having a crack.

yesterday i woke up feeling tetchy.
and the longer i was awake, the tetchier i felt. checking social media and emails. having a shower.
in my tetchy state, i flopped back onto the bed, checked social media and email again, and began playing a game on my phone.

now the real reason for my tetchiness? i was stroppy as i felt that i hadn't had a chance to do anything i really wanted to get done this month... working full time these past couple of weeks, coupled with my days off being quite warm had left me ridiculously pooped!
yet here i was, with time to spare, playing a game on my phone?? how ridiculous!

i dragged my butt off the bed, chucked on some clothes and got to work. tidying the kitchen and bedroom a little, watering the plants in preparation for another hot one, AND something i've been thinking about since the weekend...
solar dyeing.



on saturday morning, i picked up a veggie box from rohan, aka wholelarderlove and inside was a generous handful of walnuts. still in their shells! once i got into work, i hunted down a hammer, and got to cracking, revealing the delicious nut inside. but what to do with the shells?
i contemplated taking them home for the worm farm, but then remembered back to all of the instagram pictures i've been seeing the last couple of months of folks using natural dyeing ingredients and the heat of the sun in a jar to get some awesome dyed yarn and fabric!



so back to yesterday morning, and after doing those few chores, i set to setting up the dye jar above.
winding off my ball of yarn into a skein, giving it a good soak, and layering the walnut shells above and below it in the jar, topping it off with water and setting it in a nice sunny spot on the front doorstep.

now, will i have the patience to wait a while longer before pulling it all apart to see the results? hopefully!
though after the stinker of a hot day we had yesterday, the yarn is already looking quite a bit darker than it was when i took these pictures yesterday morning... will definitely be posting an update when it's ready!

oh and i guess i should share some technical details? or as many as i have... the yarn i used was leftover 4ply shilasdair from this hat in colourway 'fleece cloud', a non-dyed yarn. there was probably about 15-20g of yarn left from the 50g skein.
i used approximately the same weight of walnut shells, and tried to bash them up relatively small.
i didn't premordant or anything, other than soaking the skein in water. hopefully that doesn't mean all of the beautiful colour will run out when i rinse it!
this is a one litre jar and everything fit pretty perfectly...

have you tried natural dyeing before? or gotten one of Ro's veggie boxes? what do you do with walnut shells?

first.

the first of five current works-in-progress that are on the fast track in 2016 to get finished.
as much as i want to be all, new year, new projects, i started a LOT of things last year (and the year before *ashamed face*) that i really do want to get done.

anywho, back to these finished beauties...



now to tell you the truth, this wasn't a project i started last year... it was one my ma did. she started them mid way through last year, and got the large majority of one sock done and dusted.
in october however, she had a fall, resulting in a break to her elbow and shoulder and no more knitting!
one thing led to another, and unfortunately, she passed away just before christmas.



the last time i saw her, we had a discussion about me taking over the knitting of these socks, as they were cast on as a birthday present for her brother, who is turning 70 midway through this month.
so takeover i did, and boy did that tight deadline put a rocket under my bum to get them done!

now, my ma and i, we have quite different tensions, so these are two very different socks. i realised quite early on, that if i wanted them to match, i definitely should have changed my needles to a size or two bigger. but i kind of like the idea of using the same needles for each sock... and that they're quite different in size. my ma's brother will always be able to tell the sock that was knitted by his big sister, and the one knitted by his grand-niece.



ma knew her sock pattern by heart, so i had to do a fair bit of reading of the sock she had already knit to ensure we had similar heels, cast-ons and toes.

it was such an honour to continue on with this pair of socks that my beautiful ma had started.

stay tuned for hopefully quite a few more finishes as we travel through these first few weeks of the year...

more radio silence...

things have been busy around here...

there was a little of this...



and this...



and all the christmas stuff too!

a funeral tomorrow and hopefully, then a smooth and uneventful end to 2015.
i've got a brain full of blog posts, but am having a little trouble getting them out and onto the screen. hopefully soon everything will come out ha ha.

how's your december been?

meal planning monday.

woweeee! i am ready and raring for this week, so hopefully this meal plan keeps me on track!



tonight, i'm eating solo, so i'll cook up a wee bit of pasta, roast up some cherry tomatoes and stir through some broad bean pesto i made a week or so ago.

tomorrow night, bb is back! i'll cook up what's in the photo above i think. his favourite vegan meal i've cooked up so far!

for wednesday, this one pot tandoori quinoa should do the trick

thursday, i might give this bbq pulled sweet potato a try. i'll grab some delicious bread to go with it too!

friday night, i'll whip up this crunchy noodle salad. it definitely sounds like something bb will be into.

saturday, i'll leave bb in charge of the cooking, as i'll be working!

and sunday? well sunday will call for a big ol' lentil curry. yep.

what are you eating this week?

november.

after the past month, i'm ready to get geared up and get lots of stuff done, on a few different fronts...



having a little read over of last month's list, i really did get most of that stuff done.
with the exception of bb's jumper that is...
i lost all motivation when i realised that we wouldn't be honeymooning in europe, so it wouldn't get a wear until at least april of next year!



and for this month? well wedding prep will be in full swing!
i've made a wee start on prettifying the garage this afternoon, though there is LOADS to do in there. as well as a few bits and pieces that i want to get done outside too. keeping the lawn maintained, and keeping everything watered and well looked after are both on the agenda. though i'd also love to plant some happy blooms towards the end of the month too.
i've got plans to spend a bit of time down with my parents in the country, which will give me some time to finalise the reception plans (table settings, floral arrangements, sound systems, catering...) as well as get a couple of projects finished up that i'm working on too!

on the knitting front, i've started two projects in the last week i'd love to get finished up on...
there's also a little bit of pattern designing i've been working on that i need to finish up with too...
i'll keep the details under wraps so i can surprise you when i'm done!

one of my big goals is to get my butt moving this month. my 10k steps a day has well and truly been slipping the past week or so, so i'd love to get 10k steps every day this month!
and keep myself motivated on the food front too. i've really been enjoying eating vegan food, but over the last fortnight, there has been many occasions where i didn't have myself organised, or was being too lazy so ended up going for non-vegan options...
hopefully i can work towards filling up the freezer with easy options, so even if i'm super tired, or on the run, there's still food for us there ready to go!

what are your plans for this month?

radio silence.

things have been a little quiet over here the last couple of weeks...

a fortnight ago, on a sunday, i was putting together a 'my week' blog post, sitting down to some dinner with bb, and watching a little tv when our cheeky and much loved kitty started making a big racket.
he was meowing and yowling and hissing, quite obviously in a huge amount of pain.

we rushed him straight to the vet, where we were very quickly informed that things weren't looking good. a blood clot lodged in the artery feeding him back legs, a blood clot caused by a dodgy heart. a dodgy heart which had also filled his little lungs with fluid.
we made the incredibly hard decision to have him put to sleep, as even after a whole load of pain relieving drugs, he was still in immense pain.



it's been a pretty hard couple of weeks since we lost our little fella, and i don't think it will be something we get over quickly. to be honest, just while typing i've had a little tear up...

he was such a big part of our lives, always around to greet us after our days of work (or even just quick walks around the block) and always keeping us well and truly entertained with his crazy antics.

he;ll be missed everyday and be forever in our hearts.

show and tell.

this week's finish, comes after my questioning at the end of last week's post, regarding what to do with the yarn i had leftover...
well it didn't take me very long to decide at all!



another of georgie hallam's patterns, the milo vest!

this one i have knitted before... i think this might be my fourth to be honest! it definitely won't be the last however, as they are super fun to knit, as well as being very quick (particularly in this weeny size!)

i always find the body incredibly compelling to knit, with the small amount of cable design. i just want to get one more repeat finished... and before i know it, it's way past bed time!
i may have been a complete zombie at work yesterday for that very reason!



i knit this up in the 3 month old size, playing yardage chicken towards the end there... and i have in mind a good friend's growing bump. i just hope it still fits when it's cool enough for the little one to wear next year!

what have you been working on this week?