white blouse or we wear a bright coloured scarf. Last winter most people brought a ball of wool to choir and we started knitting scarves during choir sessions. There were 4 or 5, each with their own bag of wool and they got passed round. They were a bit slow and didn’t make much progress as it is hard to hold music and knit! Over the summer some people took them home and finished several, but brought them to choir in the autumn for others to take. I think they got a bit bored with them! I took one to do – but also said I would take the completed scarves to store. Why did I do that? When will I learn to keep my mouth shut?
I have since finished one scarf that had been started, done a second and started a third. I am a bit bored with the colours – must try to swap them with someone else! Sewing in the ends is a bit of a chore, too.
It is all quite fun, but knitting is not a cheap way of getting a jumper! I am sure it used to be “in the old days”! There are far more interesting types of “wool” than there used to be, though, but many of them are not actually wool. It is certainly a good thing for keeping the hands busy when the radio is on!