Monday, September 30, 2024
The Terrier Strikes
Friday, September 20, 2024
Septembering
Happy almost fall! We've still been having summer temperatures here, but it looks like the heat will finally break over the weekend and we'll be in the seventies all next week. I have been gazing longingly at my corduroys and novelty sweatshirts, and I'm so excited for cooler weather to start coming in. Summer's always rough for me, between summer-onset seasonal depression and heat triggering a few of my medical conditions, so nothing beats the first few days of needing a flannel or cardigan on our morning walk as a sign of my favorite seasons' imminent arrival.
As most of you know, September is my birth month, and I had a really nice birthday! My biggest birthday gift to myself was Coleslaw's yearly appointment, which cost more than I expected, but she's in great health, and now I know how much to set aside for next year. This year was the year of DVD musicals for me: my family gave me Cats (2019), The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall, Love Never Dies, and the Les Misérables 25th anniversary concert. I also got two books from one of my favorite writers, and yarn for a New York Sour (Ravelry Link). Cake this year was carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, which I don't make super often because of the prep work for it, but it's always delicious.
I also finished my striped sweater this month, and I'm really looking forward to wearing it this fall and winter! It came out exactly as I hoped, and I didn't run out of yarn! I have leftovers of all three colors, which I'm setting aside for a worsted weight scrappy mitered square blanket at some point.
Speaking of my hands, I was finally diagnosed with severe carpal tunnel syndrome. It's no secret that my hands have been giving me a lot of trouble for a long time, and I'm looking forward to seeing the orthopedist and coming up with a plan of attack for that. Given the severity of my issues and the length of time it's been going on, I know that there's likely not going to be a quick fix, but I'm definitely looking forward to the day when I can write by hand, hold a cup of coffee, drive, and, yes, knit without needing to take breaks.
Friday, August 23, 2024
One Year of Coleslaw
Yesterday marked one year since I brough Coleslaw home, and it's amazing to see how much she's grown since then!
Friday, August 2, 2024
Warm Enough
Hello, friends! I finished my new office sweater, and while in my apartment it feels like the hottest, heaviest, least breathable sweater I have ever worn, in my office it just feels cozy and comfortable. Mission accomplished.
I've been watching lots of Olympics coverage this week—I always think I'm not going to care about the summer Olympics, and then as soon as the Opening Ceremony starts I go all in. Someday I'll learn to save up my PTO so I can take the Olympics off from work and just watch the games full-time, but until then I'll do my best to keep up with the replays.
Since the office cardigan is off the needles, I'm back to my striped pullover full time. I finished the back (I made a slight whoopsie with the neck decreases, but it's not big enough to rip back and fix, and I think I can hide it in finishing) and am now on sleeve island. Normally when I knit sleeves flat I prefer to do them at the same time, but given that I'm working with three colors and carrying the extra strands up the side of my work, I didn't want to juggle six balls of yarn, so I'm tackling these sleeves one at a time. I'm just a couple rows into the first sleeve, and hopefully they go as quickly as the back piece did!
Friday, July 26, 2024
2 Sweaters 2 Furious
I can't believe it's been three weeks since I last posted here! It's been a pretty busy month between work projects and lots of PT to address my longstanding arm and hand issues, but I have been doing plenty of knitting as well!
I work from home three days a week, but the other two days I need to be in the office, which is always freezing! I have a cardigan I keep there, but some days it just doesn't cut it, so I decided to make a second, heavier cardigan. Here we have some Wool Ease Thick & Quick in good old moss stitch. I have the back and both fronts finished, and just a couple inches left on sleeve number 1. It's been a great project to work on while reading and watching tv, and hopefully it will be exactly what I need on extra-cold office days.
I've also made significant progress on the back of my striped pullover. This month I learned that we have a knitting group in town, and I've managed to go twice so far. The people there are great, and it's been wonderful meeting some people in town after living here for a year and a half. This is the project I've been bringing to knit group with me, and even though I've done more chatting than knitting, it's moving along at a good clip.
I think I'm going to make lots more progress over the next sixteen days as I sit in front of the television to watch the Olympics. I'm definitely a winter games person, but there are still several sports I like watching during the summer games.
Friday, July 5, 2024
Sweater Progress
Friday, June 14, 2024
Day by Day and Square by Square
The sock blankie has continued to grow over the past couple of weeks, and I'm still not really working on anything else. I have no shortage of fingering-weight scraps, and it feels good to see the pile ever so slowly start to shrink. Every so often I think it'd be nice to work on a sweater or other more involved project, but this is still all I really have the attention span for, and it's so satisfying to finish each individual square.
Wednesday, May 29, 2024
Treading Water
Friday, May 10, 2024
Shawl Project, Family Visit, and a New Treasure
Friday, April 12, 2024
A Minor Setback
I finished the body of the chunky cabled cardigan I showed you a couple weeks ago and it is too small. By a lot. I either entered something wrong in the grading spreadsheet, or I am cursed. The sweater is currently sitting in time-out, because I need to get a longer needle to reknit the body.
To make myself feel better, I cast on a shawl.
Assuming it all goes to plan, it will be very charming and a pleasant little knit and just what I need as a little break from the cardigan of doom.