by Kat | Jul 6, 2018 | General
Is it just me, or does Friday feel off-kilter this week? The mid-week fourth has unsettled my inner calendar and I have spent the remainder of the week reminding myself what day it is.
One good thing, the blast furnace weather seems to be taking a breather for a few days of reprieve with the arrival of cooler weather. It is telling that we are calling weather in the 80’s ‘cooler’ but it does feel that way this morning and the gentle rain is also a welcome change!
On the knitting front, I am working through the third repeat of clue two in KK’s MKAL, clue three is out and I will try and get through some of it this weekend.
Monday and Tuesday will be Day Two and Three of my “knit a sweater in 4 (or 5) days” marathon. Steve will be gone next weekend so Friday and Saturday knitting will hopefully bring me a sweater completion. I even have my “knitting listening” queued up – Anna Karenina is all set to go and it will fill my “more than 500 pages” bingo square!
Now, how about some links?
Elizabeth Doherty released a couple of beautiful patterns this week: Westerly and Westbound
I also love Big in Japan!
Not a sweater knitter? Inca Trail is lovely! And, I also love the Textured Laguna Wrap (and it is free today!)
Sarah Jordan has worked out a toe-up version of her Non-Euclidian socks! If anyone knows socks, it is Sarah… she knits a plethora of them every year!
Finally, Random.org has spoken and the fifth comment on Wednesday is the lucky recipient of 30-days of the WaPo. Debbie, you should have an email advising you of that! If you don’t, please let me know!
That is all I have for this week! See you all back here on Monday!
by Kat | Jun 22, 2018 | General
Rage knitting is becoming a thing, thanks to the efforts of the current regime in the White House. That rage makes seed stitch just fly and the collar of my Vodka Lemonade is done, and I am working my way though the raglan increases.
It’s a good thing there is no shortage of knitting projects here, because the rage is not relenting for the atrocities being done to migrating families by this nation. I will be casting on KK’s MKAL shawl today as well. And, despite the rage, each stitch I knit holds my meditations for these families. The stitches also are filled with hope because despite what the Orange Idiot and his compatriots do, humanity has not died. It is evident in all the organizations that are mobilizing to help these families, it is evident in the funds being raised to help the victims, and it is evident when people go out in the night to stand with these victims.
Are you rage knitting too? How about a link or two in case you need a new pattern to start?
Rose Spring Cardigan… lovely shoulder shaping, and interesting details!
Selja makes me think my summer linen knitting is not over yet!
I LOVE Merry Bear!
And, finally…Saunders Poncho Mini
That is all I have this week. I am off to get some blood work done as a precursor for a doctor visit next week. Steve is taking a vacation day, so a mini staycation is in store for us! Have a great weekend and I will see you all back here on Monday!
by Kat | Jun 15, 2018 | General
I got to the “try on and see” point with my Eavesdrop last night and I think it needs another inch of length…and so I knit on. But!! The end is near!
This weekend has no long list of things to get done, but rather a manageable list. You know, the kind of list that makes you feel like you did something and still had time to do nothing? Yeah, that list.
Included on that list is to wind up this skein of Briar Rose Fiber’s Joyful which will become another Beekeeper Cowl, which I am test knitting for Marie Greene. I have one in process and think that this will make lovely Christmas gifts and I can easily get 2 cowls out of this skein. The pattern is super easy to memorize, making it the perfect “mindless” knit! I believe the pattern will be released soon, you can stay tuned here because I will most certainly link the pattern here once it is released!
Now, how about a link or two?
Quince & Co. Willet 2018 Collection is beautiful.
Night Sky is also gorgeous!
Being Here is a nice mix of texture making it the perfect summer wrap.
Joji’s Cathedral Wrap is beautiful, and a lovely construction – you knit each half and then graft them together.
That is all I have for the week! I hope your weekend is full of good things and I will see you back here on Monday!
by Kat | Jun 8, 2018 | General
I don’t know if it felt this way for you, but this week just flew by for me! It was a week with lots of outside activity and not much done at all inside. I hope to remedy that today, although I should work outside a bit more this morning because we have rain showers in the forecast for the afternoon!
All that outside work made for sporadic knitting time, although I am almost ready for my fifth skein of Sparrow, so even though it does not feel like I am making progress I am!
However, all this outside work has been a boon to my audio book listening which gives me my first BINGO on my card! It feels so good and my brain is just full of all the good reads of the past week. Oh, and I want to give you all a heads up… Goodreads is doing a give away for Ondaatje’s Warlight. You can enter here! Really… do it! NOW! It is such a wonderful book! You can also get a glimpse of where I am going on my card and I am so excited for this summer’s planned reading!
Now, how about some links to kick off the weekend?
First up, Karen Templer of Fringe Association wrote an excellent post sharing an introduction to sweater knitting. If you have shied away from sweater knitting but want to dip your toes in, this is an excellent article with great information and she even links to four patterns that would be a good start!
And, so because sweater knitting is just so darned satisfying…this week there were some lovely sweaters released! Ombre Tank Redux is a lovely summery knit, or perhaps Sayer which is so classic.
Like yoked sweaters? Wool & Honey, Kronblad, and Yume
Kid Knitting is so satisfying and Carnival as a fade is really fun or perhaps the simplicity of Stella Eve
If you love colorwork, Udamo Cowl is really gorgeous!
I love Svetlana’s Autumn palette, but it looks like summer waves to me!
Finally, I have been long debating with myself about KK’s Summer MKAL. I have decided I will knit it, but I will be using stash to do so. You can still buy the pattern at a discount through the start of the MKAL; which is still two weeks away in case you are wondering!
That is all I have for today. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
by Kat | Jun 1, 2018 | General
I am now in the “easy flow” of Eavesdrop, I have finished the sequence parts, the increase parts, and the Horizontal Stitch parts! I will just say that horizontal stitching with linen is not something for the faint of heart! I got it done, but it too the better part of an afternoon and all evening! I now have 13 inches (or there about) of stockinette to do. Translation… easy, peasy knitting!
I am also contemplating my next knit and I need to swatch, so I am ready to cast on. Why the rush? Well, I want to have this close to done so I can squeeze in Marie Greene’s 4 Day KAL. So, I am focused on getting Eavesdrop done, which means some monogamous daily knitting.
However, all the planting is done, the garden beds are all in fairly good shape which means I have no real distractions to keep me from knitting! I doubt I can have it done by Monday but maybe…
How about some links to welcome June!
Summer sweater knitting should be a thing so I have some ideas for you: Hvide Sande or La Lancia or Latitude or Congrats are all fingering-ish weight sweaters and all are so cute!
In the summer sweater knitting vein…#makenine2018 on IG continues to inspire me! The creativity!! This and this… both caught my eye yesterday and the urge to swatch is strong!
I have always been obsessed with Koigu and their Pencil Box Collection is wonderful!
For the shawl knitters out there: I love Walk your Way and Areas is really interesting as well. And, if you like texture…Bobble Diamond Shawl is fascinating. Also, TTL Summer MKAL shawl is up for sale this morning!
Finally, building blocks for Fair Isle lovers!
That is all I have for this week! Have a wonderful weekend and I will see you back here on Monday!
