Because

I have knitted two more Estuary scarves with my Sublime yarn, I won't show you again as they are just like the first one.

Waste not want not, I used the remaining yarn to make Winter Berry Cowl by Michele Meadows, an easy and pretty pattern I'd definitely use again probably knitting in the round so the cable runs upwards.  My finished article isn't as long as the pattern suggests but its fine.  I just repeated the 4 rows until I ran out of yarn using almost every scrap of the 75 g I had, this is all that was left.

So I thought it was time a bit more yarn came into the penthouse and recently our lovely postie kindly came up to the top floor, even though he's afraid of our glass lift, to delivery these.

My first yarn purchase of 2018.  Black Sheep Wools are having a clearance on Sirdar Heart and Sole so obviously it was worth making up an order of over £25 for free delivery

I bought 3 x 100g of dancing shoes 

and 4 of country bumpkin.  I don't think I've used this yarn before so I can't comment on the quality but you can't be robbed at £3.99 per 100g.  Sorry I haven't taken the balls out of the plastic bags, I'm sort of telling myself they are going to Italy but I expect I shall soon be casting on and who knows I might need to buy more to take to Lazio.
Because it's Easter it's cold and raining I don't have plans to be out and about much, we are attempting to eat our way through the contents of the freezer before we can leave for Italy.   Happy Easter everyone.

Happy Friday

I received this photo from Amelia and Esme, makes me happy 

Mr FF is happy too, he has been back to the hospital, they have discharged him after his op though suggested he keeps the special boot at big longer in case he needs it.  He has been wearing two slippers and now he is in bare feet allowing the air to get to his wound.  He went to the hospital in Bingley on the bus, celebrated his all clear with a curry in Bradford before travelling on to Leeds and then back to Ilkley.  Since he hasn't been able to drive he's used his bus pass a lot, even leaving Yorkshire to venture into Lancashire.
My brother and his wife are coming to stay for a couple of days, it feels springlike outside, enjoy your weekend.

Everyone's an expert

I was browsing Country Living magazine online recently and came across an article about how knitting is shown to lower blood pressure, tackle depression and help you cope with pain, the article was accompanied by the above image (for the uninitiated the lady is crocheting).  Presumably whoever uploaded it realised knitting involved yarn and needles and imagined this image met both criteria.  Certainly did nothing for my blood pressure.
I am sick to death of people voicing ill informed opinions and over estimating their own knowledge and capabilities.  I used to detest those radio phone in programmes when strange people often late at night rang in to broadcast a tirade of nonsense.   I thought they should be banned. 
Nowadays everyone types their own correspondence, we have so many masters of all trades.  I receive documents that make me laugh out loud at the appalling grammar, the shoddy layouts, the poor command of English.  Of course everyone jumps on the bandwagon of slapping in an apostrophe whenever they use capital letters or a plural or neither.  
Our communal garden is a great example of the idiots taking over the asylum.  We employ a gardener who has no idea when or how plants need to be pruned and does what he likes, he is not a gardener but the ill informed believe he is doing a great job and never wonder why there are so few summer blooms.  Likewise the council staff who come to tend the public gardens.  Every spring I watch them savagely prune the gorse before it can flower and cut back the catkins as they appear.  
Recently one of our management board, a fellow resident, was tasked with ordering bulbs for our lake garden, £500 worth.  He said he had ordered snowdrops, when they arrived they were erythronium, the dogs tooth violet which admittedly are lovely but not snowdrops.  He obviously had no idea of the Latin name for snowdrops (galanthus) and didn't bother to find out.  I pointed out his mistake when I helped with the planting and he replied well they look like snowdrops, they'll be fine.  Unfortunately the poor resident who had put up the money for the bulbs was not so pleased.
On our local Facebook chat page recently there was information about the upcoming annual business awards event.  Some one had written in the comments to the effect that those nominated were a bunch of rich snobs, he made a few spelling mistakes in his comments.  I'm sure he would be delighted if someone wrote on his page that he, his family and friends were a set of chavs.  When I checked this person out he didn't even live in our town so how he knows that everyone running their own business here has too much money or looks down on others is beyond me
The internet has a lot to answer for, my blood boils when I see blatant displays of ignorance.  I am careful what I post, I am not here to be contentious or to voice my political views. I stick to what I know and God forbid I should ever make a fool of myself my stepping outside my areas of expertise (obviously ranting is one of these).  It's such a pity that others don't do the same.  

Big socks and Little socks

Mr FF was in hospital recently having a ganglion, a fluid filled swelling, removed from the top of his right foot.  He made his own way to and from the hospital, half an hour away, leaving at 11 am and returning around 9 pm by taxi.

He managed to text me and most people he knows at various intervals, everything went well and he returned to the hospital this week for a check, they didn't remove the stitches or bandages and he goes back next week when hopefully they will.
So life has become challenging, I've nursed him through man flu before, I knew it wouldn't be easy.  For a while the anaesthetic seemed to obliterate from his memory where anything was in the penthouse, he is recovering and locating essentials now although going a bit stir crazy as he can't walk far or drive at all.
He has taken to wearing a hand knit sock over his dressing, he says the sock was too big anyway, now its enormous but if it helps.
Meantime my niece told me that her littlest had spent a frustrating time trying to get a pair of the socks I'd made her on over her tights.  I knit them some time ago and she'd outgrown them but was pretty determined she would still wear them.  Strangely I was already knitting up little socks with left over yarn so I soon got on the case to stock up both my nieces.

I'm delighted that they love their hand knits and very willing to keep their sock drawers full, I can rustle up a pair quickly and reduce the stash at the same time.  We are all happy. 

Snow and smugness

Wintery penthouse view

Now we are back in Yorkshire we don't have to endure the snowy conditions and hardship of winter in Scotland.  Although we did have our fair share of the white stuff the worse thing that  happened in Ilkley was that our local bus, we call it the collider but that's another story, hasn't been running.  So to descend the steep hill to town I've forced Mr FF to walk with me and hold onto me till we get to the flat.  The other day Ilkley was like a ghost town, the banks and post office didn't bother to open at all, trains were cancelled, even Marks and Spencer closed mid afternoon but we got supplies for ourselves and others in our building who didn't want to venture out.  It was no problem and nice to get some fresh air straight from the Baltic.
I spoke to my friend Pam who still lives in what was our village in Scotland, yes they'd had massive snow drifts, the A road to the motorway was closed at times and single track at best, no bread or milk to be had even if you could get to the local town.  Been there, done that, not doing it any more.
It has been a time for battening down and I resurrected a knitting project I started last year.  After I made my original Estuary scarf I loved it so much I planned to make several as Christmas presents, that didn't happen.  Last year I purchased 10 more balls of the lovely Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino Silk DK , carted them out to Italy and carted them back again.  December in Ilkley I cast on, knitted a bit, put the scarf aside and then made many pairs of socks.  Whilst confined to the sofa by snow I forced myself to pick up the work again and last week finished another scarf which might be given away or might be mine.

I've also been devouring books this year, here is no 10 on my read list.  It is excellent but halfway through I'm not sure if it is going to end well.

How I am loving my local library, I have a long list of reservations that I add to when I have recommendations or like a review in the Sunday papers.  Fortunately the books don't all arrive at once, waiting times can vary, so generally when I pop down to return a book and pick up another.  
Can I just say that no yarn or book purchases have entered the penthouse this year though some of both have left.  I have been collecting 50p paperbacks from the charity shops to take out to Italy but that doesn't count because I keep them under the spare bed and they are destined to depart when we do.

I am calling all this a great result, the decluttering continues, speaking of which the unidentified Christmas gift from Taiwan was indeed a key ring, made in a traditional way.  MelindaJ got it right and I'd send it to her as a prize except its already gone to a better place, not saying where but they do sell paperbacks for 50p.