As the day of the election approaches things are getting fast paced here in the London household. I have settled in on a semi permanent basis, while daughter No 1 is sent all over the country to research and report on interesting marginal constituencies and the statistical curiosities of newly analysed voting patterns. Ridiculously early trains and overnight stays make this a more difficult job than it looks, especially when very small people wake in the night and want their mummy. Fortunately daddy is not the sort of man to put his head under the pillow at such times and he responds to the cries with much needed comfort and reassurance – which sometimes includes going down and up 4 flights of stairs to fetch a warm drink. That the second smallest person has had a fever this week and also wakes in the middle of the night is just another thing that needs to be coped with by a man who not only has 2 children but 2 columns to write every week. How do they do it! Well, probably in part because they have a good team at home here. Daughter No 3 is the best of nannies and she, me and a gem of a home help, manage cooking, childcare, cleaning and washing between us – if one can’t do something, someone else takes the job on, we mix and match – in fact it can be rather fun. We are still, however, thankful that there are only a few days to go. Black Friday may be nothing compared to Friday 13 December as sleepless nights agonising over election results judder into mornings of attending school nativity plays.
Sample bands of Fair Isle in the same pattern but different colours
Knitting and sewing, much curtailed by domestic activities, all I have to show this week are 3 sample bands of Fair Isle, one of which is destined for the small person’s Christmas present.
10 Comments
Hello Mary. Glad that you are surviving and even managing to produce beautiful fair isle knitting. I’ve just finished knitting a fair isle beret and really enjoyed working the colours. All three of your samples are lovely; if I were the small person I would love any one of them. Best wishes for Christmas from Nella
Glad you like the samples Nella – though, wouldn’t you know it, when I came to knit the jumper I changed the colours once again.
Looking again, I now think the one I did first – the bottom one in the photograph – was the best combination!
I hope your Christmas is good too.
I’m not at all a small person and I would love any of these samples (much) expanded into a sweater!
Happy holidays to you and yours.
ceci
As the grandchildren get bigger I’m realising how much longer knitting takes – I may not have the stamina for an adult sweater yet!
Hope Christmas is good for you and your family too.
It’s a good thing they have such a good back-up team!
Well what should families be but a support network, sometimes needed in one place and sometimes in another?
Exactly. And much nicer to be able to be the back up, rather than worrying about the family and being too far away to help!
Absolutely right, Rachel.
Golly, Mary, I bet you are all relieved that the election mayhem is over and domestic routine can be a little more normal! Hope the adults have all survived reasonably unscathed, and that the little ones are now recovered in time for the Main Event looming on the horizon!
Just a brief note to wish you and all the family the happiest of Christmases, and a healthy and peaceful New Year – love, Sally x
Lovely to hear from you again Sally.
I escaped London on Friday night and am now enjoying a quieter time in Cheltenham. I doubt all adults in the London household will have slept and relaxed enough yet.
May your Christmas be wonderful and the coming year full of things you want to do – we should try to meet up sometime!