2022: Wk of June 5-11; New WIP

Hello from rainy Cincinnati. My wish that June would bring clear skies was not to be. It was grey and drizzly for hubby’s birthday party but all had a good time anyway. I do treasure every time it is dry enough to enjoy our decks.

NEW WIP

I did finish the Quirky socks. So I got to cast-on a new project – my son’s girlfriend’s shawl. I’m knitting Summer Shrug by Dana Young. It’s a very basic pattern; 6 rows of “lace” (3 rows of YO, k2tog with a purl row between the YO rows) at the beginning, followed by 40″ of stockinette, finished with the 6 rows of “lace”. I really want to be complimentary of the pattern but I just can’t. I bought the pattern through Ravelry but if I had looked on her Etsy page I would have seen the criticism that it was pricey ($6) for an extremely basic pattern. On the other hand it’s only $6 so lets not nit pick. It’s knit flat as a long rectangle and then the edges are seamed for a few inches to create a slight sleeve. I’ve modified the pattern by putting I-cord edging for what will become the top and bottom edges of the shrug (thank you Steven West for teaching me this in your Spiraling Cables shawl). The only positive of the pattern as that she does provide mattress stitching instructions although I’ve learned from watching podcasts that I should use Bickford seaming for a more invisible seam.

I am using a skein of yarn that is basically a fade through 4 “yarns” that I got in a yarn swap. I cut the yarn into 4 balls since I want to have the second half match the first half. I will use half the mini ball before switching to the next color’s ball. The construction will mean the ‘stripes” will be vertical instead of horizontal. I found a mini that continues the fade if I need more yarn. Turns out I’m not liking the big blocks as stripes. I’m going to show it to my son’s girlfriend later today to get her thoughts both on the colors and the big blocks. It’s likely I’ll rip back to the “lace” and make much smaller stripes. This is a quick knit since it’s just stockinette. It’s a nice change to use a large needle, US 9, instead of the US 0 I use for socks.

WHAT’S UP NEXT??

I have the toes knitted up for one pair of socks to take on the Windjammer cruise I’m taking off the coast of Maine in 4 weeks but I want to take along a second pair as I expect to spend LOTS of time knitting on the boat. So I got the yarn divided in two and wound into balls. I’ll work on getting the toes knit up today. I’m going to use the Simple Spiral pattern as it’s supposed to be easy to memorize while having a slight lace to it.

Plus I really do need to watch the Patty Lyons Fix It video for brioche and work on my swatches. Guess the shrug will be hibernating for a few days.

ADVENT CALENDAR – ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!!!

After sharing my 5 year stash plan last week, you would think that I’d be successful in resisting purchasing more yarn. But no. I watched a YouTube video of one of my favorite dyers, AGirlAndHerWool, this week. Wouldn’t you know she is offering a very good price on an advent calendar. Did I mention I’ve already purchased 2, count them 2, advent calendars? Supposedly one of the advent calendars I bought I’m putting away until 2023 so that means I only have one for 2022 right?? She offers 10g mini skeins so I bit and ordered one. I have no self control!! It really is an expensive way to buy yarn but I know I’ll enjoy the little surprises every day in December. 10g will be perfect for the Sea Glass Tee. Downside is I’m going to have to figure out how to store all these new minis.

KNIT IN PUBLIC

Yesterday was “Knit In Public Day”. World Wide Knit in Public Day was started in 2005 by Danielle Landes. It began as a way for knitters to come together and enjoy each other’s company since knitting is often a solitary craft. I’m trying to get a monthly knit session set up with knitters that I met at my LYS so we met yesterday at Panera. We got to “knit in public” and kick-off a monthly knitting group. It was nice to catch up with folks I haven’t seen in a year or more.

That’s it for this week. I hope you have a wonderful week of crafting.

This is a year of projects (YOP) update. YOP is a Ravelry Group – make a plan for the year ahead for all your fiber activities, then update your blog each week. Plans can be calendar year (like mine) or mid-year start (like many). Following the plan is optional and creates some of the fun of posts. YOP is in it’s 11th year. It’s my second in the group. I’ve been knitting for five years.

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