Socks

 The were issues with the first sock in this pair; it just did not want to be and sat unknitted for days on end. Then when I finally forced myself to finish it I completed the second in only two days. Sometimes knitting is weird.

These will be heading to Scotland for my Wee Niece once they're dry. Not sure if they'll make it in time for Christmas but if not they can be a nice January surprise.

Pattern: Improvised Basic Sock
Yarn: Knit Picks Hawthorne Hand Painted Reel in Road trip stripes
Needle: 2.5mm
Gauge: 41 stitches and 46 rows

Current Weather
-11C and partly cloudy.

Socks

 Socks continue to fall from the needles. Another pair for myself. I may have to stop soon because I've got significantly more socks than I can wear in a week and I'm running out of space in my sock drawer.

Yeah......Who am I kidding? This is not going to stop me from knitting socks for myself or anyone else for that matter.

Pattern: Improvised Basic Sock
Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll Gradient Duo in Stardust
Needle: 2.5mm
Gauge: 41 stitches and 46 rows

Other News

I think I need new mittens, my hands are feeling the cold a lot more this year than I remember from past winters. Maybe it's the new blood pressure drugs; I don't know. Anyway, the mittens I've used the most for the past several years are made from fingering weight yarn, hang on here the are: Podster Mitts. And they just don't seem warm enough this year. Fortunately I placed a huge Knit Picks order last week, mostly for sweaters, but there should be enough leftovers for mittens and hats. Maybe even a cowl, not sure about that though.

Current Weather
4C and sunny. Feels like winter out there.

Hitckhiker

 Finally, improbable as it seems, something that isn't socks! 

Still sock yarn though, but I decided this yarn was too pretty to be socks, I wanted to be able to see it, so I made a Hitchhiker. I've been meaning to buy this pattern for years and finally decided to JUST DO IT ALREADY!

I only managed 41 scallops with 100g of Knit Picks Duo Gradient yarn. DON'T PANIC. It's not the end of the world.... this time. Or, at least, I'm not aware of any hyperspace bypasses in the works. If anyone knows otherwise please let me know. I know where my towel is though so I'm not overly worried.

Pattern: Hitchhiker by Martina Behm
Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll Gradient Duo in Ice Sculpture
Needle: 3.0mm
Gauge: 21 stitches and 54 rows = 10 cm in garter stitch (theoretically, I haven't actually measured)

I considered posting some Vogon poetry in order to memorialize this project but I decided that, since Vogon's write the third worst poetry in the universe, it was a little too risky. The comments are your risk to take.

Current Weather

-11C with snow showers. Fall is definitely over. It was nice while it lasted.... About 6 weeks.

First Fall Socks

 The Summer of Socks is over but the socks continue. This yarn comes in three long colour changes but I decided I wanted to break up the yellow in these socks so I made the cuff, heel, and toe yellow in each sock.

Pattern: Improvised Basic Sock
Yarn: Knit Picks Knit Picks Stroll Gradient Duo in Rocket Ship
Needle: 2.5mm
Gauge: 41 stitches and 46 rows

Ahab
Ahab continues to recover from a lumpectomy last week. He's stuck wearing a t-shirt (my Dad sacrificed a t-shirt for the dog) for a few more days at least. It's better than the cone from last time but he still isn't a fan.

Current Weather
2C and cloudy. Fall broke yesterday, it had been really nice for weeks, but on Thanksgiving Monday I found snow on the deck in the morning. It melted by late afternoon but still..... 

And this morning the air was distinctly frosty when Ahab and I went for our morning meander around the block.

Last of the Summer of Socks

The first day of Fall is on Tuesday, two days away, so these are the last of the Summer of Socks. In total there were eight pairs of socks in the Summer of Socks. That's actually a lot of socks. And if I go back to the first of the year I have knit 12 pairs of socks. And with more to come, it's looking like a productive sock year.

Love the colour of these, which works out well since they're for me.

Pattern: Improvised basic sock
Yarn: Cascade Yarns ® Heritage Prints in 58 Twelve
Needle: 2.5mm
Gauge: 41 stitches and 46 rows

Health
I continue my efforts with the treadmill, I'm up to half an hour a day at 3 miles per hour most days; there are shorter days and slower days but for the most part. Not much to most perhaps but a good effort for me.

Current Weather

17C with periodic clouds. The wind shifted today and blew some of the chocking smoke from California, Washington, and Oregon away. It's expected to shift back in the next day or so bringing more smoke here.

Socks

 It's not quite Fall yet, and more importantly it still feels summery even though the light is now distinctly autumnal, so these count towards the Summer of Socks. Not sure if the next pair will make it under the wire or will be part of the Autumn of Socks. Assuming the sock mojo continues.

The black dye ran a bit on my hands as I was working the toes, it actually looked a bit like my fingers were rotting off but fortunately I'm not diabetic so I did not panic when I noticed it. I will rinse them really well and wash them to hopefully get the dye out before they dye my brother in law's toes black. I must remember to warn him about the possibility.

These duo cakes do not create identical socks, or at any rate, the two colourway's I've worked with both have not. Both this pair and the pink socks for my Niece definitely stripped differently. I'm not worried about it, fraternal socks are fine as far as I'm concerned, but if you're expected matching socks from this yarn you might be disappointed.

Pattern: Improvised Basic Sock
Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll Gradient Duo in Pet Rock
Needle: 2.5mm
Gauge: 41 stitches and 46 rows

Health

I continue to engage with my Frenemy the Treadmill, we're up to half an hour most days. Feeling fitter than I have for a long time so calling that a win.

Current Weather
23C and cloudy. High today was around 27C.

The Summer of Socks Continues

Another pair of socks drips from the needles in preparation for ...... wait for it ..... winter. But we're not talking about winter yet so here are the socks.

Pattern: Basic Sock

Yarn: Knit Picks Hawthorne Hand Painted Reel in Skyline Stripes

Needle: 2.5mm

Gauge: 41 stitches and 46 rows

I think these will go to my sister in Scotland. Which obviously means I also need a pair for my brother in law and my Wee Niece. Oh, the trials and tribulations of a knitter.

Current Weather

21C and partly cloudy. Today's high was over 30C. HEAT WAVE!

Socks

 It's been a summer of socks so far. After finishing these I immediately cast on a pair for my sister in Scotland, which means I will have to do socks for my brother-in-law and my Wee Niece too. Oh, the agony! :-)

Pattern: Basic Improvised Sock

Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll Gradient Duo in BFF

Needle: 2.5mm

Gauge: 41 stitches and 46 rows = 10 cm

Health

Managed a new personal best with my Frenemy the Treadmill of 30 minutes. Felt like I could have gone longer but I don't want to hurt myself. I turned 44 earlier this week and exercise and me have not been pals for years; got to take it slow.

Current Weather

19C and sunny. Bit of  a break from the heat, I just hope this doesn't mean summer is over.

Stripey Vest

This started off to be a sweater but I got lost on "sleeve island*" and ended up making it a vest. Hope my Wee Niece is OK with a vest. She's getting this in addition to the Wallaby Jumper because she seems to like hand knits from her aunt. How long this will last is anyone's guess. I'm taking advantage while I can.

Pattern: Improvised

Yarn: Caron Cotton Cakes in Lavender Fields and Lilac

Needle: 4.0mm & 4.5mm

Gauge: 19 stitches and 25 rows = 10 cm

Health

Have managed to continue to do 15 minutes every day on the treadmill (my new best frenemy) except if I do something else active like a Scent Hurdle tournament or a walk with a friend.

Current Weather

31C and sunny. Hooray for SUMMER!

* encountered this term on the River City Yarns podcast

Socks

Finished my Dad's birthday socks, which are not needed until January, Mom's were finished a couple of weeks ago. These did not start off well because I cast on far too many stitches and had to frog the entire first sock back to the very beginning after turning the heel. Urgh. The colour is really cool, it appears to be a light grey in most light but sometimes it looks blue. There was also a white stripe just as I started the second sock. Meh, it adds character.

Pattern: Improvised Basic Sock

Yarn: Lang Yarns Twin Soxx in 216

Needle: 2.5mm

Gauge: 41 stitches and 46 rows = 10 cm

Also played a bit of Yarn Chicken with these socks, this what was left.

Ahab

The old pooch had his annual physical last week and the blood work came back as the picture of health except for signs of some arthritis, not unexpected given his age. Excellent stuff for a 14 year old life-long tri-pawed.

Health

My Word of the Year for 2020 is "Health" (bizarrely appropriate, right?) however, I haven't really done much of anything with it. I didn't want to make a New Year's Resolution because no one keeps those, so I chose a word to concentrate on instead. Then promptly did nothing. Well that's not quite true, I had a mammogram (Mom's breast cancer diagnosis was a terrible wake-up call) but that was technically in December. Then I found out my blood pressure had spiked so I got on some medication to get it under control. 

But, I have been lacking in exercise. Mostly because I hate exercise. However, I have been making myself go on the treadmill for 15 minutes every day for the past week.  Some days I even manage 20 minutes and today I noticed that my distance was a little bit further which I suppose means I've been going faster since I still stopped after 20 minutes. 15 minute is what I plan to do though because I can handle 15 minutes mentally. And so far this seems to be as much a mental thing as physical, although I haven't exercised much for many years so, yeah; start slowly. Here's hoping I can keep it up.

Current Weather

28C and partly cloudy. HOT! HOT! HOT! We seem to be getting some actual summer weather. Sweet! Even my home office in the basement is getting warm.

Socks

Finished a pair of socks in record time, only 8 days from cast on to cast off*. I didn't bother looking it up but this could be one of my fastest pairs ever. It helps that the yarn is gorgeous. They don't quite match but they're very close.

These are for my Mom for her birthday; which isn't until December so I'm way ahead this year.

Pattern: Improvised Basic Sock

Yarn: Pro Lana Golden Socks Fjord 4-Fach in 189

Needle: 2.5mm

Gauge: 41 stitches and 46 rows = 10 cm

Current Weather

20C and partly cloudy before noon. All of next week is supposed to be bordering on hot.

* I ended up looking it up and I've finished socks in as little as 4 days so these are no where near a record.

Squishy Mail!

This just arrived from Knit Picks. Yumm. Sooo much sock knitting.

Death by a Thousand Socks

What I thought would be a nice rust colour turned out to be the colour of dried blood. They're still nice socks just a bit unfortunate in colour.

Pattern: Basic Sock Pattern

Yarn: Rico Design Superba Multi Melange Superwash 4 fädig in 004

Needle: 2.5mm

Gauge: 41 stitches and 46 rows = 10 cm

Current Weather

17C and mostly cloudy. Rained for most of today.

Black T-Shirt

Finished my Black T-Shirt at last. I finished my Linen T-Shirt in nine days, this one took a little longer. About two months. Still not bad for fingering weight sweater though, even if it is short sleeved. Not sure if it's quite long enough though, may have to go back and lengthen it a bit.

Pattern: Improvised

Yarn: Knit Picks Lindy Chain in Black

Needle: 3.0mm

Gauge: 29 stitches and 35 rows = 10 cm

Current Weather

23C and partly cloudy. There was a tornado warning just east of here yesterday.

Wee Niece's Birthday Jumper

They call 'em "jumpers" in the UK so I'm going with the flow here for my Wee Neice's birthday sweater. This is a Wilhelmina Wallaby lengthened quite a bit and with a modified neck line. I'm in love with the tall neck with a tie so I went ahead and modified this Wallaby to have this neck line instead of a hood. I hope it fits OK, children's heads are, proportionally, much bigger than an adult's head is to their body size so I'm taking a bit of a risk with a closed neck.

Pattern: mostly The Wonderful Wallaby by Carol A. Anderson

Yarn: Caron Cakes in Mixed Berry

Needle: 4.5mm & 5.0mm

Gauge: 4.5 stitches = 2.5 cm

In related news, my Wee Niece almost had a melt down the other day when she wanted to wear an "auntie jumper" but they were all in the wash. My sister had to dig one out of the wash for her because she wouldn't wear anything else. I treasure this.

Dog

Ahab has an ear infection. How is it that a pointy-eared dog is so prone to ear infections? I'm so glad he's not a floppy-eared dog or he'd be living on penicillin.

Canada Day 

Yesterday Canada turned 103 years old with very little fanfare due to the ongoing world-wide health crisis of COVID-19. There were no fireworks, no large gatherings, no big speech from the Prime Minister (unusual, he loves a crowd), nothing much to mark the occasion. Very Canadian in a way.

Current Weather

19C and cloudy. We had twice our usual rain fall in June this year. And it's been quite cool. Urgh, I'm sure summer's were warmer when I was a kid.

Socks

Finally finished these poor socks. They got lost in a bag for weeks and I only found them this morning, it was a shame they got lost as I finished them up all in one day after finding them. The picture doesn't show it but I used a different yarn for the heels of the socks; I liked how the yarn was striping so much I didn't want to break it up when I got to the heel so I used some plain black for the heels.

Pattern: Basic Sock / Improvised

Yarn: Berroco Sox in 1448 & Knit Picks Stroll Solids, Heathers & Twists in Black

Needle: 2.5mm

Gauge: 41 stitches and 46 rows = 10 cm

Current Weather

17C and cloudy. Will probably rain soon.

Market Bag

Took a detour into crochet for a bit and ended up with something like a market bag. Totally winged it to make this. Seemed to turn out OK though.

Pattern: improvised

Yarn: Bernat Home Maker in Gold

Hook: 8.00mm

Gauge: not critical

Current Weather

26C and sunny. You could mistake it for summer.

Earth Tones Baby Blanket

If you love earth tones and want to share that love with a fall or winter baby this blanket is for you. This little blanket is super thick, with a touch of real wool to help it to be wonderfully warm. The wool does mean you will need to wash it in cold water. The yarn manufacturer claims it won't felt in warm water; but use cold anyway, why take unnecessary risks with your baby's blanket after all.

The most basic pattern imaginable, mostly stockinette stitch with a seed stitch border. It just doesn't get much more basic than that.

Pattern: Improvised
Yarn: Caron Sprinkle Cakes in Pecan Fudge
Needle: 8.0mm
Gauge: not critical

30cm X 31cm

Current Weather
6C with light showers.

Hat

I think this will be the last cancer hat for Mom, at least for a while. I'm out of hat mojo. Managed to use up every scrap of the purple colour so that was nice.

Pattern: Sockhead Slouch Hat by Kelly McClure
Yarn: Knit Picks Shine Sport in Blush, Sailor, Cream, and Serenade
Needle: 3.0mm
Gauge: 27 stitches and 36 rows = 10 cm

Current Weather
13C and partly cloudy.

Raindrop Vest

So, in the past two weeks I have finished a fingering weight t-shirt-sweater in 9 days and a DK weight vest in 4 days. COVID-19 has left me with quite a bit of time on my hands it seems. Still need buttons for this vest but since the knitting part is complete I'm calling it done. Total improvisation to make this, just knit a body, yoke, neck line, and sleeves.

Pattern: Improvised
Yarn: Knit Picks CotLin in Raindrop*
Needle: 3.75mm & 4.5mm
Gauge: 19 stitches

Current Weather
16C and mostly sunny. Well, that was today's high, it's probably cooled off a bit by now.


* Yeah, that's right, another project named for the colourway. I'm good with it.

Linen T-Shirt

Wow, I finished a fingering weight t-shirt sweater in 9 days. I guess unemployment is good for something. Modified this a bit from the red t-shirt I finished a few weeks ago, this one is a little shorter and a little less loose. The red one is a bit too loose. The picture below is pre-blocking and I suspect the stitches will loosen significantly after washing since that's what the red t-shirt did. The gauge below is also pre-blocking. I may update if I think to count again post-blocking.

Pattern: Improvised
Yarn: Knit Picks Lindy Chain in Linen
Needle: 3.0mm
Gauge: 28 stitches and 32 rows = 10 cm

Current Weather
17C and sunny. Looks like Spring has finally put in an appearance, only about a month late.

Baby Blanket

Another car-seat baby blanket all done.

Pattern: Improvised
Yarn: Caron Big Cakes in Cherry Cake
Needle: 5.5mm
Gauge: 15 st per 10cm

Current Weather
-2C and cloudy. It was snowing earlier. No signs of Spring

Hat

Another cancer hat for Mom. Her favourite colour is purple. Mostly followed the Sockhead Hat patern but fudged the gauge or the fabric would have been so stiff it would stand up like an elf-hat. Probably not in a good way either.

Pattern: Sockhead Slouch Hat by Kelly McClure (mostly)
Yarn: Knit Picks Shine Sport in Serenade
Needle: 3.0mm
Gauge: 27 stitches and 36 rows = 10 cm

No attempts at artistry this time

Current Weather
-5C and cloudy. The weather is certainly encouraging everyone to stay home and practice social distancing.

Hat

Another hat for Mom to wear during her cancer treatment. I've made three Wurms so far, two for winter wear and this cotton one. I struggled with the gauge on this one, it took three tries to get the right number of stitches in the right size. Adventure awaits even those who check their gauge.....

Pattern: Wurm by katushika
Yarn: Cascade Yarns ® Paradigm Shift in 3
Needle: 3.5mm & 4.0mm
Gauge: 24 stitches and 34 rows = 10 cm in stockinette stitch

Current Weather
11C and mostly cloudy. Don't let the temperature fool you there's no signs of Spring yet and we're supposed to get snow later this week.

Socks

More socks fresh off the needles. Just my usual basic sock pattern done with a neat colourway.

Pattern: basic sock
Yarn: Rico Design Superba susu in 005
Needle: 2.5mm
Gauge: 41 stitches and 46 rows = 10 cm

Pandemic
Currently working from home and leaving as infrequently as possible during the COVID-19 pandemic. Outlook seems grimmer everyday; health, economy all grim.

Current Weather
-3C and mostly cloudy.

Chemo Cap

It felt like a wild ride to finish another Chemo Cap for my Mom. Even though I only lost a game of yarn chicken once:

Well, that sucks

And I had the right amount of yarn after frogging back a few rows, it still felt like an adventure. That's what passes for one around here.

Pattern: mostly the Sockhead Slouch Hat  by Kelly McClure - I massaged the numbers a little since my gauge was different
Yarn: Lang Yarns Denim Cotton Recycled in 802
Needle: 3.0mm
Gauge: 23 stitches in 10cm

Trying to be artistic....

Current Weather

-19C and cloudy.

Socks

More socks have dripped from the needles. Love it when that happens, I didn't seem to have much sock mojo last year* but so far this year seems better; these didn't even take a full month to finish. Andy they came out a lot more identical than I was really trying for. Very odd.

Keeping these for myself, it's hard to see in the picture but there's a sparkly thread spun through the yarn. I deliberately made these a little shorter than normal because I'm a little worried that the sparkly thread will be itchy.

Pattern: improvised basic sock
Yarn: Zwerger Garn Opal Lucky Sparkle in 9484
Needle: 2.5mm
Gauge: 41 stitches and 46 rows = 10 cm

Current Weather
-1C and clear. It's just a tease, no real signs of Spring yet; the groundhog lied. Again. It happens most years. Not sure why we keep letting the little liar keep prognosticating.

* I looked back through my records and it looks like my sock production last year was bang-on average. No idea why it feels like I hardly finished any.

Weekly WIP Update

Yeah, so; these aren't exactly happening every week but there's only so many times you can repeat, "not much has changed so I didn't bother to take a picture" without being boring to the point of tears.

First up this week are some socks, sort of spring like colours but still mostly wool since this is Canada after all.

Next up are a couple of cancer caps for my Mom, I'd like her to have a few to choose from. Hopefully she doesn't get so sick from the chemo that she doesn't care what hat she's wearing.

 

And my gray vest and blue sparkly sweater have come out of sleep mode and gotten a little longer.

 

And a new, very dark brown, cardigan has been cast on. This one is worsted weight and feels like it's just flying along.

In frustrating news, I had to buy new 4.0mm needle tips this week because one of mine has disappeared. I still have one tip but it's kinda useless without the mate to go with it. Then, when I tried to use the new tips I discovered that the cable I was planning to use needs gluing and I don't have any other cables long enough for this project that aren't already in use. I was planning to cast on a cancer cap so I just cast on the grey one above instead so all is not lost.

That is the one downside I have found to Knit Picks interchangeable needles, at least the old ones that I have, this may not be an issue with a newer cable; the end join occasionally works loose. I just use some strong glue and put it back together and it's good to go, but it does mean the cable is out of commission for a day while the glue cures. This kind of glue takes 24 hours to completely cure.

Current Weather
-13C and partly cloudy. Winter came back again.

Black Pullover

Finished another cotton sweater, actually this one is a cotton/linen blend. This was improvised from the bottom up as most of my sweaters have been lately, I haven't even tried to follow a pattern for the last half dozen or so sweaters. Or socks. Or hats; no wait I did follow a pattern for my Mom's first cancer hat.

My lousy photography skills make it hard to see the neck line but it's the same as Celestial from a few months ago. This one came out much wider though due to a math error when I was calculating how many stitches to leave for the neck and I accidentally calculated that I would need 45% of the total stitches on the body of the sweater instead of 40% making it much wider than is really needed. Oh well, it's still wearable.

The colour on this one is a true black which goes well with my Scent Hurdle team's colours of black and yellow. Yeah, I don't know who's idea that was but it does make us easy to see at a tournament.

I did make a mistake near the end when I forgot to switch to the smaller needles for the cuff ribbing. Meh, I'm not going back now.

Pattern: my own
Yarn: Knit Picks CotLin in Black
Needle: 4.0mm & 4.25mm
Gauge: 19 stitches in 10cm

Ahab
Ahab is doing well since having four lumps removed earlier this week. The bad new is that one looks a lot like lymphoma. Still waiting on the official biopsy results but that was the vet's opinion after removing the lump. Poor pup is stuck in a cone for the next week.

Current Weather
-1C and mostly cloudy.

Niece Socks

Finished a pair of socks for my Niece's birthday in March. Basic top down sock done with an interesting yarn as usual. My favourite. I do like this parifect yarn; although fraternal socks are also OK.

Pattern: basic sock
Yarn: Schachenmayr Regia Pairfect in 01731
Needle: 2.5mm
Gauge: 41 stitches and 46 rows = 10 cm

Other News
A friend let me run her dog so I played Scent Hurdle today. So much fun. I was saying to multiple people today that ever since Ahab retired from Scent Hurdle I have never been so busy at a tournament. People offer me dogs to run or I judge the tournament or something. So. Much. Fun.

Also went snowshoeing on Saturday with some friends; that was also fun but my calves keep reminding me that it would be helpful to be fitter when doing these things. Sigh.

Current Weather
-12C and mostly cloudy. Doesn't feel nearly this cold.

Cancer Comfort Cap

I don't think I've actually said this here before but my Mom's health problems are Breast Cancer, she was diagnosed just a couple weeks before Christmas last year. Just when she found out she could have her hip surgery any time; gotta take care of the cancer first though. In order to make sure she has something from me to keep her warm during what will likely be a difficult time as she goes through chemo treatment I plan to knit her several hats. This is the first.

I hope to do at least two more so she has a choice of hats to wear since, unfortunately, she has been told that this type of chemo almost guarantees hair loss.

Pattern: Cancer Comfort Cap by Universal Yarn
Yarn: King Cole Cotton Top DK in Grey
Needle: 3.25mm & 3.5mm
Gauge: 24 stitches and 32 rows = 10 cm in Reverse Stockinette

Fun fact, it is one of my pictures that shows up when you look at the yarn's Ravelry page.

Ahab
Also, unfortunately it's more bad news; I found  lump on Ahab. When I took him to the vet she found three more, she did an ultrasound and did not find anything untoward inside him but I still want to have the lumps removed and biopsied so we know what we're dealing with here.

Every time I turn around this year there is more bad health news. I'm actually done with 2020 and I'm quite prepared to skip to 2021 anytime now.

Current Weather
-3C and partly cloudy.

Weekly Update

Once again this is not a WIP update but an FO.

Finished my next cotton sweater. Modified the pattern enough to call it Cotton Vest III. Went up a needle size and had to change a number of things due to the change in stitch count. Also went with a longer body and shallower arm hole; not sure I like it as much may go back to the other way I was doing them. Will know for sure after it's washed.

Pattern: My own
Yarn: Bernat Handicrafter Cotton Ombres & Prints in Sonoma Print
Needle: 5.0mm & 5.5mm
Gauge: 15 stitches and 21 rows = 10 cm

Some progress was also made on my Niece's socks but not enough for a picture.

Current Weather
0C and clear. The nice warm weather continues for another week.

Finished Red T-Shrit

The Red T-Shirt is now finished. Well, mostly finished anyway; it needs a wash. I'm leaving my final verdict for after washing but I think it will work out well. I ordered more yarn for a couple more so.....

Pattern: My own
Yarn: Knit Picks Lindy Chain in Serrano
Needle: 3.0mm
Gauge: not sure yet, needs to be measured post washing

Current Weather
3C and mostly cloudy. The Chinook continues.

Weekly WIP Update

This week was all about the red t-shirt. There was some progress on my Niece's socks too but not enough for a picture.

So far it looks like this might actually work as a t-shirt; or, at least as a light, single layer when it's warm. And it has used less yarn than I expected which is nice too. Won't be entirely sure until it has been washed and worn once.

Current Weather
0C and cloudy. A Chinook has finally pushed out the extreme cold of last week when we were dealing with temperatures in the -30C range. Today felt like t-shirt weather.

Weekly Update - Olive Green II

Note that this is not a WIP update, I finished my Olive Green II and decided to post about that instead. OK, OK, fine; as you can tell from the picture the sweater is currently blocking. I'm still calling it finished though.

It was my second try to get this sweater right, the first time it was too small. This time it is just right. Both the sleeves and the front placket of the yoke are something I worked out myself, I highly doubt it is anything new to the world of knitting, or designing, just new to me.

Pattern: my own
Yarn: Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport in Olive Spring
Needle: 3.25mm & 3.75mm
Gauge: 22 stitches and 33 rows = 10 cm

Picture is terrible because I had my back to the window, it was the only way to take a picture as my usual blocking space has been taken over by someone else's clothes.

Current Weather
-17C and mostly cloudy. It has been bloody COLD for the past week. The Star Was Scarf is getting a lot of wear.

Weekly WIP Update

Progress this week was limited to two projects, I basically ignored everything else; mostly because I'm getting close to finishing my green sweater. And socks just sort of happen.

The Olive Green II sweater is getting very close to done, only part of one sleeve and the neck remain to be finished.

And my Niece's birthday socks have been started. These aren't needed until March but it never hurts to get ahead.

Current Weather
2C and sunny.

2019 Year in Review

Well, that wraps up 2019. Not the best year on record I'm afraid. I lost both Mouse and Soccer and my Mom got some bad health news. I suppose the good thing about Mom's news was it forced me to go see a doctor myself for the first time in far too long. My results are all good except for high blood pressure.

Mom's bad health news will mean a rough year in 2020 so I feel like I'm bracing myself for it. Deep breath.

Starting with pets

Mouse left us in March after a sudden, brief illness. It is astonishing how much of a hole such a small, quiet cat left behind.

Then a second whammy when Soccer passed in July. I miss the stubborn, pushy old fellow.

Ahab is enjoying being the only pet, it's also possible we've been spoiling him. Just a little.... OK, fine; maybe a lot. His health seems to be fine so far (touch wood) still just a little arthritis in his joints slowing him down but otherwise he's in excellent health.

No changes with Eclipse either, she does like being a pasture potato. Best retirement ever.

And moving on to knitting

First thing finished in 2019 was a pair of socks, the usual basic socks made with interesting yarn. Kept these for myself. That's right, I selfish knit.

Then I finally, finally finished Spruce. This sweater took two years because I stalled out on the yoke, and it took me months to figure out that I didn't want another raglan style. I don't know if the yoke I ended up using has a name or not but I must like it because I've now made several sweaters with this yoke or a variation on it.

Then I made myself an Ugly Christmas Vest. Yes, in January. I even wore it this Christmas. This picture doesn't have the buttons but they're there now.

I always need a few socks right away at the start of the year since there are a cluster of birthdays all at once. Here are my Niece's socks. My Dad and Nephew's socks were finished in 2018 during an impressive sock run.

Then I finished Parchment. The first of three fingering weight cotton/acrylic blend sweaters, the yarn is Knit Picks Comfy Fingering Weight, I would love a couple more of these. A dark grey and a light grey perhaps..... Or maybe a bright red..... decisions, decisions..... I ended up taking the neck out of this sweater and re-making it, you can see my second attempt in the second picture.

 

I had a need for some socks for my own sock drawer so three pairs of socks dripped from the needles in rapid succession. Including my Time Traveler socks at last. If you don't know which pair that is or why they're called Time Traveler you need to turn in your Nerd Card.

 

Then I finished a sweater that was too small. Urgh. No idea why I continued until after blocking it before I admitted defeat but I did. It is now being re-knit a little larger.

Ravelry says I completed a pair of booties next but apparently I didn't take a picture and I'm not exactly sure where they are.

Then I completed the second fingering weight cotton/acrylic sweater. This one is a lovely dark green. You can see I did a much better job with the yoke where the sleeves attach compared to Spruce. The neck is just slightly too snug on this one, I have to take my glasses off to put it on or off. But, once it's on it fits great.

Then I needed some summer socks. These are a cotton/acrylic blend. I really don't like knitting cotton socks so these took quite a while to finish.

Next a wool vest. Not sure I will be keeping this one as I don't like how the shoulders sit or the way the weight of the hood pulls at the yoke. It may get re-made into a different vest.

Next came my pride and joy for 2019: my very own Star Wars Scarf! I love this scarf and have been wearing it at the slightest hint of cold. Unfortunately it was too warm for it when I went to see Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. This is a double knit fabric and I have fallen in love with this technique, the fabric it makes is wonderful. The down side is that it is a fairly slow technique since you basically have to work each stitch twice every time. It is totally worth the effort though.

Then came two sweaters for my Wee Niece for her birthday. I usually do socks for birthdays but she was spotted in a video call wearing another sweater I had made for her so I decided on a sweater. Then made her two because she's still small enough I can still make her a sweater pretty quickly. And she wears the sweaters; this is important because there is no point in investing all the time and yarn needed for a sweater that won't be worn. There have been multiple sightings of her wearing the heathered sweater since it arrived, apparently it is currently one of her favourite sweaters. One really must take advantage of this willingness to wear hand knit sweaters while it lasts.

 

A hoodie sweater for myself came next. This was a re-knit of another sweater that didn't work out quite right. Wool yarn isn't cheap so I didn't want to have an unworn sweater sitting around. I have worn this one many times since it was finished. Or re-finished.

Another car seat baby blanket came next.

And then came Celestial, it was this project where I perfected the yoke for this series of fingering weight cotton/acrylic blend yarn. Unfortunately, I don't know if you can see it in this picture.

After something of a sock drought these were finally finished and went to Mom for her birthday.

Then another baby blanket, this one is not meant for a car seat. I made up this pattern and I really like how the textured stripes came out.

Since my Wee Niece got sweaters for her birthday this year she got socks for Christmas. I don't do a lot of Christmas knitting, too much pressure, but I'm willing to make an exception for someone who wears so many of my knits. Plus my other Niece and Nephew have reached the gift card age.

And Dad's birthday socks are all set for 2020.

And a blanket which has been on the needles since Aug. 2018. Glad to have this one done at last. There is a surprising amount of yarn left after finishing this so it may get some matching booties, and maybe a sweater and a hat.

And one final pair of socks for my Nephew's birthday in February. Squeaked these under the wire by finishing them on New Year's Eve. Yup, that's how exciting it is around here.

To recap:
24 projects completed
10 pairs of socks
8 sweaters
7 gifts
3 little blankets
3 things sent to Scotland
2 vests
1 Star Wars scarf

Word of the Year
I think I succeeded with this; for 2019 my word was 'active' and after moving to a new office for work I did start walking the dogs in the morning, my consistency did sort of fade once Winter set in though. More to do with ice than with snow or cold, although cold is a factor for Ahab.

For 2020 the word will be - health.

Current Weather
0C and mostly cloudy, the wind has stopped so I thing the Chinook is close to over.