Two Years Later

A lot was happening two years ago today.  I have many thoughts on what happened that day and in the days since, but I'm not the right one to write about it all.  I remember dyeing my hair purple while watching and wondering about what was happening.   

As it also happened, it was my sister's birthday (she has one every year on this day) and so I sent her a birthday present.  Because it was a milestone birthday, I got her something extra special--a Hue Shift Afghan kit.  I got one for myself, too, and we made plans for a knitalong.  Back then vaccines were rolling out, and we thought that by the time we had made significant progress on our afghans we would be able to gather together, put on a movie marathon to accompany an end-weaving marathon.  We weren't right about so many things.  I've made much more progress on my afghan than she has on hers, but that's neither here nor there.  I can hope that when she makes it as far on hers as I have at this point, we can weave in ends and watch movies.  If it works out, I would even help weave in ends on her blanket for her.  Realistically speaking, that only seems likely if her progress stays at its current pace.  

Anyway, here's my progress shot.  I have not woven in a single end.  My next step is to stop gazing at it, unpin it, and start seaming.  Then I will decide if I feel like picking up and knitting one million (nah, it's only around 250-300 or so depending on the side) stitches and working the border or weaving in all those ends.  I don't dread any of the next steps, really.  The seaming is my least favorite because I am neither as skilled nor as speedy as I would like to be.  That being said, I will gain more experience, and that may help me to improve.  It's a win-win, or something, right?         

It's Groundhog Day!

C'mon.  Admit it.  As you read that, you heard the movie, right?  No?  Just me then, eh?  Oh, well.  Anyway, Happy Groundhog Day!  I hope it is living up to all you hoped it would be.  Small disappointment here in that none of the channels I receive is airing a back-to-back-to-back marathon of the movie.  Other than that, many things make today rather Groundhog-Day-esque.  Bruce is feeling a bit unwell and is sleeping while Law and Order plays.  I'm doing laundry.  I did a Duolingo lesson.  I'm back to that after a friend sent me an invite, and I took that nudge to get me back to it.  Though, I have to wonder if that, ahem, persistent owl put her up to it.  I played Animal Crossing.  I scrolled twitter.  I refilled the bird feeders.  We've switched medical appointments back to virtual rather than in-person.  I did the Wordle for today.  I added some groceries to the online cart for our next delivery.  I medically harassed Bruce (medical harassment is our term of endearment for the multiple intrusions in his day of various medical things like meds and vitals).  The Good People of Genoa City were not particularly entertaining.  I drank coffee.  I did a sign language lesson.  At some point today I'll probably talk on the phone with my mom.  I moved a knitting bag closer to me in anticipation of working on the Hue Shift Afghan.  Yeah, I re-started that after a friend wrote me about it.  Still, it has been more avoidance than knitting.  There are mourning doves and brown-headed cowbirds fussing at the feeders.  I don't know what we're having for supper and don't particularly feel like thinking about it.  While I don't do every one of these things every day, this is a relatively accurate snapshot into our lives.  All-in-all, not too shabby, eh?   

What about you?  What's your endless loop, or is each day a fresh new adventure?  Here's a picture of the inside of that knitting bag with the in-progress blanket and the Groundhog I knit some years back.   

p.s. Happy Twos-day! 2-2-22
    

I've Got Rhythm

Yeah, so "rhythm" isn't something much associated with me, but I've found it with a knitting project.  Hmmm?  What's that?  Yes, I'm knitting.  The Hue Shift Afghan was crawling along, abandoned for stretches of time, and decidedly ignored.  Then my sister mentioned she was working on hers again, so I pulled mine out of hibernation and got going.  I was still on the first column in the second quadrant, and when I began column two, a new color (Alfalfa, in case you were wondering) came into play, and it must have been too much excitement, as I purled a quarter of a row.  I mean, come on, it's a garter stitch blanket.  What was going on with me? Anyway, after that, I was just clicking right along, knitting like I used to knit.  At one point, when my mom was over, she stopped watching the movie we had on (to be clear, she had already seen it and wanted us to watch it) and was just watching me knit. 

The biggest challenges (if you can even call them that) are at the start of the second through fifth columns on a quadrant, and they really aren't much of a challenge.  I just keep knitting along, picking up stitches for the next squares, and have all the yarn (except the border) in a bag next to my seat in the living room.  No longer do I trudge through each square.  I'm cruising through them.  In fact, not only did I finish the second quadrant, I'm about one-third of the way through the third.  When I complete it, I will weigh the remaining yarn and take a guess at if I will need more.  And you know what?  I'm really not worried about that, either.  If I need more yarn, I will just get it.  I'll bring my digital scale over to my sister's and see if it looks like she'll need more, and put in the order.  

So, yeah, there are a lot of really not awesome things happening, but I think this is going well.      

Still a Rainbow

Since it's a knit-a-long, I suppose it would be good to show the kit I chose.  It would be even better if I had gotten a better picture, but I'm not great at capturing all the colors.  Anyway, the pastel rainbow is a nice bit of change for me.  Well, I actually think this will not be for me when it's done, but I'm not even sure about that.  I certainly don't have anyone in mind for it, and by the time I put in all the work to make it, I may not be able to part with it.  

So, obviously, the Hue Shift KAL is well underway.  Before we got going, we were discussing ideas and a few details, and I asked if she wanted to set progress goals.  I asked her how many squares she thought she would average in a week, and she guessed at about four or five.  That seems doable for both of us.  At that rate, we will have the main part of the blanket finished in 20-25 weeks, and then all that would remain are the seaming, border, and weaving in of ends (no, we're totally going to weave them all in as we work each square).  That is not a very cheering thought, so I started to re-frame the way I was thinking about it.  I figure, the time it will take for us all to be fully vaccinated and can be together will be about the same amount of time as it takes us to finish our blankets.  So, finished blanket time will be family party time, right?  I'll think of each square as getting closer to getting vaccinated.  That being said, if we finish our blankets on that timetable and aren't all vaccinated, at least we will have our own blankets to huddle beneath.    

Anyway, the knitting is going pretty well.  It took me a few tries to get gauge.  I'm down from the suggested US5s to US2s, and she had to go up to US7s.  There have been misunderstandings along the way.  For example, my sister thought we were each knitting half of a blanket and that the finished piece would be hers.  My misunderstanding was where I thought she had already begun, so I got started.  Turns out, she was still practicing with scrap yarn to understand how to knit a mitered square.  So, I'm a little bit ahead of her.  While we're both on the first section, she's somewhere on the third strip and I'm at the start of the fifth strip.  However, she is ahead of me in vaccinating--she has received her first dose!   

Happy Birthday, Sister!

Yes, it is time for one of the most knitblog-worthy of occasions, the knitalong!  This will not likely be a quick one, for we are knitting large items.  How large?  Well, if we get gauge, (and we'd better, or we'll need more yarn--seriously, we've been warned) they will be 50" square.  We're knitting the Hue Shift Afghan.  Can you believe it?  

My sister took up knitting over a year ago, and she's made her way through a few projects.  She finished her first major piece, (except for the ends--yes, I agreed to weave them in for her, and yes, you can judge away) so I asked her if she'd like to do a knitalong.  She seemed a little wary, as people often think I am a much faster knitter than I actually am.  Yes, it's true that I have more free time than she does, but she is a monogamous knitter, and besides, I thought she'd like the blanket.  I sent her a bit of the pattern (don't worry, I bought her a copy of the pattern once she agreed) and asked if she felt like tackling it.  She said she watched a Youtube video on knitting mitered squares and feels confident.  As soon as that text came through, I asked which color set she liked (she said Rainbow is her favorite) and sent in an order.

I'm glad I asked, because I would have guessed Jewel, and I would have been wrong, but I'm not surprised she chose Rainbow, either.  In fact the only one that would have left me scratching my head is Decor, as that is the least "her" of them.  I am going with Pastel because, well, it is a little different than I would normally (Rainbow or Jewel) choose.  Decor is my least favorite of the selections, but I don't dislike it.  I just think the other color choices are better with this pattern. 

While I waited for the yarn to arrive, I planned on sewing a project bag for her, but that didn't happen.  You're shocked, right?  Anyway, I baked a cake and decorated it up as best as I could and sent the cake and present over.  It's a milestone birthday, and I wish I could have put on a big party for her, but that cannot be.  I hope the cake and this present are a good way to celebrate the occasion.  They say, "Go big, or go home."  Well, why not both?  We're going to be home for a while, yet.  We might as well do something big.  

Happy Groundhog Day!

Has your Groundhog Day been great?  I hope so.  It has been pretty good here.  I made it outside and enjoyed some beautiful weather.  Bits of green are poking their way through the dirt, teasing at the possibility of flowers arriving soon-ish.  I even managed to knit a bit.  

Little, by little, I'm getting the sweater to the point I want it to be by Monday night, but even if I don't get it there by then, it will be alright.  It would just be nice to have it joined below the armpits for a very long Tuesday. 

It Doesn't Repeat Itself, But it Kinda Rhymes

I get ideas.  It's probably for the best that some of my sparks of inspiration extinguish themselves as quickly as they ignite.  Occasionally, however, I see some of them through.  In this instance, I only saw part of it through, (although the other parts are more tangential, and certainly don't matter for the rest of this story) and past the deadline, of course.  

Last year, I purchased a pattern collection with some birthday money.  Not that I disliked the rest of the book, in fact, after flipping through, I can see myself knitting several of them, but I really only bought it for three of something like thirty patterns.  Anyway, at first glance, I thought one of the patterns resembled a scaled-down, miniaturized, simplified version of a sweater a friend had knit for herself.  There you are, millions of miles away through all of those tubes of the internet, and you see where this is going.  You know me a little bit, and you know if I see something like this, I will feel compelled to knit this for my friend.  

I cast on, and slowly, I made progress.  Why so slowly, you wonder?  Well, I quickly spotted a problem with the pattern, and I didn't want to have to fix it.  The closer I got to the error-riddled section, the more I slowed, and the less I worked on it.  I occasionally looked at the clearly wrong colorwork chart and tried to figure out how to fix it.  I thought I had an answer.  The chart is worked over twenty-four stitches for thirteen rows.  It looked as though it should have been worked from stitches thirteen through twenty-four and then one through twelve.  It made me tired just thinking about it.  To compound this, I ought to mention that for this section, you are working back-and-forth instead of in the round, so odd rows of the chart are read right-to-left and even rows left-to-right.  I think it is accurate to say that working this chart in this manner while trying to compensate for these errors is probably a greater burden than I should place on my will to live.  So, I copied the chart, cut it up the middle, and made the first half the new second half.  You know what?  Yep, it wasn't right, either.  At this point, I already had the chart copied, cut out, and cut in half, so I tried something else.  I made the first half of the chart the second half, but I rotated it 180 degrees, and it worked.  I don't know how they made the error that they did in putting together this pattern, but there you go.  

While I knew that I would not make my self-imposed deadline, I moved on with the knitting and thought of my friend.  When she knit her sweater, that pattern had many problems, too.  She worked through them, and the sweater looked great, but I'm pretty sure the pattern remains on her "Would Not Recommend" list.  I composed the note to accompany this many times in my head while I knit.  I shouldn't do that.  It so often paralyzes me as I try to find the right words, and by the time I to put pen to paper, my note has morphed into inky awkwardness, something I will feel embarrassed about whenever I think about it over the years.      

So, while it isn't exactly a miniaturized replica of the original, people-sized version of the sweater, it kinda rhymes.   

In a surprise move, I went ahead and mailed this off instead of waiting until the end of the year.  I know, shocker, eh?  Hey, I had to try to do something as right as I could this year.  Speaking of, how is your year thus far?    

Merrily They Roll Along

I unstrung them from where they had hung beside the Christmas tree, took their pictures, loaded them into a box, and took them to the post office.  And just like that, my time with the Knit Ball Pit was done.  It was fun to be a part of a group project.  I had hoped to make more.  My very ambitious goal was fifty, and then I dropped it back to thirty with hopes of having one for each day of NaBloPoMo2018, but that did not work out, either.  In the end, I contributed twenty-six.  I think that is a decent offering to the cause.  I know the group goal was set at one thousand, and the last I saw, there were over nine hundred, so I think that goal will be achieved.  Anyway, here they all are.
 

 

Right now, they are neither here, nor there, but should be there tomorrow.  I hope the recipients like them, and that they can bring a little joy into their days.   

Float Flash

Maybe it beats a picture of soaking mittens?  I'm not sure.  I'm unsure of many things.  I think I may have missed the mark on something, and the feelings of insecurity and confusion might be bleeding over to other parts of life.  Of course, it's one of those things I probably can't do anything about, and can only hope that the thought can be what counts.  If not, it won't be the first or last time I embarrass myself, and if it goes sideways rather than just missing the mark, well, it won't be my first shunning, either. 

Anyway, I couldn't show a photo of the mittens soaking, as I have only completed the thumb on the first mitten.  I gotta tell you, my enthusiasm is not where I would like it to be.  That being said, a lack of interest can work for me when it comes to finishing things.  I won't be looking for that spark for embarking on something new; I can just plug along.  I just have to get going on the work and let some version of autopilot operate.  At least that's what I'm trying right now with these mittens, as well as with other work I need to do, and I do have a lot of work needing to be done.          

I Suppose it Depends on What You Think

By that, I mean embroidering on the thumbs of a mitten is either more difficult or exactly as difficult as you think.  Although in the end, it was totally worth it.  I say that not because I did such a great job with it, but because the little bird looked like an ugly blob without the embroidered details.  Now, it kind of reminds me of a lumpy version that jerk chickenhawk in the cartoons, so, improvement?   

Anyway let us go back in time to the knitting days of yore.  The pattern:  Bird in Hand by Kate Gilbert, the knitwear designer who spread TheClap to so many.  I admired it and considered getting the pattern and knitting a pair, but I did not.  Fast-forward, and a different Pattern Fairy sent it to me.  Then I began knitting these, and then they sat.  I cannot account for my time.  I did not document.  Life, the world, and just generally being me, m'kay?  

For the yarn, I chose this color combination.  It is somewhat similar to the only pair of gloves I've ever knit.  That's right, I already knew that the colorwork would not be very clear and I did it anyway.  Not only that, I mixed alpaca and wool yarns.  I love how soft alpaca is, but it is kind of dead in comparison to wool's liveliness.  So, that's going to be an enjoyable and winning combination for knitting colorwork, yeah? 

I guess what I'm trying to get at, is that I'm finished making these.  For a pair of mittens I like so well, I sound really negative, eh?  These are really nice, warm mittens.  The softness of all those alpaca floats is very nice, and adds to the wearing experience.  Also, there is a small bird on each thumb!     

           

A Mitt-Vember Miracle

There I was, innocently popping over to Ravelry, where someone had shared a gorgeous hat (and mitten) pattern.  I instantly adored it but tried to talk myself out of it by saying that it wouldn't fit my big head.  Besides, my unfinished mittens were right when they objected from their bags.  So, I backed away from the pattern (Confession:  I left the tab open) and moved on with my day.  Then I decided to do a bit of thumb wrestling.  Yep, it was time.  

Imagine my surprise when I opened the bag and found only the needles and one mitten and none of the yarn for finishing it.  Now why I had bagged up only one of the mittens and not the other and the yarn is a mystery to me.  The good news is that the location of the other unfinished mitten and yarn did not remain a mystery.  The even better news is that I finished them.  The bad news is that you only get this non-photogenic picture of them soaking.  

p.s.  Even more good news?  The pattern fairy sent me a gift of the hat and mitten set!    

Petrified, I Tell Ya

 
Be afraid; be very afraid.  When we're talking about knitting sweaters next year, I should be afraid.  I have last year's NaKniSweMo sweater sitting around here with probably less than three inches of it knit hoping it will have its time.  And, if I'm being sensible about this, it should.  But, hey, friends on the internet bullying encouraging us to knit sweaters next year is not the time for being sensible.  

I think I'm supposed to blame Cheryl for this adventure, but Squish is upping the crazy for me.  She reminded us of the Less is More pattern from Amy.  I kind of feel like this is my kind of crazy and that I should do it.  I also feel like it might be a terrible idea, and I should do it.  I also feel like it is too complicated for me, and I won't be able to do it, but I'm also having some trouble concentrating right now, so perfect time to sign up, eh?           

When it's Hard to Face the Day

Maybe it is time to put a new face on things. 

Raggged

I did another WAL over on Yarnworker, and I felt like I was behind from the start.  We wove rugs and covered two different patterns.  The two selections from Handwoven Home are the Two-Color Krokbragd Rug and the Fabric Stash Rag Rug.  Well, I didn't have all the materials for the Krokbragd, so I went for the Fabric Stash Rag Rug.

It was a fun weave.  My biggest stresses came from my own error following the pattern, but it worked out just fine.  Then I had another oopsy and could not continue weaving, and it actually made my previous mistake something that worked very well.  I like it so much, that I haven't put this on the floor to be used.  I need to get over that. 

 As always, I learned a lot through this process.  I want to weave more rugs, and maybe even get a temple.  I enjoyed this weave-along so much and learned enough that I decided to tackle a bit of Krokbragd, but that's a story for another day.   

Can't Stop

The first ball for the Knit Ball Pit worked up so quickly and easily, I was soon working on the next, and the next, and the next.  It is possible that, on occasion, I knit little things as a bit of a stress reduction technique, and to paraphrase what others have said, 2018 has been quite a decade.  I have something else to show at a later date, but for now, I showcase my Knit Ball Pit.  

They really work up quickly.  I've used nearly an entire bag of polyester fiber stuffing.  Sure, these are only the begininnings of what their final forms will be, but for now, I'm just knitting the balls.  I've knit most of these while phonebanking.  We're almost to the big day.  I'm doing all I can. 

Little Bits Here and There

It certainly has been a bit since I checked in here.  Actually, that's not true; I have been here several times, though I have nothing but half-hearted, barely started drafts to show for it.  Life has been challenging.  There's been the personal stuff that isn't particularly interesting or unique, but it still takes its toll.  Then there's the big stuff happening in the world that has been rather a lot to process, but there are many people fighting the good fight, and we each do what we can.  So that's us caught up then, eh?  Yeah, this is why I have so many discarded drafts.  Perhaps we should move on to something I have made.  Yes, that's probably best.  

I set a Ravelry goal of knitting sixty things this year.  While that seems rather ambitious, and in some ways it is, it is not as unrealistic as it might seem.  I planned to knit a teeny-tiny-mochimochiland item each week.  I even had a blogging plan to go with it, but you can see how well I did with that.  Anyway, some weeks I have knit none, and some weeks I have knit more than a couple, so it is all working pretty well.  This summer I knit these from the Doggie Treats collection.

If only I were making as much progress on my Goodreads goal.  

But wait, there's more!  I've been knitting for the community project--The Knit Ball Pit!  You can see in the picture above the first one I knit, but it needs decorating.  I hope to contribute many more for the children.      

Twill Be Done Done

Ta-to-the-dah!  I finished the Twill Be Done weave-along.  I tried something new and learned a lot.  If you're on the fence about joining in on one of Liz Gipson's weave-alongs over on her Yarnworker site, I would encourage you to give it a go.  I like the answer she gave about the schedule.  Basically, she said that some people weave ahead, some follow the schedule to the letter, and some weave in their heads.  For me, weaving the pattern helped me to learn even more, but I think I could have learned quite a bit weaving in my head.     

The pattern is for a table runner, but instead, I used my warp to weave two placemats because I think that it will get more use that way.  I certainly see the errors and where I need to improve.  I might want to try using a temple to help me with draw-in, or maybe more experience will be enough.  The changes that happen throughout the process from having the woven piece under tension on the loom, to off the loom, and all the way through washing and drying cannot be underestimated.  I like these pretty well.  Now I just need to make the move from looking at them to using them.

    

Ah-ha! (I hope)

As I mentioned previously, I'm participating in a weave-along over on Liz Gipson's site, Yarnworker. We are weaving Twill Be Done from Handwoven Home.  Some of the terminology and skills were intimidating to me when I read the description, but the opportunity to learn grabbed me.  The first bits were simple--things I already knew.  Then I began to feel rather stupid.  It was time to learn to read a draft for a floor loom and create a drawdown chart.  I knew what the first thing was, in that I had not really understood how to do it and only felt more confused each time I tried.  The second thing could have been anything, but I hoped to learn.  When it came to reading the drafts, it all seemed counterintuitive, upside down, and backwards.  Now might be the time to confess my rather poor sense of direction.  I think there is a connection.   

Finally, after several viewings of the video lessons and reading of the passages, I think I had a breakthrough.  Once I understood that the drawdown is like a charted representation of what the weaving pattern will look like--kind of like a colorwork chart, I was on my way.  Then I had to get out of my head and try to just follow along step-by-step without understanding what I was doing.  About halfway through the first twill pattern, I could follow what I was to do, and then coloring in the next was a breeze.  

I like the relaxed format of this weave-along and feel like I can keep up with each week without too much pressure.  We'll see what happens--next week looks to be a doozy.  

Time to Return to the Sweater?

 
Ta-da!  Julia is finished!  I like it, and think it will be a nice addition to the wardrobe for cooler weather.  I -alonged this with Stacey, but I think she might have abandoned hers for now.  I understand, because I needed to take some breaks, too.  Thank you for bringing this pattern to my attention and inviting me to knit it with you, Stacey.  

 
Now that it is done, I need to decide what gets my attention next.  I could return to my socks.  The roller coaster that was May caused me to have something of a gauge issue, and I need to rip back, but I'm not really feeling it.  If I didn't already have the first sock finished, I'd just frog the whole mess and forget about it.  

I could focus (no pun intended) on getting to know my new camera.  It is a hand-me-down from my brother, and there is a lot to learn.  I have had it for a little over one week, and I have been reading, but this is definitely going to be a process for me.  I joked that this nicer camera would mean that my photos would magically become better, but like so many other things in life, it will take time and effort.  The time, I have.  I can put in the work, too, but we are still rather worn out from everything.  

 
So, that leaves the sweater.  The big brown blob waiting for its turn.  The big brown blob getting close (well, it was for a while) for me to decide whether I want to keep the reverse stockinette hem, or opt for something different.  I recall that I was thinking garter stitch, but I don't remember why.  What I do remember is that I wanted to have this sweater finished this summer if possible.  So, I guess that makes the decision for me.  Besides, it's too hot to do anything else besides stay inside--it's sweatering time.  If you have any input on the sweater, please chime in with your opinions.  I only have about ten more rows before it is decision time.  (ETA: the sweater is Featherweight Wrap to Knit)  

Of course, I did pre-order this book and am already enjoying it, so we'll just see what happens.  As you can see, I've already knit a dolphin and a crab.  I love this book, and these cute little creations are perfect for taking a break from those long sweater rows and all the brown.     

Bunches of Boring

Life continues as it does here.  There have been struggles and setbacks, nothing special, but that is boring.  Wait, maybe you wanted to hear The Saga of the Sleep Study:  The Quest for a New CPAP (with surprise BIPAP ending), but you'll have to wait for the eighth, and possibly final chapter next month before that story can be told.  

So, while we're waiting to not tell that tale, what do we discuss?  Hmm...well, I had a knitalone instead of a knitalong due to a communication issue.  The pattern is Springtime Bandit by Kate Gagnon Osborn, in Knit Picks Shadow, TheLastChanceForThisColorwayBeforeThisYarnGoesAway.  This little shawl will go to family of family.  Earlier this year I decided the next shawl would go to this woman, it was time for the knitalong, (or so I thought) and here we are.
  

Speaking of what was supposed to be an -along but has been an -alone, I'm learning some Japanese.  Two or three years ago, our son bought Rosetta Stone, and he did not pursue it.  Then he asked us if we would go through the program with him--learn, practice, encourage, you know the drill.  Well, Bruce (who already knows a good bit of Japanese) made it through one lesson and declared it frustrating.  Taki has not made it through any lessons.  I've bought flashcards and workbooks, and made it through the first unit.  I started the second unit, and see that I need to maybe go back and do some of the first over again, as I am not doing well with it.  My progress has stalled like many a hibernating ufo.  

Now that I mention a stalled, hibernating ufo, and since we're talking boring here, I can tell you about the sweater I'm knitting.  It's not easy to make a brown blob of stockinette with too many stitches on the needle to spread out look good, so we'll just wait a bit for pictures.  The pattern is Featherweight Wrap to Knit, and I think I will like it when I finish it.  I'm just having a little trouble returning to the knitting of it after I took a break for some reason I cannot recall.  

So, what else have I been knitting?  Well, there were the four gnomes I contributed to Project Gnome Diplomacy.  

I also became part of a knitalong with Stacey for Julia.  I'm on the home stretch of this project, but the rows are getting a bit long.  Again, we'll just wait for photos on this one, but this time it's because I'm almost done.  Sure, we are likely months away from when I can wear it, but that will not stop me from finishing and enjoying.  I hope you are finishing what you need to complete, and enjoying at least one thing today.