Chores and deadlines

Can I tell you a secret?

I'm really not good at chores.  I'm supposed to be a proper, organised adult, with a 'to do' list, spotless house and a solid plan for life.  I have none of these things.  Sometimes I even feel guilty for not having them.  More often, I shrug and get over the fact that I won't be called the Housekeeper of the Year anytime soon. 

There are so many things I'd rather do!  I mean - look how uninspiring housework is.  You wash and brush and wipe and dust and polish and clean and two days later?  You have to do it all over again.  It's a never ending battle and you have to sprint constantly just to keep up.  Nauseating.  Wouldn't you rather be knitting?  Wouldn't you?

It's simple.  One day I have to be rich enough to be able to afford a cleaner.  Until then, I'll compromise.

I don't negotiate with animal chores.  Critters need to be fed, watered, walked, cuddled (whichever is appropriate at any given moment) and that's that.  All the rest?  I'll do it if there's no way to avoid it (having no clean underwear is a potent motivator).  I'll leave it for later if I can.  I'll try not to feel guilty about it.

Do you want one more reason to chuck housework? 

Knitting deadlines. 

I'm some 2/3 through Oceanspray.  Another 10 (long) rows and I'll be able to start the border.  I need to finish it by July 24 or the secret gift will not be secret anymore.  Anyone wants to take bets?  Or at least cheer me along?  I can do it.  I can do it, right?

My Oceanspray doesn't look like much at the moment, just a shapeless pile of grey (Puppy helped in the photo shoot).  I hope blocking will make all the difference although part of me wonders if silk/alpaca yarn isn't too drapey for this pattern?  I suppose I'll find out soon enough...

If you need me, I'll be knitting on the porch. 

Giant's socks and garden sheep

Remember my latest pair of socks?  They were little on the large side, but now...  guys, my socks GREW in washing.  They grew a lot.  As in - they are some giant's socks now, not mine. 

Look, here's the Giant Sock pictured together with a fitting handmade sock and a commercial sock in my size (just for the joke):

As much as I hate the idea of knitting them anew, I see no other option than frogging the whole thing and re-working them with severely reduced stitch counts.  To start with, I'm going to work on 56 rather than 64 stitches.  I'll probably make them shorter, too... hell, I think I'll change pretty much all there is to change because in hindsight, the pattern does not really work that well with this particular yarn.  I'll use Rebecca's pattern as a springboard, but what I'll end up with, only time can tell.    

I'm also going to start soon because I know that if I leave them be for now they'll remain untouched for years, lurking in some dark corner of my stash. 

That's the Plan.  The Plan may be influenced by two things:

1) suddenly I'm flooded by a shitload of work (you know, work, the nasty stuff that keeps the bills paid and gets you all that yarn.  I don't like it either)

2) deadlines for Oceanspray (end of July) and one more - unbloggable - knit gift (three days from today?  I'll need a Tardis for that one...) are approaching fast. 

I'll keep you posted.

By the way, did I ever mention that my neighbourhood is full of sheep?  Look what I saw through my window this morning:

Apologies for the crappy picture, I had to be very sneaky because I didn't want my SHEEPdog to notice and chase the visitors away.  The more grass they eat, the less there's left to mow for us :) 

Could anyone tell me what breed sheep are they?  I strongly suspect that only meat breeds are kept on my mountain but you never know...