Knit, Crochet and Natter 6: Where there's a wool there's a way

[lazylinguist]

A thread for all woolly crafters, from total beginners to old hands! Previous thread here

Oh that sounds perfect then lazy! Sorry to hear about your class though, I hope you had a stiff drink and recovered! Will you have to cover them again?

Oh wow myshitisreal that's incredible! It looks like so much work!

I've got not much done, I've seen finished versions of the knit I'm doing and they look great, so I need to crack on really and get wearing it!

I'm reasonably likely to bump into the two particular miscreants again unfortunately, Flavia. I just have to remain calm and follow the behaviour policies. The second I can do, the first is harder... I am glad to see that they are both excluded from lessons today as a result of my report though. Among many things they said/did, one tried to imply I was calling out their behaviour because I'm racist , the other claimed I was making fun of her dyslexia by asking her to read the work. I checked with the SEND department afterwards and she's not dyslexic.

@lucysmam the drops circus hooks feel exactly the same as the knit pro ones. My 3.75 hook is a knit pro, I got it on Amazon.
KnitPro KP30908 3.75 mm Waves... www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00F43DW0I?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share&tag=mumsnetforu03-21

Oh my goodness lazy you certainly had your hands full there Good that the school clamped down on it though, I imagine if they got away with it they'd be even more uncontrollable the next time.

Legend had it our French teacher got fed up of a trouble maker and turned a bin upside down on their head. You could always dream

I don't think I'd better resort to that! Fridays are always lovely for me, thank goodness. Adult learners in the morning and my fab village primary school this afternoon.

Anyway, enough about work. Definitely doing plenty of knitting this evening. Housework can wait for the weekend. I need to get this darn jumper finished!

What's everybody up to today? I did Parkrun (even more slowly than usual) and went shopping with the dc in Lancaster.

Discovered a lovely new stationery shop and, more importantly, another fab yarn shop which isn't new but which I somehow didn't know about! Bigger, with more well-known brands than Northern Yarn (which is all about British and mostly local-ish yarn). Didn't buy anything, but I'll be back! Bought some knitting needle point protectors from Northern Yarn, as I keep nearly losing stitches off my dpns!

Evening everyone

Ooh sounds fun, I'm jealous of the stationery shop, there is literally nowhere that sells any kind of decent stationery anywhere near me

We went for a hike as we figured DS2 was old enough to go up his first mountain. It's an easy walk in and a sheep track up and with a bit of boosting him up the steep bits we all got there. Poor wee pet was so tired he got a bit of a carry down and nearly fell asleep in DH's arms and then conked out on the way home 😄 We had an impressive range of knitwear with us but I think a couple of woolly jumpers rather than fleeces would be better for the DC now it's going into winter.

DH drove so I got loads of car knitting done, I'm up to the arms of my test knit 🥳

Ooh stationary shops are awesome!

@FlaviaAlbiaWantsLangClegBack bless DS2 least you know they'll sleep well tonight. Sounds like a good amount of test knitting.

I'm not doing much crochet atm as am focusing on cross stitching Christmas cards (and work isnt giving me much time to be able to do that :()

We've been to a college open day the nipped to town for a few bits. And I'm mid ebay scroll for a pair of boots for dd2 who changes her mind about what styles she likes constantly so I refuse to spend much on them 🙄 I'm bored of that though so think I'll put some more Once Upon A Time on Disney & finish dd1's ghost instead. It only needs sewing together really.

I've done not a lot. I can feel myself slipping. Spending too much time in bed, not enough time doing anything. School are being twats about ds2. Apparently he looks 'scruffy' and can I make sure he's got clean uniform every day. He does. I wash 5 shirts per week so can only assume he actually wears 5. He's almost 15, I don't need to dress him ffs. His shirts are old and not bright white any more. But I refuse to replace perfectly wearable clothes. It's unaffordable and terrible from an eco perspective. Someone kept knocking on the door yesterday and I'm terrified its a social worker. I have severe anxiety relating to them being involved in the past.
I put on a front that I'm managing. But I'm not. I'm failing big time.

I've done a bit of crochet, I'm making ds1 the world's fiddliest hat! I've got chicken fajitas cooking (veggie burgers in the oven for ds1). I'll have mine with salad rather than in a wrap though.

I love stationary. I recently discovered the about blanks notebooks, which are gorgeous. They take old book covers and turn them into notebooks. The problem is that if I treat myself to one, then I’d probably find it’s too pretty to write in.

Sorry you’re having a rubbish time crochetbug.

We did our usual Saturday activities, going into town and then dog stuff. I didn’t go in the yarn shop in town and I didn’t go see the yarn lady on the market. I did however go into the Works and buy our Christmas puzzle. The cuddly yarn I bought from B&M last week is on its way to be made into a bear onesie and is coming together quite nicely. However, yesterday and today I’ve been working on a kitten Garland using up some scrap wool from my random stripe blanket. I took these in the car with me during our little trips today and I managed to get quite a few worked up and just finished it off this evening. I’ve still got all my other projects with lots of sewing to do though.

@CrochetBug Doesn't sound like failing to me! My dc have never had 5 clean shirts a week .

Anxiety is shit. I had post-natal/health anxiety after I had ds. It lasted a long time, and I never sought help for it because I was scared to. I gradually pretty much beat it, but it raises its head occasionally.

Being anxious doesn't mean you're not doing things right. It means you feel you're not doing things right. But that's the anxiety talking.

Thanks @lazylinguist that made me cry

@InTheNightWeWillWish I have bog standard boring notebooks that I won't write in. Well not totally bog standard. Mainly Harry Potter ones that I can't replace once they are full. So I don't use them

Me neither@CrochetBug. Mine have three and they have to make them last. In my opinion, once they're in secondary and the clothes are washed and dried it's down to the child. Mine are both very different to each other but any complaints about scruffiness from school would be directed to them. You can't take everything on your shoulders. Surely clean clothes and crochet wizardry is enough to expect from one woman?

My first Bullet Journal was in a Harry Potter notebook, @CrochetBug. I got over my 'too pretty to write in' angst and am on my 8th annual journal now, I think. Those Blanks notebooks sound fab, @InTheNightWeWillWish - I'll ccheeck them out. I'm very specific about my notebook requirements though . I almost always use Leuchtturm 1917 ones. I occasionally deviate and regret it!

Hope you're feeling a bit better today CrochetBug. The school are arses for making you feel that way! I often see hundreds of school kids per day. Lots are scruffy - that's what kids are like! Doesn't mean they aren't loved and well cared-for. My youngest came home with a torn tie and bird poo on his blazer the other day .

Sorry you are finding things tough at the moment Crochetbug I hope today’s a better day.

We spent yesterday moving DS out of the room he rents in a shared house in Cambridge . He’s been in the house for 2 years but the last few months have been awful. There has been so much antisocial behaviour from new tenants. He’s coming home for a few months (he’s wfh at the moment for the foreseeable future) and will then try and get a flat on his own a bit further out of Cambridge so he can afford the rent.

Nice to have him home but there is stuff everywhere!

Flip, that's a strange thing for the school to get het up about CrochetBug but if you look on the bright side his behaviour and work must be great if they're fussing about his uniform Is it a particularly strict school? I have to admit I read on Mumsnet about academies rules and the like with my jaw dropped.

That looks amazingly cosy InTheNight and I love your bunting!

@CrochetBug my oldest doesn't have a shirt for every day either. Dd2 has 6 of the bloody things because she has dd1's old ones. Neither had shiny new ones this year, my money's better spent elsewhere. I occasionally stick a sachet of that glow-white stuff in, when I remember it's in the cupboard but not often 🤷‍♀️

I agree with lazy; some of the kids at my school look like they've been dragged through a hedge backwards, shaken about a bit, then shoved back through the other way. That's just how they are.

The comments about the "too pretty to write in" notebooks made me smile. I have a few like that & am trying to work through my stash of ones I'm not fussed about rather than buying more when I think of something I could do with one for.

I've got a killer headache this morning. I'm normally dressed & doing by now but haven't moved from my spot in the kitchen yet. Hopefully it clears off soon, this half term is usually 'pre Christmas sort out week' but I cba to do anything right now.

@CrochetBug tell the school to bloody piss off, do they really expect a 15 year old lad not to get a bit scruffy from time to time, and if they want sparkling white shirts they can pay for them! How bloody rude! (As you can tell this has really grinded my gears). I have anxiety so I can understand how you're feeling (sort of, I know every persons is different) but he is dressed, well fed (your dinner sounds yummy) and looked after so stuff what the school says.

I have a whole pile of notebooks that I collected just because they're 'pretty' and they're all sitting empty, I have a few on the go for to do lists, one for ideas/craft projects I want to try and one where I sometimes write out crochet patterns but all the others are just waiting for their purpose 

@lucysmam I hope your headache buggers off too, I had a migraine from Friday and it only went late last night! Horrible things!

Boo! 👻

Thanks everyone. I don't know what the school are on tbh. They are stupidly strict about uniform and stuff but have done sweet fa about the bullying. Apparently it doesn't happen

Anyway I'm feeling a bit better today. Yesterday was just a bit overwhelming. School are on reduced timetable because they have so many covid cases. The Vicar, who I'd seen 2 days last week tested positive on Thursday and it all just seemed too much. But we've all tested negative today so that's good.

That ghost is so cute @lucysmam. I love the eyes!

The college we visited yesterday was like a breath of fresh air compared to schools CrochetBug. No uniforms, first name terms with teaching staff, all the SLT teach, an open/easily accessible platform for parent-student-teacher communication. The head mentioned they have few behavioural issues too. We're going to visit a few other places but I won't be surprised if dd picks there as opposed to one of the 6th forms.

The left eye as you look at it is bugging me a little bit but I think the wonkiness is probably the camera angle as much as my embroidery skills & dd likes it...she's calling it "Boo" 🙄🤣

It's cute @lucysmam.

Yarn sale klaxon! Purple Sheep have their drops Alpaca yarns on sale. It includes the Andes yarn I thought you might like @FlaviaAlbiaWantsLangClegBack

www.purplesheepyarns.co.uk/sale.html

Colleges are so different! DS1 started in September and loves that he can just be himself. No more desperately trying to get the green out of his hair before going back after summer. In fact it's now half green and half pink

Ooh, thanks for the heads up Meryl I did go and have a squish and I really liked it but held off buying it. It has alpaca bouclé in the sale too, I saw someone use bouclé yarn as a contrast colour in a fairisle hat and it actually worked really well…

I’d like to make another carbeth cardigan with the Andes, and then develop more arms to knit 🧶