Throwback Thursday

Having the floor replaced has forced the Z household to do some significant clearing out of stuff. This is all very liberating. The poor charity shop won't know what's hit it, and today I have listed things on ebay for the first time in probably a decade. Excited to see that there are already eight bids on 15 items that have been gathering dust on my dressing table for years.

Anyway, with that spring-cleaning head on, I have photographed some things ahead of getting rid of them, so I will memorialise them in my blog, so they can live forever in memory.

Camp America was one of the best things I've done. I went to a Girl Scout camp, Camp Black Hawk, in Wisconsin for the summer of 1998. I learned a lot, particularly about how black attracts mosquitoes, how to dive a lake looking for a body (thankfully this was only ever a drill), how to use a campfire pie oven, how to make people feel happy and good, and how to hide a bottle of tequila and a pack of cigarettes just off-camp so that it wouldn't get wet or spoil. I swam with a giant turtle. I saw the Northern Lights. I learned all kinds of watercraft. I saw the Spice Girls in concert (Ginger had just left, devo'd). I went skinny dipping for the first time in my life (no kids on camp at the time, I hasten to add). I managed cut off from the world for two months, sleeping in a tent, with only actual paper letters and the very occasional email, when I could convince the senior to let me use the computer on site. I made friends for life. It was amazing.

When I signed up to Camp America and they sent me the welcome pack, this label was included. I didn't use it because it looked flimsy, but I have, nevertheless, kept it all this time. In fact, it might not have made it into the bin yet. How often can one thing so small bring back such a range of memories?

Yellow never was, and never will be, my colour.

Weekend WIP

I finished the first sleeve for this a couple of weeks ago, amid much lamenting and whinging and complaining, as is my wont. Nobody wants to be knitting angora in the biggest heatwave the country has seen since 1976. I promised myself a new linen cast on after the first sleeve was done.

Well, then we went and had the floor done in the living room, which accounts for roughly three quarters of the square footage of the ground floor of our house. The contents of said room are still stuffed into the spare room. Behind it is all my yarn. So, it was either cast on the second sleeve or not knit at all.

I put it off for two weeks, but the second sleeve is now on the go, as you see on the right of the picture. I wouldn't have time to finish a new linen for this summer anyway, although was I was wearing this yesterday and thinking how much I'd like another one.

Sunday selfie

When I started marking public exams and people told me I was crazy, I'd always shrug and say, 'Yeah, well...it's horrible for three weeks, but it's only three weeks, it's not part of the summer holidays and then you can spend the money.'

This week marks the start of the seventh week of this year's exam season. I have a post it note on my computer monitor that says, 'You wanted this job'. My resolve never to react to pressured situation by getting stressed has been tested to its absolute limit. Here was my reaction to a work friend sending pictures of him and our colleagues on a speed boat in Capri last week.

Wonderwool 2018

At the risk of sounding very old, this year is absolutely flying by. I shouldn't be surprised; I have been very busy, which is scientifically proven to make time pass more quickly, but....still! Wonderwool was already over a month ago! Phew.

We stayed in a different place this time, since our usual bunkhouse had been snapped up. It was an outward bound centre aimed at schools so it was slightly less comfortable but in slightly more spectacular surroundings, being on the edge of Brecon forest, and with the added benefit of being on the Bristol side of Builth.

A picturesque nearby tree. It's the sort of place that would have been good for a walk is I was disposed to such things. There was a single track road in and out, populated by Houdini sheep and a small herd of goats fronted by an angry ram. There were many sofas and a good wood burner. I'm already looking forward to going back.

I was quite restrained on the yarn front. I was going to attempt to not buy anything, but only in a half-hearted way. Here are the goodies:

• Five skeins of Triskelion Hama DK, a BFL/silk/cashmere blend, in Navigator. It was on their sale rack. Sally saw me coming, as usual. 
• Two skeins of Riverknits BFL 4-ply in Starry Night. THE COLOUR! It looked so good knitted up in a little shawlette with twinkly beads. 
• More Riverknits - a last minute impulse buy of a rainbow gradient kit. I don't think I will ever find anything good enough to knit with it. There are 960m, though. It's basically a jumper. 
• Some buttons from Brimstone. Of course. 

I also bought a couple of patterns - a book of small bird patterns from Sue Strafford (still need to knit up the giant blue tit from the kit I bought x years ago) and the sweater pattern for this -

I was thinking the Hama would be a good base for this but heaven knows what I'd pair it with. 

There was also a needle felting workshop with Jenny Barnett again. April and I went to make woodland creature badges. I didn't stab myself, which I consider to be a win. 

And my Wonderwoman jumper garnered a few compliments, which are always nice to hear. And the weather was lovely!

Not so good for everybody in attendance, though....

'HELP ME! I AM SINKING!'

Weekend WIP

With Wonderwool looming and no time to cast on for something new, I went back to something old, with positive results. I finished the other side last weekend, what with the bank holiday and all, and made a start on the sleeve today.

My intention had been to complete the neckline first, as I mentioned back in November, but then I realised that the top of the sleeve forms part of the neckline, so I'm just getting on with it. I'm only doing one at a time, in a break from the norm, but starting two off together when there is short row shaping to create a curved hem was just too much. I am hoping that this will fly past since it's just st-st in the round. Of course, now it's too warm to wear it again, but oh well. I am trying to be strong and not cast on a new linen top for the summer until one sleeve is done, at least. The second sleeve would make good travel knitting.

Weekend FO: Ooo Wonderwoman

It SHOULD have been a weekend FO post three weeks ago, but then I washed it for blocking so I didn't have any pictures, and then, yknow, busy.

Wonderwoman cares nothing about multiple chins!

Pattern: A heavily adapted Julissa (Scoop neck version)
Yarn: John Arbon Knit by Numbers, all half price faulty skeins (except the white which I had to buy full price). I weighed it at the end and it's 425g, so surprisingly economical on the yarn.
Needles: 4mm and 3.75mm
Mods: Well, where to start? Obviously the colourwork is all to my own charts, but even then I didn't exactly follow my own charts and there were various mistakes made that I just fudged my way through.
I modified the design of the sweater with a longer body and a shorter rib; I increased to a larger size after the waist shaping, in what has become my usual pear-shaped practice with top-down sweaters; I basically ignored the sleeve instructions and cast on more stitches than I was meant to, to ensure the drag from the intarsia didn't pinch; I knitted twice as many rows for the neckline as I was meant to, because I wanted to ensure there was no off-the-shoulder slippage.

I am overwhelmingly thrilled with the result. A sweater so long-planned, and it came out as well as I had hoped. There are bits I'd change - maybe I should have tried to intarsia a star on the underside of the sleeves, across the seam; I made a couple of mistakes with the cuffs that I was too lazy to rip back. However, I wore it to Wonderwool and had lots of positive comments, as well as from the lovely cheerleaders at knitting group. So, I think I can chalk it up as a resounding success.

Weeknote: 7/4

Knitting:
I have been putting off the second sleeve but today I finally broke the back of it. I am to the point where the yellow cuff point begins. If I can encourage myself to knit in the evenings this week, it might be a FO post next weekend.

Going to:
I've been all over the place this past week.

I started in Italy, on the last day of the ski trip, packing and leaving, travelling through France, taking the ferry out of Dunkirk after a long and boring wait, entertained by Carl and Reece, our bickering drivers who left us at Cobham, and finally home. This marks ski trip number 10 that I have organised. I am now a total pro at sleeping on coaches.

On Monday I went to work out with Jenny and we did arms for the first time in months.

On Tuesday, I took the National Express to London. I stayed in an AirBnB near Covent Garden and followed the tourist trail for three days. Highlights:

The Charles I exhibition at the Royal Academy. Included portraits of him and art collected by him and his wife, Henrietta Maria. This included some miniatures of the Tudor court that have become ubiquitous, at least for students of the Tudors, which I quite enjoyed looking at.

The Tower of London. Traitors' Gate and the spot where Anne Boleyn, Lady Jane Grey and the Earl of Essex were executed. The Crown Jewels - a long queue, but worth seeing.

Rather creepily, that woodwork at the top was installed for Anne Boleyn's coronation, and then 4 years later she was rowed through this gate to her execution. 

St Dunstans-in-the-East, a derelict church with a lovely garden near the Tower of London. I happened to walk past it. Founded in Saxon times. Destroyed by the Great Fire, its own rebuilding and the Blitz. I think it has earned its peaceful existence.

The Mithraeum. A hidden treasure. An ancient Roman temple revealed by WW2 bombing and restored underneath a large city office block. It's free and a quick visit, but stunningly presented: we entered in the dark; the room was then flooded with light smoke and strong downlights created an echo of how the walls would have formed the space.

A wander through Postman's Park, full of plaques commemorating heroic deeds - mostly small children flinging themselves into big waters to save friends and family.

On was the way there I came across part of the original Roman city wall. It astonishes me that I lived in London for four years, studied history in it, yet remained oblivious to these sites.

Charterhouse, near the Barbican. Site of the demise of the Carthusians during Henry VIII's reign - a particularly brutal episode immortalised in a set of woodcuts that often pop up, without adequate provenance, to demonstrate medieval torture and execution. It has a plague skeleton and a very nice cafe.

I attempted to go to Westminster Abbey on Thursday, but the queue was an hour long and there was a sign saying no large backpacks, so I just hung around in the sunshine, had some lunch and got the bus home.

I also squeezed in dinner with university friend Burhan and school friend Sarah. Burhan reminded me we've known each other nearly half our lives, which made me feel old, but Sarah and I concluded that we could have said the same at the age of 10 (having met when we were 5) so it's clearly not an indication of age.

I spent Friday at school, Doing All The Things, and went knitting today. I am almost ready to go back to work. Almost.

Learning:
Some more about the Tudors, of course, with all the touring. They get everywhere.

Of the new Penguin monarch biographies. There was an epic display of them in the Piccadilly Waterstones. I tweeted about it and acclaimed historian Helen Castor tweeted back, followed me and we had a conversation. Amazing.

Eating:
Some good London haunts: I had breakfast at Balthazar on Covent Garden, which is undoubtedly a tourist trap but served lovely eggs and seemed to be crawling with business people. Sarah and I ate at Champagne Charlie's which has an excellent wine list. I had tawny port for the first time. It was very tasty.

I also went to Fortnum and Mason for the first time and spent far too much in their chocolate department. Had to chuckle at their plastic bag sign. "We don't charge for our plastic bags as their composition means they are not considered disposable." They feel pretty plastic to me. Pretty sure that's just code for, "We're the Queen's grocer so you can do one."

On Friday night I made turkey tetrazzini for dinner, from this recipe. Considering how ordinary the ingredients are, it was surprisingly tasty. I didn't have any parmesan or cream cheese, so I substituted with iberico and le roule, thus using up almost the last of the Christmas cheese. Go me.

Entertained by:
I've been trying to read Fire and Fury which I picked up on the way to skiing, but it's not very well written and I can't get into it. I've also been trying to read Talking to my Daughter about the Economy, by Yanis Varoufakis, which was supposed to be my book club Easter read (I picked book club as my wellbeing activity for inset day because they cancelled Airhop), but it might be a bit simplistic because I can't get into that either.

The book winner of the week is Why I'm not longer talking to white people about race, by Reni Eddo-Lodge. Here's an extract. It's very readable and is giving me a better understanding of the struggles my students face. It is also making me think about privilege in all its forms.

Feeling:
It's been a relaxing week off and I feel rested, but I can't help but feel a sense of foreboding about the next few months. Big, big work to do, and lots of it. I tried to cheer myself up by booking a summer holiday with Mr Z, but it just creates a deadline where there was not previously one.

Ah well. Let's get the hatches battened. Onwards.