Tag Archive | crafting

Here come the holidays

Oh golly. 2020, amiright? Good news: we’re all feeling fine, the boy’s test was negative and my tests have been negative, and the two weeks since possible exposure are up Monday. Of course, we’re very lucky: someone else I know tested positive this week (though honestly, I’m not sure they’re very good about staying home/not socializing etc).

Bad news: the girl is not coming home for Thanksgiving. I know it’s the right decision but I hate it quite a lot, and today it’s hitting me hard as the husband plans the menu and I know it will just be the three of us. I am trying to remind myself to be thankful that everyone I love is still alive. And the three of us are going to be as careful as possible so that with any luck, she can be here for Christmas. (Just let me be optimistic about something, okay?)

My recent ennui has extended beyond this blog and into my knitting. I frogged that cowl and it was satisfying, but I don’t have a new pattern picked out for the yarn. Besides a third swatch for my Oxbow, which is drying now, all I’ve done is make two bobble hats.

My former boss has commissioned four of them for new lab members, which is the only reason I will consent to doing bobbles anymore. But now they’re on hold because I’m waiting for more brown yarn to arrive in the mail. (I wanted to say “post” there. I think I’ve been watching too much British TV. Can I just say, watching Diana on The Crown is quite sad. We’re not too far into the new season yet, but it just makes my heart ache a bit.)

Today, though, today I’m going to try to break through the wall with some Christmas knitting. I remembered I had a sock kit in my stash, plus my new self-striping from Two Sisters is here. Which one to knit first? Oh, and I also got some gorgeous new yarn from the Lemonade Shop the other day. So many yarns I want to play with!

I think today will be a couch/tea/knitting/movie marathon kind of day. And dogs. Always dogs. Here, have a photo of Duncan in his new pajamas. He’s quite dapper, I think.

Happy weekend, friends.

Sock It To Me Monday

Nov16

The title is a little bit misleading: I have no sock to show you. I have no sock progress to show you, though my Tainted Love sock is growing and I’m halfway through the foot. Instead, I will share with you my sad sock story: my Christmas socks itch my feet!

I wore my newest WYS self-striping socks yesterday and by the time 5 pm came around, I couldn’t keep them on any longer, they just felt so itchy and prickly. And I have three pairs of WYS Christmas socks! Guys, I was so sad I immediately went to Etsy and bought this yarn from Two Sisters Yarn Co. I WILL have Christmas socks, by golly! Now I have to decide whether to gift them to someone else or keep them and just plan on wearing them for short durations.

In better news, I did finish a lingering WIP over the weekend. When my second Oxbow swatch did not give me the desired results, I was discouraged and needed a win, so I pulled out my ripple bralette that only needed straps and binged the last season of Schitt’s Creek while I finished it.

Though this mannequin is a smaller size than I am, I am happy to report that it does fit me. It’s not perfect: the body is about an inch too long and the straps maybe 1/2″ too long. But certainly wearable … assuming I can wear the wool against my skin. It’s Malabrigo, which I can easily wear as scarves and socks, so maybe it will be okay. Anybody have any magic wool wash suggestions to help make itchy things less itchy?

Frog or not?

Nov15

While my second Oxbow gauge swatch was drying after being blocked (I know! I did a proper gauge swatch!) I pulled out a lace cowl that I’ve had on the needles since mid-August. It is languishing, I must admit. It’s Malabrigo Arroyo in a beautiful purple/pink shade but it grows SO SLOWLY. I think I’m used to worsted and bulky cowls so this sport weight is taking much longer. Plus it’s lace, and it’s a 32-row repeat. And that presents another issue: last night I got to the bottom of the first page of the pattern and thought that was the end of the repeat, so I started again with row 1. I got three rounds in before I realized that I’d only done 24 rows of the 32-row lace pattern. Heck.

Now I’m not even sure I want to keep working on this project. I don’t want to frog back those rounds. I know the error won’t be noticeable when I’m wearing it, but the principle of the thing is annoying me. Plus, I never find myself eager to work on this project; it’s always “Okay, I guess I better do some more of that one.” That’s the biggest red flag, isn’t it? This just might not be the right combination of yarn and pattern. What do you think: frog or not?

FO Saturday

Nov14

So I’m a day late, whatever. I actually forgot I’d finished this. It was up in the craft room on the mannequin, waiting for photos. I think I knit this last weekend, when I need a good, quick bulky project. It was billed as a one-skein, two-hour project, and that was almost true. I did only use one skein, but I had to skip a couple rows at the end. And I’m pretty sure it took me longer than two hours, but I was watching Schitt’s Creek so that was fine by me.

This is Malabrigo Rasta in a purple whose name I’ve forgotten, and the pattern is called Why Wait (Rav link). I used size 13 needles but I almost think I would have liked size 15 to give it a little looser drape.

I also finished my first swatch for my Oxbow cardigan, and even though I can’t find my handy gauge-measuring tool, a ruler was enough to tell me it was definitely too loose. So now I’ve got gauge swatch number two about done, and hopefully I can find my gauge tool today. That reminds me, maybe I should add a couple of those to my Christmas list. They’d make great stocking stuffers!

You all will be glad to know that the Zoom calls were fine (though there ended up being FOUR. That’s the most I’ve talked to people in a very long time.) The vet visit wasn’t quite as good. Jack hates the vet so much by now that he wasn’t sure he wanted to get in the car, and then we had to really struggle to get him inside. But we got the meds he needed and he was very happy to come home.

Unfortunately, my fears about Friday the 13th weren’t quite unfounded: we found out that one of the boy’s friends tested positive. Even though they’ve only been around each other in a small group of four, with distancing and masks, it’s enough to make me worry. None of are symptomatic at all, thank goodness. I’d taken a test on Wednesday, which came back negative, and we’ll get the boy tested Monday. So cross your fingers that we’re able to dodge this bullet, and be sure to wear your masks!

Today my goal is to get some chores done and hopefully get the Christmas tree up and lit! Not decorated yet, I’ll do it in stages, but I’m ready for a sparkly tree. Anybody else decorating for Christmas already?

Friday the 13th!

Nov13

EEK! Are we all bracing ourselves for whatever will come our way today? I know I am. I have three Zoom calls today (I usually have zero) where I have to talk to people and they will see me. And I have to take Jack back to the vet, because his last hot spot healed weird and now he has two more small ones and ARGH. By now he hates the vet so much that even with two of his happy pills, he fights when I try to make him go through the door. Last time it took me three tries to get him inside. I’d love to have someone helping me, so I could be pulling him and they could be pushing him from behind, but the vet prefers only one person per pet right now. Like I said, ARGH. So to heck with trying to worry about looking “good”, today is a comb my hair and wear sweats kind of day!

If I’m lucky, I will have some knitting time today. I have no FOs to share and actually no new knitting photos, so instead I’ll just share my new yarn.

The Cascade Eco is a dark purple that will become an Oxbow cardigan. I started my swatch last night. The middle is a delightful sock set from Ruby and Roses yarn. And I was finally able to get a copy of 52 Weeks of Socks. When I went to pick it up from Yarn Social, some yarn followed me home. The WYS is the Fairy Lights sparkle colorway, and the purple is Old Rusted Chair squish DK. That one is feeding the stash at this point, though I’m thinking a cowl. I do love cowls.

Hope everyone stays safe today! Happy Friday the 13th!

Sock It To Me, Monday!

Nov9

There’s an exclamation point there because this was a GOOD Monday! On a whim yesterday, Sarah and I decided to do another socially distant knitting date at our favorite rest stop in Iowa. So instead of working, I was hanging out with a cool friend and knitting and hiking!

I got my Tainted Love sock to the heel flap, and the black ribbed hat to the point of decreases, so I’m calling that a productive knitting session. And the project bag was a gift from Sarah because it has the state bird of Missouri on it, which is apparently a bluebird and which I’m sure I knew at some point but had forgotten. It just makes me like the bag even more than I did already!

This might have been our last knitting date for a while, because the cold weather hits tomorrow. Glad we got another one in this fall! Hope your Monday was as good as mine!

Catching Up

Nov8

It’s been quite a week, friends. For all of us, I think. My brain was full enough that I haven’t had the energy or motivation to blog, but I’m hoping things will start to change now — in a lot of ways! I’m sure my views are no secret, but I’ll just say that I felt an enormous sense of relief yesterday, and I felt my body relax in a way it hadn’t in about four years, I think.

Yep, I wore ALL the things to vote. It was quick and simple at my location, and everyone was polite and friendly. I finished my Christmas socks while watching A LOT of election coverage, and started a new pair. Jack sat on my knitting bag at one point, bending my needle, but thankfully the husband was able to bend it back without damage.

The sock is my Tainted Love birthday yarn from Sarah and gosh, isn’t it a great mix of colors?? I love it! And yesterday afternoon I felt so good that I decided to work on something besides a plain sock, and pulled out a lace cowl.

Though I want to finish some WIPs, I have to admit that my brain is wandering a bit and making me want to cast on some new things. I should just remind myself that now is the time to finish strong for the year, and meet my goal of using at least as many skeins from my stash as I added to it. Surprisingly, even with all the stress-shopping of this year, I’m on track to at least break even. It would be good to get a win out of 2020 … I mean, another win!

Happy Halloween

Oct31

Though I am not a big Halloween fan, I know many of you are, so I wish you all a fun and safe celebration tonight. We’ll be home with the porch light off, acting like it’s any other Saturday night. We never get trick-or-treaters even in good years, so it’s not like we’re depriving anyone anyway. And after this maybe I can start slowly bringing out the Christmas decorations. I don’t know why I want them out already; I never do this early. But it is my favorite holiday, so maybe I’m seeking the joy it’s brought me in years past, since this year is such a dumpster fire. I’m avoiding social media as much as possible and just kind of holding my breath to get past the election. Though I know it won’t be OVER that night, it still seems like a big hurdle I’m ready to get past.

In the vein of wanting Christmas spirit, and also feeling unambitious, this has been my knitting this week.

It’s good, a happy sock. I’m not excited about any of my WIPs right now, but I can’t tell if that’s their fault, or my own lack of mojo. I’m feeling the itch to do a bulky cowl, and the boy asked for a simple ribbed beanie, so those might be started soon.

Oh, and Jack is still in the cone when he’s unsupervised. The hot spot was a bad one and is very slow to heal, so while it’s getting better, I’m being very cautious. Thankfully, he is a good and patient boy and when it’s time to put on the cone, he sits and tilts his head back so we can slide it on.

Happy Saturday — hope all is well (enough) in your world!

Sock It To Me Monday

Oct26

I’m wearing new socks today, freshly finished socks! I love that first wearing of new socks, don’t you? These are my Jimmy the Model socks from LolaBean Yarn Co.

I totally meant to use the purple/pink on the heel too, but I forgot on the first sock and I wanted them to match. I’m hoping I can eke out a pair of shortie socks with purple toes.

I was able to get some medicine for Jack this morning, thank goodness. He’s still in the cone and not too happy, but at least he’s not fighting it. I’m grateful for my vet for not making me drag him in again! Tonight, I have to try to get him in the bathtub for a bath. Have I mentioned he’s 85 pounds? Should be interesting!

Also, we’re getting our first snow of the season and I’m strangely happy about it! Maybe it’s because I know I don’t have to drive to work in it, and maybe because I’m eager for the Christmas season.

Happy Monday, friends.

FO: Sailing

Oct25

I’m doing pretty well with my Finish-itis and got my Sailing shawl done and blocked. It’s a little smaller than I expected but still very wearable.

I bought the pattern on Lovecrafts and it was good mindless knitting, lots of soothing garter stitch. And I love the yarn! It’s a merino fingering weight from Orange Jellyfish Dream in a OOAK purple/gray color.

With that done, I’ve turned my attention to the other purple/gray shawl on my needles, although I did cast on for my Christmas socks too. And I’m getting some good knitting time today too. Jack got a hot spot last night (an itchy spot on the skin that dogs then lick/scratch obsessively so it can get infected if it’s not treated quickly), so he’s in the cone of shame today and very unhappy about it. He seems to be happier next to me, so we’re just chilling in the living room. And Duncan is lending his moral support, since he remembers how miserable the cone is.

With any luck, the vet will be able to get us some meds without me having to take him in yet again. He hates the vet so much, and we’ve been having skin issues already lately, so this isn’t a new problem. With any luck, it will heal quickly and we can free him from his miserable cone!