I’m joining Kat & the Unravelers today for Unraveled Wednesday!
KNITTING:
It’s a very exciting day! Not only do I have an official FO…
…but we’re also going on a field trip! Step right this way… ( to visit Modern Daily Knitting!!).
My sister Ann & her family departed for Peru very early this morning. It's been so great to have her/them around so much and it was a nice break from the Airbnb grind. The boys were back & forth to Madison quite a bit, so they never even had time to get bored. Ann did a few little projects around her house. Addy & Rusty made great progress on a Little Free Library that will get installed over there this summer. And I really enjoyed getting away to Boston with Ann.
On Thursday afternoon, Rusty & I will head to Chicago to more easily catch our early morning flight to Mexico on Friday. There are a couple of art events in Todos Santos, plus the installation of the giant mural he painted, but there should also be plenty of time for soaking up some warm weather & sunshine… and relaxing!
After that, things are going to be pretty quiet around here until mid-summer when everyone's back, including Kate & Maddy!
I have a Musselburgh that's growing quite nicely, and it'll make great travel/vacation knitting. I'm also starting another blanket project using a stash of mini skeins that I've had for a few years. It's still in the planning/will it work/will I like it stage and portable, so I'll be bringing some of that along, too. It's destined to be a graduation (!!!!) present for Mack!!!!
In other news, I found buttons for the kids' sweater in Boston and finally affixed them on Saturday night.
I took a few pictures yesterday. Davy's the cutest little stinker…
Did you catch that on the IG last week? I'm so excited. Stay tuned!!!
I posted a photo of the kids' cardigan on FB/IG yesterday and my Aunt Arlene (who will be 93 in a few months) commented, "You knit just like your Grandma. Maybe more."
(I might have to print that quote and frame it!)
Here's Junah modeling said sweater. Lordy, it's going to be handed down to Ginny pretty quick, I think! The kids are all growing so fast.
And a better view of where I'm at. It's been super busy around here, but I managed to steam block the buttonhole band, collar, and pocket trim, and I got half a sleeve sewn in.
Ann & I shopped for buttons last week but the selection was not very plentiful nor inspiring, and I think the ones I settled for are too big, anyway. I'll be headed to BOSTON (Cambridge) with Annie next week for a long weekend — some of it work-related for her, but all pleasure for me! It dawned on me this morning that there are probably some pretty nice shops there that have buttons. I've already added Gather Here and Mind's Eye Yarns to my list (both are within a few miles of our hotel) and would love to hear suggestions if anyone has any. Hopefully, I'll have made some progress with the sewing up by then!
We had a birthday celebration for Junah on Thursday at Ann's.
I just can't believe he's 9 already!
Yesterday, everyone came over to my house for another get together (do 'em while we can!).
It doesn't take long for the place to get trashed (in a good way) (and they clean up… eventually) and this was before Lincoln Logs were wedged in.
The girls have been finding their own spots — Ginny favors the space under the stairs and Malina had herself pretty well set up in the cardboard playhouse.
The Garden Room was quiet enough for naptime. So sweet!
Creativity has been flowing, too.
Ann gave the girls some "crafty" gifts on Thursday and Malina sat right down to work on hers!
Ginny came in our back door yesterday, spotted something that she wanted to draw, and immediately got supplies together. She's kind of blowing us all away… she's only 6! My girls were always a bit advanced in the area of art – IT'S IN THE BLOOD — but this is beyond, and to that I give credit to the internet for all the amazing tutorials that are out there, and to the pandemic for super-sizing what's available.
Rusty & Addie are teaming up to build a Little Free Library to install at Ann's house! They drew up some designs, decided on a plan, and have been working on it for a couple of mornings, so far. Eventually, it'll be painted to match the house. It's going to be so cute!
I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today for Unraveled Wednesday!
KNITTING:
Oh boy, it's getting exciting now!
The collar was knit with German Short Rows for shaping and it turned out great… after a couple of tries and a pause. I had to begin twice — I was almost at the halfway point when I dropped a stitch (one of the GSRs) and couldn't recover. Fine & dandy, I was a lot more confident the second time and, of course, it knit up quicker. At the halfway mark, though, I struggled a bit with what I was reading in the pattern and how it would actually be done. I put it down and took a break — two episodes of Ted Lasso (finally!) allowed my brain to calm down and I told myself what I always tell myself in these situations: "Just do what it says!" When I actually picked it up and DID it instead of just reading it… VOILA!
So it looks great and then the pattern said to graft the collar stitches to the picked up stitches. I went a tad further and picked up NEW stitches in the original stitches picked up for the collar because I thought it would be much easier to graft live stitches, and because I thought it would look neater… more finished. It was kinda fiddly but I did it.
I went with the flow and what felt/looked good, so there were about 9-10 fewer new stitches picked up — the stitch markers are where I'm fudging an extra stitch so that it all evens out.
I'm also grafting 1×1 ribbing to stockinette… and decided to do it in regular kitchener stitch (stockinette) and I think it's going to work out great! I did about 1/4 of the grafting this morning. I'm using the video from City Knitting in Grand Rapids that Kay posted the other day at Modern Daily Knitting. So smart!
READING:
I'm still reading The Miracle of the Bells, by Russell Janney, and listening to A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life by George Saunders. Actually, I haven't been listening much at all lately! With all the people in/out and car shuffling in the past month or so, I didn't even have my car for quite a while… and that's where I do the majority of my listening.
Hope you're having a great week! I'm off to pick up Ann and run a few errands.
I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today for Unraveled Wednesday!
KNITTING:
I'm about to begin armhole shaping for the right front, which is the last major piece of the cardigan! I'm excited for the blocking/taming of all those pieces because, man, are they ever curly!
That's 5 Point Bomber central right there — all my MDK Atlas yarn & tools (more needles than I need!) in one place! I tuck my iPad in there when I go over to Ann's for laundry/knitting… very portable. This Sunday will be the last of that for a while, except for a guest booking over New Year's, because they arrive on Sunday night and will be "here" (back & forth to Madison in various configurations) until early February!
READING:
I just finished reading The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (pages) for book club. I'd enjoyed Daisy Jones & The Six (audio), also by Taylor Jenkins Reid, so it didn't seem like too big of a gamble! Indeed, it's a pretty easy "beach" read and I sped right through it — not great literature but a fun diversion and I was surprised at the end!
My listening has been spotty for various reasons… currently: A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life by George Saunders. I am really enjoying it, and love listening to George Saunders.
_ _ _ _ _
I picked up Kate last Sunday and she's here for about a month… though she just left (in my car) for a quick work-related trip to Chicago & Madison. She hasn't even seen the kiddos yet because Ginny & Ali have been sick. I think Ginny finally went back to school today after being out for a week! Everyone else is holding on over there, so hopefully we'll all get together soon.
Hope everything is good in your neck of the woods!
