It’s about as neglected and dusty in here on the blog as my house is. In between the more-than-full-time day job, and trying to write a novel, updating the blog has slipped down the list of priorities. G was away for a couple of weeks recently, too, so that meant I had a full load of doggy care, shopping, cooking, fire-lighting, wood fetching etc., on top of my other work.

There has been some knitting – but it does seem like ages since I actually finished something. The Helmi cardigan is gradually progressing – I’ve almost finished the second sleeve, and then I’ll return to knitting the body, now I know I’ll have enough yarn. It might be done by the end of this long weekend – maybe!

I started knitting another top-down cardigan, too, adapting a lace collar pattern from an old magazine for the round yoke. I may end up writing up the pattern. With that in mind, I think I’ll restart the cardigan in a different yarn, as the yarn I was using – Bendigo Woollen Mills Colonial 8 ply – is no longer in production. A new pattern should ideally use an available yarn. How fortunate that I’ve recently received two yarn orders from Bendigo, with yarn enough for four more cardigans/jumpers! I desperately need some new winter woollies – my three round-the-house jumpers have been in constant winter use for quite some years now, and I only have two thick cardigans suitable for going out in public, neither of which are beautiful. They are warm, though, and in the Armidale winter, that counts more than beauty! I do have an assortment of bought cardies etc in (thin) wool, but as my office is cold, they’re not really warm enough, even with a spencer, a long-sleeved t-shirt and a shawl.

What else is on the needles? A pair of socks for my Mum – I’m down to the heel on the first one. I’m using some of the pale pink Cleckheaton Cocoon that I won at the Armidale Show, and Nancy Bush’s Conwy pattern, which I’ve knitted a few times before.

Gordon’s red mittens haven’t progressed much at all – I’m up to the tricky bit of knitting the fingers, and just haven’t had the combination of time and brainspace to tackle that yet. There’s also a pair of 8ply socks for me that I knit a few rows here and there on.

I do really want to get Helmi finished soon. Sadly, I can’t knit while marking assignments – there’s another pile of 90 of them now waiting for me to tackle it. But on the upside, the unit that I’ll be teaching next semester is a film one, on the science fiction genre, so in the next couple of months I’ll be watching a fair few DVDs, and I can knit while I’m doing that! The 1950s version of The Day the Earth Stood Still might be on the agenda for this weekend – so I should get a chunk of Helmi done during that!