Second Year of Projects Weeks 35 and 36

I don't feel like I've been on here in ages, so sorry for the missing update. There are a lot of reasons, but partly that I have no laptop and partly that I have been staying in a place without internet for the entire of last week and last weekend, and I'm back there tomorrow.

But knitting, that's what you're here for.

I finished my Watermelon socks, and they look and fit great

They aren't perfectly identical, but they're close enough, which I'm pretty proud of. And I can't recommend this yarn enough, it's so soft and cozy, and it knits up really well! I substituted a wrap and turn short row heel for the suggested flap heel, so that I didn't break the striping, and I managed to use on entire stripe repeat on the heel, so that the stripes down the front of the sock stayed continuous.

I've also cast on my next pair of socks, which are a birthday present for my Mum. They actually weren't on the list, but I did have socks for her on the list, so I've just swapped to these.

The pattern is Jera, and I was gifted it at Christmas. It's knitting up quite small, though it does go over my heel, so it should fit, as my Mum has smaller feet than I do. They are taking a very long time though, as there are lots of very intricate cables.

In terms of what is going on in my life, I’m currently on placement at Rampton Hospital, which is a high security forensic psychiatric hospital. I've been working with patients with serious personality disorders, who have committed horrendous crimes, which has been difficult but really interesting. I’m on a pre-discharge ward mostly, and those patients are usually very willing to tell their story. I also got the opportunity to go into the prison and see mental health care there.

It’s actually a bit of a break for me, because it’s a not formally assessed, attendance only, optional module. The only problem is, as we’re in the middle of nowhere, we’re in hospital accommodation, and there is no TV, no internet and not even a sitting room. Along with my broken laptop, my plan to spend the evenings working towards my exams went out the window, since I can’t even access phone internet. There has been a lot of DVD watching on the other student's laptop.

Also, poor Tomcat is ill!

He has the biggest ulcer on his tongue, and his mouth is really swollen. We rushed him to the vet, and had a very worried period when he was having a blood test, because the vet had worried that he'd eaten anti-freeze. Anyway, he's now doped up and looking very derpy.

My other news is that we had the biggest trampoline competition of the year last weekend. It's two days of an inter uni competition, and I missed out on the finals by one place, and 0.1 score difference! I was so gutted, but we did really well as a club, getting about half of our numbers into the finals, and taking a 1st place and a 3rd place.

So yeh, very busy life at the moment, I should really update this blog more often!