Cuddly yarn

See, person in recovery from swine flu experiences a rapid easing of the symptoms on receiving 15 balls of yarn in the post. And also starts wearing a slightly silly grin.

Thanks to the sale at Celticove these did actually arrive a fortnight ago when I'd just gone back to work after swine flu and was totally out of umph. They really helped to cheer me up. 15 balls of Mirasol Sulka in sage (which is actually green, even though it looks blue in the photo below). It is SO gorgeous and soft and cuddly. I think I want to make Lima from the Mirasol first collection with them, but as I've got various other projects started now that won't be just yet.

I've finished off Suri (also from Mirasol book one) and the OH photographed me wearing it. The knitting isn't wonky, it's my shoulders, they always come out wonky in photographs.

I loved this yarn (Mirasol Hacho), it's very soft and squishy, and the way the pattern came out. It was easy to remember but more interesting than just doing plain stocking stitch!


During my swine flu recovery we visited Ham House one Saturday. We took the train to Richmond and walked along the Thames to the house about a mile and a half away.

The house itself is beautiful but there was something we couldn't quite put our finger on. We had lunch in the Orangery restaurant in the gardens, then went round the house.

before heading off towards the shop. Where we saw a large pile of DVDs on sale. Of course, this was "Kensington Palace" in the Young Victoria film, which we'd only just watched. No wonder it all looked very familiar. When I got back home I discovered that Yarnstorm had also just been there too.

By the time we'd been round the house I was getting rather tired so we had to get the bus back to Richmond before getting the train home!

I have some new commuting knitting started.

Don't worry, I didn't accost a total stranger and demand to have my photo taken on the train. My OH caught the same train to work as me one day so I got him to take it! Look at all the empty seats - plenty of room for knitters! These are the Sunday Swing socks from Knitty, and I'm actually using the yarn in the pattern - Lorna's Laces, as I had some in my stash. The colourway is "Valentine" and it's been hanging around in my stash for at least three years now. The groovy needles are my Knitpicks DPNs bought at Get Knitted back in May. And I LOVE them.

I've also started another project to knit at home. Narvik, from Rowan 42 - I bought the yarn at Get Knitted last year when I did the learn to crochet course. The yarn is Rowan Cocoon, another beautifully soft, cuddly yarn, although it does tend to "fluff" everything it comes into contact with.

I won't be around for a bit and I won't be reading blogs for about 10 days now as the OH and I have got a week off work to go up to Lincoln. He'll be meeting my Mum and we'll also be putting my house on the market whilst we're up there, but we should get some time to relax and do some touristy things too! And if you know anyone who wants to buy a house in Newark do let me know...

Swine flu

Yes, both Monkey and I succumbed to swine flu last week. Fortunately the Other Half hasn't caught it (yet) as he was kept very busy doing the shopping, cleaning the house, supplying bananas and providing TLC.

Mine hasn't been too bad. I'd been feeling a bit funny for a couple of days, just tired really and had been having early nights, then fainted in the library last week! Ironically I'd actually been feeling better that morning and had been climbing wobbly 18th century ladders and all sorts of similar things. Then I passed out at the end of the morning, just like some 18th century heroine! Once I'd picked myself up off the ancient carpet I got hold of the OH who came charging straight over to the library, announced that I felt hot and suggested that he took me home & I try and get a doctor's appointment. Which he did; he then had to hang around all afternoon whilst I slept, as I didn't manage to get a doctor's appointment until after 5pm! Of course, this was happening at exactly the same time as the Pandemic Flu Information thingy was going live and then immediately crashing, which meant we couldn't use that to check my symptoms.

Anyway, I've been doing lots of sleeping. It hasn't been as bad as "normal" flu, and it's been a massive help having the OH around as it would have been grim being like this on my own in a flat in Slough! Fortunately also the doc wouldn't prescribe Tamiflu as I'd already taken a course of it six weeks ago when there was an outbreak at work and the Health Protection Agency was still attempting to contain it. As I suspected six weeks ago, taking Tamiflu is MUCH worse than having swine flu.

Monkey, on the other hand, has really suffered. Presumably man-swine-flu is worse than swine flu, and therefore monkey-man-swine flu has got to be Really Serious? He has spent the time lolling around, complaining he feels cold and stealing my dressing gown to wrap round himself. Oh, and I found him throwing up down the side of the sofa, but I think the OH may have had something to do with that.


I'm definitely on the mend now. I finished off another WIP, which I'll post about soon. Then I was going to get started on my next project, Narvik, from Rowan 42 (after buying the yarn at Get Knitted when I did the crochet workshop last year), realised that 7mm needles are the one size I don't possess, trotted off to find some on the Celticove website, discovered the clearance section and ended up buying 15 balls of Mirasol Sulka in sage as well. So much for the yarn diet, but then I think I need cheering up after the swine flu, don't I? And it's Fair Trade yarn, so that's even better, surely?