The sun has come out and everything has really slowed down here. People are out on the greens, the skies are mostly blue, and every now and then we have a lovely sunny day that reminds us that spring is indeed on its way.


And it really is.


Cambridge is one of those places that has been on my "must see" list for years. Ever since my first year of university, daydreaming about the magical campuses of Oxford and Cambridge in the faraway lands of England's towns. I never once thought I'd live just a short afternoon drive away.


It is very beautiful. There are spires and turrets and cobbled walkways. Markets, buskers, colourful wares for sale. We walked a bit. Admired a lot. Were tempted by posters advertising everything from performances of Plato to night-time readings of Roald Dahl.

Some humorous literature outside a little wine shop selling South African wines. Did you know?


And finally, a picnic on the river, watching the boats, canoes and kayaks go past. A lazy snooze in the afternoon sun. For a moment, I even took off my coat and it very nearly felt like summer.

This gizmo arrived today - a yarn ball winder (from here). I've been wanting one of these for a really long time: there are so many skeins to wind, so many unruly yarn balls to sort out (like the one in the pic above). I ordered this last month so I have been very patiently waiting to crank the handle and start sorting things out. Oh the irony: more clutter for less clutter. It's a viscous yarn cycle.


It is so simple to set up and operate. You jig all the bits together, secure it to a table with the built-in clamp, and feed the yarn through the metal eyelet doo-hickey. Hey presto: yarn cakes. You're supposed to use a swift with this, which looks a bit like a fabric-less umbrella that holds your skeins, but I couldn't bring myself to buy another item that needs to be stored somewhere. I'll make do with some chairs for now, I think.

My knitting has been rolling around and getting tangled wherever I've been sitting. On the couch. In bed. On the train. I have been looking everywhere for a yarn bowl in the UK that I actually like, but no luck yet. So, I decided on the next best thing: Small Project Bags.


Simple draw-string bags that are big enough to store two or three balls of yarn, a pattern, and some circular knitting needles. Ideal for socks.


I popped into Stitch Fabrics on my way home last week and picked up some linen, contrast cottons, and kawaii sewing-print cottons. Because, really, everyone needs something cheery to adorn their knitting bags.


I'm going through a bit of a clean-up phase at home. Everything has been sorted and stored in boxes, stacked under tables and cleared away. That does mean that some things (like my matching cotton threads) are also Stored Away in a Very Safe Place. Oh well, no-one will notice the white stitches inside, will they?

I used the In Color Order Lined Drawstring Bag Tutorial. It is really quick and easy to sew up, and I love the contrast panel at the top.

You could use any cottons or fabrics to put this together, but I like the linen look and I especially like that it belies a treasure trove of colour on the inside of the bag. It's like a burst of colourful surprises every time you open it up to see how far you are on your socks (or other knittery objects). I suppose you could use these bags for anything - pyjamas, lunches, spare swimming costume, little cakes, treasures. You could add buttons, applique, names, fun fabric prints.

That army of bags is forming in my head now, in neat little rows... it's only a matter of time!

This year, I resolved to finish more. It's slow going, but I've made a good start on getting things done from my pile of unfinished objects. This weekend I bought giant storage boxes and sorted out all of my fabrics and yarns. Now, time to finish the pile of knitting projects-in-progress. Oh my.

I finished knitting and blocking the Man Socks.


They are slightly wider around the cuff than the last pair, although I think that's because I got lazy and did a 2 x 2 rib instead of 1 x 1. Still, they'll stay up and they'll be warm and cosy! I only found one knot while knitting three skeins of Drops Fabel, so I'm quite impressed. The yarn also knits up really easily.

I tried out a new type of heel - a Fish Lips Kiss heel (the name makes me laugh every time I say it) - and it knit up fairly quickly. Now, I see kissy fish lips every time I look at these socks. Or monkeys. I'm not sure I'd use this heel on every sock, but it was really easy to knit on toe-up socks and could be a definite go-to pattern in case of sock emergencies.


I also finally finished knitting all of the pieces for my Strawberry Pi cardigan. I'm saving the sewing up for a rainy day in front of the telly.