I am feeling it more and more each day. It getting harder to spring out of bed, I’m always tired and I seem to ache in more places over my body. Odd, but I actually have felt the cold of late too.

I’m still not in the right headspace to get back to spinning or crochet or even knitting. Last night a friend asked about spinning wheels and I found myself looking at photos of some of my old wishlist… a Majacraft, a Sacht, there was even an Ashford Kiwi. I haven’t done that in over a year. Thank you Markus, for putting the spark back into my dreary life.

Well, I have to admit, Covid-19, Lockdown number 6 has a lot to answer for. I have been doing so much online shopping that I had to put a stop to it. On nights I cannot sleep due to pain, I will no longer jump online to see if there is anything I want to buy! This was confirmed by the 4 parcels that arrived yesterday that I had no recollection of ordering. None in the slightest! The only thing I will allow now, is Ukulele strings as needed!

The Mud Brothers out back are muddier than ever and they are going through Lucerne almost as fast as we can order it. With nice warmer weather appearing more often, I will have to up the supplemental feeding and go in search of a new shearer again… a task I do not enjoy.

Anyhow, wishing all of you happiness in your lives and calm in our now ‘Covid Normal’ space.

I mean it…. Drop what you are doing this weekend to visit The BIG Wool Show! Arranged by the amazing Raxor, it is on this year.
You may not have been able to go to Bendigo and spend your savings but this will be the place to go! Enjoy online tutorials, see the new tools and amazing yarns and fleeces.
All in one place… wherever you are!
https://www.thebigwoolshow.com/

Ok, during these odd times, I developed a sore throat sitting on the train on the way home. It gradually got worse as the night grew long. 2:00am found me trying to book a doctor appointment and 5:30am found me talking to the wonderful person at the Covid 19 hotline. 10:00am found me at the testing station and now I am in isolation until I get a result.

The whole time, before I had the test, I kept thinking of places to visit once the test was done. I then realized I was doing exactly the thing I had pointed out to others about. I reminded myself I could get fined if I didn’t go straight home and isolated. So here I am.

I am determined to finish this hat I am making. I am not going to frog it again. I wish I could have finished it to wear tonight, Samhain in the Southern Hemisphere. Happy All Hallows’ Eve.

Not sure why I sat on this for so long.

Publishing patterns always seemed daunting. I have a friend, a wonderful enabler who encouraged me to explore my capabilities. We had plans to work together to present me to the wonderful world of knitwear design. She goes by the name of Raxor (pronounced Razor). She is the first Gippy I ever met. That, to the Un-initiated, is a cross between a Goth and a Hippy. It is not hard to be inspired by her beautiful range of colours and textures of her yarn.

I was helping out at a wool show she brilliantly put on. I let her run the show and I enjoyed looking after her stall. Next to me was a textile artist Claire Djuve of Djuve Knits. She had a lovely range of knitwear and wool. I fell in love with Crofter and like all crazy yarn-a-holics, bought one skein… after looking at it for a couple months I finally decided to knit a pair of socks. String Bean was born!

I have been lazy and when COVID-19 hit, hopes and dreams seemed to be put on hold. Now, during one sleepless night, I thought, “what better place to put it?” It can be found on Ravelry as well. Please enjoy!

Download the String Bean 8ply .PDF file