This is how it has to be.

I have just read a post on Suzy's blog.  A great and detailed post about her Bond machine.  She is a very talented lady who owns several knitting machines and uses them all.  She has made many garments and other things on her machines.  I envy her.  I don't have the time I would like to spend with my machines.

I think about knitting all the time, I research a lot and read blogs etc about knitting.  That is easy for me to do, my computer is in my kitchen in a custom made computer hutch.  I can take five minutes here and there to do that and if I have to stop it's no big deal.  I blog too because I can do that in bits and pieces.

My knitting room is upstairs and I have two machines set up in the spare bedroom.  When I am up there I am in a world of my own, oblivious to anything else.  Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of the time to spend in there.

My husband is sick.  He has a chronic auto immune disease which is very debilitating.  He is currently having chemo treatment in a bid to slow it down.  This takes up a lot of our time going back and forth to the hospital 150 miles away.  Then on days he feels a bit better we try and catch up with the many jobs around the place that need doing.

My knitting is on a back burner. I do what I can when I can.  I just have time to try things right now but not complete anything.

This is how it has to be.  I am not going to grieve any more over not being able to machine knit as much as I'd like. Might have to go back to the knitting needles lol.

A life without machine knitting is much better than the alternative.

I know, I know, a lot of excuses and not much knitting!

Things have been busy here.  My husband is undergoing a regimen of chemo treatment in a bid to try and slow down the auto immune disease that is attacking him.  That has meant a lot of trips to the hospital 150 miles away.  Also in between those trips we have been dealing with plumbing and electrical problems and some days we are just too plain tuckered to do anything.

I did do a little on the machines yesterday.  I tried ribbing on standard using every fourth stitch with thicker yarn.  It was not too successful although not a total failure either, so more work needed to perfect that.  I also tried mock rib on the bulky machine and that turned out well.  I need to try tuck stitch on it with the thicker yarn to see how that goes, that's a job for another day.

I think that worsted weight (double knitting) will be the best to use on it overall but I do want to make a bulky cardigan for my husband as that is what he wants.  Haven't found the yarn for that yet. It will knit '5' yarn OK but not the super bulky '6'.

I need to revisit Suzy's video on Cricketer's cable.  I tried some cable on the bulky yesterday but it was pulling on the needles too much.  I think her cable will be better to do on it.

Changing the subject, here are a few photos of leather stuff I did for Christmas gifts.  I forgot to take pictures of a lot of the things I made though.

New handy dandy hole puncher made life a lot simpler

The last keyring was one I had rejected as I made a mistake on it but I salvaged it for myself and managed to disguise the error.  I really like it.    

That's all for now.  Another hospital trip tomorrow and then hopefully a little warmer weather coming in.