And in accordance with the title of this post, I have a Finished Object. I finished my Fireworks Hitchhiker on 22 May, washed it and blocked it, and have given it to my Mum, but strictly on the proviso that she gives it me back to be washed!
It is not a full Hitchhiker in that it only has 40 points - I had just over 3g (about 13m) left when I had finished the bind off. The light is a bit off - the green is actually more yellow than you see here, but photography is not one of my talents.
Having finished one project and having received the needles for my next project, I then cast on for a new pair of socks. But not just any pair of socks - this is my first colourwork project. It is a Drops pattern, so free, and it is number 126-4. I am calling them my Ring O'Roses socks - a slight variation on what Drops are calling the pattern.
Again, not a brilliant photo but at least you get some idea of how it is developing. The main colour is Drops Fabel in the 400 Black colourway and the contrast colour is Drops Delight in the 6 Pink/Purple Mix colourway - the yarns used in the actual pattern. I am enjoying knitting this so far, but it is definitely a at home alone in the quiet project - not one for Knit Group.
My other three WIPs have all made progress, but none of them have reached a point worth showing off. Besides I wanted to tell you about my little jaunt last Sunday.
My oldest friend in all the world (we have known each other for over 40 years) and I have been discussing going for a walk in the Peak District of Derbyshire for some time. The stars all aligned last Sunday and I drove out to her house, getting there about 9am. She then drove us to Ambergate Station where we parked up before walking a short distance to the Cromford Canal. I then got to choose between a 7.5 mile circular walk taking in the town of Crich mainly uphill through woods and probably muddy due to all the rain we had had in the previous few days, or a 10 mile return trip along the canal path to Cromford and back on the flat. I am not a great one for excessive exercise so I chose the flat route.
We had a really good time. The weather was just right - not too hot, not too cold. The path was nice and dry. We saw lots of interesting, fun things - a pike, swans nesting, a canal boat, a dinosaur, lots of baby ducklings, coots and moorhens. The scenery was lovely. We did lots of chatting and catching up. On the way, we stopped at the place where the High Peaks trail crosses the Cromford Canal for a comfort break - and a dog's head appeared under the partition much to my surprise. And when we got to Cromford, we ate our pack-up at a picnic bench and then decided to go across the road and take a look at Cromford Mill. This was built by Richard Arkwright and is part of the 15 mile long Derwent Valley Mills UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Before we got to the road, we passed a building where we could see crafty stuff going on so we went in. It turned out that the Arkwright Spinsters hold a demonstration on the 3rd Sunday of each month and we had struck lucky. There was handspun yarn for sale and I came away with this:
100g and 198 yards of handspun Bluefaced Leicester. No plans for this as yet, but I couldn't resist.
After having a look round the exterior of the Mill, we turned our feet back towards Ambergate, the car and my friend's house for tea. By the time we reached the car, my right leg had put in a mild complaint at the unusual amount of exercise it had been subjected to and my left leg had thrown a major tantrum and was demanding to speak to the management! Fortunately it had calmed down a bit by the time tea was over and I was ready to drive home, and getting up and pacing the hall several times later that evening meant that the following morning I was experiencing only very mild discomfort on my way to the bus stop. But we had a really good time and are ready to repeat the experience. We are also in discussions about going on holiday together next year, which would be fabulous.
In other news, I have lost another 2lb since I last posted, bringing me to 10.5lb lost in total. According to my Mum and my sister, you can see that I've lost weight which is encouraging as I still have just over a stone to go.
I'm going to love you and leave you with some photos of my walk - what I really need to learn is how to stick them together into one montage, rather than have several separate ones - if you have any ideas on how to do this, please let me know. Anyway, until my next post, may all be well with you and yours.
Great finish and a lovely new start - I haven't worked with multiple colours like this before, but I can see how it needs some concentration. What a lovely walk you took, and how lucky to stumble upon a yarn sale without meaning too! I bet your purchase will make a lovely hat, or something of that sort.
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