A bit of this and that: journeys, comics and toddler blues

I've notices on my blog, the distinct lack of any colourful photos over the past month. Even a lack of handmade things...what's going on? I've only just realised I have made very, very little this year, and January is nearly over..

I’ve been in fuzzy land, and don’t even know mentally where the last month has gone.. I think this is because my toddler got up one morning and decided “today is the day I start the terrible 2’s”. I have heard enough, seen enough, and read enough to realize you don’t escape the terrible 2’s, it might happen at 3 or 4 but you don’t escape it. I just had a notion that my boy was good and special and wouldn’t do that to me, but he decided otherwise. And I am not coping as well as I thought I would. To the point where I went out and bought a brand new coffee pot with expensive strong coffee… I now need it to get me through the day.

So, in the interest of my sanity I’ve decided to pack him of to a crèche for a few hours a week. It will eat into my wool/book fund but it’ll mean more free time. The ladies in the crèche were lovely, you need time to yourself, they said, its good for the child…So, hopefully, when we start that next week, I’ll suddenly be bombarding my blog with creativeness and my organic garden will bloom… I think the neighbours must hate me. Especially the ones across the street trying to sell their house, as the garden is a soggy mess at the moment. They’ll all be jealous next autumn, when my veg patch is bursting with goodness, the berries are ripe and smelly plants smell nice…

Anyway, back to the list and creativeness…

• I had a wonderful drive up to Galway on my own. I got to drive the speed limit, stop for coffee, overtake without worrying about my child’s life…I had a collection of my girly music with me to make me feel young again. On the way up it was Lily Allen for a bit of fun, then Ani di Franco for feeling free and single and I don’t give a shit, On the way back its was PJ Harvey, for shouting out loud and then Stina Nordenstam to calm me down again as I turned slowly back into mum again…It was heaven. I got to catch up with 2 sisters and 2 old friends. A quick stroll around Galway early in the morning, and the only things open was Charlie Byrne's bookshop. A very dangerous place to visit indeed. I came out with 3 books, where I wished I had 20… so, back home with inkle looms, new books,and a feeling of renewed energy.

• I made another scarf similar to the one I made for my ma. It’s a bit longer and thinner. I love the openness of the stitches, makes it look more like weaving that knitting. Have to try experiment with this more.

• I was selected to be one of the Sneak Participants to receive a copy of HANDKNIT HEROS, the first graphic novel for knitters. You can read my review of it on the for The Woolly Way blog, or check out their website - www.comicknits.com. Each issue comes with a pattern, and I started my version of the POW Hooded Scarf…

• Went for a walk in the local woods, this morning. I went back to the tree where I found the oak galls last year, and found a few more. They are the same colour as the rotting leaves, so not easy to find. As well as being used as a dye, a mordant (they contain a lot of tannin), they were also used for making black ink. I must find a few medieval recipes to try them out.