This really stinks! I was all ready to go back to work this week and get back to a more “normal” life. Yesterday I started to feel like I had a sinus infection and this morning I thought I’d just test to make sure. I’m almost sorry I did. I tested three times hoping for a negative test. They were all positive.
Ugh!
So, I had a virtual doctor’s appointment (she said this situation was “rare”) and she wasn’t sure how to treat me. But it turned out that the antivirals that I took last week in NY were good but it’s too early to take them again. So, we are treating the symptoms with cough meds, nasal spray and an albuterol inhaler and now we wait … for heaven’s sake! I don’t need this and I sure hope that my newly-hipped husband doesn’t get it and I hope his kids who came to help don’t get it. Time will tell.
It looks like I’ll be spending a bunch of time over the next few days in my studio on the second floor while my husband is on the first floor and I’ll be masking when dinner or other help is needed. I’ll be washing my hands even more, and cleaning the communal areas that I touched. The weather is beautiful so the windows can be open today and the air cleaners are running on high. I’m doing everything I know how to keep the germs from spreading.
Aaaand … I’m knitting a little bit. I’ve been working on my granddaughter’s cardigan. Worsted weight cotton knits up so quickly in a little size. I love the color.
I’m also trying to get the socks for my brother finished before his birthday. I’m working on them today in hopes of reaching the toe. He’s got big feet so it’s a lot of knitting. But he’s worth it. I’ve been using Yankee Knitter’s sock pattern and the leg and top of the foot are 3×1 rib. They look pretty good if you ask me. I know he’ll love them.
Yankee Knitter #29
My plan is to work on the Arne and Carlos mini jumpers and clean up and organize my studio as well. I’m going to get some quality knitting time in and make the best of this second round of isolation. We’ve got lots of food in the fridge/freezer and some left-overs from the weekend. We are so fortunate that we are as healthy as we are. This is just a little hiccup, right?
Gone knitting.
PS – This little bunny has covid, too. Luckily she has no symptoms. Nor does her father. Spreading love around the family.
On Thursday morning I tested negative for Covid. Yay! My kids said that ideally I’d test twice 24 hours apart but when your husband has had a hip replacement surgery and you weren’t able to be there with him, you really want to get home as quickly as possible. So I took an extra test with me on the road and agreed to test again before I went into the house.
Uber to Metro North train to car to Maine. I really need to find a more passive way for me to get to the city and back because the drive is quite long when you’re doing it yourself and only staying for a couple of days. And since I stay with the kids in their apartments, it can only be a couple of days because we’re all tripping over each other. It’s great for a couple of days but then it’s time for them to return to their normal lives.
Anyway, I got home Thursday night and was thrilled to see that my hubby had survived his surgery handily (hippily? LOL) The procedure went “perfectly” according to his surgeon and his recovery is going well. This seems to be the joint that you want to need to replace. It’s so good to be home.
I’ve been knitting a little bit while I was in NY. I took two projects: my brother’s birthday socks and some cotton to make a sweater for Sylvie.
Tiny, Normal, Huge
My brother’s socks are big. He has big feet. He’s a tall man! I’ve finished the first sock and have passed the heel of the second one. I love knitting with Emma’s Practically Perfect Sock yarn. It’s a delight to work with and this is a perfect color for my brother who loves green! I’ll be wrapping them up once their done because my “baby brother” is turning the big 6-0 this year and when we were there last he mentioned that he couldn’t find one of the other “fancy socks” that I made him a while back.
Cardigan Inspiration
I saw this adorable little cardigan on Instagram and sent it to my daughter thinking it’d be adorable for Sylvie this summer/fall. Since they live in NY, their apartments are warm but when you go outside you sometimes need a little sweater. She loved it and I have several hanks of a “robin’s egg” blue cotton that I thought I’d knit it in. I’ll have to look through my stash to see what I have in white and yellow/gold for the daisies which I’ll embroider on after the cardi is finished. My granddaughter has grown so much but she’s still fairly petite and in smaller-than-her-age clothing. So, I’m knitting the 6 month size and we’ll see how it goes. I have five hanks of the yarn so I can knit two or three sweaters from this yarn for a little one.
The pattern is Elizabeth Smith’s Little Coffee Bean Cardigan, a free pattern on Ravelry. I’m knitting it with Universal Yarn Cotton Supreme in the Aqua colorway.
I’ve got other projects started, of course, but they were left behind when I went to NY. Heck, I was only going to be gone for a couple of days … and it turned into a week. The best laid plans, right?
It took three years for me to get it. I’ve been incredibly careful but apparently I wasn’t careful enough this time.
I came into New York for a quick visit with my kids and granddaughter before my husband’s surgery. He’s getting a hip replaced. Needless to say, Covid doesn’t figure into a successful recovery from surgery. Right?
It’s all fun until …
We had a blast Thursday and Friday and even Saturday. I even babysat with backup from my son and his girlfriend on Saturday night. I thought I was reacting to allergens … New York is abloom. Maine is not. Saturday night I felt “hot” and thought I may have a sinus infection. Again, not a surprise. And then I mentioned to my daughter that I felt warm and she got a quizzical look on her face and went to get a Covid test. I was convinced I didn’t have Covid. I didn’t feel badly. But she had a gut instinct and the kids have all had it at least once.
We all know who was right.
I’ll be in New York until I test negative. My husband’s daughter will be minding his surgery and our house until it’s safe for me to go home. I’m being well cared for by my wonderful kids and have been on Paxlovid since yesterday. It’s a wonderful drug.
Yesterday we were out and about. We needed to get to the dump as we missed a trip last week when we were out of town and we needed some food in the house. We were scraping the bottom of the barrel trying to come up with meals on Friday. It’s rare that we both get out together, we typically divide and conquer but it’s fun to be together even doing the mundane day-to-day activities. How lucky we are to enjoy spending time together.
I’ve been spending lots of time volunteering but there’s been some time for knitting, too. I am limiting my knitting time because I think I’ve “tweaked” a muscle or nerve in my shoulder/arm/neck. I may have mentioned this before. Yesterday I knitted more than I have for over a week and it was mostly good … I had to stop in the early evening after working on my husband’s Christmas socks. It’s heavy worsted weight yarn and US4 needles which is quite a workout for my hands and arms.
Urban Rustic Socks in Raggi
Sock number two is getting close to the “easy” part. Gusset decreases are in process. I love this pattern because it’s different and the decreases come to a nice point on the instep. I hope to finish these up because I have a pair of birthday socks to make for my brother in April and I’ve found the perfect yarn.
I have a bag with odds and ends of Cascade Fixation yarn that I’ve “collected” over the years. I’m trying to be responsible and use it up. Socks are the easy no-brainer project, especially baby socks. I’ll be carrying the two pairs I’ve made so far to NYC next trip to see if they really don’t fall off. The pattern is a free one that I found at work … it’s called Fixation Baby Socks, I think. This week I found the pattern “Jane of the Jungle”, free on Ravelry (it’s a Knitty.com pattern), and I knew that I needed to make this for Sylvie. I hope it’ll fit this summer. I am going to make the bathing suit bottom, too, but the top could be worn with shorts or leggings. Ha! Ha! Stinking cute! By the time summer rolls around she should be crawling and by the time we get to the beach in September I’ll bet she’ll be walking. Time goes by way too quickly.
Our orchids have been blooming forEVER! We have two plants: one was Ned’s mother’s orchid that we bought for her and her caregiver took such good care of. It’s been so happy since we moved to Maine. Helen’s been gone for several years but the orchid keeps on going. The flowers were all dried out but when I watered it last week, I noticed a new little bud spike coming along.
And the second orchid was a gift to me from my eldest. It’s been blooming forever, too. The plant stand has been giving a real show. It’s flowers were starting to dry out and fall off but I noticed one more flower that’s coming. I’m not sure if I have a green thumb or if these are super-powered Maine-loving plants. I’m not complaining.
We are home again after a wonderful weekend in Marblehead with the family. My brother from Louisiana, my sister from Arizona and their “spice” (plural of spouse, right?) came to see Noah … and his parents. There is never enough time together and we are always grateful for the time we have – life is never guaranteed.
While there, I had a little knitting issue. My neck and jaw felt weird when I was knitting for awhile. I first noticed it in class on Friday and then in the car driving down to Massachusetts. When I stopped knitting, the weird feeling stopped, too. I stretch my neck and shoulders pretty often when I knit but I seem to have a muscle or nerve something going on. So, I didn’t knit a lot or for long periods of time and it’s feeling better enough that I knitted last night and it didn’t happen. I’ll be cautious and may book a massage this week.
MarbleheadKnitting in the Sun
I cast on a Sophie Scarf in Berroco Folio on a US 4 needle. I don’t know why Berroco discontinued this yarn. It’s got such a great hand and it knits up so nicely. I grabbed up a couple of gray colorways to make a few Sophie scarves. Sophie is a simple garter stitch scarf surrounded by an i-cord edge. I’m making the small version this time and will make a second (and maybe a third) larger one next.
I cast on my Favorite Genser last week and did my swatching with purpose. Last night I measured my gauge and I have missed the mark. I am supposed to have 24 stitches to four inches and I have 26. Ugh. Ah well, that’s the way it goes sometimes. This is a new yarn that I am working with and a lot of new information from Patricia at Knitography Farm in Norway. So, I’ll pull it out to the ribbing and knit it again with a slightly larger needle and see what happens.
“My” Favorite GenserMy Yarn
I’m excited about learning something new, though. I love working with new yarns. I have two skeins of this yarn in my stash … my recollection is that it was to knit a pair of mittens designed by Arne & Carlos but I can’t find the pattern. Eventually I will figure it out or use it to make something else. I’ll be writing about this genser project again as I get going … and as I get the gauge right. It’s always interesting to work through the process. I’m doing this through the Knitography Farm website where they have online classes. I’ve bought a couple of the classes and the support is incredible. Patricia is certified to teach these traditional Norwegian patterns and she has endless knowledge that she generously shares. She also is a good steward of a flock of sheep and makes yarn from their fleece. Check her out at knitographyfarm dot com.
This morning was beautiful. We had an additional inch of fresh snow on the lake and it was that sparkly white snow that is so pretty to look at.
We had breakfast out at the Early Bird and ran a few errands. Went to get bagels and some bread at our local bagel shop and bread shop. We waited a long time to get a really high quality bagel place here and we love it. Sunrise Bagels is the dream of a Waterville woman who went to bagel school and opened to great fanfare a year or more ago. BEST BAGELS in Central Maine. Universal Bread is our bread store. Adrian is the bread baker and a nicer guy you’d never want to meet. His bread is phenomenal. The baguettes rival those found in Paris (France, not Maine.)
A stop at the bank and at the grocery store … hubby has to have lox with his bagels. (Yuck!)
We got my car washed twice … and it’s back in the driveway dirty.
And then I looked out my studio window and saw this. Sometimes it’s so beautiful that it almost shocks me. Today was a breathtakingly beauty.
We have had the coldest weather yet! Maine saw negative double digits at the end of last week. We saw -12 degrees here at our house on Saturday morning. On Friday we started the day in the positive range but the temperatures dropped hourly. What a fun few days watching the temps!
We had no damage to our pipes although the windows did have ice on the inside in some parts of the house. I thought about hanging quilts in the big living room windows but never got it done. Luckily, we were warm. I am so grateful for our warm comfortable house.
These cold days have been great days to be a knitter, though. I spent all of Saturday and Sunday in my studio … I didn’t even get dressed! I’ve got a lot of knitting going on and I wanted to share with you before I get everything finished.
I’m participating in the Modern Daily Knitting and Arne and Carlos KAL, the Setesdal Hat which is in the new Field Guide 23. I was late to the party and got the electronic file of the book. We had three of the colors of Norwegian yarn at my LYS (on sale!) and one of my friends/co-workers and I ordered the other two colors from another LYS in Southern Maine. When I saw the colors I wasn’t convinced but once I got knitting, I’ve become a changed woman! I love the colors! I’m not sure if the hat is going to fit my big head but it will fit someone and meanwhile, I’m having fun knitting it.
Setesdal Hat by Arne and Carlos
I’ve knitted through the pink and the next part of the KAL begins on Tuesday. I was tempted to keep knitting and I could have finished the hat on Saturday but I decided to play along as a good group member and wait until the start of week 2.
And then I went to work on my Knitography Farm Stranded Knitting Course project, Deep Winter on the Path Hals. I’m knitting this cowl/hals in Jamieson & Smith Shetland Jumper Weight yarn in three natural shades. This cowl is a great piece to practice Patricia’s stranded knitting techniques and it’s an online class that can be taken as you have time and a prerequisite for her sweater class that I want to take this spring.
Deep Winter on the Path Hals by Patricia Anne Fortune
I’ve completed the ribbing and the first motif and am ready to begin the second motif. It’s been good practice and I like the colors and the pattern. I don’t love cowls, though. I think I’ll finish the second motif, and then knit to balance the pattern and make it a headband. And, bonus, I’ve just chosen the yarn to knit the beginner genser (pullover).
I have finished the squishy black alpaca socks for my son and they’re yummy. I wish I had feet as big as his! I may have to knit a pair of socks for me in the Lang Alpaca Soxx yarn. It’s so soft and squishy and I’ll bet they’ll be nice and warm, too. I used my standby pattern, Yankee Knitter’s Classic Socks pattern. Black socks are a trip to knit. I had no trouble knitting the cuff or the leg or the foot but when you have to be able to see the stitches … ha! ha! Not happening. For the first time ever, I had to wait until the morning and good light to pick up the gusset stitches and to Kitchener Stitch the toes.
Yankee Knitter Classic Socks
I also finished by Stashbuster Shawl. The yarn has been in my stash for years. The yarn is The Fiber Seed’s Sprout Sock in the Rainbow in the Dark colorway. I loved this colorway because it’s alternating black and rainbow speckles. I knew it would be a fun knit and when my friend Peggy came into the store wearing a Stashbuster Shawl in the same yarn, I knew what my yarn wanted to be! The Stashbuster Shawl is a simple garter stitch shawl – good for watching TV at night – with a fun picot edge. And mine is huge! It’s narrow but it has to be seven or eight feet wide. It’s blocking right now and I can’t wait to wear it.
Stashbuster Shawl by Heather Haynes
My Emsworth vest has not even been touched since I started the Norwegian knitting adventure. The hals, the hat and my last WIP, a traditional Norwegian Hals pattern that Patricia shared on one of our Zoom meetings – the community meets pretty regularly to get updates and ask questions. The pattern is a reconstruction of an historical pattern. I waited to order yarn from Norway to knit it – had to try the real Norwegian yarn, right? I’ve got the turtleneck to finish,18cm of turtleneck, and then I’ll have another FO. Yay, me! I’ve got to get cracking on my Emsworth next and get it finished before the Knitography Farm “Choose Your Own Path” Genser Course starts on February 19th.
I’ve also promised socks (a Christmas gift) to my husband and I pulled out the pattern that I’m going to knit. An aside, one evening when we were watching the news I noticed that he had my socks on … a cabled worsted weight pair … he wondered why they were a bit small. I’m not sure how I got them in his sock pile but I did. Now he’ll have a well-fitting pair of his own. The pattern is Urban Rustic Socks. Be careful, if you look this pattern up, you’re going to want to knit them!
I have six more WIPs in my Ravelry project queue that I haven’t discussed in quite awhile … I’ll get there. Don’t nag me. Ha! Ha! Ha!
I’m back from a whirlwind trip to New York City to help my daughter when her husband was out of town and, obviously, to see my granddaughter and the rest of the family. I drove down to Westport, CT a day ahead of when I had planned to be there because we were supposed to have a big winter storm on the day I was supposed to leave.
Luckily my college “Roomie” lives there and she puts up with me (happily) when I come down her way. Thursday night we had dinner with another college friend and, as is apt to happen, talked until we were ready for bed. We’ve been friends for 47 years! Those friendships are so special and I am so grateful for these wonderful and dear friends.
On Friday I hopped on the train into the city. I can’t wait until this summer when I become an official senior citizen because the train fare becomes $9 each way even though $13.50 isn’t bad. The train ride to Harlem is so easy and my daughter picked me up at the station there. It’s such an easy trip and with no driving traffic, it was a 5-hour drive to Westport. Not bad at all.
This child. I have always disliked leaving the kids at the end of a visit. I love being around my children and I love that they all live close enough to each other and like each other enough to get together. This child, my granddaughter, their niece and daughter, is an amazing addition to the mix. I took precious few photographs because I had way too much fun playing with her, feeding her, and helping her very competent mom take care of her and her 4-legged sisters.
The last time we were in the city was at Christmas and in the month since, Sylvie has changed so much! She is actually making eye contact with people, she really engages, she’s generous with smiles, has a lot of new ways to be heard and she even clicks. Ha! Ha! Her hands are always busy and you can see the concentration when she reaches for things. It’s so intentional now. She sees what she wants and reaches for it. She still needs a little help but it won’t be long before she’s grabbing things all by herself.
I brought her a Knubbelchen “doll” that I made with scraps of left-over fingering weight yarn and I was thrilled that she loves it. It’s a perfectly sized toy for little bitty hands which have the most perfect knuckle dimples. The knots at the “hands” and “feet” of the Knubbelchen are just the little bit of help she needs to be able to hold onto it. And, of course, everything goes in her mouth!
I also brought the silver rattles that were given to my children when they were born. I had saved them for just this moment and our little Sylvie didn’t disappoint. She loves to lie on her back and kick and wiggle and the rattles were a fun addition. It’s the most wonderful feeling to see my child totally in love with her child. I really believe that our appreciation of our mothers only comes when we become mothers ourselves. I never tire of watching all of my children love on this baby girl. it’s remarkable, emotional, rewarding, it makes my heart grow even more full of love for them all.
The funniest part of the trip was that I was carrying ten pounds of corn-filled microwaveable heating pads that I had made for them all and only a year later. I promised to make these for them last winter when they came up skiing and well, life being what it is, the corn and fabric sat until last week. (I wrote about it here. My suitcase was incredibly heavy going there and significantly lighter heading home. Kate’s has already been spit up on which means that it’s already in use. And then there was the night that Kate received a “goodnight sweet pea” text from my husband. (I was meant for me.) And all of the kids sent him a good night text with a spontaneous term of endearment. Ned was entertaining us all from Maine and we had a good laugh at his expense and with lots of love – my kids all love my husband and he loves them. Another thing to be so grateful for. He’s already said that if we can take the train into the city, he’ll come with me next time. Yay!
I left New York yesterday with my heart so full and tears in my eyes. I managed to collect lots of snuggles and smile and belly tickles and kisses until next time. I can’t wait until next time.
Gone knitting. (Because I didn’t knit a stitch except for on the train.)
Happy New Year from Messalonskee Lake in the heart of Central Maine, USA! We had a quiet evening last night and were in bed and asleep well before the ball fell in Times Square but we live a simple life here and we like to get up in the morning and watch the sunrise, drink our coffee together and usher in a new day in relative peace.
This morning I slept extra late and missed sunrise but it was still lovely when I awoke. Foggy and warmer than usual temps here this morning (though the fog has burned off and the sun is out!) We are beyond grateful to be able to live here in this remarkable place. My hubby made delicious Eggs Benedict for breakfast after I sent the store newsletter and now I’m busy up in my studio.
I’m moving over into my 2023 planner this morning and have added up my FOs for 2022. It seems like I’ve finished about 72 projects this year. I say “about” because I didn’t take the time to count every single advent jumper and other little projects. They’re all on my projects page in Ravelry, though, and I’m quite pleased. Among some of my favorites were knitting with fairy lights and completing a couple of Laura Nelkin’s Love and Light. I have one to make for a commission for a high school friend who loved mine.
I totally enjoyed knitting little sweaters for our future Advent calendar. I’ve made it to #16 which is still on my needles and 14 and 15 are waiting to be seamed a little bit and ends woven in. But I’ll get them done this year for sure. I completed three sweaters this year. I’ve worn my Elton several times – including on my trip to Rhinebeck in the fall. I even wore it buttoned wrong … all around Rhinebeck and meeting so many of my knitting idols. I love my Patsy’s Traveling sweater and my Fine Sand, too. I’ll enjoy wearing them all in years to come. I didn’t knit socks every month this year but I got several pairs made. I gave most of them to my girls. My sock drawer is pretty full! I owe my hubby his Christmas socks … I hope to get the socks knit in January.
I loved knitting the Humlebi Shawl and watching the little bees pop off the fabric! I have to look for this shawl … it was washed and put away for the summer and I haven’t yet taken it out. And I loved knitting everything for my new nephew, Noah and my new granddaughter, Sylvie. We are so thankful for these precious additions to our family and we are so happy to be able to spend time with our family near and not-so-near.
We’ve had some really sad days in 2022. I lost a dear student who I’d grown very close to. Lucille was like a mother/grandmother/auntie to me. I spent every Friday with her, picking her up for class and bringing her home again for many of them. I appreciated her knitting talent and her graceful-ish aging. She didn’t like not being able to knit and do things as she’d always done. I couldn’t blame her. We lost both of my Littles in 2022. Boq died in January and Lola in July. I miss them every single day. There will never be another dog like them for me. And then in November we lost my grand-dog Willow. She was my daughter’s heart dog (as my litters were mine.) We had the honor of bringing her ashes home to NYC at Christmas time. Rest well all of you.
This past year has been busier than I might have liked for me in the volunteer realm of my life. I’ve been president of the lake association and on the board of a free public charter school for the arts. Both have been very fulfilling and I’ve enjoyed them a lot. I’ll be wrapping up my service to the lake association in July but I live on the lake so I can’t step far. I believe that boards need new people on and old people off in order to keep them healthy and thriving. I’ll always be available to help the new leadership. That’s our job as leaders to lead, step down and then to share our knowledge to the new generation. I’m looking forward to having a little bit more time to get back to sewing. I’ve got several projects to finish and some that I really want to tackle.
Clara Parkes, in her Daily Respite post this morning, offered this poem as a benediction for 2023 and I really loved it. I’ve shared it on my daily FB/Insta post and I shared it in the store newsletter that I wrote. Three times is a charm so I’m also sharing it here. I’m off to fling the door wide in welcome and sweep the threshold.
“Think of the year as a house: door flung wide in welcome, threshold swept and waiting, a graced spaciousness opening and offering itself to you. . .
And may it be in this house of a year that the seasons will spin in beauty, and may it be in these turning days that time will spiral with joy. And may it be that its rooms will fill with ordinary grace and light spill from every window to welcome the stranger home.”
We had our first “plowable” snow Friday night and yesterday. We are thinking we got about 8 inches … maybe 9. It’s absolutely beautiful! The only drawback, if you can call it that, is that we lost power on Saturday at around 2:30pm. The short story is that we got power back this afternoon around 3pm. BUT for a household with two generators, we were mighty cool over that 24 plus hours and I’m really grateful that I have a husband who is creative and can figure out how to minimize our discomfort.
So, how is it that we have two generators and neither one works? Well, suffice it to say that we’re in between generators. Our old one is a portable model that we drag out of the garage and across the yard to plug in and it ran the whole house. But my husband needs a new hip and we thought we’d bite the bullet and get a new, automatic generator hooked up before the winter kicks into high gear. We had our neighbor install (except for the propane) a new automatic generator. We may be able to leave the house in the winter after all. BUT we were told by our propane company that we only had to dig a ditch from the house to the generator and they’d come hook it up … and then they needed a deposit … and they didn’t come. So my husband called them about it and they hadn’t scheduled us. And now it’ll be January 6th before they can come. Meanwhile, obviously, there was a nor’Easter … and several inches of heavy snow … and 24+ hours of powerlessness. Literally.
I’ve knitted through the hours that were difficult and growing cold. Neither of us slept particularly well last night. We were both up at 3am for a few hours … reading with our headlamps, drinking a cup of tea. I was lucky and was able to go back to sleep. This morning the sun came out and we are fortunate to get some serious passive solar heat. The living room was 66 even after almost 24 hours of no heat. Husband got a long extension cord, passed it through the kitchen window and plugged into the fridge so we didn’t lose our food. He also realized that he could plug into a power strip and then we could also charge our phones. And a space heater. And a shop light.
The knitting helped me cope with the lack of comfort. I take the luxury of heat and electricity for granted every single day. The expectation is that we will always have it – and we even flick the switches when we know that power is off. A rude awakening but a reminder, too, about how lucky we are to live here. In the home that we built on the lake that we love in the state that we chose as our home together. In a special country where we are afforded so many freedoms and luxuries. Our “suffering” and “discomfort” was minimal at best but we were among the lucky ones.
I’ve finished the socks for my daughter that I started on the way to Massachusetts for Thanksgiving. I love the yarn. They’re happy socks!
They’re plain vanilla socks, my favorite Yankee Knitter pattern. I’ve bought the pattern several times and keep going back for more. I’ve now bought the pattern electronically and I hope I don’t shred that pattern, too.
I realized that I had some beautiful cashmere yarn in my stash that are the perfect colors for a hat for my sweet granddaughter. I have been wanting to knit a hat for her that is a bit larger than the newborn hats that she has because she’s bound to keep growing. I combined two patterns to make the bow hat in a DK weight yarn. I’ll block the pieces tomorrow and put them all together. I hope I love it as much as I think I will. Despite the ladders and some funky color change mess.
Aaand, last but not least is the little cardigan that I’m knitting for Sylvie. She’s getting big enough that the newborn sweater and the Christmas sweater that I made her may not fit. I’ve shipped the Christmas sweater and am close to finishing the cardigan … one sleeve almost finished and one more to go. Add some ribbing around the opening and some buttons and it’ll be ready to go. I love the shade of blue that is an On the Round sock colorway that I’ve had in my stash. I’m knitting a Knitting Pure and Simple pattern. (Have a look at my Ravelry project page for all the details.)
So, in addition to finishing the sweater and blocking and assembling the hat, I’ve been trying to decide what project to knit next. It’s difficult to believe that I haven’t got more projects on the needles. BUT it’s time for something new. I just saw a sweater (cardigan) pattern called the Ramona Cardigan by Elizabeth Smith. It’s an Aran weight wool in a grey colorway. I happen to have a sweater’s worth of a heavy worsted gray yarn by Brown Sheep. I think I may be heading down the Ramona path later on this week. I don’t have a dark grey sweater and this will match a lot of things that I wear on the regular. And it’s not complicated. My head is a swimming with responsibilities and I can’t deal with a knitting pattern that requires a lot of my attention.
I also need to knit a pair of Christmas socks for my hubby. He surely deserves them for taking such good care of me.
Queen Bee Knits 