Striped Blanket

Today is Thursday, and tonight at 8 pm, we all thank the courageous and caring people who are at the coalface of this pandemic. Hearing the clapping of hands as people stand in their doorways and at their garden gates along with the Harland & Wolffe horns echoing across the city gives a glimmer of light in the dark and my thoughts turn to all those who have been touched in any way by these events.

How are you staying positive while you are staying safe at home?

Initially, I found it difficult to settle down with my knitting because my concentration span and motivation waned, as the COVID-19 news filled the airwaves. Now I try to ration the amount of news that I watch or listen to. But for several days, as the news sank in, I reached for my colour pencils and coloured in half a notebook. I don’t usually enjoy colouring in but it was surprisingly calming to do. The most I had to think about was which colour should I use next?

Then I wrote a list in my journal of all the long term projects and WIPs that I would like to complete over the next couple of months. I won’t succeed in doing all of them but I can choose a couple. Maybe, I’m missing being in my own home, or perhaps, I just want to work on more comforting projects, as I find myself reaching for the more meditative ones like the Striped Blanket. Ideas that have been on the back burner forever such as cushions, dishcloths, coffee and teapot cosies, are now being contemplated, thought about and designed in my notebook… some have even made it onto the needles…

I’m so lucky to have skills, hobbies and things that I love to do, such as knitting, baking and journaling, as well as a substantial yarn stash and reference library to work through. For people who don’t have a creative pursuit that they love to do, life must pass surprisingly slowly, there is only so long you can watch the tv. There may be someone, looking a bit bored and listless in your house, who would love to learn to knit or crochet? Although, they may not realise yet, just how much they would enjoy learning to knit!

Just in case you are interested here are some of the things that I wrote down in my journal:

• Pottering in the garden
• Cuddle Bene and Mya (dogs) – we are social distancing with someone who has to be shielded for 12 weeks.
• Go for a walk
• Send a chatty email every day to someone I love
• Plan our meals for the day
• Pick up my knitting
• Bake sourdough bread, scones, banana bread or peanut butter cookies
• Write morning pages
• Take up doodling
• Write down what is making me anxious
• Make lists of what we have in our fridge and store cupboard and work out what our menu plan is for the next week so we know what we need to buy to be able to make the recipes
• Weeding
• Relax in the sunshine with a book (okay, that is a little hopeful here, but it is almost Easter)
• Make our home more comfortable and cosy
• Pick a bunch of flowers every other day to put in a jam jar on our table
• Bake a cake
• Have a cup of tea with a slice of cake
• Try to meditate
• Try yoga or some stretching exercises
• Have an afternoon nap
• Take one photo every day
• Make a list of all the things I love to do when I’m at home
• Make a list of all the things I can do at the moment
• Have music or an audiobook playing in the background so we don’t feel quite as alone.
• Catch up on some old favourites like Hart to Hart, Star Trek, Murder She Wrote, Studio Ghibli movies…

You’ll notice this list doesn’t involve a lot of “work” as I was thinking about things that I could do that would lift my spirits rather than just ways to fill my time.

I’ve been knitting the Striped Blanket from Magic Balls of my leftover sock yarn and 4 ply yarn. (I didn’t use any single-ply or shetland wools that wouldn’t be strong enough to stand up to making and using the magic knot.) Making and using magic balls is oddball knitting at its finest! You’ve no idea what colours are going to come next and when making my magic balls I intentionally didn’t choose which yarn would be added next. I have the oddballs in a plastic box and take the next ball randomly, although, I use a second plastic box that the remains of that oddball go into if I don’t use all of it. Periodically, I gently toss the balls about in the box, so that they aren’t being taken out in the same order as they were placed into the box. If you’re interested in seeing how I knit my Striped Blanket read the post How to Knit a Striped Blanket.

The striped blanket has progressed surprisingly quickly. I’m now knitting the border and then I’ll be ready to do the I-cord edging, sew in any loose ends and the blanket will be finished.

I’ve been living with my mum since last November when she had a stroke. She has recovered wonderfully well, and we had been contemplating when we would be able to move back home when Socal Distancing arrived.

I’m glad we were still here, as it would have been such a worry if mum had been trying to manage on her own with just her dog for company. Like many of you, my mum received one of the letters, requesting she stay at home at all times and avoid all face-to-face contact for at least twelve weeks, which takes her to the end of June. Which would have been a long time for her dog Mya (collie/husky cross) to not have a walk.

Mum has a small private back garden that is nice to potter about and enjoy some fresh air when the weather allows. Today, as I am writing this, the conservatory is bright with sunshine and outside in the garden, a few pigeons are strolling around on the patio and a couple of magpies are squabbling over the fat balls in a bird feeder. The forsythia is wearing a cloak of gold and the clear pink camellia blossoms are starting to open. Garden birds are singing and the borders are buzzing. We are gradually transitioning from Spring to early Summer and the spring bulbs are being replaced by blue forget-me-nots, tulips and new green leaves.

Life is different with the loss of our normal freedom but I am so very grateful to the people who are working long hours to help those who are ill. They are such an inspiration to us all. In comparison to the risks taken daily by the NHS staff and other Key Workers, it is relatively easy for us to stay at home to do our part. I have much to be grateful to the NHS for, as without their dedication and skills, I wouldn’t be here today, to enjoy my life.

Of course, like for everyone, there are things that I took for granted such as my evening dog walks by the seashore but Bene and I have quickly adapted and love our daily walk around the local streets getting some exercise and seeing the cherry and magnolia blossom.

Neil, who is working from home at the moment, ventures out once a week to buy our groceries and post the Knitting Squirrel’s parcels. Thank you to all my treasured customers for your orders, and your patience waiting for them to arrive with you.

I have lots of finished projects that were photographed last year, so as you see these filter through to the blog, you will know that they were photographed before this event.

Stay safe, stay well and enjoy doing whatever makes you feel good, like snuggling with your cat on the sofa…

End of an Era, Goodbye Minnie the Minx, 21 Years Old, 9 April 2020, Peacefully in her Sleep