Getting Handsy

As you can see, I've not made very much progress on my mitten this week.

This is because I didn't cut a long enough end to kitchener the cuff, and instead of fixing it right away, I tried leaving it on my table for several days to see if it'd fix itself.

I'm just a few rounds away from starting the really fun part of the chart, and it's going swimmingly so far. Pretty much all this progress was made last night while watching Christmas at Dollywood at my mum's house, and now that I've actually made it onto the hand portion I think I'll make some good progress this week (and just in time—it felt like -14F this morning!).

This weekend was crazy busy. Yesterday was my choir's Christmas service, and we sang the Vivaldi Gloria. Saturday morning we had rehearsal for it, and then I drove up to the city to see my brother's Christmas concert. Usually I meal prep on Sundays, but hopefully I have stuff to tide me over, because yesterday all I did between finishing my concert and going to mum's for dinner and the movie was nap! 

Humble Beginnings

Oh my gosh, I can't believe it's been over a week already. Thanksgiving was great—it was quiet and cozy, just my mum and my siblings and me (and the dogs!), and we made way too much food and watched the parade. I spent the rest of my long weekend resting, catching up on reading, and working towards my NaKnitMo goal (which I met just in time on Saturday evening!). It was nice to have four days off, but now this week feels like it's dragging.

I haven't been knitting much yet this week (I did a LOT of knitting last week though, so of course I want a bit of a break), but I did start my 2019 Gift-a-long project. I'm finally knitting the Birch Bark Mittens, which have been in my queue since the 2017 GAL, and I seriously cannot wait to have these on my hands. I haven't counted the rows in a hot minute, but I'd guess I have about half of one cuff here, which is a decent enough start. Depending on how long it takes me to finish these, I may also jump into the Feet/Legs thread in the GAL group and knit up some Woodland Loafers out of a great gold wool-mohair blend I scored at a flea market last year.

I'm not doing much gift knitting—as usual, I'm knitting for my mum, and that's it. That project is started and is going really smoothly so far, and I'm already finished with the rest of my gift shopping, so I can just settle down into cozy mode and drink cocoa and eat cake to my heart's content! 

Finally Some FOs!

I finally managed to get some FO photos taken this weekend! Alas, I made the collar on my Villainous CYOAT so tight it won't go over my head, so I'll have to rip that out and redo it. But my Ripple Bralette and Currituck Sound are both gorgeous!

The only thing I'd change about my Ripple Bralette is making the straps two inches longer. I guessed on these ones, and I think I want more cleavage showing. I'm thrilled to bits with how this one came out, and I love wearing it. I already have yarn set aside for another one, and I'll remember to lengthen the straps on that one.

Ravelry Page: Ripple Bralette

Pattern: Ripple Bralette by Jessie Mae Martinson

Yarn: Tanis Fiber Arts 75/25 merino silk fingering "Ballet Slipper"

I finished my Currituck Sound on Friday night and I'm SO IN LOVE with it. I'm so glad I decided to cut out the second repeat of the zig-zag slipped stitches, because I definitely wouldn't have been able to do two-color brioche if I hadn't. In a more perfect world, I'd have been able to get another two or three inches of brioche out of the orange yarn, but I'm still super happy with how the shawl looks.

Ravelry Page: Currituck Sound

Pattern: Currituck Sound by Kristen Jancuk

Yarn: The Dyeing Arts Splendiferious Sock (blue) and The Dyeing Arts Superwash Sock (orange)- both dyed by me at a dye workshop several years ago

(I have no clue what my eye is doing in that picture, but the shawl looks GREAT)

We Have Brioche!

As you can see, I decided that three braids was enough, and I'm now on the final brioche section of my Currituck Sound. I've never done two-color brioche, and I've only ever done one practice swatch of single-color brioche, years ago, but it's going well. I messed up the setup rows and had to rip back and redo them, but in the scheme of things that was just a minor hiccup.

I'm hoping to get this finished tonight and then catch up on blocking over the weekend, but we'll see if I get distracted by one of my current books. My bell choir is playing on Sunday, so I have morning rehearsals tomorrow and Sunday before we preform. I'm also planning on making a couple of loaves of bread to use for stuffing on Thanksgiving, so I definitely have plenty to do this weekend! 

Currituck Sounding

My Currituck Sound is finally portable again, and I have delusions of finishing her early this weekend. Is that wildly optimistic? Probably!

I decided to cut out one of the repeats of the zig-zag slipped stitch section. I really, really love how that section looks, but it wasn't my favorite thing to knit, and I started running low on my orange yarn. I have the NMKAL version of the pattern, which includes options for twisted rib or fisherman's rib to finish the shawl, but I really love the look of two-color brioche and want to use it in my shawl, so I decided to cut a repeat and save the orange yarn for a nice big chunk of brioche.

I'm on the vikkel braids now—the sample used three, and I think I want five before starting the brioche. I had to look up Kristen's tutorial for the vikkel braids—I've done them before, but I always want to ktbl in the second stitch by going in between the stitches instead of going around behind both of them, which works, but it puts the braid on the wrong side of the work. It's all sorted now, and hey, if I ever need to work a vikkel braid from the back, I know how! 

WIP Wrangling

The past few years I've participated in NaKniSweMo and tried to knit a sweater from start to finish during November, but this year as November approached, I felt overwhelmed at the thought of casting on another big project when I have so many WIPs in various stages right now. So I'm participating in the more chill NaKnitMo, setting a stitch goal of 75k stitches for the month as well as an unofficial goal to finish up as many WIPs as possible.

I've already finished one project (my Villainous CYOAT, which just needs blocking), and I'm making great progress on my Currituck Sound, which has been sitting abandoned since last year. Currituck isn't especially portable right now (I'm in a fiddly section that really ought to be knit on a sofa), so this week I've been carrying around a shawl sample I cast on back in September and then promptly set aside. I'd love to get this finished and written this month, but I also just got the last skein I need for Arachne, and I can't wait to get that off the needles too.

(I also want to finish the sleeves for my Old Harry that's been languishing since last winter, and in a world where I had more time and no hand/wrist pain I'd think about finishing my Guernsey, Recharge, and Cormac, but it turns out there IS a limit to how much I can fantasize about actually getting done in a month.)

Weekends

I've reached the bottom ribbing on my Arachne and I've come to the unsettling conclusion that I don't have enough yarn. This is all my fault—when I was gathering materials, I thought I'd knit the size smaller, and then once I read the pattern I realized I needed the size 49, and it never occurred to me that knitting the next size up would mean I'd need an extra skein for the sleeves. I've ordered the yarn, and hopefully it will be here in a week or so.

This weekend was the holiday bazaar at the Lutheran church up in the city, and I went with my mum. It was, as always, a great day, and I got a ton of great stuff. Walking around a crowded building for almost three hours is no joke, though—I ended up taking a four-hour nap once I got home! Yesterday was a baking day, and I have fresh bread and coffee cake to show for it.

This week we're taking measurements at the dance studio, so I'm going to have some long days. Lee Lee's not going to be happy about that, but I'm leaving Friday night open for snuggles, and hopefully she'll forgive me. 

Catching Up

How have almost two weeks passed already? This month seems to have practically flown by, but a lot has been going on, so I guess that's understandable. Last week I transferred to a new position in my library, and I'm really excited for the move. I'm really enjoying my new position, and I can't wait to finish my training. I'm working in the Oral History department now, and while it's definitely quieter than Interlibrary Loan was, there's a lot to do, and I'm really excited about the work.

Bell choir rehearsals are also going great—there's one song in our program this winter that I don't play in at all, so I'm getting even more knitting time in during rehearsals than usual. My Ripple Bralette is finished and I can't wait to start wearing it—I just blocked it over the weekend, and I don't think I'll have time to get pictures taken until next weekend, but it looks stunning laid out on my futon.

My main project for the past week or so has been Arachne. I fell hard for this pattern when it came out, and I was really excited for the KAL for it...and then I didn't manage to cast on until October 17th. For a couple days I entertained the fantasy that I might be able to finish by the November 1st deadline, but that's pretty clearly not going to happen. That's okay, though. I definitely plan on finishing it in November, and my aesthetic is such that nobody is going to think twice about me wearing a Halloween sweater year-round.

Linking up with Crafting On

Wednesdaying

Can we have three-day weekends every week? On Saturday I managed a nice long nap, on Sunday I got to snuggle my friend's baby, and I got six library books read. Monday I finally caught up on some housework, and I started ironing fabric for a new dress but had to stop due to an accident involving the hot iron and my foot (I'm okay! It's just a small burn and there's no blistering, so I should be back to normal pretty quickly.)

My Ripple Bralette has continued to prove to be excellent reading knitting. I've finished the body and am working my way though the first of the top fronts. I've added quite a bit of length to this, and I'm anxious to see how it will fit once it's finished and blocked.

Bell choir starts up again tonight, which I've been looking forward to, but it means I need to refigure my schedule. Historically, I've just gone straight to practice from work and brought dinner to eat quick before rehearsal started, but now that I have Lee Lee, that's not really an option. Today I'm going to try riding my bike home quick, letting Lee Lee out and feeding her, and grabbing a quick bite before driving to rehearsal. I think I'll have just enough time to make it work, and hopefully the weather will cooperate for the next six weeks so that I don't have to come up with a Plan B.

Speaking of Lee Lee, she's settling in great. It seems like her favorite spot when I'm at work is up at the head of my bed, right next to the window. I don't know which is a bigger draw for her—being able to smell me on my pillow or being able to look out the window, but I'm glad she's figuring out a routine for when I'm at work. 

Rippling

Oh my gosh, I am completely blown away by how successful the launch for Suz has been so far! You can still get 20% off the pattern on Ravelry with code FAVORITE through tomorrow, so be sure to take advantage of that if you haven't yet!

After that weird mess of a summer, I'm working on re-calibrating my knitting projects. I have a couple of small design samples on the needles, but I've mostly been working on a Ripple Bralette for myself. I've had this pattern in my queue since it came out, and when I saw the BIPOC Make-a-long on Instagram, I wanted to join in. My favorite outfits to wear around the house are leggings, bralettes, and robes, and with cooler weather coming, I thought a knit bralette (or two, or seven) sounded perfect.

This yarn is a 75/25 merino/silk from Tanis Fiber Arts, and it's absolutely decadent. The color is so romantic, and I can't wait to find out how comfortable the finished bralette will be (Prediction: So Comfortable). This is a super enjoyable knit so far—it's a great purse project, and I can work on it while watching TV or even knitting. I already have a skein of sock yarn picked out for a second Ripple Bralette!