Stripe socks

Well it seems I have found my knitting mojo. I am having all of the knitting feelings. I am fighting a consuming case of start all of the things. I want to sort through my stash and pet some yarn. I've been perusing so many patterns. One moment I am looking at shawls, the next is is sweaters, then on to mittens. I have knit several things in my head and they all came out perfectly, if only they were not imaginary. 

But in reality I have knit a few things let me tell you about this little pair. Made from some of my new favorite yarn. Urth Uneek Sock. I may love them partially because I am a phonetic speller and once I realized this company would have upped my 4th grade spelling test by a point if they had been around then. I still have no idea why "of" is not spelled "ove", what about oven people?

I must say I don't love the fact that they number their colorways. It may be easier but I really want to know what "patience sunshine" looks like to someone else. I'm guessing something blue-green with orange-yellow. But that could just be me. 

 

By my own definition these were fun TV knitting time. And that is all that matters. At first they started off a bit baby shower colors, well more of a hip baby shower maybe.

 

But then the green came in and all was right with my knitting universe again. Wait is that brown and gray paired next? It is battle of the neutrals coming down the foot.

This was the first time I knit from the inside of the ball for this yarn and I was not sure I liked the way the colors changed. I might have enjoyed knitting them more if they were opposite. I did think of knitting the second sock in reverse order but my symmetrical side hit me with rolled up newspaper and yelled Bad Knitter! at me so it was not considered very long. I'm not saying others couldn't do it that was, but alas my character flaws would not allow it. 

I was pretty happy when I looked down at them in my Birkies and I could see how pretty they looked on my feet.

Something about the colors changing all the time makes this yarn knit up faster. My January socks were done before mid month. Leaving me with plenty of time to start something else. Oh come on you've been here long enough to know there were three other something elses on my needles this whole time. 

I'm knitting at least three rows on that shawl that will eventually be finished, but man is it a slog. I found two mistakes right next to each other 4 rows back and thought there ain't no way I'm going back to fix them. So I didn't and so far I am fine with that decision. 

Happy Knitting! 

One Step at a time

Since I have been so productive in my knitting lately, I'm dusting off a project that has been in time out for a while. It is not my oldest WIP but I really don't want to talk about that one right now.

I pulled this one out. I'm happy with it so far I guess but it needs to get done. I had a panic moment when I thought I had lost my notes on this, and would not be able to figure out were I was on the pattern. First things first take a picture so at least I can compare to the pictures of finished ones. Looks like I don't have that far to go. (She says before realizing she stopped before the bobble section.)

This pattern gave me an insight on myself. I loathe making one stitch into five stitches then turning it back into one stitch a few rows later. Loathe! I buckled down and finished out clue three and vowed to never knit another bobble again. Yes I had checked the finished ones to make sure this was the last clue with a bobble. I should have named this my Outside my comfort zone shawl.

Mellie decided she could be my bobble knitting support cat. She was thrilled I pulled this out and sat down to knit in the comfy chair. Plus a little Christmas glow is always nice.

Burt punched in as a knitting supervisor on another day. Who doesn't want lap time and Christmas lights?

I have pulled out all the tools on this knit too. I bought these nifty stitch markers at a local wool festival in October because I knew I still needed to knit on this shawl. I've been using my clip on ten row stitch markers on this too. This shawl has so much bling on it during the complicated bits the cats still hear the tinkle of bells.

But I'm not just knitting either. I made some cinnamon rolls and overbaked them.

I tried my hand at making upside-down pineapple cake for the second time. It was good but I don't think I need to bake it again soon. I do feel a nice lemon drizzle pound cake in my future though.  

Sitting next to the cake is another experiment. I fermented garlic in honey. Yeah I know I'm not sure how I feel about it either. I had to burp it once a day for a week. Oh the smell was so strong. It is supposed to be an immunity booster but I've not tried it too much yet. The smell did mellow as the week went on but still, Yowsa!

Mellie forgave the smell and kept on knitting with me. We are slowly making our way through clue 4 then on to clue 5 and finishing. 

I have finished a pair of socks and mittens in the meantime to keep my easy knitting brain calm. This shawl will be a long haul. My friend that suggested this knit along is long past being finished with hers. Heck she even finally blocked it. I'm not jealous at all. I have a clue and a half to go and it will be done by 2024. Mellie says I have to!!

Being busy

The start of a new year! So fresh and inviting. I don't really make resolutions but I do make knitting plans and try new habits. I learned long ago resolutions are like ultimatums you give yourself and I don't respond well to ultimatums. I do however think about things I would like to change and try to move forward with making some changes. 

 

I inherited D's grandmother's recipe box a while ago. And thinking about it I would like to tell a bit about it one day. I pulled it out while organizing the pantry and gave it a look since we have been watching Great British Bake Off again. I found a gem called Matrimonial Cake (date bars), since I had already landed my prince I did not feel the need to make this one, but maybe for our anniversary? 

It was quite fun looking through the box again. So many newspaper clipped recipes and even a clipping of her being the senior citizen of the month. I knew what her priorities were when I found the divider card originally labeled vegetables had been changed to cookies. I mean who needs recipes for veggies you just open a can and heat them up, right? Ah midwest cooking a topic for another day.

D had a migraine flare and I knew that once you give it a day or two it is time to take yourself out for an easy hike and enjoy some fresh air. You just have to enjoy The Sandias whenever you can. 

The new year kicked my knitting into over drive. I think just sitting with yarn and patterns and thinking of what to knit is just the refresh I wanted. I pulled out some of my new beloved striping yarn from Urth and started some socks. It is true for me that self striping yarn knits up quick. I have already finished my January socks! 

And planning pays off too since I finally found my favorite match of colorway name and pattern name socks. Pattern is My Cup of Tea Socks by Robin Lynn and the yarn is named Lemongrass Tea. The pattern is sort of the one I referenced. I /rewrote/reworked it for the stitch count I like and I think I left half of the repeat behind. What I'm knitting doesn't really match the pictures I saw online. They will be fantastic anyways and be truly unique to my foibles. That is what you get when you rewrite something then let it sit for a week or so. You forget the details and why your stitch count is different from what you planned. I am loving them regardless.

I have more knitting to show off but one of the things I would like to do is blog more so I may as well end here. 

Some Things Never Change

This year was a hard year full of twists and changes. I'm happy we got through it together and overall happily. There was a rush to finish Hubby's Christmas socks. But considering I started them in December it was not too bad. I was distracted by the two very big things I knit and finished. I will not complete my self imposed 12 pairs of socks this year. I did manage to eek out 11 pairs and cast on two more. Hey that shawl was like knitting several pairs of socks. I just went round and round and round, just like socks. It was the task and balm I need to work through Mom's passing. I'm still thanking past me for having the foresight to recognize what I would need before I needed it. And to buy the right yarn and have it here ready... past me rocks! 

Present me is doing what I do every year end twitching with excitement planning all the fun things I can knit in the coming year. I always like to plan and organize my knitting even if it never makes it past the planning. It is more about the possibilities of what my knitting holds for the year. This year I did a mild stash tosh under the guise of organizing my new Rhinebeck room. Most of my yarn is still in vacuum bags and water proof containers from the move. But now most of the sock yarn is properly organized in smaller boxes with brands tucked safely together. I feel so accomplished having most of my sock yarn stacked in a corner for easy perusal. See how planning helps me love my stash even more?

I managed to get photo evidence of my 11th pair of socks for the year so I would remember I do this for joy and not for pressure.

I remembered how nice it is to have tools to help keep track of my knitting. What a fun assortment. A nice way to mark our first year here by getting some cacti and chiles.

My 12th pair of 2022 to carry over into 2023 because knitting may lag but it is always needed and appreciated by me. I'm knitting Lemongrass Tea colored yarn into the My Cup of Tea sock pattern by Robin Lynn. So I guess I will be starting off the year as I intend to carry on with it.

Happy knitting in 2023. 

Not a Doggie Door Thank You Very Much

Momma are you sure this will work?

Oh you're holding the outer door open for me?

Get ready world I am going outside!

It is better when you hold it open for me. I don't have to smush my face against it.

Yes this way is much better.

You're right it is a portal to freedom!

Managing Grief

Earlier this year I was thinking of what to knit. I was looking for something that I would not have to think too much about. I knit a bunch of socks and one of the things I adore about knitting them is that I can just go round and round with them. It is blissfully mindless. Some may call it meditative.

I told you I was planning and planning sometimes requires purchasing. 

I had found Viajante a while back. It looked a bit like a lovely huge sock, but not like a sock. More like a shawl/poncho/cowl combo that knits up similar to a sock. Round and round but never boring. My first laceweight project, plenty of meditation time.

I pulled out the supplies and did a bit of planning when Mom started to let go. I knew travel would be coming and I knew there would be a lot of people and feelings. I needed something to do with with my hands and my feelings. I needed an outlet.

I started to knit and realized I needed to go up a few sizes in needles. I'm a tight knitter to begin with and stress and worry does not make any of us loose and relaxed.

Mellie and Burt helped me to sort out my anxiety and grief. Mellie took a lot of the beginning shifts. She is an excellent girl, My Mellie.

The shawl grew slowly through my trip home to say goodbye. It grew in airports and cars and homes.

I was asked if I was nervous was that why I was knitting? I was asked what I was knitting and tried to explain. What I should have said was I was knitting my grief away. I was knitting for calm and peace. I was knitting to help me say goodbye.

Burt was here to welcome me home and provide his comfort. He only left my lap when I needed to get up. Burt my personal grief counselor. My boy knows how to rumble healing into a body.

And now the shawl continues with my healing. I'm on my last ball of yarn but I'm sure I will be happy to wear my light but huge shawl to comfort myself once it is done. Sometimes we knit for fun, sometimes for companionship, most of the time for comfort, whatever the reason our knitting is there for us as we are there for the ones we love.

Remembering Mom

It is odd the way grief and loss hit you. 

I was in the kitchen  few days ago puttering around and realized how happy it made me because I feel closer to mom when I am in there. I love warming up the house and making it smell good with baking and cooking. I get my want to take care of others by feeding them from her. We will not tackle how Food = Love is not a great basis for healthy eating another day. 

D came home from the trip feeling a bit off. It was very cold while we were there and we were not prepared. We bounced from house to house and despite other's best efforts to make us feel welcome and at home, the strain and stress took its toll. I admitted defeat every day for the first three we were back home. I was wiped out, exhausted and dehydrated. I missed home and my kitties. I was dealing with grief and loss. I was so far off my game it hurt. D promised me a nice quiet weekend and a fair bit of staying home and no other people for me. As nice as it is to see family I needed some serious recharging. Alas the first day back he found something that required a trip to the hardware store. Guess he had been missing home and once he was back he was ready to finish tasks that would make it better. 

I grudgingly went with him to Burt's dismay, and my own. We stopped into Costco to pick up stuff for a birthday feast too. Back to the house to finish up the project but we both got distracted and didn't think of it again till we went to bed early. Oh wait I managed to wedge in a nap that day to restore my human status. D puttered around is awesome garage work space and I knit and recharged. I need to tell you about the best project I could have picked for the trip too.

While we were back for Mom's service my aunt's house went from Halloween to Christmas. I giggled to myself and thought it was too early. Once we were home we both looked at each other and said why not? Too early be damned. If I want to put up colorful lights, I get to put up colorful lights. So we went off to get me more colorful lights. Burt resigned himself to the loss of lap time, but recharged once he saw the tree and lights going up. I keep looking up at them and feeling better.

I'll tell you more once I get my thoughts all in the same group. But for now I wanted to let you know we're doing OK.