Big

I wrote last year about how my plan was to use the year to evolve and adapt to leaving full-time work and embrace a more leisurely pace of life. And on the whole I have, though it’s taken a while and plans have changed a little along the way. Not everything happened as we’d hoped - the summer was far too hot, and the ground too baked to really set about any kind of landscaping work, and we’ve not moved house. But evolve was a good word, and one that had enough flexibility to bend to the circumstances the year brought.

I’ll most likely talk about our house move in another post, we’re still hoping it will happen though we’re not sure when, or exactly to where. It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster that’s for sure, and one that picks up speed of its own free will at times, as these things do. I’m not sure when I’ll update you on the thrills and spills yet, as there’s some pondering to be done - and some of it is still raw. But I’m hopeful that things will work out.

Once again I’m setting a word for the year, and this year it’s a simple one. Big. Or perhaps that should be BIG.

Like last year its one that will flex, and most likely challenge us. But as MOH said to me on New Year’s Eve 2023 has the potential to be our biggest year yet, and he could be right. We’ve already made some big decisions house-wise this year, they haven’t all come off so far, but it’s still only March.

In other news MOH is finishing work next month, slightly later than his revised date but he’s ready. The problem with working remotely and contracting is that he doesn’t take proper holidays, and when he does he’s still more often than not at home. He’ll have his own adjustments to make I’m sure, but it will be good to be able to spend time together during the day getting out and about. We will both want, and need, time on our own but I know that walks and house/garden visits are much more fun in company than alone.

And who knows we might even manage a proper holiday later in the year. I still can’t believe we haven’t been abroad since February 2020 and before the pandemic, so that in itself will be pretty big!

Photo by Karsten Winegeart on Unsplash

And if you’re wondering about my choice of image, well it reminds me that sometimes we need to think beyond what we first thought, and try things we might not have considered before. Something I think it’s likely we’ll need to remember at times this year.

Post Comment Love 17 - 19 March

Welcome to this week’s #PoCoLo - a friendly linky which I co-host with Suzanne, where you can link any blog post published in the last week - please remember this, posts which are older will be removed from the linky. We know you’ll find some great posts to read, and maybe some new-to-you blogs too, so do pop over and visit some of the posts linked and share some of that love. If you were here last week it was great to have you along, if you’re new here this week we’re pleased you’ve joined us.

I hope your week has been a good one. We spent some time with my MIL last weekend treating ourselves to Sunday lunch out. The rest of the week has been pretty mundane with the usual chores and tasks, the highlight of that being our food delivery - so not a highlight at all really. It could be worse, it could have been a visit to the dentist or the hygienist, but that’s booked in for next week - oh, I know how to live!

From the brief dusting of snow last week and chilly temperatures, yesterday and today have been quite warm in comparison. So I think we’re officially at that time of year when none of us knows what to wear when heading outside, and yet whatever we choose is bound to be not quite right. Let’s hope spring really is on the way soon.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Pinks, yellows, greens and a burst of neon

I’ve been collecting hand dyed skeins of wool for a while now, and I know in my head what I’ll do with them either when I’ve collected enough, or make time to get started on yet another project. I’ve already completed the test run - remember the crocheted cardigan, where I used a multicoloured yarn against a soft grey? I adapted a pattern that was previously published in Simply Crochet magazine. I’ve seen the pattern is available to buy on Etsy - I added a knitted rib, as that’s the fit I prefer, though I don’t think I made a note of how many stitches I picked up, which was a bit foolish.

My other challenge is knowing just how much yarn it’ll take, and wanting to have enough before starting. The pattern, for my size, says 250g of the main colour, with a ball each of the six colours for the stripes. But as I won’t be using the stripes as a pattern, then I think I can probably use less, but no doubt it will be a discovery each time I attempt one.

But what I realised when I recently added to my supplies, was that I’ve been pretty good at sticking to my colour palettes, which is amazing really as they’ve all come from various places and at varying times, and apart from the neon burst, haven’t been purchased with the plan of putting them together. Some have come from lucky dip bags, some from a kickstarter campaign to dye a 100 skeins. I’ve signed up for this again this year, and while I can share what I like and loathe the actual skein I receive will be very much up to the dyer, though I know that my skein will be unique. I’m hoping that will arrive either this or next month, so it’ll be good to see just how well it fits. Or if I’ll be tempted to start another colour palette…

Pinks and yellows

The newest addition to my collection is the lighter skein on the left below which I bought from Instagram from someone selling their stash, I thought it would go with some I already had and it does. It’s also the skein the inspired this post as I thought while I was checking the colours I might as well remind myself of what else I have! All apart from the skein on the right, which is from The Wool Kitchen, came in a lucky dip clear out bag, but I can’t remember where from. I quite like the mix of yellow and pink, though it’s perhaps not a natural combination. I also think the dark purple could also work as an accent, though I’m not sure exactly just how - it needs more thought!

Vibrant pinks and orange

Pink and orange is another colour combination that isn’t naturally put together by many - but it’s one I love. And it’s the colours I’ve had dyed into the under layers of my graduated bob for a good few years (and yes, I really should update my profile picture!). Two of the skeins below are from Vicki Brown Designs, the first a special edition which is a orange with added glitter. The second is one of the 100 Skeins that I mentioned previously. The final more mustard coloured skein is from Botanical Yarn, and I think these three could work well together eventually. This selection needs more to make a cardigan viable, and I’m not sure what that is right now, but I’m sure the right skein (or two) will come along in time.

All the greens

The majority of these skeins are from Lay Family Yarn, only the ‘kermit’ green (my affectionate name for it) skein on the right coming from Vicki Brown Designs, another from an earlier 100 Skeins project. The mini skeins came as a set, and once again it was love at first sight. I think this colour palette is likely to be the one that most follows the striped style of the original pattern, using the vibrant green as the stripe on the lower half, and the more ‘oatmeal’ skein (on the left) on the top half.

And a burst of neon

But the real jewel are these French Navy skeins, each with a burst of neon. My original plan was to find a blue that matched to supplement these as these ones were rather pricey, or buying them all in one go was rather pricey. When they arrived I knew that that wasn’t going to be so easy, as the blue is quite distinctive, so a Plan B was needed. A while later (quite a while in fact) I relented and knew that the only thing I’d be truly happy with was to buy another skein. And so, two skeins were added - two to be sure I had enough. They are slightly different, and as is always the case if you want things to match exactly then you need to buy them together, but I’m ok with that. I do like a pop of colour, and these definitely bring that!

I think this final set, could be the one that actually gets started next, but as you can tell just admiring them also brings pleasure.

Thanks to all the independent yarn dyers out there - you’re making my life more beautiful, more colourful and also causing me one or two headaches along the way. I’ll forgive you though!