Hello friends and knitters. Welcome back. Last time, I wrote that it seemed winter had finally arrived. I think I may have spoken too soon. We are having unseasonably warm weather here in New Jersey. Do not worry. I have not let it affect my knitting. I have gotten a lot done. I don’t have many finished objects, but I do have a HO, and my Corrina sweater is moving right along. Not a lot on the work front so far this month. I am taking a class with Pattie Barbosa at FIT, and she has convinced me that I should register with the wardrobe union here in New York, and I think she is probably right. Registering with the union opens me up to more opportunities, and I do like to keep my options open.
Works in Progress.
I am doing so well on my How I Make My Socks by Susan B. Anderson. The pattern is really
easy to follow, especially now that I am on my third pair of vanilla socks. It all seems to be much more clear now. I am knitting these in a yarn I received from my Yarnbox socks subscription. I had to put the subscription on hold for a while because I just couldn’t keep up. Anyway, I am using Yarn Fairy Imp Sock from Yarn Fairy and the Pixies in colorway Phoenix. I am using 2.5 mm dpns, and I cast on 64 stitches. I really like the way these are knitting up. The colors are so fun. Even my husband is getting in on the excitement. He has renamed them my Jupiter socks because the way the colors are pooling reminds him of images of Jupiter. Last time, I hadn’t even started the heel flap on the first sock. Last night, I started the heel flap on sock number 2. I tried finished one on, and it fits perfectly! I followed the heel and toe instructions as written. After I do the next two vanilla sock of my sock adventure, I am going to start playing around with different heels and toes.
The Corrina Sweater. This pattern is by Ann McCauley. I am knitting it in Jade Sapphire Silk Cashmere 2ply. I don’t remember the name of the color, and I can’t seem to match it to any of the images on Ravelry. It is a pretty lavender grey, though. This week, I am rocking through one of the sleeves. It is an interesting shape. It flares out at the cuff, then gets narrow, then widens again to fit the bicep. If you read my previous posts about this project, you know that I have a love/hate relationship with this yarn. I actually really like the way the sleeve is knitting up, so I think I will not be really unhappy with the finished results. This week, I purchased some embroidery thread to match, which I will use to sew the sweater together. This yarn is too delicate to use on weight bearing seams. I fear the whole thing would just come apart. I think I will knit this for myself in a different yarn when I am done. I really do like the shape and design of the sweater.
GumDrop Shawl. I know. I know. I am supposed to be finishing projects not starting new ones. But…Seth was away for Valentine’s Day. (Not that he ever celebrates it, but still) I was feeling a little lonely, and Julia from The Happy Knitting Podcast was doing a holiday cast on for Valentine’s Day, so I pulled out some red yarn and cast on this shawl. It is a pretty simple triangle shawl with large eyelets. JumperCables does some really nice, clean, modern designs. I have been eying some of her patterns for a very long time, but this is the first one I have knit. I am knitting GumDrop in Juniper Moon Farms Tenzing, which is a sport weight 85% Merino and 15% yak yarn. I bought the yarn over the summer at The Knitting Niche in Ocean City, NJ. I am knitting it on ChiaoGoo red Lace Circular needles in size 4 3.5mm. I am enjoying the ChiaoGoos. They have a really nice point.
Finished Objects:
Woodland Ruana Wrap. This pattern is by Lorna Miser. I am kind of disappointed in this. I was
really focusing on it because everything I am knitting on right now seems to be fingering weight yarn. Sometimes I just want to have a lot to show for my time. I thought I would really like this project, and I have always wanted a ruana. Well, since the first time I saw one, anyway. The concept is fantastic. It is a gigantic wrap somewhere in between a shawl and a blanket, and there is some shaping to help hold it in place. So I cast it on with my Bernat Roving, which is a super bulky single. I soon worked my way through both of the colors I had in my stash. Then I used some other similar super bulky yarn I had in stash that came from a friend of my Mother in Law. I have no idea which yarn it is, but the gauge was virtually the same. The end result was four very large stripes, which gave it a color blocking kind of feel. I kind of hate it. My son loves it. My husband likes it a lot. I am not sure if he actually likes it, or if he is fond of it because he says it looks like the Romulan costumes from the original Star Trek series. One thing I will say for it is that it is warm. I think I can make it work if I am wearing all black or maybe grey. Thoughts? Can you see where he gets the Romulan Connection?
Wavy Chevron Dishcloth. Crocheted dishcloths are so much faster. I finished two last Sunday. I like them both, but I really prefer the purple and yellow one. The yarns are Cotton Ease in that same purple I have been using, and knitpicks Dishie in Crème Brulee. I really love the two tone version. You will probably see more of these in the future.
Acquisitions:
Yarn Bouquet. There was a big party in my mailbox this week. My husband, who is really very supportive of my knitting, surprised me with a yarn bouquet from Jimmy Beans wool. It came on our monthiversary, which is the day before Valentine’s Day. See above. Husband does not acknowledge VDay. The bouquet contains 3 skeins of Koigu KPPPM 100 % Merino yarn in varying shades of blue. Each one is a 50g hank. The colors are P839 P433 and P419. The stems are size US 6 bamboo needles. I am looking forward to knitting with them, but I must say that it makes me really happy just to look at them in their vase.
I bought some needles. When I decided to do the Valentine’s Day cast-on, I realized that I did not have any US size 4 circular needles available, so I ordered some from Amazon. I ordered enough pairs to qualify for same day free shipping, so I also got myself a pair of Addi Sock Rockets. I will let you know how I like those when I do my first pair of magic loop socks. As I mentioned above, I really like the points on the ChiaoGoo lace needles, and I do not find the cable join to be an issue, and the cable is not particularly stiff either.
I also bought a few cookbooks to go with my Instant Pot. I am loving the instant pot. I wrote about it last time, so I won’t go into it again. So far, I have gotten a lot of use out of Great Food Fast by Bob Warden. I made the Hot and Sour soup on page 27. Seth says it is better than a lot of restaurant Hot and Sour soups. The Honey Garlic Chicken and the Shredded Chicken were also major successes. Last night we made the Dirty Rice. Even David ate it. He is usually a white rice only kind of kid. I think what I love most about Instant Pot is that I can still serve a homemade healthy meal even on our busiest school nights. I am not resorting to hot dogs or pizza, and I think my waistline will reflect that in the long run.