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!
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 22nd, 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.
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.
Hello, darling. She is complete, and she is fabulous! I am referring to the Heartbeat Top, designed by Knittles Creations. I knew I really liked the look of this top when I was browsing Ravelry, looking for a pattern to use up the incredibly deep stash yarn. The yarn is Crystal Palace Mikado Ribbon. The yarn belonged to my beloved Sheila. Michelle gave it to me after she died. I have hoarded this yarn for almost 20 years, looking for the perfect project. The fabric it makes is an ode to Indian Summer, with all of the lovely fall colors. I am not a fan of knitting lace, but this was a relatively easy pattern to follow. I added one pattern repeat to give extra length. I am not a fan of cropped tops. If I had really dedicated myself to it, I think I could have finished it in a week or two. That wasn’t the case, though, so it took about a month. Once the body was complete, I decided that I knew better than the designer and knit the straps about 4 inches longer than the pattern called for. This was a mistake. I also decided that I didn’t need to try the thing on before I kitchenered the straps together and wove in the ends. This was also a mistake, and I instantly regretted my life choices. I tried it on, and it was waaaaay too long. So, of course, I got to undo everything that I had just done and rip back to the 2.5 inches that the pattern called for. Lo and behold, the thing fits perfectly. Funny how that works (dumbass)… And I tried it on before I re-kitchenered the straps. Groundbreaking! Now that the top is washed, blocked, and seamed, I am really considering lining it. My first idea was to wear something under it, but I will never find a cami that follows the lines of the top, and I don’t want to take anything away from it. I went to Joann’s and had the Mother help me pick out a lining fabric. I am not looking forward to drafting the lining shape and hand-sewing the thing. But I think this is the best option to make the top the most wearable. I even bought a brown skirt to go with it! As I mentioned, I don’t like knitting lace. That doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy wearing lace. I can really see knitting this top again in a neutral color yarn (possibly, Berroco Glace, the oldest yarn in my stash). So, I give this top a solid 8 out of 10 stars. We may be seeing more of them in the future.
March was a good month. March was a very good month. There was some knitting involved. There was a mostly finished project. While there was no actual sewing, there was an urge to start thinking about a new sewing project. There was also a fun day spent with good people at a yarn festival. I mean, it was a pretty good month.
* Finished objects:
The Heartbeat Top, by Knittles Creations. This was knit in very deep stash of Crystal Palace Yarns Mikado Ribbon Print. There will be a separate post about this project.
* New Cast-ons:
Nordic Trail vest
The Levee Shawl
* 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:
Finish Harris
Continue to work through old stash
Sew something
Log and put away all new stash acquisitions
Figure out a brown-colored knit
Sew Stella Joggers and hoodie before Lawson’s Landing in June
I only made one thing in March, but I feel like I got a lot done. I am mostly through the body of the Nordic Trail vest, but in typical me fashion, I got to the fiddly front/back decrease portion and put it in a small time-out. I also cast on something new and shiny, so my gnat-sized attention span moved on. I say I have a mostly finished object with the Heartbeat Top because I think I want to line it. I could always wear a camisole or tank under it, but I really like the lines and the shape of it, and I don’t think they will come across as much if I have something under it. Since hand sewing is the devil, it will probably wait till I am feeling motivated. Also, I did something very uncharacteristic and purchased a brown skirt, specifically to go with this top. I am not a person to buy clothing that only goes with a specific outfit, so you know I must be really excited about this top. Harris is still in a little time-out, and I feel horrible about it. I just don’t want to deal with the elbow pain associated with colorwork. I am hopeful that I will have rested my arm enough to start working on the sweater again next month. Maybe my little hiatus from it, paired with the fact that I will only do a little a time, will be enough to just get it done. I especially want to get it done before the weather gets hot. Poor dad… I really want to sew a garment. The only thing that has been stopping me is not having the space to pull everything out. I want to make another, more structurally sound, Lawely skirt. While I dislike the fabric that I used for the last one, I wore the heck out of that skirt over the summer. I want to make one out of sturdier fabric, with better construction. I learned a lot from that pattern, and I would like to take another go at it. I also want to do another fabric pairing post and start working through my fabric stash. I better not buy any more fabric until I use some up.
March was full of some pretty fun stuff. The first weekend was Stitches West. There is a separate post about this, so I won’t drag on about it. Let’s suffice it to say that it was a good time, and I got some good stuff. The next weekend was spent with the O’s at their house. We had a great time. The girls got to play and spend time together. On a side note, we went to a Mexican restaurant for breakfast there. I am fairly certain that is the first time I have had Mexican food for breakfast. It was the first time I had coffee with chips and salsa. I have no idea why, but it struck me as being such an unusual flavor combination and kind of blew my mind. The next weekend was jam-packed with the Mother. She finally sold her house, so the floodgates of packing and storing were opened. We went back and forth between her house and the storage near my house. We went to open houses and on several roller-coaster rides of emotions. The moving process continued through the entire month and concluded on the last day of March when the house closed. Thank God for Aunt J. She really knows her stuff when it comes to packing a storage unit efficiently. The moving continued the following weekend, but in the middle of it was the Female Clay’s 40th birthday party. We got to meet her friends from home and spend some adult-only time with fun people. For some reason, it really got me thinking about the Husband’s 50th birthday, which will be happening next year (2024). The last week of March was all about getting the Mother moved and getting us ready for our trip to Oahu. Because we booked the trip such a short time out, it didn’t give me enough time to get my usual travel anxiety/ dread. I did feel like we were scrambling till the very end, though. Work has been its usual charming self. We are getting closer to conversion, so my days are filled with meetings and decisions. I can’t believe that we are in double digits now. Training is coming up, and then we will be at go-live. Craziness! School hit the halfway mark, so now I am traveling down the hill instead of climbing up. I will be so happy when this semester is done. It’s not like my other classes will be easy, but one more box will be checked off.
Now that March is over, April will be coming in full force. I don’t see it being any less crazy than March was. I am REALLY looking forward to our vacation. We haven’t done a big vacation in over 10 years (no, I don’t count Disneyland). So, good things are in store, and I can’t wait to document them.
Oh, and my updated Knitting Bingo card! Someday I will add the Sewing Bingo card too…
Hello darling. I went to Stitches West. Finally, after 2 years of Covid craziness. Last year was the first in the new location at the Sacramento Convention Center. The center is huge and had a lot of potential for greatness. I met up with the H Sisters, which was delightful. When we got there, we quickly realized that there was an additional event going on, in another part of the center. It was a youth cheerleading competition/ convention. Darling, I can’t tell you how much I hope that Feebs never wants to do cheerleading. I am just not that mom, and I hope she isn’t that kind of kid, at least not the kind that I saw that day.
Once we got into the lobby, the vibe was very relaxed. There wasn’t the excited energy that was always present before. Some people were still wearing masks, but most weren’t. When we were let into the staging area, there was a promoter that was trying to pump up the crowd before entry. She did an amazing job, but the energy just didn’t seem to be there. I was very surprised at how small the event seemed. In retrospect, I think it was the same size it had always been, but the room was so much larger, that it dwarfed the vendor area and made it seem small. I had hoped for more sewing and other fiber crafts to be present since I thought I had seen them there last year (while Insta-stalking the event). Unfortunately, there weren’t any.
Some vendors that I was excited to see were Madeline Tosh, Miss Babs, A Verb for Keeping Warm, and Royal Bee Yarn Co. Vendors that I was sorry not to see were Magpie Fibers, Leading Men Fiber Arts, and Jimmy Bean Wool. I was really hoping to get more yarn from all of them. I feel that I didn’t buy as much as I normally would have, but I spent a lot more money. Funny how that works. I was also surprised at the lack of tools and accessories. Ms. C was wanting to buy a set of interchangeable needles. We looked around, several times, and found only a few sets available. There were Knitter’s Pride wooden needles, Chiao Goo, and Lykke driftwood. That was all. In the end, I convinced her to hold off for now. Ms. D has a ton of different-sized circulars for Ms. C to choose from, so I didn’t see a real need for her to invest at this point. I did end up getting the Chiao Goo short set in sizes 9-11. I am in love with those sets, and use them all the time. While in line, I got talking to a couple of women behind me, and they were inquiring what I did with the sets. I told them that they have revolutionized my sleeve game. One of the ladies asked me to hold her spot in line so she could go grab a set. I felt like I should have gotten a commission from the vendor…
As we moved through the vendors, we did find some fabulous stuff. We all purchased some fastenings from Juul. I purchased one style in both metal colors. These fastenings are fantastic because they aren’t fixed. You can take them off and use them on another garment. I believe the sisters selected a different style than I did, but they were all gorgeous.
Then we got to the Plied booth. They had the most gorgeous, variegated yarn (think Spincycle) that was toothy but not scratchy. They had a colorwork cowl on display that I simply had to purchase. I felt that it would have been more helpful if they had kits, instead of having you go through and find everything, but they were very helpful and made sure I found everything I needed. The cowl is the Branches, by Jamie Hoffman.
When we got to the MadTosh booth, it was broken up into two different areas. One was the display of current colors, and the other was boxes of one-of-a-kind colors. I grabbed a few skeins of one-of-a-kind colors for gift hats. I tried to pick up some more gender-neutral colors, this time to make my options broader. (On a side note, there was a woman picking through the boxes and sniffing at them saying what ugly colors they were. Oh, darling, she doesn’t know how close she came to getting throat punched. How dare she!)
I also spied a woman with a gorgeous sweater when we were waiting to get into the event. She told me it was the Hamilton sweater. Naturally, I went right on Ravelry and purchased the pattern. I bought yarn for it at the Mod Yarns booth. The yarn is luxurious. It is Straight Up Worsted.
Then I was able to find the Loops booth. I bought a single skein in a purple/ lavender twist, at probably the 2019 Stitches West. I really liked it and was saving it for something special. Well… My mother-in-law asked me to knit her cousin a hat for her birthday and said her favorite color was purple. I had exactly one skein of purple in my stash… Did I mention the cousin in question has cancer? So, I parted ways with it and wished it a good home. So I was delighted to find it again, with a lovely orange sister to go along with it. I am not saying I wouldn’t part with this one for similar reasons, but I would really like not to.
Then as I was practically on my way out, I walked by the Miss Babs booth again and spied a beautiful shawl in soft and soothing colors. It was the Pizza Night shawl and was made using one main color and a gradient set. So, of course, I went on Ravelry again and bought the pattern. I choose the yarn of the model in the same colors. Miss Babs Yummy 2-ply.
Ms. D had gone off a bit on her own, so I am not entirely sure what she bought. Ms. C picked some nice things up along the way. They were both looking for yarn for hats and possibly some cowls or scarves. They were very happy with their purchases. The other purchase that I made as a result of the event is the pattern for the Slippy V Triangle, by Steven West. A Verb for Keeping Warm had a sample knit up, and I simply had to buy the pattern. I have yarn in my stash that I can use for it, so didn’t see the need to procure more (who am I?).
So, the event was good and productive, but I did have higher hopes for it. I wish they had diversified the vendors to include more crafts, like fabric and sewing. Especially with the size of the building. We walked around the entire thing about 4 or 5 times, and my step count was only 4,500. That struck me as strange considering that my workday (that I mostly sit at) generally nets me about 5,200 steps. I am very happy with everything that I bought. I am very excited to cast on some of it. I have a theory about my elbow, so I will avoid color work or left-handed knitting for a while. That means that the Branches cowl will have to sit in time out for a bit, but I can cast on just about everything else. I am excited to return next year, barring any new pandemic bullshit. It felt perfect to squish yarn and be surrounded by my people again.
On a side note, I made contact with people. I even initiated a couple of conversations. I also scared the bejesus out of a woman I recognized from morning drop-off at school. She had lovely vibrant purple hair, and that gave her away. I even remembered to introduce myself as me instead of the mother of Feebs. She introduced herself as well. It felt good to be friendly and not completely introvert.
Good purchases were made, memories were made, and I got to spend time with some beautiful people. Stitches 2023 was a win.
Why is February so short? Why does she only get 28 days? It seems so unfair. February is always a chaotic month. February and October. They are both crazy busy birthday months and always seem to book out months in advance. This one was no exception. But, in fairness, it was a pretty great month. Sadly, there was little knitting due to my asshole elbow. In fact, there are no finished objects or new cast-ons, so we will skip right over those parts and go straight to WIPs
* Works in Progress:
Heartbeat top
Harris
Blue Mountain Cowl
Shatar vest
NYE cast-on
Knitting my memories blanket
White denim skirt
8 pairs of pajama pants/ shorts
* Goals for next month:
School stuff
Sew something, anything
Cast on more things
Finish Harris
So the elbow is still an issue, hence nothing was completed. I have been chipping away, slowly at Heartbeat, Blue Mountain Cowl (it’s my travel knitting), and Harris. You would think this would allow me all kinds of time to break out some sewing. Yeah, no. That hasn’t happened. I am starting to mentally plan some stuff but still haven’t grown enough spine to actually do it. I did assess the white denim skirt with the intention of sewing a seam or two, but I am afraid I really messed up. I pulled out the pattern pieces and the directions. I laid everything out and really reviewed what was needed. I found that not only are the directions still not clicking, but apparently, I never marked my notches and dart markings. Yeah, so… That was cool. Ultimately, I threw it back in the basket and walked away. I am not going to lie, my first instinct was to chuck the whole thing into the garbage and call it a loss. I changed my mind at the last minute, though, and just packed it back up. I am in a place with it where I think I will just let it sit, and hopefully, I can work on something else that will give me the knowledge on how to salvage it. As my grandpa would have said, “it doesn’t eat or drink,” so it can sit there for as long as I need it to. In the meantime, I really do want to start sewing on something. There may be a Fabric Pairing post in the near future. TBD.
February was a really good month. It started with a trip to Chico with LouHoo. It was a really fun weekend that was much needed by both of us. We went and had girl time and went (thrift) shopping and just chilled and reconnected. The Chico thrift store game is on point! We hit 5 or 6 really good shops. I needed that girl time and time away from home. It was nice to miss my loves for a couple of days. The next weekend was the Father’s birthday, so he came down for the day. We played games and went to the Native American food place, Wahpepah’s Kitchen, in Oakland. That place is AMAZING. Dad absolutely loved it. The following week was really busy at work. That Wednesday, I took my new title and moved into the office. It was very bittersweet to leave my old office and my old role. For now, I will be doing double duty and still getting through this double conversion. Once that is complete, I will be doing a hard shift toward my new job. After 10 years in my office, it was hard to give it up. My new office is evolving, but I am sure it will be fine. Two days later, my birthday arrived. I am now 42. That seems like a rather weighty number. I don’t feel old, but I do feel like the years are starting to get heavier. I spent the morning with Feebs and the Mother. We had a sleepover the night before, which was nice. Feebs spent the weekend with Mom. The weekend was very good. It was a kid-free to do with the O’s. We had my annual lasagna, and the Husband outdid himself. The next night, the menfolk went to a concert, and the Female O and I had a delectable snack dinner. We also went and checked out the new craft store downtown. It was small and didn’t have a ton of stuff, but it was cute. It had some nice sock yarn. Then Sunday we went to Napa. It is always weird for to me go back there. We went to Zuzu for cocktails and snacks. Then we went to the Brazilian Steakhouse. For the first time, I got the full meal. It was good, but I think I will stick with my sidebar when we go to those places. I just don’t eat enough to justify the cost. Monday, was a holiday and I went and picked up the girl. It was a really good weekend. The last weekend of the month was pretty chill. I weeded the front planter boxes. Which, really, only emphasized how much we need to clean up the rest of the yard… But at least our lavender, sage, and rosemary are a little happier. And Oh My God, Becky! Guess what the Husband got me for my birthday! Leopard print roller skates! I am so freaking happy about this, I can’t even begin to tell you! I love everything about them. I ordered a helmet, and every kind of protective pad I could find. I am so excited to get them and skate my little heart out! Also, somewhere in this month, the Husband booked our Spring Break trip. We are going to Hawaii on April 1. It wasn’t the trip I had envisioned, but I will take it. I know Feebs is going to love it.
So the month wasn’t terribly craft-happy, but it was still really good. March is going to be exciting because of Stitches West and gearing up for our upcoming vacation. I hope that the year continues with good things and happy memories. I also hope that my elbow figures out its life so that I can get on with my knitting. We shall see what is to come!
Well, some weird crap happened. January disappeared. By January, I am referring to my January post. It’s gone. It’s not on my computer, it’s not on my phone, and it’s not saved as a draft here. It is just gone. I don’t know what happened, or what ridiculous shenanigans are afoot, but it is no more. So, anyhoo…
January was a pretty mellow month, as Januarys usually are. Or at least they seem to be since we are all hung over from holiday chaos. I had a whole month off school from December 9- January 23. It was amazing and I knitted A LOT. Sewing has yet to make a guest appearance, but there just wasn’t the oomph to pull everything out and set it up. Knitting felt like heaven and I always forget how much I completely adore it and rely on it for 60% of my mental health care. And there are Finished Objects!
* Finished Objects:
Barter scarf for Sister #2- 3×3 rib of no particular design. I knit this holding two strands of Valley Yarns Superwash with one strand of Anzula Wash My Lace. The Anzula was deep stash, and I still have 1/2 the ball left…
August 2022 socks, knit using my vanilla sock pattern. I knit these in Patons Kroy, my go-to sock yarn.
Bricks & Mortar Mitts, by LoriAngela McDermid. I knit these using leftover Berroco Lanas and Cascade 220.
Oh, and I have an update on my Knitting Bingo Card!
* New Cast-Ons:
The Heartbeat top
Blue Mountain Cowl
* Works in Progress:
Harris Sweater
New Year’s Eve Cast-on
White Denim Skirt
8 pairs of pajama pants/ shorts
Knitting my memories blanket
* Goals for next month:
Continue casting on all the things
Finish Harris for Dad
Sew something, anything!
Gear up for Spring Semester
So January was pretty good. I got to knit! Knitting is good. Knitting makes me so happy! I made a lot of progress on the Harris sweater. I finished a languishing pair of socks. I knit a super cute pair of mitts (which I knit too big and had to felt slightly in the dryer). I am completely in love with this new Heartbeat top. I should be ashamed for being so excited, considering I really don’t like knitting lace, but it is so pretty and I love that I am using Sheila’s yarn. This is one of the oldest yarns in my stash. I think it is only younger than the Berroco Glace that I have from 1 million years ago. My goal was to finish Dad’s sweater by the end of January, but that didn’t work out. My elbow has been giving me fits again, so I had to work on it much less. Now the goal was to finish by February (spoiler alert: that didn’t happen either.) I am limiting myself on my other knitting in hopes of saving the knitting time for his sweater. Sewing hasn’t happened. I have a million excuses, but the facts are 1. Laziness- It takes forever to get everything out, wash, dry, iron, cut out, and put everything together. 2. No dedicated sewing space still. 3. Just plain, basic fear- I have no idea why I have this block about sewing, but I do. I can’t seem to reconcile my want to sew stuff and get better at it with my want to not make mistakes. Mistakes happen, and I really need to try to embrace them. They are also the only way that you learn, right? No other crafts have been hitting the mark, lately.
Life stuff in January was pretty good. While we weren’t doing crazy holiday stuff anymore, we were still running like crazy. The first weekend was spent with the Clays. They came over for a makeup playdate since they missed the cookie decorating event in December. The following weekend, the Husband flew to see his friend in Michigan and get a new tattoo. The tattoo is pretty adorable and is of our best lamb. He got that as his Feebs tattoo. She is delighted with it. The Mother was here that weekend, which was great. Then the following weekend the elder Uy was here. He came to hang out and have dinner and drinks. It was so good to catch up with him. That day had been my interview for Manager, so I spent the evening coming down from anxiety. That interview was tough. The following week, I was offered the job, to be started on February 15. I also started the Spring semester that week, taking my Intro to Public Health class. My teacher is the same from the health class in the Fall. I am not excited to be back in school, but I will be able to check off one more class. The last weekend of the month was incredibly chill. Honestly, I don’t even remember what we did.
So that was the month in a nutshell. Since I am having to rewrite this, two months later, I am sure I missed some interesting tidbits. Such is life… I did maybe a bit too much knitting/ data entry in the month, so the elbow is getting sassy again. I am not excited. I did finish my big work project, so the entry has died down. Knitting is taking a big slowdown because of school. So hopefully it all levels out. Onward with the year!
Hello darling. I am about to cast on ALL the things. I used to be big on having a lot of WIPs, but over time I evolved to only have one or two projects on the needles at a time. Now I am leaning toward wanting more things on the needles. I always get a bit of FOMO when I see posts about people working through their WIPs. A goal of mine for the year is to work on old stash, both yarn and patterns. Many makers are doing the Stash-Free in 2023, but I am not taking it to that level. I guess my hashtag is more #OldStashBash. I know I will continue to purchase yarn throughout the year; I mean, I’ll be at Stitches West in 40 days. I am okay with buying more as long as I am freeing up real estate in my stash. And space aside, I have some pretty great yarn in my possession. I buy things that appeal to me, that I want to work with and wear, so why would I not use them? My only rule is that I have to finish the Harris Sweater for the Father before I can cast any of this on. This should push me past my block and get me to finish the thing.
Old Yarns:
I put this Crystal Palace Yarns Mikado Ribbon into my Ravelry Stash page in May 2020, but the yarn was from Sheila. Sheila passed away in 2006… I purchased the Heartbeat Top, by Knittles Creations, specifically for this yarn.
I purchased this Cascade Eco + somewhere around 2017 to make the Husband a Dude Sweater. I didn’t like the pattern that I purchased and ended up making it with a different yarn and pattern. The Husband is not petit, so I had a lot of yarn to use. I have knit two other sweaters with this yarn and still have these two balls left. I think the amount will be perfect for the Gallus Jumper by Christina J. MacKenzie.
I honestly don’t know when I purchased this Plymouth Yarns Baby Alpaca Aire, but I believe it was around 2013. I originally purchased it to make the Nordic Trail vest by Elizabeth Smith. I didn’t end up making it, and both yarn and pattern have lingered in my stash for a decade. I want to use the yarn to knit the Blue Mountain Cowl by Unwind Yarn House.
Old Patterns:
Speaking of the Nordic Trail vest, I think it is well past the time to knit this pattern. I purchased it in July 2013. I want to use Cascade Eco + in black, another yarn from the ill-fated Dude Sweater. I am considering altering the pattern to make it a pullover instead of an open front.
I purchased the Nor’Easter pattern, by Thea Coleman, in March 2018. I have no idea why I haven’t knit this cardigan yet. It is gorgeous and snuggly and will get tons of wear any time the temperature drops below 60 degrees. I purchased the Patons Worsted Classic Wool from Keri’s destash. I think the two will work nicely together.
Since the rest of this list is very garment-heavy, I wanted to throw in something small and quick. I bought the Brick & Mortar Mitts by LoriAngela McDermid in July 2015. The pattern calls for Cascade 220, and luckily I already have some in the stash. I had some leftover 220 in black, and I accidentally bought it in pink when I meant to buy 220 Superwash for a Feebs sweater. I think this will be a great stash-busting pattern for the future, as well.
I am so excited to start gathering the supplies and getting this stuff on the needles! I can’t wait till I am bored with my current project and am able to shift gears to another one that is already in progress. Mind you, in six months, I will probably be whining about how overwhelmed I am by the number of WIPs I have. Oh well… Adventure!
Hello darling. I saw the coolest thing the other day. I was perusing Instagram like you do, and I found a post about Knitting Bingo. The maker had created a bingo card in lieu of a Make 9. She had seen another maker post her progress on a 2022 card. I thought this sounded like a really fun thing to do, so I made up my own cards, one for knitting and one for sewing. My plan is to use this to push myself this year. Obviously, the more challenging one will be sewing, but there are a couple of squares on the knitting card that may give me some fits too. I will post updates about it as I am able to check off items. I highly doubt this will be a monthly thing, but you never know. I will be happy with the projects that check multiple boxes! My rules will be loose, and the point of it is to have fun and challenge myself. Once I can secure my first Bingo, I will aim at getting a blackout. It will be interesting to see how this progresses.
I am on the verge of checking a few boxes off now. Adventure!
