Gosh, September was fun. And by fun, I mean that September Suuuuucked. This month went into the “and the hits just keep coming” hall of fame. There was a little bit of knitting, a little bit of life, and a whole lot of Damn!.
Finished Objects:
The Tundra hats by Purls and Peppers design. I knit the pink one per the request of Feebs. She really liked the pink and black charity hat that I knit last month and asked for a pink and gray hat. The blue one was knit to use up the rest of the Swish DK and a small ball of blue wool. I really like this hat pattern but am not a fan of the crown. It gives too much of a conehead point.
New Cast-ons:
V-neck Boxy
Knit House Cardigan
Works In Progress:
Slippy V Shawl
Shatar
Blue Mountain cowl
Goals for next month:
Complete more Bingo card items
Work on Shatar
Get ready for Mendocino and Amsterdam
Spend less money
Sew a tote or project bag
There weren’t many finished objects, but a lot of knitting did happen. I have worked on my Slippy V shawl, started a new cardigan, and knit a large chunk on a Joji Locatelli Boxy sweater. You know Boxy’s are a million stitches, all in fingering weight yarn. And this one is a V-neck as well, which was very fiddley to start. The shawl isn’t bad, but I have to pay attention, and I hate having to pay attention all of the time. Since I decided that Boxy was my Mendocino sweater, I have focused on that instead of the cardigan. I also purchased an i-cord maker, which is pretty snazzy. I detest knitting i-cord, so I thought this would be handy. It is making me want a circular sock machine. I mean, it doesn’t take much to encourage that want, I have wanted one for a long time. There is a company that makes 3D printed ones that are 1/4 the cost of the metal ones. I may buy that for myself for my 2024 gift. Like all of 2024… I may also buy a sock club membership to go with it, like from Vesper Yarns. The Husband brought me a skein from Michigan, and I am eager to knit it and see if I like the yarn. The sock machine company is Dean & Bean Sock Machine. I want the 2.0 Sock Machine with a 60-stitch barrel and a 64-stitch barrel. I am leaning toward getting a yellow one. I have grand dreams of cranking all of my sock yarn, a la Yarn Hoarder, and knitting in heels, toes, and cuffs by hand. That would allow them to be partially hand-knit and make for portable projects. Mind you, I just washed and put away all of my hand-knit socks. I am running out of room. So yeah, I totally need more.
Oh the month started with such promise. Week one, we got to see the O’s and Sister #2. The Husband had the brainstorm to book a trip for Thanksgiving week, and now we are going to the Netherlands. Both the Sierra Nevada Yarn Crawl (my delayed Mother’s Day trip), the Husband’s trip to the desert, and Mendocino were right around the corner. Everything was going great. The second weekend was my getaway with T. We were going to spend our overnight in Sacramento, and all was planned out. Then she called me that day to say that her good friend was losing a beloved pet and she needed to stay close till she heard about the status. The poor doggy did pass, so that shaded the day. It was a fantastic getaway, regardless, but it was cut short the next day so she could get over to support her friend. The rest of the weekend was pretty chill. The week began with a call from the Mother. She was crying and said that she had hurt herself and needed help. By the time I got to her, I had to call an ambulance. Blood was all over and she was so disoriented. We spent the next two days in the hospital. It turns out she had fallen off of a ladder and hit her head on the concrete floor of her garage. It was very stressful and scary. She was so lucky to only have a gash on her head and an unpleasant concussion. I am very hopeful that she will take this as a sign to slow down and ask for help. Fast forward to the end of that week and Feebs has strep throat. Again. For the 4th time this year. So onto antibiotics she went. Since she missed two days of school, and the Mother was still on the mend, we couldn’t take more time off and I didn’t want to be a state away from her, so we canceled the yarn crawl. I was really sad to miss it, but se la vie. I hope we go next year. The Husband wanted us to still go for a couple of the shops, but to me that defeated the fun of hitting them all and getting my passport fully stamped. We did still go to the bestie’s birthday party at Chuck E Cheese, my own private hell. Feebs had a great time, got lots of fun prizes, and brought home Covid. So, she spent the rest of the week home sick. Try as I might to avoid the plague, sure enough, on the last day of the cursed month I tested positive too. September suuuuuucked. I have much higher hopes for October. The Husband did go on his trip to the deset. He didn’t want to leave me to deal with Feebs and fend for us, but he really needed to get away. Hopefully, he will stay healthy and avoid the ick! We are still scheduled to go to Mendo, but it will be close. I was able to get on Paxlovid the day I tested positive, so hopefully we are still able to go without risking our friend’s health and safety. I took Paxlovid the last time we got it. I think it helped to speed up the healing process, but man it gives me a metallic taste that is awful. But whatever. I will take the vile stuff as long as I can get better and get on with life.
So, that was fun. A note bright, though, is getting to plan our Netherlands trip! We will be gone from 11/19-11/27. We want to go into Brussels and Dusseldorf while we are there. In the heart of Amsterdam is Stephen & Penelope. I am so excited to go there! I am going to start making a list of all the European yarns that I can’t get here (without having my wallet raped by shipping costs). I am not buying any yarn until then, though that has been my vibe for a while now. I have just wanted to shop my stash only. I really love the yarns that I already own and want to use them. Then down the street from Stephen & Penelope is the Tony’s Chocolonely super-store. That sounds like heaven! Yarn and chocolate, the match made in heaven. I have downloaded the DuoLingo App and Feebs and I are learning some Dutch. I have no delusions of speaking well by then, but it seems so entitled to show up without knowing how to say a few things. I hate when people show up to foreign countries and expect the people there to speak their language. It’s just rude. While we are in Dusseldorf, I really want to go to the Christmas market that Molly from the Homespun House always talked about. Luckily, it starts while we are there. That trip is going to be epic. I just pray that everyone stays healthy and intact for it! Another purchase I want to make before we go is a pair of noise-cancelling headphones. I never saw the hype about them. I couldn’t figure out why people would spend so much money on them and treat them like such a big deal. Then I drug the Husband into a Best Buy to kill some time. On a whim, I tried on a pair of Sony headphones, and my actual world was rocked. The world shut up completely and I had an inner-body experience. My soul smiled. I don’t get jazzed about things like that, especially not tech things. I absolutely want a pair of those headphones. They are a weighted blanket for my brain. The Husband wanted to buy them that day, but they were $250, which is not insignificant. Prime day is on October 10, so I will wait and buy them then. I would have loved to have them for Mendo too. I could think of nothing more amazing than doing yoga in the backyard, before everyone is up, using those headphones. The thought of it is just sexy! I will be patient though and wait.
That sums up this sucky month. I need October to be better. I need to never have a repeat of this month. I want everyone to be happy, and healthy, and safe. I want my girl to stop getting sick, and I want my mom to stay safe and well. I look forward to what October brings. Mendo, our anniversary, Husband’s birthday, Mother’s birthday, and Halloween. Hopefully, it is full of fun and good things. On to October we go!
Loves,
M
Mrs. Collins Makes Stuff 