Local Yarn Store Day 2023

Apr30

I wasn’t planning on celebrating this year. I have no need of new yarn (though that’s always true), and my favorite LYS is half an hour away, and I do love my lazy weekends at home. But then Trish at Yarn Social kept posting fun photos, and I had a wee bit of FOMO. Plus I hadn’t been there in ages, and the husband has been out of town for a few days so I had no one to tell me I shouldn’t go. (Not that he would say that anyway. But this is the story I’m telling myself.) And so, yesterday morning I found myself at the yarn store.

It was quite busy so the little shop was full and not easy to navigate at all times, but it was fun to be part of the mix. I spotted a couple of local knitters I follow on Instagram but was too shy to say hello. (I KNOW, I KNOW – knitters are typically lovely people and I should have just done it. Whatever.) Overall I feel like I restrained myself with what I purchased. I had the cutest little pink canvas project bag in my hands and managed to put it back by reminding myself of my collection of Joji bags.

I came home with two skeins of Malabrigo Ultimate Sock. Again and again, Malabrigo proves to be my favorite. Those colors, you know? And by buying two skeins, I also got a code for the special Casapinka yarn store day pattern, Kitation. I couldn’t resist casting on almost immediately. I also got two 50g skeins of Goosey Fibers in a lovely purple/black colorway just because, plus a little sheep pin and a teeny-tiny pocket knife! It opens and everything and you can use it to cut your yarn! Trish had hers on a chain around her neck but I’m not sure yet what I’ll do with mine.

I’m glad I went, and I’m glad I went early – by the time I was driving home, the traffic heading downtown for the NFL draft was building up. Because it was sunny and warm, I decided to stop at Home Depot for potting soil and a few new pots. Several of my plants had outgrown their pots but I was waiting for good weather to repot them outside. It really was a perfect day for it – sunny and 70. I repotted probably 10 plants and they look so much better in their roomier homes.

Then, since I was already grubby, I decided to give Jack a bath out on the deck with the hose. After that, because I am truly crazy, I gave Grace one too. She doesn’t enjoy the water but we got through it, and now both dogs are so soft and fluffy. I ran out of energy to bathe Duncan – he hates water more than the other two combined and I wasn’t ready for that tussle!

By then, it was mid-afternoon and I was pooped, so I spent the rest of the day with knitting and Bridgerton. Since almost everything I’m currently watching is something the husband and I watch together, I needed something new to watch while he was gone. It’s a frothy, addictive show, isn’t it? I’m enjoying it! Alas, the husband is due to come home this evening, so my Bridgerton watching will be limited to times he’s not around, because it’s definitely not something he would enjoy.

Yesterday was also Independent Bookstore Day, which I did not celebrate in person. I kind of celebrated, though, because my copy of the new Emily Henry book arrived, which I ordered from bookshop.org, a site that supports independent bookstore! Close enough for me.

Now, I’m off to enjoy my last few hours of solitude! Happy Sunday, friends.

Saturday Storytime

Apr29

Have you heard of the Loose Ends Project? They match unfinished projects from loved ones who have passed away (or otherwise unable to finish them) with volunteer finishers. They offer the service for any number of crafts – knitting, crochet, needlepoint, cross-stitch, spinning, weaving, and so many more. I signed up a couple of months ago to be a volunteer knitting finisher. It was quick and easy, and you can specify what types of projects or technique you love or want to stay away from. (Needless to say, I stated I could not do color work!) They try to match projects with finishers who are relatively close by, and I got an email earlier this week offering my first project – a pair of mittens needing thumbs.

I reached out to the submitter and discovered she lives just a half-mile away from me, so I was able to walk down to her house yesterday to meet her and pick up the project. She was an older woman, friendly and chatty, and seemed so pleased that I was going to finish the mittens. Her aunt had started them years ago for a child in the family. Now the children are all grown, but I’m going to finish the mittens and make a little hat to go with them, and hopefully she’ll find a home for them.

The thumbs were quick and easy. I started with size 7 needles but the stitches were too small and didn’t match the original, so I pulled them out and started over with size 8, which was perfect. Now to knit a hat!

Oh, and I did celebrate Local Yarn Store day – I’ll have to show you my treasures tomorrow! Happy Saturday, friends.

What counts as a swatch?

Apr28

I bit the bullet and cleaned out some old photos from my WordPress media library yesterday. I was bonkers back in the day – adding five or six photos for one project? Re-adding the photo if I talked about it in another post? Somehow several photos were in there twice. Bonkers, I tell you. I tried to purge judiciously, so that I wouldn’t leave many photos without any of their original photos. Thanks to my efforts, I’m now only at 75% of my limit rather than 85, so I’ve put off the inevitable a bit longer. Maybe it means more posts without photos, or a single photo?

I also decided to cast on a new project yesterday, since I finished the Not a Dickie. I decided to knit a Librarian Vest (Rav link) with some KnitPicks Preciosa from deep stash. I’ll wear it more as a tank under a cardigan or jacket than a vest over something else, so I chose a closer-fitting size. I really didn’t want to do a swatch, and I remembered I knit a cowl with this yarn three years ago. Surely that would count as a swatch? Surely my tension hasn’t changed in three years? Yes, I realize the idiocy of this choice and yet I’m moving forward anyway based on the gauge in that cowl. Stay tuned to see how well it works out!

Also, as I began knitting, I realized the pattern uses centimeters throughout rather than inches, and it uses German short rows which are not my favorite short rows. Surely I can overcome those minor annoyances?? (“Don’t call me Shirley!”)

Tomorrow is Local Yarn Store day! Is anyone celebrating? I’m undecided – I want to, even though I have no need for new yarn.

Happy Friday, friends.

FO: Not a Dickie

Apr27

Two posts in one week?? Who even am I? Apparently I am going to continue my sporadic little blog here because it still pleases me to share things occasionally. Like today, when I have a new finished object to share. May I present, Not a Dickie:

The pattern is actually named Shoulder Cozy (Rav link) but when I was sharing the WIP with my lovely little group of knitter friends, one of them asked if it was a dickie and I said Definitely Not because I don’t want to wear something called a dickie and then another one said my Not a Dickie was very pretty and so now that’s its name. It’s shorter than the original item – I knew I had less yarn than the pattern called for so I just didn’t do the repeat of the first lace section, and I think it will be just fine. The pattern did have an error in the decrease section, despite that error being pointed out to the designer eight months ago, but it was easily remedied and otherwise it was a fast and easy knit. It used three skeins of Malabrigo Noventa in Hollyhock and the yarn is perfectly scrumptious, as Malabrigo usually is.

I also finished a book – Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano. She wrote Dear Edward, which the girl and I loved, and I had high expectations. Alas, I felt like this book was completely different than Dear Edward, not just in plot but overall vibe. It was a slow starter but by the middle I was getting into it, and then the last 1/4 I really liked.

After I finished that, I went back to the TV and knitting combo and watched an old favorite on Hulu – When a Man Loves a Woman. It’s not the happiest of movies but I love Andy Garcia, it’s from the year I graduated high school, and the husband and I used to quote a couple of the lines, so it has a lot of nostalgia for me. I must be on a kick of rewatching movies from that era. We watched City of Angels (so much Meg Ryan!) not too long ago and that really held up well for me; I still loved it. Next I want to rewatch Meet Joe Black but it’s not on any of the streaming services so I’d have to actually pay money to rent it (GASP – do people still do that??).

Happy Friday Eve, friends.

Monday Musings

Apr24

I really don’t know what to do with this blog. I rarely write anymore – partly because I have limited mental energy to spend on it, and partly because it feels like it’s just sharing knitting photos, which I can do more easily on Instagram. What’s the point of doing it here too? Plus I’m nearing capacity on my photo storage again, and my options are either delete old photos (don’t love this idea) or pay an obscene amount of money to upgrade to a plan with a bunch of bells and whistles I don’t need (not gonna happen). I suppose I can keep going as I have been, just writing when the mood hits me, though I’ll still eventually hit that pesky image storage limit. If only WordPress offered a little add-on for that!

Still, with all that said, I have been knitting, of course. I finished a sock and cast on another. The new sock is in Saucon Sock yarn from Kraemer Yarns. I reviewed this yarn eons ago and that pair of socks has been one of my favorites, and it has been the most durable pair I’ve ever made – they still look almost as good as when I made them. (Note: I machine wash my socks, dry them on the lowest setting for about ten minutes, then lay flat to finish drying.) And because of their cotton content, they’re so good in the spring. After thinking about it for ages, I finally ordered three more skeins to make more spring shortie socks. I cast on a cowl in my new squishy Malabrigo Noventa. In a moment of weakness, I ordered Joji’s most recent purple bags (and I LOVE them!).

Recently I finished several books I really enjoyed: Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult & Jennifer Finney Boylan (Picoult is the best at those mid-book twists), Park Avenue Summer by Renee Rosen (fact-based fiction about Helen Gurley Brown taking over Cosmo magazine), and The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz (another one with a mind-blowing twist). We’re caught up on the US version of Ghosts, so now we’re watching the UK version and really enjoying it. They seemed really similar at first, but now that we’re in the second season, I’m seeing more variation.

And I’m happy to report that Grace appears to be holding steady. I haven’t noticed any decline in the last couple of weeks, although we have had a few overnight accidents thanks to prednisone’s unfortunate side effects. There might be not-good things happening internally that will cause issues in the near future, but so far she’s just living her best life and stealing as much food as she can.

Happy Monday, friends.

Shawls on Sunday

Apr16

I snuck out into the chilly morning to be that weird neighbor taking photos of knitwear outside because a FO is never truly finished until I have taken the beauty shots! After buying all that yarn on my road trip, I realized it threw my In/Out yarn count out of whack – I was suddenly at 21 skeins added to my stash versus 18 used up. That was not acceptable, not after such a good start to the year! I immediately got to work finishing a shawl WIP that used up three skeins of yarn. This is the Jodi shawl by Joji Locatelli (Rav link) with the yarn from New Garden Farm I bought recently. I love how it came out!

I did run out of the middle variegated color almost halfway through the last row, but I just finished with the solid blue and it’s fine. I love how all the colors play together, and I intentionally started with the blue since it’s a better color near my face than the fuchsia.

Before the trip, I finished another long skinny shawl/scarf thing, the Bright Side, knit with my rainbow Desert Panda yarn. It’s a super fun one too, and I should be able to wear it for a little while into the spring since it’s a smaller, light piece.

This was such a fun, easy knit and such a wearable FO that I might be casting on another one right away – this time with white and black yarn. That seems like it would be perfect for the bright tops in my closet!

Other things I’m loving: the new season of Ted Lasso, the new season of Schmigadoon! called Schmicago, and Jenny Colgan books. I enjoyed (but didn’t love) Tiny Beautiful Things on Hulu, and am currently enjoying Ghosts, though we’re all caught up so now I have to wait for new episodes to drop. There’s also a new musical drama/comedy series on Hulu that I was super excited about (Up Here, I think it’s called) but wow it’s a solid No Thank You for me. Something about it just rubs me the wrong way, plus I didn’t think the songs were very well-written. I keep hoping I’ll find another show with lots of episodes that I can get obsessed with, but it hasn’t happened yet.

Happy Sunday, friends.

Projects, Needles, and Yarn – oh my

Apr12

Let’s start with the bad news first, so we can end on a good note. Grace went to the oncologist last week and the news was basically what I expected: it’s a very aggressive, fast-growing cancer and there’s no getting rid of it. IF it was contained to one spot and they did major surgery to remove it all, and followed it up with expensive weekly chemo treatments, she *might* make it to six months. However, there are indications it has spread to one lymph node and maybe the liver, so that seemed unlikely. We could try just chemo, which would give us maybe a 40% chance of getting her to 3-4 months. Or we could treat it palliatively and give her the best quality of life for the next month or two, which is what we decided to do. And after her doctor visit, we took her out for a good cheeseburger. And maybe a few fries.

We started her on Pepcid, Benadryl, and a high dose of prednisone, all of which could help control the symptoms and maybe even shrink the tumor a bit. And good news – it did! After a week on the meds, the tumor is noticeably smaller. It’s still an extremely large tumor, and this isn’t a sign of her being cured – it’s just going to improve her quality of life, which I’ll take. She is still in good spirits and doing well, so I’m going to appreciate that as long as it lasts.

Because the oncologist said she was stable in the short-term, the husband and I left the boy home with all the dogs and took a road trip to Alabama to visit the girl. We hadn’t seen her since August 2022! That is way too long, friends. Alabama might not be my favorite state, but we had a good time. Our day trip to Huntsville was a highlight. We found a wonderful used book store, a great yarn store, and spent the afternoon at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center – super fun, especially for the husband. I came home with a lot of new yarn and a lot of new books, and a completed pair of socks. Oh, and when I came home, I found my new needles had arrived! I splurged on a set of Signature DPNs for sock knitting and I can’t wait to cast on.

It’s been a rough few weeks for me – I’ve been in a super negative headspace – but the break helped a lot. I’m so glad I decided to go. The warm spring weather is helping too, I think. And the relief to come home and find out that Grace hasn’t gotten a lot worse! Happy Spring, friends.

Rudimentary

Mar21

When my alarm went off this morning, I felt so tired at the thought of getting up and going to work. It feels like this week has already been two months long. I think it’s because sleep doesn’t help very much when it’s emotional fatigue you’re dealing with. And yet! I got up and did all the things I was supposed to do, so there’s a win. And I have yet another finished cowl to share, so there’s another.

I pulled out my hibernating turquoise cowl and decided it was time to finish it. It alternates several rows of stockinette with lace so while I was working on the plain rows, I also read a book on my iPad, which kept me from getting too bored with the cowl. And I was farther along than I realized, so I got to the end pretty quickly.

The pattern is called Rudimentary (Etsy link) and it’s fine, except it had a few typos which bothered me. And just now, when I went to get the link, I realized my middle section isn’t as big as it’s supposed to be – not sure if that’s my error or the pattern’s! I didn’t love the pattern, wouldn’t knit it again, but eh, it was fine. I have no idea what the yarn is. It was sitting in my stash, already caked, and I couldn’t find a loose tag or ball band, so all I know is that it’s some type of sock yarn with stellina. And it’s pretty.

The color was really hard to capture. It was raining so I couldn’t go outside, and the light by the windows was too bright. But this is close, and at least you can see the different lace patterns.

Happy Tuesday, friends.

FO: Chai Latte Cowl

Mar20

Over the weekend I knit and knit and knit on my Chai Latte cowl. By Sunday evening my fingers were dark with dye from the yarn, but the cowl was finally finished!

This was a really fun pattern, and it was easy just to keep knitting until I came to the end of the second point. It seemed very long, especially after I blocked it, but it squishes up nicely.

That’s two more skeins out of my stash, hooray!

WIP Update

Mar19

Even though knitting hasn’t been quite as joyful for me lately, I’m still trucking along on several projects. I cast on my second Turtle Dove II, with the peacock yarn, but it’s hibernating in the early stages of the yoke increases. I’ve got a bright turquoise fingering weight lace cowl going, but it’s very meh for me. I’ll finish it at some point. I did finish a shawl with two skeins of MadTosh Pashmina, which is a yummy blend of merino, silk and cashmere, in a stunning color called Wino Forever that’s impossible for me to truly capture in a photo, but maybe you’ll get some idea.

The pattern is called the Anomalie Shawl (non-Rav link), which is a crescent shape built of alternating ribbing and garter sections. It was wonderful to knit, both yarn and pattern, but didn’t end up quite as big as I’d hoped, even with using two skeins. I also finished the Chai Latte cowl, which I have in a book called Coffee House Knits but is also available online (non-Rav link). It’s currently blocking but here’s how it looked in progress. The yarn is Malabrigo Rios in Purpuras.

And I’m working on a fun single-skein shawl called The Bright Side (free on Rav), with gray/rainbow yarn from Desert Panda. This one is wonderfully mindless and wonderfully cheerful.

Soon I’ll be casting on a baby blanket for a co-worker gift, and I’m itching to cast on a shawl with the new yarn I got at the yarn store Friday. Just the three on the left – the silver sparkle I bought because it was on sale and it’s always a good idea for me to have silver sparkle in my stash. I’m planning to make a Joji shawl called Jodi. It’s available on LoveCrafts, which I prefer, but it’s $1.20 more than it is on Rav, which is kind of frustrating because I prefer not to give Rav money when I can help it. Maybe the fees are higher on that site?

I’ve now read everything Abbi Waxman has written and am almost done with Unraveling by Peggy Orenstein, which is fabulous and I highly recommend for all fiber lovers. It does NOT make me want to shear a sheep and make my own yarn, and it gives me a greater appreciation for all those who are able to do it and end up with gorgeous yarn at the end.