Tag Archives: procurements

Two FOs before Friday and Now it’s Sunday

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Sunday, August 2, 2026

We’ve had a couple of warm days here on the lake and a little bit of rain. We need rain! Today we’re entertaining a friend of my hubby’s from our summer camp days when we were teenagers and the guys have gone into town to see the Odyssey movie and I stayed home to enjoy the beautiful day … and knit.

I’ve taken a walk around the yard and the cone flowers, daisies and black-eyed Susans are blooming like crazy and the hydrangeas are completely abuzz with bees and other pollinators. It’s wonderful to see all the bugs because it means our property is healthy for them. Yay! The veggie garden gave us the gift of another cucumber and another zucchini today and there are a couple of summer squash still on the vine. The tomatoes are coming along … I’m still waiting for my native tomato sandwich!

And I have two FOs that I finished on Thursday night and Friday while I was teaching. I’ve finished my Easy Folded Poncho in the charcoal gray colorway. I had blocked it and just needed to seam the 13″ because I am not adding any neck. They call for a slouchy neckline but I like the poncho just as it is. I can wear it with a blouse or a tee and it works. I am so excited to have a gray poncho to wear once the weather turns cooler.

I also finished my Broadgate Tabard and I wore it to work on Friday. I am happy as can be with this project. The linen yarn has the most incredible drape and it fits beautifully. I haven’t taken a completely finished photo yet but I do have photos. I will knit with this yarn again (I just have to find it in the United States.) This is a garment that I can wear in all four seasons with different shirts underneath … tank top, tee shirt and blouse will all be great under it. I’m thrilled with this project and it wasn’t a particularly difficult knit … at least once I got the hang of the pattern and could see the crossed stitches and the “lines”. Highly recommend!

The last photo is of me trying it on after the shoulders were seamed and before I added the neckline or the ties. I chose to knit about an inch of ribbing at the neckline rather than the long turtleneck because it’ll allow me to wear it all year long (Yes, I wear linen all year!) I have already worn it once and the green colorway is still stunning and I am thrilled with how this came out.

Friday afternoon I worked some more on my Sabai Top in a cotton/linen blend yarn by Cascade. I wish I had a 100% linen for this top! The pattern begins with the neckline and then splits the front and back and each side is worked down with increases at each side for the underarms.

I’ve finished one side’s increases and have begun the second side. Once they’re both done, I’ll join them in the round and knit around and around and around forever or to the bottom ribbing. I love that I won’t have to go back and pick up stitches for the sleeve openings. I think this will be a great piece and I’m happy to be making it in black. If I love it, there may be another one in my future … this time in linen (I’ll find my green linen yarn in another great color … maybe a tomato red?) Anyway, I am enjoying the construction and the yarn and I think it’ll be a great summer top.

I also decided to cast on a new project. I have three balls of Berroco Ultra Wool Handpaint that I grabbed out of the clearance section at work ages ago. I had thought I’d make something for one of the kiddos with it and I decided to do just that and knit vests for my grand-nephews in Salem. I love the cheerful yarn and I got the larger of the two vests knitted to the split of the front for the neckline in one day – admittedly, I didn’t get much done yesterday – and it was a wonderfully written pattern (by Knitting Pure and Simple). I have knitted several of her patterns and the only “complaints” that I have are twofold: 1) the sweaters are often knitted at a very loose gauge on larger than I think are reasonable needles and 2) stitch counts are various key points at a minimum should be added. I know that knitters today are more needy than their predecessors but I think, at a minimum, key spots need to know how many stitches in total there should be but it would be nice to have a breakdown of those stitches, too. My humble opinion.

I’m very happy with this yarn and the pattern and I think it’s adorable. I can’t wait to see the boys wearing them! I’ll likely gift them in early fall and I hope we get down for a visit before too long! I miss seeing the Massachusetts family and I hate leaving home at this time of year when I can enjoy the porches and the warm. Soon enough it’ll be cold again and we’ll be complaning about that just like we complain about the heat now. Right?

My TWT Sock Sprint socks are in time out. I don’t like the yarn or the pattern that I’m knitting them with. I have to decide if I want to frog the socks entirely or keep struggling and finish them. In the meantime, I think I’m going to buy another pattern by Summer Lee, actually it’s her first cuff club collection and I really really love the socks with the flower cuff (it’s the first one in the photos on her cuff club page on Ravelry). I bought the yarn for these socks in Quebec City and I think I’ll enjoy knitting them more than the ones I’m currently working on … so, why not enjoy what I’m knitting? And having said that, I think I’ll frog the Lochside socks that I am not enjoying at all and use the yarn for another project.

I spent some time going through my stash this past week-ish and found several skeins that I’ve finished the projects for and didn’t use all the yarn that I bought. I am fortunate to work in a LYS that has a liberal return policy and I have returned twelve hanks of yarn for credit which means that I have some shopping to do. I have an extensive queue of projects that I want to knit and need to knit a Christmas sweater for my granddaughter and a Santa hat as well. I’d like to knit a Christmas sweater for my grandson, too. I passed the little Santa hat on to his mom when they were here. It’ll be perfect for him this year.

I have also procured some new yarn this week. I loved the design by Isabell Kraemer called It is Magic and I liked the pop of color. I’ve sat on that thought for quite a while and bit the bullet this week and bought the kit which was discounted by mYak yarn company. I am excited to get the yarn and knit the sweater including the little patch (mine won’t say “I want magic” but will likely say “be kind” or similar). I sitll have the two hanks of hand-dyed silk mohair from Art Yarns, too, and the pattern to make the boxy sweater that I saw on Tribe Yarns socials. Good grief, I need to get off social media, it’s costing me a fortune. (*wink)

So many patterns, so little time. Gone knitting.

2026 – A Rough Start

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Sunday, January 11, 2026

I really thought I had a cold or a sinus infection. My hubby had one at Christmas time and I made the assumption that he gave it to me (he has recovered.) Last week I went to the doctor hoping for an antibiotic to kill the infection and speed my recovery. They tested me for Covid, flu and RSV … and you could have knocked me over with a feather when the doctor came back and said I had the flu – B+. Since I had been symptomatic for 6 days, antivirals were out of the question. We just wait. And cough. And blow my poor nose. And cough. Not how I wanted to start the New Year!

So, I’ve been spending a lot of time at home in my atelier. Watching stupid movies and other shows to help pass the time and knitting.

Yesterday I finished my pink Musselburgh. I really think it’s too big. I should probably have made the large rather that the extra-large. But it’s too late now. I like it better when I wear it with the gray side out because I can fold it over more and make the hat sit on my head rather than being slouchy. But if I’m honest, I’m not in love with it. Boo.

I have been working on hubby’s Christmas socks, too. I finished the first one (and he tried it on and it fits perfectly) and I have begun the second one. These socks are a re-knit. It’s a long story and maybe I’ll tell it one day but suffice it to say that I am doing them the right way this time. LOL. The yarn is a heavy worsted/Aran weight sock yarn by Raggi that my LYS has stopped carrying but it’s a wonderful sock yarn for boot socks! I found the pattern, Thompson River Socks, in a magazine ages ago. The socks are knit at a fairly tight gauge so my hands start to get tired after a few repeats of the pattern and I have to move on to knitting something else. BUT the socks are gorgeous and one of my hubby’s favorites. So, they’re coming along albeit slowly.

Thompson River Socks
Gansey Afghan
Harlow Sweater

I’ve also been working on my Gansey Afghan. To be honest, this may be getting most of my attention. It’s not a difficult knit, the blanket in my lap keeps me cozy and warm, and I am really enjoying the yarn and the different textured stitches. I’ve just finished the first ball of yarn and I have one more. I’m knitting this one with Hayfield Aran with Wool which comes in a 900 yard ball leaving very few ends to weave in and it’s going to be washable. The color isn’t coming up well in photographs though. It’s a medium sage-y green and it was on the clearance table at work. I grabbed it up thinking it’d be for my brother and realized he would never use it … he’s always warm. SO, I have re-thought who will get it and I think it’ll go to my daughter who likes earth tones in her house. I don’t think I’ve made her anything other than socks in forever and I think she’ll like it.

I also cast on a new project to keep me happy. I’m knitting the Harlow Sweater V Neck in a yarn that I’ve had in my stash that was planned for a different sweater. I had planned to make a heavily cabled, cropped cardigan but I don’t have the bandwidth right now to pay enough attention to the pattern AND I am fearful that iI don’t have quite enough yarn to make it. I bought all that they had left … and I hope it’s enough for the Harlow. It should be. I am on gauge and am working down the back. It was an interesting cast on from an i-cord and the picking up stitches across the i-cord and knitting down from there. When it’s time to work on the front(s), I’ll, once again, pick up stitches from the i-cord leaving one stitch between and that will make a pretty “line” across the shoulder. I’m still hoping that there’s enough yarn. Not sure why I’m nervous about it but I am. So far, aside from being a different/new to me cast on, it’s an easy knit and the yarn is really pretty and next-to-skin soft. I’m knitting the Harlow with Concept by Katia Cotton-Merino, it’s a cotton tube with merino fluff blown in. I like the heather-y look so far.

I have purchased a couple of different yarns. Both were pre-orders and both were dyed by Lolabean Yarn Company out of Georgia. I’ve loved Adella’s yarns for a long time and this time I couldn’t resist. The first one has arrived. Grinch sock yarn pair! I can hardly wait to cast these bad boys on. The colors are so grinchy and make me so happy. The second pre-order is two skeins of DK weight yarn in the “Good Trouble” colorway. This was a special fundraising colorway and I “had” to buy it. I’m excited to see it when it arrives and it should be here early next week. SO I’m working on getting my blanket done so I can cast on something else that’s new with my new yarn.

I also have a knitting fail to report. (Not sure if I’m considering my Musselburgh as a knitting fail yet, too.) I knitted a Stockholm Slipover recently and was really excited about it. I loved the look of the vest and I loved the yarn I used to knit it. The color is great and it was in my stash so it was a stash reduction, too. I decided to wear it yesterday and it’s too big. I had hoped it’d be a little bit boxy because I’m not a twig but it’s way too boxy and the underarms are the problem. I have read, since finishing the slipover, that others didn’t add stitches to the underarms and I think that’s the problem. There are too many stitches under the arms which make the arm holes too big and the whole garment looks huge … well, it does if I lift my arms or move. Phooey. I think I am going to endeavor to use my sewing machine to take in a couple of inches on each side. If I sew a seam and zig zag it, I should be able to cut off the extra fabric and wear the garment. If I don’t do something it’ll just sit in my closet.

You can see how the arm pit pops out in this horrible photograph. Sorry, best I can do on my own. So, stay tuned for the results later in the month.

So, there you have it. My new year update so far. I haven’t “done” much around our house, I’ve called in sick last week for work and I hope I don’t have to again this week but I have to say it’s not looking good. We also have a trip planned to visit my aunt and uncle in Reno, NV and then head to Denver to see my hubby’s youngest and her family (and our grandson). We are supposed to travel at the end of the week. I’ve got an email into our travel agent to see if we can reschedule the trip … I’m unsure about what the rules are because I am never sick! It never occurred to me that we’d have to change plans. AND of course we have hotels, car rentals, dog kennel, etc. all lined up in multiple places and of course we were/are looking so forward to seeing the family. I guess if we do have to change our plans, we’ll see them but it’ll be later than we had hoped. Time will tell.

Gone knitting.