I’m trundling through the wool for Dan’s sweater, it’s not going as quickly as I thought it should although some days are more productive than others. It took me until the third bobbin to work out why that was and it turned out not to be down to shuffling laundry as I first thought. In the summer I can start spinning as soon as the resident child sets off for the bus which is about 7.55am and I’m usually sat at the wheel when he comes in at 3.40. He probably thinks I spend all day sitting in the window, spinning and drinking tea while watching the dog do the ironing. Sunrise this week is about the 8.15 mark and sunset around 4.10 except that on many days the whereabouts of the sun is a mystery, the gloom slowly brightens to grey and then goes back to gloom again. If the sky is blue I get the chance of at least an hour more spinning time in my day and that’s the difference between struggling to fill one bobbin and getting bored after one and a half. I’ve promised myself that I’ll wait until I’ve filled six bobbins before I start plying, that way I’ll end up with two big skeins of four ply yarn which should get me a long way up the sweater. I still haven’t got a pattern for the sweater (I’m currently pondering the addition of underarm gussets) but then I haven’t got six bobbins of wool or the contrast yarn for the edges so there’s no hurry.

My sock progress has also been much slower than I’d expected. I’ve knitted the heel of this three times, once because it was too pointy (I did more short rows than I needed) and then when I’d reknitted that I found that my perfectly formed heel was in the wrong place. That meant taking out the heel again and the 30 rounds before it to then reknit the 24 round gusset and the mark three heel. I find it harder to place the heel than to place the toe and that’s why I usually work socks cuff downwards. There was less yardage in this yarn so toe up made more sense but I didn’t enjoy it. I get the feeling that it takes longer knitting them that way around, which of course it does if you have to knit three heels in the one sock.

I can tell you’re surprised to see these, there must be a regular reader at the back who just choked on her tea. Yes, they are teatowels and (roll of drums) I’m pleased with them. Cotton, warp faced, 60 epi – no of course I didn’t weave them. I don’t have the eyesight, the skill or enough heddles for that number of ends. I sold some wool and used the money to buy the teatowels which seemed an altogether more painless way of doing things. There are a few left, not many though, so if you want one run over here. I got sick of looking at the teatowel warp on the loom, I’ve been looking at it over Christmas and I can’t face starting it again. I’ve put the cross back in it and chained it up as I took it off the loom, carefully labelled it with the width and sett and what I think is wrong with it (not enough contrast, not stripy enough, too bland) and packed it away. My future self can deal with it some other time, I’m looking forward to weaving a nice wool scarf or three.