The last few weeks have been awful. Plagued by illness, upset and downright meanness, I have spent most of our time since arriving back from London in a bit of a state. There is very little in the way of contingency plans when you work for yourself and as I was called to deal, either practically or emotionally, with the crappy stuff, work began to slip. Then came the full on panic attacks - you know that horrible feeling when your blood rushes away from your limbs and you can't think or breathe? That. Unsurprisingly illness hit and stayed. Unsurprisingly, there was a lot of picking up of pieces by my beloved  (he is great at talking me down from the state of chaos I manage to get myself in and making endless cups of tea). And, as much as I would like to unleash a Dooce-style rant about what has been happening behind the scenes, by now you should know its not my style. I much prefer to crack a joke and in absence of that, I make stuff.

So when the final piece of bad news hit on Friday, crochet hook and partially made sock* flew across the room (there may or may not have also been a loud ARRRGGHH!, I can't remember, but its a safe bet). And then the torrential rain started, ruining my planned shoot. That was it. There was no other choices that remained.

Knitting.

Without deadlines crushing down, my choices were limited to chunky wool and an accessory. I needed quick fix knitting, nothing that required brainpower or much time. I had seen the Quickie Slouchie Beanie on Rebekka Seale's blog and decided it was the right choice for the ball of Texere Chunky Wool in Mustard I had left over from a book project*. 

It was EXACTLY what I needed. It was like a good book - the kind that starts easily and grips you from the beginning, by the middle you simply can't put down, and then finish all too quickly. The best thing is that it is lovely on (No photos other than those on IG here and here.) I haven't even blocked it yet as it is currently hiding a rather bad self-induced hair cut.

I have written about the yarn before, but let me wax lyrical again.  I love Texere Chunky Wool. I love the colours. I love the folks at the mill. I love how its is 100% wool, with a great twist. I made the hat with less than 1x 100g ball.

Making a hat isn't going to solve my problems, its not going to write my book, get ready for Country Living Fair or pack for an upcoming move :( but at least I can hide my bad haircut in style, hey? Small comforts are often all you need.

*spot the sneak peak book pattern references.