Lethargy has set in

I promised myself I'd be more diligent when it came to blogging, but I've been feeling very lethargic and a bit 'bleurgh' in recent weeks.  There's been a lot going on here with getting DD2 getting prepared and her things ready and packed for her school's annual camp last week (they had to come back a day early because the heavy rain meant they got flooded last Wednesday night), plus DD1 has been sitting her GCSE and other exams (last one was this Monday) so maybe that's why.  In any case, I've been flitting between crafting projects and not really seeing much progress on any of them.

I have finished a couple of things.

A pair of plain socks in Drops Fabel:

I've noticed in recent weeks that some of my socks are looking worn and/or faded, so I'm trying to replenish my stock.  As I usually do with self-striping and self-patterning yarn, I've knitted a plain pair of socks.  This pair, however, are made from two 50g balls of Drops Fabel sock yarn, starting a new ball for each sock.  I noticed when I was about halfway up the leg of the second sock though, that the balls had been wound in different directions, so the striping goes in opposite ways to the first one.  Not that I mind as I never try to match the colours of socks.

I've also crocheted a new cover for my big round cushion.  I made an African Violet cover for the cushion a few years ago, but it was starting to get a bit bobbly and look a bit tired (and DH was never overly keen on it anyway):

I'd bought some Drops Muskat cotton yarn with the intention of weaving it into tea towels, but when it arrived I realised I'd made a mistake as it's mercerised, which means it's not absorbent.  So.... as I'd bought beige and burgundy and the walls in our lounge are beige and the curtains are burgundy, I decided to update the cushion, so ordered some more.  I'd liked the Spiral Cushion pattern by Matt Farci since I'd seen it on his blog (According to Matt, although he's moved over to Boys & Bunting with his partner Dennis now), so decided to make that.  It's an interesting construction.  A circular spiral is crocheted in half-treble (half-DC US) and then a contrast colour is used to slip stitch around the first circle, which is very effective.  

One half I crocheted in burgundy, with a beige contrast.....

... and then I reversed the colours for the second side:

I thought about putting a zip in it, but decided that as the cushion pad is feather-filled and so machine washable and can be dried in the tumble dryer, I'd just crochet it together all around.