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...

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 ...

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 ...

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 th...

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 - b...

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. ...