On Accidentally Deleting a Post, and other news…

Sighhh… It’s a beautiful afternoon. In fact, the weather in southern Ontario has been very summery for the last three or four days. My back deck has become a new solace and escape for me, so much so that I thought I would take my iPad outside and write a post for this week while sitting under the shade of my patio umbrella. Take advantage of this weather while we have it, right?

My iPad is old. It serves me well with many and most purposes, and I don’t need the newest and shiniest, but being older (I mean, running on iOS 9-point-something older), the wordpress app sometimes is laggy. Laggy in that last week’s post looked like it was still in draft format . Long story short, I deleted what I thought was a draft; like, perma deleted. What I wrote last week seems to be gone. Ugh.

The gist of last week’s post was that I finished my Mount Pleasant (by Megan Nodecker) crop top. there you are. Last week’s post in a nutshell.

Within that post, I might have lamented having to alternate skeins, which took time in making what should have been a quicker knit; and speaking of quick knits, I shared a picture of my latest sweater, V-Neck Magpie.

Well, didn’t this project just fly off the needles! It was finicky and fussy in places, but all in all, a super quick project.

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I’ve been less enthusiastic about knitting my usual socks and shawls (gasp, I know), and I came to a realization while texting a friend about it: I have a lot of socks and shawls. I have socks in all colours, and shawls of all shapes, sizes, and constructions. My knitting wardrobe feels fairly complete at the moment with those accessories, and yet I’m looking at a stash of largely single skeins of sock yarn. Mount Pleasant and the Magpie series used a small(ish) amount of sock yarn and adds a garment to my wardrobe that’s different and (seemingly) filling a need.

If I was to make Magpie again (which I’m tempted to do), I already know I would try a few techniques a little differently. It may work, or it may have been written the way it was for a reason (trust the designer, Lisa…).

And now that my latest sweater is off the needles, I’m stuck with the never-ending dilemma of what to cast on next. I may have splurged supported a LYS by buying enough yarn to make a Hogwarts cardigan from Knitting Magic: The Official Harry Potter Knitting Pattern Book, but the LAST thing I want to do is knit on a hot back deck with heavy worsted weight wool.

It might be back to the shawls, until the fall at least…

Knitspiration has returned

Over the last week, I’be been keeping busy by alternating between knitting, cross stitch, and reading when the weather is nice enough to enjoy my back yard. 

One of the projects I’ve been working on is a Mount Pleasant crop top. I LOVE this pattern and the simple lace detail it features along the bottom, but I’ve chosen to make it with two skeins of hand dyed yarn. The yarn is a local dyer called Lake Knit Yarns. Because my yarn is hand dyed, it means alternating the skeins, and knitting this project has become a bit of a slog. Nevertheless, I’ve already separated the front from the back, and it’s now a lot of stockinette until it’s finished.

I’ve also started a pair of socks for my sister – I’m glad she liked this yarn, another skein from Lake Knit, the colour way aptly named After the Storm. 

While this pandemic is helping me with my 2020 goal to knit down my stash, I took advantage of a promotion one of my LYSs is offering called ‘Quarenskein.’ You pick a price ($45, $65, or $95), and the shop picks out a package of yarn and notions for you. It was a lot of fun picking it up and being very happily surprised with two skies of Sweetgeorgia, two stitch markers, and a project bag from the shop. I THINK they yarn will be destined for a Waiting for Rain shawl, but I very well might change my mind by the time I’m ready to cast on.

As for cross stitch, my Fourth Doctor Scarf is coming along nicely, as is a small project I’ve started for my mum – more attention has been devoted to that pattern so to have it finished in tie for Mother’s Day. If I meet my goal, I’ll share a picture next week.

Stay well!

What’s On (And Off) My Needles

Let’s start with some exciting news: I finished my Elkko sweater! This Aran weight sweater came together very fast (just under two weeks fast); it’s a Knitty.com pattern (read, FREE), and I really enjoyed making it.

But then, towards the end of last week, I found myself wanting knitting inspiration. I called my mum and asked if there was anything in particular she wanted me to make for her? I was thinking socks, hat, something like that. Nope, my mother went to her Pinterest account and found patterns for a stuffed cat (that could be used as a doorstop, she says) and feather bookmarks. I have to say, while the cat was a little blarg to knit, the feathers were really fun.  I made a few with two strands of sock yarn held double, and one was made with left-over DK weight. I can see myself making more of these before quarantine is up.

And then, I got a message from my brother who heard I was looking for knit projects. This is very unlike my brother to ask for something knitted, so I was intrigued.  He and his wife just adopted a French bulldog named Lotus, and apparently Lotus was wanting a new coat. I couldn’t WAIT to cast on.  It tugged at my heart that the pattern Brother asked me to make was Hoodie Dog Coat (so she would look tough while out for walks, he said).

I’ve made this pattern once before, for our beloved Border Terrier who passed away in 2018. The coat has now been passed along to my Grandad’s Jack Russell. Tucker was rather portly, so it was snug on him, but the Medium fits a Jack Russell REALLY well While the pattern itself is rather poorly written, I couldn’t resist making this project for nostalgia alone. I’m making Lotus’s Coat in a Large based on chest measurements, but adjusting the length for her.  Fingers crossed it works out…

And after spending much of Sunday on the couch watching Community on Netflix, I got a good bulk of the coat finished. It’s made with old Red Heart, so that if the dog gets it dirty and it need washing, it can handle pretty much anything.

What have you been working on? What has been your Knitspiration?

Stay safe!

Sock Stories – April 2020

Another month gone, and I haven’t completed a single sock. Sure, I knit a sweater in just under two weeks. That’s pretty good, I guess… I am probably a few hours away from finishing a sock, however. 

It is a simple vanilla sock with afterthought heel, and I’ve already started the decreases. A few hours of work and it will be done. This is really the only sock that has gotten any of my attention this month as I haven’t really touched the other two pairs on my needles. If self-isolation keeps up like they say it’s supposed it, perhaps my post on the first Thursday of May will have a little more to write about.

And I just kept knitting

And knitting… And knitting… And  then I knit some more.

I firmly believe I’m an extroverted introvert.  I’m able to play the role of an extrovert, I am able to flip the switch and extrovert all over the place. But deep down, I like the quiet, I value my solitude, I need to be able to recharge. All of the social distancing I’ve been doing this week may be driving the extrovert in me a little batty, but my introverted core is rather pleased. 

And so I’ve been knitting.  I got a three year project complete – more on this later; it’s a gift and I would hate for the receiver to find out about it early. This three year project was simple stockinette and a really great pick-up/put-down project, excellent for taking to the movies or, like in this last week, GREAT TV knitting.

I also got a pair of mittens made. Well, I got a second mitt complete.  

The yarn matches my slo-pitch team’s colours (can’t miss the team playing in lime green), and we usually start late in the spring and finish early in the fall, where it can be cool enough to warrant these bad boys.  I have enough yarn left for a hat, which, if things keep going like this, that should be completed in no time.  This pattern is Cross My Palms, by Kate Atherley.  I’ve made this pattern twice before and I LOVE it. 

Speaking of hats, I got a sock head hat done.  I wasn’t exaggerating when I said I got a LOT of knitting done this past week.  The hat was another stockinette movie knitting hat, but on Sunday, I took it to a walking trail and got a few rounds done.  

Fun fact- -1C is just a little too cold for outside knitting. Learned that one the hard way… Needless to say, got this bad boy done later that afternoon.

Finally (have I said I’ve been knitting a lot?), I joined a knit along challenge with one of my favourite yarn shops. I’m using up yarn that’s been in my stash for some time, and I’ve been working away at a sweater.  I had four skeins of Sheep’s Grey Briggs and Little, two skeins of blue Briggs and Little, and one skein of Shetland Tweed; Elkko has turned out to be a great pattern for highlighting these colours.

So, that’s what’s happening in my little corner of the world. Working from home and knitting. All. The. Knitting.