Greetings dear Unravelers and welcome to September!
https://askatknits.com/wp-admin/edit.phpKnitting season is upon us… and I want to knit all the things! Or at least all the things I should not be knitting! (Like Gnome sweaters and September socks!)
Gnatty has had some improvements. A sweater to cover his delightful bulk was knit over the weekend and I want to make a wee bird to sit on his raised arm! And I need to find an acorn cap… some incentive to go for a walk! Stay tuned!
I also began the September socks! Some Dream In Color Smooshy from my deep stash paired with a pattern I have never knit: Monkey Socks. I know… about damned time, right? It is a satisfyingly easy pattern to memorize and I motoring down the leg…
And a new Mystery Gnome clue dropped yesterday!! See how I have an abundance of things to distract me?
This issue was not an issue in the round, but it absolutely is knitting the sleeves flat… I need more stitches for the pattern to work.
Things I have not picked up recently… that sleeve and my color study wrap. Let’s begin with the sleeve… I am thinking lots about how to make this pattern work knitting the sleeve flat. As you can see… it needs to have more than a few stitches added so that the pattern does not do what it is currently doing. My problem is that I have to set this sleeve into an armhole of (X) number of stitches. All this thinking (and the reality that I will be ripping back to the increase point) has stymied this project. But I have ripped back to the increase point and will begin the pattern again… and I think I have a work around for how to decrease those additional stitches before I bind off the sleeve.
The light has been the issue with the color study wrap… or should I say the poor post-dinner evening light… which is directly tied to my fight against turning on lights after dinner! These all too soon shortening days and my own stubbornness are the reasons I have not picked this up this week!
The “end of summer” reading was perfection. Most especially, closing out summer reading with Charlotte’s Web! I listened to Meryl Streep read this beloved story to me and hearing someone read it who loves the book as much as I do is a treat! But… summer reading is easing into fall with the bit of crisp weather we are having here in the Pittsburgh area! And I am here for it! I was between holds at the library… so I went to my list of things I want to read and George Eliot’s Adam Bede was available. I am settling in nicely and loving how Eliot crafts a story. Up next on my fall reading will be Rosamunde Pilcher’s September!
There you have my week… what is distracting you this week?
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I knit one pair of Monkeys in 2011, which I gave to my mother. Just last week I decided to knit a pair for myself, in sOctober. Maybe this wonderful pattern will have a renaissance. I remember when it felt like everyone was knitting them.
Oh! I wish you luck with the sweater sleeves. I would not know what to do! But your latest sock is so pretty (and that is a fun pattern to knit) and YAY for a gnome sweater. Your mention of reading Adam Bede reminds me that I never finished Middlemarch – it is buried under a pile of books on my nightstand. Perhaps I will get back to that tome this Fall! The weather here is delightful and chilly this morning – I can’t wait to get out and walk!
I have never knit a pair of Monkey socks, but have admired plenty of them. I do hope you get the sweater figured out because it’s beautiful. Maybe turn on the lights after dinner?Eventually you’ll be sitting in the dark! I haven’t worked on my Washington Beanie for a while, but just last night the designer sent out the third iteration of the pattern, this time with just two colors. I’ll have to take a good look at it but I may be ripping out my colorwork back to the ribbing and starting again.
So we will just wait with bated breath a little longer to see how the sleeve progresses and how natty Gnatty ends up looking.
Socks are not ‘my thing’ but I do like to see the ones others make. To me there’s always an air of mystery about them. All that going round in circles confuses me so they’re best left to those ‘in the know’ 😊
I love a good knitting-puzzle (most of the time) . . . and I have every confidence you will figure out The Sleeve. (I cannot imagine knitting that sleeve pattern in the round, especially if alternating the skeins. . . ) I solved my night-knitting issues with a non-obtrusive floor lamp that is perfect for seeing my stitches while keeping the lights low. Can’t wait to see the Gnatty-mods! XO
That pink yarn is delicious, love it. How funny that you are reading Adam Bede after my visit to Norbury this Summer. You sound very upbeat this week, the cooler weather suits you. I could have done with a few more weeks of Summer, never ever thought I would feel this, September used to be my Favourite month. I think May may well be nowadays.
It’s annoying when math gets in the way of our knitting working out, isn’t it? I will keep my fingers crossed that your sleeve plan works out. And of course I can’t wait to see your customizations of your newest gnome!
I’m planning to start September as soon as I finish the book that’s currently on my nightstand, which I hope will be today.
I remember monkey socks!! Those were good times 🙂 I continue to knit my sweater and a pair of socks but not much – I should knit more but there is a slippery slope with me overdoing it and causing wrist pain….agh.
Oh man, I’m with you in the KNIT ALL THE THINGS department! And, oh, so little time at the moment…
Oh boy. I wish you luck with that sleeve. The patterning is so beautiful but what a bit of a mind puzzle to figure out a work around. I also remember Monkey Socks. Maybe you are starting a new trend. I look forward to seeing the gnome with all his accessories.
I heard on the news this morning that we are losing 2.5 minutes of daylight each day now. Booo! I haven’t picked up my knitting in ages but maybe this cooler weather will inspire me.
I’m so glad you mentioned R.P.’s September! I keep forgetting to check that out every time I’m in my library… (And I want to at least START it while it’s still September.)
Curious to see the tiny bird you create.
Yay for a pair of Monkey socks! That pattern pairs well with such a deep dive into your stash. I think Dream in Color was SUPER popular around that same time – how fun!!
Enjoy September! It’s an amazing fall read 🙂