Yopping 39 - oh baby baby baby

Well here I am, apparently on a baby garment knitting kick. Next time I get invited to a baby shower I am so ready.

I finished the Elizabeth Zimmerman baby surprise sweater:



and while I was on a roll I finally sewed up the seams and put buttons on the surprise sweater I made a year ago.



and then determined to finish up this Cascade 220 in my stash I made these baby diaper pants:




I checked my Year of Projects' master list and saw I needed a purple baby hat so I cast this on yesterday:




and I am now on Row 27 of my fourth quadrant of the tree of life. I have decided to sew it together and then knit the border onto the blanket, rather than the way it is written which is to make the border separately and then sew it on.

I have been looking for pink Kool-aid crystals to dye my white wool so I can make a pussy hat but it seems that you can't buy the unsweetened crystals in Canada anymore. So I broke down and went to Michael's and got me some Pink Paton's Astra to make one:



The colour is deep pink, but didn't photograph well. It really is pink.

Finally, and most importantly I started my first square of the Iona pattern. This is a new technique to me, and was fiddly to start, but I am really enjoying it. I am going back and forth between magic loop, two circular needles, and dpn's and haven't decided which I like best yet.

Here is my progress so far - 1 square done, 34 to go!



I am almost through my list as far as knitting projects go, so I had better get back to the spinning wheel. The weather has improved to fleece washing and drying should go easier on the back porch.

Have a good week everyone. Spring is truly here. Daffodils and everything.

Why I am a Feminist

I don't have to like the things all feminists do or say because I am a feminist.

I don't have to like the things all humans do because I am a human.

I don't have to be black to believe that black lives matter.

I do have to respect that some blacks do not want me in their spaces because I don't make them feel safe. Because I trigger something in them.

I do have to respect that queer, transgendered, or lesbian people may not want me, a cis-gendered woman, in their group.

I can be angry about things some men have done to me, and my sisters-in-arms and not be angry at all men.

I am a feminist because I have sat at meetings and said things that have been ignored but when the very same thing was said by a man at the table it was applauded.

I am a feminist because I have come up with good ideas at meetings that were later attributed to a man.

I am a feminist because I was assaulted in a pub by a table full of boys and I didn't do anything about it. Nor did anyone else.

I am a feminist because I quit a sewing course I was enjoying because a group of boys taunted me on the bus ride home.

I am a feminist because a boy tried to force me to have sex with him and I apologized to him as he drove me home.

I am a feminist because my father wouldn't let my mother work.

I am a feminist because 100 years ago I wouldn't have been allowed to vote.

I am a feminist because women are still considered to be chattal in some cultures and not too long ago in mine.

I am a feminist because a strong women is still considered bitchy, or whiny, and a strong man is considered powerful.

I am a feminist because there still is a glass ceiling.

I am a feminist because there still isn't equal pay for equal work.

I am a feminist because I see all those aged, white men in boardrooms, and parliaments and senates and it makes me crazy.

I am a feminist because I want life to be fair, and it isn't.

I am not throwing out the baby with the bath water.

Just because I speak out for women, or blacks speak out for blacks, or queers speak out for queers doesn't mean that other lives don't matter.

It just means that the lives that are needing to be heard at that moment matter and their cause does not need to be diluted.

Of course we all matter.

Of course we all should be kinder to each other.

We should all be human, just human, but we aren't there yet, and just because a movement makes some mistakes, or gets too militant, it doesn't mean the movement is or was a mistake. It just means we are growing, and learning, and striving.

Maybe being angry isn't the best way, but it is a necessary step in the way.

I don't think we should ever talk in absolutes about all men, or all women, or all blacks, or all muslims, or all christians.

We should talk about behaviours and consequences, causes and effects.

It is true that an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

But an eye for an ear makes it harder for me to see you or you to hear me.

Yopping 38 - Done with Cold Sheeping

I did finish another pair of socks:



I did almost finish the third quadrant (although I was cocky and didn't use a life line and had to redo rows 61-63 three times).
Lifeline now securely in place.




I did start my second Elizabeth Zimmerman sweater using up my Cascade 220.



and then?

Then I bought this pattern Iona, from Lucy Hague.




And then I went to the Fibres West convention to buy wool for the above said blanket.

I have always fretted about choosing colours, but Kinfolk Yarn was there, and I was determined to pick and choose and finally ended up with this:



I am so happy - and my wallet is now so light - and I am officially not cold sheeping anymore. Cold Sheep is a term used on Ravelry. By committing to going Cold Sheep (instead of cold turkey), you’re committing to not buying more yarn until you hit a certain time goal or have knit down your stash of previously purchased yarns. I have been cold sheeping for over a year (except for that wool I bought in London, and that hemp I bought last October) and I did promise myself that if I was to buy yarn once my cold sheeping was done I had to have a project in mind. And I do. So there is that.

I also bought some more hemp (300 gms) for a couple of more zodiac pot-holders.




And of course I HAD to buy more stitch markers, because, well, Houston - we have a problem.





Lastly I have some white Cascade 220 that I am going to dye pink because I just have to make myself a pussy hat. I have re-wound it into a skein and now I am off to buy some pink kool-aid.

I just have to - cause I just have to have one of 'those' hats.

Yopping Update 37- more socks

Nature abhors a vacuum, and empty needles demand cast ons.


I did finish quadrant two of my cloud drift christening blanket, and have started quadrant three, but as I said last week I was itching to cast on some new projects because having only one wip just wouldn't do.

I found the perfect pattern for the remaining 22gms of qiviut I had in my stash. I don't usually buy patterns because there are so many free ones on Ravelry, but I realized that I have no problem buying a coffee for five bucks, so I treated myself to this Arctic Qiviut pattern. It is a simple 8 row lace repeat, and it starts on 3.75mm needles, then moves to 4mm and ends with 6mm.

I haven't blocked it yet, but have worn it twice. It feels like a kitten wrapped around my neck. Now I have to go buy a white blouse to wear it with. (any excuse to shop, right?)



I had 28gms of homespun and decided to make yet another pair of Cat Bordhi's Tibetan socks. These practically knit themselves. I started Thursday and finished them last night before bed. Ta-Da! (The colour section is my homespun).



I have a similar amount of a light blue homespun, and this Alpaquita Royal blue is perfect for these house/yoga/camping/anytime socks so I am casting on another pair today. This pattern requires you knit with two strands of fingering and using the alpaca as one of the strands means that over time they felt a little and therefore wear like iron. I still have the first pair I ever knit, I wear them all the time, and nary a hole.

I bought another Lucy Hague pattern - Iona. I don't have the yarn for it, but the method to produce these celtic forms intrigued me. Fibres West is next weekend so I will go looking for the perfect yarn for this pattern and for the Seattle Cowl pattern that I also am wanting to cast-on but I don't have the right yarn in my stash.

Speaking of my stash - it is really getting very small as except for some hemp I bought last October, and the yarn I bought in London last August I have been knitting strictly from my stash.

Oh, and I won a prize on Ravelry for my stashdown efforts - 2mm nine inch ChiaoGoo Red Line needles. As soon as they arrive I will cast on another pair of socks - pattern tba.

Speaking of needles (this post is becoming very stream of consciousness) I bought a nine inch Knitter's Pride Dreamz circular in January and was not happy with the way it caught the wool at the join. I contacted Knitter's Pride and they told me to return to the store where I purchased it and they would happily replace it. I was very pleased with their customer service and the service of my LYS.

I also did some knitting on a gift - but I can't reveal anymore here just yet because - it is a gift.

Okay, I think that is my news. We did have two more days of snow last week, but it looks like the forecast is rain, rain and more rain all the coming week. I actually have crocuses up in my front yard - so yay - Spring is springing.

Happy Yopping, Happy week, and if you want to follow along with other Yoppers you can find them here.

Update 36 - Life is Funny

Yes, life is funny. I woke up to this:




It is March right?

The other funny thing is - you know those socks I frogged last week because they were making me cranky?

Well, I looked and looked for some other wool to make those Cookie a socks - Kai Mei, and I looked for a different pattern for that yarn, and well, that dark blue yarn and that pattern just wanted to be together, so I changed from dpns to my nine inch circular needles and voila!



Needless to say, my baby blanket was somewhat put on hold, but I did get to row 26 on the 2nd quadrant.

I also finished the second sock of my Tibetans using my homespun. They are so cozy and warm they have been on my feet all week because

a) I have a nasty cold (probably due to the pool/firemen fiasco of last week), and
b) it is snowing! (note snow in top of the photo)




Here is a couple of shots (before the snow) of my Uncia shawl that I was blocking last week:


As of this minute I only have one WIP on the needles, and that can't do, so I will likely cast on another pair of Tibetans (god, I LOVE Cat Bordhi), and a cowl that I want to make to use up some qiviut and homespun I have.

That's it for me this week.

Sort and sweet, because I have knitting to do, chicken soup to eat, and a new series on Netflix to binge watch - When Calls the Heart.

Did I mention it is snowing here?