Oogyknitter

Hello on this Spicy Shrimp Sandwich Thursday! The blocking lanes have cleared, products are coming through - and no violence needed: The instructions called for aggressive blocking to get the straight edges to 72.5", but this shawl did it without any additional stretching!  The few knitblocks I used (thank you, Neuro!!!) were just to keep a few various parts in line.  What a super fun and challenging project!  I'm looking forward to trying this on (as soon as I trim all those ends off once it's dry!). In other knitting news: I'm still on Pinion 8, but in the final rows (Pinions 16 and 17 just arrived, if that helps to put things into perspective).  I've located a pair of size 6 circulars that I can use to start OH's hat, and I have an idea about the socks-for-cookieporn that I'd like to try out. I'm still looking for suitable yarn for weaving practice.  I may have just ordered the yarn and pattern for next year's holiday gifts - kitchen towels!!!  A

Hello on this Chicken Taco Tuesday! Another favorable, major event that happened this past year is that LW most generously gave me her Macomber floor loom!  It arrived in October and has been mocking me since then. This past weekend, OH (son of a weaver!) helped me get her ready to go: I know - there wasn't a ton of work to do there, but I had to go through a bunch of pictures to figure out what went where for the big pieces.  You can't see them very well from here, but the heddle racks are all hanging from their chains and stuff.  There are still some smaller pieces to work out, but I'm sure that will happen as I progress. Thankfully I also have LW's weaving library (only for safekeeping!) - and in there is Learning to Weave by Deborah Chandler.  Think of this as a series of weaving classes in a book.  It is amazing!!!!  I'm only on Lesson 2 - learning how to warp from the front to the back.  Thankfully I have a shaky foundation in weaving from my use of the rigid

Hello on this Crystal Shrimp Sunday! Here we are, post-holiday, awash in gifts and leftovers.  Such a wonderful time to spend time with family and friends, virtually or in-person!   Oogyhubby (OH) and I had originally planned to cook our butts off yesterday, as well as eat all day long, but we quickly realized that our ambitions were larger than our stomachs!  OH made some amazing steamed dumplings, I made some (pretty decent for my first time) pho, and I also made (again, a first) Hong Kong Pan Fried Noodles ( link here but with some mods).  Tonight, OH will be making a kale dish and a shrimp dish; I'll provide any sous chefing requested and also rice. Oogyparents went a little wild with the gifts this year; one combo was a gorgeous set of glassware and some cocktail mixes.  Here is last night's margarita: This company's mix is THE BEST: extremely flavorful, just a bit tart, and perfect at a 2:1 ratio with tequila.  I can't wait to dig into some of their other things

Hello on this (Tortilla Bowl or Fettucine Arrabiata) Thursday! The next shawl to be clearing the blocking mats (after using all four!) is (I had to look the name of this one up as well because I never really thought of it by that name) Casapinka's The Secret Life of Cats (and Dogz) : You might remember this being the project that called for fingering weight yarn but instead I used a bunch of laceweight yarns, all doubled.  I really love the way it all came out and the fiber combinations (wool, silk, alpaca) make it soft and drapey but still pretty solid.  I was obsessed with this for a period of time (October-ish), but then had to work in all the ends (this was before I knew how to work them in properly as I go) and of course block it out (although not too harshly). I made some good progress on Yoga Sock #2 yesterday, and I'm on Pinion 6 of the latest Casapinka project.  I haven't dug any partially-completed projects out of the stash to work on just yet, but today may be th

Hello on this Chicken Slider Wednesday! I somehow managed to finish the knitting on Just Beachy yesterday: It needs some minor finishing and then some major blocking.  However, there is yet another Casapinka shawl in the finishing process, and of course Pinion is still in the works (up to Pinion 6 now though!).  And the second yoga sock.  Almost time to get something else out to work on!  Perhaps the finishing of something previously neglected, before I get something brand new underway.  Stay tuned! In other news: it is blustery and snowy here this afternoon.  I suppose that should be expected, it being winter and all that! Stay warm, safe, and well :)

Hi to all on this Bruschetta Shrimp Saturday!! Lately I've been making so many Casapinka projects that I'm starting to forget the names of them all!! (Of course it doesn't help that they're all still in various stages of finishing!)  The other day I wove in the ends of a shawl I'd completed fairly recently and then decided to block it.  It's huge and lovely: The colors here are a little browner than in real life, but at least you can get the idea.  I'd splurged and gotten some Miss Babs yarn for this project, and as always her colors are amazing and the yarn is a real pleasure to work with!  (And why did I have to look at the page when I went to get the link, there are some AMAZING combos there!!!) This shawl's name, by the way, is Snark-O-Meter .  I think Casapinka found her voice in this project, because Pinion continues with the feline perspective and all the tragically hilarious events in their lives.  I think I managed to keep apace of this KAL fo

Hello on this meatloaf Tuesday!  (the food, not the dude!) While our recent windstorm wasn't as awful here as it was in other parts of the country, the next morning we found this alongside our driveway: The debris path extended across our driveway as well - poles, springs, you name it.  Although we initially thought it may have come from one of the backyards behind the line of trees there, my crack accident reconstruction skills led us to conclude that it must have come from across and down the street instead - a much greater distance for it to travel, and not much other evidence prior to the scene surrounding that part of the driveway!  It must have gone airborne for some time - that could have been super cool but also really destructive and dangerous, but all else seems fine. Last evening, Oogyhubby knocked on a couple of doors across the street - and found the family whose trampoline had "completely disappeared" during the storm!  This is one way to get to know the nei

Hello on this Spicy Shrimp Saturday! (Yes, I realize we had shrimp last night as well.  It's fresh so we need to cook it while we've got it!) Just a quick update on Pinion: I've started on Part 3, and am really liking the contrasting color and texture. In Daisy news - there was one clap of thunder this morning and she was instantly out of her bed, up the stairs, and in our room.  Next summer will be interesting, poor girl. In weather news - I see that this storm system is impacting literally everyone.  We're due to get some big winds later today, and with the ground so soggy it will blow lots of trees over and stuff, but nothing like the tornadoes in other parts.   Stay safe and well :)

Hello on this Sesame Shrimp Friday! Oogybro and his pets (Kanda, Jake, and Elwood) surprised Daisy with an earlier Xmas gift - a huge box of treats! It looks like she's making off with one of the bags here, but she was actually just turning her head and it was the perfect angle!  She does really like them, though! In other Daisy news - we've been teaching her how to go up and down the five stairs between the kitchen/hallway and the upstairs landing.  She seemed to understand 2-3 stairs but not more than that.  She started getting really good at going up AND down, and we were starting to think about how best to tackle the remaining 8 stairs when - she followed Oogyhubby upstairs last evening!  Of course then there was this whole other surprise of the upstairs and all the new rooms and smells.  I think she was a bit overwhelmed!  I half expected her to nose-bonk us during the night but that didn't happen.  We'll see what does! Slow knitting continues - but I seem to be re

Hello on this leftovers surprise Thursday! I'm only on Part 2 of Pinion, but have changed to the second color combo: I didn't love it at first, but it's growing on me.  The mohair also adds a nice fuzz! Based on the pattern schematic, I'll be adding some fairly random stripes of this non-neon combo.  I only have about 400 yards of the mohair, so this second color will be maybe about 20% of the total. I've got yoga socks going on inbetween - I'm on the second sock of four in total so almost halfway, yay! Stay safe and well :)

Hello on this pork stir-fry Saturday! Neuro did a great job describing our latest mutual adventure , so all I'll say here is that at this point I'll be knitting something Casapinka for the rest of my knitting life.  Here are my colors for Pinion: (The wine bottle is one of the wee winevent wines, otherwise these balls of yarn would be enormous!!!!). My plan is to use the purple and gray laceweight yarns together for the smaller sections (hopefully the schematic is directionally correct!) and to randomly rotate the neon balls throughout the garment.  I dyed them similarly but separately so there is enough of a difference between each of them to be disruptive otherwise. I cast on and knit the first couple of rows last evening.  I'm going with the #6 needles she always suggests, even though I often use #5s for her stuff.  I figured I'd give things a try at this gauge, and since this will be a (what rhymes with noncho?) that might be the preferred fabric anyway.   Turns out

Hello on this Taco Monday!  I hope your Thanksgiving was enjoyable, relaxing, and reflective :) Here is Daisy's T-giving portrait: You would think that with four days off I would have managed to finish a knitting project, but -  Oogyhubby wanted the Warm Sock legs even longer, which means I had to figure out how best to navigate that since they're knit top-down (unravel one stitch at a time versus picking up the stitches and unraveling the cast-on - at least for this yarn!).  Well, I did offer them to him as custom socks, and they fit perfectly so far.  One sock is now complete, and I've started the cuff for the other.  I'll definitely finish them this week, just in time for - ABKAL!!  That's right!  Casapinka is up to no good and now both Neuro and I have extracurricular holiday knitting going on (or at least it will get started later this week, probably Wednesday).  I'm going to use the 2021 Annual Dyeing Weekend neon yarns and then some interim gray mohair an

Hello on this Shrimp Lo Mein Wednesday! Daisy continues to settle in and exhibit more and more hound-type behaviors.  She's taken to sniffing around outside a lot more - we actually think this is her favorite activity!  She also has these "microbursts" of energy when outside that we're hoping will turn into zoomies when she gets a bit lighter.  I'm pretty sure I've been the recipient of a couple of tail wags too! One of the disadvantages of having a pretty pink collar that's also reflective is that it looks radioactive when using a flash: Not the most flattering picture in the world, but she loves sleeping on this couch and - well, she's no canine Kate Moss, that's for sure! I got in maybe 6 rounds of knitting on Warm Sock yesterday - work was pretty busy as well.  Hoping for some more yarn time over the long weekend! Stay safe and well!

Hello on this Homemade Pizza Tuesday! As of Sunday evening, we have a new member of our household: This is Daisy, a sweet girl from a shelter in Kentucky!  She's a blue tick coonhound, which means that her black-and-white speckling can often appear blue-ish, and she is bred to tree raccoons (so far there hasn't been any of that!).  The rescue we got her through focuses on orphaned pets and shuttles them all over the place to go into foster care before finding them a new home. Daisy is super sweet and still a bit overwhelmed - she'd only been with her foster mom for about a week, so between all the car rides, her energetic foster sisters, and the cold weather (today there is snow!) it must be all a bit of a blur!   We don't know much else about her except that her owner passed away after a long illness (that likely involved coughing - she gets upset when I cough in the morning) and she gained a ton of weight.  She's about 9 years old.  We have an appointment with a l

Hello on this Fusilli Tuesday! I've been doing a lot of knitting but don't have much to show for it.  How it that, you might ask?  Oh, the wonders of a custom-knit sock: This sock fits Oogyhubby's foot PERFECTLY!  He's got high arches and square toes, so I had to make the foot much longer than usual and also use a round toe instead of my go-to wedge shape.  I think I must have re-knit the toe four times!  Well, we finally got there.  The second sock should go much faster as a result! I'm also eager to start work on the vest I "gave" Oogyhubby last Xmas (he received a proto-vest).  I finally got him to provide me with a sweater he likes so I can use its measurements for the vest.  I've already done a gauge swatch so I expect to cast on for this as soon as I'm done with Sock #2. Of course I have 70 million other things going and/or in mind.  Never a dull moment!! Stay safe and well :)

Hello on this leftovers Wednesday! The oogyparents have come and gone, so I'm all cooked out and our fridge is full of leftovers!  We all had a great visit with even greater weather.  I get the feeling we'll be paying for this later on, but in the meantime it's been absolutely lovely - warmish in the sun, cool in the shade, light breeze, a bit of rain here and there.   I made significant progress on the Just Beachy MKAL.  There was a 3-needle bind-off and a whole lot more knitting.  There's several rows of seed stitch before the final bind-off and then blocking!  I put it aside because it's time to make some swift progress on... The yarn looks great in the sunlight, where you can see all the bits of color and speckle.  I'm no dye wizard, but these are nice.  They fit Oogyhubby great so far!  Headed for the toe so hopefully I can start the other one soon! In wildlife news - early one morning during coffee, Oogydad saw a buck chasing a doe out of the woods and int

Hello on this Stir Fry Wednesday! Yesterday was very dark and rainy, so Oogyhubby lit some candles for us to enjoy during dinner.  These became even more useful when the power went out for a few hours just a short time later.  I'd been looking forward to some quality knitting time (and a cup of tea!) after dinner, but what I needed to do actually required a bit more light than was available.  Oh well - after all, tonight is another night! In other news: The deer were parading up and down the driveway at 12:45 AM; ask me how I know.

Greetings on this Pork Chop Thursday! Continuing with my obsession with the Just Beachy MKAL (long since ended but I'm pretending it's still on), I continued to power through all my lace issues (since when did this kind of simple lace become such a challenge for me??).  Part Three ended with a bind-off, and Part Four seems to have started anew: It will be fun and interesting to see how these pieces join together (eventually!).  I'm trying very hard not to look ahead more than a couple of steps within the current part. In other news, there were four deer on the lawn this morning (well after sunrise, obviously).  Two of them were very small, perhaps new this year, and the other two could have been older sisters as they looked too small to be full-grown.  They didn't stick around much longer after that, but it was nice to catch a glimpse for once. Stay safe and well :)

Hello on this non-taco Tuesday!! Just a quick note to let you know that I managed to fix the lace, although it took the better part of Saturday morning to do so!  The pattern has taken an unexpected turn and I can't wait to see how it all comes together.  Here's my progress since the weekend (the brown area is the location of the former lace disaster): In other news - the weather has turned rather cool over the past few days, and the foliage is starting to thin out.  The Big Lake has been sending us the most spectacular clouds, which also make for amazing sunsets and fun sunrises (and, if you're lucky, a glimpse of a waterspout!).   Stay safe and well :)

Hello on this stovetop lasagna Friday!! Last evening I was knitting happily along on Just Beachy (still Part Two but ironically I just wound the rest of the minis for Part Three) when lace disaster struck: (OK, you probably can't see it here, but somewhere in there is a double decrease and a couple of yarnovers that managed to get f-ed up a couple of rows back.  I even added markers every two repeats (imagine how bad it would be if I hadn't done that?).  I fiddled with it but I think I made it worse.  I'm thinking tomorrow's inclement weather will be the perfect day for lace remediation.  In the meantime, I'll soldier on with WWS#1 and Shawlography!) In other news - we've had quite the run of extraordinarily beautiful weather the past few days.  I've been eating apples in solidarity :) Stay safe and well!

Hello on this fried chicken Monday! After spending the last couple of weeks absolutely obsessing over my Casapinka KAL shawls, I've finally finished the knitting portions and have moved on to other projects!! The remaining two KALs, Just Beachy and Shawlography, require that I pay attention when working on them.  Which is fine - but I can't always do that.  I am enjoying each of them, however! Thus, the Warm Winter Socks (first pair) for Oogyhubby, started on the beach last month but now brought to the forefront for cold weather readiness: This pattern requires attention only every 4 rows, when the fake cable crossovers happen.  As always, the sock looks sooooo small, so I had Oogyhubby try it on last evening and also test it for "scratchiness".  The sizing is good and it doesn't seem to be itchy for him - so full steam ahead!! We've had some unusually foggy weather here lately, but often the days brighten up and the sun comes out in the afternoon.  The temps

Hello on this confit Friday! (Our meal delivery service seems to be stuck in Ohio so we're having to freezer shop today!) You've heard of ABC - Another Bloody Castle.  Today's title stands for - Another Bloody KAL! My yarn and KAL addiction are not abating any time soon.  While I'm still actively working on two (well, three if you count working in ends and blocking) KAL projects, I've signed up for a third: (That would be Stephen West!) The instructions call for solids so I got these: I blame my emotional support Canadians, who seem to have turned into enablers!  I thought these colors were fun together and the yarn (90% merino, 10% nylon) is lustrous and has a very nice twist - good for stitch definition! Speaking of enablers:  LW's floor loom is now in our house in what is now called The Weaving Room.  There are tons of pieces - I've got some work to do! In other news -  We continue to have the most lovely fall weather here - cool, breezy, and with lots of

Hello on this Turkey Burger Tuesday!! We're just back from a trip to my favorite place, Head of the Meadow Beach in North Truro, Cape Cod, post-season: Oogyhubby got us a Sun Ninja, which was absolutely perfect for the sun and wind conditions (with a small learning curve where you need to figure out how to work with the wind instead of fighting it - watching the videos first would have helped!).   (I stole this pic from the internet - this is not us, LOL). At one point a friendly little dog saw our shade, came over, licked my elbow, and laid down in the cool sand next to me.  So these can work as friendly dog traps as well, LOL.  I highly recommend these for the beach - you just scoop enough sand into the pockets to anchor the four corners.  It comes with stakes for use inland as well.  The fabric is some kind of miracle stretchy thing that also has UV protection.  And the whole thing stuffs into a little bag that weights no more than 10 pounds.  I can't say enough about these

Hello and guess what day it is??????? For some reason I continue to work obsessively on the Casapinka MKAL.  Let's just say I'm catching up - and she's about to take a week off!  I finally dyed the yarn for Oogyhubby's Warm Winter Socks (WWS!!!): They both started in their neutral/undyed state, then I "kettle" dyed them in very dilute black - which made them a lovely tonal gray!  As soon as they cooled down enough to touch, I flung some powered dye on them and then put them in the microwave.  Not sure if this is the best way to "speckle", but I got some fun blurps of color.  The one on the left got a bunch of Bright Blue (and a bit of Neon Yellow and Sangria), whereas the one on the right got about the opposite in quantities of the same colors. I plan to start with the one on the left, and have decided on this pattern .  I really should cast that on this evening to get off to a good start! In other news - we've had the loveliest weather here for

Guess what day it is??????? My next project is to make two pairs of super warm yet comfy socks for Oogyhubby for winter.  I have a plan to dye the yarn for those, and hope to have something to show you within the next few days.  They'll be hand knit - I plan to find patterns with squishy cables and stuff for extra warmth! In the meantime, I'm having a hard time not working on this: This is Casapinka's latest MKAL, the Snark-O-Meter.  I've just started Clue 2, but the KAL is about mid-Clue 3 right now.  I don't have any illusions of keeping up - particularly since I have three other Casapinka projects underway, and the Just Beachy MKAL started today as well.   And I had a couple of interesting ideas today.  In no particular order: - Weavin' Stephen .  How did I not know about this sooner?  I'll be using it at my very next color change - later this evening, if I'm lucky!! - Afterthought buttonholes.  Just sayin.  I've got an experiment in mind for this

Hello on this steamy Sunday!  We're all looking forward to the weather becoming more seasonal over the next day or so.  Enough of this sauna!! So yes - the socks are done and ready!  Here are the Heart Heels: Here are the Striped Heels: And, while I really should be dyeing the yarn for Oogyhubby's super warm winter socks (they will be handknit), I started on Clue 1 of Casapinka's KAL.  I'll show you a pic next time - as expected, it's super fun and full of color changes I would ordinarily avoid on my own :) In other news - I met a friend for outdoor coffee yesterday, after which Oogyhubby had a friend over for lunch and then another join them for some workout time in the basement (all are vaccinated!).  We're all socialized out now, at least for another week or so! Oogyhubby had gone out the other evening and said that there were about 10 deer on the driveway when he returned home.  One of the few things I look forward to in winter is seeing the evidence of all

So Happy It's Thursday!  I'll be pleased to see this week behind me! I have a self-imposed deadline of Sunday to get this third pair of socks done for Horse Friend: Third, you say??  Yes - she's getting the CSM prototypes as well.  They're the colors she's requested (pink and purple), and they're otherwise just sitting there.  I still need to put the heels on this last pair; I'm running a bit low on the purple so there will be some other purple striping going on there. In other news - it continues to be super hot and humid here.  I don't remember a time when we've had so much of both in one summer!  We have the AC on somewhere in the house all day long.  It will be weird but nice to open the windows one of these days! Stay safe and well!

Hello on this Tortellini Tuesday! You'll see these socks in their totality soon enough, but in the meantime I wanted to share my new skill with you: duplicate stitch!! I didn't have enough of the pink yarn for the heels, but I thought it would be cute if I put a little heart on each instead (the toes and cuffs are this same pink color).  I've done singular duplicate stitches to cover mistakes in colorwork and so forth, but I've never worked an area this large before.  It's turning out great!  The trick is to keep a fairly tight tension and to be sure to nudge each stitch into its place - kind of like how I have to push my crocheting around.  Super cute, and not hard at all!!  Who knew?? In other news - after a weekend of lovely weather, it's getting muggy again.  Time to start that next batch of cold brewed iced tea!! Stay well and safe!

Hello on this Taco Thursday! The good news is that I probably don't have a Casapinka obsession after all! The bad news is that I have a MKAL (that's Mystery KAL!) obsession for items with multiple colors! The latest one to bop me over the head is by Lisa K. Ross .  This was her project last year: This is the Garden Variety shawl.  It's HUGE and COLORFUL!!  I think this year's, Just Beachy, will be similarly large and colorful. Here's the yarn I ordered for it: It's called Coastline - isn't that the best??? (What's with me and all these browns lately???) In other news - it's been so hot here this week!  The heat wave is supposed to break tomorrow, thankfully.  It makes knitting a bit sweaty, but I remain grateful for AC, electricity, and the means not to fret too much about it. Please stay safe, well, and cool!

 Hello on this non-taco Tuesday!  (Oogyhubby plans to smoke up some ribs for dinner tonight - can't wait!) We're just back from a short trip to CT to visit Oogyparents - and also Neuro and Neurohubby!!!  It was a great trip, our Oogy/Neuro lunch was very warm but safely outside and distanced from other customers.  We also got to play fetch with Oogybro's doggie, who was full of joyous puppy energy. I got tons of knitting done during our various travels and visits as well!  I finished the knitting on the NNW bridal shower pillows: I started on the cuff/heel/toes for the first pair of Horse Friend socks: And I got a bag-o-yarn from Neuro that has sooooo many possibilities: Next in the queue - I need to dye the yarn for Oogyhubby's winter socks.  I'll be hand-knitting those, since I plan to incorporate cabling to enhance their warmth and durability.  I also gave him a proto-vest for Xmas last year that he doesn't want me to start until I've delivered his socks,

 I wish I had some pics to show you all, but it happened so quickly on this Wednesday afternoon! I happened to be looking out the window over the field mid-day today.  The farmer has been very busy and I saw some hay flying around at the edge of the field and figured he was whisking away. Nope!  It was a wee whirligig!  A small vortex of loose hay made its way across the field and over to our outbuilding - when evidently it met enough resistance that it dissolved.  It's been getting gradually warmer every day and I wondered if somehow the cooler ground was interacting with the warmer air.  I waited to see if any others appeared, but did not see any.  I had to go back to work, so who knows what else went on! I have never seen such a thing in my whole life.  Go figure! Knitting continues on the NNW pillow #1, and I feel like I'm in the home stretch.  I may be starting the second one sooner than I thought!! I hope you stay safe and well - wear your masks and be sure to be vaccinat

Or, in this case, the pent-up knitting projects that have been on hold since the start of the GMS test knitting several weeks ago.  Starting with this: This is the first of the two pillows I'm making for my future niece-in-law, whose bridal shower was back in June.  As usual it's a terrible picture but you can at least get a sense of the lovely yet subtle variegations in the darker yarn.  The lighter color is a lovely, slightly purpley gray.  With worsted weight yarn the rows seem to whizz right on by!  There will be a second pillow to follow in different colors - stay tuned! Since these pillows require the use of a chart, I'm also working on socks (yoga socks for now, at least until I remember how to do an afterthought heel again, it's been so long, LOL). In other news - today is not a Taco Tuesday, although we did have tacos for dinner last night!  The farmer arrived yesterday and gave the field a mohawk - evidently parts of it are still too squishy for tractors after

So Happy It's Thursday!! These blog postings have been getting further and further apart!  For that I blame my very busy revenue-generating activities that pay for the wine and yarn that I use to recover from the busy-ness.  Hmmmm... Speaking of yarn - I've just completed the knitting on the GMS sweater.  I have to say, it took way longer than I thought, but I really like the way it's turning out.  I've got some ends to weave in, some blocking to do, and some lovely closures to sew on - then you can see it! Ironically enough, it looks like the pattern was released today as well!  I look forward to adding a project page with all my modifications.  (And I also wonder how this would knit up in their wool/tencel blend that they also have listed with the pattern!  The drape with the Lana is nice though.) In the meantime, this has happened: Remember last summer when Casapinka had that fun KAL?  And then she had another in the fall (that I still haven't finished)?  And th

TGIF!!!! Here we are at the end of yet another week! Today's feature: the neons, all ready for their destinies: Right - destinies, plural.  The top skein is visibly different than the bottom two, so now I'm thinking of dividing these into two separate projects, probably cowls!  No great ideas yet but will continue to explore the possibilities! I'm still working away on the first sleeve of the GMS sweater!  So far, so good! I'm looking forward to making chili in the crockpot tomorrow and visiting with the Ws! Stay healthy and safe!!

Well, it's not Memorial Day this year, but we made it happen - The Third Annual Dyeing Weekend Extravaganza!!!  LW and I were here, and we Zoomed with Neuro!!  What you see in the pic is LW's work on the left; she painted many of the dye colors onto the tubes I'd cranked for her.  (Neuro did a lot of painting as well and will hopefully show her pics soon!)  My stuff is on the right; there are two small skeins of pink and purple that I needed to finish socks for our horse friend, and there are three skeins of zebra sock yarn that I just poured the three colors onto.  Everything got heated in the dedicated microwave (except I just let the wee skeins soak in the boiling water just after I'd mixed the dye).  We had an absolute blast!! (I'm thinking of doing a Stephen West pattern with the zebra - although I don't have anything specific in mind just yet!) Of course there is a ton of stuff yet to dye (both yarn and roving!), and I was so excited about cranking tubes f

Guess what day it is??????? I am still incredibly joyful about the amazing experiences I had this past weekend with dear and vaccinated friends.  I had unmasked coffee with a local friend on the patio of a bakery/deli, and I think we'd still be there if I didn't have to dash off to pick up supplies for later in the day.  Which is when the Ws came for a visit and dinner!  We sat both outside and inside, ate perfectly ripe and fresh strawberries, sang, and consumed the Balti Baseline.  And hugs all around! There is a different vibe in person.  I'm not sure if I can identify it or even explain it, but it's something like the relaxed silence inbetween parts of conversation.  This seems a bit subdued over the phone or internet.  It was so lovely to have a full day of this! I continue to enjoy my introverted work experiences and meeting virtually with distant friends as well! I didn't get in nearly as much knitting as you might think.  But I did discover a new obsession -

TGIF yet again!!! What do you call it when you work on only one knitting project at a time?  Serial knitting?  Knitting monogamy?  Knitogamy?  Dexter?? If I post another picture of my test knit, it will look exactly the same as it did last week except now it's a bit longer (taller?).  And I finally started a new yarn cake about three inches ago!  I still have a long way to go, and will probably have to admit that I'm not going to make the deadline (that is, if I also want to keep the job that keeps me in yarn and wine!).  I still can't believe I've managed not to work on anything else, and that also includes spinning, dyeing, and machine sock knitting!! So instead I'll share a picture of our new rocks (I believe their proper name is lake stone?): These will go mostly next to the foundation, where there are mature plantings and existing rocks.  We're waiting for the painters to paint the house first so that we don't have to re-do a whole lot from their ladder

TGIF - again!!!  Where did the past week go????  I can tell you, I've been doing a lot of: test knitting, working, working, and trying to be a good test student (working!).  I do have some measurable progress: (Another terrible picture, LOL) This is the test knit I'm working on.  It looks a million times better in the daylight of course.  This yarn has many color dimensions - there's blue and teal and black, among other things, and it just beams!  The yarn is a bit rustic but the fabric at this gauge is lovely (even though I find myself picking out the occasional small piece of hay).  I've been coming up to the end of the first cake of yarn for days - someone the yarn is reproducing at the core and I just can't seem to get to the end of it!  I was hoping that would be a good milestone but it continues to be elusive. I have not knit on anything else, nor have I engaged in any other yarn-related crafts.  This may be a first! In wildlife news - Oogyhubby called me down

So Happy It's Thursday!  I hope this finds you safe and well; we're good here.  And busy!  Oh my!  I'm enjoying my new job but it really gets in the way of my knitting time, LOL!! And the past couple of weeks have been super busy.  Oogyparents came to visit this past weekend, so there were the preparations (things needed cleaning, menus needed planning, supplies had to be procured) and of course the visit.  I like to feed them like kings when they're here, so I'm pretty sure I washed every dish in the house at least once a day!  One evening I got careless and burned the back of my hand whilst taking something out of the oven (if you can even imagine that - it takes a special skill!).  But we had a blast, and the weather was amazing. Not only that, but I now have TWO knitting deadline projects! The first one is a test knit for Green Mountain Spinnery and made with their Lana yarn in Noche.  The pattern is a lovely open cardi with 3/4 length sleeves and some subtle

Hello on this Tuesday!  I hope this finds you safe and well; we're good here. These arrived in the mail yesterday, courtesy of Neuro: Now, don't let some of these colors fool you - what they appear to be in powder form can sometimes be very misleading!!  But some of these are super bright already!  We're going to have a blast!!  Thank you, Neuro!! (There will be some less vibrant colors at the ready as well, in case anyone wants to make hubby socks.)   In wildlife updates - I don't really have any, but there have been hummer sightings in the area recently, so I just cooked up a bunch of hummer crack to fill the feeders later today.  It will be fun to see those little zoomers again!