So Much Knitting

Stonecrop Cardi

Some of you stopping by to visit might be familiar with the Stonecrop Cardi. Andrea Mowry is the designer and is easily found by looking for DreaReneeKnits. She used to live here in Michigan then they moved. I still love her and her designs anyway. Sometimes opportunities arise and relocation is necessary.

The bobbles drove me nuts, caused pain in my left hand, but, I persevered. The yarn was an eBay purchase and came in two giant skeins which added up to over 1000 yards. What I didn’t know was that it needed to be washed before I started knitting. There was a dirty feeling to it but since I had started already to keep the gauge going I kept knitting. The yarn purchase was for a charity organization and the price was unbelievable. You’ll be seeing more green knitting. All of it has been wound into balls and ready to be used.

Are you all staying safe and practicing your social distancing? I am. But then, any of you who know me, know that’s nothing unusual. This summer is the anniversary of four years of not working for me. After 15 years of working in management in the auto plants and other automotive-related places, not seeing people works just fine for me. It’s a tough life when you’re a member of the maintenance management team and the buildings are all old and falling apart. Everyone wants something from you and they want it right this minute, or better yet, before you even knew they wanted it. They call you before you get to work in the morning, they call you when you’re home at night, they call you on your weekends, and they even call you when you’ve told them all that you’re using some of your precious vacation time.

The quiet is wonderful.

If you call me, I’ll look at my phone and say “If they leave a voicemail I’ll check it.” If you’re my mom and you’re calling me, I’ll answer or call back ASAP. She’s almost as bad as me when it comes to phones. There are other pastimes we’d rather be doing than talking on our phones. With the invention of cordless and cell phones it’s easier, though. Now, if we could just teach Mom how to use speaker phone. I knit while having conversations with my Mom – or anyone else as far as that goes.

Politics. Nope.

Reading.

I’m currently reading a book about the history of the Spanish Flu Pandemic. I’m telling you, that was horrendous. Pregnant women were at an extremely high risk and one line in the book mentioned that it was a wonder that any children were born at all during those years as the moms-to-be died during pregnancy at very high rates. One military man was on his way home and people on the train just fell over dead right in front of him. Could you imagine?

Science and medicine have come a long way.

Knitting.

Right now I’m working on two projects and itching to start more. There are so many yarns in this house and just so little life left. Yes, I might live another forty years, but, can I knit during all those years? Will I buy more yarn during those years? Pffffft. If a knitter is alive, a knitter will buy yarn.

My current projects are Dawe by Amy Miller and Color Affection by Veera Valimaki. Dawe is a pullover and Color Affection is a shawl. I’ll try to share photos. Right now, if I did you would wonder what the heck I’m working on.

I finished a Vogue Knitting cardigan. It’s #1 from the Winter issue of 1992/93. There was some yarn hanging around here that screamed at me one freezing cold winter morning. At first, I was thinking hat then when I realized there was enough here to knit two sweaters, one sweater is this cardigan. I’m thinking a pullover is next.

#1 Vogue Knitting, Winter ’92/’93
Yarn: Bon Bon by Lana Gatto

I’ll leave you with this for now. Gardening has begun so I will try really hard to come here more often as you’re probably sitting on the edge of your chair holding your breath just waiting for my next post.

Righto…………..

Take care!

Learn to knit. I calms the soul.

Are You Knitting?

IMG_6282.JPGSunshower Shawl

I’ve been knitting and I know a bunch of other people who are knitting so, in my mind, everyone knits. Not so, you say? Get to it. It’s good for you.

The Sunshower Shawl is a current Ambah O’Brien/Jimmy Beans KAL and it goes on all year long. This is how mine looks after Month #3. After I committed to knitting this I wondered how I could get myself into a 12 month project. Hey. I did that last year with the 2018 Temperature Blanket and again this year with my 2019 Temperature Table Runner. That’s sorta lagging behind but it’s quick to catch up with that one.

Yesterday I started another KAL after I told myself and others that I was done with those KALs. The new one is through Mason-Dixon Knitting and is using the designs from the Field Guide No. 10 Downtown. Field Guide No. 10

I’m cruising along but am now in a mini procrastination on the current round since it has a stitch manipulation that I have never experienced before. It’s going to take a long time to get around all these yoke stitches with all this slipping and passing over. I’ll share a photo sometime along the way after I take one.

Speaking of KALs and challenges. My #19 of 2019 for the Vogue Knitting Ravelry group is done. I’ve been downstairs in my basement several times today and keep forgetting to bring it up with me since it’s been blocking for two days now and has to be dry. On my trips down I’ve done three loads of laundry and rode my bike on the trainer. If I had my phone and some music with me my ride would have been longer than five minutes. Since bike riding without traveling doesn’t track on my Garmin Vivoactiv I’ve learned to hook it to the velcro on my shoe. It adds up the pedaling as steps. Ha.

 

Where Have I Been?

IMG_4445.JPGI Was Here

Where is that? Up North at an awesome place called Canada Creek Ranch. My husband and I are members here. Since I no longer work my time up there is more frequent than his. On this day we had snow, obviously, and it was also my knitting group day. One of the ladies took a photo of me wearing my Antler sweater, my new gloves and my matching hat. Maybe I’ll share it here after she shares it with our group.

I’m home now. I could have written while up there but it seemed that being there for two full days and just a few hours on the other two just didn’t get me in the mood to spend much time on my laptop or the internet in general. Pretty much all I did was delete e-mails so that all those Black Friday messages weren’t piling up into the millions. It seems that we just celebrated Labor Day and now all this snow makes us feel like it’s Christmas time and we’re hopping and skipping right past Thanksgiving.

My 2018 Temperature Blanket is on my lap right now and once I finish the row I’m knitting May will be completed. So, it appears that I am just a few months behind, right?  Some simple math would tell me how many rows to knit each day or week to catch up. Right.

There’s a pair of socks on my needles and another sweater. The sweater is #18 from Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 1988. This one is to meet the #18 in 2018 for the Ravelry challenge. After this one I need to pick a design – any pattern – from 2018 to meet the VK 2018 in 2018. I’ve completed a Then, an any design from a year ending in 8, am working on the #18 then just the current. The current project can spill on over to early next year as long as I have it started.

There’s barking going on behind me. The joys of being owned by a Rat Terrier.