YOP Wk #18 – Cicadas are coming!!

The year is zipping by isn’t it!! Already May. Doesn’t feel like it here. We are having an unusually cool spring. I can’t remember having a fire in the fireplace for Mother’s Day. Still can’t plant any flowers or start our garden as there is still a risk of frost this week. Fingers cross that next weekend can start planting flowers.

Fire on Mother’s Day??

Course we are just in time for the 17 year cicadas to emerge this week or next. Annual cicadas are about 2 per square foot. These 17 year cicadas are about 30 per square foot. Literally everything gets covered in these big bugs and you basically can’t go outside. Their “singing” is as loud as a lawnmover so you can imagine the noise of millions of them!! They don’t bite but they do land on you. Yuck. They should all be dead by the end of June. They slice young tree and shrub branches in order to lay their eggs so I’ll have to wait till July to plant the new lilac bush I want.

Cicada

Sailormoon

I did add an extra 10 rows to the make a longer lace panel. Pattern calls to bindoff after 2 repeats but I’m doing 3. That’s only an extra 2900 stitches!! I didn’t get as much done as I had hoped. I’ll get the lace done later today and should be picking up stitches for the sleeves tonight.

Lace Panel

Barbara’s “German” Hat

I finished my first attempt to copy my friend’s hat pattern. My yarn choices were awful. The fuzzy white yarn blurs out the cable. Then I closed the top too fast so the hat barely covers my ears. Great if I want to show off my earrings while wearing the hat. I’m going to rip out the cap part and make it longer although I really can’t see the yarn to try to frog it. I suspect I’ll be cutting the yarn.

First Try

I checked my stash and I actually already had a skein of maroon Berroco Vintage Chunky leftover from a sweater I knit my daughter 2 years ago. Plus I found some tan yarn that I can use as the contrast color. I have no idea what it is or where I got it since don’t own anything with that yarn. I’m going to try again with making the hat. This time I’ll be able to see the stitches better. You got to love the instructions Barbara’s cousins gave her to knit the hat. 1) Knit first part like a headband. 2) make a narrow cable approximately 10 inches long. Sew this part horizontally to first part. 3) Edge stiches from part 2 are cast-on again and the top of the hat is finished. Uhhh – see why I’m having trouble “following the pattern”. 😜

Yarn for #2 Attempt

Advent Calendar

Just a reminder, if you are interested in gifting yourself or someone else an advent calendar, many are starting their preorders now. My local knitting group has create a spreadsheet on advent calendars as we find them. I don’t really need more minis but I really want one anyway. Most are way more than I want to spend but we have found a few good “bargains”. My favorite so far is made in the UK (Vicki Brown) but I’m a bit worried about receiving it before I head back to Florida for the winter.

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