The cold weather warning is in force

Here in Hong Kong, the government observatory takes its warning system very seriously, and issues a variety of warnings, including the “cold weather warning”; which has been in force the past couple of days. Part of the “cold weather warning” is that “members of the public are advised to put on warm clothes”. 

I’ve been wearing my hand-knitted socks a lot this winter, especially when the temperature is as low as 16 °C (that’s 60° F). Now I shouldn’t jest – it can be cold without a heater at night, but this weather is like an English summer!  To all of you experiencing truly cold weather, you have my sympathies. The photos were taken 10 minutes ago in the back yard.  The socks have been worn at least a dozen times.

 

Basic Socks

Needles: Knitpicks fixed  Harmony circulars 2.25mm

Yarn: Yarn Workshop Footscray hand-dyed with food colouring

Pattern: My basic magic loop top-down sock pattern.

Thanks for all the comments about patching my older daughter.  Things have become easier as the vision in her weaker eye improves.  We will be continuing patching for the next few months, and then back to the Opthalmologist.

Challenging times

The swatch above is knitted out of  Colourmart100% Cashmere 6/18NM ORDK forest green, on the flat, and it seems to have a bias to the right (perhaps we should call it the Fox News swatch?).  I was planning a seamless hybrid  (Ravelry link) for my husband, but the bias would seem to make that unfeasible.  The really annoying thing is that I have a sweater’s worth of this yarn, and it behaved perfectly well when it was knitted into this Cozy. The very kind knitters of the Colourmart Yahoo Group have made some suggestions, but I’m still looking for more.  Can this yarn be a seamless hybrid? 

The other, much bigger, challenge is that we have had to start patching older daughter’s stronger eye again. She was diagnosed with amblyopia and strabismus (lazy eye to you and me) just before younger daughter was born, and she wore patches for 2 hours a days for over 3 years, and has had surgery, and wears glasses. When she was 4 and a half, we got the reprieve from patching, and now, at the age of 6, have been told that she needs to recommence for four to five hours a day.  To say that she is unhappy about this is a massive understatement.  I was with her at the ophthalmologist, and it was obvious that she really couldn’t see out of her left eye.  Of course, this increases the difficulty of wearing the patch (it is almost like being blindfolded for her), and the necessity for wearing the patch! I have been screamed at, kicked and hit in the last 24 hours.  Older daughter is not one to submit quietly, and has explained vigorously and violently her opposition to the patching routine.  If she is left without adult company for 3 seconds while patching is ongoing, the patch is removed. We are using the Ortopads pictured above, which apparently have the most aesthetic appeal for a fashion conscious 6 year old.

We have implemented a program of rewards, culminating in a trip to Disneyland after one moth of patching; but are also having to use threats to get the patching done.  The biggest threat that we have is that her arms will have to be splinted if the patch does not stay on. We did this once when she was 18 months old, and it made me feel like a miserable failure as a parent.  I am loathe to do it again, and would love advice on how I can get an unco-operative child to undertake a therapy which admittedly is not painful, but is frustrating and annoying.