ONCE, TWICE, THREE TIMES...

a Gust scarf ! [ I always rather hoped someone would sing that Commadores song to me ! And I've never read a trashy romantic novel ! ]
Loads of pics ahead. Hope you've got your knitting ! Plough your way through the knitting to get to my heartfelt thanks for all your love and support, and health update. Or not, as you choose.
Anne's patterns are incredible. They are so well written. As an experienced lace knitter with little time I enjoy just reading the patterns. Really ! She is such an intuitive knitter / designer. Her patterns are well worth the money. Meticulously tech edited, test knitted a number of times and very clearly written and charted.
I know that seems a bit gushy, but I've seen enough terrible patterns to really appreciate the good ones.
Gust one.

Beautiful cashmere laceweight from Fybrespates [ I am more than happy to link to Jen. Lovely yarn, reasonably priced, and she is lovely. Honest and honourable. She e-mails you when she posts your stuff, so you know when to ambush the postman ! ]. Not for this pattern, but perfect for this.
Attempt number two is some equally gorgeous yarn from The Natural Dye Studio [ The same comments as above apply }. It's their 100% Alpaca laceweight.

The yarn is lovely, and in the 'wisp of nothing around one's neck' spirit of the pattern. The colour is lovely, reminiscent of a rainladen spring sky [ no problem recognizing that ! ], but I wanted something with a bit more substance. A bit more 'me'.

This is Kim's fabulous sock yarn in Black Velvet. I love the yarn, and really love the colour. With my scarf in progress are two hanks of Opulence, a merino/silk blend, in the same colour. Here's a woman who understands the way of the dye. It isn't just a matter of chucking any old colour at a yarn and waiting to see what happens. It's about stock solutions, percentages [that'll be maths!], depth of colour, saturations, multiple over-dyed layers, keeping notes and understanding what you are doing. That, and having a natural talent, a love for what you do and plenty of patience. I really appreciate the time and skill that went into these yarns. I bet she can dye a luscious, deep, blueish black. Maybe I need to have a chat...
I'm waxing lyrical about these people because theirs are the products I am currently using and loving. There are many more. And some it's best to steer well clear of. Praise where praise is due, and all that.
So, I love my scarf. It's a touch heavier than Anne envisioned, but will be light, floaty and gorgeous, especially in such a rich colour.
The rest of my current knitting time is devoted to knitting second socks. I've had so little time to spend on knitting of late. Being ill [more on that later] is incredibly time consuming ! Not as much as looking after Oliver during the holidays though. :0)
We're coming to the end of the second week. He has unwound, slobbed, caught up on his t.v. viewing and eating. Me ? I'm exhausted ! I am not complaining when I point out that, as a physically disabled child gets older, the physical workload of the carers increases. Oliver only has the functional use of one hand and arm, and those have reduced dexterity. He needs someone to dress and wash him, help clean his teeth, to brush his hair, lift and transfer him. Even if he slobs on the bed he requires frequent adjustments to shift position, sit him back upright, etc. He needs someone to bring him what he needs, and make sure he can reach it. We try and help him be as independant as possible, but he'll always need that much help. He can't just go and get a drink, or his Nintendo, as any other eight or nine year old child can do. That is just the way it is, but it is something most people don't appreciate.
He is such good company though ! And he lets me knit a bit ! Quite the benign dictator, really. :0)

The Oxford Kitchen Garden [another great supplier of fab yarn] socks are coming along. I really love this sock yarn. Sadly the Marmalade orange has sold out. Again [cough, cough]. It's a joy to knit and my sock muse tells me it is very soft and warm.

This is another version of theScale Skin sock, this time with a picot hem top. The yarn is the fabulous Lucia sock yarn from Posh Yarn in ''Finch'', a nice spring colour. I love the colourways that Tony [Mr. Posh] is now dyeing, and Dee is a delight. Fab customer service, always. I love knitting socks with this yarn. It has a nice, firm twist and softens beautifully on washing, when the cashmere in the blend blooms.

I start my picots with a crocheted provisional cast on.

When I've knit enough rows I unzip the cast on and join the released stitches with the working stitches. A little fiddly, but worth it for the elastic edge.

~

I wanted to thank you all for all your kind and caring comments and e-mails. Don't be offended that I haven't responded. It doesn't mean that I don't value and appreciate each one, just that I can't keep up !
I am loads better. I ended up taking a fourth course of antibiotics, which seem to have done the trick. The scarring is pretty unattractive, and the legacy of the cellulitis appears to be red and purple blotches and odd areas that look like sunburn. Isn't it lucky that I favour long skirts that flap around my ankles, regardless of the current fashion ?!
I think it will take me a while to fully recover, so I can only watch from an upstairs window as Oliver sets of, full of anticipation, on one of his adventures.

With Daddy trotting [and sometimes having to run !] along, softly coaching the chick in the ways of the road.

I fully intend to knit more, blog more and be well. You too, okay ? :0)