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Friday 10 January 2014

New term



We are gradually starting to find a routine for 2014, back this week to the fortnightly term time U3A knitting group, am now working just on the hexipuffs. The red lace wrap has been put on one side, I have to undo it as I have one extra stitch on the needle so the pattern could go wrong, haven't made enough to see how it works, nor can I spot an error. Have completed 317, my aim is to complete 384 to join together to make a 3 x 4 foot quilt before the end of this new year. Off to another knitting group on Monday so more hexipuff knitting, problem is there is a meeting of the Reading Group earlier in the day, haven't read anywhere near all of "Winter in Madrid", C. J. Samsom's book. Doesn't really grab me, bit depressing, and I need to mug up on my Spanish history too.

Talking of knitting, in an obituary in yesterday's Telegraph of an agricultural historian , Joan Thirsk [who] united her own interest in knitting with her rural studies, challenging the notion that knitting did not develop until the 16th century by pointing out that the chain mail of medieval armour was “in fact, a knitted garter stitch”. ..      She combined scholarship with a love of domesticity, often treating her students and colleagues to bread and cakes she had baked herself, and sending hand-knitted garments for their newly-born offspring. 

Not often one sees detail about knitting and knitters in an serious obituary, it connects with the discussions about domestic chores such as ironing, crafts like knitting and crochet which are seen as beneath professional and academic women, on the contrary most of the women who post in Ravelry appear to be very clever and articulate. Many run successful businesses from home, dyeing yarn, designing patterns most of which appear to require great mathematical skills to create.

In spite of Ian's third level course being just 30 points towards his degree it appears to require as much study as a 60 point course, doesn't help when an errata is issued whilst one is working on an assignment. Ian had planned to stop at a diploma last summer but then he passed both his exam and the course he took when he stayed a week in Nottingham University so he has decided to press on for the degree. So I have attempted to assist, no not with sums, but other activities like cooking so made supper last night, a cauliflower and celery soup with cheese for lunch today. A shortage of yogurt after Christmas, especially in  large pots, led me to resurrect our yogurt maker. Overnight two pints of blue top milk became a litre of fairly thick yogurt thus:-


3 comments:

  1. I have just read Dominion by CJ Samson - in fact I'm just about to do a review on my blog - I did enjoy it - couldn't put it down at the end. I am a big fan of the OU - I did my degree with them when my kids were little, it changed my life.

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  2. I'm hopeless at knitting because I can't spot mistakes until I have to undo a lot of work. But I admire knitters hugely, I wish I were as clever as you. My daughter has never dared to make fitted garments but does intricately patterned shawls and so on.

    14th June any good for a blog party for you and Ian?

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  3. Ah, I wondered if it was worth getting one of those yogurt makers!

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