On September 1, I started my All the Makes post. I got through my project
updates and was halfway through my making updates. Then I hit save and walked
away for three weeks. Don’t ask me where the post went or what happened in
those three weeks because the answer is the same for both questions: a
resounding “I dunno.” So, here we are, almost at the end of
September. August was pretty good. It didn’t feel like there was a ton of
making, but I did complete a couple of things. This is miraculous, considering
that the beginning of school also arrived.

Finished Objects:

Tall vanilla socks. I knit this in Kirby Wirby sock set with contrast heel,
cuff, and toe. I love the color of the yarns, but it was incredibly thin, and I
didn’t see value in the contrast color. It was rather blah for how fun the
rainbow striping was.

Finally, some charity knitting! I knit two scrappy hats and a washcloth.

Sweaters for Ginger’s Girls- Flax by Tin Can Knits. I knit these sweet
little sweaters using Bernat Softee Baby Cotton.

 

New cast ons:

Slippy V shawl

Works in progress:

Blue Mountain Cowl

Shatar Vest

Feebs dress

Goals for next month:

Cast on my Mendocino project

Cast on items from my Ravelry queue

Sew a bow bag

Don’t fail my class

   August was a pretty decent making month. I checked another couple of boxes,
made a couple of gift sweaters, and did some charity knitting. It was pretty
decent, I must say. I started by finishing the longest socks ever, both in
length and in how long it felt like it took me to complete. I don’t know why
those socks dragged on, but they did. The Husband asked me to knit sweaters for
his friend’s toddler and soon to be here bean, so of course, I did. We are
delivering them when we go to the yarn crawl next month. I am soooo stoked for
that weekend, I can’t even tell you. I tried a new baby yarn, Bernat Softee
Baby Cotton. I bought it at Joann’s, and it has worked out marvelously. I hope
it washes and wears well. I am never precious with baby knits and try not to make
the parents feel that they have to be precious with them, either. I started the
Slippy V shawl by Stephen West. I knit the same 4 inches about 7 times, trying
to figure out what I was doing wrong. On try #8, I decided to trust the process
and the designer and keep going. What a stooge! I was doing it correctly the whole
time! I just wasn’t used to the look of the ribbing, so I figured it was
incorrect. Lame… I am hardly blazing trails with it since I have to pay
attention when I knit it. I am not 100% sure that I like the color combination,
but I figure I will complete it, and if I don’t like it, I will gift it. I think
I am finally getting to the point with my knitting that I am okay with giving away
the finished objects. I actually gave the failed Soho top and a Cropped Lace
Tee by Annie Lupton that I knit several years ago to Sister #1. Soho is too
big, and Cropped Lace Tee is too cropped. They both look ridiculous on me but
will look fantastic on her. So, off they went to a new home, and it didn’t
break my heart. I own the patterns, and lord knows I have enough yarn. I can
knit them again if I choose. Look at me, being a big girl! I also cranked out
some charity items this month. I need to stay on that and not be so selfish
with my knitting time. Especially when it takes me roughly an hour to knit a
washcloth. So, I will keep chipping away and work through my odd balls of wool
and my never-ending cotton stash.

The first week of August was the family barbeque at Sister #2’s house. It
was a lovely day, and I really enjoyed seeing my family. It is so cool to see
all the littles growing up and becoming people. The next week marked the
beginning of the school year. Good lord, I wasn’t ready for 4th grade. I don’t
know how my baby is 9 and moving up the elementary school food chain so fast.
I am just not prepared. She got a new teacher, who seems very nice. She is new
to the school and has a lot of fresh ideas. We will see how she hangs with the
veteran, more set in their ways, 4th-grade teachers. Feebs seems to like her,
and that is what I care about. We had pizza night that Friday and went to
the McM’s house. We had a great evening, and T and I have started to cement a
girl’s getaway night/ weekend. That weekend, I took the mom-in-law for lunch and
hair. It was a very long day, but we enjoyed our visit. The following week was
back-to-school night, the Father came to visit, we did yellow belt testing, and
the elder Uy came to hang out. Feebs did get her yellow belt, and the rest of
the week was really good. The following week was the dreaded beginning of my
Fall Semester. I signed up for an Introduction to Film class. I did the first
week’s assignments and read over the syllabus. The syllabus was NOT my jam. It
was full of controversial and uplifting movies. That was already not bringing
me joy. Then, I read the last unit. Our last three movies were horror movies.
Nopeity, nope, nope, nope. I quickly registered for World Cinema from
1900-1960, and dropped Intro to Film. I hard No horror. I don’t need that stuff
in my subconscious. No, thank you. So far, it is going good. I was supposed to
see Ms. H, but school put the kibosh on that. The last week of the month was
pretty uneventful; just work and school.

I also did something in August that I hadn’t planned on. Mid-month, I got
fed up with the fact that I was destroying my hands again. They were hurting
and were constantly torn up. I know that I can’t have all of the open sores,
nor do I need to have my hands in my mouth all the time. So I did a little
research on cleanliness and walked into a local nail shop, and got acrylic
nails put on. It is such a shame that I have to do that, with how strong and
lovely my real nails are, but I have to have nails that are too thick to
scratch and pick with. It has helped a lot! I like the salon and the guy that
does them. I will just keep having them done until I feel confident that I can
not attack my hands when I have my natural nails. So, with some self-care, I can
avoid some self-harm.

Other than that, August was pretty quiet. I loved my knitting time and was
guarding it jealously leading up to school starting. School puts a damper on
fun extracurriculars. Hopefully, I will easily adjust to my new schedule and
still work in some time for making. I did check two more boxes on my Knitting
Bingo card, and got another Bingo! Only 7 to go, and I will have a blackout. Let
the adventures continue!

Loves,

M

Holy July, Batman!  That month was packed!  I mean, there were launched systems, 9-year-olds, and a crap ton of knitting.  I don’t think I could have packed any more into that month if I tried.  It was a great month, but it left me absolutely spent.  By the end of it, I was actually forgetting that I even forgot things.  It got pretty weird, to be honest.  But man, did I get some knitting done!

Finished Objects:

Finally, some charity knitting!  3 dishcloths using Gramma’s dishcloth pattern.  I used the rest of the Lily Sugar n’ Cream cotton from the Soho Top.  I used every single inch!

Soho top, by Caidree.  As mentioned above, I knit it with Lily Sugar n’ Cream cotton cone.  There is a separate post about this.

Harris sweater, by Meghan Babin.  I used Knitpicks Wool of the Andes.  I have a separate post about this.

New Cast-ons:

Vanilla socks

WIPs:

Blue Mountain Cowl

Shatar Vest

Knitting my memories

Dress for Feebs

Goals for next month:

Sew Over It Bow Bag

Take more mental health breaks

Start school, and don’t panic

Knit two Flax sweaters for Ginger’s girls

So yeah, a lot of knitting happened in July.  I got a bee in my bonnet and cast on the Soho top.  I would love to say that I really super wanted that top, but I was more invested in using up a whole code of cotton.  I do like the color, and I liked the idea of the top.  When it was all said and done, I just knitted the wrong size for the thickness of the yarn.  If you really want details, you can read the separate post.  I ended up giving the top to Sister #1 and was thrilled to do so.  I really hope that she will wear it and love it.  I had a little bit of yarn left from that cone, so I dusted off the Gramma’s Dishcloth pattern and cranked two out, then grabbed another ball of cotton and knit a third one.  I was glad to do some charity knitting again.  Then I finally got the lead out and finished Harris.  Oh My God, Becky!  It’s done, and I am soooo excited that he is finished and with his intended recipient!  That took such a weight off my shoulders, I can’t believe it.  Then I decided to start using some of the probable 30+ balls of sock yarn that I have hoarded (and keep adding to).  I pulled out a skein of Kirby Wirby Sock with contrasting mini and split it in half.  My goal is to use all of the main color.  I almost finished the pair before the end of the month, but then got busy and didn’t dedicate the time.  Next time, Gadget!  Still no sewing.  Of course, that hasn’t stopped me from buying several new sewing patterns recently.  Ridiculous…  I would like to use that 1-yard of dragon fabric to make the Sew Over It Bow Bag.  I think it would turn out really cute and would be a good use for a small amount of fabric.  This means, of course, that I actually need to sew…

This month, man, she was a big one!   The two billing systems went live the first week.  That was a lot of stress and a whole lot of work.  One of my staff had put in her 2-month notice in June, so we have been trying to do a huge knowledge transfer.  It will be tough, but I am so happy for her.  I had new people start, too, so that was chaos.  We had the 4^th of July, which was lovely.  We walked in the parade with Feeb’s taekwondo studio.  After that, we went to Mr. & Mrs. P’s house on the hill.  We had the best time.  Feeb’s got to swim in their lovely pool, and we got to visit and have a delightful day.  That week was more work craziness.  The next weekend was Feeb’s 9th birthday party.  Oh my god, I was not prepared to have a 9-year-old.  I feel like I am losing my baby more every day.  We had her party at the park, then took off to Santa Cruz the next day. On the way, we stopped at Sam’s Chowder House in Half Moon Bay.  I was shocked that we were able to get in with minimal wait time.  She got to order a lobster roll.  She loved it, and so did we.  After that, we went to Santa Cruz.  That girl loves the Boardwalk!  We stayed the night in a really nice hotel, then wandered around Santa Cruz.  We had breakfast at the amazing Brazilian restaurant.  Mind you, I almost asphyxiated on a coconut smoothie, but breakfast was still good.  I did end up going to the Swift Stitch while we were there and picked up a couple of skeins of natural-colored fingering weight yarn to match with my Hue Loco sock to knit the Slippy V shawl by Stephen West.  I need to watch a tutorial on the fiddly cast-on, and then she is going onto the needles.  We took that Monday off since that was her actual birthday.  The rest of the week was pretty good.  I ended up having dinner at Lita in Walnut Creek with our system trainer.  She is a total blast, and I really enjoyed myself.  I think I made a new friend!  That weekend was an absolute kick-ass ArnoCorps show.  We had so much fun, and we were out till 2 AM.  That week the Husband had to report for jury duty, which, strangely, he wanted to be selected.  He didn’t end up having to serve, but they did have him come in for 3 days.  That weekend the O’s were here.  The little O was sick on Feeb’s birthday weekend, so she only stayed for a short time.  They made up for it by coming that weekend.  It was really nice to see them.  I got to spend a lot of time with the Female O.  There was some tension over at the lady’s house, so I was doing my best to support both of them through a difficult time.  The next week was REALLY stressful.  Stressful to the point that I tore my hands up again.  They haven’t been the same since, but I am trying to be more mindful.  The following week was Grandkid’s Day at the Father’s development. We missed it last year, and Dad really wanted Feebs there, so I took the day off, and we went.  Feebs was so excited to see her cousins.  It gave me flashbacks to being the youngest and wanting so badly to hang with the big kids but being too little and having to miss out on stuff.   It made me a little sad for her, but she still had fun.  I saw the Brother and his wife and two younger kids.  Sister #1 and her husband and two youngest.  Then I met up with Sister #2 while Dad and the kids were enjoying the festivities.  It was great to see them all!  When we got home, we had to head to the Husband’s work picnic.  He had a good time, which was good.  I knitted on my socks the whole time.  On Sunday, we went to see the Uncle and Aunt in San Jose.  We got to visit and check out the cool garden behind their house.  We then took the cousin to Cicero’s, which is my favorite pizza in the whole world.  We are going to see about taking the cousin away for her 21^st birthday.  We hope it will work out.  Then before you know it, we were at the end of the month!

What a crazy, emotional rollercoaster of a month it was!  I had a great time, and a lot of good things happened, but man, it was a lot.  I think I will need to take August to unpack all of my tension and help to focus more.  I felt like the most scattered person ever in July.  It was nuts.  I think I will feel more centered and able to find a new post-project groove.  I am hoping that things will calm down when I can get staff hired and trained.  I am ready to start thinking about a week off later in the year.  A staycation where I can just relax and decompress from a year of crazy.  I may even start planning to go somewhere by myself.  We will have to see.  So, that wraps July up.  It was really good, and I am happy with where I stand.

Oh!  And I made a Bingo on my Knitting Bingo Card!  I was shocked to see how many boxes Harris checked off.  I am happy to keep working on it.  My goal is to get a blackout.  And I would really like to check a box or two off on the Sewing Bingo Card.  I am not being grand, just a couple of boxes would do it.

Loves,

M

Hello darling!  He’s complete!  Harris is finally off of my needles and onto the Father.  Hallelujah!   This gentleman was an absolute beast.  I can’t tell you the weight that lifted off my maker’s shoulders when I wove in the very last end.  This baby checked off about 6 boxes on my Knitting Bingo card.  I tried new techniques and stepped out of my comfort zone.  I also almost had to kill a kitten.  Grab some popcorn and get ready for a rant.

When the Father asked me to knit him a sweater, I figured it would be no big deal.  I could crank that out super quick and he would have his sweater before his birthday.  I cast it on in December fully planning to have it done and to him by February 10.  Betty took me less than 2 months, and she was all over color work, so no problem.  Yep, famous last words.  I busted out the sleeves and got started on the body.  And then my elbow started to be a complete jerk.  I have no idea why I started having elbow pain.  There was no reason for elbow pain.  Yet, low and behold, elbow pain.  It killed my ability to knit colorwork.  It seemed to be specific to knitting with my left hand.  I could knit anything else, but not colorwork.  I talked to the Father and explained the situation.  He was bummed, but he understood that there was no way around it.  My goal to finish it kept getting pushed out.  Even when I had finished the knitting and steeked it, I still wasn’t finished.  So finally, I buckled down and finished it when the weather at his house was a mild 90+ degrees every day.  Excellent planning, Mrs. Collins!

What went wrong:  The sweater was too big after blocking.  By a lot!  It grew like what after blocking.  I wanted it to be oversized so he could layer it.  But damn…  Once it was fully dry and found its shape, I put it in the dryer with a wet towel for 5 minutes.  Yes, I set a timer.  Yes, I sprinted to the dryer when the timer went off.  I wanted to do it very conservatively, 5 minutes at a time.  I am shocked to say, it worked.  I think it is now a good oversize for him.  Something that I really didn’t like about the pattern, and subsequently finished sweater, is the raglan seams.  I messed up by doing the raglan in the master color, instead of continuing the colorwork.  This creates a hard shift between the front/back and sleeve patterns.  This is very noticeable because the decreases seriously mess up the flow of the colorwork pattern.  I am not a fan of how clunky it looks.  I am too symmetrical to have it change and have no flow. So that took some shine away from the finished sweater.  The absolute worst thing, however, was when I glanced at the sweater, lying on my dresser, and saw a huge loop of yarn dangling from the center back colorwork it was gnawed and fuzzy from a wool-addicted kitten attack.   Holy shit, I actually stopped breathing.  I was ready to strangle her.  And I know damn well which one it was, too.  Lillie!  She has a mild wool fetish (which I understand), and she loves nothing better than to attack it (which I don’t understand).  I seriously had to walk away from it and her.  I fixed it, but you can tell something happened there.  Holy crap, that girl almost killed me.

What went right:  Being able to shrink it in the dryer was a godsend.  I was very concerned about what I was going to do when it blocked to roughly a men’s 3X.  Dad’s and XL.  It hung off of his shoulders.  He said he was still happy with it when he tried it on, but come on…  You can tell when your dad is like “Aww, thanks for the artwork, honey.”  I hope that it maintains the size, but I now have the confidence to try this again in the future if needed.  The main thing that went right is that it’s done, and my daddy will have his me-made sweater.  I do love Wool of the Andes.  It is a good sturdy yarn that was built for colorwork/ steeking.  I am still awed by steeking.  It no longer freaks me out to do it and it really does seem like magic.  I also like that I tried a new technique and sewed in a zipper.  I was pretty pissed when I went to machine sew it, and it was too thick.  I spent the next hour sewing it by hand.  I was not a fan, but it wasn’t as horrible as I thought it would be.  I am still debating if I am going to sew ribbon over the inside of the zipper.  I know it would look nicer, but I will have to see if I get the motivation.  I may be able to kill two birds with one stone and also tack down the steeked edge in the process.  I have to ponder that. 

In the end, I am happy with how this turned out.  I originally picked the sweater pattern out for myself, then decided that I would knit one for both of us.  Unfortunately, the messiness of the decreases and how it interrupts the colorwork pattern is too much for my neurotic ass.  I will let the Father enjoy his sweater, and I will go in search of another pattern that doesn’t make my eye twitch.  I hope he loves his sweater.  I hope it keeps him warm and gives him a feeling of being loved every time he wears it.  I also hope like hell that he doesn’t forget himself and put it in the washer and dryer two weeks after he wears it…  So, now Harris is done, and I can move on with my knitting life.  Farewell, Harris.  Enjoy your new home!

Loves,
M

Hello darling.  I have just finished the Soho Top by Caidree.  I knit it in Lily Sugar n’ Cream worsted cotton.  It turned out very meh.  Nothing is wrong with the pattern, it was easy to follow, and even though half of it is garter in the round (my hands did not like purling cotton) it knit up very fast.  I wasn’t sure about the aqua color, but I think it is nice all in all.

What went right: As I said, the pattern is well-written and knitted up quickly.  I really loved the i-cord bind-off and collars.  I think the technique was easy to do and gave such clean edges.  I will definitely use this again in future projects.  This top used almost a whole cone of cotton yarn, that I couldn’t figure out what to do with.  The remainder went to knit dishcloths, so the entire cone is gone!  Hello, #oldstashdash!  I also like the straps and how they are thin but seem like they will be sturdy.

What went wrong:  The yarn was too thick, and I picked the wrong size.  The top is just too big.  It is too big in the bust and too big in the armholes.  I could have faked it with the yarn if I had gone down a size or probably two.  The needle size could have helped but because of the tackiness of the cotton, I couldn’t have gone down to a smaller needle. That would have been murder on my hands.  I also used the wrong yarn for the type of neckline.  There is zero drape in this yarn so the drapey cowl effect is lost with this weird ducktail in front and back.  I wonder if it would be as noticeable if it fit me properly. 

In summary:  I am going to see if one of my sisters, with larger busts than me, wants it.  I hope someone can wear it.  I do think the top could be cute on the correct body.  I don’t think I will knit it again.  There is nothing wrong with it, and I do have some yarn that would be better suited.  I just don’t think I will wear this top if I give it another try.  I bought another true tank top pattern from Caidree, and I am hoping that that one goes better.  It is a standard V-neck tank, so hopefully, it works better for me.

Loves,

M

Hello darling. Buckle up, we are discussing my body. Body type is a new concept for me.  My body is my body, and I like what I like.  Historically I didn’t pay much attention to how I looked or if my clothes work for my shape.  My style is fairly modest.  I don’t show a lot of skin, I don’t like body-conscious clothes, and I don’t feel the need to look “sexy.”  My size is fairly standard, and I can buy ready-to-wear clothes straight off the rack.  My current measurements are: upper bust 35”, bust 36.5”, waist 31.25”, stomach 36”, and hips 39.5”.   Due to my exercise regimen, my weight stays fairly consistent.  My body shape only tends to change during my cycle.   I want to be very clear when I say that I am very happy with my body and my shape.

My desire to learn more about my shape happened when I saw photos of me wearing Lawely and other gathered bottoms.  While I love them and the idea of them (I desperately love paper-bag shorts), I just don’t feel that they flatter me.  When I started to look more into body type, I realized that I am technically an apple shape.  Personally, I feel that I am a rectangle with a breadbasket around my waist.  I am not overly busty or broad-shouldered.  I carry all my excess weight around my middle.  The extra bulk is not excessive, but I definitely have to take it into consideration when choosing sizes for knitting and sewing garments.  I feel that I have to sew bottoms using my stomach measurement instead of my waist.  I also thought that having a high-waisted, gathered skirt would make me look more hourglass.  It doesn’t.  It gives more emphasis to my stomach and makes it look more pronounced.

Since I am a visual person, I liked the graphics on http://www.gabriellearudda.com which show examples of clothing styles that flatter different body types.  I was going to share the graphic from her site, but I don’t want to get busted for copyright infringement or some such thing.  Seeing the skirt styles that she recommends for apple shapes helped me to understand why the Lawely never seems to flatter me.  My plan was to make another Lawely in the near future, but the more I think about it, the more that I am leaning away from it.  I think I may try an A-line skirt instead. My only issue with this is that pockets don’t always work with A-line skirts.  Pockets, my darling, are a total must.  Pockets really don’t seem to work with any of the shapes of skirts that should suit my shape….  This will be a problem.  Perhaps I can be sneaky and do some side seam pockets in a circle or A-line skirt.  I don’t think that I have a prayer of pulling it off in a wrap skirt.  But if I try it, and work at it, who knows, maybe I can learn how to make it work.

Patterns that I would like to try:

Closet Case Patterns Fiore skirt- either the button-front or the wrap skirt.

Tilly and the Buttons Delphine skirt

Sewaholic Hollyburn skirt

So, I am going to start with skirts.  I will focus on skirts for now and shift the focus once I feel more confident with my sewing.  I may check out the Gertie tutorial for making a circle skirt.  Apparently, they aren’t hard to figure out, but…  This is me, and I need to stop thinking that I know stuff about sewing stuff. I am going to give it a try (while using only what I have!). I’m going to make some skirts that will hopefully work with my shape and get better with sewing as I go. Let’s knock out a whole flock of birds with only one stone.

Loves,

M

Wait a minute… What is this craziness?!?  Posting my June post on July 1?  This is insanity in the best possible way.  Especially considering how late my May post was.  Oh well, such is life and adulting.  June was pretty good, I must say.  More knitting, more socks. Further progress on the sewing front.  So, yeah, it was a good month. 

Finished objects:

Worsted weight socks for the Father.  I knit these using some deep stash String Theory yarn that I won in Yarn Harlot’s karmic balancing drawing for donating to PWA.  I believe I donated to Pato that year.  I held this double with Kraemer Saucon Sock which may have been Sheila’s.

Left-over socks for me.  I used the rest of String Theory and Kraemer yarns.  They are short socks, which are not my favorite, but I used every last bit of yarn.

New cast-ons:

Vanilla socks

Works in progress:

Harris

Shatar

Blue Mountain Cowl

Possibly 8 pairs of Pajama pants/ shorts

Goals for next month:

Finish Harris

Cast on another summer top and use up some cotton

Sew the dress for Feebs

   Well…  I did some stuff in June.  I did some serious stuff.  I am still on my big sock kick and am still knocking out skeins of sock yarn.  There is more to that story, but I will get to it shortly.  I have completed the body of the Father’s sweater, I have reinforced it, and I have steeked it.  Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a cardigan!  I seamed up the underarms and wove in all the ends in the sleeves.  Next up is the zipper band, the collar, weaving in the other ends, and sewing in the zipper.  I need to get this done.  I want it done by the end of July when I see him.  I will also need to block it and duplicate stitch over some of the shoddy areas that don’t quite match up.  Originally, I planned to knit one of these for myself as well.  I bought the yarn and was prepared to be matchy-matchy with my daddy.  After knitting this and seeing how bad the raglan seams look, even if I hadn’t messed up, has changed my mind.  It is a shame because I think with better planning on the designer’s part, this would have been my perfect sweater.  I hurried to finish the body before he came at the end of the month so that I could have him try it on.  It is too big, but I figure that is way better than too small.  This way he can layer under it without it being too tight.  Fingers crossed it isn’t enormous after washing and blocking. 

   With him coming to see us, I had to get the toy room cleaned up so that he had somewhere to sleep.  And that is where we get back to the part about the socks and sock yarn.  I had a slight (re: huge) epiphany while preparing for the Father’s visit.  When I was cleaning up the toy room (I had the nerve to tell Feebs that she needed to clean up her mess in there when 87.4% of the mess was mine) I was putting everything into piles so that I could put things away.  I had a huge stack of fabric and fabric-type stuff.  I had between 10-15 bags and project bags of yarn.  I had books, notions, patterns, and all the types of making detritus in piles around the room.  I pulled out every yarn bin and fabric bag.  I photographed and logged all of the yarn and put it away.  I also donated quite a bit of yarn to charity.  I took a hard look at all of the WIPs that were in the bags and got real about what I would finish and what I would wear once it was finished.  With the help of the Mother, the Nordic Trail vest went to the frog pond.  The Ram’s Horn cowl was frogged.  The multi-colored Lapis top still needs to be frogged, but I will probably do that tomorrow.  I also looked at my sock yarn bag and got mad at myself.  I have more sock yarn than is realistic, and I keep adding to it.  I collect it, then only knit with Paton Kroy.  I am now being a bit ruthless about pulling out and casting on the “special” yarn.  The “it’s too good to use, and I will never be able to replace it” yarn.  Well, bullshit to that.  I have a metric ton of gorgeous yarn that I won’t use because it’s “too special.”  Not no more, devil!  It’s time to use it.  All of it.  I want to make beautiful stuff with my beautiful yarn.  Then I want to replace that beautiful yarn with other beautiful yarns.  Damn waiting for perfection.  So, as I was putting the fabric away, I got pretty disgusted with myself.  I am completely ridiculous to keep buying fabric but still be too chicken shit to sew.  For God’s sake, if I mess up, I have more fabric!  I need to get the hell over myself and either get rid of some stuff or start using it.  I won’t get better without working at it.  In June, I did cut out the pattern pieces for the Feebs’ dress.  I don’t know how cute this will be because I am unsure of the fabric combination.  But again, I won’t know until I freaking sew the thing.  And I don’t know if you noticed something, but the white denim skirt is no longer on the Works in Progress list.  Why is that, you ask?  Because your girl snapped and threw the thing away.  Yes, literally threw it in the garbage.  I was moving it for the eleventy-seventh time, and I saw that the dart markings were gone, the pattern was torn, and I couldn’t find the instructions.  And then I snapped.  I balled the whole thing up and threw it in the garbage.  Actually, I may have kept the front piece for bag lining.  Yeah, bag lining for bags that I don’t fracking sew.  Makes total sense.  I just didn’t have it in me anymore.  In hindsight, I realize how wasteful that was, and I have had a stern talk with myself about it.  But now it’s gone and is no more, and I am moving on with my life.  I also have Possibly 8 pairs of pajama pants on the list.  And this is simply because I have no earthly idea what pattern I used on these.  I don’t know what kind of nonsense I was on when I put them away “temporarily”, but I have absolutely nothing to go on.  The pants I can guess were the usual pattern that I use, but the shorts…  No freaking clue.  I figure I will try to work them out, but I may have to go medieval on those, too.  I just need to get real with myself.  Quit buying shit and not doing anything with it.  Quit telling yourself you will make stuff and never make it.  You get annoyed with a certain podcaster because she is always starting stuff and never finishing it.  Well, guess what Heffer, neither are you!  So… now the toy room is much cleaner…

   The first week of June was the last week of school.  Feebs has officially completed 3^rd grade.  We went beach camping at Lawson’s Landing, like last year.  You know, because we have no imagination and always go on the same trips.  It was fracking cold!  It was really cold.  Even the Husband was cold.  I didn’t sleep either night because I was so cold.  Feebs ended up in my sleeping back the second night because she was so cold.  I think we got spoiled last year and just assumed that it would be that way this year too.  Of course, we went with the O’s and at least had good company while I froze.  I must say, though, I do love me an early morning walk on the beach.  That is worth the cost of admission.  On the second weekend, Feebs and I went to see the H sisters.  We had planned to go cherry-picking again this year, but the season ended early so we didn’t get to.  We talked about going to see the new Little Mermaid, but we decided against it.  In the end, we watched 8 movies at their house.  It was crazy, but we had fun.  Feebs got to see movies that she had always heard about but had never seen.  We started with Strange World, which none of us had seen.  Then: Lion King, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Aristocats, The Great Mouse Detective, Alice in Wonderland, and the Wizard of Oz.  Man, we packed in the classics.  It was so exciting to watch them with her.  I was really happy to see the ladies and note to self: Domino’s Pizza is really good.  The next weekend was Father’s Day.  We started making some plans for the backyard and started clearing it up a bit.  I helped the Mother with some of her projects, and we did a dump run for her.  On Father’s Day, we took the Husband to the King of County BBQ event.  We hung out with his sister’s family, and he got to eat, drink, and be merry.  After that, we had really good Mexican food and went to watch the sunset.  It was a pretty nice day.  The next day was Juneteenth, and we all had the day off.  It was more errands and getting stuff done.  That week was when the Father visited.  Things are progressing with his lady friend, and she is going to be meeting the best friends.  Not sure how I feel about that, but I have absolutely no say in the matter.   I just want my dad to be happy.  It was a lovely visit, and he loved his new socks and the fact that his sweater is almost done.  The weekend after that was productive and good.  We are starting to meet with the Sister-in-Law about the Mother-in-law.  Things are getting a bit tense there, and it is time to start sharing some of the load.  It was a very productive discussion, and I am happy with how everything is laid out.  The next day the McC’s came to dinner.  It was really great to see them and hang out.  It has been a while, and I want to avoid that big of a gap in the future. 

   And then the month came to an end.  I can’t believe that half of 2023 is over.  The weather has been really odd this year, and June 30 was really the first hot day of the year.  It has been getting warm (circa 75-80), but not hot.  California is used to hot by May. I am not sad that it’s not hot, but it sure is weird.  I am really excited about July and the end of the big work project.  I am hopeful that my work life will get better and more cooperative.  I want to like my job again.  I will just keep chipping away at it and make some big decisions.

   So, I am going to sew something soon, and I am going to use up more “good yarn.”  I am going to finish Harris and get it to the Father.  I am going to enjoy the rest of the summer with the girl, and I am going to enjoy my time off school.  I am going to live and breathe and find joy wherever I can.  Because I have only been finishing socks, I have no Bingo card update.  Here’s to hoping that next month I will have several boxes checked off on the knitting one and finally an introduction to the sewing one.

Loves,

M

Oh my goodness, here we are.  May was quite a while ago.  Next weekend I will be sitting down and writing about June. I’m such a slacker!  I guess that makes it pretty obvious that the months have been busy.  May was good.  It was full and high-speed.  I finished my semester, and oh thank God for that!  That freed me up to knit to my heart’s content.

Finished objects:

Worsted-weight vanilla socks.  I took the rest of the Malabrigo Sock from the Levee Shawl and paired it with Paton Kroy in natural to get the double thickness.

Another pair of worsted-weight vanilla socks.  I pulled out a deep stash skein of Stranded Dyeworks BFL fingering weight yarn (left over from a Pavement sweater) and paired it with Paton Kroy in charcoal.

New cast-ons:

Father’s Day worsted-weight vanilla socks

Works in Progress:

Shatar Vest

Harris

Blue Mountain Cowl

White denim skirt

8 pairs of pajama pants/shorts

Goals for next month:

Work on Harris

Sew something

Access my WIPs- get critical

Enjoy my making

It may not seem like I did much knitting in May, but I knit two full pairs of socks and started a third.  In addition, I have pulled out Harris and begun working on it again.  The elbow isn’t giving me problems (yet…?), and I am also not pushing myself too hard on it.  I can’t tell you how much I want to finish this sweater.  I want the Father to get his sweater, AND I want it to no longer be hanging over my head.  My original plan was to get the body knit and cut open by Memorial Day so that he could try it on.  I was worried that it would be too tight for him.  My plan was to have him try it on and decide if I would stick with the zipper or add button bands in order to add width.  Well, I suck as a knitter and as a daughter and did not get the body finished and cut, so it became a moot point.  I am getting work done on it, though.  I have no idea where my urge to work on socks came from all of a sudden.  I tend to keep a sock on the go just for waiting and standing in line, but for some reason, they are currently my jam.  I think I am just really enjoying busting through older/ single skeins of fingering yarn.  #oldstashdash is going strong!  The two pairs of socks checked off two more boxes, and now there are no more sock boxes to check.  My only box of concern is the Fade Project. I know that I want to use the Yoth half skeins of fading blues, but I don’t know what to make with them or how to create a fade on my own.  I don’t do maths, so I am a little overwhelmed.  I tried using one of the colors to make a stand-alone Rams Horn cowl, but I didn’t like it, so it is awaiting the frog pond.  Let’s just not talk about the Sewing Bingo card.  Yeah, let’s just skip that one.  I did my fabric pairing post, which got me excited about sewing something.  Let’s see what comes from that excitement.  Guesses, anyone???

May was good. As usual, it was busy.  Do I even need to say that anymore?  I mean, I feel like I am just being redundant at this point.  My goal for next month is to not talk about how busy June was.  Duh, Mrs. Collins, your life is busy…  So, week one was our first Parent’s Night Out at Taekwondo.  Feebs and her two homies went to Revenge of the 5th night, and the parents went to dinner and out for drinks.  All 9 of us had a great time.  We will definitely be doing this again!  I can’t say how happy I am that Feebs is still close with the FH boys.  They have been together since they were babies, and I want them to always have that relationship.  That weekend, I took the MIL to lunch and to get her hair done.  She decided that she was ready to let the color grow out and go natural.  Libby was able to high and low-light her hair to help it blend out.  MIL was very happy with it, and the day was delightful.  The next day was a kid’s birthday party.  The next week was my infusion appointment.  It was as charming as always, and I felt like garbage after as always.  I ended up calling in sick the next day.  I just felt tired and like my innards were caving in.  That Friday was the in-law’s wedding rehearsal, though, so I still had to get up and be productive.  The rehearsal was a hot mess, as was the wedding day itself.  I won’t get into it too much since it is over and done.  However, I will note the two things that I learned as a result of the event.  1.) I am too Type A for the in-law family.  I will never understand the disorganized chaos of that family, and I need to accept that and move on.  2.) The town of Colma is a necropolis.  This means that there are more dead people in that town than there are living.  I was unaware of this, and my mind was blown as we drove through, and it was border-to-border cemeteries.   MIND BLOWN.   That Sunday was Mother’s Day.  The weekend was pretty much shot due to the wedding, and we had to take the MIL to lunch to celebrate her day.  So, my Mother’s Day didn’t really happen.  I postponed the Mother to the next weekend, so we could celebrate her properly.  On a positive note, I was told about the Sierra Nevada Yarn Crawl that is happening in September.  It is happening, and I am going!  So that will be my postponed Mother’s Day weekend.  The next week was a field trip to the Oakland Zoo that I chaperoned, it was Open House at school, and it was when Feebs came down with Strep Throat.  Again!  That is the 3rd time in a year that my girl got strep.  My poor Bean.  Because she was sick, she missed some fun end-of-year stuff and a couple of her homie’s birthday parties.    I did spend the weekend with the Mother.  We did some more work around her house and cleared more stuff out.  We took down a built-in hutch that was never intended to be taken down.  Holy crap, that was a beast to remove.  We took it down in order to build a “window” and breakfast bar.  Also, that Sunday was the last day of my Spring semester!  Man, that class was hard!  Well, not hard, but a lot!  I was very surprised with myself.  Since I have returned to school, I have had a “you’re choosing to do this, so you better do it right” mentality.  I have worked to do my best and get the best grade I could get.  I very stupidly signed up for a class over the time that I was heading up a triple conversion at work.  I DID NOT have the bandwidth to do all of that.  As a result, I only got a 92% in my class.  That is not bad by any means, but most of the reason for the lower grade is that I missed an assignment.  I had no right to skip the assignment.  It happened when we went to Hawaii.  I wasn’t able to work ahead and ended up being unable to work back while trying to keep up.  I got to the final weekend and made the decision to just focus on my final project and let the missed assignment go.  So, my grade was lower, but I passed the class and was able to check off another box.  I signed up for Fall 2023 and am going to take a film class to fulfill my general art credits.  I took this class several years ago, but I butted heads with the instructor over watching a movie that made me uncomfortable.  He wouldn’t let me substitute the movie, so I ended up with a W in the class.  I am hoping that completing this will remove the W from my transcripts.  The next weekend was Memorial Day weekend, and another wedding.  One of the oldest nephews married his longtime girlfriend.  They are the parents of my grandnephew.  Technically, we attended the reception, not the wedding.  It was held in my sister’s (his mom’s) front yard.  It was really pretty, and they all did a great job getting everything done.  I was delighted to see them married and happy.  We haven’t had a big family wedding in many years, and we always have so much fun.  I saw my former brother-in-law for the first time in many years, and it was really great to catch up with him and for the Husband to finally get to meet him. It was also the first young person wedding I had attended.  It was an interesting experience and brought up some pretty funny epiphanies.  I can’t tell you how happy I am to be in the stage of life that I am in.  I love being married and settled and sure of who I am.  We spent that night at the Father’s house and got to spend time with him and Mother since she spent the night too.  We left early enough to have a very mellow rest of the day.  The Husband stopped on the way home to pick up a washer drum that someone was selling for $30.  He intended to use it for the fire when we went camping in June.  The rest of the long weekend was spent getting stuff done around the house and preparing for the last week of school.  The last week of the month was a bit bittersweet.  I can’t believe the girl finished 3rd grade…  I just don’t know why the years insist on going so fast.  We also went to a niece’s (on the Husband’s side) 8th-grade graduation.  Considering she was barely 2 when we met, I couldn’t believe how much she had grown up.  Thank goodness I am not getting older!  Feebs has continued her taekwondo practice.  She earned a Decided stripe on her orange belt.  When she focuses and cooperates, that girl is really good.  I very much hope that she sticks with it.  I want her to be prepared to take on her world as it expands over the years.  I want her to have confidence and belief in her ability to defend and protect herself. 

May is long over, and June is in full swing.  May was a good month, and more memories were made.  Things I hope to focus on over the summer are more summer garments.  I generally tend to suck at summer-making.  I want to remedy that this year.  I would really like a new Lawley skirt and a couple more knit tops.  I also want to buckle down and make a cute dress for Feebs.  We will see what boxes I can check off next.

Loves,
M

Hello darling. I sat down yesterday and evaluated the white denim skirt. I have to be honest, I just don’t want to work on it. I keep trying to set my mind to working on it and just knocking it out, but I don’t want to. And unfortunately, I keep putting myself on restriction from other sewing projects until that skirt is complete, so I just don’t sew at all. This certainly isn’t helping me toward my goal of getting better at sewing. Now that I have my snazzy Sewing Bingo card made up, it is time to actually start sewing and checking off some boxes. I want to start doing the thing. In conjunction with my self-appointed #OldStashDash, I want to use some of my old fabric and patterns. I purchased tracing paper (since I want to try to not cut my paper patterns) and have a healthy amount of patterns and fabric at my disposal. I am not going to worry about perfection. Done is better than perfect. I have completely flaked on the first four months of 2023, so hopefully, I can pick up some slack in May.

Lawely skirt by Elbe Textiles- I need to make this in a smaller size than I did last time. I am indecisive about which fabric I will use for this. I am stuck between the gorgeous new watercolor cotton I bought in Oahu and an elephant print bedsheet that I completely love.

McCalls M7768 dress for Feebs. I will make View C in Size 8. I bought the cat fabric (main body) in Oahu and the polka dot fabric (contrast and pockets) at Joann Fabrics.

Stella Hoodie & Joggers by Tilly and the Buttons- Stretch! book. I will use the French Terry fabric that I bought approximately nine millennia ago specifically to make this outfit.

That’s it. Only three. I am trying to be realistic about what I will actually accomplish and stay within my comfort zone so that I am not overwhelmed. I had hoped to have my Stella Hoodie and Joggers done for our camping trip, but… It’s in two weeks. I am thinking I won’t accomplish this goal. I would like to sew Feebs’s dress before she leaves for college or after she is out of school in a couple of weeks, ya know, whichever comes first. The Lawely will get made. I am just stuck on which fabric to use. I like both, and I have more of the bedsheet than the watercolor, so perhaps I will save the sheet for something else. A huge downer about this process is that I am making myself trace the patterns for Feebs dress and the sweatsuit. That sucks like what, but it needs to be done. I bought the tracing paper, and now I need to use it. I also have to reprint and tape eleventy-seven pattern pieces for Lawely because I want to make a smaller size. Alright, girl, you talk the talk. Now get up and walk!

Loves,

M

April was really good.  I am surprised at how good April was.  There were some ups and downs, but overall it was a good month.  I finished a project and have cast on another one.  I am building up steam on a sewing project, and with the end of the semester fast approaching, I may actually get to sew it.  So, the month went pretty well.

Finished objects:

The Levee Shawl by Casey Day-Crosier.  I knit this using deep stash Malabrigo Sock, Knitpicks Stroll, and Why Knot Fibers.  There is a separate post about this, so I will just give Cliff’s Notes.

  New cast ons:

Worsted weight socks

  Works in progress:

Shatar Vest

Harris

Blue Mountain Cowl

Knitting My Memories blanket

8 pairs of pajama shorts/ pants

White denim skirt

  Goals for next month:

Work on Harris after school is done

Sew a new Lawley skirt

Finish the semester

Do another fabric pairing

   I knitted this month.  I knit a very nice shawl.  It felt good to work on it and complete it.  It knitted up very quickly, and I quickly cast on socks to use up the rest of the Malabrigo Sock.  I am taking my #oldstashdash very seriously.  I have stalled on the Blue Mountain Cowl, but that may be simply because it is warming up.  I already knit the Heartbeat Top, and I generally only knit one summer top per year, but I think I may cast on a second one.  You know, just to be a rebel.  I had the nerve to buy some vacation fabric, which I needed like I need a hole in my head.  I bought a cat print fabric for Feebs, a ditsy floral print, and a beautiful watercolor.  I have grand plans of grand garments, but who knows how long they will languish before I finally get the nerve to do something with them?  I really want to finish Harris, but I have decided to hold off until after the semester is completed.  I will work on my socks for now and wait to cast on anything fun until he is completed.  I am ashamed that the Father still doesn’t have his Christmas sweater.  I realized that I needed to stop knitting the color work for a while, but it really shouldn’t have been this long.  I will blame school, but my dad still doesn’t have his sweater…  One more month, and I will knock it out.  I really want to sew.  I know I say that a lot, but I really do.  I want to dust off the machine and sew something up.  I think I am going to sit and write out a list of possible things to make.  I know that I want another Lawely skirt in a stronger fabric and a smaller size.  I know that I want to make Stella Joggers for camping this year.  I also know I want to make Feebs a dress with her new kitty fabric.  I think I need to really sit down and figure out what to do and start doing it.

   As previously mentioned, the month was good.  On day one, we boarded a plane (Feebs’s first plane ride) and headed to Oahu.  We hadn’t taken a real vacation (no, I don’t count Disneyland) in a long time.  We stayed in Waikiki Beach and rented a car.  We went to a luau, Pearl Harbor, beaches, and into the forests.  Poor Feebs was sick the whole time.  It turned out she had strep throat.  My girl was tough, though, and she still had a fantastic time (as long as we kept her on her Motrin schedule).  We ate some good food and swam in the ocean.  We had a very nice recharge, which we all needed.  It was incredibly sad to leave Honolulu in 85-degree weather and come home to 53 degrees and rain.  We were pretty jet-lagged for a couple of days, but we had no regrets.  We were glad that we got home in the wee hours of Friday morning because it gave us 3 days to recuperate from the trip.  We came home to the crazy news that the Mother had purchased a house and would be closing in 7 days.  This meant that by the time we got home, she only had 3 days to go.  She stayed the weekend, and we moved some of her stuff around so that she would be ready to go once her house closed.  Sunday was Easter, and we kept it pretty low-key.  The bunny showed up and hid some eggs for Feebs and brought her some scrummy snacks.  The following weekend we had a date night and went to the movies.  We saw Renfield, which was very funny.  We even saw it in the movie theater, which I am usually a poo about.  I hate spending an arm and two legs for a couple of hours, but we did it.  I regret nothing.  We also started attacking the front and back yards.  The weeds had become aggressive, so we started hacking and burning.  The process was long, but we had to suck it up since we let it get out of hand that way.  The following week we finally started something that I had wanted to do for 8 years: we met with a trust attorney.  We began the process of getting everything set up and documented to protect Feebs, and all of us in the event of a tragedy.  The process took 3 weeks, and then it was done.  All signed and sealed.  We will get the final packet in a few weeks.  The weekend of the 22^nd, I met with Sister #2 at a halfway point.  We had lunch and did a little looking around.  It is always a good time to meet up with her.  And OMG, guess what she made me…  She made a “Badass Skater Lady”- Pink Ladies style jacket for me, with a picture of my roller skates on it.  It is ridiculously badass, and I love it.  In true sister fashion, she verbally tore the whole thing up, but I love it.  It is so fun and silly.  I can’t wait to go to the roller rink and wear it.  The next day we met the O’s at the same place I met with my sister.  It was a nice day and a fun quick visit.  It was the Female O’s birthday, so we wanted to spend time with her and have a mini celebration.  The last weekend of the month, we were supposed to finally get to go to the Little Farm and see the A’s.  We were so excited.  We haven’t seen them in years, and we were so happy to get up there.  Naturally, I had to get sick and screwed the whole weekend up.  I got a sinus infection from hell, so we had to postpone our trip.  I was so incredibly sad.  We are going to pick another weekend after school is over.  We are determined to get up there and see those beautiful people.  I felt like crap, so I don’t think we even did anything that weekend.  Feebs is still doing her taekwondo, and she seems really happy with it.  She should be doing belt testing again in May.  My fingers are crossed that she stays happy in it.  I like her being in an activity that builds confidence and has discipline.  Hopefully, having two of her homies in the class will keep her engaged.

   Missing the A’s was a low point of the month, but a lot of good came from April too.  I definitely want to start thinking about another trip in a year or two.  I want us to keep going and see more of the world.  I want to keep making stuff and expanding my wardrobe and knowledge.  I am excited for May.  I think there will be some fun stuff happening, and the fact that school will be done for Feebs and me makes my heart very happy.  I am ready for both of us to have a nice big break.  I am so happy to have my mom living near me.  It was a long time coming, and it was finally time.  So, onto the next month’s adventures.  I hope it is another really good month.

 

Loves,

M

Hello darling. I have knit a shawl! I have had this Malabrigo Sock in mind for a shawl for years. I was set on knitting the Gumdrop shawl or something with beads. For some reason, the Gumdrop just didn’t stick. I was scrolling Ravelry, like you do, and came across the Levee Shawl, by Casey Day-Crosier. I loved the stripes and the fact that it is knit in a garter stitch. I have found that I really dislike stockinette stitch shawls because of the edge rolling that inevitably happens. I recently inventoried my shawl collection and found a shocking lack of neutrals. I have knit two purple shawls, one natural color that sheds like holy what, and a few colorful cowls. I needed to step up my game. I paired the Malabrigo Sock with a skein of Knitpicks Stroll in white and the skein of Why Knot Fibers Sole in the sweet potato color. Since the Sock and Stroll were light fingering, I could feel a difference when knitting the Sole. I don’t think it is noticeable in the finished shawl, though. The yarns worked beautifully together. The pattern (https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-levee) was very simple and well-written. There was nothing fancy or difficult about it. It is a very beginner-friendly pattern. I am very happy with this shawl. I think it will get a lot of wear and maybe something that I would knit again to use up single balls of yarn.

Loves,

M