Jan. 10, 2026

It’s a while since my last update, oops, but I’ve been away for Christmas and generally took time off, so not guilty. 

The cardigan is off the needles; it’s been seamed and blocked twice already, and I think it’s going to be a good fit! I just need to sew on some buttons, which I first need to buy, so I will do the final reveal in the next update. But I think it’s going to be a success. While away, I broke a few knitting needles, so I had to improvise with different sizes and scavenge other needles, but I got it done! 

After the cardigan, I was inspired by my mother to do a crochet / weave item that I’d never seen before (thanks for the inspiration). You crochet a stitch, then chain one, and skip the next stitch. This creates a crochet fabric with holes in it. Then you go back in afterwards with needle and yarn, folded over 2-3 times, and weave vertically through the holes, thus creating your weave. This works great for plaid or tartan-style things. This project was a first for me with this technique!

I acquired a bunch of yarn from my mum’s cousin (thank you!), one pack was a collection of blues and greys, the perfect amount for a scarf. Crochet is much quicker to work than knitting, so it took maybe a week to do. Am happy with the result, it’s a nice thick fabric and very warm as a scarf. Yay! 

After I got back home, my friends took me to a pottery painting session (the pottery cafe), where you choose pre-made bisque-fired ceramic items like plates, bowls, etc. You paint on your decoration, and then they glaze and fire it for you. I hadn’t done this in decades, but was super fun! I painted two vases, and now I am waiting for them to be fired so I can collect it. Excited for the final outcome! If it’s success, I’ll definitely be going back to paint some more! Really enjoyable activity (thank you!)

I’ve had to work a bit in my garden, while I was away, mice (or probably rats) ate their way into my compost bin, which is half-dug into the ground, but is at least a cm thick of hard plastic, so I thought it would be safe. I tried to patch it with some metal netting and fill in the tunnels they’d dug, but by the next day, they’d eaten through another section of plastic. It’s unfortunate that the compost bin only lasted two years, and was supposed to be “vermin proof”, but it’s definitely a sign I need a new one! I have two metal bins now, not the best quality, but hopefully they won’t chew through that soon… Fun times.  

Finally, I briefly visited the field after 3 weeks away. The rabbits are fully out, eating any bark they can find. I hadn’t protected my berry bushes and small plants, which I now regret. So I spent the whole visit adding plastic wrapping around every plant. The lovely evergreen leylandii I had planted before Christmas had basically all been eaten! Literally almost nothing left. I just didn’t think the rabbits would go for it, but it’s mid-winter now, so they are eating anything. I also had some herbs planted that were doing ok, but they also basically got wiped. Frustrating. They need full netting protection. I tend to only learn these things the hard way… I knew subconsciously I should have protected every plant… It’s only evident when the winter finally makes the rabbits scavenge for plants they may otherwise not eat. I’m blaming the rabbits here (I see hundreds of rabbit droppings everywhere)… but it could also be deer.

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