Tag Archive | knitting

Happy Mail

Here’s the thing: when you only knit on one project, and it’s a bigger project, that means you don’t have interesting progress to report on your blog all the time. So it is with me and my Olive Pink shawl. I am on the last section, with just the border after that, and I know I will finish this weekend. But rather than share another photo of that, instead I’ll share my happy mail from yesterday.

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This beautiful set, called Stained Glass Menagerie, is from Show Me Yarn, a Missouri dyer whose yarn I love. They’ve done these collaborations with Willow Island before, with matching yarn and bag, and I just couldn’t resist this one. I needed those bright colors in my life.

WIP Wednesday: Olive Pink

I recently read that one of the things that comes up a lot in discussions of managing mental health is having a sense of accomplishment or achievement. That really resonated with me, and explained why I needed to jump into a big painting project right after I was furloughed. At the time, I was feeling kind of lost and aimless, and finishing something as obvious as painting a room was exactly what I needed. After I moved on from painting, I switched to finishing knitting projects. First it was my Penny sweater, then my Pride socks. I knit on them almost exclusively, maybe obsessively, until they were done and I could check them off. Now my focus has switched to my Olive Pink shawl and I’m determined to finish this darn thing.

CFF628CF-7A6D-4A15-8B8C-00D727A55380 It’s something like 20 sections and I’m on section 15b and OMG I’m ready to get to the next section. The first 12 sections were great, changing colors and stitches so often that I wanted to keep knitting to see what was next. But sections 13-15 are much the same, all with the pink, and I’m tired of that. As cool as it looks, I need a new texture! I’m hoping I can power through this section today and get to something different. And when it’s all done, who wants to weave in all the ends for me?

Sock it to me Monday

My Pride socks are done. I used the Heel Toe Do Si Do pattern and while I like how it looks very much, I had to have the pattern handy the whole time and I missed having mindless socks.

The yarn is MollyGirl’s Glamour Lite in Born This Way, and has a little sparkle thread which is quite delightful. No word yet on how they’ll feel to wear; I’ll let you know when it’s not in the 80s with high humidity. For now I’m back to knitting on my vanilla socks, at least until next month when I start my Christmas in July socks. Happy Monday, friends.

New project

I cast on a new cowl yesterday. Yes, I know I said I was going to work on my current WIPs. And I kind of am! I pulled out a cowl that had been snoozing for quite a while. It was a worsted weight bandana-style cowl in some yummy Frosting Worsted by Delicious Yarns. I pulled the pattern up and remembered why it had been snoozing: the pattern had a couple of errors. They weren’t huge, but they were in two rows, it was a paid pattern, and I’d messaged the designer, and she’d said she was going to update the pattern within a week. That was three months ago. Again, they weren’t huge errors and I could have kept going by marking the pattern where the errors were, but when I pay $6 for a pattern and the designer is aware of errors and doesn’t fix them, well. I get annoyed and I’m not going to knit that pattern. So there! It got frogged and rewound and I cast on for the Lydian cowl.

A947612E-B6D3-4B7D-AD9A-5DA6923F1451_1_201_aI did try yesterday to get photos of my new sweater, but man, that pink is hard to photograph. I’m going to try again today since it’s overcast. Happy Friday, friends, and Happy Juneteenth.

Back to socks

I told myself that when my Penny sweater was done, I was going to get back to painting. I have one stairwell left that needs fresh paint before I feel like I can pack away the painting supplies. But then yesterday I finished my sweater. Wove in the 2457 ends and blocked it and everything. It’s drying, so I’ll share photos soon. Anyway, I finished it and remembered what I’d told myself and I didn’t like what Past Bonny had said. Apparently I’m not ready to get back to painting. Instead I’m going back to my Pride Socks.

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I pulled them out of my bag and discovered I’d been knitting too long on the leg and it was a good 1 1/2″ longer than the first sock. That’s too much of a difference for me, so I had to do a bit of frogging, but now they’re back on track and I’ve got the heel ready to go. This might be the start of a round of Finish-itis. I think I’m ready to work down my six WIPs!

Trying something new

I’ve just been working on my Penny sweater this week and the sleeves are going really quickly. The first one is on hold and I’ve got the second one started. AND I even tried something new for the second sleeve: I’m knitting it on two circulars!

img_8004I got such terrible laddering with the first sleeve on DPNs that I needed to do something different for the second. I thought about knitting it inside out, since I don’t have issues with laddering with knit stitches, just purling. But I knew my gauge would be different then — I purl more loosely than I knit. I don’t even know what prompted me to try the two circs thing but after some awkwardness, I’ve gotten into the groove and it’s going smoothly. Bonus: NO ladders! I guess it’s worth trying new techniques every once in a while.

Marathon, not a sprint

I’m wiped out, guys. Between the state of the world and some stuff going on behind the scenes, my mental/emotional state is kind of a wreck. I’m really struggling with going back to sharing knitting and dogs on social media, especially Instagram. It seems so trivial and petty right now. But I’m here, and I’m knitting. Mostly I’ve been working on my Penny sweater. I’ve got the body done and most of one sleeve done.

img_7997I’ve discovered I much prefer knitting sleeves separately rather than when they’re already attached to a big lump of sweater you have to keep adjusting. However, I’ve also discovered that when I purl on DPNs, I get the worst ladders. Here’s hoping that shit blocks out.

The other day I also ventured out to a yarn store. I made all the necessary precautions (sanitizer before and after, masks, limited touching of the yarn) and it was really comforting to be back in a familiar and pleasant environment. I miss yarn stores.

img_7990It’s all sock yarn, probably no surprise there, though I suppose it could grow up to be something other than socks.

Happy whatever-day-this-is, friends. Hope you’re all staying safe and healthy.

Sock It To Me Monday

I cast on a new sock first thing this morning for the Pride Month KAL. Of the two yarns I was pondering, Born This Way from MollyGirl Yarn was the overwhelming favorite, and I had to agree that it seemed the perfect choice. And I decided to jazz it up just a tiny bit more by picking a new pattern to me, Heel Toe Do Si Do. Guys, this project is addictive.

944DFB50-B0DA-4F4A-9859-B5AA71022B8EEverything about this is perfect for me: the colors, the striping, the sparkle, the subtle chevrons. These will be easy to finish within a month.

Rainbow KAL?

Apparently Sarah Jane at Mildly Granola is hosting a Pride Sock KAL for June, and I’m ready for some bright rainbow-ish socks. Which should I use??

img_7830Neither are true rainbows, but they’re the closest I have. The top is a self-striping called Make Me Smile, and the bottom is named Born This Way, which seems appropriate for Pride Month. Which would you knit?

Also today was a very good mail day and I got my new project bag that I ordered from Orange Jellyfish Dream. They’re hand-dyed and extremely well-made. I think I’ll put my new sock project in it! They had other colors too. You can see them here.

EDF80659-D0D1-48BB-BB8A-4F84939E097C_1_201_aOh yeah, I got the matching pouch too. Oops.

Wait, it’s Tuesday?

I saw someone’s Sock It To Me Monday post last night and was genuinely confused — I was sure yesterday was Sunday! Especially without a work schedule to ground me, my days are all muddled now. But apparently today is Tuesday so I’ll show you my finished sock a day late.

img_7856This is the Orange Jellyfish Dream yarn in my go-to sock recipe: ribbed leg, stockinette foot. I did most of the toe while on a Skype call Saturday night so it might not be exactly correct, but it’s toe-shaped so that’s a plus.

But the WIP getting all my attention right now is my new Olive Pink shawl. This is with four colors of SoLo from Lolo Did It and I am loving this project.

8D9E7CA3-73D6-4324-94EB-05B859C10924_1_201_aThere are so many color changes and stitch changes that it keeps me going to get to the next section, and I’m really pleased with the colors I chose. I’m eager to get a little more green in there, though. Even though this is 20 sections and I’m only on the sixth, I have a feeling this shawl will fly off my needles. Especially since I might need some comfort knitting! The kids have both left today, on the way to Colorado. The girl needed to move out of her old apartment and into her new one, and the boy was desperate to get out of the house, so he joined her to help clean and pack. It’ll be a big change after having her home with us for about six weeks. I’d gotten used to it and we were all having a lot of fun, so I’m a bit blue today. But, c’est la vie, right?

Happy Tuesday, friends. Hope you have better weather than our gray skies and rain!