Knitting progress has been slow. That is to say, I have enjoyed my knitting when I have picked it up, but I haven’t picked it up enough to make significant progress, which is fairly plain from the lack of knitting posts hereabouts. I worked a few rows on my sock the other night and got a little way onto the heel flap. Then last night I sat down with my jumper and actually spent a good couple of hours with it. In fact, I got into that “potato chip” zone (or, as I like to think of it, family-sized bag of Maltesers zone!!) where I kept thinking I’d put it down after I’d finished one more decrease. The decreases happen every eighth row, which is between twenty minutes’ and half an hour’s knitting. Now I’ve only got three more sets of decreases and a few straight rows to do then I’ll be onto the armhole shaping. I know that once I get to the armhole, I will quickly finish the back of the jumper because that’s just how it goes. Perhaps that is one reason why I don’t subscribe to the top-down method of construction – you do the quickest bit first then it must be a long slog down the main body of the garment. Also, jumpers are often designed with an interesting yoke – the area near the neck – and plainer body which just doubles that sense of all the fun being at the beginning and then the boredom setting in. That said, perhaps it is a matter of temperament. If I’ve got a box of chocolates (no, you can’t share – get your own!) I will eat my least favourites first and save the ones I like best to the end, and my attitude to knitting seems to mirror this.

The other thing I’ve noticed recently, and this specifically relates to posting my knitting progress on this blog, is my growing dissatisfaction with my photos. I’m afraid this might be down to my current technology-bashing frame of mind because I generally use my iPhone to snap my photos. Over the past few months I’ve really begun to notice how much I have to tweak the photos to be happy with them. As they come off the phone, they seem too stark and contrasty for my taste. Once they’re on the computer I have to dial down the contrast significantly and then adjust other settings to improve the light levels. Going back a few years I never felt the need to do more than a bit of cropping on the majority of photos. So this morning I’ve been playing with my old DSLR, a camera which has languished for a while, only seeing the light of day when I’ve been heading off on an intentional photography trip. Part of the problem is laziness because it’s just so easy to open the camera app on the phone, but I also have the feeling I should use my phone for everything given that it cost as much as my computer, and significantly more than my second-hand DSLR camera.

Of course, since I haven’t used the camera for yonks the first thing to do was recharge the battery. I think the last time it ran low it I didn’t do a full charge because I wanted to use it quite quickly. I intended to plug it back in when I got home, but that never happened (the plugging-in – I did get home!). So this morning I’ve done exactly the same thing again – will I never learn? Of course I will, this time I’ll plug it back into the charger the minute I’ve finished with it.

One of the things I particularly like about my DSLR is the macro lens. I like to get up close and personal with my knitting wool and with my handwriting too. In fact, now I come to think of it I’m full of enthusiasm for varying my photos a bit over the next few weeks.

Since today has been elected the most rainy of the current crop of rainy days I’ve got a strong feeling that my afternoon might be spent with my feet up, something entertaining on the radio, and my knitting needles firmly glued to my fingers. I just wish I had one of those family-sized bags of Maltesers I mentioned earlier!

I hope your week and your projects are progressing well, despite any deluges you may be experiencing.