baby blanket – Knitting Is So Fun

2022: Wk of 10/2-8; Baby Blanket FO!! and Sweater Redo

October 9, 2022 by knittingissofun, posted in Christmas Knitting, Knit, Knitting, Knitting Plan, Sweater Knitting, Yarn Advent Calendars

BABY BLANKET

Whew! It’s done. Lordy I hope there is a pause in baby blankets as they are not my favorite thing to knit. Good thing is that I’ve used up almost all my acrylic yarn that my daughter-in-all has gifted me over several Christmases.

HUBBY’S SWEATER

Finishing the baby blanket means I’m focusing now on my hubby’s sweater. I had him try it on after completing the hem and knitting 25 rows of the body. Despite making a gauge swatch, it’s way too big. So I ripped back to the hem and removed the added stitches the pattern called for. This results in going down one size. Plus I am going down a needle size. I will check the gauge again after I knit a few inches and see if any additional modifications are needed. Also see the cute Halloween progress keepers/BOR marker I got this week. I also got some Christmas ones.

I’m probably going to end up casting on a pair of socks or another Ranunculus this coming week just so I have something to alternate between versus endless rows of stockinette. He wants a plain sweater which makes it easier to knit but also a bit boring. The striping does help alleviate the boredom.

OOPS I DID IT AGAIN

I tried to resist since I have already ordered 3 advent calendars but I just couldn’t resist my friend’s “autumn” mini set. Definitely going to have to make a lot of striped tops/sweaters. Maybe I’ll save this set for a Christmas in July so as to knit a tee for autumn. I’ll have forgotten the colors by then! Happy to say her yarn dying business is going well and is now her fulltime job.

CHRISTMAS IN THE AIR?

I seem to recall seeing someone make ornaments using up leftover bits of yarn. So I’ve been collecting the yarn I snip off after weaving in ends or if I truly have so little yarn left from a project that I’m not going to use it in another project. I would like my small Christmas tree that I have in the Florida condo to be knitting related. So yesterday I bought these tiny (1.4″/3.5cm) clear plastic ornaments and I’m stuffing them with the colorful bits of yarn. I’m planning to make a simple garland out of the leftover yarns from the baby blankets as well.

NON KNITTING STUFF

I got the most recent Covid booster Thursday. WOW. I’ve never had a reaction to Covid shots before. This one left my arm feeling like a professional boxer hit my arm. Then I had the worst headache I can remember in a very long time. Fortunately within 24 hours I was back to “normal”

It is almost the peak of autumn colors. Certainly by next week. Then it will start “raining” leaves. 😦 This is absolutely my favorite time of year. Sunny but cool enough to wear sweaters and wool socks. Bright blue skies. It’s weather and scenery like this that makes it impossible for me to consider moving to Florida year round. Oh and that broken rail at the bottom of the stairs…. a reminder of the incompetent concrete contractor we hired last summer.

Hope you have a wonderful week of crafting.

This is a year of projects (YOP12) 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 started it’s 12th year in July and I’m starting my third year in the group. I’ve been knitting for six years.

2022: Wk of 9/18-24; Socks, Sweaters, and More Favorite Things

September 25, 2022 by knittingissofun, posted in Baby Knitting, Knit, Knitting, Knitting Plan, Sock Knitting, Sweater Knitting

HUBBY’S SWEATER UPDATE

I do love knitting with this cotton/silk Berrocco Summer Silk yarn. Just so soft! Since it’s all stockinette for 17″, it’s a nice mindless knit for TV watching now that the network series are starting their new seasons.

AUTUMN SOCKS

These socks are getting the majority of my attention since it’s already autumn. I want to wear them NOW! I think the fit is going to be okay. I’m making them a little shorter than normal to help pull in the extra width at the ball of my foot. I love this yarn too. (Seems to be a pattern). I’m ready to start the heels today. Orange and black are also the colors of our local football team so hopefully they will get to be worn into the playoffs.

BABY BLANKET UPDATE

My great grandson’s baby blanket got a little knitting attention and is going to need to get a lot more. I’ll be traveling back to Indiana in four weeks for my granddaughter’s first birthday so I need to have the blanket done by then. Hubby’s sweater will have to take a back seat until I can get the blanket finished.

FAVORITE THINGS – CHRISTMAS IDEAS??

A few weeks ago I posted how I like clear containers for all things knitting so that I can see what’s inside my “tin”, notions pouch, yarn “bin”, and even knitting tote bag. Another thing I like to help make knitting more enjoyable is “fun” stitch markers/progress keepers. These can range from cheap to somewhat expensive. Here’s some ideas to put on your Christmas list or as a gift to a knitter you know.

I love using my colorful o-rings that come in lots of sizes on Amazon. I bought small ones for my sock needles, medium sized for my Size 4-6 needle knits, and large ones for my Size 8 and up needle knits. These are available via Amazon. I like to place them every 10 stitches when I’m casting on and every 20 stitches while knitting. I like to use these on big projects where I use one color for the front stitches, a second color for the back stitches, a third color for the right sleeve, and a fourth color for the left sleeve. I also recently bought stitch markers from Katrinkles that literally say front, back, and sleeve for added clarity on what the heck I’m knitting at the moment.

I have numbered stitch markers from Twice Sheared Sheep that I also like to use while casting on or tracking my stitch count while managing increases or decreases. I love my M1R/M1L sweater stitch markers for top down sweaters although for my bottom-up sweater I’ll be using my SSK/K2T sheep stitch markers. These are both from an Etsy seller. Sadly I have found that the black printing wears off too fast if you don’t put a drop of clear nail polish on them to protect the printing.

Finally, it’s fun to have seasonal or just cute charms for progress keepers. I made these from charms and lobster clasps I picked up at Hobby Lobby. Etsy also has lots of cute progress keepers. I like to put a “fun” pair of stitch markers in the center of the top side of each sock and a square stitch marker in the center of the sole side of each sock especially when knitting 2 at a time socks. Helps me keep track of which sock is the “first” one and which side gets the heel.

Hope you have a wonderful week of crafting. This is a year of projects (YOP12) 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 started it’s 12th year in July and I’m starting my third year in the group. I’ve been knitting for six years.

2022: Wk of 8/28-9/3; Autumn Cowl Plan B, Knitting by Candlelight, and Favorite Knitting Tools

September 4, 2022September 4, 2022 by knittingissofun, posted in Baby Knitting, Knit, Knitting, Knitting Plan, Knitting tools, Notions

HALLOWEEN/AUTUMN COWL

On to Plan B. After knitting a stripe of pumpkins and and the stripe of leaves (that I created by borrowing and modifying from a free chart I found on Ravelry), I realized that I did not like how the black background yarn of the stripes went with the variegated yarn I had used leading into the stripes. So I spent much of this week knitting the stripes, tinking back the stripes I had knitted, and reknitting stripes. I shortened the stripes so as to have less background and I didn’t like the green I had used as the pumpkin vine anyway. Now it’s just pumpkins. I had to redo the leaves chart to make it a shorter stripe. I added a section of variegated yarn between the colorwork stripes so that it would be less of a “block” of plain black background. I “oops” again figuring out when to start the leaves stripe so it’s a much bigger block of variegated yarn between the two stripes. I had planned to have a second stripe of pumpkins but that will make the cowl too long. I’m happy with it. It really shows off the variegated with the stripes playing a background role versus being the centerpiece of the cowl. Another change is that I decided to do a 3 row garter edge before a decorative picot bind-off. Unfortunately my colorwork is too tight (good lesson) so I can’t pull the cowl down onto my shoulders. Also not sure I love the picot border. I’m going to live with it a bit and then decide if I need to rip

I realized my next sock project is going to be using the leftover variegated yarn so that I have autumn socks to match my cowl!!

KNITTING DURING A POWER OUTAGE

Of course as I’m trying to pick back up the stitches from ripping out the colorwork stripes on the cowl, when the power went out this week!! On a beautiful day?? What the heck? Apparently there was a car accident that knocked out power from late afternoon until the next morning for our little area! So this is me knitting by candlelight since what the heck do you do at 9pm when you aren’t tired but have no power. Enjoyed listening to a podcast on my phone. Thankful I had my “brain dead” garter stitch baby blanket to work on. Perfect for a low light situation. Once again another reason I’m so thankful I learned to knit!! I’m about half way done with the blanket.

MY FAVORITE KNITTING THINGS

Not much else to share knitwise since I’m trying to be more monogamous-ish. Thought I’d include a bit on my favorite knitting tools as gift ideas for knitters. As you can see from my blog header photo of my knitting wall, I love clear containers for yarn and notions. Clear Cosmetic Zippered Bags (for Notions), Small Clear Bead “tins”(for specialty stitch markers), Clear Zipper Bags (Yarn storage), Clear Interchangeable Needle Case, and Clear Totes – Inexpensive. I love using clear “containers” so that I can quickly see what’s inside. I prefer clear “tins” to hold my stitch markers so I can quickly see which stitch markers are in which tin . Clear cosmetic bags to hold my notions so I can quickly find my snips or tape measure. Clear zippered “sheets” bags to hold my multi-skein projects, usually with the front page of the pattern I was at least initially planning to knit with the yarn. Even a clear tote to carry multiple project bags to knitting sessions with fellow knitters so that I can quickly find my notions pouch or the project I’m working on first.

2022: Wk of Aug 14-20; Sock and Baby Blanket WIPs

August 21, 2022 by knittingissofun, posted in Baby Knitting, Knitting, Knitting Plan, Sock Knitting, Sweater Knitting

DRAGONFLY SOCKS

Wow, was I lucky!!! Seems I left my sock project bag at the Panera where my new knitting group met last week. It wasn’t until Monday when I went to work on them that I realized I’d left them. Fortunately a worker found the bag and stowed it under the cash register. Only knitters know that was about $50+ in yarn, needles, and bag. Didn’t get as far on them as I had hoped. Fingers crossed I’ll get them finished this week.

OOPS I DID IT AGAIN

You would think I would know by now it rip back if something isn’t quite right. I tried to cheat on my baby blanket when I ran out of yarn for on a stripe. Thought I could live with it. After 2 failed attempts to “fix it”, I ripped about 12 rows back. Then of course when I knit the second time I must have knit looser as I ran out of a different color’s yarn. Now each wider stripe gets one row of white before the fuzzy white stripe. It’s a “design element”. I’ve realized that I cast-on more stitches than I desired but it’s okay. The stripes will be vertical instead of the more typical horizontal. 37″ seems a bit wide but is perfect for the length I wanted.

HALLOWEEN KNIT

My next project will be a Halloween cowl. Hoping it gets cool enough in October to wear it. Too often I don’t even get to wear my Halloween sweater because it’s still too hot. But I wanted a fun colorwork project. I will not be knitting the orange/white/pink stripes. Instead I’m using a sparkle black and orange variegated sock yarn for those sections. I frogged the yarn from a pair of argyle socks I started a couple of years ago hoping to master intarsia in the round. Not. The sock yarn was black, orange, bright blue and yellow. They will be great for the colorwork section. (I do have some white for the ghosts.)

RANUNCULUS

A final photo of my finished Ranunculus. Turns out I don’t have to wear a top underneath. I’m very happy with the neck of this pattern versus the typical “boat neck”. I will be using this neck even on my Anne Hanssen and plan to knit again. I will also do some sleeve decreases to make a more fitted cap sleeve.

HUBBY’S SWEATER

The only acquisition this week was a V Neck Pattern, Broadview Pullover by KnitPicks, for my husband’s sweater. I had purchased a crew neck pattern but he said he’d prefer V Neck. I didn’t find many V Neck patterns on Ravelry so this is the one I ended up with.

2022: Wk of 8/7-13; Ranunculus update and New Cast-on

August 14, 2022 by knittingissofun, posted in Baby Knitting, Knit, Knitting, Knitting Plan, Sweater Knitting, Yarn

RANUNCULUS

I did rip back the ribbing as I had made multiple mistakes. The ribbing in the pattern is a 1×1 Half Fisherman’s Rib. It is much more attractive than the 2×2 ribbing I did. The pattern calls for going down 2 needle sizes for the ribbing but I only went done 1 to allow for my tummy and hips. I have finished the body and should finish the sleeves today as I plan to make very short sleeves. I’ll only be adding about 8 rows to each sleeve before binding off.

I’m liking the fit and I love the collar. I love the yarn, 10 Questions colorway in Hella Hank by Emma’s Yarn, but it definitely hides the pattern in the yoke. I will be knitting another Ranunculus with a solid color yarn so as to show off the yoke pattern. I’m thinking of going down a needle size or two to get a tighter fabric that won’t require and a top underneath.

With the focus on the Ranunculus this week, very little got done on my Dragonfly socks. They should be an FO by next week so I’ll post a picture next week.

BABY BLANKET

We are going to be visiting my stepdaughter, our granddaughter, and new great grandson this coming Saturday. So while I won’t get a blanket done in a week, I did decide to start one for the new great grandson. Hoping I will have it done by Christmas. It will again use up some of the acrylic yarn I have. I am just knitting a basic garter stitch striped blanket so it doesn’t get any more “brain dead”. It will be a good project to take along for the trip since I don’t need a pattern.

IN LOCAL NEWS…

Still trying to start-up a monthly knitting group. There were only 3 of us yesterday as 2 folks cancelled at the last minute. Hoping for a bigger turn out in September.

It’s been a quiet week on the home front for which I’m grateful. We have caught a break from the heat so I’m hoping to spend some time outside on my deck knitting this week for a change. I’m looking forward to my sister and brother-in-law coming into town this coming weekend for an extended visit. We are going to meet up with my brother and father at a pizza joint we used to visit 50+ years ago when I was in high school to celebrate my brother’s birthday and retirement.

Hope you have a wonderful week of crafting.

2022: Wks of May 15-28; FO and Wedding

May 29, 2022 by knittingissofun, posted in Baby Knitting, Brioche, Knitting, Knitting Plan, Project Bags, Sock Knitting, Yarn

Turns out I got VERY little knitting done over the past two weeks. I even got the toes started on a second pair of socks before we left for the wedding week as I really thought I’d finish the pair I already had on needles and would need the second pair to fill my time. Plus I brought the yarn and needles to start a top. Sadly I did end up doing all of the driving to and from Charleston so that was 2 days of no knitting. I did get the heels done on the socks I already had going. Hopefully I will get them finished this week. I just love Lollipop Yarns self striping yarns so I’m looking forward to wearing them.

BABY BLANKET FO!!!

The baby blanket is now finished. I will be mailing it to my neice.

I do love the bright colors of 100% acrylic but can’t imagine wearing it. I need to find a way to let my daughter-in-law know that I would prefer other types of yarn for Christmas. I already have plenty of acrylic yarn for future baby blankets.

BRIOCHE CLASS

Uh, nothing to see here. Hopefully this week I’ll get back to working on my swatches and seeing if I can fix mistakes. That is definitely a skill I’ll need before starting a brioche sweater.

WEDDING

Instead of knitting, the past two weeks were filled with picking people up and taking them back to the airport, wedding festivities and socializing. I can’t complain. Hubby did a fantastic job with the beach houses he rented for our week stay. We had an amazing view right on the ocean and our 3 bedroom unit was the meeting place for evening dinners for our “kids” and friends. The wedding was perfect. It was outdoor with the reception under a huge white tent. Afternoon thunderstorms had me in a panic. Rain on your wedding day is supposed to be good luck so apparently they are going to have fantastic luck!! But the skies cleared and everything was perfect by the time of the wedding ceremony and reception. It all went off flawlessly and most important my daughter and her husband had a wonderful time at their wedding.

HOME AGAIN

I’m happy to be back home and back to my kitty and knitting. So far I have managed to resist “sales” of yarn but I did acquire 2 more “walking” project bags. These are extremely lightweight nylon bags with a cross body strap that is perfect for carrying a sock project while taking my daily walk in Florida. I only had one bag and could not find any more with my internet searching. I wanted another in case I lost the only one I have. I contacted the yarn store where I orginally bought the bags years ago. Bless it if the owner didn’t find them!! Now I have blue, green and purple bags. They will be perfect for sock projects to take on my schooner trip in July. Lightweight and taking up very little space.

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.

2022: Wk of May 8-14; Baby Blanket, Brioche, and Beach Knitting

May 15, 2022 by knittingissofun, posted in Baby Knitting, Brioche, Knitting, Knitting Plan

BABY BLANKET

I’m almost done with the baby blanket. I will definitely finish by the end of the month. This week I was able to add three more colored stripes (with it’s matching white stripe). The blanket is probably big enough already but I plan to add one or two more color strips then bind off. I’ll be glad to have this done so I can start the next big project. I’d like to start a summer tee considering that hot weather seems to be already here. Maybe the Ranunculus.

BRIOCHE

Sadly, I did not make as much progress as I had hoped on brioche classes and swatching. Happily we had friends over for dinner twice this week but it did reduce my knitting time. I’m finding that figuring out how to read a brioche pattern is taking quite a bit of concentration so I can only work on brioche when I’m not going to be interrupted by hubby. I’ve already made a mistake in my swatch so I’ll be getting to practice how to fix it. Fingers crossed. I will certainly be using lifelines when I knit my sweater. Probably every 5 rows!!!

Guess I’m showing my age. The class posted a “live” on May 13 and May 27. I thought this meant Patty Lyons would have a Zoom session on those nights. Turns out “live” simply meant the videos would be available at 8PM on those days. Snooze.

BEACH KNITTING

Time to pack my knitting for my week in Charleston for my daughter’s wedding. I’m thinking positive and hoping to get in a fair amount of knitting done. Hopefully my hubby will have a “good” day so that I don’t have to do all the driving. I hope to finish the socks I already have on needles. I plan to get another pair on needles Monday so that I have a second pair to work on. Maybe I’ll start the Ranunculus too.

RECONNECT/DISCONNECT

I was happy to reconnect with some of my local knitting friends back at the coffee shop we used to meet at weekly. It’s sad that the group has fallen apart but it was wonderful to catch up with two of my knitting friends.

I also visited my LYS as I had a 25% off birthday coupon. Sadly I left the store empty handed!!! The owner is a sewist not a knitter. I appreciate that she is a fiber craft shop rather than a yarn shop. I only knit so I have no interest in the fabrics she sells. She has cut back on the yarns she offers as she has expanded to offer needlepoint and weaving items. Fortunately for me there is a yarn store I haven’t visited about the same distance from my house that I will now be checking out. I’m hoping to join some in-person knit nights in the hopes of meeting more knitters.

I’m off to go fishing again with my son. We did have a lovely Mother’s Day dinner of fried fish last Sunday. Hoping we have another successful fishing trip today. Wishing everyone a wonderful week of crafting.

2022: Wk 0f May 1 – 7; Tank Repair and WIP Updates

May 8, 2022May 8, 2022 by knittingissofun, posted in Baby Knitting, Brioche, Knitting, Knitting Plan, Sock Knitting, Sweater Knitting

IT’S A NEW MONTH

One of the things I love about this Ravelry blogger group is all the new things I learn. Again I’m adding tracking ideas from BackstageKatKnits. I like her idea of tracking what WIPs start the month and how the month looks at the end. I’m starting off the month of MAY with 4 WIPs. One is the repair of what I thought back in January was an FO but it turned out not to fit properly. Another WIP is my husband’s sweater which is hybernating indefinitely (does this count as a WIP since I never should have cast-on the collar??) While he wears sweaters now, he is not upset that it constantly falls to the bottom of the list as I want to make other items. I do hope to finish the other 2 WIPs this month so that I can a) maintain my goal of a pair of socks per month, and b) get that baby blanket DONE!!! Here’s a screenshot of the excel sheet I use to track what project(s) I knit on each day and how many stitches I knit.

PATTY LYONS BRIOCHE CLASS

I have watched all the intro videos. The swatch videos launched Friday night and I will start working on my swatches tomorrow. The class has 4 patterns; hat, fingerless mitts, and two scarfs, but I don’t plan to complete any of them. Hence I will not add them to my “WIPs”. The patterns are simply additional “swatches” to work on skills. The brioche swatch making will certainly slow down my ability to finish WIPS this month but I want to be ready for my next sweater, Newspaper by Joji Locatelli, which will be brioche.

WIP Update

So I’ve finished lengthening my daughter-in-laws Heldig tank. I’m hoping blocking will help blend the lengthened yoke with the rest of the body. I will be seeing her in a few weeks at my daughter’s wedding so I’ll be able to return it to her. It will be perfect to wear at the beach as we all are taking a week to enjoy Charleston, SC.

I’ve made a little progress on the baby blanket. I really don’t enjoy blankets as they simply take too long to knit. I saw my neice, and her baby, this weekend due attending the funeral of her grandfather, so it’s a shame I still don’t have it done. Fingers crossed I’ll be able to mail it to her by the end of the month.

MOTHERS DAY

It’s Mothers Day here in America. What a wonderful Mothers Weekend I’m having. Friday my son’s girlfriend gave me the potted plant (it was the craft for the preschool class she was helping in). Friday night a surprise delivery turned out to be flowers from my son and his wife in Florida with some yummy champaigne flavored gummies. Saturday brought another flower delivery from my stepdaughter. This afternoon I’m going fishing with my youngest son and his girlfriend. I haven’t been fishing in 50+ years. (My hubby has steaks thawing in case we don’t catch any/enough fish for dinner).

This week it should finally feel like spring finally or in more classic Cincinnati weather – skipping straight to summer. The cold April weather has been brutal for my husband. I’m looking forward to finally getting to start putting out deck pots of flowers and herbs. I hope all the mothers in the group had a wonderful Mothers Day. Wishing everyone a wonderful week of crafting.

2022: Wk of Mar 13 – 19; Yarn Road Trip and WIPs Update

March 20, 2022 by knittingissofun, posted in Baby Knitting, Knitting, LYS, Sock Knitting, Yarn

YARN ROAD TRIP

What a fun day we had at Four Purls Yarn Shop in West Haven, Florida!!! Every yarn base and color of Emma’s yarn was stocked in addition to several other brands of yarn. I did manage to control myself and only bought one skein, 150g, of Hella Hank that I will use to knit a Ranunculus sweater.

I would have bought the Slubby Slub for the Ranunculus but they didn’t have enough of the colorway I loved (10 Questions). They had a store sample made with the Slubby Slub and it really looked great. What a unique yarn but it took 2 skeins to make the Ranuculus. We took a class on making bobbles and the Latvian braid. I’m looking forward to adding a Latvian braid to the top of my socks or the cuff on my sweaters/tops.

My friends certainly made the trip worthwhile for the store and bought a lot of yarn. For them it was quite the treat to be able to touch and see yarns in person versus having to buy yarn online. I forget how lucky I am to living in a city with many yarn stores. A new one just open and I’m looking foward to attending a knit night there.

BABY BLANKET

I have made a little progress on my neice’s baby blanket. It’s a nice mindless knit for watching soccer games or social knitting. This will be my car knitting (if I get any) for the drive back north. A “design element” was created by my mistakenly mismatching the yarn weight of the white yarn with the color yarn. I actually like how it brings the white stripes forward and slightly puckers the colored stripes. Baby blankets get all bunched up anyway so laying flat isn’t really a requirement.

BABY SWEATER TEST KNIT

I finished the sleeves. This weekly I’ll be attaching the sleeves and finishing the yoke. Almost done!! I like to knit sleeves 2 at a time so that I’m sure they match. This pattern sadly on one row of the pattern requires carrying over the last stitch of the backside to the front. This is impossible with magic loop 2 at a time. So I told the designer, Anne Hanssen, that it would be good to warn knitters that they can’t do 2 at a time until after they have completed the cuff pattern. That said, I did my typical “wing it” and didn’t do the carryover. Somehow I was 1 under on the stitch count anyway (lots of complaints of that row is poorly written). The pattern calls for slipping 2 stitches and then putting them over the next knitted stitch. I just slipped 1 and passed it over. It looks fine.

Swirl E Rainbow Speckle Socks

I’m hoping to get these socks done the same time as I get the Baby Sweater done. They are a suprise gift for my step-daughter to be included when I mail her the baby sweater. I love the Swirl E pattern with this yarn. Fingers crossed I can get everything done so that I can mail the package by the 31st. Our days in Florida are coming to an end. I would really like to put them in the mail rather than pack them for the drive back to Ohio.

**Swirl E Pattern with AlwaysBeKind Chirstmas Lights Yarn**

Back to Ohio

I have really enjoyed wintering in Florida but I’m looking forward to returning to Ohio come April. It’s getting hot and more importantly humid here in Florida. I spend the winter sitting on our patio everyday. Now it’s getting too hot to sit outside. Hence I’m looking forward to once again sitting outside on our deck and knitting. My son has sent pictures of the outstanding job this contractor did on filling our former pool. I don’t have to dread looking out the window to see the concrete mistake of last summer. We now have a very large lawn that his dog is loving. We will be planting some fruit trees (sour cherry, pear??) when we get home.

Many of my Florida activities will be coming to an end anyway as all us snowbirds leave. I just can’t imagine living some place where more than half the population is only there for 3-4 months. The knitting group that went to the yarn store are year round residents so I’m optimistic the group will continue and I’ll be able to rejoin the group come December. Thanks to the “gifted” yarn, I plan to leave 3 tee projects plus a “walking sock” project in the condo we are renting next year rather than hauling the yarn back and forth. I have a vacuum sealed bag that I’ll store the yarn in. Hubby is happy I shouldn’t need to bring much yarn with me next year beyond WIPs I want to finish.

Another great week of retired life. Hope your days are going well too.

2021: wk of 11/28-12/4; WIP updates

December 5, 2021December 5, 2021 by knittingissofun, posted in Baby Knitting, Knitting, Knitting Plan, Sock Knitting, Sweater Knitting, Yarn

HELDIG TANK #2

This is an enjoyable knit but I didn’t get much done this week. Didn’t get any knitting done during the 4 day trip to Florida so very glad I didn’t promise this by Christmas. But it feels good to get back to working on it. I really did feel some “withdrawal” by not getting a chance to knit for several days.

CHRISTMAS SOCKS

The Christmas socks got most of the attention. I want them done by Christmas. I did order some lanolin soak to see if that helps soften up the wool. I got the heel done on one and am working up the ankle. The second sock is at the heel so hopefully an FO by next week. I’m proud of myself for successfully knitting the heel with the 9″ circular. In the past I’ve transferred the sock to a longer cord for magic loop but I wanted to see if I could avoid having to transfer the sock. I am a fan of 9″ socks as a way to have a very portable project. I’m hoping to be able to knit while taking our daily walk although I need to cast on a DK weight sock for that.

BABY BLANKET

I’m rethinking the baby blanket. My daughter-in-law ended up giving me a kit of pink yarns and a crochet book for Christmas. I’ve wanted to learn to crochet and blankets seem tailor made for crochet. So the rainbow baby blanket may go into hibernation for a future baby. Currently it’s just set aside as I focus on the Christmas socks and Heldig Tank.

DAUGHTER’S SAILORMOON

I am absolutely terrible about taking pictures so you will have to take my word that my duaghter’s Sailormoon sweater fit exactly as I had hoped. It looked terrific!! Not baggy like I tend to do since I’m so afraid of making sweaters too tight. (Actually my Sailormoon has gotten way too loose since I’ve lost weight this summer/fall.)

EARLY CHRISTMAS

We did open Christmas presents on our visits with the kids. My daughter got me some beautiful taupe Alpaca yarn. Now to figure out a project. I teased my daughter-in-law about being an enabler. She have me a book on yarn spinning and a book on weaving in addition to the book on crochet. The yarn book will be great just to learn more about yarns even if I don’t spin. So far I’m resisting hobby spread into spinning and weaving. Learning to crochet will be a 2022 goal.

NEVER A DULL MOMENT

The drive to Florida went well. Not surprisingly Sunday’s drive to Charleston took an extra 2 hrs due to all the Thanksgiving weekend traffic so it was a long 11 hr drive. The excitement was Monday when our son staying at the house called to say they had no water. We have a cistern so we collect and use rain water. Normally this isn’t an issue but we forgot about the gutters not being connected while the siding was being put on. So the tank ran out and fried the pump. We had to arrange for bulk water delivery and get a plumber ASAP!! Fortunately water got delivered Tuesday and the plumber was able to come Wednesday morning so only 2 days with no water at the house. (Our hot tub came in handy as a water source to flush toilets.)

I’ll end with photos from Naples, Florida. Hubby is happy to be in warm (hot for me) weather. Putting up Christmas decorations in shorts and a t-shirt is just weird. I’m excited to meet up with a new group of knitters on Tuesday plus the condo complex has a weekly knitting group on Wednesday. I’m very happy with all the activities I have in Florida.