Mixed feelings

I went to Glasgow on the 14th because it was a certain fabulous little lady's 2nd birthday. I can't get over how grown up she seems, until she smears pasta sauce all over her face. Then I can believe she's still only just 2!

Becca and I walked with the kids along to West at Glasgow Green for a lovely pint of something that I won't even attempt to spell and watched Raffles and Sacha rampage around on the lawn with some other weans. There were a couple of bratty kids there who tried to wallop Raffles with a large stick, he rightly called them on their bad behaviour and told us that he didn't want to play with one little girl in particular because "she had a naughty face on". Becca and I choked on our beers, but he did have a valid point. We went to the kids park at Glasgow Green for ice-creams and to let the kids run around.

I met up with Mackinnon on Friday afternoon after a lovely, lovely sandwich. We went to The Variety bar for one pint, which turned into three and was a fantastic end to a day shopping and pottering around with the kids.

Saturday was spent putting together a sandpit for the kids, and enjoying the wonderfully pine-y smell of the wood (pine, clearly) it was made from. They both really seemed to enjoy it and spent a happy hour or so building sandcastles and promptly destroying them. I met up with Katherine in town at Ad Lib for a couple of cocktails, and then we went on to Mediterraneano where Sergio is working as a (bloody excellent!) cocktail waiter. And then we went onto Boteca for gin and tonics. This was perhaps not the greatest plan for someone who was going to be helping out at a 2 year-old's party the next day, but it was a fantastic night and I think more like that need to happen!

Sunday didn't necessarily start off terribly well. I felt a bit wobbly and wasn't entirely able to deal with loud noises, but considering that two excited kids usually only ever make loud noises I had to just man the hell up, main line tea and chop some potatoes. It was a lovely, lovely afternoon. The kids enjoyed it, the adults enjoyed it (and the prosecco and beer provided by Matt and Becca) and the hangover was kept at bay until I got on the train. That was a fairly painful journey home, I kept falling asleep then waking up with a pounding headache. Yuck.

I've mostly been working, knitting and not looking forward to Ollie going to India for a month to finish the paper he started writing last year. I know it's a necessary evil involved in doing a PhD, but it still sucks. Skype will hopefully make it a bit easier, and the prospect of a nice, eastern European holiday will definitely soften the blow!

Anyway, I'm sure you're not interested in my whinging about Ollie going away. Clearly you're here for the knitting.

I originally made the Star Crossed beret from one of two balls of Artesano Aran that I bought in K1 in Edinburgh last Easter. It's lovely, lovely wool and a well-written pattern but I made it with not-quite-right-sized needles and as a result it constantly threatened to either fall off or blind me so it got frogged. I've a few more berets to knit (Rose Red, Weekender and Snapdragon) so I wanted to try a beanie-style hat rather than a beret. The pattern is Who? and is a continuation of my obsession with cabled owls. I LOVE the wool, I love how warm and soft it is and the colour is something else.
I've knitted two pairs of Fetchings so far, but when I saw the pattern for Owlings I HAD to own them. I actually have a set of knitted goodies for this winter that match. I have never knitted anything matching, I have random scarves and hats and gloves that are all sorts of different colours. I love them all, I love all of the colours but they're not terribly co-ordinated. Now I will be, and I'll be warm at the same time. Win win.
I also totally fell in love with the Rondeur pattern from the last issue of Knitty and just happened to have 11 balls (far too much, it turns out) of DK wool scrounged from a local charity shop. It was a match made in heaven. Well, I like it anyway. The only mod I made was to make it long-sleeved rather than a knitted tee. The yarn suggested was silk, which would have made a fantastic summer tee, but my wool was an acrylic/wool blend that wouldn't exactly lend itself to balmy summer days! It's made a nice warm jumper though, and I'm really pleased with the shaping.
My Addi Clicks have had a nervous breakdown. I want to knit Leaflet in a really big way and have knitted a couple of gauge swatches using the Stylecraft Special Aran that comes in honking great balls. 6mm is too big, 5mm is too small and one of my 5.5mm tips has totally lost its spring. I've emailed Laughing Hens because I've heard fabulous things about Addi's customer service, and considering I spent £75 on these things less than a year ago I bloody expect good customer service!

I'm going to knit the Ice Queen next because it's a neat little portable project and will finally use up the last of the Cracksilk Haze that was left over after finishing the cardigan I made from it. It looks like more complicated lace than it actually is and will yet again be kept for myself!

A quick note, the Knitty links are available to everyone (Rondeur, Leaflet and Ice Queen) but the others are Ravelry links and you'll need an account to view them.