My hands are too sore for knitting.

I’m just going to have to rest them. Okay, I did do half an hour or so of knitting on the band for the Zhivago top last night. And 20 mins of spinning practise. But the knitting hurt. A lot.

This is incredibly frustrating.

To keep myself occupied, I’ve started my annual knitwear washing ritual. Each spring, when the weather warms up and I start to spot moths inside and outside the house, I wash every jumper and cardigan and jacket I own, block them, then pack them with lavender sachets and camphor. This year I’ll be packing them away to make room for my summer clothes. At the moment most of my clothes are on an open bookshelf in the loungeroom. Oh, the joys of house renovation.

I enjoy this washing ritual. It’s not a chore at all. I get to look at and access all my winter knitwear. And on hot days like yesterday and today sloshing about in water is nice and cooling. And they dry fast, too.

Unfortunately, I don’t have much space for blocking. Just one end of the kitchen table, and the top of a clothes airer for items that are either acrylic (commercial) or baggy and old, and don’t need proper blocking. I can only do two items at a time, so it doesn’t alleviate the frustration for long.

I could entertain myself by looking at my stash or reading knitting books and magazines, but that would just make me want to knit, which would be even more frustrating.

Sigh.