And I finished something! Pattern: Boneyard Shawl, by Stephen West Yarn: Ullcentrum 2-ply gradient; sport weight yarn, 3 skeins, 984 yards Started: January 1, 2024 Finished: April 1, 2024 For: Me Needle: 4mm Chiaogoo metal Yarn/Pattern rating: *****/***** What I liked/learned with this project: I’ve made several of the Boneyard shawls. It’s mindless, and good with many different yarn weights and styles. I used 3 skeins of this, and I only wasted less than 10 g of the yarn getting the gradients to work. The yarn is lovely, woolly stuff. I may have more in the stash. As per my typical inatten ..read more

Two and a half months later… The last few months really got away from me. I signed up for 3 separate classes at the Graham School for both fall and winter quarters. These are 3 hour classes per week for each class, with an accompanying amount of reading. While I enjoyed all of them, it hasn’t left me much time for other things besides the real life stuff that doesn’t go away, even if I’d rather be sitting in a chair reading. I had signed up for another three classes for spring quarter, which starts next week, but came to my senses yesterday and dropped one of the classes. It was a class on Uly ..read more

I finished a couple of things this week! Our neighbor was over last week to have a wee dram with John. Whilst he was distracted, Hank ate his hat. So I did what every good knitter would do. I searched the stash and knit him a new one. The yarn is Manos del Uruguay Wool Clasica, from deep stash. I just cast on as many stitches as I thought it needed and knit away. Of course, I have more of this in the stash, and John needed one, too. This is good hat yarn. It’s a thick and thin Aran weight, so it goes fast. I cast on 80 stitches, single rib till long enough to make a thick turned-up cuff, t ..read more

It’s time for more finished stuff! First up is a pair of socks. Aren’t those pretty? The yarn is Urth striped sock yarn, Uneek Sock, in oranGGe. These are for me. The pattern is the same as always, though I continue to tweak it to fit better. Currently, I cast on 68 stitches, but increase to 72 just before the heel flap, to fit my instep better. I decrease back down to 68 in the gusset decreases. I also knit the heel flap a few rows longer. This is what I love about hand-knit socks: they can be truly customized for the wearer’s foot. These were knit on 2.00 mm double points, with a picot hemm ..read more

It’s a finished project! Isn’t THAT fancy?! Project Details: Pattern: 22 Little Clouds, by Martina Behm. Yarn: Black Wolf Ranch Spirit Alpaca/silk blend. This is a DK weight, I used 3 skeins, or 750 yards. The ranch is located in St. Ignatius, Montana, they are on facebook, but don’t have a retail outlet online. I bought this four years ago at a local fiber festival. Started: September 15, 2023 Finished: November 19, 2023 For: Me Needle: 3.75 mm Yarn/Pattern rating: *****/***** This is a free pattern, but it is clearly written, very easy to make. The yarn is stunning, I wish I had a whole ba ..read more

A Tale in Four Photos Ouch. Yes, that was a painful decision. In case you can’t tell what that blob is, it’s the Vanilla Sweater, which I started LAST FALL. I got it almost to where it was in that first picture and decided that it was too snug, and that I needed to do some body increases. Which would have been fine, except I was almost ready to start the bottom hem. I put it in a bag and hid it, like you do, thinking it would fix itself. Right. Fast-forward to earlier this month. I hauled it out, tried it on again, because, you know, it COULD have been fixed in the back of my closet. Nope ..read more

Project Details: Pattern: Hitchhiker, by Martini Behm. As of today there are more than 35,000 of these either finished or in progress on Ravelry. That is sort of moderately insane. Yarn: Arcane Fibre Works 80/20 fingering yarn. The color name is Who’s A Good Boy. Though this is technically sock yarn, it’s pretty soft. I’m not sure how it would hold up in socks. It’s divine as a little neck accessory though! Started: January 2023 Finished: August 31, 2023 For: ?? This is going in the gift basket for someone. Needle: 3.25 mm Yarn/Pattern rating: *****/*****. This may be the perfect knitting pa ..read more

It’s finished! Well, it’s been finished for awhile, I’ve just been too busy to get it photographed. You can tell by the socks and Birkies that it’s not that hot here. We’ve had a few warm days, up into the low 90’s, but that’s it. Yes, I’m extremely grateful that the awful weather around the world seems to have bypassed us for now. Today it was in the mid-70’s, dry, and with a light little breeze. Now, on to the SHAWL! Project Details: Pattern: Cathedral Stole, by Birgit Freyer Yarn: Tajik Kid Mohair. This was marketed and sold by Peace Fleece. It is handspun mohair made by a woman in Afghan ..read more

I need to straighten some pins on that, but I’ve gotten it blocked. This is huge. I’m about 5’9”, and this is longer than I am. I do love my generous shawls. Finished project post coming soon ..read more

Our peonies have been taking a bit of a beating with the windy days we’ve had, but I rescued these for the mantle. Note the little Corgis. The little felted guy was made by one of our grandsons, using a photo of our previous corgi, Lewey. The other piece is a lovely Tasha Tudor corgi, sent to me by a fellow knitter, Robin. Also note that both are safely out of reach of the Hankster. “Who me ..read more