by Kat | Aug 17, 2016 | General, Making
I really wanted to get my Pincha done yesterday, but a friend called and I was encouraged to take a Yarn Shop Detour. We wanted to visit Natural Stitches before they close in September and since it is not far from Yarns by Design, we stopped there too! There was lots of good conversation and a fantastic lunch, but not much knitting got done! There was some minor stash enhancement, including some fun yarn to knit a hat for a certain special little girl! It was a fun detour for the day, however, today I am back on track with just one last feather to finish on my Pincha.
I got the loveliest surprise in the mail yesterday, an incredibly thoughtful gift from a Twitter friend – Thank you so much, Jean!
On the reading front, I will finish with To Kill a Mockingbird this week, and my last book for a Bingo Cover All is Knitlandia, which I think will be the perfect way to finish my summer reading.
I am listening to The Secrets of Mary Bowser by Lois Leveen and I am enjoying it tremendously!
Linking up with Ginny and the Yarn Along today.
How is your summer knitting and reading going?
by Kat | Aug 11, 2016 | General, Making
I have two fantastic finished objects that just might be the perfect things to help me when summer withdrawals start happening about mid-October!
First up – Tales from the Isle of Purbeck. This was a MKAL that I was late to join, but join I did. I spent some time thinking about what would I like to knit this with and I settled upon a truly spectacular yarn; ElsaWool fingering weight, woolen spun Cormo. Now if you have not tried any of Elsa’s products – you need to. Really. The wool is from Elsa’s own sheep and it is expertly crafted into the softest, yummiest yarn. She sells both woolen spun and worsted spun yarns, as well as knit garments. And, the sheep pictures are lovely! Add to this the incredible service you get from Elsa herself, it is an experience not to be missed. If wool “makes you itch” you need to try some of ElsaWool, you won’t be disappointed – it is baby soft! I also love this brown with my Indigo Linen Dress No. 2! The pattern is really very simple and once I had the flow of it, it went very quickly. I did a partial repeat of chart 3 to increase the size. And, I really love the Icelandic bind off. If you wanted a light, but warm shawl for the fall, this might be just what you are looking for!
The finishing did not stop there, I also finished up Nahant. It really did not take much time, thanks to the Lava Field on Netflix! I had been moving right along on this until it got too big to be good “travel knitting”. The yarn is some vintage Yarn Hollow BFL that I spun up some time ago. I had two bumps of fiber that were in similar colorways, as I recall. Anyways, I spun up each bump and then plied them together. There are times when the colorways match harmoniously, and times when they barber pole together. I really like how this turned out – and it is LONG. I can wrap it twice around my neck and still have scarf hanging down. Plus, the colors remind me of the changing leaves.
I am left looking at my basket of WIP’s wondering what will I pull out next. There is something so gratifying about getting something done quickly. And, crossing another item off the list is always a bonus. Pincha, I think this means you are up next! With the temperature in the 90’s and the humidity so high it feels like a sauna outdoors, staying in the air-conditioned house is not hard.
What are you finishing this week?
by Kat | Aug 10, 2016 | General, Making
I am closing in on a cover all for Summer Book Bingo, which absolutely astounds me! Twenty-five books in ninety-nine days is LOTS of reading (and listening!)
I finished listening to David Sedaris read Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls and it was wonderful! I started listening to my choice for my square “From the Harvard Classics 5-foot shelf” – She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith (Thanks, Kym!) I am enjoying it tremendously! It is witty and humorous and read “play like” with a cast of voices. This gave me another bingo!
Second Bingo Down:
- My Kitchen Year
- Written in my Heart’s Own Blood
- The Book Thief
- Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls
- The Redbreast
I began knitting my Cladonia and while I am not very far – I am so happy with my yarn choices! Right now it is easy and almost mindless knitting, however I want to make the shawl a bit bigger than the pattern calls for, so I will need to do some knitting math – the kind in which you use an actual pencil and paper! I have tried to puzzle it out in my head, but I fear that this is beyond my mental skills. Better to use some actual calculations and make sure I am correct!
I have to admit; this is one most enjoyable summers I have had in a long time – I am so thankful to Carole for sharing BOTNS Bingo! This has amped up my reading significantly! I have read books I did not think I would like and found them incredibly enjoyable! Add to that getting a slew of unfinished knitting done has made me feel so accomplished! I finished two items this week and will share them with you all tomorrow!
As usual, I am linking up with Ginny’s Yarn Along, where you will find amazing inspiration for both books and knits!
How about you, Gentle Reader? Are you feeling accomplished this summer?
Save
by Kat | Aug 4, 2016 | General, Making
Since we cannot change reality, let us change the eyes which see reality. Nikos Kazantzakis
The basket holding the knitting does not seem to be shrinking in volume and reality tells me that I am unlikely to finish my list before the Labor Day weekend is over.
However, I have made a small dent in the things I wanted to get done! And, that feels really good!
Some of the things that remain are there for a reason…
- Pushkinia socks – I am pretty sure that I knit these with needle sizes other than what the pattern called for, but because I am not a genius, I did not write down what I used. Yeah, how smart is that?? Anyways, I have cast on, however the new sock gauge was WAY SMALLER than its mate. So, I need to do some swatching to see if I can get close, and if not – I will frog sock one and start over…This has placed these socks firmly in the UGH column and sadly, off the list for completion this summer.
- Jen Lucas MKAL #1 – what on earth was I thinking knitting this will Dream in Color Jilly…I love the yarn, but it’s lace weight! However, it is staying on the list for completion this summer.
- Jen Lucas MKAL #2 – I am playing yarn chicken with this one, I have a second skein, but I would rather not use it. However, letting it mature in my knitting bag will cause the yarn to mature and be longer (???) Yeah, that’s my story and I am sticking to it! Hahaha
- Nahant – Has been languishing because it is no longer a portable knit (it is over 60 inches long now) and I have an error about 5 rows back that I need to take the time to fix…However, I do not want to rip back 5 rows. It is in timeout right now, but not yet to the UGH column.
- Pincha – sadly was displaced by other knitting and spinning. For me this is a knit that, in order to avoid mistakes, requires me to knit one full feather at a sitting – which is about an hour of time. The weather has been far too lovely to sit watching television, but this is staying on the list because these are the perfect autumn colors!
- Triticum – this is half a front and two sleeves away from seaming and completion…it is staying on the list even though I know it will be a stretch to get it done before Labor Day.
This Summer Knit Along has been very good in for me as it has kept me focused and provided a road map to get things done, even if I have had a few detours along the way!
How are you doing?
by Kat | Aug 3, 2016 | General, Making
Reading has sort of overtaken my time recently, well because GOOD BOOKS! I finished listening to The Book Thief yesterday, but truly – I did not want it to end. What an incredibly poignant and moving story. I sobbed considerably in the last chapters, but still – I did not want it to end.
In an attempt to lift myself from the funk that finishing a book that I did not want to end, I started reading Ruth Reichl’s My Kitchen Year – and it was so delicious that I devoured it in one sitting. I borrowed it from the library, but I promise you, I will be buying it shortly. The recipes look simply incredible, and I think it will be a great thing to cook through the year with her. If you have not read it, you should!
That makes my Summer Bingo Card looking pretty good! I am listening to David Sedaris’ Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls, which will get me my first bingo! I started reading To Kill a Mockingbird on my Kindle last night, but I did not get very far. I have my squares all set, but one – and I am saving that for the very end. I will go down to my bookshelves and pick something fun for my final read. Now, will I get this done by the time that Labor Day rolls around, we shall see! I am also working through My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry. It seems like it is not going to be 900 gazillion degrees out today nor is it raining, so I may be able to steal some time sitting under the pergola reading.
On the knitting front, I am almost done with the first skein of yarn for Tales from the Isle of Purbeck and just over half way through the fourth chart. I have one chart to go, and I hope to have enough yarn to knit more than one repeat of it. I would like this to be a big, warm shawl (which it will be, but I’d like it bigger!) This is a fun pattern, and what can I say about Elsawool – this stuff is insanely soft. I have the woolen spun fingering weight dark brown Cormo. Light, fluffy, soft – and it is knitting into a fabric that is lovely. You cannot tell from the brown blob that it is right now, but this is going to be the thing to wrap myself in this fall and winter!
Aside from that, I have been loving my Instant Pot – I made yogurt yesterday and oh.my.gosh. (Topped with homemade peach vanilla preserves it is divine!) And, last night I made beef with broccoli in no time at all (seriously, entire cooking time including resting time – less than 20 minutes). I love to cook, but sometimes standing in the kitchen at the end of the day does not send thrills of joy through my being.
Joining up with Ginny and her Yarn Along today, where you will find inspiration for knitting and reading!
What was the last book you read that you did not want to end?
by Kat | Jul 27, 2016 | General, Making
Over the weekend I finished Through the Loops Mystery Shawl, from cast on to epic bind off it took me 52 days. Over the course of 5 weeks, a portion of the pattern was released in a clue a week.
This is my fourth summer for participating in Kirsten’s summer mystery shawl and each year I am absolutely amazed at the pattern that unfolds. This year’s shawl was no different – I truly loved the pattern this year. Thistle Brambles is indeed a fitting name – the Thistle patterning is striking. It was my first time knitting with Jill Draper’s yarns and I really loved Esopus. Her color sense is excellent and the dyeing is done expertly. There was not even a hint of color in the water after I soaked the shawl in preparation for blocking.
I am listening to The Book Thief and I am about half way though. I am really enjoying it. When it is completed, I will have my first Bingo of the summer! After that, I am hoping they will be falling into place fairly quickly. We shall see…
And, new knitting? Well, I got out my basket and I pulled out Tales from the Isle of Purbeck to try to figure out where I was, and what I found was a bunch of mistakes! So, I ripped back…all.the.way. Thankfully, the second time was the charm, because it has been smooth sailing. For right now, I am avoiding the Jen Lucas shawl because I wanted to knit something with a slightly larger gauge, in hopes that would help me finish sooner! Or at it might feel like it is going faster! I am just starting on the second of four charts, so hopefully I will be half way done soon. I am pondering doing an extra repeat of a chart, but see how much yarn I have left when I have completed chart 4. I am using Elsawool and I am so happy with it! Soft, lofty, and the color is so rich!
Joining Ginny in her Yarn Along today.
What’s on your needles today?
