Still here

Yes, I'm still here, though not knitting as much as usual. Things have been quite hectic, in bad and good  ways.

My mother-in-law died suddenly at the end of April. She was 86 and had a very full life right up to the end. Of course we miss her - my husband and his two sisters and brother especially - but because of the sort of person she was, her faith, and her many friends and achievements, there is also a feeling of rightness and fulfilment. The funeral was the week before last, in the countryside on a beautiful day, and it was a celebration more than anything else.

Then, there's the weather, or rather its effect on me. I just want to dig and grow seeds! I've spent a lot of time on the allotment and in the garden. Lots of activities can be combined with knitting: reading, listening, talking, walking, eating, even cooking, but digging cannot. You just have to go on and on until it's worth washing your hands well enough to handle yarn. At this time of year I can't really take knitting or books into the garden because I just end up weeding and twiddling. The iris above, 'Jane Philips', and the cistus behind it, are giving me a lot of pleasure at the moment.

Next, exams. Actually my sons' exams. One is taking GCSE and the other A2 (A levels). I can't really pretend they are cutting into my knitting time - it's just another change from the usual routine.

Finally, knitting. I've finished the neck shaping on my top-down cardigan and have done enough of the body to try it on properly. (Note to self - do it!) The green tweedy Kathering Hepburn cardigan is stalled. I am, however, making good progress on the second sock of a pair I've been knitting for a while. Perhaps socks are the thing for now. I want to finish this pair so that can knit some Koigu socks - I just have a feeling that I want to knit some Koigu!