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| One of these days I'll remember to tidy up before I take these pictures. At least it's authentic? |
The extra room for the chickens was a little overdue but the main factor holding me back, honestly, was their reluctance to roost at night. I didn't want to start letting them out until I could trust that they would put themselves back in again at night. Now that they've (finally!) got the hang of the roost they've earned some extra garden privileges.
As you can see from this image the roses are surrounded by weeds. Surrounded! It's weed city in there. And if you've ever tried to pull weeds from beneath roses - let alone some roses as old and gnarly as these - you may be aware that it's... risky. Even with gloves on I tend to come away with a bunch of scratches at best and some dug-in thorn splinters are worst. But, despite looking messy, I figure they aren't really hurting anything too much. The roses are well established and flourishing, so those weeds don't need to be out in a huge hurry. So: the chickens are on weeding duty.
Setting up the area was easier than it looked: just a pack of stakes, a roll of chicken wire, a hammer and some wire cutters. We used the thin wire that was holding the chicken wire roll together to attach it to the stakes which, barring one, we were able to hammer down in to existing garden beds along the edge of the space. The wire cutters allowed us to shape the wire around the edge of the garden bed along the fence - I didn't want to leave any gaps there for them to escape through, this neighbourhood doesn't need chickens roaming around in it!
I was a little worried about what sort of 'gate' we could put on the extension - but it turns out that it's easy to rig up a good enough solution even if you don't have any building skills: the end of the roll holds a spare stake and wedges between the edge of the original yard and a pair of sturdy stakes. It isn't tight to the ground but - so far at least - the chickens seem content and not like they're looking for places to squeeze out. I can always weigh it down with some spare bricks if I need to.
Inside the house, my Siren Song is both completed and gifted. As soon as it was off the needles my little sister began oohing and ahing over it, and she told me she'd love one exactly the same... but a cowl. If you've checked out the pattern you'll know that it's the scarf version of a pair of patterns, and that the other one is a cowl. However, the colourway I'd used was no longer in stock, and she was moving interstate in just a few weeks, so I figured I would just convert this one to a cowl and give it to her for a going-away gift.
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| The seam looks a lot better when it isn't stretched out on the blocking boards. |
The size was a little odd for a scarf - quite tall and not that long - but for a cowl it's the perfect size to snugly loop twice around. I used some black cotton to slip stitch crochet up the edges. It's visible from the reverse side but not terribly ugly, and the black really doesn't stand out too badly even when it is showing.
The yarn washed up amazingly - I used the soak wool wash I bought from Knit Picks with it, and it came out really soft and with a great drape, even for sock yarn. The fig scented wash was really nice too - not overpoweringly sweet.
The stitch pattern creates a lovely design and I've had so many compliments on it. I even had a little boy come up and ask me what I was making, admiring how cool it looked. The colours are vibrant and attractive and really suit the wave-like theme. I definitely recommend you give it a try!
Oh, but don't play yarn chicken with the bind-off like I did. I had to cut my garter edging down to three rows and my bind-off row ended with mere inches to spare. My heart was in my throat for most of the last row.
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| That did not look like enough yarn to finish the row! |
Finally, consuming most of my free time at the moment, let's have an update on Luggala. I still love it but you guys, don't do what I did. Don't start this as your third ever sweater and think yeah, I can probably sort this out even though I didn't get the right gauge. Just... get gauge. I wouldn't say it's been a disaster but it's not an easy pattern to make substitutions in, especially approaching the neck: I've got pages of scribbled notes as I try to work out what changes I need to make to all of the increases, decreases and row counts. Especially the row counts.
This is one headache I've given myself, I completely admit. The pattern isn't ridiculously difficult outside of my gauge issues, though once you finish the main body is definitely gets more complicated. I'm up to another section that I'll have to knit back and redo, as I miscalculated my decreases around the neck and shoulders.
I'm also definitely wondering what I was thinking in making something this solid for someone of my dimensions. The pocket will break up the expanse of the tummy area but the chest region may just end up looking ridiculously expansive... but there's only one way to find out.
And you know, worst case I just wear this in private. That's okay too. It's still pretty.
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