Sunday, November 24, 2019

Only Four Weeks to Knit

Every year I leave the Christmas knitting to the last minute.  Maybe when I don't work full-time I'll get better organized and start my knitting earlier.  I have requests from the girls and Trisha's boyfriend.  Neither Blake nor Ed has asked for anything.  I have an idea for Blake which I might also make for Ed.  It hit me the other day that I better get started because Christmas is only a little over four weeks away.  My other WIPs are getting relegated to the holding queue while I get a few things made for the big day.

On top of the family knitting, a co-worker asked me to make something for his wife.  He saw one of my Starshower cowls and asked if I'd knit one so that he can give it to her for Christmas.  He asked for it to be black.  I wasn't sure black would be the best for this pattern, so I made an executive decision to find something I thought was a little more suitable.  While at VKL Market, I found a skein of  Modestar from ModeKnit Yarn in Pewter.  It is a tonal dark grey with Stellina.  Very lovely.  Close to black but not so stark.  I think the Stellina will work perfectly with the texture of the pattern.   Ravi approved the yarn so now I can get started.

In the below photo, the color is a bit more blue than it is in real life.  It is turning out as lovely as I had hoped, but the nickel needles are a pain to work with.  The yarn is slipping too much.  I was getting frustrated last night when I started this.  Hoping that as it gets larger, and my hands get used to working with this yarn/needle combination, it will go more smoothly.


Trisha asked for a hat like the one I made from my VKL Brioche class.  She asked for one in green/olive.  I have one repeat of the brioche pattern finished.  I should be able to get this done in a couple more nights.  That'll be one thing checked off the list.  


Trisha's boyfriend also wants a hat.  He wants a basic beanie in black or dark grey.  I'll do a stash dive later and pull out some Lopi I know I have that will work out great.

Kristin's ask will take a bit longer.  She wants one of those big blankets.  Someone she knows made one in a class.  Kristin sent me a picture with a request for one.  I found some super bulky chenille online that should work for this.  As you can see it is quite fat.


Here's a picture of the ball with Squeaks for comparison.


I started casting on, but I'm not happy with the tension.  I'm going to rip this out and try something else.  It is really confusing my hands switching between this and the fingering weight for the Starshower cowl.


Time now to sign off and get some things done.  Thanksgiving is coming up in a few days.  After Ed gets home this afternoon we're going to get our grocery shopping done.  Well, at least started.  There is at least one item I'm going to have to go on a hunt for.  My family likes 'green' noodles, AKA spinach fettuccine, with their turkey.  The store where I always found them has closed and I know our Kroger doesn't carry them.  It might just have to be a retired tradition.


Sunday, November 17, 2019

Entering the Busiest Time of the Year

November is the start of the busiest time of the year.  Two of my three children have birthdays this month, we always host my in-laws for Thanksgiving and preparations for Christmas begins.

I finished the Pastiche Brioche hat from my Vogue Knitting Live class.   I love how it turned out.  Trisha said she also likes it and placed an order for one. She wants one in green tones.  It will be her Christmas knitted gift. Last week I purchased the yarn for her hat and wound the skeins the other day.  I should be able to get this done in no time.


I am hoping to get the Papillon shawl done by Thanksgiving.  I'm 2 1/2 sections away from the bind off.  It'll be close.  Stay tuned for future progress reports. 


Can't remember if I mentioned that I am also working on the Audition shawl from Michelle Hunter.  This is her last KAL.  I wasn't able to keep up with the clues, but I have downloaded the entire pattern so I'll be able to finish this.  The pattern is easy and works well for car knitting or mindless television knitting.  I have not deadline in mind so this will get set aside soon to make way for Christmas knitting.


I refer to this time of year as 'the season of eating'.  It all begins with our friends' Slava.  A Slava is a celebration commemorating the feast day of a family's patron saint.  This tradition is held by Serbian Orthodox Catholics.  My friend Vera and her family have St. George as their patron saint, whose feast day is November 16.  Each year she and her husband host a huge dinner party.  The food is always awesome,  complete with sarma (Serbian cabbage rolls), smoked pork and lamb, Russian potato salad (don't ask why it is called Russian since it's a Serbian event), other smoked meats and cheeses, ajvar (roasted red pepper spread - pronounced 'Eye-var' - my favorite), breads and lots of desserts.  

When we went to the Slava last night, I wore one of my shawls.  It is a crocheted shawl named Jenny's Faith.  I found one of the pins that had been my mom's and realized it matched perfectly.  It was a special accessory for a special celebration with one of my best friends.

Next event will be Thanksgiving.  Time to start thinking about the game plan.  The menu doesn't change but I always have to plan out the cooking schedule.   I'm not sure I'll have any of the kids home early enough to help me with the preparations I do earlier in the week.  I'll plan it that way and if any of them come home earlier than expected, I'll just have an extra set of hands to help.  Win-win!


Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Autumn Knitting

The hot weather is finally gone and autumn is here.  Last Friday, after having my annual physical, I went to the store and bought the ingredients for my favorite soup, beef barley vegetable.  It simmered in the slow cooker all afternoon and made the house smell wonderful!  It was so good!!!


Over the weekend we lit the fireplace for the first time of the season.


Great ambiance for a little knitting.  The autumnal colors of my Papillon shawl fit the mood perfectly.


Knitting was the theme for this weekend since Vogue Knitting LIVE was in town.  My friend and I browsed the Market on Friday.  Saturday morning I took a class from Xandy Peters called 'Knit Your Own Adventure'.   It was a techniques class on how to incorporate random colors, textures, stitch motifs, etc. into your knitting.  Definitely not a beginner class.  And not for someone who needs exact directions.  I found the class fun and interesting.  I have a few ideas about how I'm going to apply what I learned, but I need to finish a few projects first.  Below is my test knit from the class where I practiced using a random number generator for color work.  Because I used a slightly higher number as my upper limit, some of my colors pooled.  Xandy recommended
lowering the number spread to get more randomness in the work.


On Sunday, my friend and I both took a brioche class from Michelle Lee Bernstein.  We have done straight brioche before, but never had done increases or decreases.   Another fun class.  Once I get the class project done, I'll have a cute hat to wear.  I love this pattern so much, I'm tempted to buy more of the yarn and make a cowl to match.  The yarn was purchased Friday at Market from a vendor named 29 Bridges Studio.  The light is called Sugar Cookie and the dark is Aubergine, both in their Merino Worsted base.  It is wonderful yarn to use.



Now that the weather is cooler and the time has fallen back, the evenings are dark and cozy.  I think tonight might be a good night to snuggle under a blanket, drink a little wine (not too much because I have to work in the morning) and watch a little television.  I'm tired so I foresee an early bedtime.