What I'm Watching - August 2019

TV and film that I've been watching this month.

Deep Water is a new series set in the Lake District, starring Anna Friel. I missed the first episode but saw the next one being advertised so I watched it on catch up. I was a little confused as to the storyline, it didn't seem to be going in any particular direction, but it held my interest enough for me to continue watching. All the episodes are available on ITV Hub, which means we don't have to wait for each episode being shown week after week, I much prefer this. I actually binge watched the whole series, six episodes, and enjoyed them, though I can't say I liked any of the characters. I can see this returning for a second series, though I don't think anything about that's been announced as yet.

The Great British Bake Off returned to our screens on Tuesday night and it looks set to be another good series with some of the contestants already standing out above others. I really enjoy this programme but one thing for me lets it down, Paul Hollywood. No matter how hard I try, I just can't like him. Never mind, the rest of the show more than makes up for me having to put up with him for an hour.

I was curious about A Star Is Born. I've never seen the 1976 version with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson but I heard good things about Lady Gaga's acting debut. The reviews I read weren't wrong, I thought she did a brilliant job. Unfortunately, the storyline lost me half way through the film, long and drawn out, though the soundtrack kept me going, and I didn't see the ending coming. I think I'd have been shuffling in my seat if I'd seen it at the cinema, but it passed an afternoon in my living room. A big thumbs up to Lady Gaga but it's not a film I'll watch again.

I've heard the Simply In Stitches vlogs being mentioned in a couple of places just recently so I thought I'd pop over to You Tube and take a look. Tina is in to both knitting and cross stitch and she's inspired me to have another go at Cross Stitch myself. She's working on some wonderful projects at the moment. I've watched the most recent vlog and have decided to go right back to the very beginning on this channel and work my way up to date from the beginning. There's plenty there to binge watch.

There haven't been many programmes which have taken my fancy throughout August but I've seen a few things advertised which I'm looking forward to watching so I'm sure September will be better.

Cross Stitch

I've done a little bit of cross stitching in the past but have only ever completed a couple of projects. I'm really itching to give it another go though at the moment.

I bought Cross Stitcher magazine for a bit of inspiration but there isn't anything in there which has taken my fancy so I've got out an old Christmas cross stitching magazine I bought a few years ago. I really liked the look of these Scandinavian Christmas card designs at the time and I still like them now so I've decided to start one of these. They look simple enough but I'm sure with my inexperience it'll take me quite a while.

Still, it's always good to start any Christmas crafting well in advance.

Warty Pigs And Rock Hyraxes

Sometimes, when Mick works from home, he's able to take a bit of time off during the day if he starts early and finishes late. Wednesday was one such day. As it was a nice day we decided we'd head off to Lotherton for an hour around lunchtime. Archie's been suffering from a limp for the last few weeks so the vet advised short walks on a lead. He's much better now but we're still not allowing him to go galloping around just yet, so unfortunately, Archie was on enforced rest at home. It did give us the opportunity to visit Wildlife World though, something we don't get to do when we have Archie with us.

The first animals you encounter as you enter Wildlife World are the Visayan warty pigs. This animal is endemic to two of the Visayan Islands in the Phillippines and is a critically endangered species, threatened by habitat loss, food shortages and hunting. Little is known of their behaviors or characteristics outside captivity due to the small numbers of Visayan warty pigs left living in the wild.

I think a favourite of many visitors are the Humboldt penguins. Named after the explorer Alexander von Humboldt, their natural habitat is most of coastal Chile and Peru.

They're such cute little things, they actually come up to the viewing windows to look out at the visitors.

The penguins have been at Lotherton for about two years now and seem to have settled very well into their new home.

There's been a bird garden at Lotherton since 1980 when there was just a small collection of waterfowl, poulty and ducks. Today there are more than 130 different species. This is a Coscoroba swan, a species of waterfowl from southern South America. It is the smallest of the birds called swans, but still a large species of waterfowl. Coscoroba swans live to an age of approximately twenty years.

Work at Wildlife World is ongoing with new animals being introduced on a regular basis. A group of rare Chacoan maras arrived last year, a South American relative of  the guinea pig and one of the world's largest rodents. They will be taking part in an international breeding programme to help protect the animals for future generations.

A new arrival this year is a group of rock hyraxes, a medium-sized mammal native to Africa and the Middle East. They're distantly related to elephants and manatees.

I'm glad we visited at midday as it started raining during the afternoon. I don't know what's happened to summer this year. We're forecast a nice weekend though, the sun has arrived this morning so I hope it's here to stay.

A Change Of Plan

I told you about the What Lies Within Socks in Another New Project post and then gave an update in my In The Making - August 2019 post.

I was giving magic loop a try and though I'd initially encountered some difficulties, i.e. ladders being created where the needles join, as I worked down the leg the problems seemed to disappear. I do seem to have a tighter gauge though when using the magic loop method, probably because it's a new technique in sock knitting to me, and once I'd turned the heel I discovered that the socks just weren't going to fit so there wasn't any point continuing. I ripped it all out.

I wasn't sure if the problems with the ladders were actually resolved or if it just seemed that way as it was a cable pattern I was knitting and the cables happened to be where the needles join so, instead of knitting the same pattern again, I went for something different so I'd be able to tell if my laddering issues had been resolved or not.

These are the Winters Frost socks by This Handmade Life. I didn't realise this pattern was by the same designer as the Wildflowers & Honeycomb Socks, which are also on my needles at the moment, until I started knitting them and realised that the pattern is written in exactly the same way.

As you can see, I've made a good start and yes, the ladder issue seems to be resolved in the main body of the sock, however, I've still got problems with ladders on the cuff where I've knit rib. You can see the ladder on the cuff to the right of the pattern. Perhaps a soak in some water when I come to block the socks will sort that out, we'll see.

Anyway, I seem to be getting on with the magic loop method okay. I'm not sure it'll take over from double pointed needles, which I still prefer, but I'm quite enjoying using a different method of knitting socks for a change.

Jazzy

I wasn't going to bother growing potatoes this year but I came across a new variety called Jazzy whilst browsing in Wilko's and I couldn't resist. After doing a bit of research I discovered that Jazzy is a waxy potato which gives a huge yield and it's been given a RHS AGM (Award of Garden Merit) for its superb performance. I bought just one packet containing five tubers and planted three in one container and two in the other. They romped away and were slow to die back, hence me leaving them so long before harvesting, but Sunday was the day and this is what I found.

After reading about the huge yields I was expecting the container to be full to overflowing with potatoes but it certainly didn't look that way on first inspection.

After scrabbling about in the compost we managed to unearth just fourteen usable potatoes from the first container.

Okay, better luck second time around?

Slightly better first impressions.

Unfortunately, no better overall results. Twenty one potatoes from three tubers in the second container, so each container yielded just seven potatoes per planted tuber.

How about the taste test? I meant to take a photo after they'd been cooked but I forgot and there weren't any left on the plates afterwards, they were a big hit. They held together extremely well on cooking and they tasted delicious, so much so that Eleanor's told me she shall be growing this variety when she gets her own place, not that she's moving out anytime soon, but it's always good to have plans.

Perhaps the weather conditions haven't been so good for potatoes this year, I don't know, but I was disappointed with the yield. The taste has encouraged me to give them another try in the future.

Happy Birthday Mick

Happy birthday to my wonderful husband.

I couldn't have chosen a more perfect card, could I? Me sat there knitting whilst he reads the news. Admittedly he usually reads it on his iPad rather than a newspaper, but still.

Mick used to take a day off work when it was his birthday, he hasn't done that now for a lot of years, unless his birthday's fallen when we've been away on holiday. He's working from home today though so he's got no travelling to do, and we'll be going out for something to eat later on. Well, everyone deserves a treat on their birthday, don't they?

In The Making - August 2019

A roundup of the things I'm working on at the moment.

There have been a few new cast ons this month which I've told you about in earlier posts so I've continued to work on those.

I've got well into the Wildflowers & Honeycomb Socks pattern now and I'm loving how it's working up. It's such an easy pattern but gives a pretty, all-over design. I think I've chosen the perfect yarn too, this is by Craft House Magic in the Rio colourway. I'm now ready to turn the heel.

I usually knit my socks on double pointed needles but I fancied having a go with the magic loop method using a long circular needle. I've tried this in the past and haven't got on with it for sock knitting, though I don't seem to have any problems when using it for hats or sleeves. Anyway, I started the What Lies Within Socks and I was having problems with it again right from the start, I seemed to be creating a ladder between each of the needles when knitting the rib but I decided I'd continue down into the pattern to see what happened there. I'm pleased to say that there doesn't seem to be any issue now, though that might just be because I'm knitting the cable pattern where the needles join, so I'm reserving judgement yet. I'm ready to turn the heel now but the leg of the sock looks very narrow. I think that's just the cable patterning, it does stretch so I'm hoping it will still fit.

My third new cast on this month was the Beach Days wrap and I'm absolutely loving working on this. I think the changing pattern and the change in yarn keeps it very fresh and I find myself wanting to knit just one more colour block. The first wavy sequence of colours is now finished and I'm ready to start the third colour and the eyelet pattern.

I haven't got any more cast ons planned at the moment, my intention for this month is to continue working on everything I've already started.

All The New Cast Ons

Yes, I've got another new cast on, that's three already this month, where will it all end?

With two new pairs of socks already on the needles, I decided to have a look for a shawl pattern. I was rather taken with quite a few wraps which I came across and thought they'd make a nice change from a shawl. It was hard to decide between them but in the end I've decided to go with Beach Days by Tracie Millar. By the way, isn't my new project bag so cute? I bought it from AnnieOBTextiles on Etsy and it's a lovely size to hold this type of project.

I'd already decided that I'd like to knit a three colour design when I was originally looking for a shawl pattern and I'd chosen the yarns I was going to use from my stash. As it turns out, the Beach Days wrap sample shown in the pattern isn't a million miles from my own colour choice. I've gone with two semi solid colourways from Jellybeans Yarns, Midnight and Golden (a one of a kind), and a speckled yarn from Norah George Yarns in The Room of Requirement colourway. These are all 75% superwash merino 25% nylon.

I haven't got very far as yet, I've just used the blue and made a start on the wavy edging, but I'm loving the pattern already.

This is the last of the new cast ons I've had planned but never say never, there may be more very soon, there's always lots of patterns which catch my eye.

The Key

The Key is Kathryn Hughes third novel and though I've enjoyed each one, I think they just keep getting better and better.

'1956
It's Ellen Crosby's first day as a student nurse at Ambergate Hospital. When she meets a young woman admitted by her father, little does Ellen know that a choice she will make is to change both their lives for ever...

2006
Sarah is drawn to the now abandoned Ambergate. Whilst exploring the old corridors she discovers a suitcase belonging to a female patient who entered Ambergate fifty years earlier. The shocking contents, untouched for half a century, will lead Sarah to unravel a forgotten story of tragedy and lost love, and the chance to make an old wrong right...'

Being set in a lunatic asylum, I wondered if the story would be similar to The Ballroom which I read last year and though I enjoyed both books, they were both completely different.

The inspiration for this book came from the true story of the Willard Asylum in Willard, New York, where workers discovered hundreds of suitcases in the attic of an abandoned building. Many of them appeared untouched since their owners packed them decades earlier before entering the institution.

My reading mojo has been very hit and miss since my mum died at the end of March but I've been lucky to have read two great books back to back in this and The Ship of Brides, which I posted about last month, and these have definitely kick started my reading habit again.

I was hooked from the beginning and I can thoroughly recommend this book. Kathryn Hughes' fourth book has recently been published and is already downloaded on my Kindle.

Working 9 To 5 (Or 8 To 4)

I posted about Eleanor's Graduation ceremony, which was last Thursday. Well she had a job interview the following day and on Monday she got a phone call telling her that she's got the position she applied for.

Her degree is in biomedical science and ultimately, she wants to become a Biomedical Scientist, but she has to complete an Institute of Biomedical Science Certificate of Competence in order to apply for Health and Care Professions Council registration as a Biomedical Scientist. Her degree counts as her academic training but she also has to complete the IBMS Registration Training Portfolio in a laboratory which holds IBMS pre-registration training approval before she can become registered.

Eleanor (on the left) in the lab during her first year at uni.

The job she applied for is a Medical Laboratory Assistant in a haematology lab in Leeds and she will be able to complete her portfolio whilst working.

It's all happened so quickly. She hadn't seen a job advertised, she just sent some letters off on spec. Some hospitals answered saying that there were no positions vacant, some gave her some advice about where to look and this one called her on the Wednesday, telling her that they had this position vacant and asking her if she'd like to attend an interview the following day. Eleanor had to tell them that she would be unable to attend as it was her graduation so they invited her in on Friday instead. From receiving the phone call asking her to attend an interview to getting the job offer was just five days.

She hasn't got a start date as yet, she has to be DBS checked first, which shows details of any convictions or cautions held on police records. I believe that can take a few weeks.

We're all thrilled that she's managed to secure a job so quickly, it's so hard for young people today to find suitable work, especially something they really want to do and in an area which is convenient. Daniel didn't start work for about four or five months after he finished university, and even then he had to move south to obtain a suitable position.

Perhaps the Bank of Mum and Dad can finally close down, though I suppose that's just wishful thinking!