Knitting

Bingo! 2025

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Well hells bells! It’s March and I just realized that not only did I not complete my Bingo card in 2024, but I haven’t even given a thought about my 2025 card. That simply won’t do.

My 2024 Bingo card was not finished. I’ve already documented the causation of no knitting for the second half of the year, so I won’t whine about it here. I did finish a good amount, all things considered. AND I got a Bingo, so hooray to that!

Since I am taking a break from pressuring myself about sewing (and since I didn’t sew a thing in 2024) I am omitting the Sewing Bingo card this year. If I get any urges to sew, I will just reuse last year’s card. No pressure at all.

So, all focus is on Knitting Bingo. Let’s muse on what I want to work toward this year… I think after my realization of Stash Overrunneth, there needs to be several Deep Stash or Large Stash boxes. I may also throw a Marriage of Stash (using both stash yarn AND a stash pattern) box or two on there. I can honestly say that my most favorite knit from 2024 was the Bliss Shorts. Those lovely shorts may need to be reknit in a more neutral color, and maybe a titch longer, or a pair of pants need to be knit in their place. I know that a dress will be on there, but I already have the Highlights Tunic dress in the works to check that box (is that cheating?). I also need to work on Gift Knits and Charity Knits. I feel like I am good on new techniques, though I did buy a circular sock machine last summer, and have yet to successfully complete a single tube on it. I try to make myself embrace a lace project each year, because I do hate knitting lace. I also still want to embrace a heavily cabled project that I take a long time to complete. I knit the Jameson Sweater a few years ago, but it didn’t quite scratch the itch. I think I also want to knit another heavy colorwork cardigan, similar to Betty. I want better colors and a better fit. Actually, there we go! I want to work on fitting garments better. That will require me altering pattern, which has always given me palpitations. I definitely want to see a box or two for this purpose.

And here she is, folks! Bingo 2025. Let’s see if I can finally finish a Bingo card.

Loves,

M

Dream Knitting

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Hello darling. Let’s dream for a bit. I am feeling the slightest spark of knojo coming back to me and it has prompted me to go to town on my Ravelry queue. I have been selecting and pairing like a crazy woman. I have some cold weather options and some put away for when things start to warm up. My soul is starting to yearn for something squishy and glorious to cast on. I am also all about using the yarn and patterns that I already have. My cold weather choices are The Snuggle is Real, Dry Martini, The Homie Hoodie, Fernwood Cardigan, Branches Cowl, and The Zipper Sweater. These project will use up the Wool of Andes Bulky that I salvaged from the weird cocoon with harsh wings (Homie Hoodie), the Ms. Babs Yowza that Abs gave me ages ago (Dry Martini), and the Cascade Eco + that I can’t seem to use up (Fernwood Cardigan.) There are other pairings too, like the Branches kit I bought at the last Stitches West, but nothing will need to be purchased to complete them.

I am equally excited about the warm weather collection. Oddly all but one are patterns that I have knit previously. Cropped Lace Tee, Short Row Sweater, The Levee Shawl, Ruegen (the one I haven’t already knit), Heartbeat Top, and Heart of Glass. I will be honest that the reason for a couple of the reknits are due to the fact that at one point I either knit the wrong size (Short Row Sweater) or used the wrong yarn (Cropped Lace Tee). The Levee Shawl is being reknit because I gave the one I already had to Sister #3. The Heart of Glass was knit using unfortunately yarn, but was also knit as a long sleeved sweater. This time she will be knit with short sleeves and cotton/ linen/ silk yarn so that she may be light and breezy. She may end up being knit for the Mother, but we will see. The Heartbeat is one of my favorite tops and I just want a second one in black. I also desperately want to use up the rest of the Berroco Glace yarn. And I saw Marce on Hey Brownberry knit a Ruegen, and I loved hers so much that I want to try my hand at one.

The last bit of knitting that I have actual solid plans to knit are Celtic Plait Socks and the Dr. Who Scarf. The socks are for the Female O and the scarf is for the Husband. There is a ridiculous story to go with the scarf, but that is just typical Mrs. Collins chaos. Once I can get started on the scarf, it will be for the Husband’s Father’s Day gift.

I am kind of loving this Dream Knitting. I want to cast on everything, honestly. I want to just get it all on the needles and work on them as they please me. I almost have a case of cast-on paralysis because I don’t know which darling to start first. Shit may be about to get real in the land of WIPs, stay tuned!

Loves,

M

All the makes- January 2025

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Well good lord, look at us at the start of our 3rd year of All the makes! Darling, we may get the hang of this blog thing after all. January was quite a pinnacle month, holy crap. It was the month at the very highest point of the emotional rollercoaster that has been the last seven months of my life. We haven’t begun the descent yet, but the anticipation is edged with the tiniest bit of hope. Another thing that has made a very slow climb back up the rails is knitting. There there are no Finished Objects or New Cast Ons for this month, but there is a desire to knit coming back and that is one thousand times better.

Works in Progress:

Shatar Vest

Knit House Cardigan

Vinca Hat

Highlights Tunic dress

Thelma Top

Kaylen Mesh Scarf

Barebones Fingerless Mitts

Gingerbraid

Reknit socks for Feebs

Goals for next month:

Identify dead projects

Post a new Dream Knitting

Cast on something amazing

So, no finishing got done, but there was finally a happy amount of knitting. It wasn’t glamorous knitting, but it was knitting and that is all that matters. Years ago, I think it was shortly after I began to knit socks for real and had discovered the world of hand-dyed sock yarn, I purchased Lolodidit Everyday Sock in the color Sweet Tooth. I was nowhere near working out the formula for my vanilla socks, and knit myself a pair of socks that were too loose in the foot and too short in the cuff. Since I knit them as part of the Grocery Girls monthly Sock Talk challenge, I was so proud of them and wore them anyway. Fast-forward eight years and they are in the extra cubby in my closet, where all problematic socks go to be forgotten about. Feebs found them and told me how much she loved the yarn and wished they fit her. This is a long drawn out way of telling you that I am unravelling my old socks and knitting new socks for Feebs out of them. I got a new cutout of her foot, and got to work. I am knitting them toe up and got mostly to the heel by the end of the month. So not fancy knitting, by any means, but hey, something is happening! I have also been hardcore creeping patterns in my library and then musing what would work with my stash. There may be some matches made in heaven for knitwear in February. Through this whole seven-month debacle, no other crafts have hit my fancy, and that still hasn’t changed. We will see if anything changes going forward.

I will get to talking about what happened in the full month shortly, but before I do, allow me to spin you a tale about when Mrs. Collins done lost her whole mind and went on a two-month long stress-clean. Darling, it is well known in my circle that about once a year I get a bee in my bonnet and get going on a declutter or stress clean. During these times, that generally last a little over a week or two depending on flexibility of scheduling, I will get an urge to tear into some clutter and give my soul a nice sigh of relief since I live with people who don’t understand anything about the word tidy. Early-ish December I got annoyed at the state of Feebs’s closet. My initial response was to start a mental redesign of our house to convert wasted space into more useable storage options. Then I was in our bonus room looking up at the high-level storage shelf and all of the disheveled clutter that was up there and thinking how much better that space could be utilized and organized, and just like that, I was off like a shot. Over the next two months: Everything was pulled out of Feebs’s closet and gone through, the clothing sizes were switched out and bagged or boxed up, the overhead storage was all pulled down and reorganized, things were moved to the attic in a organized fashion, along with the Christmas stuff that was finally taken down and boxed up, the semi-annual toy rodeo and donate effort was completed, the books were gone through and Friends of Library continues to love us, and everything not kept has gone to the appropriate cousin or has gone to the appropriate donate. Feebs’s closet, bedroom, and her part of the bonus room is now cleared out and decluttered. I also cleared out her linen closet and the cabinet under her sink (ohmygod I have been meaning to do that for a year!). The bonus room was still a wreck, and it had nothing to do with her stuff. I dug in deep and brutally. I de-stashed and decluttered. I got rid of fabric, threw out the hoard of damaged man clothes that I will never actually do anything with, and donated all of the completely useable bedding that I was keeping for sewing purposes that I also wouldn’t ever use. It stung, but still felt necessary. All of the baskets of yarn around the room, specifically littered around my chair, were redistributed and reorganized. I pulled out the bags, needle case, notions, and other detritus. I then took my happy ass to Ikea and bought a couple tall narrow bookcases and bins and solved my storage solution. In addition, I have completely moved out of the Husband’s office, including the desk, so that all was gone through and has a home as well. I went through the junk drawer, the porch cubbies, and all of the other clutter catching areas in the house. Your girl was on fire. I pulled out everything and purged everything that made no sense. I then put away everything that was left over. By the time I put all my stash away, and had completely reorganized the bonus room I was faced with the cold harsh fact that I have absolutely no more room to buy anything else. I am writing this with absolutely no sarcasm. All existing yarn storage is at capacity and there is no more room at the inn. This goes for the fabric storage as well. There is absolutely no more room. I can always buy more bins and throw more things into the attic, but within in what I consider to be reasonable space (which, let’s be honest, is a very decent amount of space) I am at full capacity. This was very harsh indeed. So this is what has triggered the great stash pairing of 2025, the great match up. I’m still working on it, so definitely expect a Dream knitting to be coming shortly.

Gosh, that was fun. I honestly don’t think that I have ever been on that long or intensive of a stress-clean before. As I write this now, I am still in that process, so who knows when it will actually end. Anyhoo… The first week of January was the new year, and obviously we were with the O’s the first day, which was lovely. After leaving there, Feebs and I went to spend a few days with the Father. We had dinner with his lady and Wanda & Lenard. It was really great to see that couple. I haven’t spent any time with them, and they got a kick out of Feebs. We did the traditional festive night golf with the Father and had a great time. We then headed home and I did more cleaning and organizing. We saw the Husband’s side of the family for lunch. I must say, his oldest nephews are pretty cool kids. The following week was doctor’s appointments, labs, and the usual medical things. The appointments were all building up to the final appointment at the end of the month. It turned out that I am not a candidate for physical therapy for my neck issues, so I was waiting for a consult with a spine surgeon, also at the end of the month. That weekend was all about getting Feebs ready for 5th grade camp. This was her first stay-away experience, and I wasn’t quite ready for it. We had her packed within an inch of her life and ready to take on any necessary survival measure that came her way. Naturally, none of this was needed, and she had an amazing time. It felt very weird having her gone for a week, knowing she wasn’t with family. The husband and I felt a little lost, to be perfectly honest. The week went very fast though, and before we knew it, she was home. I will say, that having her away for that week did get my mind on a tiny rabbit hole about what our lives will look like after she leaves home. What our routine and adventures will look like. I am sure I will muse more on that at a much later date, when it is closer to relevant. That weekend was fairly busy getting the girl all settled in and back in a routine. Then the Sunday was packed with breakfast with the Mother and the Aunt in Law. I have really enjoyed those, but I fear I am the minority. They don’t seem to click, at an awkward level. I don’t want to force it, but am not sure if I am reading it correctly. After that I had lunch with Sister #2. We had a lovely meet up and walked around and chatted about our lives. I love having those lunches. The following day was MLK day, so that was a very nice 3-day weekend. It was also inauguration day and LouHou’s birthday, so it was a very mixed bag of emotions. The following day was my lumbar puncture, and holy crap did that end up spinning out into three weeks worth of What the Actual F*#k!? Lets summarize it to say that I will be much more cautious and humble the next time I need another tap. That was an experience that I would like to not re-live. The ripple affect of it messed with just about every aspect of my life, and still isn’t cleared up as I write this. That literally sums up the last 2 weeks of January, until I got to the 31st. The last day of the month was a complete and utter shitstorm. We were booked back to back with appointments, starting with the neuro appointment that I had been waiting and working up to for two months. The Cliff’s notes: My diagnosis from the past eight years is incorrect, and I have the other suspected disease. There are no changes to my scans, so her initial thought is to continue on with the doubled dose of my infusion meds, but she will be seeking an opinion from other doctors at a symposium in February. There is a difference between a treatment plan and medications for symptom management. She explained this to me when I broke down crying that my symptoms are getting worse, and how frustrated that made me because we aren’t making any changes to my treatment. She explained to me that symptoms and flares with my disease are incredibly common and she will use medications to manage them. If the meds that I am on currently aren’t working, then we will switch them until we find the right fit for managing the symptoms and flare ups. The overall treatment plan is the medication that I am taking to attach the overall disease itself, and she sees no reason to change that, as yet. I can’t tell you how helpful it was to hear this explained. I felt completely powerless and like the only thing that was going to make any difference to my daily life and function was to change treatment plans, but now I know that there are two completely different paths. We have switched my meds (spoiler alert) and I get to start tapering off of the horrid meds that I was on. I am counting down the days until those have completely vacated my body. I have to wait till mid-February for the outcome of the treatment plan, but at least now I feel like there may be light at the end of the tunnel and I that I am not just tied to the tracks waiting for the train. As for the spine surgeon, he was a trip. He was my age, and made reference the fact by comparing me to his sister. He was also all over the place with options. The first one being surgery, and the last being home physical therapy. I opted for the physical therapy first, then escalate as needed. Call me crazy, but I prefer to stretch first, cut later.

Being that January, first month of the new year, started out so rocky I am going into the rest of the year with incredible caution. I feel that there is some hope for resolution on a few things, improvement on others. I will hopefully start to feel like I have a little more control of my life and my brain as I come off of the meds. I am very hopeful that my new migraine med will just work on the migraines and not mess with anything else in there. I want to want to do things again, and feel excited about something. I want to knit and make things that make me happy again. I want to feel like Mrs. Collins again. Let’s go quietly and not draw attention to ourselves, and maybe the universe will be too distracted to pay us much mind.

Loves,

M

2024- A year in review

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That is a wrap on 2024. Last year was… Let’s call it complex and interesting, and leave it at that for the intro. Making was great the first half of the year, then it died a slow and painful death the second half. The rollercoaster that my mind and health took was a level of not fun that I hadn’t anticipated and I want my money back. The grief and mourning that I had to watch my loved ones experience was heartbreaking. The battles that I watched them go through and the new lights that I was forced to look at people in were both shocking and painful. I am not sure that things will ever really be the same after this year.

That being said it didn’t all fall apart. There definitely rays of sunshine through the clouds, and good memories were made in there too. From a making standpoint I did make quite a lot in the first half of the year. Ravelry reports that I only made 15 things, but I believe I didn’t log quite a few things, like a baby sweater, a hat for Feebs, socks, and a several charity knits. Oh well. I only sewed one thing, and that was the game bag in January out of the recycled man-pants. I am still ridiculously proud of that thing.

My total for the year:

Two tops: Home Camisole & Rota top

Three hats: Honey Pie Hat, Tundra for Feebs, & Everyday Slouchy Beanie

Two pairs of socks: On the Go socks- End to End & Contrast Heal and Toe

Three Sweaters: Zipper Sweater- Man, Flax- Adult (me), Flax- baby

Cowl/ Shawl/ Wrap: Paris in Berlin, Oaken Shawl, & Lakeside Beach Wrap

Charity knitting: Hats & washcloths

Bottoms: Bliss Shorts

Accessories: Purl Pouch & Barebones Fingerless Mitts

Sewing: Gaming bag

So, not as shabby as Ravelry claims, but not as good as my challenge, and certainly not a good as most other years. I am so close to finishing the Highlights Tunic dress, but the weather is cold and I have no motivation to finish it right now. I really need to get Sister #3’s shawl finished and gifted to her. I want to finish Feebs’s socks and give them to her. And I still want to start something super squishy and delightful that warms my hands and soul. But I am just not quite there yet. That is a big hope for 2025. I want to get that spark back. I finished 2024 and didn’t knit a single sweater in the second half of the year to keep me warm in the winter. That is heartbreaking. Nothing makes me happier than a newly knit sweater for the cold months. The hardest thing with making this year was losing the desire to knit that hit me in August/ September. Knitting is my therapy and my happy place, so losing that threw me into a tailspin.

The year as a whole seemed to be about death and decompensation. Between the actual loss of life that we struggled through in Spring, then onto loss of health and what felt like loss of sanity, the year just felt very steeped in sorrow and fear. I spent the year feeling like I didn’t fit in my skin. Like at any second something would happen and either it would shrink wrap me or shred to pieces and I would be no more. I think I have never felt so out of control of my own person before. I struggled like never before, and my family had to stand by and watch me fall to pieces.

So while that was such a shiny and bright overview of how I felt about my place in 2024, there were definitely some highlights and life lessons that survived.

  1. I have always know that I come from a solid foundation. My people, some blood some not, are my rock. They held me together when nothing else was. It is so crucial to always surround myself with my core people. At the same time, I need to be sure that I am that same level of solid for them.
  2. I can only fight against my own brain and body for so long. I can only swim up my own stream of consciousness for so long before I collapse from exhaustion. At some point I may even realize that fighting against my best health interests isn’t benefiting me. My body and mind need rest, and eventually they will just take it.
  3. Stress can and will kill me if I let it. I can’t fix the world’s problems, I can’t fix all of my loved one’s problems, and I can’t fix all of my health problems. I can only control what I can and I HAVE TO LET THE REST GO. I can’t keep allowing myself to be pulled into other people’s crisis’s. I will offer my help, set boundaries, and hold those boundaries. If they decide to act on their issues only once they become crisis’s, then they may have to resolve them on their own. Every adult in my life is smart and capable and can handle their own lives. If they need my help, they will ask. I will not intrude in their lives in an attempt to fix their issues.
  4. I very painfully learned this year about who I can count on. This was a good and bad thing. I needed to know who would stand up when push comes to shove, and now I know. At the same time, it was crushing to find out that people I always thought were part of my ride of die crew were all talk.
  5. Asking for help doesn’t make me incapable of handling my own business. I learned that this year and while it got on my very last nerve, I had to stop and ask for help. There were times that I physically could not perform a task, or at least not safely. I don’t think that it makes a person weak to ask for help, but I am used to being able to take care of everything on my own. 2024 proved me wrong and I had to hand over control of the reigns, several times. I won’t lie, it pissed me off, but it was necessary and I am so incredibly grateful that my people stepped up to help when it was needed.
  6. I already knew this, but I was reminded last year, that nothing lasts forever. Your best days pass and your worst days pass. You just have to either remember them or survive them and things will change. New things will always be coming and good, bad or indifferent there will be new memories to make and new adventures to experience. Nothing stays bad forever.

I would love to say that by the final day of 2024, everything was resolved and the curtain closed on a happy ending. Nope, that wasn’t quite the case. However, I spent the last day and eve of 2024 with the two halves of my heart and our best friends. We rang in the 2025, as we do every year. We toasted to good things up ahead and we said farewell to the year that put all of us through the ringer. We went into the New Year with quiet optimism and all of the tools that we had acquired from the last year. Out with the old and in with the new.

I love my people. I love our traditions and adventures. I love everything I have in life and the optimism that things will change. I am happy to say that I survived another year. I am thrilled to say that (spoiler alert!) I may be getting back some of my making spark in 2025, and that big health changes may be on the way. It won’t always be bleak and sorrow. Time makes change and I will change with it. Let’s head into the next chapter.

Loves,

M

All the makes- December 2024

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December went out quietly and the year is complete. Holy crap the year was a brutal one, but it is over and done and as the great Snoop Dog once said, “we can chill to the next episode.” I have higher but still realistic hopes for 2025. Making for this month still wasn’t good. I didn’t finish anything and I stalled on the one thing that I started on. I am still working to find a spark that can ignite my want to craft again. Hopefully the new year will have some changes that can bring back some of that old part of me.

New cast ons:

Gingerbraid

Sock remakes for Feebs

Works in progress:

Shatar Vest

Highlights Dress (timeout)

Knithouse Cardigan

Kaylen Mesh Scarf

Barebones Mitts

Goals for next month:

Finish the mitts

Finish Feebs’ socks

Finish all purging/ cleaning projects

Find a happy project

Finish budget project

Well darling, not much happened in the making department this month. Actually, that’s not true. I had a bit of a realization. Due to the mental symptoms that include the shit memory and inability to have a concentration level above that of a goldfish, it occurred to me that any knitting project that I try to tackle right now will have to be incredibly simple and involve a lot of muscle memory. Hence I decided to pull out some socks I never wear because they are far too loose on me and rip them out and knit new socks for Feebs. She asked for new socks, and she loves the yarn so I am close to starting the heal on both socks since I am knitting them two at a time. I think I will have to stick with socks and hats, since I can basically knit them by muscle memory with very little counting or memorization. Hopefully once my treatments change I will get my cognition back and I can move back to more complex things. (Fingers VERY crossed!)

Let’s try to recall what happened in December, shall we? The first week was very mellow and was all about getting ready for the upcoming holidays. I felt prepared pretty early this year, which is very unusual for me, as I am always scrambling at the last minute. The second week got a bit more exciting with our work holiday party. Many people participated and it was a lot of fun. The following day was my doctors appointments for my usual 6-month treatment. This is the first time the Husband went with me so that was an eye opening experience for him. The dose was doubled by my new doctor and it took me out of commission for over the weekend and into next week. The Mother also had an eye doctor appointment where they cauterized her tear ducts that week, so we are a collective hot mess. The following week was a superfluous appointment with a dietitian who agreed that most of my issues are either life-long genetic or specifically caused by medications that I’m currently taking that will stop once I am able to stop taking the meds. I had a lovely “thank you” lunch with the work ladies for putting on a fantastic holiday party. They do an amazing job each year and it would be a fraction of what it is if they didn’t do it. Then I got a whole bunch of hair cut off in the crusade to get rid of all of the color-treated hair before April. My hair is currently short and choppy/ shaggy. It doesn’t look bad, but I am over it being short now. I seem to keep having her go shorter and shorter at each hair cut. I just want it gone so that I can be done with it and move on to my next stage, whatever that will be. The next day, Kennard came over. It was so good to see them. We always enjoy hanging out with them. They brought Feebs a Lego set for Christmas and she was so excited about it. We had Pakistani food for dinner and chill conversation and laughs. The day after that was the big Family Christmas party. It was really good to see everyone We saw all of the sibs, the cousins, and next generations. Everyone had a great time. As usual, we didn’t stay for the games, as usual, the Brother gave me shit about it. Oh well, a good time was still had. We had one day of rest, in which I started to get an itch to start to declutter and purge. We started with Feebs’ books and her room and closet (and didn’t it spin out from there over the next month!). The following night we had the Husband’s side gathering. It was awesome. We thought we were just meeting up with his cousin for dinner, but it turned out to be a bunch of them. That was Christmas week. I worked all week, since I was taking the following week off. We kept if very low key and stayed home for everything but dinner on Christmas day. The Mother came with us and we found a seafood place that was open. We cut back on gifts this year, but no one noticed and we all had a great day. We had SIL #1 and family over for snacks and Winter Comforts that week and had a great visit. We had the Silver cousin come stay for a the weekend and we always love her visits. I am hoping that she will be back a couple of times before she moves to Japan before next year. We had a couple of adventure meals with her and she gave me the coolest gift EVER! She was able to get the After Dark Games to work on my computer. I don’t understand her wizardry, but I know that she was able to do some kind of magic to get it to work, and I am sooo excited about it. I never thought I would get to play Roof Rats again! I always take the week after Christmas week off, so I was thrilled to be off for nine whole days. Unfortunately, there is always unfinished school work to contend with, but we did get it done in time to have some free days. Feebs and I got some errands done and we had some great mommy and Feebs time. We got to spend NYE with our favorite people ever and ring in the new year with chosen family. The Male O got a job, which was definitely something to celebrate. The girls got to celebrate their 10th NYE together. We got to spend a couple of days with the Father and have our traditional mini-golf night. I had dinner with the Female McC all by myself, which was lovely and much needed. Then the weekend was spent getting everything ready to head back to school and work. All in all, it was a really great week off.

December is passed and the year is over, and I say farewell to them both. 2024 will be summed up separately, but what a turbulent year. December felt like a bit of a waiting room, honestly. I have a lot of tests and appointments (hopefully with answers and game plans) coming up in January, so December has felt like a hurdle that had to be jumped. I am ready for calm waters and fresh starts in the new year and mind is set for a bit of peace. Thanks for the memories, December, but let’s move on.

Loves,

M

P.S. The Husband has reported that after forty-three years of life and thirteen years together, I have become a snuggler in my sleep. I am in complete disbelief and am very bothered by this.

All the makes August- November 2024

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Well darling, I did warn you that things went way off the rails. I am sad to report that nothing has really improved. In fact things have gone more off track along the way. Making in all forms has derailed. So has my attention span, my enjoyment of all things, my memory, my ability to word in written or verbal form, and pretty much anything that makes sense in my head. On the good side of things, I am starting to get answers and will hopefully be switching treatment to match my new diagnosis (really weird switch, after almost 8 years). Once that switch has been made and all other weird ailments have been addressed, hopefully I will be on my way to the old regular Mrs. Collins insanity.

Finished Objects:

Rota Top by Irene Lin. I knit this Rowan Summerlite DK. This top looks so fancy and complicated, but it honestly wasn’t. Well, fancy yes, but not complicated. There may be a separate post.

I knit an Everyday Slouchy Beanie by Dragon Hoard Designs for a teacher’s Christmas gift, but totally forgot to take pictures of it before we gifted it. It was knit in To the Mack’s yarn held double with a cream silk mohair. It turned out gorgeous. It would have been fantastic if my ridiculous self would have remembered to take a picture…

New Cast Ons:

Kaylen Mesh Scarf

Barebones Mitts

Works in Progress:

Highlights tunic dress

Thelma top

Vinca hat

Goals for next month:

Find a groove with making

Find a decadent cast on

NY Cast on

2025 making goals

That is all I have made in four months (I think). I even cast on the Kaylen Mesh Shawl for Sister #3’s 50th birthday, in October, and have yet to complete it. My mojo has gone on an extended vacation. For a while, knitting was the only thing that I was able to do, then almost over night any urge I had to do anything completely fled. I have been trying desperately to find something to knit that sparks my fancy. I have scoured Ravelry a few times looking for some kind of inspiration to strike and make my soul want to cast on and knit my heart out. It hasn’t worked so far, but I will keep hope. Thank goodness at the last second I was able to find the umph to knock out the teacher hat for Feebs’s teacher and complete 98% of her 25th day of Advent gift. Those will show up in December’s post because I have the tiniest bit of finishing work to do that I need her hand size to complete. I am frustrated and a bit sad at my lack of knitting joy, but I am hopeful that big change is on the horizon and that my long time love affair with knitting with be back on shortly.

Everything since July has been a giant blur, so I will have to suffice with the highlights and skip the small fun details. In August we had our big family bbq. Unfortunately I was still in a peak health crisis and had to take Dramamine in order to make the 2-hour car ride to Sister #2’s house. To say I was not quite with it is the understatement of the decade. My nephews kept checking on me to be sure I was okay. The week after that, Feebs started 5th grade. I can’t believed my baby is in her last year of elementary school. Good God, time has flown by! We also had a weekend with the O’s, which was nice. Ms. Jan had a major health crisis and scared the hell out of all of us, so we went up to see them instead of them coming to us. We didn’t mind the switch and enjoyed our time. September started with Sister #2’s 50th and Mimi’s 10th birthdays. We had a wonderful time celebrating them. October was complete and total insanity. We went on our annual trek to Mendocino and had an amazing time. It was full of naps and chill. It wasn’t a reset, but it was a relax that I desperately needed. Right after that came Sister #3’s 50th birthday party and it was a fabulous time. We had so much fun and it was exactly what she wanted it to be. I saw friends of my sisters that I hadn’t seen since they got married, who have known me since I was 9. It was so much fun. The following weekend was the Husband’s 50th birthday party. We rented a house in West Lake Tahoe and had the O’s, the Mark, and the NH peeps, but only he came. We spent three days up there and had so much fun. The Husband had the best time. He said it was exactly what he wanted and it turned out how he had envisioned. I can’t tell you how happy that made me. November started with the Mother and I going on our trip to Reno for her late birthday. We spent 5 days there and we had the best time. I had to go nasty awful shopping, but it was necessary and now it is done for another 6 years. We had a horrible drive home in the snow, but we survived and all is well. For Thanksgiving the Mother joined us for a dinner out at a local Italian restaurant. I loved this arrangement. No one had to stress or cook or make a fuss. We went to a lovely restaurant and had delicious food. Then we went home and were in our jammies by 7:30 pm. I think this may be a tradition.

So this is the Cliff’s notes of 4 months. I am sure I am missing a ton of highlights and amazing lowlights, but that is all that my memory can recall. I am still very frustrated with the lack of interest in doing things, knitting especially, but I am trying to be kind to myself. I am being patient and not allowing myself to be critical, mostly because I have absolutely no decision in the matter. I will keep scrolling on Ravelry and continue to look for inspiration and motivation. I will periodically creep my yarn stash and caress pretty yarn to try to make myself crave the feel of it in my hands. I will even review some of my sweaters and see if there is anything in my collection that I simply must have in other colors or textures (I’m looking at you, Calliope). My mojo will come back as will my health and my brain, if there is a kind universe.

So that wraps it up. December should be a bit more detailed and clear. So far I hope to have separate posts for Bliss Shorts and Rota Top by end of year or early New Year. I hope in December I can talk about falling in love with a sexy little new cast on and how I am so in love with her and how happy she is making me. I also hope to talk about my goals for 2025 and how excited I am for it. We’ll see what comes next.

Loves,

M

All the makes- July 2024

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Can a month be hormonal? I mean can it be super manic and imbalanced? Asking for a friend. July was one crazy up and down month. A metric ton of knitting happened. A metric ton of stress happened. A metric ton of Mrs. Collins done lost her mind happened. Holy wow, it was a weird month. It wasn’t all bad, but it wasn’t all good. And hey, did I say there was a lot of knitting?

Finished objects:

Bliss Shorts by Muki Craft. I knit these in Cascade Yarns Venezia Sport. These are amazing, but there is a separate post all about them.

On the Go Socks- contrast toe, cuff and heel. I knit these as the second half of my on the go socks experiment. They worked out great. I think I will write a brief post about how these worked out, as well, because I have some cool notes on what I did with the toes and heels. More to come.

Oaken Shawl by Tin Can Knits. I knit this using Urth Yarns that the Father brought me back from England. I have knit this shawl before, but I just checked and there is no blog post, so I guess that will be coming soon. I have some feelings about this pattern.

New cast-ons:

Thelma Top

Rota Top

Works in progress:

Highland Tunic

Vinca

Shatar Vest

Stalled out Knitting my memories blanket

Goals for next month:

Finish Highlights Tunic

Cast on something gorgeous and squishy

Don’t don’t die or lose my mind

Get answers about my health stuff

So, a lot of knitting occurred in July. With all the health crap that happened, that we will get to shortly, all that I was able to look at and focus on was knitting. I knit my favorite thing ever, the Bliss Shorts. As I said, there is a separate post for them, but they are SO fun to knit and I love them! The second pair of on-the-go socks were just as successful as the first. I do intend to write a second post so that I can really decide which method I prefer more and weigh out the pros and cons. The Oaken Shawl also needs a post. It will become evident why when I write it. Suffice it to say that the shawl is gorgeous and I love both of the shawls that I have knit, but I do not love knitting the pattern. I have stalled on knitting the Highlights Tunic dress. I hit an annoying part of the pattern, plus the weather has started to cool off so she has been in and out of time out. My hat knitting has lost some interest for now. As the weather cools off more I will get more into the charity and cold weather knitting spirit. Obviously, no sewing, though I am constantly wanting to sew something. Someday I will understand this ever present block I have about it.

Oh darling, July started out so good. We had 4th of July the first week. We went to the Mayberry parade and hung out with the normal crew, then went for beers at one of the regular spots, which is always fun. After that, we went to hang out next door and swim with the ladies. It was a really nice and chill day. That weekend there was an ArnoCorps show. We got the Nama-sitter and the Husband and I went out for a night on the town. There was a kerfuffle about when the show started and we ended up getting there about 3 hours early. We had some cocktails and were having a delightful time. My darling, your girl decided to test the limits. I fought the laws of my limits and the law won. I got so sick that we had to pull over so that I could evacuate on the side of the highway. That is VERY un-Mrs. Collins like behavior. The next week was Feebs’s 10th birthday! I cannot believe my girlie is 10. I am thrilled and sad at the same time. I took the middle of the week off to spend with her. For her present she got to trade her full size trundle bed for a twin size loft bed. She was incredibly excited and loves her new nest. Fortunately, Sister #1’s daughter wanted the full sized bed, so they came and picked it up and we got hang out for the day. We also did the over night in Santa Cruz, like she always wants to do. She was really funny, this time she didn’t want to go on the rides, she just wanted to play the games. That weekend was her birthday party. Mommy was such a hot mess express that I didn’t get my stuff together in time to actually plan a party. I booked the park in time, but didn’t get invitations out or get anything ordered in time for it to be a party. So at the zero hour I asked what else she wanted to do to make up for not having a party. I checked with our core people and they were all prepared to go where ever she wanted to go. She chose one of the trampoline places near us, then to lunch after. I won’t lie and say that it wasn’t 6 times more expensive than it would have been if I had actually planned the party that was supposed to be planned, but she loved every minute of it and it was so chill. So needless to say, the first half of July was really great. Come Monday the 15th, my world came crashing down. I had noticed the week before that the weird buzzy feeling from 2022 was back, but I didn’t pay much attention to it because it never turned into anything else in 2022, and I figured it would go away in a month or two. Well, July 15 proved me wrong. By the end of the day, my vision was horribly blurry and the gritty pain and pressure (similar to when I had optic neuritis) was back in my left side. The left side of my face and body was numb and I was dizzy and disoriented. I was having sporadic headaches and all kinds of fun stuff. I finally called my mom and asked her to take me to the ER because I was afraid I was having a stroke. That was the entire second part of July. Doctor’s appointments, tests, possible diagnoses, wrong diagnoses, and a whole lot of brush offs and “you’re fines” from specialists. Fortunately, I didn’t have a stroke. My lesions do not show any changes, so my disease does not seem to be progressing. I got some really crappy doctors, but my PCP is heaven sent and advocated for me the entire time. By the end of the month I still had no answers, was missing a ton of work, and felt like hot flaming garbage all the time. My family was trying their hardest to be my cheerleaders and keep me going. I had to stop driving, by my choice, which made me feel like a burden and helpless. Poor Feebs was scared and wasn’t sure what was happening. She was trying to be helpful and understanding, but she kept asking everyone if I was dying and if I would ever get better. We were all scared and frustrated. It was obvious I would get no answers that month, but I was going to keep asking for them. I was working at home a lot, or just missing whole or partial days. I missed a bunch of family stuff, cancelled Feebs stuff and was ever so pleasant to be around at home, I am sure. My mental health tanked. So all in all, the second half of the month was so fun. I could look at any screens, couldn’t read papers, couldn’t look out windshields. The only think I could do was knit. I realized that my knitting muscle memory is so built in that I can look at my knitting without having to focus on it, so that made knitting the only possible thing for me to do. That is the entire reason that I was so productive with knitting in July.

So, I can’t say that the entire month was terrible. It had so many beautiful parts, and so many terrible parts. I got to celebrate my girl, and see Sister #1’s family, be supported and loved by my family, and feel like I have a tribe of people standing behind me. At the same time I was fearful for my life, my mental health was a dumpster fire, and I was left holding an industrial size basket of questions that still are unanswered. July was really a mix bag. I am choosing to focus on the good though. I will be positive and embrace the fact that I have made it this far. Hopefully there are answers to come and more treatment that will be useful to me.

Loves,

M

P.S. you will notice that the posting date of this is months after July. This couldn’t be helped for a series of reasons. July- October will all be a bit messy and overlapping due to the ongoing health bull-shit that is still unfolding. Good times, darling. Good times.

Lambtown Festival- 2022

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What: Lambtown Festival

Where: Dixon May Fairgrounds, Dixon, CA

When: Saturday, October 1, 2022

Who: The Husband, Feebs, and me

Why: To fondle yarn, of course

We showed up to the festival around 11. The Husband and I were both surprised that the PETA protesters were absent this year. We hadn’t been to the festival in 2 years, but the last couple of times that we went, they were standing at the gates with signs. We bought tickets at the window, since I didn’t think to purchase them in advance. It was $10 per adult and free to children under 17. Once we got through the gates, there was the usual information booth in the gazebo. Behind the gazebo was a booth set up with crafting stations for kids. The Husband and Feebs headed toward that booth, and I turned right and headed into an exhibit room.

The first thing that I noticed was that most people weren’t wearing masks. This surprised me since the buildings weren’t that large. The vendor stations were set up nicely. There was a good mix of fiber and yarn, with some metal art and fabric crafts mixed in. I specifically set out to find the Houndstooth Fiber Arts booth, but they weren’t there. Some booths that stood out to me were Sincere Sheep, Invictus Yarn, Sea Change, Royal Bee Yarn Co., and Mendocino Fiber Company. The only person that I recognized was Yellyknits, a person that I follow on Instagram. She creates content about inclusivity in the LGBTQ community.

I circled through the first Exhibit hall, without buying anything. I then crossed over to the other building. I went through that hall relatively quickly. I didn’t spend much time perusing the booths, this year. I think that my want to buy yarn was at a low point. I wanted to go and support all of the makers, but I didn’t have anything in mind to purchase before we got there. I circled through the second building and went back to the first one. I purchased three skeins of fingering weight yarn from the Royal Bee Yarn Co. It is a lovely dark green color. It is non-Superwash and according to the shop owner’s mother, it is hand-dyed to the shop owners specifications. I probably could have gotten away with buying only two skeins, but I bought the third, just in case. I don’t have project in mind, so better safe than sorry. Incidentally, the shop didn’t offer me a bag to put my yarn into, and I didn’t have my normal purse with me. My purse was small and I didn’t have my little bag in a bag with me. So, I literally had to carry around the yarn around with me.

After I made my purchase, I headed out to find my people. I found them at the crafting station. Feebs was hard at work making a sheep magnet. I relieved The Husband, and he went in search of food trucks and beverages (sadly, nothing caught his fancy). Magnet completed, Feebs moved onto the hand felting station. It was a really cute setup, where there were sandwich bags with round pieces of fiber layered in different colors. The instructions were to add some soapy water to the bag and agitate it with your hands or against the table to felt it into different shapes. Once you were done, you rinse the fiber out with clean water, shape it into a flower, and wrap a pipe cleaner around it to make a stem and let it dry to hold the shape. Feebs is very pleased with her felted flower.

Once The Husband came back, I went in search of a bag to hold my yarn. If you know me, you know that I am the bag lady. I love bags, baskets, and any other carrier-type vessel. I knew that I didn’t need a new bag. I was 100% sure of this fact. But, I went in search of one anyway. I was back in the first building and came upon the Mendocino Fiber Company booth. They shared a booth with Ephemera Creations. I noticed a bowl of mini skein sets. They were in such beautiful colors. I am not a collector of mini skeins, because I really never know what to do with them. But these ones caught my eye and I decided that I would buy a set. So I purchased the set and they gave me a bag to carry it in! Talk about being efficient! On a side note, the cheapest project bag that I saw, that would fit my 3 skeins of yarn, was $45 or more. I was able to save about $15 by buying the mini set and getting the free bag. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it!

All in all, I enjoyed Lambtown. I did find it surprising that we were only there for about 2 hours. A good portion of that time was Feebs working on her crafts. I didn’t spend much money, which is always a good thing. I was very sad that Houndstooth wasn’t there. I always enjoy supporting them. I really liked talking to the two vendors that I purchased yarn from. I may see if I can find the Mendocino Fiber Company, or Ephemera Creations when we are in Mendocino, next week.

The next fiber festival that is on my radar is Stitches West, and I am NOT missing it next year! Lambtown has definitely whetted my appetite for more festivals. I intend to start looking for fabric festivals too. Perhaps next year, I will take some Lambtown workshops too. We’ll find out next year.

Loves,

M

Vanilla is my favorite

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Handknit socks are some of my very favorite things. They are warm, and comfortable, and durable. Wearing handknit socks makes my cold days bearable. I am not sure how many pairs of socks I have knit in my lifetime. I knit socks throughout the year, for my self. I also knit them for those that are truly knit-worthy, i.e. The Husband, Feebs, The Father, and the Female O. The Mother is excluded because she hates wool. It’s a struggle with that one…

I learned how to knit socks using double pointed needles (dpns). The construction was cuff-down with a heel flap and gusset. The first sock (singular) that I knit was beautifully done. My stitches were even and the sock was nice and dense. The reason for the singularity is that it was the perfect size for an 8 year old, and I was 23. Also the cuff was so tight that there wasn’t a chance that I would get it over my heel. I never bothered making a mate for it. Mind you, I still have that sock. I am still proud of that sock.

Over the years, I have knit socks with patterns, knit socks with various heels, and knit several iterations of vanilla socks. I find that while I enjoy owning pretty patterned socks (I am looking at you, Blueberry Waffles pattern), I don’t tend to reach for them when getting dressed in the morning. I wear socks from October till May, and I am a boot wearer. I need socks with a smooth fabric that will cover my leg all the way up to the boot top. I try not be the Princess and the Pea, but have you ever tried to walk around with a hard knot in the sole of your sock? Or knee high boots worn with socks that only go up to lower shin? While I do love my version of fashion, I love comfort more. So socks with lace don’t work for me, since I wear them for warmth. Socks with beautiful colorwork are nice, but I tend to knit colorwork tight, so calf comfort could be compromised. Socks with any kind of a texture can add friction and also compromise comfort.

Heels have been a journey. As stated, I began with the noble heel flap and gusset. It is so cool to watch that heel come alive. Once you finish a heel flap and gusset, you feel like an honest to goodness Knitter. I have also tried afterthought heels. Afterthought heels are seriously convenient when you just want to keep knitting a tube. I don’t always love the fit of an afterthought heel, though. I also always have holes on each side from where the stitches were picked up. I have also tried a few different short row heels and my favorite is the Fish-Lips-Kiss (FLK) heel. This heel fits my feet well and is very easy to knit. I really like the look of it, and have found that if I add a stitch to each side of the heel, then knit it together on the next row, I don’t end up with a hole on each side.

This is an Afterthought heel
This is a FLK- short row heel

It took me a long time to figure out my formula for my perfect vanilla sock. I have tried my hardest to find the right formula for every foot that I knit for. Many parents have a wall where they measure their child’s growth, or a picture frame that shows the evolution of the child. I have cardboard cutouts of Feebs’s feet. The first one was when she was about 1 1/2 years old. Every time she has a growth spurt, a new foot is drafted. I have a foot for all of my sock-worthy people. It follows the FLK method of sock measurements, and is invaluable when the person that your are knitting for doesn’t live with you, or even near you.

My perfect vanilla sock is toe-up, FLK heel, with a calf that is increased up to the ribbed cuff. If I am knitting daily wear socks, I always select a 75/ 25 blend yarn (my favorite, to date, is Paton Kroy sock yarn). I like that the little bit of nylon helps the socks maintain shape and allows machine washing. I also think they are more durable. I only use 100% wool, or other fiber types, when knitting house/bed socks. They won’t get as much wear and tear as daily wear socks, so they can be more precious. I use a very stretchy bind off (Jenny’s Incredibly Stretchy Bind-off) so that I can pull them on and off with ease. I knit my socks in stockinette for a smooth and comfortable fabric. I like my socks snug and dense, so I knit a 58 stitch sock on the foot and increase the calf to 64 stitches. I always use 1.25 mm needles, even if I am using a thicker weight yarn. I like the dense fabric that using the smaller needles creates. I tend to cast on the socks using the magic loop, 2 at a time method. I always like to knit pairs of anything at the same time. I do this with sleeves and fronts and backs of sweaters. My theory is that if I am having a rough day or a brain-fart, my pairs will have the same mistake, the same gauge, the same issue on both pieces. Then it is more of a feature and less of a mistake. This has always worked out well for me. I measure the feet to know when to start my heels. Once the foot and the heel are completed, I separate the socks and work the calf, one at a time, using a 9 inch circular needle. Once I am working independently, I no longer measure. On the first sock, I wing it. I have a general idea of when to start increasing and I put them in every inch or so. I knit a 1×1 rib cuff for 10-12 rows, then bind off. On the second sock, I use the first sock as a guide and instead of measuring, I count rows. My knitting stays pretty consistent, so I am able to get away with this. I am also not horribly concerned about my pairs being sisters versus twins. It doesn’t bother me if they don’t match 100%. Once you put them on your feet a lot of the “errors” disappear.

The very baby beginnings of socks for me

So, my bottom line is that handknit socks are amazing. They are fun to knit, very portable, and fabulous to wear. I have even begun teaching Ms. H how to find her vanilla sock formula and how to knit them. With some minor help, she has knit her first pair. I love fingering weight all the way to bulky weight socks. Daily wear socks, and bed socks. My PSA for the day: Handknit socks- get on that train!

Loves,

M

All the makes- June 2022

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Hello darling. We made it to July. June was very busy and filled with good things. There was a whole lot of making, or really, finishing last month. I am very proud of my perseverance, and my Ravelry page is getting more and more current.

  • Finished Objects

Feebs’s 8th birthday charm, made with a Disney Pandora charm and clear amethyst beads and clasp from stash.

Shik’is Cowl, by Jennifer Berg. I knit this in Berroco Ultra Wool in Cream and Morning Glory and Berroco Lanas in Black. I made this for the gift box, but ended up giving it to the Female O on our camping trip.

Another set of summer pajamas. I used a thrifted fitted crib sheet. I followed the PJ pants/shorts on http://www.lifesewsavory.com and a self drafted top. There is a separate post for this set.

Lawley Skirt, by Elbe Textiles. I sewed this in cotton seersucker from stash. There is a separate post about this skirt.

Jameson sweater, by Thea Coleman. This was knit in Lion Brand LB Collection Merino Yak Alpaca, in Navy. This sweater has a separate post. There were, of course, modifications.

June Charity knitting, my vanilla hat pattern. I used stash leftover yarns and my 80 stitch hat pattern.

  • New Cast- ons

Paris Toujours shawl

June 2022 socks for me

  • Works in Progress

8 pairs of pajama pants for the three of us

2 pairs of pajama shorts with pockets for me

2470 Women’s Lace Border Tank Top

Knitting my memories blanket

White denim skirt

Bench rehab project

  • Goals for next month

Get bench sanded and topper stripped

Sew toile for the Saltwater Slip Dress

Use either the pink gingham or gray linen fabric

A whole lot of making happened in June. In all honesty, a whole lot of making was done in the last two weeks of June. I finished the Lawley skirt and the Jameson sweater, two projects that I wanted to finish for a long time. I finally got my life together and sorted out the cubbies and my fabric stash. I forgot to take a before picture, of course. But I finally got my notions and thread sorted out. I got my patterns sorted and organized. My cubbies are now sewing supplies only, which is what I have been trying to accomplish for a while.

I sorted all of my fabrics and pulled out all of the flannel fabrics that I bought a year or two ago to make family pajama pants. Getting those pulled out made a lot more room for clearing the fabric out of the bottom cubby. I spent a couple of hours getting all of the pajama pants cut out and stacked on the arm chair to work on as I get time. Each set has a matching set for the Husband and Feebs, or me and Feebs. I want to have those done and put away for colder weather.

The month of June was a pretty good one. It started with the news that the Husband passed his dreaded test. The relief of that was so immense, we still haven’t fully adjusted to it. We went on our camping trip that weekend and had a pretty good time. Feebs and her bestie had a great time. We had some hitches, but all in all, it was pretty great. The next weekend was spent with the Ladies. We went over to swim and hang out. It was a lovely afternoon spent with fun people and puppies. That following week was party hell. My coworker and I planned and executed the 40th bash for our office party planner. What do you do when the office party planner has a party? You wing it and do your best. A and I were stressed to the roots of our hair, but the birthday girl seemed to really enjoy herself. The next weekend was my oldest niece’s graduation party. We are so proud of her and had a lovely time celebrating her. Unfortunately, the party was the gift that kept giving. We ended up getting Covid. Well, Feebs got Covid, then she gave it to me, then I gave it to the Husband. This ended up taking us out of circulation for 2 weeks. We are so lucky that our symptoms were relatively mild. The Husband and I both were prescribed the Paxlovid medication to get over it faster. The Father got Covid too, separately. Luckily, he is recovering nicely. Can Covid be gone now? Please? I am really over it. We also had Father’s Day, which was nice. It was pretty low-key and mellow. We have had to postpone it for both of our Father’s due to Covid, so those will be rescheduled soon. Feebs and I made meatloaf cake with pink potato frosting for the Husband. It was so cute, and he really loved it.

Last but certainly not least, I have signed up for Fall classes at the local junior college. I started school in 1999, and have yet to finish. I have decided to get back to chipping away at it. I have signed up for English and a Health class. I am still sorting out what A. S. major path I will be following. I have the dreaded Math class set up for Spring. I met with a counselor and got myself figured out, for now. I am trying to keep things in perspective and not freak out over what will happen. I know the last date that I can drop classes and there is no pressure to complete this quickly. So, I am going to start this and just check off the boxes as I go. One step at a time, right?

So that should sum me up for June. July has some surprises coming. We have a trip planned and the biggest surprise for Feebs. I am crossing my fingers and toes that everything will go smooth and all will be well. I guess I better get my knitting planned for the trip… I hope you are well and staying healthy!

Loves,
M