Here is the long awaited post about the Cropped Lace Tee by Annie Lupton. I knit this for the Mother in March for Mother’s Day. I used Knit Picks CotLin yarn in a natural (re: naked) color. I have knit this top before and I find the pattern very well written and easy to follow. I don’t really need What went right? and What went wrong? sections because nothing really went wrong. It knit up easily and looks great as a finished top. The pattern was a surprise, and I made her close her eyes when I had her try it on for length. I added one additional pattern repeat to add length while still keeping it cropped. Once it was fully knit and seamed, I showed it to her and let her pick out the color of dye that she wanted. She chose the pretty hunter green color. I used Rit dye, which works very well on this yarn. I have knit two other projects with this combo and they come out even and rich. I am very happy with how the fully finished top came out.
While nothing went wrong, I do have some notes about this top. Like I said, I have knit this before. I ended up giving the first one to Sister #1 because it was too cropped and blocky on me. Mom’s version is knit with slightly thinner yarn, but is still a little on the stiff and blocky side. I think I will attempt this again, but maybe use a drapier DK weight yarn vs the stiff worsted weight cotton. The other thing that bugged me about both versions of this top is that the armholes are unfinished and when you seam the shoulders, you get a weird pointy effect. It makes it look incomplete to me. I would like a smooth edge around the armholes. I don’t want to add any length or bulk to them, but I want a smooth and round look. Possibly an icord edge or something may make it look more finished. Maybe even just pick up and bind off stitches around it.
Yarns to try:
Rowan Summerlite DK- structured, but not stiff
Juniper Moon Farm Zooey (sport)- very drappy
Nako Fiore (sport)- very drappy
Patons Grace (DK)- a bit stiffer cotton
Amano Sami (DK)- a bit tacky, reminds me of a flannel texture
Knit Picks Shine (sport)- drappy and light
I will definitely give this another try. Three times the charm, and all. I will see what a sport/ DK weight yarn does to the sizing and determine then if I want to add one pattern repeat to the length, or two. I won’t even start to think about this until the two current summer lace tops that I have on the go are completed, and probably much warmer weather.
Hello darling. I don’t want to sound overly optimistic, but things are getting made! I have some finished objects and some knitting mojo and I seem to be figuring out a little routine that keeps my body from screaming at me. Things are starting to come together and I am delighted. October was crazy busy, like all Octobers are. I don’t know why so much has to be crammed into 31 days, but such is life and love.
Finished objects:
New Baby O sweater using Bean & Olive pattern math by Andrea Mowry. I knit this using Bernat Softee Baby Cotton. I knit the size 0-6 months
Three Cadillac Knot Ear Warmers by Arcadia Knits. I used left over Malabrigo Worsted (red) and Juniper Moon Farm Moonshine (purple). These were left over yarns from other projects and it thrills me to use them up.
Brioche Scarf for Sister #2 self drafted. I used Malabrigo Rios. This was a barter scarf that I knit her since she made me a bunch of washing instructions tags. It matches her Sweet Almond hat.
The fuzzy hat is done! This is knit in my ribbed hat pattern using Houndstooth Fiber Nomad paired with Trendsetter Silkhair Lux. I don’t remember who the intended recipient of this hat was, so it is going in the gift pile.
No picture needed, but 14 hexi-flats
Ehrmergerd, Becky! I am so excited that I have finished things to show! I am very happy with all of my finished objects. I finally learned how to knit brioche, and I find it super addictive. I have my eye out for a good sweater pattern in that stitch. I used it to create the long overdue scarf for Sister #2. She understood why it took so long, but I hated having it hang over my head. It felt ungrateful, honestly, that it took so long for me to give her something in return for her hard work on my tags. I should have taken a better picture, but I was finishing it while she was sitting there. The baby sweater came out super cute and will be mailed out to it’s recipient very soon. The fuzzy hat should have taken me two days to knit, but instead it took a month of Sundays. Ridiculous. At least it is finally done. I also made a tiny dent in some hexis, though no where near my goal of 50 per month. At least I am still enjoying making them. I can see having most of them knit by the end of the year. It will probably take me another year to stitch them together though. I do need to do some research to find the best, most invisible, way to stitch the together. Since they are thicker than the pattern calls for, I don’t think I will need quite as many. I still think I will need around 250-300. I will just keep chipping away at them. So far, I have completed two of the teacher gifts and need to get moving on the others. I also didn’t know last month that we would be adding another teacher to the mix. Somehow, I have been conscripted to knit four pair so of fingerless mitts (not my favorite). I need to start looking into patterns for them. I found a top-down ribbed hat pattern for the two hats. I have been having some fits with it due to only having fairly stiff needles. I ordered another pair, but my hopes are not high that they will resolve the issue. I am very hopeful that I can figure it out, though, so that I can use that pattern going forward. I have dreams of being able to use an entire skein of yarn on a hat and leaving no leftovers.
Teacher gifts:
1st period- fingerless mitts
2nd period- fingerless mitts
3rd period- hat
4th period- no teacher
5th period- same teacher as 2nd period
6th period- hat
7th period- ear warmer (DONE)
School counselor #1- fingerless mitts
School counselor #2- ear warmer (DONE)
Choir teacher- fingerless mitts
Other gift knits:
Feebs’s 25th day gift
Husband hat (maybe he won’t wash and dry this one)
Hat/ scarf/ mitts set for Feebs
And why did I buy more fabric??? I mean, the black dress shirt, okay. I will need to pair that with the Father’s shirts when I go to make the patchwork skirt. I may even need one more to have enough squares. But a whole King sized sheet set…? What in the actual hell am I doing? Don’t get me wrong, I looooove the fabric. I actually had already purchased two pillow cases months ago, because the fabric was beautiful and I had plans to make the Bow Bag Clutch. When I saw the entire sheet set for $7 at EcoThrift, I could have (but didn’t) resist and bought it. Now even if I developed enough nerve to finally sew a full dress, there is no way I need a King sized flat sheet, fitted sheet, and six pillow cases. It was impulsive and is bordering on hoarding. Ridiculous woman! 2027 had better be the Year of the Sewing Machine.
October is always packed and chaotic. It is full of anniversaries, birthdays, and events. It goes so fast and is always incredibly expensive. The first week began with helping the mother get ready for her move. There was a lot of packing and planning that needed to happen. I also had dinner with the delightful P-Stewey. We always say we are going to get together more often, then a year will pass. It’s pitiful. The heifer just retired from her job. I am soooo jealous! I am very happy for her though. I had treatment that following week which was uneventful. The Husband and I celebrated our 14th year of marriage. It seems like a lot of years, and it seems like it should be more. I am so happy that he is mine. We went out that weekend to celebrate and went to the fabulous Spanish Tapas restaurant. That place just keeps getting better. I also officially have a creepy new neighbor. The Mother now lives two doors down from us. I can’t tell you how happy I am to have her moved and settled. That was quite an ordeal. After that, the ladies and I went to the It’s Iconic concert and relived our musical glory days with EnVogue, TLC, and Salt n Peppa. OMG that show was amazing! The Pavilion needs to get it together with it’s organization and accessibility, but the show was still amazing. We had a wonderful sleepover at a hotel and the Female O and I have decided that women sleep better when surrounded by women. The issue is really due to kids and husbands. The next weekend I went back for more Spanish tapas with my work ladies. We went there many years ago, in fact they introduced me to La Marcha to begin with. We have decided that we are going to do this at least twice a year, and mix up the restaurants so that we can try new things. I had breakfast with the Husband’s bestest Auntie ever. She is such a delight and I so enjoy my time with her. I wish she would allow me to help her more, though. That night we went to a show in Albany. We saw ArnoCorps at the Ivy Room. I don’t remember ever being in that club before, but the Husband tells me that I have. Who knows? The show was great. There weren’t as many people there as I would have thought. Sadly, my favorite bassist is going through a divorce and he seemed a little stressed. I got to talk to a couple of people there and I really liked them. Look at me, not being 1000% awkward… The 18th of October starts birthday hell week for me. That is Sister #3’s birthday. The 19th is Vero’s birthday. The 20th is Yin’s. The 21st is the Husband’s. The 23rd is the Mother’s. Crazy sauce. I did a LOT of eating out at restaurants that week. The Husband wanted Back-Forty for his birthday dinner, so Feebs and I met him there after work. He took the 22nd off to have a relax day. The Father came here and went to dinner with us and the Mother, which was nice. The Mother and I had a sleepover at her house so that we could be together for coffee on her birthday morning. I took her to get her nails done, and then had to bolt to get an iron infusion. Later that afternoon all of the sisters arrived at her house for our dinner and sleepover. We took her to a nice restaurant and really had a great night. I laughed harder than I have in a long time. I was the designated driver, and almost couldn’t see because I was laughing so hard. I bought us all matching jammie pants as a party favor. It was a really great night and the Mother had the best time.
After the five of us had bunch on Saturday morning, the Husband, Feebs and I got in the car and took off for a mini adventure. We were searching for a special bottle of whiskey for the Husband’s birthday. We didn’t find it at the distillery, which ended up being closed. Since we were so close, though, we did end up at a thrift shop that I used to love. I still love them, but they got incredibly expensive. I was on the look out for a black/ dark gray dress shirt for the future patchwork skirt and a Hawaiian themed something for my work’s spirit week. I found both things and the aforementioned King sized sheet set. Shame on me. After that, we found some lunch and his bottle in the next town over. We got to see a lot of littles walking around in their costumes because Benicia had a Halloween parade earlier that day. We also got to go to Costco, which probably doesn’t seem like a big deal. I never get to go there, though, because the Husband generally goes on Fridays while I am at work. I got to stock up on sweats and new walking shoes. It doesn’t take a lot to make me happy, apparently. The week took off at a gallop with spirit week at work, getting the Mother to an injection appointment and Halloween. We went to a party that was hosted by the Reno crew. It was rather overwhelming for me and I tried to blend into the wallpaper as much as possible. At work I dressed as Thing 2, for the party I was Where’s Waldo, and on Halloween I was dressed as an incredibly tired and burned out mom. We went with the FH bestie and his parents. I love their friendship and hope they never lose it. And finally October was done.
A quick chat about the health stuff. I have a lot coming up. I had to get iron infusions because I am severely anemic. I tried to get the single dose, but had a reaction to it and they had to stop it. I got rescheduled for a series of five injections at different intervals. I have a uterine ablation next week, which will hopefully stop the main reason for my anemia. I may never have a period again! The iron infusions were required before I could have my procedures, so it was a scramble to get them all done in time. Then I am finally getting in to see a spine surgeon. I am incredibly hopeful that he has a solution that stops my pain, but doesn’t involve carving a relatively healthy disc out of my spine. Fingers crossed it all goes well. My veins are becoming problematic due to the constant need for IVs. My infusion nurses are encouraging me to get a long term port, if I will have another year of IVIG. It is working so well, that I am prepared to deal with the port.
So that’s all she wrote for October. It was jam packed and busy and expensive, but it was really great. We celebrated great things and wonderful people. I am so grateful to be so full of love and good things that it keeps me so busy. There are much worse things. I am so grateful that the Mother and the Husband are celebrating another year on this earth, being healthy and well. I am grateful to have a fun group of people at work who like to let down their hair and be silly. I am grateful to be on track to get some of my health crap taken care of. I am just grateful to be here and well.
Oops, I did it again. Here we are on the first day of November, and I am just posting September. I wish I could keep up a little better. Once again there isn’t much making happening. My hexi game was very weak this month, but there was another knit to distract me. I have been doing a lot of dream crafting, but like medicine, it doesn’t do you any good if it just sits in the bottle. I do see some improvements coming though, so there is hope.
Finished objects:
14 hexi-flats (yes, this is a far cry from the monthly goal of 50)
New cast-ons:
A baby sweater using the math of Bean & Olive by Andrea Mowry
Works in progress:
Ladder Tank
Safran Top
Hexipuff Memories
Fuzzy hat
Goals for next month:
Start Christmas knitting
Knit 50 hexi-flats
Sew something before the end of the year
Figure out Mendocino knitting
Yep, not much was made this month. I wish I would have at least knit my 50 hexis, but that didn’t happen. I started a baby sweater for the newest O girl. I used Bean & Olive for the pattern math, but didn’t do all of the colorwork. I wanted to keep it very simple. I am using the same yarn that I did for the older girl’s sweaters, so that should be cute. I have started a lot of knitting planning, though. The holidays will be here shortly, and I have a lot of gifts to make. I have Feebs’s advent gift planned out and I think I know what I will be making for the teachers- exact patterns pending.
1st period- fingerless mitts
2nd period- fingerless mitts
3rd period- hat
4th period- no teacher
5th period- same teacher as 2nd period
6th period- hat
7th period- ear warmer
School counselor #1- fingerless mitts
School counselor #2- ear warmer
Feebs will be receiving mittens in a very Feebs type pattern. I am trying to keep everything small, portable, and light because of my dumb back. As much as I would love to knit a nice cozy sweater or something with more bulk, I just physically can’t now. Hopefully that will be changing once I am able to see the specialist. I have also been dreaming of sewing projects. I really want to make a new project bag. I also want to make the patchwork skirt from the Father’s dress shirts. I would love to make it in time for our family Christmas gathering. Very doubtful that I could pull that off, but that is why it’s called dreaming. Honestly, I have no idea what kind of pain I would be in from hunching over a sewing machine and having to get up and down for pressing the pieces. I may do it for the project bag and see how it works. No other crafts have been sparking my interest. I would like to make another cross-stitch pattern, but I can’t do that if I can’t sit for any stretch of time. Oh well, it will have to wait.
September was another packed month. It started with a Ladies Night, which was fabulous. I don’t know what I did to deserve such amazing women in my life, but I am so very grateful they are there. Feebs went to the orthodontist and we now have her treatment plan mapped out for her braces. She should be getting them in the Spring. That week was Labor day, so we had a nice day off. I had treatment the two days following. It is chugging along. My veins are about to pack up their arteries and leave me, but other than that, it went fine. That next weekend I did the Husband a solid and went on an adventure weekend in Reno, just the two of us, with a group of people that I haven’t seen in over a decade. They are all in their late 30’s, early 40’s, but they seem so very young to me. It may be because none of them have kids and retirement plans AND that I have been old since I was 12, but still… It was a fun time despite the fact that I am painfully socially awkward. That week I had dinner with Ms. C for her birthday. It was lovely. I don’t see her as often as I would like to, which is a shame. We went to the Father’s house that weekend. He ditched us quite a bit, which was annoying, but we did get to have dinner with Sister #2 as a result. It was still a lovely time and we of course played a lot of games with the Father. Feebs and I came back in time for the Husband and I to go to a concert. We saw Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie. Getting into the Pavilion was a nightmare, and we missed the opening act (who the Husband really wanted to see). The show was excellent, though. That week was book club. I am still not imbibing in alcohol, which I was teased for. I am just not ready to handle the taste of alcohol. Too soon! We were supposed to go the O’s that weekend for the bestie’s birthday party, but Feebs got a nasty bout of something and we had to stay home. It was a total bummer and we hated to miss it. We did a Ladies Night instead so good times were still had. Of course the Husband caught kid-ick right after Feebs. All through the month, I was helping the Mother pack up her house to move. She has a lot of stuff in a house that she only lived in for three years!
And then the month was over. I am happy to report that it was a good month. I enjoyed getting to see people and connect with long distance friends. I am grateful, as always, for my family and friends. I am grateful for everything that I have and the ability to work hard to accomplish even more. I am grateful that I am healthy overall. I am grateful for all of the good things that happened this month.
I feel like my Bingo card is basically a wash this year, but maybe I can try again in 2027. Who knows what the rest of 2026 will bring though.
And here we are again, darling. This time without a three month gap. July is complete and good lord was it busy. It was abnormally busy. It was full of medical malarky, travel, and the most boring making of all time. But, it was a really great month. I am still dealing with the spine bullshitery, so the making is small, portable, and on-going. There will be several other posts that come after this one, but I have to do things one at a time as my pain allows.
Finished objects:
Hexi-flats- 47 of them to be exact. My goal was 50, but such is life. This is the unstuffed version of the Bee Keeper’s Quilt pattern. They are being knit with all of my leftover sock yarn held double with fingering weight yarn in a natural color. (There will be a separate post for this project.)
A wall mounted kitty scratching board. I had the board, hot glue, and one of the two colors of rope. L & E are Lillie & Esme. I am ashamed to admit that I finished this in June, but forgot to post it until now.
Works in progress:
Ladder Tank
Fuzzy hat
Safran Top
Goals for next month:
Knit at least 50 Hexi-flats
Start more (gentle) core exercises
USE MY CIRCULAR SOCK MACHINE!
Sew a project bag
Summer clothing purge
Well, it isn’t sexy, but I must say that I have been having the best time working on the Hexi-flats. They are so fast, 15-20 minutes each, they are using up leftover yarn, and are very easy on my body to knit. I have no idea how I will group them when all are completed, but I am excited to dream up a plan. The rest of my knitting has stalled pretty hard. I can’t yank out any motivation to finish my works in progress, and unfortunately, my back only allows me to sit for short periods of time. This is putting a damper on just about everything in my life, including my serious backlog of posts. I finally remembered to tell you about the scratching post for my kitties. Please excuse that it’s two months late, but better late than never. I got the idea from Isabella on Breathing Yarn. She has made a couple for her kitties, and I loved the idea. My fingers were singed like what from all of the hot glue, but I have no regrets.
The month itself was really good, overall. We left for our trip to the mid-west on the 1st and didn’t return home till the 8th. There is going to be a separate post about the trip, but suffice it to say that we had a wonderful time. And holy crap did I buy (completely unnecessary) yarn. I went to Hank in Cincinnati OH, Spun in Ann Arbor MI, and Parker Avenue Knits in Detroit MI. And yes, I bought yarn from each shop. I am mildly ashamed, but moderately thrilled. I really have no regrets. We returned just in time for Feebs’s birthday. Holy mother, that girl is 12. I am so completely in love with the person that she is becoming, even when she drives me insane. She wanted to go to Ikea and walk around for as long as she wanted (3 hours of our lives that we will never get back) and go to our favorite Ethiopian restaurant for dinner. We had a wonderful night celebrating her. I had Saturday morning coffee with the Mother the following day. We got to catch up on what happened while we were gone. She let me know that she has put her house on the market and is planning to buy the house 2 DOORS DOWN FROM ME. I am not unhappy about this decision, but it is a big one to make. I know in my heart that if it works out, it will be the best thing in the long run. For now, though, it is really freaking close. We will see what happens, stay tuned. Later that day was Dave’s celebration of life in Napa. We all went and celebrated a man that I cared for deeply. That next week was treatment, and it is becoming a bit more challenging each month. Unfortunately my veins aren’t really thrilled with the twice monthly IVs, and it is becoming more troublesome and painful to find viable ones. One of the nurses mentioned that may require a long term port if my treatment continues much longer. Good times. Mid-week we had the pleasure of attending one of my brother-in-law’s 50th birthday non-party. He asked for something small and intimate, and in true Sister #3 fashion, she ignored him and threw a surprise party. It was such a good time! I can’t believe he is 50. I have known him since I was 9 and he was 15. I love him so much. The end of that week saw all kinds of fun medical scans and biopsies searching for signs of endometriosis. Fortunately, I am all clear. That is really good and now we can find a solution to my issue. That weekend I got to enjoy a delightful clear liquid diet, followed by two straight days, and 8 liters, of colonoscopy prep to ready me for my appointment that week. Do I get to just follow the regular people guidelines and just drinking one of those vile containers? No, I get the pleasure of drinking two of them. And not eating for 3 days. And none of it even works on me, so I am still having the doctors tell me that I didn’t follow the prep instructions. No actually, I would be better off swallowing dynamite instead of that disgusting brew. Maybe it would be more effective, and would probably taste better too. That following weekend, Feebs and I had lunch and mini-golf with the female and little Clay. It was delightful and the kids had a blast together. I also got together with the best Auntie-in-law. She is an absolute delight and we had a wonderful time. We got all caught up and we have committed to doing better about setting up monthly get togethers. I also FINALLY had a gardener come to the house and get the front yard cleaned up. The bushes are all trimmed, the weeds and shit tree shoots are gone, and the walkway isn’t as treacherous as it was previously. He will come twice a month, regularly. He will also handle the big weed cloth and rock project, so that we no longer look like the trash of the neighborhood. It took me a long time to get traction on the project, but, we are finally getting it done. The last week of the month was still pretty full with a dentist visit (no cavity club for me!) and a visit with the Father. As usual, we had a really nice time with him.
And that wrapped up the month. It was crazy busy, and I am ashamed to say that I only worked nine days over the entire month. That is shocking, but it was necessary. I wrapped up the month with more health answers than questions and that was quite refreshing. I will have more answers next month, so updates to come.
I am incredibly grateful for the month that I had. I am grateful for fun travel, awesome friends, and new memories. I so very grateful for my little family and the larger and chosen families as well. I am grateful for my job and the flexibility to handle the shit that needs to be handled. I am grateful for answers to long standing questions. I am grateful for my body, in spite of it’s current limitations. I am just really grateful to be alive and whole and able to engage in my life. I am very hopeful that next month will hold even more answers and possibilities.
Well ain’t this some nonsense… Note to self: three months combined in one post is always indicative of some health bullshit gone awry. The last three months have been a combination of pain and an overall sense of not accomplishing a damn thing. That’s not entirely true, I did manage to knit the tiny bit of stuff, but nothing terribly post-worthy. I am still undergoing medical treatment, so I am very hopeful that my (timely) upcoming posts will have more making and less complaining. Sciatica, and aging overall, is complete crap.
Finished objects:
Two charity/ gift/ donate hats, using my ribbed hat pattern and a combo of leftover Queensland Collection Sunshine Coast, from my most recent Weekender, and some KnitPicks Stroll. (Take my word for it, there are two of them)
New cast-ons:
Ladder Tank (April)
Fuzzy Ribbed Hat (May)
Saffron Top (May)
Hexipuff Memories (June)
Goals for next month:
Let’s go crazy and say complete 50 hexipuffs
Get my pain under control so that I can get back to my life
Explore new core exercise options that will strengthen my core AND work with my back issues
Rip out my Knitting My Memories blanket and wind into balls
I am sad to report that I cannot sit comfortably in any chair in my house, so, two hats and a few hexipuffs are what I completed in three months. I did make some good headway on the Saffron Top in June, but I knew I wasn’t going to make my goal and set it aside because and I needed a portable project for our trip to the mid-west. The hexipuff solution was exactly what I needed. They are quick and easy and incredibly portable. I also think they will come together nicely. I won’t join them until I feel like I have enough for a decent sized blanket. This way I can put the colors into a pattern that I like. I also intend to knit half hexis so that I don’t have wobbly edges on the finished blanket. I don’t think I will like the finish otherwise. At this point, I have knit up almost two of my mixed balls of sock yarn. I still need to rip out what I have of the first blanket and wind that yarn back into balls. I want to finish my Saffron top before the next sister’s lunch so that I can show them top I knit with the yarn I bought with them in March. Sadly, that is all I have to say on the making front.
April was pretty good. I started the month with Book Club. I am so very happy our little group has started this. I love them so much and love that we take this time to connect outside of work. It was also Easter that weekend. We did the usual umbrella and boots with a mini egg hunt. Feebs loved it. That week she had Spring break, which she also loved. We went to the Father’s that following weekend and had a great time with him. If memory serves, Feebs and Dad won most of the dollars. The next weekend, the Husband and I had a nice date night. We went to Horatio’s, which always reminds me of Grandpa. It was a lovely dinner and evening out. The following weekend was our work weekend for the Female O’s birthday. Her ask for her birthday was that we help organize the garage. The Male O was not excited. We dug in and it only took a day of hard work and negotiations. The end result was amazing and she was so happy. He even said it wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be. I call that a success! I finally got some temporary relief on my back in the last week of the month with a steroidal epidural injection. It lasted a blissful three weeks before the pain came back. I believe I have to have 1- 2 more injections before they will look at doing an ablation. I have been doing PT faithfully since March, but it doesn’t really seem to be helping, at least, not with the pain. At this point I want a full back replacement.
May was also good. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to help the Husband with refinishing the porch floor on the first weekend, but he did a really nice job. I got to have a mammogram the following week, which was thankfully clear, followed by Book Club. Good times were had by all. We also took the Mother and I out for a nice dinner for Mother’s Day. Overall Mother’s Day was very nice. We had some adventures and a delicious meal cooked by the Husband. That week was very busy with dinner with Ms. Laura and another night of dinner with Ms. Cheryl. We had a birthday party for the Little Clay, who turned 12. I felt like trash, so the Husband took her to the party. We also started to wrap up the school year with Open House and the mad dash catch up on all of her missing assignments. My infusion appointments were that week, so that is always fun. The following weekend, we had an adult girl’s only trip in Red Bluff. We had the very best time. I am still trying to wrap my head around the financial decisions that some people make, but the girls appreciated my comical meltdowns. We all went home in time to have the Memorial Day holiday as a day to rest and recoup. And guess what we finally did… We bought a new car. We decided to not buy the truck, because we just couldn’t figure out a decent ROI on cost versus savings. We bought the Husband a Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid. Naturally, it is storm cloud gray, but it is what he picked out. The stress over the new car purchase is finally lifted. The Father came for a visit that week, which is always nice. Ironically, he had recently purchased a new small SUV as well. I don’t think he has ever not owned a truck. It is the ending of an era.
And then it was June. And thank God, finally the end of school. I am not sure if Feebs was more excited, or me. We made it and she didn’t fail any of her classes. Blissful Summer break began! That weekend, I had lunch with Sister #2, which is always lovely. The following weekend, the Husband went camping (he actually left us for couple of day!) and Feebs and I had dinner with Kennard. I absolutely love those guys and am so grateful for their friendship. The Husband had a lovely camping trip without “help”. The following weekend we went camping with the O’s. I must say, it wasn’t half bad. We tried a new spot and it was really nice. There were, of course, porta-potties (yuck), but overall the whole campground was great. Three of the four adults agreed that we will go back next summer. The Husband was, of course, the outlier. He was too hot. Honestly, darling, he is always too hot. The Father came that week for a visit and we took him to Feebs’s favorite pupusa place. He loved it. That weekend we had sister lunch in Napa and got to shop through all of Sister #3’s clothes that she was getting rid of. I can’t tell you how happy I am that we have started to so this. It makes my heart happy to have a relationship with all of them again. Then the remainder of the month was just getting ready for our trip. It was a lot or pre-packing and pre-booking (thank you, Husband!). We went to bed early on the last day of the month so that we could begin our adventures at 3 AM on July 1.
I know that this is incredibly abridged, especially since it captures three months, but that is what happens when so much time has passed. I am sure that I forgot many of the highlights and wonderful visits. I hate to be so whiny, but damn this sucks. I am still grateful for my family and friends. I am grateful that I was able to make an appointment to get a second injection (though it is in August). I am grateful to reconnect with all of my sisters. I am grateful for my very patient and understanding boss and the job that I get to call mine. I am grateful that there is forward movement on all of my health issues. Overall, I am just grateful for my life.
Well, Spring has definitely sprung. The weather is warming, the allergies are blooming, and the world is coming back to life. March was a nice easy month, aside from all of our ailments. I had a goal to start Mend it March, but I feel flat on that. Maybe I will take a shot at All Fixed April, or something. After the amazingness of Finish It February, I felt kind of like a failure in March. There was some making though, and Part 1 of a gift knit was completed right under the wire.
Finished objects:
This is Annie Lupton’s Lace Tee. I have knit this before, and will also be creating a separate post for it because I have notes. This is Part 1 of this project because it will be dyed to the giftee’s specifications.
I have leveled up my old lady game and made glasses chains for my work and home glasses. I could have bought one, but I specifically wanted chain.
This is the only mending project that I remembered to take a picture of. The bracelet belonged to Ms. Sam and she asked her mom to see if I could fix it. I have never worked with stretchy cord before, so we will see if it holds together.
Goals for next month:
Complete more mending projects- including fixing the straps on the black dress
Dye the Lace Tee
Find something fun to cast on
Knit some samples for Knitting My Memories- squares or flat blanket
Look through sweaters- determine if there is anything to donate or rip out
Start thinking about holiday knits- charity, teachers, sale items, etc.
I didn’t do as much knitting as I would have liked, but I did complete the body of the Lace Tee for the Mother. It is so funny, Spring/ Summer knits are so much smaller and lighter than Fall/ Winter knits, but it takes me so much longer to knit them. I think it is due to the plant fiber material mixed with the fact that there is usually a lace pattern involved. Lace is not my favorite to knit, but I love to wear it. Plant fibers are also harder on my hands. I was hoping to be able to dye the tee as well, but I need her to pick out her color, so that will wait till next month. I am on the fence about knitting a Lace Tee for me as well. Lord knows I have enough yarn for it. I think I could knit another 4 tops out of the Cottlin yarn that I bought a million years ago. I am just not sure that the shape of that top is flattering on me, even if I knit it longer. I think it is too boxy. So I am flirting with a couple of other tops that are different shapes. We will see. I am really hankering to knit some socks, but those are for sure causing problems with my wrists and elbows. If I wasn’t such a chicken, I would have my CSM out and be cranking tubes. I bought a ridiculous amount of sock yarn at ReCraft when I was at the Father’s last month. I already owned a ridiculous amount of sock yarn. So now I have an obscene amount of sock yarn for someone who isn’t knitting socks. Pitiful. I may just cast on a pair, but not allow myself to go crazy on them. I can just keep them for purse knitting. I think I may need to set a date for myself to pull out my CSM and give it another try. If it is in my calendar, it will be done. I also really need to stop messing around and cast on some new ideas for my memories blanket. I bought the neutral yarn to hold double with the scraps and just need to get on with it. For fundraiser knits, I am thinking of hats, ear warmers, and coffee sleeves. I am going to let Weathers handle the pricing and selling and then she can apply any money to the festivities. Lord knows I have enough scrap yarn to knit 200 coffee sleeves. I think I will stick with those for the Spring fundraiser and do the warmer stuff for the Halloween sale.
The month of March was a mixed bags. The sciatica has really ramped up and plagued me the entire month. I learned to live with it, but it wasn’t always terribly fun. The first week kicked off my starting physical therapy to try to alleviate it (spoiler alert: that didn’t fix it). I had my one year follow-up with my neurologist and everything is looking really good, and we will continue with the treatment schedule for another year (RIP my sick leave accruals). That weekend Feebs went to an OML STEM workshop, which focuses on girls in STEM fields, and I went to have my first adult lunch with all of my sisters. Feebs had a fantastic time and will definitely sign up to go back next year. We will also look for summer camps and workshops through the year. The sisters and I had a wonderful lunch. It seemed a little tense at first, but it softened as we got comfortable. It is crazy to think that this is the first time we have done this. We scheduled our next lunch for June, and are in talks of doing a weekend away in the summer. Stupid Day Light Saving Time started that weekend too, and that made for a fun week. We voted to end that 3 or 4 years ago, and yet we still have it. Dumb. The next weekend Feebs and I went to Ab’s with the O ladies. It was a good weekend, but we definitely saw room for improvement and have scheduled a trip back up there in May without children. The allergies up there were so bad that they ended up triggering pneumonia. I was down and out for a solid week, just in time for treatment. That week sucked hard. The day after treatment, though, I got to go see the Father in his theatrical debut. My aunt, his sister, rode up with us and it was great to see her. My dad did so good. I was so proud of him for getting up on that stage and memorizing his lines. Memorization has never been his strong suit, but he did great. That following weekend was pretty packed. I had dinner with the Ladies on Friday night and that was really fun. We went to the Father-In-Laws 70th birthday party on Saturday. The Steve and his boy rode up with us. I am worried about him, but he seems to be making his own bed. The party was interesting. It was handled in a way that I found really odd and potentially hurtful. The Husband didn’t notice, though, so I let it go. Not my circus, not my monkeys. On Sunday we tried a new Greek food restaurant. It was rather expensive, but it was so good. If we go back, it will be a date night kind of thing, not a greater we event. And then the month was over!
March was good, but had its challenges. As always, I am so grateful for my support people. The Husband, Feebs, and the Mother are always there when I need them and I am so very happy they are mine. I am grateful for all of the good in my life. There is so much more of it than there is bad. This month brought its challenges, but it brought its blessings too.
I have made The Weekender by Andrea Mowry before. It was one of the first indie patterns that I knit. I remember that the instructions were good and that I figured at some point, I would knit another one. Fast forward 6 years, and here we are. I was visiting the Father in January, and naturally, I visited ReCraft in Roseville. ReCraft is a fabulous crafting thrift store, that stocks everything that any flavor of crafter could want. I came upon four balls of Queensland Collection Sunshine Coast in very vivid rainbow colors. I almost passed it up because as much as I love rainbows, I couldn’t quite picture myself in a rainbow bright sweater. I circled the store and kept coming back to that yarn, and finally decided to just buy it. I then remembered that I watched a podcast and the knitter was knitting a Traveler Sweater for her boyfriend, pairing a rainbow held double with black. The effect was really cool and I wanted to try it. Since I was breaking my rule of working from stash, I pulled out some Knit Picks Palette that was in my stash and planned to pair them to knit another Miss Bracken sweater. I cast it on and realized that the neck construction was going to skew the rainbow pattern and make it look messy on the neck and shoulders. I decided to shift gears and went with the Weekender instead. For the black sections, I held two strands of Palette with one strand of the left over Shibui Lunar to give it the required thickness.
What went wrong?
Why do I always question the designers? Why don’t I follow the directions as written, especially when I have knit the pattern before and the end product was correct? For some reason, that I don’t recall right now, I didn’t do the slip stitch that creates the cool design down the front. I realized this about an inch into the pattern and KEPT GOING. Why did I do this? I got about 4 inches up, then had to count the stitches to the center stitch and drop the stitches down so that I could ladder them back up correctly. I did this for the front and back, though I don’t know if the pattern is supposed to be on the back too. I felt pretty dumb, and like I had wasted some time. I don’t know if I thought I could will the slipped stitches to be there, or what. So I dropped them down and laddered them up, and it looks good, and all is well. But it was a very stooge move on my part.
What went right?
Everything else. I really love how the combination of black and rainbow pair. I like that I made all of the hems in solid black to give a nice contrast. The picture shows the rainbow looking more stripped than it is in real life. I even matched up the color repeats on the sleeves, so they would be symmetrical. I knit the sweater to the cropped length and I love how it falls on me. I forgot that I am not the biggest fan of boat neck sweaters, but I can always seam it up a bit if it stretches out.
I really love this sweater. It is happy and cheerful and has Pink Floyd- Dark Side of the Moon vibes. I was very happy to use up most of these yarns in my stash. That is another Sweater quantity of yarn out of my stash and onto my body. I get compliments every time I wear it. I have worn it quite a bit and I am not seeing any piling yet, which is great, considering the Queensland wool is single spun. The fit is great, and so far the neck is fine. The weekender was the perfect pattern to knit with yarn that I didn’t want to interrupt or pool the yarn. A perfect score for pattern and yarn pairing!
I can hear Stevie Wonder in my head, crooning “Isn’t she lovely!” This sweater is absolutely beautiful. I have been a long time fan of TCK Flax Sweater and have always felt that it was the most beginner friendly sweater pattern. I don’t know why I decided to not only try, but purchase No Frills, by PetiteKnit. I am now a convert and will suggest both patterns a excellent beginner level patterns. I knew that I wanted a simple, soft, and luxurious sweater and I wanted to knit it with the mohair silk yarn that I found at my favorite thrift/salvage shop in Berkeley. It was champagne color and would knit up beautifully. I was originally planning to pair it with the Knit Picks Cloud that I picked up on that same trip to Urban Ore, but thought it would look too marled. I looked through my stash a little harder and found the Rowan Fine Lace that I purchased off of Kerry’s destash several years ago. The two yarns together are heaven in sweater form and create a beautiful dusty rose colored fabric.
Absolutely nothing went wrong with this sweater and everything went right. I loved knitting this sweater. It felt so soft and plush in my hands. The pattern was clear and well written. The only alteration that I made was to crop the length a little. I find that length more flattering to my body type. I knit this sweater in 15 days, from start to finish. Toward the end, I really buckled down because the weather had started to warm up and I simply had to be able to wear it a couple of times before Spring kicked in. I love, love, love it. I can’t even give that many details about what I did to create it, other than follow the pattern. This was the perfect yarn for this simple stockinette sweater pattern. I will definitely want to do this again, maybe in black next time.
Girl, Finish it February Rocked! I feel like I made that month my bitch in every way possible. It is my birthday month, it is your birthday month, and all of the knitting took place. I finished two sweaters and a hood and then cast on and finished a sweater all in one month. You will notice that I have no Works in progress listed below, and the only New cast on that I had in February, was also finished in February. It was crazy!
Finished objects:
The Zipper Sweater by PetiteKnit. This is fabulous and I love her. You can see in this picture that one sleeve is slightly shorter than the other, but I am not mad at her. There is a separate post for this project but Oh I Love It So Much!
The Harris Hood by Cheryl Mokhtari. Again, there is a separate post for this. It didn’t turn out how I wanted, but look at the gorgeous fabric that yarn created!
The Weekender by Andrea Mowry. There will be a separate post about this shortly. I am really happy with this sweater. I love the dark side of the moon vibes of the rainbow paired with black.
No Frills Sweater by PetiteKnit. A separate post will be coming shortly. I am a die hard Flax Sweater pattern fan for basic sweaters, but this pattern could change me. I really like the pattern/ yarn combination. This sweater took me fifteen days to knit from cast on to bind off!
Goals for next month:
Figure out the Knitting My Memories revamp pattern
Crank a sock tube
Find projects for Mend it March
Cast on Mother’s Day gift for the Mother
February was short, but man she was packed. I am not sure what got into me, but I just wanted to knit and work on all the things. The Zipper Sweater was kind of a cheat, because I only had to sew in the zipper and tack down the facing to call it complete. I knit the entire body in the month of January, so all of the lengthy work was done. The Weekender was a passion project and I had no business casting on the yarn that I just purchased, while my stash yarn glared at me from across the room. I love it so much, though. And technically, I still used stash for the black yarns. The Harris Hood shouldn’t have taken me as long as it did. I could have knit that in a day. The only reason she was put in time out is because I couldn’t be bothered for find the specific set of needles that I needed to continue. The project was lovely, but the product was a flop. The Zipper and the Hood used such beautiful, squishy yarns that I wanted to continue the trend. I got a wild hair to use up more of my sweater stash and knit something gorgeous. So I paired mohair silk with merino lace weight and got the lightest, most fuzzy and dreamy sweater. The Husband said hugging me when I wear it is like snuggling a lovey. I am very happy to report that even though I was knitting like a crazy lady, my wrists and elbows did just fine. I made it a point to knit slow and steady and not do any hand cramping gages that would cause problems. After I finished No Frills I hit kind of a studder-step. That was it, I had no more works in progress and nothing more to work on. I felt accomplished and deflated all at once. The weather has warmed up, ridiculously early, and it has me thinking of Spring and warm weather knits. I need to start planning a Mother’s Day knit for the Mother. I am leaning toward the Lace Tee by Annie Lupton. I have knit that before, and don’t remember it being terribly difficult. I will need to use thinner yarn and add length. I ended up gifting the first one to Sister #1, because it was too cropped and looked very blocky on me. She is taller and tends to be more slender, so it worked better on her. If not that top, I may cast on another Rota Top for her. The only issue with that top is that she has scars and it bothers her to have them on display. And lastly, I need to figure out what I am going to do with my scrap blanket project. I did order an enormous cone of white/ natural fingering weight superwash and it has arrived. I know that my plan is to hold it double with my scraps to make the fabric thicker. I know that I want it to have the same effect as my recent Weekender as far as being a neutral rainbow. What I don’t know is what pattern I am going to follow. I can very easily cast on using the Knitting My Memories pattern that I already have written down. I can find an existing pattern, like the Granny Striped blanket (I can figure out that crochet pattern). I could also try my new circular knitting machine and knitting long tubes or smaller squares and patchworking them together. This would create a fabulous, double- double layer blanket that would be amazingly warm and cozy. Another horrible and intrusive thought that I had was to go through all of the scrap yarn and pull out any that could be cranked on the CSM, that I have yet to pull back out of the box and learn to use. I hate when my mind tries to make order of my mess. Hate it.
The month of February was fabulous. There is no other way to describe it. It started with an evening with my work peeps having dinner and drinks. We had good food and good chat. The following night was ladies dinner out with the McC ladies. I miss my friend so much and need to do better about getting together with her at least monthly. The little ladies had a wonderful catch up too. The next weekend was my pre-birthday weekend and the O’s came to be decadent and relaxed. We had the best weekend. The Husband did it proper. We had snack dinner the first night. We had his special lasagna the second night. We had delightful brunch and snacks and all of the amazing things. We had beverages and jammies and chatting. I couldn’t have asked for a better weekend. I bought myself some yarn and the 40-stitch circular knitting machine. PassioKnit Kelsey uses hers to crank ear warmers, and that gave me ideas for charity and gift knits. It may also work for the aforementioned Knitting My Memories revamp. Oh, and the Husband bought me the glass mannequin head that has been on my wish list for eons. She has a proud place on my bookcase in the bonus room. Once the O’s left we did more relaxing and got Feebs ready to start her week. I took my birthday off of work and spent it with the Mother. We had a lovely breakfast and did a tiny bit of shopping. I took a lovely nap, then we had a scrumptious meal at my favorite Pakistani restaurant. We then had the ladies over and enjoyed my favorite cornmeal pineapple upside down cake. I am 45 now. I used to get very anxious about my age, but after the hell that was 2024, I am grateful for every year that I am here. I will take them all as long as I can be healthy and happy and safe. I spent the week trying to get caught up at work, which is always a losing battle. I don’t know if I should really put this on the internet, but since this is a log of my life I suppose it’s okay to say: Feebs started her period. I was one sad mama. It seems too soon for such things, but I don’t control the world. She handled it great, though and breezed through the transition. That week I got my taxes done and for the first time in years, I don’t owe federal. So, hooray! That weekend, the Mother and I started to hull out the mess that was her garage. We made good headway and also got her kitchen cabinets in place. Her kitchen may finally be done at some point in this decade. We did a lot of work and had fun spending time together on a project. I am very lucky that we are able to work well together. Somewhere along the way (before the work weekend) I managed to trigger my sciatica. I was in pain for three weeks of February, and it sucked. I also think I made it worse by sitting too much over the weekend, then much worse for sitting the following two days during treatment. My treatment went well, but my whole lower left side has been kicking my will to live. I do entirely too much sitting and need to take the pressure off of whatever is broken in my spine/ nerves. I even had to do five days of Prednisone, which is always an adventure. The pain is still there, even as I type this, but will hopefully be on it’s way out soon. The following weekend, Feebs and I went to the Father’s house. We spent a lot of time playing games and Feebs and the Father were pretty much neck in neck in the scoring races. I did terribly the whole weekend, but I love watching them interact. I love that she enjoys playing the games I grew up on. We also got to see Sister #2 for dinner on the last night of the month. The Father had a previously scheduled engagement and we were on our own. We got to see her oldest’s new house. I am so impressed! It has a lot of work to be done, but damn, not bad for the first home of a 25 year old single guy. And then the month was over, on to March we go.
Look at my Bingo Card!!!
I am so grateful for another year for me, and another year for you, darling. We have been through some shit, and I am so grateful for our 4 years together. I am grateful for a husband that doesn’t just say he loves me, but shows it in all the best ways. I am grateful for Feebs and her every changing personhood. I am grateful for family, both blood and chosen, that love me and come together to celebrate me. I am grateful for a work family that likes to get together and let down our hair. I am so grateful for my life and all that comes with it. I already know that March is going to be jammed packed, but I am hopeful that it will be just as good as February.
This is my second Zipper Sweater, by PetiteKnit. I knit the Zipper Sweater- Man for the Father previously, and this is the standard size pattern. I paired this pattern with my discontinued Shibui Knits, Billow and Lunar, held double. These yarns were incredibly expensive and I purchased them when Shibui was closing and selling off all of their merchandise. These yarns held together create pure bliss. The fabric is soft and fuzzy and just says luxury to me.
What went right?
The sweater is gorgeous. I have nothing but good to say about the end product. Since I had knit the pattern before, there weren’t many surprises. The pattern is very clear and well written. On the Father’s sweater, I had spaced completely and didn’t knit the zipper facing strip down both sides and this created a messy inner-facing on the zipper. The Father said it didn’t bother him and he planned to wear it zipped all the way up anyway. I didn’t make the same mistake on this one. While it was incredibly fiddly I did the strips and encased the zipper as the pattern directed. I am not sure that I used the best quality zipper, but it was in my stash and therefore was used. I also cropped the length and cinched in the waist a bit. I didn’t want the same boxy oversized fit that I have on several of my sweaters. This was a small modification, but it makes a big difference in the way the sweater hangs on me.
What went wrong?
I wasn’t sure I would have enough yarn, and since it was discontinued, I didn’t want to run the risk of running out. I knit the body to below the bust, then put the stitches on a holder and knit the sleeves. There was absolutely no risk of running out of yarn. Good lord, I have one full ball of the Billow left and had three partial balls of the Lunar. It may have been different if I knit the length to pattern, but that wasn’t a deciding factor in the modification. One small error on my part is that the left sleeve is shorter than the right. I don’t know how I let this happen. I used stitch makers at the decreases and (I thought) I knit one sleeve exactly the same as the other. I rarely have issues with gage changes through project, so I doubt that is it. I just made some silly mistake and ended up with different length sleeves. I blocked it out and I barely notices, so I doubt anyone else does either.
I completely love this sweater. The million miles of reverse ribbing is a pain in the fifth point of contact, but the end result is so beautiful. The Female O told me, with no offence meant, that she thought it was a store bought sweater because it looks so professionally finished. No offense was taken at all. I love the sweater and have worn it many times. The fabric is light and warm and turned out to be a very nice dark neutral color. I may make this again, honestly, and if it is for me I will make the same waist modification. Love, love, love!
