Hand knitted socks should last longer than this

A few weeks ago, one of the pairs of socks that I knitted developed holes in the heels. I wasn't too outraged (they do get a lot of wear, after all) until I came across this blog post, and realised I only darned them back in March. At the time, I was grumpy that they'd only lasted six months before needing to be darned - and now they've only lasted another six before the darning needle had to come out again. 

You can see that my original darning is still there (in darker purple) so it's just another bit of knitting that has worn through. Soon these socks are going to be entirely made of darned bits. 

My other pair of hand knitted socks haven't developed a single hole, and I've had them for much longer. They're a slightly larger fit so perhaps they rub less, and they're also a different type of wool, which I suppose might be stronger.

Well, no use getting grumpy about it - instead I got out the darning needle and some purple wool (probably in the same place I left it after my last darning experience). I don't have a darning mushroom (and if I did, I imagine it would be packed away in a box by now anyway) so I used the closest thing I had to hand that was vaguely the right shape - an old cricket ball. 

This is probably the most useful thing it's ever done. 

I'm not sure whether I darn in the 'right' way. I don't think anyone ever showed me. I know you have to kind of weave new fabric over the hole so that's what I did, first one way, then weaving through in the other direction. Eventually the hole wasn't a hole any more. 

Hardly perfect, but given the socks seem determined to disintegrate within another few months anyway, it'll do. 

While I was on a mending mission, I sewed up the pocket on my coat, which I'd caught on a trolley in a shop a few weeks before. 

This was an awkward mend, as I'd basically ripped the pocket off, and in the process ripped the fabric the pocket attaches to as well. However, a bit of invisible thread seems to have done the trick, and so far my mending is holding up nicely, even with the amount I'm shoving my hands in my pockets now the cooler weather has arrived.

I like a bit of mending. It make me feel useful and practical - two things which I like very much. It also gives me a feeling of creativity, without actually having to create anything. Peter said the other day that a lot of his jackets are missing buttons, and while I don't consider it my job to sew them back on, I think once we move into our new house, we might have a joint button-sewing evening in front of the fire one night. 

Speaking of the new house... it's now nearly eleven weeks since we had our offer accepted. It feels like twenty years, and also feels like we will never move. I'm informed this week will bring some news... but I confess I'm not holding my breath. This is the first time I've either bought or sold a house - we are doing both simultaneously, and have vowed never to do either again. 

In the meantime, here's a picture of one of our fields (fingers crossed). A cheery farmer came bouncing down the drive on a tractor looking for his cows just after I took this. The gates are all open at the minute, so I can only assume they just wandered in, thinking the grass was greener over here. 

And no, I'm still not sure what we're going to do with all that grass. It's hard to make too many plans when things are still all up in the air. Right now I think the simplest thing would be to leave the gates open and let the neighbour's cows munch on it...