Hello darling. I knit the Bliss Shorts by Muki Crafts, and they are bliss. Oh my goodness, they are adorable! I honestly think these shorts are in the top 5 of my favorite things I have ever knit. I haven’t even worn them out yet and I still love them to the moon and back. They are knit using Cascade Yarns Venezia Sport. I started a Dream Knitting post (which I haven’t even finished) and wrote about how I wanted to tackle more things on my bingo card and one of them was how I wanted to knit shorts. I started to peruse Ravelry for patterns and one thing led to another and before you know it I was pairing the Venezia with the Bliss shorts and the rest was history. I bought the yarn several years ago when I was still in denial that lavender is not a great color on me.

What went right: basically everything, honestly. These knit up fairly fast. They are a deceptively a lot of knitting and took me 14 days to complete. There are pockets and a ribbon drawstring. They are all stockinette with a cable bind off, and I was afraid they would roll. I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to block them aggressively and they don’t roll at all. The pants are flowy and the legs are heavy enough not to crawl up when walking.

What went wrong: I can’t say anything went really wrong. I ordered ribbon shoe laces and I ordered the wrong size so I had to splice them together in order to get them to fit around my waist/ hips. The only thing that isn’t completely finished on these shorts is the pockets. I have left a loose end on both of them so I can see how the pocket hangs as I wear them. I need to see if I am going to tack the pockets in place or let them hang loose. I had pockets in a knit sweater, years ago, and the pocket always turned out as I wore the sweater. I want to see if that happens with the shorts. The downside is that when you tack them in place, it pulls the stitches and you see it from the right side. We will see.

So that is it. I love these things so much, and I can’t wait to wear them! I am hopeful that the yarn will wear well and not be horribly hot. I have faith it won’t pill horribly where the chub rubs. I am also really happy that the lavender yarn can be put to good use away from my face. I think it will be put to great use at another part of my body. Hooray for more semi-deep stash yarn being put to good use! And for another box on the Bingo card being checked off!

Loves,

M

It seems like I was just here. I posted May yesterday, and here I am posting June. June was another good month. Lots happened and a lot of knitting was finished. I didn’t get to some of the mending projects that I had in mind, but it was okay. I still accomplished a lot. I even read a hard-cover book for the first time in many months. I read The International House of Dereliction by Jacqueline Davies. It is a kids book that I pulled off the shelf while waiting for Feebs at the library. It ended up be an amazing book!

Finished Objects:

Lakeside Beach Wrap by Knitatude. I knit this in recycled cotton yarn from an L.L. Bean sweater. There is a separate post about this.

Charity knitting- three wash clothes and a vanilla hat. I went through my scrap basket and retrieved all of the leftover balls of cotton yarn and used up three of them on the clothes. The hat was started probably a year ago and was left in the basket. The hat took about three hours and the clothes about one hour each.

New cast-ons:

Oaken Shawl

Highlights Tunic & Tee

Works in Progress:

On the go socks

Shatar vest

Vinca hat

Knit house cardigan

Goals for next month:

Read one physical book each month

Budget and savings

Sew the York Pinafore

Move my home workstation and create a space

Knitting was very good this month. I pulled out the yarn that the Father brought me from England and cast on the Oaken Shawl by Tin Can Knits. I promptly remembered how much I hate knitting that shawl, but I know that it going to be gorgeous and worth it. I messed up a row two rows back, so she is currently in a time out but she is like 60% done. I cast on and knit the super cool and cute Lakeside Beach Wrap, using the recycled cotton sweater yarn and I 100% love it. I have a separate post where I wax philosophical about it, so I won’t gush too much here. Let it be said, I am going to love wearing it. I also cast on the Highlights Tunic & Tee pattern, intending to knit the tunic/ dress version. I think I am going to play some serious yarn chicken, but I think it will be worth it. It will be a beautiful dress once it’s done. I did some charity knitting, finally, and used up some more cotton yarn. I have one more ball of cotton waiting, so that will be next on the list of charity knits. I also did a pretty big de-stash of Corynn’s yarn and was able to donate it. That knocked down my Ravelry stash and let me move yarn that I wasn’t interested in out of my house and onto someone who will love it. I didn’t do any sewing, but I think I have the York Pinafore sizing figured out, so will hopefully tackle that in July. I also think I have a plan to upcycle one of the Father’s old dress shirts. I really hope I do. I think he would get a kick out of seeing his shirt come back to life. Extra points if I can finish it by the family bbq in August. Fortunately/ unfortunately I created a hole in the seam of one my t-shirts when cutting out a tag, so I have to break out the serger anyway. Hopefully this will give me a push to sew something.

The first weekend in June ended up being pretty chill. I thought that was a great start to the week. Feebs and I have continued our rock climbing adventures and that has been a lot of fun. That week we got to see our east coast friends and have dinner with them. I really miss having them close. That week was the last week of school and the week was pretty packed. Feebs did great with her end of year stuff. We will really miss Ms. Exner. She made 4th grade manageable and really helped Feebs stay on track. I did not get Betty’s sleeves altered before our camping trip, but the camping trip happened anyway. It wasn’t nearly as cold as it was last year, which was a relief. I also go much smarter and bought new cots for Feebs and I and new sleeping bags. We had our -10 degree mummy bags inside of -10 degree full size sleeping bags. We all slept better this year. I got sun burned like what, but it was my own fault for not wearing sun screen. We all had a good time and the girls enjoyed being together. The O’s and I did decide that we wanted to camp somewhere more inland next year. The Husband isn’t thrilled, but each year someone freezes and that is just exhausting. We left camping and jammed home to get to a niece’s college graduation party. We haven’t seen that side of the family in a long time and it was really good to catch up with everyone. I even got to snuggle a brand new little bean. She was scrumptious! That week was really busy and ended up with my 6-month infusion treatment. That is never a fun day. It hit me really hard this time and made me tired and draggy for the next couple of days. The next day, the Husband went to partake in the grand closet opening at this Dad’s house. There were some funny stories that came from it, and a lot of treasures came home with him. The following day was the ash scattering on the ocean in Pacifica. I did much better than I thought I would, probably because I was trying to distract Feebs. Boats really aren’t my thing. I am a total land-dweller. I didn’t get sick and I think my father in law would have been happy that his family did that for him. While I didn’t get seasick on the boat, I was for three days after. It was crazy. I haven’t had that happen before. It was pretty miserable. My heel pain and sciatica increased to a level that I needed to go to the doctor. Being in your mid-40s totally rocks… I now have to wear shoes at all times, even around the house. It has helped a lot, actually. The sciatica pain comes and goes, and I find that sitting on my couch makes it worse. We had a holiday mid-week and Feebs wanted a sleep over with Nama, which was just fine with us. The Husband and I had a nice dinner out, and got to stay up later than usual, since I didn’t have to do drop off in the morning. The Mother and Feebs have been doing one overnight per week, now that school is out. She is supposed to be teaching her to sew a dress, and I am really excited to see how Feebs likes it. On the Friday I did something new and crazy! I went out with a new friend and we went to a concert. It wasn’t a band that I had heard of, but we had a good time. I was really frazzled all night because 1. the Husband wasn’t with me and I had never been to a show alone, and 2. the Husband convinced me to put my cards on my phone and not take them with me. I therefore forgot my ID and couldn’t pay for anything that didn’t have a tap function. I think I messed up the vibe of the evening, and I am not sure that she will want to go out with me again. That sucks, because she is really cool and we got along even with the 11 year age gap. Oh well, I know that I am not for everyone. That weekend we went to see the Uncle. He took us to Cisero’s and we got to catch up little. He and family will come to dinner in July for chicken marsala, his favorite. That Sunday Feebs got sick. Poor bean was sick all week. She had a low fever and the sniffles. She ended up staying with the Mother all week. I missed her like crazy. It was weird being home without her for that long. I really enjoyed not having to pack a lunch and drop her at the camp each day. I got to stay up late and sleep in. It was a marvelous little break. I was incredibly glad to have her back home, though. That weekend we had a sleepover at the Mother’s house. Feebs and I had a hair appointment early, and then I was finally scheduled for my birthday facial. I got to my facial appointment and nothing. They didn’t have me on the schedule. Icamethisclose to crying right on the spot. I don’t cry, mind you, and I just got mad instead. Oh well, such is life. I am giving the Mother the gift card so she can use it for her next massage appointment. I kind of feel like the universe doesn’t want me to relax right now, so I will just wait till I am in a better place. The last day of the month was the celebration of life for the father in law. It was the usual ball of disorganized chaos that is tied to all of that family’s events, but it still ended up being very nice. I got to meet several of the Husband’s cousins and now I understand where his looks come from. Hilariously, he is the more petite cousin in the group, which I never thought possible. When we got home, we had a talk about some logistics that came up and we have decided that I am going to move my little campout spot in his office into the toy room. He made it clear that he wasn’t evicting me, but that we both agree that office was supposed to be set up for him. I have been craving some space to be etched out for me, so I am all good with it. I may also be acquiring a motorcycle… Standby for more details (July will be interesting).

So, that was it. It was a lot. Some really busy times are coming up, including my first solo trip in many years. LouHoo and family have moved to Montana, and I have a trip booked to go see her the last week of July. I am really excited. Also, Feebs turns 10 in a couple of weeks. I can’t believe my girl will be double digits. June was really good. Some parts were bittersweet, but as always, memories were made. I am in shock that half the year is over. The temperature is cranking up and the days are longer. Summer is well on her way. This month’s adventures are over, now on to the next.

Loves,

M

Oh my goodness, darling, I knit something fabulous! I don’t quite remember what inspired it, but I now have the cutest beach wrap, mesh pullover-y thing thing and I love it. Let me introduce the Lakeside Beach Wrap, by Knitatude. One of the main reasons that I love this wrap so much is that in addition to it being a super versatile piece, I used some recycled, really deep stash yarn. This yarn was a ripped out LL Bean 100% cotton sweater. I can’t remember if I ripped out the sweater or if it was one of the Ebay purchases that I bought years ago. The yarn is a natural color yarn and was quite spaghetti-esque because I never soaked and straightened it. I am generally nervous about knitting with the kinked yarn, because it can change the gauge when blocked and smoothed. I figured since this is an all-over lace pattern, and size really didn’t matter, that I was safe to knit as it was. Since the sweater was machine knit it is a 4 or 5 strand yarn. Not plied, mind you, but individual strands. This did make things a bit splitty, but not so bad that you noticed. I had about 600 grams of the yarn and it is a dk/ light worsted weight yarn. I believe their were 20 balls of yarn. The wrap used 245 grams, so I still have a ton of yarn left over. I knit the M/L size and I think it is a really good fit. The pattern called for size US 15 needles. I did cast on using those needles, but I wasn’t really happy with how loose and sloppy the lace was, so I ripped out about 3 inches and started over with size US 13 needles. I found that to be the perfect size. The pattern was very simple and potato chip-esque. The yarn worked perfectly in this pattern and the finished fabric is heavy enough to pull out the lace, but light enough to not be hot and bulky.

The negatives, if you can call them that are 1. the side seams- I need to fix the slit in the bottoms of the seam. I seamed them unevenly and it bugs me. 2. I found it weird that you went in blocks of 12 with either K2tog or SSK. I don’t understand the reasoning for mixing them up. I don’t see what difference it made to not just stick with one or the other. These are very minor issues, though, and I am so happy with my wrap.

I don’t know what justification I would have to knit another one of these for me, but I can totally see knitting this again! Maybe I will knit it and dye it black… hm… I may be onto something there. I will wear this over a bathing suite, over shorts and a tank, or over a summer dress. The pattern pictures showed every variation, and I can see me wearing them all. I think it will be so cute and I can see getting many compliments on it. I am just so excited to rock this wrap this summer!

Loves,

M

Hello Darling. I did it! Finally, after knitting eight kids versions, I have knit an adult size Flax sweater. I swear by Tin Can Knit patterns. They are my total tried and true, and no pattern more so than Flax. This is the very best beginner pattern for anyone wanting to knit a sweater. I think this pattern was discussed in my “favorite things to knit” post that I wrote a year or two ago. It is just a beautifully simple and easy to follow pattern. I could go on for years about the merits of this pattern. To date, I have knit at least eight kids Flax sweaters. I believe they have ranged from newborn to 7 years old. When I decided that I was going to knit a simple, yet elegant sweater to use some of my Amsterdam yarn, Flax was the one that came to mind. I doubled the Holst Garn Supersoft from Stephen & Penelope’s with the Knitting for Olive mohair that I got in Belgium in very dark charcoal colors. The combination of the yarns is heaven. The Holst Garn is very sturdy, boarding on scratchy. The soft airiness of the Knitting for Olive blended very well with the sturdy, and the resulting fabric is light and lofty. I think it is a very light but warm garment. Unfortunately, it was already too warm by the time it was finished to wear it. I will say that it took me a while to finish because I got caught on sleeve island, which is very rare for me, and I put it in timeout for a bit. I think as I got closer to the end of the month (May) I wanted to have another finished object to post about and that motivated me to get her off the needles. (This blog is really an excellent tool for that. You should be very proud of yourself!) I feel that aside from the brief hiatus that I put her in, everything went right with this sweater. I always omit the garter panel on the sleeve, because it just isn’t my vibe.

Nothing really went wrong with this sweater. My only possible negative may be the mohair. Jenny of the Future Fibers Podcast was talking, recently, about loving the concept of mohair more than the actual wearing of it. I have a sneaking suspicion that I am going to be in the same boat. I haven’t even tried it on yet, so I am completely guessing at this. I do recall thinking that it was a tiny big pokey as I was knitting it, and also that it sheds like what. Time will tell though.

Overall, she is magnificent and was just what I had in mind for a simple, yet beautiful luxury-type sweater. She looks liked quiet elegance and subtly expensive. I really love her. I really hope I love wearing her.

Loves,

M

Hello darling. I bought the pattern for the Paris in Berlin cowl in October, 2017. I was super gung ho to cast it on at the time, but hit some kind of snag and promptly dropped it. I don’t know what put a bee in my bonnet about casting it on on Mother’s Day, but I did and I am very glad for it. I purchased the yarn at the Royal Bee Yarn Co. in Pacifica. It was the first time I had been to their new location, and it is lovely. I wanted to buy a bunch of stuff there, but only allowed myself to get what I would cast on that day. I purchased their house brand fingering weight yarn in a lovely navy blue. The cowl took me seven days to knit. It was a very quick and easy pattern. Joji Locatelli always writes a lovely and detailed pattern. I don’t have a ton to say about the pattern or the cowl, other than I love them. The cowl is very versatile and lightweight. It will be perfect for the mid-season months where I want the security of a handknit, but not the weight or warmth. The yarn is a joy to knit with, I learned that when I used it to knit my Boxy sweater. It is sturdy and soft. I think it wears very well too. I haven’t worn my Boxy a lot, yet, but the wear it has received has been a good indication of a solid yarn. I can’t say that I would knit the pattern again for myself, but I wouldn’t hesitate to knit it again as a gift. The finished cowl is lovely, and has the luxury of being versatile with different yarn weights. I think you could knit it up a worsted weight yarn and still be happy with the size of it. Overall, I highly recommend everything about this project. It was a great pattern, solid yarn, and excellent finished accessory.

Loves,

M

To say I am running behind is a grand understatement.  It is the last day of June, and I am finally recapping May.  May was so busy that I am going to struggle to remember everything that happened.  I can tell you that a lot of knitting took place.  It seems like I got some making mojo back, which makes me very happy.

Finished objects:

Honeypie hat by Tin Can Knits.  I knit this using West Yorkshire Spinners Aire Valley Aran held double.  This is hat #1 in my quest to knit all of my library hat patterns.

Paris in Berlin by Joji Locatelli.  This was knit with Royal Bee Yarn Company Fingering Weight.  There will be a separate post for this.

Flax by Tin Can Knits.  This was knit using Holst Garn Supersoft and Knitting for Olive Soft Silk Mohair held together.  There will be a separate post for this.

New cast-ons:

Vinca Hat

Works in Progress:

On the go socks

Knit House Cardigan

Shatar Vest

Goals for next month:

Schedule a facial

Fix Betty’s sleeves before camping

Figure out sizing for York Pinafore

So yeah, a lot of knitting happened in May.  I knit the Honeypie hat after being inspired by my urge to knit all the hat patterns in my Ravelry list.  I did cast on another hat, the Bubblegum Crisis, but I just hated the pattern so much that I ripped it out and deleted it from my Ravelry queue. I have cast on the next hat on list, Vinca, but then had a Squirrel! moment and set it aside. I finally finished my Birthday Flax. She is fancy! It was already too hot to wear it by the time it was done, so I have put her away for cooler days. For Mother’s Day, we had a little outing and ended up going to the Royal Bee Yarn Co in Pacifica. I hadn’t planned on getting any yarn, but made a little splurge and bought a skein of fingering weight so that I could cast on a lightweight cowl for the mid-season months. I was really happy with their house brand yarn after I knit the Boxy with it, and knew I couldn’t go wrong with another skein. It only took me seven days to knit the Paris in Berlin cowl, and I am very happy with it. I have started to plot some new cast-ons and am very excited to get started. I am also really considering ripping out the Shatar vest. I love it. There is nothing that I don’t love about this vest, but she has some problems. 1. I think the size I am knitting is too small. It is meant to be fitted, but saran-wrap chic is not my esthetic. 2. it is colorwork in light fingering weight yarn. Harris almost killed my elbows, and that was in worsted weight. 3. I can’t motivate myself to work on it. Even though I have wanted the finished garment. Even though I love the color combination. And even though, I think I would rock the nerdy librarian look with a button down blouse under it. I just can’t make myself work on it. Perhaps by ripping it out, I will cast it right back on in the proper size and set up a schedule to work on it. Because I know that once the weather gets cold, I am going to want to wear that vest. We will see what I decide. Stay tuned.

The month of May was on and cracking. We had so much to do each week/ weekend. The first weekend started with a Parent’s Night Out and the mother Clay and I went to dinner just the two of us. I don’t think this has happened in the 10 years that we have known each other. After dinner we met up with A’s moms and had a beer. It was a really enjoyable evening. The next day was the mid-nephew’s birthday and we went to Napa to celebrate with him. I got to see Sister #3 and her family, which is always a good time. That night Lenar came to dinner and to hang out. I always enjoy spending time with him. He is a sweet and funny guy and I am so glad that we developed a friendship once I was no longer his boss. The next week, Feebs had an epiphany that she no longer wanted to participate in taekwondo. After almost 2 years she was burned out and ready to try something new. I gave her some options and she selected rock climbing. So, I signed up for the safety course the following weekend and we joined a rock climbing gym close to home. It is funny, it is half the cost for me to sign up at the gym, and she has a free kid’s membership, than is was for her to go to taekwondo by herself. We started climbing, and we are having a blast! She is a little spider monkey, flying up those walls. Unfortunately, I don’t get to climb the high walls because I have no one to belay me. I did get certified to belay her, though, so she is having a lot of fun. I am able to boulder without a safety line, so I have been doing that. Sadly, my end of April dance session seemed to spark my sciatica, so I am keeping a close eye on that and not pushing too hard at climbing. Mother’s Day happened the following weekend and I enjoyed both days. Saturday I got to spend the day with the Mother and we had such a nice time! We went shopping and went to dinner, just the two of us. We went to the Walnut Creek Yacht Club and I haven’t been there since my first attempt at marriage. The food was amazing, and it felt really nice to go back there. Sunday was just the three of us and while everything that I wanted to do sort of fizzled out, I still had a really great day. I got my little trek to a yarn shop, had a nice solo walk, and spent the day with my two favorite people. I went to bed that night feeling like it had been a really fantastic weekend. The following weekend was a little crazy because Mary G was back in town and looking to meet up. We went to a happy hour on Friday with the old crew and we had so much fun. She is crazy and cranky and Jersey, and I realize that I really do miss her. The next day was the little Clay’s birthday, and we went to his party at Dave & Buster’s. I had never been to one of those before. It was a LOT of stimulation. I can’t say it was horrible, but it was a lot. The kids had a good time, though, and I had a good cocktail. The next weekend was the anniversary of the Husband and I meeting, and I had made plans weeks prior to take him to our meeting spot and have a romantic little reminder date. That all went to hell when there was an ArnoCorps show in Oakland. So we ended up going to that instead. My feelings were really, seriously hurt, but I had to get over it. The next day, we headed up to have a sleepover with the O’s. The day was okay, but the evening went to hell. It was so bad that at 10:30 pm I told my peeps to pack their crap and we headed home. I felt like a jerk for pulling the rip cord, but everything had been so tense in our lives that I just couldn’t take more stress that night. We had some discussions and came up with game plans for future sleepovers. Fortunately, the next day was Memorial Day, so we had an extra day to decompress before the work week started. The last day of May was a busy one. I had a hair appointment then ladies night with the two greatest ladies. I am so very grateful for those women and the vibe that we have between the three of us. During the whole month, we also were scattering in yard work and the death admin that is involved with my father-in-law’s passing. There was a lot of garage clearing and logistics around what will be coming to live at our house that was his.

So, that was May. I feel like I forgot a ton (which is probably true since I am trying to recall everything a full month later). I know it was a good month. I know that happy things came from it. I know that next month will be crazy too, just like they all are. In spite of all the stress and tension from the last couple of months, I am so grateful for my life and the people in it. My life may not be glamourous, but it is full and it is mine.

Loves,

M

Hello darling. We have another refinished project, and oooh she’s fancy. This one didn’t take me as long to refinish once I got started, but it took me almost 9 months to start it. Last summer for about a week I would drive or walk up the main street by my house. There was a sad little dresser on the corner that had seen better days. I hymned and hawed about it. I was in the market for a place to put my sewing stuff and making notions, but wasn’t sure I wanted to take on a refinishing project. Then after looking at the poor girl for a week I was struck with motivation and had the Husband come pick it up for me, since I was on my walk. He sweetly drove up, loaded it up and put it in the garage. It sat in the garage for 9 months. I found another solution for the stuff that I needed to store and was pondering getting rid of it. Two weeks ago the Husband asked me to refinish it for his room. So I got to work. I already had everything that I needed after finishing the headboard. The Mother had some cherry stain that she wasn’t using and was happy to get it out of her garage. The original handles did not spark joy, so I decided to get some new ones. The Husband loves his keys, so I ordered some custom 3-D printed key handles on Etsy. Once again I tried using a wood stripper, once again it did nothing. I rough sanded the finish off and smoothed out some of the damaged wood. Then I fine sanded to even everything out. The staining process is always a crap shoot. I don’t feel that I am super great at staining, especially when the furniture is built with a variety of woods. I did okay with the stain this time. It came out even and didn’t get streaky. The varnish didn’t do great. There are definitely spots that have some white residue where I missed some air bubbles. It is only noticeable when I point it out, though. All in all, I am very happy with the end result. I feel like I was able to perform a pretty dramatic makeover on this little curb-gnomed dresser. It only took a couple of weeks and about $20 worth of products. This is also the first furniture rehab that I completed totally on my own in MANY years. Now she’s done, and she’s pretty, and the Husband will (hopefully) be happy with her.

Loves,

M

Hello darling. I had a ridiculous idea, and I am excited to start it. I am wanting to 1. up my charity knits game, 2. use up old stash/ patterns, and 3. work on something that will make me smile. So that prompted me to peruse my Ravelry Library to find a hat pattern. I have knit many a hat in my day, so I figured that I had knit most of the ones in my library. I was wrong. I have not knit 16 of the hat patterns in my library. 16 patterns that I have already paid for AND have the yarn for! I decided to queue those babies up and match them with some yarn. I am going from oldest in my queue to newest. Here they are in order with the (more than likely) yarn pairing.

1. Honey Pie by TKN- Grignasco Tikal.
2. Bubblegum Crisis by Thread and Circuses- Manos del Uruguay Alegrie
3. Vinca by Natalie Pelykh- Houndstooth Fiber Arts Nomad
4. Everyday Slouchy Beanie by Dragon Hoard Yarns- Houndstooth Fiber Arts Nomad
5. Cablefest hat by Irina Anikeeva- Berroco Ultra Wool
6. Filigree Hat by Julie Knits in Paris- Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool
7. Marmarosh Hat by Natalie Pelykh- Cascade Yarns Heritage Sock
8. Blumengarten by TW Knits- Berroco Vintage DK
9. A Twisted Reflection by Fran Carle- Cascade 220
10. Ava Messy Bun Hat by Laura Simonson- Berroco Ultra Wool
11. The Azalea Beanie by Geneva Vasquez- Misti Alpaca Chunky
12. Audrey Hat by Lana Jois- Knitpicks Wool of the Andes Bulky
13. Camaraderie Beanie by Sandra Saraswati- Juniper Moon Farms Moonshine Chunky
14. Musselburgh Hat by Ysolda Teague- To The Macks Fingering Sock

I am going slightly out of order for the color work ones since those will use left overs from the first part of the list. The yarns will be determined as we go

1. Sister’s Hat Collection by Jodi Brown
2. The Grange Hat by Crystal Hiatt

I think I will post them in threes, like I normally do with my Knit 3 Items for Charity boxes on my Bingo card. Girl, I am kind of excited to get starting on this!

Loves,

M

The year keeps moving on. We just finished April and are in full blown Spring. The world is blooming, and the allergies are raging. I mentioned last month that I would have more finished objects this month, and man was I correct. I finished a lot of things. I have no new cast-ons and the WIPs have decreased. I didn’t get to the sewing, but that was because I was really busy with all of the things. I will get to my finished objects in a minute, but first I have to give a shoutout to Feebs and her first sewing project! She made an arcade game for school and she decided to make a version of cornhole. I had the leftover cat fabric from Oahu and she wanted to make the game-piece poofs out of it. The Husband helped her with the cardboard cutting and I helped with the poofs. Apparently, hers was one of the most popular game. It was very cute, and she was very proud.

Finished Objects (there are separate posts on all of these) :

Home Camisole by Caidree. I knit this in Cetari Old Dominion Cotton DK.

The Zipper- Men sweater by Petite Knit. I knit this in Plymouth Yarns Mojito Merino. (Love this yarn, and they discontinued it!!!)

Totally not a new project, but Harris has been shrunk, repaired, and is back in the Father’s custody!!!

On the Go Socks- toe to toe. I knit this in Berroco Sox.

My goooorgeous table rehab project. I can’t take credit for the design of the table, but I can for giving her new life.

Works in Progress:

Birthday Flax

On the Go socks- contrast toes

Shatar vest

Goals for next month:

Cast on something that makes you love knitting again

Budget, budget, budget

Back to regular work outs

Finish up old projects

Do something that intimidates you

So yeah, I did some stuff this month. I did a lot of stuff and I am really happy with how it came out. The socks were a great experiment, the Father loved his sweaters, the top did end up fitting me, and the table did just what I was hoping it would. I didn’t cast anything else on and I did knock a significant chunk out of my birthday Flax. I only have a sleeve and some left to do. Shatar hasn’t been touched, and I am really leaning towards ripping it out and casting it on in a bigger size. To say I have gained weight since I cast it on is an understatement and I think it won’t fit when I finish it. Yes, I realize that means I would actually have to work on it in order to have those troubles. I will have to review the pattern to see if there are shaping decreases that I can just omit. I really want to cast on the Heartbeat top once Flax is done. I did not really enjoy knitting that top, but I LOVE the finished top. I know I would wear the hell out a black one. That does kind of defeat my goal of casting on something that makes me love knitting again, though. I think/ hope it will be less of a slog this time. I will for sure knit the extra repeat, like last time, and will for sure knit shorter straps. Besides that, though, I need to start stalking Ravelry. I need to find a happy knit. I also want to cut out the pattern for the Yorkshire Pinafore. I need to look at the directions and figure out the sizing. I remember being very confused about the sizing when I read it the first time. No pressure, but I think I will be more motivated to work on it when I figure that out.

Week one of April was me having pneumonia. It Suuuucked. I got a new antibiotic and it worked like gangbusters, but it knocked me flat on my ass. I sat for nine straight days. I mean I sat. I didn’t sit and knit, I didn’t sit and do crossword puzzles. I sat and did absolutely nothing. I slept for 12-14 hours each night/day. I had no energy for anything in life. The following weekend we were supposed to meet up with the O’s and get the girls together. Both the Female O and I were sick, so the guys took the girls to the snow for the day. Feebs had a fantastic time. The week was pretty chill. I had dinner with the Sister-in-law, which was awesome. We don’t get together often, so we end up talking a ton when we do manage it. That weekend we had pizza night with the McC’s, and that is always fun. The husband was spending a lot of time with his dad and everyone enjoyed taking an evening off to hang out with friends. The husband was gone a lot, basically every day, to go see his dad and spend time with him. We didn’t see him much in March or April. The following week I went to get my hair done. I have decided that it’s time to start the process to let the color grow out. Libby highlighted the top of it to blend in the gray as it grows out. I will keep it short while I am going through the process. That will make it easier and less obvious. I figure it will be mostly grown out in a year and some. The next weekend I went to the Father’s house to see him before he leaves for his Europe trip. He and Jill were going to England, where she is from. It was a very nice visit with him. He tried on both of his sweaters and he is happy with them. They fit and he wasn’t bothered by the exposed zippers on the inside. I still think it tacky, but I won’t force him to let me hand sew them down. I am soooo happy that he has his sweaters and that they are done. I think I will stick with socks for him, unless he specifically asks me to knit him another sweater. We came home on Sunday and had to fly over to the Mother’s house to help her unload a hutch that she bought. We got to see Aunt Bun, and that was fun. Once I left there, we had to get ready for a birthday party at the McC’s house. I am so glad that she and I have a good enough friendship that she can ask me to help out. I don’t like peopling, especially with people I don’t know. They all have kids in the same sports and classes, and my kid is an outlier so I don’t know the parents. I always feel very out of place and awkward, so staying helpful makes it better. Feebs had fun, and I enjoyed making the party a little easier for my friend. That following Tuesday, my Father-in-law passed away. The Husband called me at work to say that he got a call that the end was coming and he needed to get there. I called the Mother to get Feebs and went with him to the city. We were only there about 35 minutes when he died. The Husband was with him when he went and so was his wife. The sisters came later, sadly the oldest sister missed him by about 30 minutes. It was a very sad event. I am so glad that the Husband was able to be there for him. I think that eased both of their souls. I wish Charles happy travels and safe passage to where his spirit will go. He left behind a family that really loved him. The following weekend was our kid-free work weekend up at the farm. It was also the Female O’s birthday so I brought her a tiara and gave her the travel socks. We met her in Vacaville and she drove up with us. We got there and went straight to work. We knew that the garage was very packed with stuff, but I don’t think we quite expected the amount of work that had to be done in the sheds and the house before the garage could be cleared. We filled up a half dumpster, and took at least 12 trips to the cardboard recycling center. Abs did phenomenal. She had to make a lot of decisions and open herself up to be vulnerable. She did so good. We had our asses handed us by how tired we were when we were done, but now she has her own art space, and the sheds are cleared out. I told her spouse that I would bury him in cardboard if the shed ever got like that again. We did end up staying in a hotel this trip, since there would be a lot of chaos in the house. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express up there. It was so nice! We will do that from now on, we decided. It was close to the house, gave us our space, and allowed us to get up and moving early, like we do, and not disturb them. I think it worked out really well. All in all, the trip was exhausting, but it was fun and it felt great to be a part of giving a gift like that to someone that I love so much.

April was a really positive month. It had some lessons, some sorrow, and some fulfilling hard work. I think it was what I needed to get my head back in the exercise game. I got a bunch of stuff finished and motivation to start other projects next month. I think this month really was a type of rebirth for me. The allergies have been hot flaming garbage, but I am still enjoying the bloom. I hope May keeps on the track of positivity. We will know more about the Father-in-laws service and how we help the Mrs. start the new solo chapter in her life. She is a strong woman and I know she can handle it. I just hope she shows herself some compassion, while she is helping everyone else grieve. I am so glad that he is at peace and no longer struggling. No one should have suffer like he did. This is a reminder to us all that life is short and tomorrow is promised to no one. So, get out there and make something, make something of your life.

Here is the Bingo card! I was able to check off a couple of knitting boxes! Looking it at it makes me realize that I need to get on my charity knits!

Loves,

M

While I was making plans for our European adventure I decided to take a sock on the plane ride. I cast on the toe and did all necessary increases to get to the foot circumference, then switched to my 9 inch circular needles. Usually, I would have split my yarn ball in half so that I would work on one sock, marking my increases and developing my count, then follow that pattern to complete the second sock. I decided that I would change things up for the trip. I decided that it would be most time effective and travel friendly if I cast on a toe, knit a very long tube until I nearly ran out of yarn then created another toe on the other end. When we returned home, or I had access to the necessary accoutrements, I could then divide the tube equally between two or four socks. This ended up being a fantastic idea. I did end up getting bored with my sock while we were traveling and have only just finished working out the details on what I need to remember in the future to make this idea work. I decided to knit this sock tube using 60 grams of the 100 gram ball, and set the other 40 aside. I worked the tube to the last 3 grams of yarn and started my decreases. This left me plenty of yarn left over to kitchener the toe and weave in the end. I could probably even get away with only leaving 2 grams of yarn, but that would be cutting it very close. Allotting 3 grams of yarn, I had less than 1 gram remaining.

I decided to the 60/40 split with the yarn so that I could have one tube from toe to toe and one tube with contrasting toes. I wanted to see what difference this would make for the sock length. I enjoy high socks, but not everyone does. If the tube I knit is going to be turned into two pairs of socks for two different people, that will change the the length of each sock and where I will decide to cut. For the toe to toe tube, I washed and stretched it out so that I would have a nice smooth sock and that would make measuring and cutting easier.

I had to measure and mark for where to divide the two socks and decided to pick up the stitches before I cut the stitch to start unraveling. That was a trial. I did great on three of the 4 needles, then I realized that I picked up the row beneath the row that I was unraveling. And then I proceeded to make the same mistake twice. Gosh, it was fun.

Once I had everything separated it was easy peasy. I increased four stitches before starting the ribbing to give some more ease to the cuff. Then I just knit some ribbing and a stretchy bind off.

Next step was knitting two cuffs and binding off. I decided to knit them for the Female O and needed to find her foot cutout (thank you FLK heel pattern for teaching me to make cutouts for all of my knit worthy people.) I measured the appropriate length to cut her heel in and snipped to knit in an afterthought heel.

And then there were two. The toe to toe pair was complete. I don’t think I will need to do a separate post for the contrast toe pair. It is the same basic principle. I am really glad that I did this. It gives me flexibility for the future and was a fun experiment. I will be happy to gift the finished socks to the Female O. I really hope they fit her and are comfortable for her to wear.

Loves,

M