This is what a ball of yarn looks like after you have cast on, knit a bit and ripped out every stitch… not once but twice.
Confession time: I put the ball of yarn in a bag with the pattern and needles and have not looked at it since last weekend – save to take the photo for my blog – then it went right back into the bag. One of us is in time out or perhaps we all are! Ha!
Frustration, Thy Name is Feather!
Yes, there is a very, very steep learning curve that was beyond my brain bandwidth last weekend. I need to do some practice… okay, who am I kidding. I need LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of practice with yarn that I may or may not knit into a hat, lol. In other words, some yarn from my stash.
And speaking of the yarn… can I confess that I do not like how the yarn for the hat feels… it feels somehow sinful to say this, but there you have it. I do not like the hand of the yarn at all. I am afraid that I will be knitting worsted weight yarn on US3 needles and that is a daunting prospect.
So… I did a good bit of Happy Knitting on my Base 12 Hitchhiker… Bonny… I got to the color change! I will be in the Land of Minty Green and Purple for a bit and it is a very happy place to be!
I also started my February Gnome! A wee cabled hat is in the works!
And there you have my making since we last talked!
The reading this week has been fun! And sometimes you just need to read for fun… right? I have The Lost Words from the library for 21 days… and I have read it every day since I picked it up. I think The Lost Words as meditation is quite perfect and it certainly goes extraordinarily well with my morning coffee!
The Lost Words by Robert Macfarlane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Enter Macfarlane’s magical world of words and you will want to stay there!
This book is gorgeous. The artwork is stunning, but the poetry is simply perfect. Each acrostic poem succinctly describes the subject.
I happily dove into The Lost Spells… I think February should always have some time spent in Macfarlane’s magical world.
I loved this book so much that it will be my Valentine’s gift to my grandkids! I highly recommend!
While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Good, not great. Fast paced until it drags a bit towards the middle. Plausible until the ending… when all plausibility departs.
However, it was a fun read – I listened but I might have liked it more if I physically read it because I could “speed up” the slow bits.
If you are looking for a legal escape that includes a side of science on the side… this might be your book!
That is all I have for today… what about you? Did you have any struggles or successes last week? Please share!
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below!
So sorry to hear your Feather woes! And I wonder how others feel about the yarn – I’ll have to see if anyone else mentions that. But your Hitchhiker – GORGEOUS. Fabulous colors in that Kat and it looks so cozy and warm. I need/want to look at Macfarlane’s books (both Lost Words and Lost Spells) – so many people have raved about them and so many have also mentioned they want their own copies. Thankfully no struggles for me this past week – it has been a pleasant one!
Oh, your poor Feather hat. What a bummer! I hope you work through the challenges soon — OR decide that the pattern just isn’t for you and move on to something you love. Your hitchhiker looks lovely 🙂
And your Macfarlane book looks like fun!
Oh. . . that feather hat. I feel your pain . . . but, unlike you, I love the yarn. 😉
I have spent considerable time with both The Lost Words and The Lost Spells, and while I think the poetry is . . . good . . . it’s the paintings I adore! I added The Lost Spells to my personal library as soon as it came out (The Lost Words is lovely, but too big to want to own) — but I keep it with my art books rather than my poetry collection.
I’m so sorry to hear about the Feather Frustrations! I haven’t had any time to even wind my yarn, but after reading about your issues and hearing about some disappointment from Kym, I’m not going to wind mine until moving and lots of other things are done overwhelming me. I’m afraid of being defeated by a hat! (If you don’t even like the feel of the yarn that does not bode well.)
But on to happier things, like your Hitchhiker! I love the color change and hooray for green and purple! (I’m joining you in some comfort Hitchhiker knitting.) And I’m sure your February gnome will be adorable. You can enter McFarlane’s magical world, so that hat can just stay in time out.
I have done that so many times where I get frustrated and set something aside while I got over my feelings and come up with a solution as if there is one. it’s beautiful yarn!!
Oh dear. There is nothing like the disappointment when you get something you’ve been eagerly waiting for only to find you don’t like it. I wonder if washing the yarn might help at all? Sometimes I find there’s still some dye in hand-dyed yarn that makes the yarn feel a little not as nice to me.
I finally finished up a big spinning project yesterday, so today I’m hoping to find time to wind it into skeins and wash it, and then I will turn back to finishing up my socks and sweater. I also finished reading a book just before bed last night, so I need to decide which of the three titles I have from NetGalley to start next!
My excitement over the feather hat is slightly diminished after reading about your struggles. I started the Daytripper Cardigan last night so I may focus on that for a while instead of the hat.
Well darn it. I’m sorry to hear that The Feather Hat and its yarn are not living up to your expectations. The hitchhiker though is spectacular. Knitting with handspun is a special kind of knitting. Keep us posted on the new gnome. I loved and bought both The Lost Words and The Lost Spells. I’m glad you are enjoying them.
Oh my! I am so sorry!! I haven’t read much praise today for that “feather” project/pattern!
I love The Lost Words and Spells, I have both books. Jackie Morris has written many lovely children’s books with her beautiful illustrations, my daughter has several of them. She loves them and although now 12 still reads them regularly, they are an inspiration for her to paint.
I have been on the hold list for Stacey Abrams’s book since it was on order at my library. Now I’m not so sure it’s going to be worth the wait! I’ve had nearly 100% 5-star reads since the start of the year. I think I’ll pause that hold for now!
Enjoy that gnome knitting.