The water is still choppy, but the wind is dropping........

By which I mean...

Wednesday, we went in to Manchester to see "Pygmalion" at the Royal Exchange. It was lovely, I enjoyed it enormously. So maybe that was why I wasn't really paying proper attention when walking back to the car, as I managed to not see a stupid little step outside Urbis and therefore crash ignominiously to the ground. Fortunately, the only real consequence was my damaged dignity, which I gathered around me and scrambled to my feet, assuring the pleasant young man who had come rushing up to offer help (in case the two old farts were really in trouble....) I did feel rather battered and stiff yesterday, but it has worn off. Phew. I did check carefully for broken or dislodged body parts, but everything seemed to swivel around and bend as it should, without causing untold agony!

The next day was the major milestone. The DSM went in to work.

Yes, indeedy, the first day of a hopefully long and slow phased return, which he coped with very well, probably better than I did. The hideously enormous fly in the ointment is that he has learned (they kept it from him before, sensibly) that the newish bosses have decreed that everyone is to move back to Lytham, probably in August. Again, he is coping with that better than I am, but I remember all too well how grim it had got before the move to Preston. I'm thinking of possibilities - but not moving, definitely not worth it for two years. We shall see.

So, he is at home again today - working a little bit - but this morning it was so gorgeous that we went out for a very short walk. It was already pretty hot, but so beautiful!



Pink purslane, which grows well in our shady woods.



And a few bluebells. There are loads more up in the Crags proper, but we didn't have time to go that far, and besides, it is half term and too busy.



And then, the finished and washed "Citron" from Knitty. I loved doing this pattern, pretty simple, but just varied enough, and with a series of "target" sections to keep you moving on. I shall, I think, do this again, but with a crisper yarn - quite possibly spindle spun. The yarn I used for this one is a merino/soy silk blend from South West Trading - very nice, but a little floppy, doesn't quite show off the gathered sections well enough.



I have now cast on "Summit", also from Knitty, which is similar in that it also has a series of sections to work through. I have nearly finished the set up bit, the yarn for this is a rather thicker one than I often spin, the purply merino and silk blend I have recently finished.

Spinning goes only slowly, no idea why. Partly, the angora fluff/silk mix I have on the Timbertops is fine, fine, fine - not frog hair, but still fine, and needs a lot of twist, so takes a while. I have found another bobbin of the Polwarth to navajo ply, having though I had finished that; I have some more ultra fine something or other on the Schacht, nearly done but not quite. I need to get the DSM upstairs on the pc to finish organising the SOAR trip, then it would get finished! I also have some chunky on the go on the Lendrum jumbo flyer. Not to mention one or two (ahem) spindle projects.

Still, I think the bout of startitis is nearly over, and I can concentrate on finishing a few things!