Take it easy Tuesday

There is definitely more than a hint of autumn in the air today. I can taste that metallic toffee tang which curls around the garden at this time of year. I am having a quiet day, first day back to work on Monday and despite all good intentions of being gentle with myself and allowing the garden team to continue with their fantastic efforts - I ended up walking nearly five miles (I have just checked my tracker) which goes someway to explain when I returned home last night I could barely move off the settee! So today's private gardens will have to wait another week - fortunately I have a very understanding client and it was she who suggested I take it a bit easier today.

I have finally (after how many attempts? over how many years?) finished Himself's North Ronaldsay Aran  light grey jumper. I bought a bumper pack of the wool when it was still affordable (just) and it sat in the stash cupboard until I was ready for it. I have just been on the website and see that the price has more than tripled, very glad I purchased it when I did. 

As a bit of an aside - with all the knitting and unpicked the various attempts, it meant that I ended up with several pieces of wool which needed joining together. Years ago, I used to knot the wool together until I learnt to splice - which I find give a far better finish. I might be showing 'how to' do it to those who already know but if you don't - hope this mini tutorial helps 

• Make sure you have a nice length to work with - about 5cm on each piece of wool to make the splice
• Untwist the ply - I used a large tapestry needle
• Splay the individual strands
• Combine the two pieces together by alternating the strands then ensure they lie against the opposite piece of wool
• Dampen your free hand slightly and begin to roll gently between your palms, checking to see if the strands are still in place
• Finally roll quite vigorously back and forth to 'felt' the fibres together until you are happy with the join.
• You can - if you fancy being brave - tug reasonably firmly to check if your splicing has worked.

The splice I made is in this bit of knitting - about half way up on the left. So all that remains is to gently soak the finished jumper and block into shape, Himself and Youngest have both tried it on and considering what it had to go through to get to this point - it looks good 😊🧶The only problem now is I have caught up with all my wips ....hmm so what to do now?

Fortunately Eldest has supplied the perfect antidote to my 'Down Time Stress Syndrome' (yes it is a thing!) by producing two sets of jeans which need a little first aid here and there .... watch this space👖👖🪡🪡🧵