Yopping Update #35 - What have I started?

 

I finished my sixth pair of socks for this year.  I had enough wool to make them both the same colour - these were a quick and easy knit.  

Socks on a Plane

I am signed up to start a Mystery Knit-a-Long tomorrow - March 1st.  It is a General Hogbuffer sock pattern so it should be interesting.  I am going to make them out of this lovely gold tonal wool. 

I started my long cardigan experimental knit.  I have soooooo many colours of Brava Sport and I didn't want to make a striped sweater.  I wanted it to be colourful, and abstract, and spent some time thinking and researching ideas.  

I remembered a painting I did when I was teaching my students in grade three about Joseph and his coat of many colours so I went to dig it out.

Then I drafted the pattern shape onto some graph paper and coloured it in. 

The sweater back and sides are knit in one piece and then the sleeves are added.  So I cast on the 220 stitches and started the garter stitch hem.  The sweater pattern wants to be in reverse stocking stitch, so I started to investigate how hard intarsia and fairisle would be on the 'wrong' side, or the garter stitch side. 

Don't even think about it.....calmer heads prevailed....I did do a swatch of garter stitch intarsia but I really didn't like the look, so I have decided  to change the pattern so the knit side of the stocking stitch is the right side. I decided this after knitting 6 rows in reverse stocking stitch and had to rip them out back to the hem.  

So last night I started again:

I already have four colours on the go, and the yarns are getting tangled as they hang from the back and I think that this may be the point where my friends and family can prove I am certifiably crazy.   I already see I am not following my design, and I am winging the shapes as I knit but I am 'going with the flow'. 

What's the worse that can happen?  I can always frog the whole thing if it comes to that.  I read through my Kaffe Fassett book hoping for some ideas about choosing colours and I loved the advice - when in doubt add more colours!  This is definitely a process sweater and a learning project so I will see if it ever becomes a product or not.  Stay tuned. 

It is funny to think that my General Hogbuffer mystery knit may become my 'relaxing' knit.  

My walks have been continuing, and I have found some more new trails to explore.  This one was beautiful and very mossy. 

So that was my week.  One finish, one crazy cast-on and one mystery to look forward to.  

Now I am off to untangle my intarsia, and continue on my project.  Wish me luck. 

Yopping Update #34 - Just keep knitting (socks)

I finished the Maryana socks without any further incidents. I had to cut the last chart short because otherwise the foot would have been far too long. Others have found a similar issue with this pattern. I was bang on with gauge, but perhaps because my foot is very narrow that made the difference with not being able to complete the pattern. However, I love the fit, and with all new socks I finish these have been on my feet constantly. I really liked how the variegated colour way worked up.

Thanks to Susi-Q for the gift of this cotton yarn

I headed back to my queue and decided to start.... wait for it ... another pair of socks. Socks on a plane have been in my queue for years and I decided to used up the wool I had left over from my Slippery Slope socks to make a fraternal pair. One sock in each colour. It is an easy pattern to remember and it is knitting up quickly. This is a toe up sock and since the cable always goes in the same direction I haven't made any mistakes. The 2nd sock will have the cable running on the other side of the foot - mirror image. 

I have been getting out for my daily walks and taking photographs to keep me inspired. Yesterday I walked a little too far and was feeling pretty weary when this sight greeted me.

You see, Mary-Anne, Spring is coming

I am struggling with blogger today. I seem to only be able to add content using the html version, and not the compose version. Sigh. I didn't sleep well at all last night and I don't need this frustration. 

 Anyways I will continue... I am thinking of starting a long cardigan using up all the remnants of my sport weight yarn. It seemed a bit daunting to start this week which is why socks are still on the go. We shall see. 

 I woke up to this lovely picture of my grand-daughter this morning.

Oh to be on that beach with her

I have been feeling 'weary' this week. Weary of CoVid worries, weary of undone housework and yardwork chores, weary of not being able to visit my dear friends and family. Just. Weary. I have been walking everyday and my walks are getting longer - closer to 4 miles some days. I feel like I am running (walking) away, but at some point I turn around and head back to my life. My life of doing dishes, making the bed, sweeping the floor, knitting, reading, occasionally dusting, weekly laundry, and far too much bingeing of TV shows. 

 Currently I am bingeing on Parenthood, mostly because I like the Dax Shepard character, but even that is getting on my nerves. There is a LOT of conflict in each episode between family members, and I am not good with conflict at the best of times, but the way they speak to each other always leaves me thinking - Do people really talk to each other like that in real life? 

 This week I am also obsessing about passwords and slowly trying to go through all my accounts and change my passwords. I used to always use a ubiquitous simple password, but in today's hacker world I realise I need to tighten up this kind of thing. Our government's tax website had a breach this past week, and although my account wasn't involved it got me thinking - what if it was? 

 What if? My friend calls this tendency of mine to 'future surf'. And when I future surf I always imagine the worse case scenario. I remember a counsellor telling me a few of years ago that when I hear myself saying 'what if?' to change it too 'what if not?' I have been trying to practice this, but it isn't an easy switch, at least not for me. 

 On the plus side this week the ducks are back in the pond having left during the snow and ice earlier this week. I was quite worried about them, because I was worried when the pond was frozen over what would they eat? Clearly the ducks were smarter than I gave them credit for. 

 So amid the snow, CoVid, password breaches, and struggling with zoom (don't get me started on my zoom woes) and now Blogger issues it has been a trying week. Yet, I have much to be grateful for. Much! 

 All my family and friends are healthy and CoVid free. 

 I have lovely video chats with both my children and, of course, my grand-daughter. 

Spring is coming 

Spring is coming 

Spring is coming 

 While attending my CoDA zoom meeting yesterday I was reminded of a poem I posted many years ago on this blog. I will post it again for myself, but perhaps dear reader, it will resonate with you as well. 

 Dear Human: 

You’ve got it all wrong. 

You didn’t come here to master unconditional love. 

That is where you came from and where you’ll return. 

You came here to learn personal love. 

Universal love. Messy love. Sweaty love. Crazy love. Broken love. Whole love. 

Infused with divinity. 

Lived through the grace of stumbling. 

Demonstrated through the beauty of… messing up. Often. 

You didn’t come here to be perfect. You already are. 

You came here to be gorgeously human. 

Flawed and fabulous. 

And then to rise again into remembering. 

But unconditional love? 

Stop telling that story. 

Love, in truth, doesn’t need ANY other adjectives. 

It doesn’t require modifiers. 

It doesn’t require the condition of perfection. 

It only asks that you show up. And do your best. 

That you stay present and feel fully. 

That you shine and fly and laugh and cry 

and hurt and heal and fall and get back up 

and play and work and live and die as YOU. 

It’s enough. 

It’s Plenty. 

 Courtney Walsh

I 'll leave you with my favourite photo of the week.    

Patiently waiting for dinner to swim by, or Spring to arrive, not sure which

Note:  I had to google whether it is binging, or bingeing.  Seems like bingeing won, but it looks weird, no?

Yopping Update #33 - Two wrongs do make a right

 

It seems like socks are all I want to knit right now, although after this week's fiasco I may have to re-think my 'inspiration'.

Before I regale you with my sad (and stupid) tale I can post my finished Hermione's Everyday Socks.  

I love the fit, and I will definitely knit this pattern again. 

Then after much hemming and hawing I started a new pair of socks that have been in my queue for years. 

Maryana was a mystery knit back in 2013 and the pattern comes in four installments.  Ravelers' pattern notes indicate that this sock knits up big, so I chose the smallest size and cast on the required 66 stitches.  So far so good, right?

The leg is divided into two sections - the back section of 26 stitches and the front section of 42 stitches. 

The back section is p2,k2 through the next 71 rows. The front section is K3, (p2, k2) ending with another K3 for 41 rows and then start the cable pattern.  Simple, right?  I was off.  I whipped through the 41 rows and the next day was ready to start the cable pattern.  

Here is where things went seriously awry.  I chose the cable pattern, and on the first row I realized that I had misread the instructions and the front section should have been k3, p2, k3, (p2,k2) ending with another k3,p2,k3.  What??????

I did not want to frogged 41 rows of ribbing so I thought (being the smarty pants I am) that I would ladder down the stitches that needed to be changed from purls to knits and vice versa.  With me so far??

I had laddered and picked up about six stitch rows (each row - ladder down 41 rows, ladder up 41 rows. )  About half way through I realized that it wasn't working count wise - I was never going to end with the 3 knit stitches.  

Because?     Well, because I had done it right in the first place, but by accident I was now looking at the cable chart for the medium size!!  

So what did I have to do you ask??  

Well, I had to go back and ladder back down, and ladder back up the rows I had changed. 

Doh!!  Rookie mistake.  (Of which I seem to be making a lot of these days.)

Lucky for me once I got myself sorted (and now have LOTS of practice laddering down and picking up stitches) the cable pattern went quite quickly.  

Ok - truthfully I had made one cable mistake about four rows down and did have to ladder down and up again to fix a left cable that I had made a right cable.  (Thank God for the tiny crochet hooks I have from my Grandmother that makes picking up 2mm stitches easy peasy). 

I am now on the heel - and things are going smoothly (knock on wood, throw salt over my shoulder, avoid walking under ladders).  Walking under ladders!  No pun was intended, but still that is pretty funny. 

I like how the colourway is working up

It has been colder this week, but drier weather wise so I did get out for a walk everyday except yesterday.  

Worrying about the ducks as the pond is frozen over

Every day I take a different cowl out for my walk 

Hubby and I shoveled the driveway and the back deck yesterday which displaced my walk and today I feel some muscles I haven't noticed for quite some time.

It is still snowing today, and looks very pretty and peaceful out my living room window.  It is not the first time in our 39 years here that we have had a snowy Valentine's Day.  In fact, I have come to expect it.  

 

I love the look of snow on the cedars

That was my week.  I leave you with a hopeful picture of proof that spring is coming.

Red chlorophyll shoots

To follow other yoppers you can see their posts at the right side of this blog.  

Update #32 - Homespun knits

 

Waiting for Superbowl to start, but time for a quick update. 

I finished my sheep breed sampler cowl.  I even took it out for a walk a few days ago. 

I cast of the Hermione's Everyday socks which have been in my queue forever.  They are a simple knit but because I am knitting them with 2mm needles they seem to be taking forever. 

When I first read Harry Potter I pronounced her name as
Her Me Own Knee

I knit them on a 9inch circular so I do the leg and heel on one, and then catch the 2nd sock up to the first.  Then I do the gusset on them one at a time, then the foot one at a time and then the toes.  That way I avoid the 2nd sock syndrome.  I made the leg longer than usual so I am not sure I will have enough yarn and may do the toes in a contrasting colour. Stay tuned. 

I need something else to knit beside the socks so I got out the wool/silk handspun I made during Tour de Fleece and I found the perfect cowl pattern.  It is called Stonehenge, and I love the pattern and how my handspun knit up.  

I have been continuing my daily walks of just over an hour, just over 3 miles, a day and each day I find something to take a picture of.  Here is a little friend I met on yesterdays walk at the pond. 

Here's hoping it can read!

Have a good week all.  I am off to get my snacks ready for the Superbowl game.  If you want to follow other Yoppers and their progress you can check out their posts at the top of this blog (right hand side). 

Until next post - stay safe, stay calm, be kind.