I have discovered the secret of a good night's sleep, at least for now. It is to put a generous dab of olbas oil on each corner of my pillow. It's a good thing I really like the smell of menthol and eucalyptus and whatever else is in the stuff.
We are feeding a neighbour's cat at the moment. He's used to the family being away from time to time on holiday, but is learning to purr when Himself goes round to give him breakfast. He's quite a standoffish sort of cat; the 'yes yes please please more strokes' followed without notice by a hiss and sudden slash with a paw. But Himself has a secret weapon; cat treats. We suspect that the cat had never learned of the existence of Dreamies and Licky-Stix or whatever they are called.
(We have no intention of 'stealing' their cat, we only give him cat treats with his breakfast. It does encourage the cat to be there at breakfast time so we know he hasn't disappeared)
Knitting needles can make all the difference to the knitting experience.
I was given this yarn for Christmas and I'm knitting a sort of poncho thing. It's very simple; two pieces, each 20 by 30 inches, sewn together in some cunning way - the short side of one piece is sewn to the long side of the other - then you shout 'abracadabra' and it becomes a poncho. I started by using the grey needles, but the acrylic yarn doesn't slide easily over them. So I've switched to the brown, actually multicoloured, needles and everything is progressing faster. The only is snag is the cable joining the coloured needles is a weeny bit short and I have to keep an eye on the last few stitches of each row....
I love those Symfonie needles which is what I think I see in the picture. I've got them with various lengths of cable : I've not had good experience with interchangeable ones.
ReplyDeleteYes, I am slowly replacing my old circular needles with these Symphonie ones.
DeleteMy daughter bought some - I seem to have acquired them on permanent loan. I am not fond of the cats round here but dutifully feed them when required.
ReplyDeleteI have friends and relatives who cannot bear to be in the same space as cats. When they visited we had to catch our cats and shut them in a room and make sure they wouldn't escape.
DeleteTreats for breakfast will certainly bring him to you, crafty you! I'm trying to picture a short side sewn to a long side, I hope you'll photo it when finished!
ReplyDeleteThe other morning the cat appeared outside our back door just before breakfast tine- just checking we were up and getting ready to go round? I'll copy and post the sewing instructions for the poncho as it might be a while before I finish.
DeleteHello Kirsten!
ReplyDeleteI do love your blog, and read every post but rarely comment as I read on my phone and commenting from here is a bit hit and miss!
I have an embarrassingly large collection of needles - I’m quite a prolific knitter - but have to say that for any large-ish project I do use my symphonies most. They seem to have just the right balance of slip and drag!!! But I use a set with interchangeable tips and find them invaluable because you can choose the length of cable to suit the size of the knitting, and easily change the length if you have chosen the wrong one! I rarely find the ends coming loose - and they are simple to tighten if they do. I’ve never 🤞 had the cable break!!!
Hello anonymous! Commenting from a phone is a bit of a hassle, I do agree. I've discovered that I can choose to add my name to a comment (select name/url) but keep forgetting to do so.
DeleteI've often wondered about buying a circular set with interchangeable cables as I like using circulars for straight knitting as well as 'in the round' - saves me from the irritation of continually dropping a needle when I finish a row!