Posts

A Sweater Per Year

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Hello on this Spaghetti alla Puttanesca Monday! Long story short - I volunteered for a test knit but was not selected.  I had already bought a lovely comparable yarn.  So I'll be joining the KAL instead!!   The pattern is Holly Blue .  Here is the yarn I found: The color is a warmer pink in person than in this photo.  It's got a lovely hand and I'll probably do a gauge swatch just to see what it wants to do.  I'm thinking about 3/4 length sleeves and some charming buttons.  The KAL starts in May so stay tuned! In other news - the recent summer weather is transitioning back to spring.  I can't say I'm disappointed - it was way too hot way too early for me! Stay safe and well :)

Mystery Solved!

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Hello on this Jerk Pork Burger Friday! Our super warm, lovely weather continues!  Although we're due for much cooler weather early next week (with rain, and possibly some flurries in the air??) it's nice to start to put the winter gear away and relocate the Crocs to their ready position near the front door! After much puzzling yesterday I managed to figure out what my mystery project is.  I even vetoed it as a possibility several times.  In the end, I compared the pattern page and confirmed that it is Converging Lines Cowl by Purl Soho (although Neuro probably remembered - because she remembers everything - and I should have just asked her, LOL).  I'm using some drapey merino/nylon/sparkle yarn so it won't look as structured but I think it will still be very nice.  Here is a pic: It's actually not quite so brightly grapey in person. In other news - I forgot to mention that the turkeys did their annual walk-through on Sunday morning!  I happened to look out the wind

Easy Being Green

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Hello on this Freezer Bingo Wednesday!! Our weather continues to be unpredictable, varied, and unseasonable - but as a result we've had a series of warm, sunny days that allow us to open the windows during the day, see the daffodils springing up everywhere, and today there are buds on the tree just outside of my window! Coincidentally, I just finished this little blankie I'd started a million years ago with this unusually nice acrylic (think baby blanket maybe?): It's a little hard to see from here but the middle is double knit and the edges are garter stitch.  It's lovely and squishy! Off the needles and with their recipient are some socks that I knit with this yarn ; no pics because it went from secret to gift in just a few hours and of course I forgot to take a pic...  Pattern is from one of LW's knitting books! Also off the needles and awaiting finishing is the vest I'm making for Oogyhubby.  I had him try it on last night and I have to say the fit is perfec

Languishing Project Repurposing Success

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Hello on this barley and spinach stew Sunday! You might recall when Neuro and I were contemplating what to do with a set of UFOs each of us had lurking about.  We had a show-and-tell over Zoom one day and helped each other determine whether to rip, finish, or repurpose these projects.  I've been making my way through my pile (it wasn't small!) and have the first of four (perhaps five?) to show you! This was the first square I made for a pattern called The Great American Kids Afghan .  It was part of a series that Knitters Magazine was doing way back in the late 1990s and 2000s; having completed most of the original pattern, The Great American Afghan (and having since sent it off to Portland with a former co-worker) I thought this would be a smaller, fun project. This may be the first and only time I've embroidered onto knitting.  I think it's a great effect, and I think it could be kind of fiddly - but I honestly don't remember!! Anyway - I'd finished about 3.5

Rosy-Fingered Dawn

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Hello on this Freezer Bingo Wednesday!! I happened upon an amazing sunrise the other morning when I took Daisy out: This was a couple of weeks ago already, and before the time change.  It was also probably just before one of the two recent snowstorms we've had during this otherwise strangely warm and rainy winter season! Contrasted with this morning, which began with a robin singing its absolute head off.  Today is supposed to be very warm (mid-50s!) and sunny.  There will be rain tomorrow, however, so the robin's delight will be brief. Believe it or not, there is actual knitting still happening here - but lately I've worked on a couple of test knits, no pics allowed :)  I'm using cashmere for the latest project, and it's like knitting a cloud! I managed to get in a small amount of spinning over the weekend as well - although nothing like Neuro's recent production!!! Stay safe and well!

Facing the Dread

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Hello on this tomato and bean soup Friday!! I wanted to share another FFO (Finally Finished Object) with you - one that languished in the "to-be-finished" pile forever!!!  And it only needed to be blocked - everything else was done!!   Here's why.  Neuro and I dyed some amazing yarn a couple of years ago - and one of them is a beautiful, vibrant, bright blue.  I probably added too much dye, since it ran when I washed it and turned my fingers and wooden needles blue when I knit with it. And, silly me, I combined it with undyed yarn!  Both a lovely and soft merino/cashmere blend (evidently I created a project page on Ravelry, otherwise I'd never remember the yarn or the name of the pattern -  Pure Joy , by Joji Locatelli).. It turned out beautifully.  And I was afraid to block it due to the bleeding. Yesterday I decided to give it a try.  The blue ran like crazy!!  And I thought I had most of it under control.  But then it bled as it continued drying.   And you know wha

Catching Up!

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Hello on this Personalized Pizza Thursday!! It's been quite some time, hasn't it?  And of course I continue to work on all kinds of projects, but I don't seem to have finished many as of late.  Yesterday I decided to do something about that: This is Mountain Musings , a MKAL that I worked on last summer!  It's been waiting to block for some time now.  I went a bit easy on the blocking, since it's already a good size and mostly garter-type stitches. This was super fun to make and I had no idea that it would end up as a large rectangle!  My Ashford Traditional seems glad for the company. Neuro and I have been revisiting some languishing project this year, so I've been doing a fair amount of un-doing as well as rejuvenating some others that were thought to be hopeless.  I also have a small pile of pillows that started out as an afghan project, and once those are done (soon!) I can show them off.  I keep wanting to do more spinning but somehow the fully-formed yarn