Warm off the needles

 This sweater has been my pandemic project - it's a design by Joji Locatelli which I got from Ravelry. The construction is very satisfying - it's knit all in one piece. You start from the centre front and knit sideways to one side, then pick up from a provisional cast-on (bind on) and knit to the other side - a partial yoke is included in this section. Then you knit each sleeve down to the cuff, creating the back yoke in the process. The back is knit downwards, picked up from the yoke. Even the side seams aren't stitched - they're a 3-needle bind off. The only reason it took so long was my tiredness and inattention to detail a couple of times. Well, that and the fact that I used to be able to knit in work and that's a thing of the past - and hopefully the future again some time.  I'd actually bought the wool to make a sort of mediaeval panelled swing-type jacket but I couldn't get the tension right for that.

It looks better on - but by the time I arrived at my sister's last Friday after a trek across Cork city, I wasn't looking photogenic enough to ask her to take pictures. The weather forecast had been dire and I'd dressed for heavy rain which was over by the time I got there.

I'm including a few unedited photos (taken with my phone) from Friday. There was a Ferris Wheel set up on Grand Parade - to C's amazement when he saw the photo. He and his friend drove down the street at some stage, and he hadn't seen it. 

The next two are a nice initiative  called "The People's Parklet". This one is near my sister's, so I've seen it through several seasons now, as it was opened in July 2019.  The city is hoping to establish up to ten more. There's a small amount of seating, and they plant insect-friendly plants in the planter parts.  It's empty in this photo - but most times I have seen it, there have been people sitting and making good use of it. 

And a sign of the times - though given the Irish climate in the first place, plus the fact that there's always a cold wind off the river, I saw this little dining domes outside one of the restaurants on Lapps Quay.