Tag Archive | crafting

Cabled Cardigan Inspo

Okay, is anyone else watching Bad Sisters on Apple TV+? I’m midway through season two so no spoilers but please let’s talk about the knitwear!! The sweaters are amazing. The hats too – Angelica was wearing a yellow hat that looks much like one I knit ages ago – but I’m obsessed with the sweaters. Apparently some of them are from IrelandsEye and I could buy them…or I could spend around the same amount of money and devote months of my time to knitting them! I know which route I’m going, what about you?

This one is my favorite. I adore that gorgeous vivid green and I’m so glad I saw it on the show because the way they styled it on Eva is so much more appealing to me than the model on the website. I am not typically a big fan of knitting cables. Cables are fiddly and most of the time I want my knitting to be not fiddly. (Some people would question my statement, given how much lace I knit and whether lace is considered fiddly or not. Maybe it is just a brand of fiddly I am on board with.)

HOWEVER, Eva has convinced me that I NEED to make this sweater. I have already done some trolling for patterns and found this Book Club Cardigan on Ravelry. I would modify the bottom hem to be thicker like Eva’s sweater, and I could modify the sleeves to be that balloon style, but I’m not sure I’m going to.

The biggest question now is yarn. I don’t tend to stash sweater quantities unless I have a pattern in mind. I had a couple of possibilities from past projects, but those yarns are discontinued, so I’m on the hunt. Since it’s a cardigan and won’t be against my skin, I don’t have to worry as much about the itch factor, but I don’t want it to be so rustic/earthy that it’s unpleasant to knit with. I think I might want to go non-superwash with this one. I should probably go with something affordable like Cascade 220 (maybe the Christmas green here??) although the last cardigan I knit with that yarn pilled like crazy.

So, I’m taking suggestions! What are your favorite budget-friendly yarns for something like a cabled cardigan?

A Year in the Life

Mar22

Before yesterday, my last post was August 2023. That’s over a year and a half — somehow I didn’t realize it had been that long. It’s been a … full time. I was going to say rough, but maybe life just IS rough? I mean, not that every day is hard but every life has challenges and obstacles along with the joys and laughter and successes.

Things were kind of okay after we lost Grace. I was sad, of course, and missed her terribly. I still miss her. But I’d had time to grieve and mentally adjust to the loss even before it happened – that time to prepare can help more than I realized. About six months after we lost Grace, we adopted a 12 week old puppy and I named her Bella. She was supposed to be a black lab but ended up being mostly pit bull. She was our first tiny puppy, so adorable, but also so freaking smart. Smartest dog I’ve ever seen. She knew the names of all her toys and would go get them when I asked. Anyway. We had Bella for six months before she got injured in a freak accident and broke her spine, and we lost her. That took me out. It was so unexpected, so unfair. Grieving Bella has been harder than grieving Grace, in a lot of ways.

Because I am weak when I am grieving, we ended up back at the shelter about a month or so later. We’d learned that puppies bring joy, and we liked that joy. This time, we brought our youngest with us, and he fell in love with a little tan girl puppy. She wasn’t my first choice, but I did love to see him find his dog, the way I’ve found mine before. She’s mostly pit bull with a bit of dachshund, and she’s cute and snuggly and silly. I like her, but she’s not my dog. And that’s okay. For now, I’ve still got Jack and Duncan. Jack is 11 now and had a growth on his leg removed in January, but thankfully it was benign and he bounced back quickly. Duncan is 9 and just a big old potato with legs.

Of course there’s been more going on – a roadtrip to Philadelphia, a meet-up with the girl in Iowa – but dogs are always the highlight, right? For now, I’m looking forward to an April trip to Salem, MA for the Fiber Witch Festival with some of my little knitting coven. We’ve reserved a house and booked a walking tour and a trolley tour and of course we’re psyched for the vendor market but mostly I’m looking forward just sitting around and knitting with some of my favorite people!

Knitting as a Calling

Mar21

I find myself missing writing, or this type of writing anyway. There have been a couple of times over the last month where I caught myself composing posts in my head. So, why not compose them here, I guess? I’ve got the blog, might as well use it when the mood hits, although I stopped paying for the fancier subscription so photos will be few and far between. I did post this on Substack but that doesn’t feel like home yet, not like this does. Fun fact: apparently today is my blogiversary – I registered the blog 11 years ago!

I recently revisited an old journal in a fit of nostalgia and 25 years ago, when I was pregnant with my first child, I wrote that I wished I knew how to knit or crochet. I didn’t necessarily want to make something for the baby – I was just restless one night and nothing sounded appealing. I have no idea how or why knitting came to mind because nobody in my world was a knitter or crocheter.

I didn’t take the initiative to learn at that point. I wish I had. I think knitting would have helped my mental state a lot when I was struggling with motherhood, and with balancing motherhood with a job or marriage or just being my own person. I cycled through other hobbies – scrapbooking, jewelry making – but they didn’t stick. And they never had the same restorative, meditative qualities that knitting does. Maybe that’s why they didn’t stick?

When it comes to hobbies – and I even struggle to call it a hobby because it feels more important than that – knitting is The One for me. It completes me, soothes me, supports me, inspires me. I’ve been knitting for 12 years now and never gotten tired of it.

It’s given me a way to play with colors and patterns and textures in a tactile way. I’ve tried drawing and painting and those are not my talents. This, though, the pairing of yarn and pattern, this comes naturally to me, and the whole process brings me so much joy.

It’s given me an amazing community, a place where I feel accepted and encouraged. I love knitters so much. I love how so many of them have leaned into being truly, authentically themselves. Many of us knitters are weird, and I say that as a compliment because I love weird. I love being “weird” because it means accepting how I’m different – not just accepting but embracing. I have to thank the wild, powerful world of knitters for helping me gain that confidence

I love who I am now, and I think knitting has contributed so much to that. I wish young Bonny had had even a tiny bit of that 25 years ago.

FO: Kitation Shawl

May31

I finished my Kitation shawl over the weekend. This was Casapinka’s pattern for Local Yarn Store Day, free with the purchase of any two skeins of fingering yarn. I was buying two skeins of Malabrigo Ultimate Sock anyway, so I thought, what the heck – let’s use it for this pattern! Well, this shawl felt like it took six months, not one. This was not one of my favorite projects.

I can look at the photos and recognize that it’s attractive, though for me that might be more about the colors than the pattern. So why was I not a fan? I had to carry two yarns throughout, which just got kind of annoying, but it’s not a dealbreaker. The first half of the pattern was almost like a stitch sampler separated by stockinette sections, which I kind of liked – it kept it interesting at least.

Then we got to the second half. It was mostly made up of four big sections that were basically the same: one side of vertical columns made with slipped stitches, one side of horizontal stripes, and each section alternated sides. As a concept, it looks cool. Knitting four sections of it got really boring. Like, REALLY boring. Plus, they recommended going up a needle size because of the slipped stitches, which I totally understand but then it made the stockinette sides looser than the previous stockinette sections. I noticed that more after blocking, and it’s admittedly a minor thing that I probably just noticed because I was already irked.

And then, after getting through all those boring sections, I made it to the “Garter Border”. Yay, the border, that shouldn’t be too long, right? Haha, wrong! The side to the right of the CDD had to go from 38 stitches down to 2 stitches, with one decrease every other row. I’ll let you do the math (mostly to prevent embarrassing myself in case I do the math wrong). Suffice to say, it was a much longer section than I expected a “border” to be and I was already so ready to be done with this shawl!

Finally! It was done, I blocked the sucker – which was its own challenge thanks to the unusual shape – and tried it on, both on myself and my mannequin. It was … meh. It’s awkward to style, because one side is so much longer than the other.

Now I’ve got a stupid shawl I probably won’t wear, so it will go in a bag of donation shawls for when I figure out where to donate shawls.

Oh, the pattern? Yeah, it’s apparently only available on Ravelry, even though Casapinka has a Payhip page. So if you can use Ravelry, and you’re still interested in this pattern, here’s the link.

I feel like such a grump with this post, but not all patterns are for all people. Who knows, one of you might love this design. And tomorrow is a new month and I have FOUR new projects all ready to cast on, whee!

FO: Classic Beanie

May6

This has been kind of a strange week. It’s been a good week at work – I’ve been productive, felt confident that what I’m doing is good, made good connections. But at home, Duncan has been limping for about a week now. He went to the vet on Tuesday, and the vet said the motion of his knee (both knees have been surgically repaired) looked good and his bloodwork came back perfect. She said to give him an anti-inflammatory twice a day for two weeks, cut back on food to get his weight down, and keep walks slow and calm. I gave him two walks after that, and both times it clearly aggravated his knee to where he could barely put any weight on it at all. Duncan’s not a complainer so he wasn’t whining, but it was obvious he was uncomfortable. I talked to the vet again yesterday, and she said there was a chance he’s tweaked something so we’ll skip walks for two weeks and give him a chance to rest and heal. I’m really hoping that helps.

I also finished another donation hat this week, the Classic Beanie by Woolly Wormhead. It’s a simple, free pattern and just what I was looking for, but when it was done, I was a little worried – it looked like I’d knit a hat for a conehead! Thank goodness for blocking.

And I found my way back to sock knitting this week too, after a long hiatus where socks just weren’t doing it for me. I was working on my turquoise shorties with my fancy Signature DPNs, and it was fine, but then a couple of days ago I pulled out a purple sock, a second sock on my Knitters Pride SmartStix, and it just felt so comforting! I think partly it’s color (PURPLE) and partly it’s how the yarn feels in my hand (wool/nylon vs cotton/nylon/acrylic). I can’t tell if the needles make a difference. I do feel like I grip the Signatures more tightly, but I need to test them on a wool sock yarn to make an accurate comparison.

I hope to finish the purple sock this weekend – along with some house cleaning. I’m looking forward to a house guest arriving next Friday and I want to make sure she doesn’t know how we actually live, haha! Having company is always a good incentive to clean house, isn’t it?

Happy Saturday, friends.

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.

WIP Wednesday

Feb8

I’m so close to another FO! I finished knitting the body of my Curiosity Cowl last night while binge watching Ginny & Georgia (omg that show is like Gilmore Girls on drugs and so addictive). Now I’ve just got 32” of I-cord to knit for the drawstring.

I really don’t know how I feel about this cowl. I got super bored knitting it, and I think the bamboo yarn is going to be super floppy, and sometimes I like the sort of fish scales vibe it’s got going on and sometimes I don’t. I do love the idea of the drawstring though, so maybe that will be the thing that tips it over into cool.

Hope you’re all enjoying your WIPs today!

Checking in on goals

Feb5

As we moved into February, I started thinking about the goals I made at the beginning of the year and evaluating how well I was doing with them. Progress was mixed. I wanted to knit at least five squares a week on my sock yarn blanket, and I went way over that – the blanket grew from 66 squares to 101! As expected, I did it more in sporadic large chunks rather than daily squares, so I’m glad I allowed for that flexibility.

I want to use more yarn from stash than I buy. This is more of a long-term goal, but I’m off to a good start. I haven’t bought any yarn this year (yet), and I’ve used six skeins from stash. And I finally got to the point in the Curiosity Cowl where you join to work in the round, so it should go pretty fast now. Once that’s done, that’s two more skeins out of my stash. I also recently pulled out a skein of acrylic to try making some dog bandanas. I like the length of the top one, but the neck is too small, so I need to rip out the ribbing and make it wider. The bottom one is a good size but seems a little short. (I know, in the pic it looks like undies, doesn’t it? haha!)

Finish my first colorwork project: well, this requires me to cast on my first colorwork project, and I had so many other WIPs that this one got postponed. But it’s in the queue and should be coming up soon!

Journal more regularly: haha, that didn’t happen. At all. Maybe I just like the idea of journaling more than the act of journaling these days. I was always more motivated to journal when I was struggling with something, or when I was in a rough place emotionally. Maybe it’s a good thing that I don’t feel the need for it. In any case, I feel zero guilt about not meeting this goal.

I had a couple of secondary goals, to walk the dog more and manage my spending. Duncan and I have been doing pretty well with our walks, except when it’s so cold that I can’t bring myself to go out. I’ve been trying to take him every day I don’t go into the office, and we’ve started going a little farther too. I think it’s been good for both of us. And I think I’m doing better with my discretionary spending too, even if it doesn’t feel like it because we renewed our symphony season tickets which are a little pricey but so worth it to me.

Oh and I read six books in January, so I’ve got a good start on my yearly goal of 50 books. That’s a higher goal than usual for me but I’d really like to clear out my TBR shelves a little more. My top two reads were The Mermaid & Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar (set in 1785, man buys an actual mermaid, drama ensues. I learned much about the courtesan industry of the time.) and The Love Story of Missy Carmichael by Beth Morrey (slightly grumpy old woman makes new friends, reluctantly adopts a dog, her life changes for the better. It has some SAD moments in it, though, so fair warning.)

So I guess we’ll call January a success and I’ll just keep on keeping on. For my fellow goal-setters, I hope you’re pleased with how things are going, and let’s remember to be gentle with ourselves even if we don’t meet those goals. We are all WIPs, after all!

Happy Sunday, friends.

Sock It To Me Monday

Jan30

Guys, I miss Sock it to me Monday. I miss knitting socks and seeing the socks other people are making (okay so I still get some of that) and just having the tiniest bit of something fun on Monday. SO! I will share the two socks on my needles that I have barely touched since casting them on at the beginning of the month.

On the left is a Wonder Woman sock. I still have several rows of stockinette to knit before I get to the WW stitch pattern, which is charted only and I’m not a fan of charts which is why I haven’t gotten very far on this sock. I think I’m going to do the leg yellow and the foot red. And the heel blue, of course. It might look weird but whatever.

The other sock is my paw print sock. Do those look like paw prints? I am not convinced and prefer my lace in shawls which is why I haven’t gotten very far on this sock.

But! I miss knitting socks so I’m going to get back to at least one of them … probably … as soon as I finish my Turtle Dove sweater.

Happy Monday, friends.

WIP Progress Update

Jan29

The last two weeks have been all about the Australian Open, at least during my non-working hours. Tennis needs simple knitting so first I finished the garter stitch sections for my Scottish Highlands shawl (designer’s website), then I focused on my Turtle Dove II (free on Rav).

The shawl is ready for an intricate lace border now, in that pale cream color, and it’s charted and has multiple charts for each row, and that means I really need to focus when I work on that. But the Turtle Dove is ready for its split hem ribbing now!! I’ve even tried it on (which was an adventure because my needles weren’t quite long enough and stitches were falling off left and right) and confirmed the length is good. I have one more match left — the men’s final — and I’m hoping it lasts long enough that I at least get one side of ribbing completed. Must wind more yarn first, though!

As excited as I am for my sweater, I’m equally ready to get back to some of my other WIPs. Not just the lace for the shawl, but also my fun Curiosity Cowl (only found it on Rav). I’d made good progress before the tennis started, but I’m still not ready to join in the round. Once I do, it’s going to ZOOM. I also recently ordered a copy of 52 Weeks of Easy Knits and there are at least three patterns in there calling my name, but I’m resisting any and all cast-on urges until I complete another project or two.

I was quite proud of myself yesterday: the husband and I went out to a couple of bookstores and we were VERY CLOSE to my favorite LYS … and I DID NOT GO. I was very tempted, but not for any good reason — just because I knew there would be pretty yarn and I like pretty yarn. But I resisted, whew!

I’ve also decided I’m going to try a new strategy to control my yarn spending when we travel: like most knitters (I’m guessing), I have a queue of projects I would like to knit. I do not have the appropriate yarn for all of those projects. So I’m going to make a list of said projects that details the yarn requirements, and then when I’m out and about and happen to be in a yarn store where I want my arms to be full of yarn, I can at least buy intentionally for things I know I want to make. Yes, I will still buy yarn just because it’s pretty. But if I could end up with more yarn destined for projects and fewer single skeins of fancy fingering weight yarn, I think that would be a good thing. I think our first trip is in April, when we’ll go visit the girl, so I have time to get my list prepped.

Happy Sunday, friends.