New and improved!

That title applies to so many things. Firstly, my mood. I’m not exactly bouncing with energy, but I’m not drowning in the glums either. I had a great yoga class this week, and I’ve been eating a bit more fruit and less crap. Always a good thing, though sometimes… well… hard.
Second, the Socks That Wouldn’t Die have bowed to my superior knitting fu (and not before time). Sock 1 (on its third attempt, I believe) has been finished, tried on, and pronounced a success. (Seriously, it’s a beautiful fit.) Although my sewn bind-off is a bit crappy. On the red cosy socks I used a stretchy knit cast-off, but on this one it didn’t seem to work quite as well. I could have fiddled about until it worked, but I thought I should learn a New Skill. Which I did, and I’ve learned that it’s crappy. Next time I’ll try harder on the knit version – but not on this pair. This pair will match, even if they match in crappiness.
As if to congratulate me on my great prowess, not to mention progress, I arrived home last night to find a gloriously lavish pile of magazines in the post. Eunny’s first Interweave, the 25th anniversary Vogue (which is HUGE – I haven’t yet found out whether that’s all ads, or whether there’s actual worthwhile content, but apparently there are 60 designs in there!), plus Simply Knitting, Knit Today – and a media pack for an upcoming UK launch.
It’s supposed to be hush-hush still, so I won’t share any details, but there’s something to look out for: a new monthly knit mag from around October. They’ll be distributing, of course, at Ally Pally. And they promise “more more more”. Sadly, they don’t promise better; I seem doomed to disappointment in my desire for a Vogue-a-like mag with stylish, sophisticated, challenging knits. But let’s wait and see.
And today, we’re off to Putney for more knitting at the new and improved venue of the Duke’s Head… knitting with booze! Alas, the weather is newly returned to its crappy, rainy state. I was rather hoping for a little riverside sunshine. Ah well. Once again, if you’re in south-west London and fancy dropping by, we’ll be there between 12.30 and 3pm. See you there?