Restless and Lost

Non knitting talk
Since getting in from work I have spent the last two hours sitting at our pc and looking for flights and hotels. We are going to Poland in June for a wedding and have decided that we would like to spend a couple of days in Krakow, as we have to fly in to there anyway.
For some reason it never entered my head that we would be so close to Auschwitz-Birkenau, and at less than 50 miles away it is too close not to go. As a teenager I read the Diary of Anne Frank and marvelled at her strength and that of her father, who after losing his family was prepared to share at little part of them with the rest of the world. When I was in my early 20's I visited the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam and remember that day being such a very sad day. At first I walked in and thought, yeah it's just another building, but gradually the feeling of the place overwhelmed me. I don't remember seeing one dry eye in the whole place, but maybe it was just me looking at everyone through very damp eyes. By going to Auschwitz I will be able to follow her there and almost complete the journey. In a weird way I am looking forward to going. I have heard so many stories of the place over the years, through documentaries, books and film, that it will be interesting and probably upsetting to go there, but I feel that it is something that I must do.

Knitting talk
On the knitting front, I'm a bit restless. Our knitting group has moved from every Tuesday to every second Tuesday and I don't know what to do with myself. I know I can knit, but it isn't the same without having someone to blether to. I can only talk knitting for so long with my beloved other half before he gets bored. I am still loving the shawl pattern that I am doing, and still hating the colourway. I have decided that I will bleach/overdye it. I don't think I can cope with the colours. I have so many ideas buzzing around my brain that it's getting a bit full and is ready to blow. There are so many things I want to make, and so few hours in the day. I need to get my finger out and just get on with it, but the pressures of being a full time employee, wife & mother does tire me out somedays. It doesn't help when I get calls from friends saying what a poor friend I am for not being in touch for almost two weeks, and why didn't I call when I was in town etc..etc.. Sometimes when I get an hour or two to myself, that's it, I want it to myself. Not having to be polite and saying yes in all the right places.
Last Saturday I went with a friend to a yarn store that I hadn't been to in a long time. It was great to just look and feel pretty yarn and look at all the lovely colours. We then spent the whole afternoon and most of the evening knitting. It was nice to just sit, be quiet and knit. I hadn't realised how much my brain was crying out for the peace that knitting gives me.
Maybe sometimes you just have to be quiet and calm before you can realise how restless and lost you have become.

Bite the bullet

I must admit, I am a lazy knitter. I get bored easily and switch from one project to the next without a thought about how much time and effort I have spent on the previous project. I have so many UFO's it's like a graveyard for them in my house. However, that being said, I have managed to complete one or two projects so far this year.

It's such a beautiful day here in Ellon, and my other half is out scuba diving for the day. Rather him than me, the water doesn't get much above 2°c in the North Sea. Anyhoo, I have decided to clear out my stash corner that was looking a little untidy to say the least. I have seperated out the acrylic from the good stuff, and am in the process of finding a home for it all. I have been on an embargo, but I can't help myself when I see something pretty. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and get on with it. The basket in the photo is approx. 3ft long x 16" wide and as you can see is quite full :)

I was talking to my friends and hubby the other night and got the evil eye from my hubby when I mentioned the stash problem. Of course I retorted that it wasn't anywhere near the amount that he spent on gadgets. I was totally flabbergasted when he replied, "Oh but I don't buy most of it, you do". Thinking about it, once I got over the initial shock, I realised that I have bought quite a number of his gadgets and gizmos over the years, so now I feel less guilty about buying things for me :)

Here are a two of my completed projects.

A little jumper for my daughter's friend. She has just had a baby boy and I thought it would be cute. It is made from Sirdar Crofter, and is quite nice to work with. I didn't like the fact that I had to keep winding off yarn to get a good stripe match though. I had four balls of this, and not one of them started in the same place for the colour change.

A hat for me, made from Rowan Lima. One serious point to note. Wash it well before wearing it. If you don't wash it and just pop it on. Make sure it isn't going to rain. This stuff stinks worse than a dead dog when it is wet and it also stretches. I made mine on needles that were 2 sizes smaller than required, and it stretched like the devil when it got wet. I ended up sticking it in the tumble dryer to felt it slightly. That being said, it is so soft, and a pleasure to work with.