What I Do and Where I Do It

As I mentioned in my first post, I am a student and a knitter, so I thought I would share a bit about my study-space and the place where I sit and knit.

After I started university and because of my illness, my parents converted our spare bedroom into a study for me.  It has my desk, my books, my computer, my TV and my chaise-longue in it, as well as my hamster, Victor Emmanuel (Mannie for short), and it's where I spend most of my time.

Please excuse the mess on and around my desk, as I am sorting out some of my old course books for sale via Amazon Trade-in (their best idea yet in my opinion!).  I spent 2 years studying Ancient History, but my health deteriorated to the extent that I couldn't live away from home at all, so I had to leave university and transfer to the OU, which has no Ancient History degree course.  So now I'm a History undergraduate and I don't need all the books on Latin and Greek literature and history that I amassed over those years.  I find it a bit sad to get rid of them, as though I'm closing the book on that part of my life, but as you can see from the previous photo, I don't have the space to keep them for sentimental reasons, and some of them are worth a lot of Amazon vouchers, which I will NOT struggle to spend.

Then there's the lamp. Ahem. Yes. My study faces north, so at this time of year, I don't get much natural light, so I stole my mother's bedside lamp.  Hence the gold and the fringing.  I promise it isn't my style! Actually, it isn't really her style either...

And this is Mannie's cage.  He didn't come out to have his photo taken, but he is, of course, the most gorgeous hamster that ever lived, and I love him dearly, and really appreciate having someone to keep me company while I beaver away in my corner.  I'd love to have a cat or a dog, but I have inherited terrible fur allergies from my father, and neither of us enjoy spending our days in tissue-strewn misery.  Well, I wouldn't mind, but he and my mother have vetoed the suggestion for the foreseeable future!

My chaise-longue, and that corner of my room are currently the scene of a Christmas gift knitting factory, although I'm taking a hiatus at the moment to knit myself a red cardigan from a pattern in Learn to Knit, Love to Knit by Anna Wilkinson.  The hats, mittens and cowls will make a reappearance soon though, and then it will be on to shop designing and knitting.

The designing part of the process for my Etsy shop terrifies me, but more on that another time.  I have Russian imperial expansion to read about and a cup of cinnamon, cardamom and ginger tea to drink.

Ellen xxx