Saturday, March 16, 2024

Making New Kitty Memories

I don't know why but Google tells me someone is going back and looking a blog posts from years ago. I was curious to see what I was talking about back then and just spent several pleasant minutes reading about some good memories. Well there was a bit of worries in there too. But you know what I noticed. I love the pics of my fine felines.


Mellie finds true joy and peace in my pile of shawls.

She finds no joy in empty food bowls, but she is looking trimmer which Momma finds joy in.

Burt and Mellie remain adorable, as always.


 Look at my half floofed tail!!!!

I caught him in at the end of his zoomies and oh boy was he feeling it that day.

Here's to being able to look back at these and smile one day.

Saturday, March 2, 2024

Not Completely Stalled

While I was feeling stalled I pulled out a kit I bought in 2021. 




I didn't love the kits color scheme so I ordered a few other colors. I'm not much a pastel person and have learned to love the entire warm color family.


I started with the cowl and fell in love with the colors and pattern. I always forget how quickly accessories knit with thicker yarn and bigger needles knit up, bam in five days I had a new cowl.
 

OK fine the bag was one of the biggest reasons I got the kit.

There is just something about knitting colorful stripes that suspends time. 


I got sidetracked by a pair of socks for a bit but then the pair of mitts cast themselves onto my needle. I blinked and three days later I was weaving in ends on these lovelies. 




Squishy, toasty finger warmers.



I've been happily drifting along in my knitting. Not stressing about much and dreaming about what I'd like to make. A pretty happy existence indeed.





 

Thursday, February 22, 2024

That is That

I finally fluffed out the shawl and did not care for what I saw.  The green and the grey are gorgeous together, but that variegated just left me blah.
 

And there was so much of it. Even though the most used yarn was the grey, the "kid's birthday party at full scream" portion was longer and thinner and went on forever. So I texted a friend and we agreed to go with my gut and frog this thing. The yarn is safely bake in its cake formation, ready to be knit into something else.


Burt and Mellie decided I needed a very full lap and came to comfort me. It is always a little sad when your knitting doesn't work out but it is always better to admit and move on to something else.



 I mean really Momma? What were you thinking?

I knew long ago that it was not going to be great but I was having fun and not hurting anyone. I didn't even cut yarn really and only wove in two ends. In my heart I knew.



Luckily I followed my heart and ordered a couple of books to round out my knitting library. I guess I'm happily in love with Melanie Berg's patterns now. Should take me a while to work through a few of these.

Friday, February 16, 2024

Stalling Out

To fight off my knitting funk I found the brightest yarn in my stash and decided to cast on a three color shawl. The colors don't intermingle in Ashburn too much, so I thought the grey might be a nice break in the shockingly bright colors.


My journey begins with this charming variegated yarn. I mean doesn't it just make you feel happy in the midwinter blahs?

 


Still ever so cheerful.



Wait a minute what is up with this pooling? I mean pooling is always a factor with variegated yarns but come on! This is not cool.




Whew there is a nice snowy tree to calm us. Keep on knitting my friends, we can always rip back if we hate it. Plus the grey textured stitch seems to be working with this.



That is not looking terrible. See how nice the grey calms it down?



See how nice that texture looks in the grey? And I thought it would be lost in the grey.



Now for a taste of the green.



See how that looks good together?


What do you think Mellie?


I think you should knit more without asking me questions. It is your knitting I'm just here for the warm lap.

I am at the bind off stage and I still don't know how I feel about the shawl. I loved knitting on it and will definitely knit another one. But i don't know if I am going to rip back this one or not. I really need to fluff it all out and maybe try it on. I think I just don't like variegated yarns in shawls a whole lot. I do like how the green and grey look together.

Don't mind me while I wander off to knit a sock or ten before I make a decision. Knitting decisions require patience. 

 

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Loose Ends

I've been at loose ends with my knitting for a bit now. I am knitting but I seem to be taking it slow. I usually have two or three socks on the go and something bigger or more complex on the needles. I finished the year with the knitting slate clean and was in no rush to cast on anything. Quite unusual for me and a bit unsettling. You have seen my bouts of Startitis. Now it is like I have Nope-itis. Maybe it is just that we have enough socks. I have so many and D has almost that amount. I have gotten so desperate to knit for friends. Yes that is right there are three sets of feet not married to or sharing DNA with me that have socks knit by my hands. I know I'm shocked too. I mean it does make me happy when a cold spell hits and they send me pics of themselves enjoying my socks. I really enjoy those pics.

Maybe it is mid winter slump in a very sunshiny place? Is it possible to have Seasonal Affective Disorder in the opposite way? I mean this is peak knitting weather/season why has my mojo left? Maybe it is tucked in a mountain cabin drinking hot chocolate and reading by the fire?

Maybe it is living in a post Covid world, which really isn't post at all. How many times can we tell ourselves it will be better in a year? I mean in a lot of ways it is better but in a lot of ways we are just living with four years of smushed up and elongated time and trauma. Now that I have said the thing that we don't talk about lets get back to knitting.

I've let myself feel my feelings and thought of ways to get myself in gear again. 

First I cleaned up my desk in my knitting room. You'll notice I didn't say cleaned off, because a clear desk is an abomination in my eyes. I don't believe in putting everything away because I know that just means I will be pulling 15 other things out to fill the space. I think I could get three things put away as a kid before I found the most amazing thing I ever saw to play with. I fluffed some stash and stared longingly at it both in real life and on various screens. Did you know I take a lot of pictures of my yarn? When I buy it, when I wind it up, when I'm working with it? So many pictures of my yarn!

Finally my brain picked one out and said my friend that likes blue will like this. So I texted to make sure then I cast on. Finally a sock on the needles.


Mellie recognized that a little encouragement goes a long way and hopped up to give me some warm lap might as well knit vibes.


I even dug out a kit I bought in 2021. You know big yarn, big needles and lots of color changes make for some mesmerizing knitting. I finished a lovely cowl in only five days. I started some matching mitts but they need some work.


While my knitting room is never going to look like this again, not just because we sold that house, a bit of dusting off and organizing can help calm my mind and redirect some knitting mojo back to finding my next projects. 



So keep on finding ways to boost happiness and creativity, even if it involves dusting something, yikes!

Tuesday, January 30, 2024

A Small Walk Back in Time

I've been exploring options for keeping my many pictures stored together. Oh boy has that been a walk down memory lane. I found so many old pictures. Oh I backed up the recent ones too. For two years it was all Burt all the time.

I miss these two so much. We had 19 years together with Gus the Grey Goose and 17 with Jack the Eternal Little Bro.

Gus made three multi state moves along with three apartments and one house. He definitely loved having a house to stomp through. 


Jack did two big moves with two apartments and one house. So yeah not quite the same shared history but we all happily coexisted for quite a long time. 

Jack would have baked himself to death here. My boy loved his sunshine. He would have been so bored though without squirrels to scare here. 

They were both my knitting companions, we held down the couch really well. 





But no one will ever appreciate a handknit shawl like Gus did. I love that little tail curl holding the shawl close.

 

My cats leave many pawprints on my heart and I am so thankful to have them.

Saturday, January 27, 2024

Bright Ashburn Shawl

My knitting mojo has been on winter vacation. I futzed around for a bit till a new project picked me. We have had some snow and colder weather and bright colors just called to me. I bought three Melanie Berg shawl patterns last year. Ashburn is the last one I have yet to knit. Looks like you're on deck.

After some discussion with my NY friend, we decided the two brights should be separated by the calming grey. I cast on and could not resist how cheerful the bright colors made me.



Now that pooling was not a happy accident, but something that regularly happens when your stitch count changes. I don't love it but maybe it won't bother me in the long run. 



I was worried that the textured stitch would be lost in the solid grey portion. But again what project is without worry? I forged ahead and ended up really liking how well it worked out.


Wait this may be the wrong side of the work. Well it is still pretty regardless if it is wrong or right.

I'm on to the final color and still liking how this is going, but I have not had the courage to spread it all out and really look at it. Now that the snow has passed I am afraid I will blind someone with these colors in the Albuquerque sun. 


Ah they are New Mexicans they will be just fine. They are used to bright colors, if the colors are all shades of brown... It is hot and brown here in the summer! So very brown!