I’m back from South Africa with Erquy off the needles, a minor tan, and a healthy respect for anyone in the hospitality industry. Sure, I work in tourism, but I’ve never been directly involved in booking and managing hotel rooms, dinners, etc. That all changed with the last two weeks at work…and I’m glad to be back at my normal desk and ready to continue with my day-to-day life!

Erquy

My project of choice for the plane was Erquy, with some gorgeous Chiagoo needles I bought myself just before I left. We got through security very easily in every airport I went through, and having flown with knitting many, many times, I have decided that dpns and circular needles are definitely the way to go. I’ve never been stopped (fingers crossed, touch wood etc).

I was sitting next to someone on the flight from London to Jo’burg who prayed the whole way. It was impossible to get any sleep on the overnight flight, and the majority of the work on Erquy was done in those 12 hours.

I was on stripe 13 when we started, and by the time I got to Durban a week after I had left the UK, I had just a few to go. I completed these in the evenings while watching the football with some family friends. The below photo was taken the morning after I finished – I had had a rather sleepless night, hence the rather bedraggled appearance!

I love knitted Erquy, although I learned a few important lessons, the first of which was always, always remember to use stitch markers if you can.

I also knitted the straps as recommended in the pattern. I did a fair amount of research before I did this; one suggestion was to use bra straps from a haberdashery or similar, or ribbon, but I wanted to knit the straps, so I did. After a day of wearing it, I realised why this was perhaps foolish.

I had knitted the straps shorter than recommended, but the amount of stretching meant that by the late afternoon, the top was a lot more revealing than it should have been…I took it off, washed it and have now bought ribbon to strengthen the straps and prevent them getting too long. This is an important consideration, and I would do it differently if I make it again.

So, garment one for the year is done! I can now move on to a few more projects, and I’m looking forward to working on Garland for a bit.

Durban

I was working for the majority of the time I was in Durban, but I did have a few hours off one afternoon and I went to the uShaka Marine World. I had a great time! Here is a selection of some of my favourite photos.

Much love,

Corrie xx