Greetings and Happy Wednesday dear Unravelers,
I want to thank you all for your thoughts for my son and daughter-in-law. It was a “tough day” but all your thoughts and prayers were so appreciated.
It has been a slow making week. We had some hiccups in the routine… a toilet that needed to be replaced that turned into two days of plumbing work. Frankie was NOT amused! It amazes me how my happy go lucky pug can turn into Kujo when the doorbell rings! And when said ringers enter his house… oh my. Good thing they were on separate floors! Ha! But I am happy to report that the new toilet is a vast improvement and its lower water usage will be a good thing for the ever increasing water bill!
On Friday, I settled in with a class on assigned pooling, taught by the amazing Dawn Barker. It took a few tries to work out my gauge with the blips in Dawn’s yarn… but what a fascinating concept. As you can see, I worked a bit to get the hang of the blips. I have now made the rows long enough that I am working two blips per row. There is a bit of pre-thinking if a blip is at the edge and I am not sure I am entirely happy with them falling there, but I am embracing a bit of wonkiness in this process. The yarn colors are so lovely… this will be a fun little shawl to wear as I embrace autumn later this year!
I also got through another chart section with Cecelia’s Wriley Wrap, but it barely looks any different from last week. And I pulled out my languishing Shakerag Top that I began last year… I have not picked it up yet, but it is closer to moving into the rotation than it was last week! ha!
After a bit of a reading draught… I have some great finishes to share! First, I finished John of John, the latest novel by Douglas Stewart of Shuggie Bain fame… and I loved it. Without giving too much away, at its heart John of John is a story about the complexities of life in a family. There is yarn, knitting, weaving, sheep, and the island of Harris… I laughed, I cried, and I fell in love with Cal.
And it seems I have a “Cal Thing” going in my reading because I also finished Tana French’s The Keeper, the final book in the Cal Hooper trilogy. It is a mystery with lots of twists and turns…LOTS of twists and turns. The village, Arknakelty, is a character in each of the books, but in The Keeper you really see how this village has banded together the people who live there… for good and bad. I highly recommend this series!
Finally, remember all my excitement about sweet Christine, the Pileated Woodpecker who has been visiting? Well, I have seen her dozens of times and I was thinking she was just a single girl! But no! Her beau made his first appearance at the feeder Sunday… he has not tried the big suet feeder I have, but boy he can finagle the smaller feeder! And he is so talkative! So talkative!
He is a handsome boy!! Those red cheeks… divine!
What about you… have your thoughts begun to turn to summer? What’s on your needles?
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The Assigned Pooling Shawl is really pretty. I’m impressed with how many MDK classes you have taken and all the Snippet Shows you have listened to. One of the swatches I would like to do (sooner rather than later) is for a Shakerag top. What a handsome bird!! And HUGE!!
GAH! you are so lucky with that woodpecker, I dream one day to see one that close.Love the texture and the color pairings of you newest knit.
I, too, have succumbed to the charms of assigned pooling. (Although still working on “getting over” my not really liking pooling of any kind . . . even when “assigned.”) I really don’t like when the florets all stack on top of each other on the edges (which mine continue to do). I’m trying to convince myself that . . . it’s just part of the grunge-y charm. Anyway. It’s engaging knitting, that’s for sure! And it’s really fun to learn something new! And those pileated woodpeckers are so dang . . . prehistoric!
Oh my goodness, what a great shot of that woodpecker! You are one lucky gal to have two of them visiting your yard. Your new project looks like fun. And I’m glad you enjoyed John of John, too — it was so nice to read a Douglas Stuart book and not be thoroughly depressed!
Ooooh what an amazing picture of the woodpecker! I wonder if they know they’re Internet famous 😂
That was a good week! Assigned pooling looks interesting, and I’m intrigued by the idea that it’s knitting that you “have to get used to”. It’s probably a good idea to also have “regular knitting” going at the same time, but I’ll be interested in seeing that assigned pooling shawl as it grows. I also loved John of John and think it’s my favorite Douglas Stuart (so far). And that Pileated is marvelous! You got a good picture of him and I’m hoping that he and Christine become well acquainted!
The most exciting woodpecker I’ve seen is the little downy or the slightly larger hairy (rarely). How wonderful to see your Pileated woody!! I bought John of John on all of the recommendations. I, too, loved French’s series.
Assigned pooling is an intriguing technique. Your colors are very pretty. I am constantly amazed at the creative knitters and their ideas. Aren’t you so lucky to have a pair of pileated woodpeckers. Wow! We are about to embark on a partial bathroom remodel and replacing a toilet is on the list. Plumbing is never fun but I’m grateful for it. I’m glad you are on the other side.
That assigned pooling is pretty neat! And I also loved John of John. That’s a great pic of your woodpecker, I’m always amazed at how big they are!
I took that class, too. I couldn’t figure it out and am going to start an Eventide cowl with my yarn as it’s just the Clover stitch. I will try that shawl again sometime and maybe pick up a new color for it. love your colors and it looks great!
It sounds like a lot of us are struggling with progress recently. Your shawl is really lovely, even if it isn’t going as you like.
Our woodpeckers seem a lot more ordinary than yours.
I adore pileated woodpeckers – their call is the BEST and so fun to hear. I’ve never seen one on a feeder, so this picture is extra fun! We finally had to take our feeder down for the year after a bear walked away with it for a second time. But I’m already looking forward to winter feeding!
I’m on the Libby waitlist for John of John – it will be quite a wait! So I know it must be good 🙂 Thank you for reminding me about it!
I’m a big fan of Dawn’s patterns, yarn and assigned pooling knits–I binged on them a couple of years ago. I gifted two I made and then had one super favorite shawl that I wore all the time last year..this year I cannot find it!
I’m trying to focus on the silver lining that I’ll need to knit another.
It is definitely an “embrace the wonkiness” project , I think that’s a huge part of the charm.
Gorgeous shawl, but gosh it looks complicated. Glad to hear that you all got through the weekend. These things take ages to heal and hurt for years.