Making Progress on a Hectic Rainy London Day

Crazy thing about London... rain is what it's known for, but even then, I can't say that constant downpours all day long is the norm. London rain tends to strike and then blue sky peaks out or the sun makes the clouds that remain look spectacular. Don't get me wrong, it can definitely happen. Cloudy days week after week aren't uncommon. But we don't often have downpours all day long. But today, a day I had many errands to run because we're heading to the States for summer break, was just one of those days where the sky dumped over and over again. Had a paper bag from UNIQLO that turned into mush, and while walking under an umbrella! Okay, there were driving winds and rain in sheets, but still! Luckily I noticed before I'd lost my purchase on Oxford Street.

These crazy rainy days are good for knitting. No reason to do much else (unless you need to be out), so once errands were done, I headed home and got the knitting out. Loving this pattern, loving the Rowan Cocoon, and loving getting back into knitting.

Will take the chance that I can get my knitting needles on the plane. It's always hit or miss. Don't know if I ever wrote about the time my needles were confiscated in Switzerland... after my initial outrage, I was sort of resigned to the fact that they threw my needles away, although they were terribly expensive (what was I thinking?). Just cooling down, waiting to board, I looked over and another passenger had her needles out (very similar to those that I'd just lost), and was happily knitting. So wanted to go say something, but couldn't do that to a fellow knitter. Hopefully that Karma has helped me keep my needles since.

The Grays Have It!

School's out for summer and I finally found the time to get down to John Lewis to look at their grays or greys (depending on from where you hail). OMG... gray is almost as bad as blues when it comes to finding just the right shade. You know those navy shoes that don't match that navy dress which doesn't match the navy purse although all under the name "navy." That was part of the problem on my little quest for grays yesterday. The other problem--the weight. Found a couple very good shades, but the weight didn't work.

Went with the Rowan Cocoon in Scree, Shale & Mountain. Would have preferred using the darker two shades along with black, but Cocoon doesn't come in black. My impatience got the better of me so I just went ahead. Hopefully won't be disappointed.

Off to get a start.

What's Up, Doc?!

Just got back from my shoulder scan and I'm healing! Such great news. Told me to get back on the anti-inflammatories as there's still some swelling, but he said the ligament is at least starting to look like a ligament, which makes me very happy. He still reiterated that my shoulder was VERY bad (the third worst he's ever operated on), so I shouldn't be too impatient. But of course, I'm impatient.

Didn't order wool online. Just can't make a decision on grays without looking at them. Will be heading to the yarn shop this weekend.  

Contemplating Getting Back in the Game

So I've been gone awhile. The shoulder never did get better so after five years of struggle and pain, two shots of cortisone and hours and hours of physio, I finally went under the knife in March. Great doctor here in London and I'm optimistic that I'll be back doing everything (including swimming) soon. Has taken longer than normal because when the doctor got in there, he said it was much worse than he'd expected. "Not the worst I've worked on, but the third worst," were his exact words. He also said the ligament, which is meant to look like leather looked more like cotton wool. "I couldn't have stitched it up if I'd wanted to. You just have to give it time to heal." So I've been giving it time. Go in for another scan this coming week to see if all is well.


I will likely wait to knit until the verdict is in, but I'm itching to knit something I saw the character of Claire Fraser wear in the television show Outlander. It's a simple pattern, so I thought it might be a good starting project. Ravelry has a few free downloadable pattern, so I've chosen one and will likely order wool today.

Claire wears the shawl in different ways, which I really love. In the photo on the right, she seems to cross it over and hook it in the back. Looks cozy and like it might be nice for those evenings at the lake when it cools off once the sun goes down.  I'm going to go with two pretty dark grays and black even though I've noticed many who have knitted this pattern have gone with some color. What I love about this is the subtle differences in the colors, so I don't want to lose that. So many lines of wool seem to have just two grays... dark and light, so the challenge will be to find more variation. Off to do some online research and wool shopping. Wish me luck.