Poco A Poco

 It is already more than halfway through February.  This year is flying by.  We've been very busy.

Ed is working on my craft room in the basement.  This picture was taken several weeks ago when he was working on the framing.  He is now putting up the drywall.  After that he'll install the lights, finish the electrical work, and install the floors.  At that point I'll need to paint the walls.  I haven't decided what color I want yet.  The rest of the house is a light grey.  A color appropriately named Knitting Needles.  I may just make this the same so that I can use the leftover paint we have before buying another tub.  We'll see.  My one daughter says I have too much grey in the house.  Since this is the basement, I might make it a little brighter just to not make it feel like a dungeon.  After my craft room is completed, I'm going to have the Herculian task of organizing my fabric, yarn, and books.

Before starting on the basement, Ed made me a dropzone next to the entrance from the garage.  It is nice to have dedicated spots for shoes, hooks to hang my purse and coat, and shelves to store odds and ends.

At the end of January/begining of February Ed and I escaped the cold for a long weekend and spent time at our favorite resort in Orlando.  The weather wasn't as warm as we had hoped, but it was nice to get away for a little while.  Honestly, I could have spent a few more days there.  We took walks every day and even spent a couple afternoons by the pool.  Next time I'm going to suggest we do a whole week.

This has been the winteriest winter we've had in years.  It'll go down as one of the coldest in decades.  The pond behind our house has been frozen over the majority of the time.  We'll have a few days where it warms up enough to thaw out, but then drop down below freezing and glaze over again.  We are in the middle of an 8-day stretch of temperatures well below freezing.  

The geese have been ice skating on the pond.   This picture was taken over the weekend.  We got some snow on Sunday and are predicted to get more tonight/tomorrow.  According to AccuWeather, once we break out of this cold spell over the coming weekend, we should have daytime temperatures above freezing through the rest of the winter season.  I hope it's true.  I'm ready to resume my walks.

My first, and only so far, finished object of 2025 is a Sophie Scarf.  I started this scarf last January when we were heading out on a cruise.  I got bored with it and tossed it aside after we got home.  It went to Florida with me this year and I finished it up in Orlando.  I made this out of 2 balls of Rowan Alpaca Soft DK that I had in my stash, leftover from my trip to Chicago in 2022 to take a class from Arne and Carlos.  Because of a sudden illness, I was not able to go to the class.

Side note, I see Arne and Carlos are going to be touring the US again in March.  I'd love to try again to see them, but my schedule just won't allow it.  Maybe next time.

I have many other WIPs, some new projects and others long term ones.

Nila is a sweater that has been on the needles for almost a year.  I worked on this last summer and then tossed it aside when the weather got cooler.  I'm finishing this up now so that I can wear it during the upcoming wedding festivities for my oldest daughter.  Nila is being knit out of Purl Soho Linen Quill.

Last September when my husband and I took a cruise through New England and the Canadian Maritimes, I bought yarn to make the Funnel Neck Pullover.  I started this project on New Year's Eve. This is going to be a big oversized outer layer.  I am currently on the third ball of the 4 I bought from a shop in Nova Scotia.  I'm hoping I have enough to finish, but am getting a bit concerned.  I'll work on the sleeves next with the yarn I have.  Hopefully it will be enough.  If I have to get another ball, I'll use that for the funnel neck.  May even get a different color.  Other people have done that.  Stay tuned for updates on my yarn chicken and finishing decisions.

I also started Glenfiddich on New Year's Eve.  I'm using some deep stash Plymouth Encore for this sweater.  This will be a long-term project because of the heavy cabling.  I have to concentrate to make sure I'm working them correctly.

I have a couple quick knits going for my grandkids.  The baby is going to have a handband with a bow and the grandson will get a spiral hat.  Hope to have these done by this weekend for them.

I have a few other non-knitting projects in the works

For years I've thought about a temperatur blanket, but never could motivate myself to tackle such a large project.  After seeing a few things on Facebook, I decided to do a temperature cross stitch.  This will be a tree with each leaf the color of the high temperatur of the day.  I'm outlining the leaves with the low temperatur.  The outline will be subtle but will give a little depth to the leaves.

I've been seeing a lot about English paper piecing and decided to give it a go.  I bought a kit from Kate at The Last Homely House for an EPP project bag.  I like hand stitching, but not completely sure if I like this technique.  I may try a small table runner after.

I have a few crochet projects in the works also.  The Astrid blanket is still getting a little attention now and then.  I'm also using some stash fingering weight yarn to make squares for what I hope will be blankets for my kids.  My goal is to have them done by next Christmas.

As usual I think I have overcommitted myself.  My goal for this year is to burn through some of my stash yarn.  If I get those crocheted blankets done that will make a good dent in the stash.  In the words of Fr. Mark-Mary 'Poco a poco'.  Little by little.

  

End of Year Wrap Up

 It's New Year's Eve.  Hard to believe 2024 is over.  This was a very fast year!!

Since my last post we had multiple holiday celebrations and I managed to knit a few projects.  This was all while healing from my thumb surgery.

Thanksgiving was celebrated twice.  First, on the weekend before Thanksgiving, my husband's family came for dinner.  Everyone except Kristin and her fiance, Michael, were there.  I was too busy cooking to take pictures.  

On the actual day of Thanksgiving, it was only me, Ed and Blake.  Blake did most of the cooking.  We had a non-traditional meal of Beef Wellington.  It was delicious!  We decorated the puff pastry with a squirrel to make it more festive.  And in honor of Peanut.

The following weekend we took Trisha, Craig and the kids on a Santa Train. Jameson loved it.  He was so thrilled with the lights and decorations.  This is his first year being aware of Santa Claus but he doesn't quite understand yet the entire concept. 

Since Thanksgiving was late this year, trying to get all of the Christmas preparations done was a bit of a rush this year.  My tree sat for a week with only lights and garland.  At night it was pretty.

The only Christmas knitting this year were stockings for Jameson and Olivia.  I used the Arne and Carlos patterns that they did in collaboration with Rowan.  I used Rowan Norwegian Wool.  I'm very happy with how they turned out.

I already have plans to make 2 more by next Christmas.  I made stockings for me and Ed last year.  My 3 children have the sewn stockings I made when they were little.  This year I'll make stockings for my sons-in-law.  That way everyone will have one.  Over time I'll replace the sewn stockings with knitted ones to coordinate with the rest.  You can see a couple of the sewn stockings in the below picture.  And the ones I made last year for me and Ed.

Christmas was a multi-day celebration.  On the 23rd we had our family Christmas dinner.  On Christmas Eve, we were without Trisha, Craig and the kids.  Christmas morning they came over for brunch before everyone except them headed to Cincinnati to celebrate with my siblings.

This was the first Christmas in a couple years that all 8 siblings were together.  Of course, we needed a picture to commemorate the event.

Now that Christmas is over, I'm getting some quiet time to work on various craft projects.

I found a crocheted blanket pattern that is going to help me use up my many skeins of sock yarn.

I finished my second Audrey sweater.  It is now drying in the other room.  I'm looking forward to wearing it this winter.  Some very cold weather is predicted mid-January.

I have started a Glenfiddich sweater using some very deep stash yarn.  This is not going to be a quick knit.  I may have to cast on something simpler for New Year's Eve.

For 2025, I'm going to work on decreasing my stash and finishing up some hibernating WIPs.  Ed is starting to build me a craft room downstairs.  Once it is done I'm going to take an inventory of my yarn.  I dread what that number will be.  If it's too embarrassing I probably won't share.

It's A Girl!!

My granddaughter, Olivia Grace, was born at the stroke of midnight on Saturday, October 19.  She is absolutely beautiful and perfect!

Big brother, Jameson, loves her and helps with diaper changes by unzipping her onsie and pulling wipes out of the container.  He loves to hold her and beep her nose.

Now that Olivia has arrived, I don't need to hide the items I am making for her.   This is the Kirby sweater by Berroco made out of West Yorkshire Spinners Bo Peep DK in the Piglet colorway.  It took just under 2 skeins to make this sweater. As mentioned in the last post, the remaining yarn is becoming a romper for her.

I also have a linen quilt in the works for her but my progress has slowed.  Someone likes to lay on it whenever I try to stitch on it.

The day my daughter was in labor I was very anxious.  To occupy myself, I crocheted a hexi block using instructions from Noble Character Crafts.  I'm not sure if this will turn into anything yet.  Maybe a blanket for my granddaughter.  We'll see.

This fall I've been taking a drawing class.  I never got to take any art classes in high school and have always wished I had.  This class is a Saturday morning adult enrichment class offered at the Columbus College of Art and Design.  Below is my final sketch.  There is going to be an exhibition in a couple weeks, but I'm not sure I'm going to attend.  It is the same day as my husband's family's Thanksgiving celebration and I was volunteered to host.

The instructor said  I have a good eye for composition and asked if I'd be interested in taking another class from him.  I would like to take my drawing further and also try watercolors.

In my knitting world, I started a pair of socks using some yarn I purchased in 2023 at the Kentucky Fiber Festival.  I don't remember the name of the vendor and they were going out of business shortly after the event.  The yarn is a sport weight blend of baby alpaca and mint.  It is an absolutely beautiful yarn and is working up into the snuggliest pair of socks.  

The socks are going to be a bit big on me, but I don't care.  They will be house socks anyway.

I finished my Galanta sweater.  I am happy with how it turned out and will wear it often. 

There are only two things that make this not perfect.  The sleeves are too tight and the length is a bit short for my liking.  I'm not going to do anything to the sleeves (I should try to lose some weight which would help) but I am considering lengthening the body.  I'll have to cut along a row of plain stockinette mid-body and the knit a couple inches before grafting the pieces together again.  This may be a project for later because I can't manage it right now.  Reason will be revealed below.

I cast on my next sweater project.  It is another Audrey sweater from Knitty McPurly.  I'm going to do the same modifications I did with the first one.  Squeaks approves of my plan.

But for now all crafting projects are on hold.  Yesterday I had hand surgery to remove a cyst and a bone spur.  Doing anything the requires my thumb is difficult, if  not impossible.  Hopefully I'll be able to get back to knitting soon.  I have a lot of WIPs to take care of.

 

While I recuperate, I'll just spend  more time reading and practicing gratitude.  I am truly grateful for many things right now.  My health is good.  I have a wonderful husband and brilliant children.  I have two perfect grandbabies.  I live in a country that has restored my faith in humanity.  Thanksgiving is in a couple weeks.  I will be thanking the Lord for his abundant blessings in my life.

Busy, Busy

The past couple months have been busy.  And we aren't even in the busiest time of the year yet!

Ed and I went on a cruise during the first week of September to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary.  We sailed out of New York City and visited Portland and Bar Harbor ME, Saint John NB, and Halifax NS.  We didn't do any excursions because I wasn't sure how I would be mobilitywise.  As it turned out, we probably walked far more on our own than we would have on excursions.  My 'excursions' were to visit yarn shops in the towns.  I picked up a few things and will show the finished projects whenever I get them done.  

When not walking around the ports that we visited, we spent our time relaxing on some lovely recliners on the Promenade deck.  We had a waiter that kept our glasses full.  I did a lot of knitting and reading.  It was perfect.  I occasionally had to ice my ankle to keep the swelling down.

I finished a pair of socks that I started when we went on the cruise back in January.  It was nice to get one WIP finished.

Later in September we went out to our favorite steak house on the actual day of our anniversary.

After coming home from the cruise, I had to get into high gear with some baby projects.

The first project was a sweater for a friend's new grandson.  This is Baby Sophisicate in Plymouth Yarn Encore.  Always a great choice for a quick baby gift knit.

 

I also starte the linen quilt for grandbaby #2.  This is not yet completed.  It is hard to work on because Squeaks likes to lay on it.  I guess I need to make her one also.

My daughter requested that I make Simon the Sheep from Edward's Menagerie for the new baby.  This took me a while because the tight crochet stitches were not easy for me to do.  It is now finally finished and ready to give to the little one when he/she comes.

I have a sweater made for the new baby using yarn I purchased from KnitWit Yarn Shop in Portland, Maine but I won't post a picture yet because it will reveal the gender.  My daughter and son-in-law don't know yet, but I was allowed to know so that I can work on some knits for the baby.  

I also have another baby gift on the needles using the rest of the yarn from KnitWits.  This will be a little romper.  I'm mashing together several patterns and crossing my fingers that the finished garment is wearable by the little one.

For the second time this year, we have been able to see the Aurora Borealis.  When I went outside to see them, they were a beautiful pink.  The below picture was taken using the night mode on my phone camera.

I'm hoping we have clear skies later this week so that I can see the comet that is passing close by now.

Also hoping to meet my new grandbaby this week.  My daughter is hoping her labor starts soon.  The pregnancy has been a bit difficult for her.  I'm saying my prayers that her labor is easy and ends with a healthy baby and momma.