I'm here, I'm here!

Just snowed under with work - and, it must be admitted, the occasional knitting project. The trouble with Ravelry (as has been said before and doubtless will again) is that unless controlled with an iron hand and unshakeable willpower, it expands to absorb every free moment (of which there are few enough at the moment).

In this case, Charity invited me to join a KAL for vests on Ravelry - Vest-uary. The idea was that you cheered up the month of February by knitting a jolly vest which was (and still is, indeed, not just in February, wouldn't you agree?) an excellent notion.

I made this Ersatz Adam's Vest, so called because at the time all I had to go on was a line drawing in an old issue of Knitter's. Used a warm merino boucle-d with a fine nylon binder, doubled, and it is so light and snug I may just wear it for the rest of the year. You never can tell in the Irish climate. Integrating the pockets into the points was fun.

The Shenevski Vest (after the beautiful design by my Bulgarian friend Ana whom you can find on Ravelry if you're there, as you should be) isn't done yet. I joined in a new ball at the armhole shaping only to perceive after much decreasing and simultaneous cabling, that something wasn't quite right. By daylight it was obvious that the yarn had changed quality and texture - the bag of Royal Cashmere had contained two rogue invaders of cashmere/silk. Very alike by artificial light, more obvious in the morning. Fortunately there's enough of the originally intended yarn to complete the project. After the laborious tinking back and picking up.

Sock Madness 3 is almost upon us too, which has necessitated much discussion on Ravelry. and then, as if preparing for that were not enough, DragonYady started a KAL for an exquisite mitred scarf of Ruth's design - the pattern's free over on her blog, go look. I mean, could you pass up something like that?

Apart from the day job and the knitting and dyeing and so on (thank heaven the gardening season hasn't started yet), DH and I are working flat out on the new book which has to be at least in rough draft form by the end of this month. As far as I'm concerned, it's his pictures that will make it, not my words, so I'm trying to match text to images.

Where do you choose, though? He has so many of this rather special place called West Cork.

This is one of my favourites - the Gearagh close to our home, the old arched bridge echoing the past when a train ran through the as-yet unflooded valley. We walk along that old road often.

I love this aerial shot of Castletownbere and Bere Island too.

- and Bantry Bay.

Deciding what to leave out will be as hard as writing text that will be a match for the ones chosen.

Don't think I can sneak Muffy The Yarnslayer into the book which is a shame. You may not know it but she was recently given an 'Ugh' award on a Ravelry group for that famous picture with the Eriskay cashmere, an honour she accepted with her customary glower.

You don't know how many tangled balls of cashmere I've got stored away in here for emergencies...

Must go write. March marches ever on.