Oogyknitter

Hello on this cold yet sunny Monday! Just wanted to show you the proto-cast-on for Cowldici, with CC1 and a fun grippy crochet hook courtesy of Neuro: I did think twice about the cast-on and decided I prefer the matchey-matchey of the crochet cast-on with the typical knitted bind-off for cowls. But first I need to start RP5!  More to come!

Hello on this blustery and pork sliders Sunday!! Neuro and I are having a great time working on several projects in parallel!  I think we have a version of spring fever that has manifested as startitis - casting on a bunch of new projects and then flitting from one to the other. The latest is the Joie Mittens from Brandi Cheyenne Harper's new book, Knitting for Radical Self-Care.  I haven't cast them on yet, but might have a yarn candidate: This is a big ball of Margaana, a wool/silk blend dyed by Schaefer Yarns, probably one of the first indie dyers ever and I actually bought it at her studio probably 20-25 years ago.  This is a beautiful yarn but it never wants to be anything.  I'm hoping it will like being these mittens because there's enough for two pair!  All the other projects are still in the works - nothing very exciting or finished just yet though. I spent most of yesterday wrangling with Rogue Pinion (as if my failure to swatch and count wasn't enough ...

Hello on this blustery Wednesday!! So I've made a decision to eff a project I've had in the works for many years - Firebird Socks.  They've been pending some embroidered details  and in theory are fabulous but you know what?  The sock fit is terrible and the yarn would be so much happier knit into a different pattern - perhaps even a sock tube, it's that pretty on its own: I'm also very frustrated at my inability to execute the 4-row, 2-stitch repeated pattern that I chose for Rogue Pinion, Section 2.  Somehow my stitch count keeps changing!  It's a nice enough pattern, but for the life of me I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong.  I'll increase or decrease as needed towards the end of the section, and as I told Neuro - I'm going to be swatching these from now on before I subject someone else to these issues!!!! In other news - there may be some felting in my near future.  More to come! Stay healthy and safe :)

Hello on this strangely warm Monday! I finally cast on for our Rogue Pinion project yesterday afternoon: Savvy Pinion knitters will notice that this looks strangely like Original Pinion.  Well, so far it is!  Casapinka does a great job of anticipating the flaring that happens at the end of long, straight knits and so she builds in some safeguards.  Why mess with perfection?? For the second section I chose a stitch pattern called Coral Knot Stitch.  I expect that some time today I'll find out if I love it or hate it!! In other news - I have today off!  Hoping to make a trip to the liquor store to replenish some critical items and perhaps get those slippers sewn and felted!! Stay safe and well!

Hello on this chilly Tuesday! Neuro and I have gone crazy and decided to make ourselves another Pinion, this time one of (mostly) our own making!! I decided to use the In Search Of ball in conjunction with Kidsilk Haze and another laceweight - along very similar lines as Original Pinion.  Here they are together: We won't officially start until Saturday, which gives me the chance to finish the first Pinion. I'm in the home stretch, so it should all work out just fine! In other news - of course there are a million other yarn projects going on at the same time!  One of these days I might actually finish one of them!! Stay safe and well :)

Hello on this chilly risotto Sunday! (The weather is chilly, not the risotto, LOL!) Remember that show from the 1970s, starring Leonard Nimoy?  It was "The Twilight Zone" meets conspiracy theory.  We would watch it with great glee and trepidation! Well, this morning I went In Search Of knitting pattern books (more on that another time!), and guess what I found: This is the giant ball of hand dyed yarn that I was looking for to use for a recent project!  It may even have been Pinion, I'll have to look back.  Neuro - this may be one of the things we dyed with OogyMIL all those years ago!  I'm going to keep it close - it may come in handy very soon! In other news - yesterday I successfully used frozen puff pastry (Pepperidge Farm!) to make cherry turnovers.  They were OK, but this puff pastry thing opens up a whole new realm of possibilities!! Stay warm, safe, and well!

Hello on this dreary and wet Thursday!! I'm very excited to be starting Pinion 18: I know it's kind of hard to see amongst the chaos of color, but if Pinion 17 looks strange to you it's because I screwed up the first repeat and decided to keep going with that.  It probably added an extra 2 inches but I've got plenty of yarn so no worries there! In other news - not much really.  Work is busy, all else is fairly quiet, Daisy is a very good girl.  Life is good :) Stay healthy and safe!

Hello on this shrimp scampi Saturday! I just have to say - looking at my last post I see that was the day we had turkey soup for dinner.  Both OH and I were feeling a bit under the weather that day for some reason, but after that soup we both felt quite rejuvenated!  Perhaps a coincidence, or perhaps an indication that we should have turkey soup or similar more often! Effuary is Casapinka's over-arching theme for this month that includes the previously-introduced inspiration for Cowldici as well as "Finish It, Fix It, or Frog/Eff It" component.  I was mulling this over when I had this conversation with my dad earlier this week: Oogydad:  So when are you going to make me another pair of slippers? Me:  I thought you said you were all set and that you didn't need any more. Oogydad:  Noooo!!!!!!! Well, here's the good news: I had a pair in process at the time he told me he was all set - so much so that they just need a quick bind-off before they're sewn togethe...

Hello on this turkey soup Tuesday!!! You may recall the project I worked on several months ago - a test-knit for Green Mountain Spinnery .  It was a great experience, I was able to provide some useful feedback, and for the first time in a long time I worked on that one project only! Along the way I made a few mods for myself, including swapping out buttons and buttonholes for super pretty brass closures from Jul Designs. When I finished all the knitting, I set the project aside to work on other items (b-days, holidays, etc.).  About a month or so ago I thought it was finally time to do the finishing, including working in the ends (not too many!), blocking the garment, and sewing on the closures. I could not find the closures.  Anywhere.  I'd tidied up a few times since I last saw them, so I looked in all the project bags that currently house proto-projects.  At least three times!  I found the extra skein of the yarn I'd bought just in case, but nothing else...