A wet weekend in Wales and a big tangle of yarn

This weekend Mum and I packed the kids and overnight essentials into the car and headed across the M4 into Wales. It was our first trip "home" since she relocated to our (English) village in February, which meant the novelty of a hotel! When you're 3 and 5 that's quite an exciting adventure requiring rucksacks full of books, a bazillion soft toys, and a carpet picnic. They absolutely loved it, but almost two hours past their usual bedtime I had to implement a complete "lights out" policy in our room. As I'd left my night-vision goggles at home*, this meant .... NO KNITTING!  Never have I been more thankful for my iPad, a set of earphones and BBC iPlayer

Despite their late night, both were up at 06:00 this morning with lots of energy and too much volume! The stress of trying to keep them quiet proved too much so I resorted to a very early breakfast (porridge in McDonalds also counts as an adventure, who knew?!) and duck-feeding in the rain.....without any bread (the shops were all shut but a local passer-by took pity and offered us a few slices from his bag!)

After filling up on cwtches from my grandparents we came home this afternoon to D's delicious cottage pie. I don't care for football but as D is watching the England match tonight (I think it's a game to decide whether Italy or Germany get to knock them out of Euro 2012, or something like that) I decided to relax after my long drive by balling up the gorgeous skeins of Drops Lace that just arrived, and cast on Nuvem

Urgh - what a mistake! I have a Sunflower Swift and it comes with unfeasibly short pegs to hold the skein on (you can see one here with the spoils of one skein - they sell longer ones but I am loathe to spend even more money on something I don't like very much - shouldn't the longer length be standard?). The yarn kept falling off the swift, which meant I had to constantly stop/start with the yarn winder to untangle and reset the skein. Each time I started winding again the tension was slightly different....and the whole thing ended up in a great big mess.  Lacking the patience for this tonight, I've salvaged one ball of just under half the skein and am wondering if I dare to try to cast on the shawl which involves lots of stitches and a COUPLE of rather long circular needles.  
 Maybe tomorrow....?

*I don't really have any night vision goggles.... but if a benevolent 'spy shop' owner happens to read knitting blogs and would like to make a donation.... 

10 comments

  1. McDonald's do porridge? Well you learn something new everyday. Love the colour of your yarn btw

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    1. I used to buy it on the way to work over 6 years ago so they've done it for some time, I should think! :)

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  2. I was in Wales this weekend too! Such a long drive, although if I'd been doing fun things like feeding the ducks at Caerphilly Castle, instead of being stuck in a church for a christening, I don't think I would have minded so much :)

    It's a shame you're having trouble with your swift; I didn't want to spend that much on one so I got a cheap umbrella swift from ebay and it's never given me any problems.

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  3. She really is your double isn't she?

    I don't have a swift, I tend to borrow the other halts hands or a chair if he's out. I'll be interested to know what you think of the yarn as I really love all the drops yarns I have tried so far. I'm using Debbie Bliss Rialto Lace, which is lovely, but ii've never tried any other lace weight yarn.

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    Replies
    1. Initial impressions are good - the yarn is really soft and fluffy and pretty, although I'm wondering if such a massive project would be nicer in a semi-solid... I don't know yet!

      I used to use a little upside-down table before I had a swift, but that frustrated me because it didn't spin :)

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  4. Arghh.... I haven't got a swift but have my eye on a nice umbrella one. I've borrowed one off a friend and loved it :)

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  5. Looks like a good weekend despite the weather.
    Aarg yarn barf! Good luck with that.
    xxxx

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  6. I am so glad I'm not the only one having problems with a sunflower swift! I have learnt to take it very slowly when ball winding, otherwise I lose half my yarn!! Like the idea it's okay to have more than one swift ;D

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  7. Love seeing your beauties cuddled on your bed. I love it when my princessas do that on mine.
    That yarn doesn't look pleasant to untangle; I cringe at the sight of it. Good luck.

    ReplyDelete

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