Unraveled Wednesday 01/01/20

Good Morning and Happy New Year!


Here I go - tempting fate by posting (or at least trying to post) two days in a row from home!!  It is another grey and chilly morning here.  There is snow around us, but thankfully none right here.  Yesterday the sun managed to sneak out in the afternoon, so after lunch I headed over to one of my favorite trails along the canal (between the Schuylkill River and the Canal in the Phoenixville area - Dee, you and I have walked there).  It was the perfect time to go.  Not many people on the trail - a couple of walkers, a few with dogs (one guy on a bike who was having one of his dogs pull him and the other running behind him!).  It was so peaceful.  There were plenty of geese and ducks and then this magnificent creature appeared in front of my eyes (on the opposite bank of the canal).

He/She was one of the largest Herons I have ever seen.  Truly gorgeous.  I pointed the bird out to several people, but apparently they are not nature lovers, as they had no idea what it was - one guy wasn't even sure it was a bird!  LOL.  I'm happy to report my old friend is still on his/.her bench (but I think a Santa Hat would have helped a bit.)

How was your New Year's Eve?  Fletch and I had our usual quiet evening at home (we stopped going out New Year's Eve decades ago).  I made a crab quiche and steamed some broccoli for dinner.

It tasted good going down, but a few hours later I was not feeling very well.  We watched an episode of The Crown and I went to bed by 10:30!

But meanwhile, it's Unraveled Wednesday and I want to show you 3 of the projects I am working on.  Yes, three!!  First up, the never-ending Canary Blanket for Colin.  It is slowly coming along.  I am about 1/3 of the way finished (or at least I've used 1/3 of the yarn I purchased).

 

 

I was a little disappointed to see how small it looks on the bed, but it is a blanket to wrap up in watching TV, no need to be queen-sized!  It is just not the speediest of knits.  Still, I will plug away on it.  Next up some Monkey Socks:

 

 

I cast on for this sock on Christmas Day (early morning before Fletch got up).  This is a slower-than-normal knit for me due to the purls at the beginning of the rows.  The yarn is Sole to Sole by Sirdar and it is "sticky" (for lack of a better word).   It is 75% wool and 25% nylon, but feels different than other yarns I have used.  Still, I like the colors.  I just turned the heel last night (using the black yarn that Nancy sent me - the toes will also be black). 





Next up is this:

 

 

Oh how I wish you could touch this!  Mailing's parents gifted me 4 skeins of yarn at Christmas (!!) and this is one of the skeins.  It is 100% Baby Alpaca.  I decided to make my own pattern (Ha!) for a headband to wear when I walk (my ears are so sensitive to wind and cold).  I'm basing it on one of the many cable patterns in the book shown (which Fletch gave to me last year).  This is very fun, but also slow.  The Japanese cable patterns are complicated and fiddly (personal opinion), but the result is gorgeous.





Not shown are the shawl in progress (has not been touched in months...but that will be remedied soon) and a sweater cast on ??? - I can't remember when.  It is a summer sweater, so that may marinate a bit longer.  LOL





So that is currently where everything is.  Our Christmas Tree is still up and decorated.  I always liked taking it down on January 1st, but Fletch likes it to stay up longer.  And, truthfully, I'd rather just relax and knit, cook, and hopefully get a walk in today.  I'm making pork chops for dinner along with black eyed peas (for luck) and smothered cabbage.  None of that takes long to prepare, so I've the day ahead of me to do what I like!





Linking up with Kat on this first day of the New Year for Unraveled Wednesday.





Cheers to 2020 my friends - let's make it a banner year!