I had a great trip to Damsdorf, Germany last weekend, to visit Strickmich! Headquarters. We had great weather (not too hot!) and Martina and Peter and the family were so welcoming. One of the best things about it was that I got absolutely LOADS of knitting done. Since the hot weather started here in the south-west, the kids have been finding it really hard to get to sleep in the evenings. This means that my normal 90 minutes of knitting between their bedtime and mine has dwindled down to 45 minutes if I'm lucky, which frankly isn't enough to keep my sanity! So it was a welcome break to have travelling time and then a relaxed weekend with Martina and her family to recharge my knitting batteries somewhat. The Open Studio went really well, and I enjoyed the interview on stage. Unfortunately the live YouTube feed was a bit squiffy for the first 5 minutes, but you can see the rest here if you're interested: Something to Talk About with Jen Arnall-Culliford

My main progress was on a design for the next book. I got it finished – yay! That's always a good feeling, and plans for the next book are now well in hand. Unfortunately it means no pretty picture here for you though...

Next up was my Ola Yoke... I've been using my Strickplaner this year to help manage my to do lists and organise all the different work and home projects. It has really helped me to be more realistic about my knitting goals, as well as ensuring that I don't get overwhelmed with work tasks. I've had a goal for the year to knit a garment for myself, and I've been tracking the progress of my Ola Yoke in the project planning pages of my Strickplaner. I'm making really good progress, and should be on track to get it done comfortably before Christmas. The body is definitely the slowest part of something like this. Once it is done, I'll join with the sleeves into the yoke and the colourwork will then see me through! I've done 7 of the 18 inches of body that I need to knit, so I feel like I'm making good progress. It's not too exciting for you though, I'm afraid!

I worked on my Rainbow socks for a while at the airport, and I've now turned the heel and completed the gusset decreases, so that's noticeable progress. This is my handbag project, so it's not one that I particularly need to finish for a deadline or anything.

And finally, I cast on a Spiral Escape cowl. This was one of the designs in Martina's Strickmich! Club last year. I was lucky enough to be a member, but among the madness of A Year of Techniques, I didn't manage to make any of the patterns. Staying with Martina, it felt like a good time to put that right, so I cast on with a gorgeous yarn cake (Garntorte!) of Bilum Loli and I've made a good start. The nice thing about working with a gradient is that you get that sense of keeping going until the colour changes. I've not made it to the green yet, but I want to get there, which will help me to speed along.

I also took with me yarn to cast on Concentricity by Woolly Wormhead, and my Granito, but both of those stayed in my luggage. They'll have their time...

Thanks again Martina!