Yopping Update #43 - Double-Knitting is my happy place

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The test knit socks are done and I LOVE them, but I won't show them off until the pattern goes live.  

Since April is almost gone I got down to my April Advent Gnomes - #7 and #8

Look - Arms!

I have arms tooooo

I still dislike duplicate stitch, but it is getting easier

Then I decided to wind up the hemp I bought some time ago and make a new kitchen cloth in double-knitting so that the colours are reversed on the opposite side.  

Tree of Life

reverse side - tree of life

This one is a gift, but I have enough hemp to make another one for our kitchen too. 

I noticed one of my kitchen ones had a big hole in it - so I frogged it, and I am making my son one as his are getting a little raggedy too.  

from this....

to this....

adding these little leftover balls, and....

you get the beginnings of a kitchen cloth

other side

I also knit a little sandpiper out of some left over frangipani yarn I have - the pattern comes with five variations, and I am definitely going to make more of them. The pattern is on Ravelry here. The pattern is free if you send a handknit bird to Cordova Alaska for the Copper River Delta Birds by Hand festival.  I didn't make mine in time to get in the mail for this year, but I sent my peace dove which safely arrived there last week.  

Now resting in Cordova, Alaska

Now roosting in my livingroom

Speaking of birds I did get a good photo of our resident Heron fishing in the pond at the end of our block.

I even caught his reflection!

And on more bird news I also ordered a watercolour journal and some new paints, which I finally sat down to play with this morning.  

it is a beginning

So that is my week in a nutshell.  I just got the pattern for a new sock to test knit, so I will get going on that as well as finishing the kitchen cloth.  Both are good TV knitting. I am currently binge watching Station 19.  I do love those firehall dramas. 

I have ordered the frangipani wool for my son's gansey.  It was less expensive to order it from the UK rather than the USA.  Go figure.  I hope it gets here soon - I can't wait to cast on.  I will start with just the waistband and plain knitting part while he still has to decide on which motifs he wants.  

And in other news my granddaughter has apparently been crowned Queen of her little village:

bestowing blessings on the pregnant neighbourhood cat

It is hard to believe May will be here my next Sunday!  I don't know where the time goes.  (Of course not getting up until 9 or 10 every day is probably part of where my time is going).

I wish you all a good week, and yes, world peace would be amazing as well.  

Yopping Update #42 - Test Socks FTW

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Thankfully the new test knit socks I am working on are coming along spendidly.  Of course I can't share them until the pattern goes live, but suffice to say I LOVE them and I am happy to have moved on from the frustrations of last week.  

I did finish my Lento Cowl KAL.  It is very colourful and soft and squishy so I image next winter it will get a lot of wear. 

It looks very Easter-y to me, and also very Ukranian so I will call it my Easter Ukrainian Cowl from here on in. 

That's it on the knitting front.  Otherwise this week I have been transcribing a few more of my Father's letters as well as beginning another round of edits on my second novel.  I am gearing up to send a copy to my Croatian teacher for a beta-read and hoping she will have some suggestions for my Croatian language scenes. 

I have done a little bird watching - no pictures that are clear enough - but I did spot two juvenile bald eagles coming in to rest in the tree tops last week.  My apple tree is full of Juncoes and chickadees, and there is a varied thrush that has been visiting often too.  The weather has been quite cold this past week, and today is overcast.  My hip is resisting any kind of hill walking - up or down, and stairs are totally out of the question.  I have been doing some yoga and it is giving me some relief.  Now that we have our car back I have been driving to flat places I can walk - but even then anything more that 3 kilometers is too much.  

We bought some halibut steaks to make for our Easter dinner.  Ham just wasn't going to do it for us this year.

Lent is over so I checked Instagram and Facebook, and I have to admit I haven't missed anything - except for some lovely posts on my gansey group.  

Speaking of Ganseys - I did finish sewing in the ends and attaching the snaps on the shoulder flaps.  It is now in the cedar chest awaiting a future recipient.  

My granddaughter has been painting Easter Eggs and by the look of this photo she is taking it very seriously. 

Tomorrow we are taking the truck in to get a repair done on the broken tie-down.  We are getting closer to being road ready which I think is a very good thing. 

Wishing you all a Happy Easter, a Good Passover, or just a super Sunday.  May peace be with us all.  I found some gluten free Hot Cross Buns so I am happy about that and they make a fine goto with my morning coffee. 

Oh yes, and Lent is over so today there will also be CHOCOLATE.