Archive | July 2022

You’d think I would know better

Jul31

I’m disappointed in myself. Some of you may remember that I’m a big fan of Malabrigo yarns. Love their colors. I KNOW that they don’t do dye lots, that their yarns are kettle dyed in small batches. I KNOW that when you knit a larger object with multiple skeins, you really need to alternate skeins for a balanced color. I know all that and yet this is where I am right now:

Nothing subtle about that switch! I had four skeins of this, bought at three different times, and one skein is obviously quite a bit darker. Now here’s the thing: this sweater is knit in the round from the bottom up and then you split for the front and back and knit those individually back and forth. I did pretty well with the first side — I alternated skeins until the last inch or so of ribbing. One skein ran out and I figured I could get by with just the one color.

The darker color is there, but not quite as strikingly obvious as the other side. The problem is…well, the problem is me. I chose this pattern (the Riprap Top) because I could make it with just four skeins, but as I knit, I realized it was designed to be rather short. Oh, I can add a couple of inches to the length, no problem, I thought. And it probably would have been fine…if I hadn’t also accidentally made the front two inches longer. All of that means I now have one skein of yarn remaining, and it’s the disturbingly dark one. I don’t even know if it will be enough to finish the darned thing. Once I finish the back, all that’s left is ribbing around the armholes and seaming the shoulder closed, so those might not look quite as bad with the stupid dark yarn. I do have a small bit of a partial skein, so one option is to rip back those four inches and reknit, alternating as much as I can to at least ease into the dark and just assume that nobody cares what the back of my sweater looks like.

Another option is to buy another skein and try to color match the lighter skeins, but that defeats the stash-busting purpose a little bit.

The option I have currently chosen is to put it in timeout and work on something else. Before I choose either option for moving forward, I’m going to sort of try it on and see if I even like what it is so far.

So friends, if I have taught you nothing else, I hope I have taught you to alternate your skeins of Malabrigo if you didn’t buy them all at once!

It’s been a long time gone

Jul30

I miss writing.

That’s not completely true. I miss writing for me. I write all the time now, for work. And I love it. But ever since I started my new job in January, I haven’t had the urge or mental energy for other writing-type things. My blogging motivation was gone completely. But the last few weeks, I’ve been feeling the tug to come back. I don’t know if it’ll last. I don’t know if it’ll be anything like it used to be. It doesn’t really matter — this space is mine, for me, and that’s the best thing about it.

So what’s happened in the last seven months? So much. The girl graduated college (magna cum laude!), got married, and moved from Colorado to Alabama.

The boy moved out. He’s renting a small house with a friend, still working hard on his music. He’s close by, maybe ten minutes away, so we get to see him pretty often still. We’re trying not to be needy or pressure him, and let him have his space to be independent, which I think he needed at first. But it’s been a few months and we’re starting to see him more often lately.

The husband and I are empty nesters now. And guys? I kind of love it. I miss the kids — of course I miss them; they’re delightful, fun people — but there’s also a calmness and peace about it being just the two of us. It was hard for the husband at first but I think he’s starting to appreciate it more.

Duncan had his second TPLO surgery in January and recovery was long and slow, unlike the first time around. He limped for months and we did two extra x-rays just to make sure it was still healing okay, and it was both times. He’s finally stopped limping and now we’re just trying to build up his stamina for longer walks again. He won’t ever be able to go on the super-long adventures that the husband took him on before, but I think he’ll be happy with shorter ones.

After almost a year of skin issues, Jack went to a doggy dermatologist and was diagnosed with a staph infection. After two rounds of a new, stronger antibiotic, his skin cleared up and he became even happier and bouncier than before. We even had lots of people in the house during the wedding stuff, and he didn’t freak out nearly as much as he used to! It’s very encouraging.

Grace, eh, she’s fine. Thank goodness knock on wood etc etc.

I’ve been knitting. Of course I’ve been knitting. I’ve made socks and hats and cowls and shawls and THREE sweaters (two of the same pattern). I’ve added 51 skeins of yarn to my stash and used up 52.

I’ve read 36 books this year, which is already four more than I read all of last year. I’m being more intentional about making time to read and picking up a book instead of my phone. It started as just trying to clear out my To-Be-Read shelves a little bit, but I’m enjoying it. I’ve got more new plant babies than I can count and I’m still obsessed with LEGO and it’s just super fun to have all these things in my life that bring me joy.

It’s also super fun to have a work environment that brings me joy. I don’t know that I have ever felt so at-home and comfortable in a job before. My teammates are funny and quirky, my boss is supportive and intuitive, and almost everyone I’ve met at the company is friendly and helpful. I get paid to talk to people and write several articles a month, and yeah it’s about banking so I don’t always understand it and it’s not sexy, but I’m learning about people and what they’re doing and what they’re passionate about. I mean, they’re asking me to write all the time, and they LIKE what I do write! So weird! It’s just kind of almost perfect, as much as a job can be.

So there you go. Maybe soon I’ll be back and tell you about my current WIPs! Thanks for listening, friends.