Closing February

Good Morning!

The day started out quite dark…like I thought it was dusk…and there was a light dusting of snow (un-predicted) in the yard and on the cars.  It was cold.  But, the sun is out now and shining strong (of course, there is the prediction of some flurries tonight into tomorrow morning).

I managed to knit on both the Hitchhiker and the socks yesterday, but no new pictures to share.  Both are coming along nicely.  I hope to knit more on the Hitchhiker at lunch today.  The sock pattern is a bit fiddly – especially with yarn that seems to split quite easily – but as long as I take my time and go slowly on the one row with the “knot” it seems to be working out.

Last night I decided to start The Library Book (and abandon The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock).  I think my reading slump may have ended!  I only managed to read a few chapters before turning out the light, but so far it is holding my attention. 

And, leaving you with a chuckle:  the other day I was cleaning out my wallet and rediscovered a note that Colin had written years ago (probably 15 or so years ago) that I had saved.  We always leave notes for each other if we are running out, and Colin learned early on to do the same.

To Whom It May Concern:

Have gone out at 12:30 to 

dismantle framework of society.  

Back for dinner.

Love,

Colin

(son)

He cracks me up and I love his sense of humor. 

We are almost at the weekend and we are at the end of February!!  Have a good one.

Unraveled Wednesday 02-27-19

Good Morning!

The grey skies have returned and I saw the snow symbol in our forecast for Friday.  Ugh.  I love living in a location where we have four seasons and I don't really mind Winter...but let me tell you, I am more than ready for some sun and warmth.

Meanwhile, the knitting continues.  I finally remembered to take a picture of the cowl I am making for Fletch.  This is just a tiny look:

The yarn is from Ancient Arts Yarn and the colourway is Birch Leaves.  In real life it has almost a hint of olive in the yellow.  It's very pretty.  I wanted to make the cowl with cables, but Fletch requested a simple design, so that's what I'm doing.  He also wanted it to button, so I'm knitting it flat and adding buttonholes.  It's going well and, perhaps, it will be finished this weekend!

Next up, the start of my Shell Cottage socks.  Thank you all for your advice - reading comments was like a "duh" moment.  Why hadn't I thought of moving the stitches so that a purl was not the first stitch on the needles?  It was also comforting to know I am not the only one who dislikes a purl stitch as the first on DPNs.

I'm really liking the stitch pattern (though the "knot" takes a bit of doing - I'm not fast at it) and the yarn is so soft looking (and feeling).  i think these will turn out well.

On the reading front, I have nothing to report.  I still seem to be in my reading slump where nothing is particularly grabbing my attention.  I started the Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock the other night, but the writing to me seemed stilted.  The other books that came through on Overdrive (all in one day!) are There, There, The Library Book and Thirteen Moons (Charles Frazier).  Maybe I'll try one of them...or just pick up something from the piles of unread books around the house.  One day something will grab me.

Joining Kat and friends on this id-week day.  What are you up to?

Teeny Needle Tuesday

Hello All,

A quick post as this morning is turning out to be quite busy!  The wind seems to have (somewhat) died down (though I was woken in the night by the roar outside our bedroom windows). and the sun is out!

Already we are once again at TNT (Teeny Needle Tuesday).  Some, but not much, progress has been made - a couple of leaves and a star shaped motif.

I've been struggling with this and have been complaining to Fletch that the light in the kitchen (where I stitch) is not as bright as it used to be.  We have LED bulbs in the light fixtures and when Fletch first put them in the room was bright - brilliant really.  Now, not so much.  Well, he finally took the globe off the overhead fixture and discovered one of the LED bulbs was out.  Duh!  The good news is that more are being shipped to us from our friends at Amazon and they should be here by tomorrow or Thursday.  Let there be light!!

Closing went off well and fast for Colin & Mailing who are now happy home owners.  Not only did their realtor give them a gift, but the sellers also gave them some gifts which is just so sweet.  I'm happy for them that it has been a good/positive experience.

And that's it for me - gotta run.  Have a great day.

The Wind!!

Good Morning!

Wow!  What a windy night and today as well.  I heard that gusts were 65 MPH and higher!!  All I know is I woke up a number of times in the night because of windows rattling, etc. 

It was a nice weekend, beginning on Friday with a finish of the Sunday Swing socks!!  And I even wore them on Saturday.  They are so comfy!!

A fun and fast knit.  As usual (for me) the second sock flew off the needles.

Lunchtime knitting progress is visible in my Hitchhiker which is steadily growing.  What a relaxing knit this is!  Thanks, Bonny for pushing me over the edge to knit this!

I'm loving the yarn and it is working out so much better as a Hitchhiker than it did as socks. 

I managed to do a little bit of stitching - update tomorrow - and also am about half-way through the cowl I'm making for Fletch.  I keep forgetting to take a picture of that, but will try to remember.

I decided to join Helen Stewart's 2nd Handmade Sock Society and the first pattern was released on February 14th.  Named Shell Cottage, I picked out some yarn (recently acquired while out and about with Dee the other week) that reminded me of scallop shells - some pinks, muted purples/blues, a bit of yellow. 

My issue is the way the pattern starts with a purl stitch on each needle.  Whenever I do that I get huge ladders.  The ribbed cuff is P1, K1TBL.  I tried it twice and gave up.  I'm doing my usual rib of K2,P2 which is working fine (though the yarn is a bit splitty).  The leg pattern starts with a Purl stitch on each needle, so I'm hoping I can do this.  Any suggestions/tips are more than welcome - I need help - LOL.  I am also determined to figure this out and master it.

On Saturday, the tax appointment went well - much better than I expected and then I met up with Dee for coffee and knitting.  always a nice time.  When I got home I made a Green Curry Shrimp & Veggie dish...which I forgot to photograph (but I was starving!!).  Yesterday I made spicy Cuban Beef.  Yum.

Finally!  I finished reading Where the Crawdads Sing and give it 3.5 stars.  It seemed to take forever for me to read, yet whenever I picked it up I enjoyed it.  I just didn't feel compelled to pick it up that often and it wasn't a book I couldn't wait to get back to.  I also figured out the ending which lowers the rating for me.  To be fair, I've also been in a bit of a reading slump where it is hard for me to get interested in anything!  Hopefully that will change soon  About 5 books came through on Overdrive, so I have plenty to choose from (not to mention ALL the books in the house that I have yet to read).

That brings us to Monday morning and back to work.  Colin & Mailing close on their house in just under an hour!!  So excited for them.

Wishing you all the best week!

A Day Off

Good Morning!

The snow came and my office was closed.  Actually, an e-mail went out Tuesday afternoon stating that the office would be closed Wednesday due to the impending storm.  YAY!  I went to bed Tuesday night without setting an alarm and slept for 10 hours!!  When I got up I wondered what was going on - no precipitation of any kind.  But, it started snowing around 9:30 and by 3 p.m. or so it had changed to sleet and freezing rain.  I was happy to be home😉

A bit of knitting was done:

The second Sunday Swing is now on the foot.  One pattern repeat finished; 3 more to go and then the toe decreases.  I had thought I would work on some other items as well - stitching, Fletcher's cowl, Hitchhiker...but instead I took care of some chores (cleaning, laundry and pulling the tax stuff all together).  I also managed to take a 2 hour nap!!  I think I made up for those nights of insomnia I had recently.

I also enjoyed not being on the computer...and will attempt to catch up on some blog reading today.  I have a few financial reports to run and send out, but other than that, my day is pretty open (and Hitchhiker came to work with me for lunchtime knitting).

The sun is out, the snow and ice are melting and Fletch is grilling tonight!  I think it's going to be a great day and I hope yours is as well.

Teeny Needle Tuesday

Hello!

It is a cold morning (25), but the sun is out and the sky is blue.  I'm wondering how long that will last...I've been receiving e-mails and texts from the "local authorities" warning of a winter storm from 6 a.m. tomorrow until 1 a.m. Thursday...and Thursday the temp should rise into the 50's.  The roller coaster continues.

So, it is Tuesday which means TNT (Teeny Needle Tuesday).  Here is the meager progress I made on the Penny Pumpkin piece.

It looks a bit wonky at the top, but it's just that the fabric is wrinkled and I didn't do a good job of smoothing it out.  When working on this I use magnification which looks like this:  Magnifier - I call it my crown - lol.  I also use an Ott light.  But, the battery on that died and Fletch replaced it with one that is not quite as strong and it is no longer very helpful.  I need to remind him to get the *right* battery for it. 

My eyes had had enough after stitching the buds/blossoms on the right and the leaf on the left, so I switched to my Sunday Swing 2nd sock and managed to get one pattern repeat completed before calling it a night.

Yesterday was busy enough that no knitting was done at lunch and in fact lunch was taken at my desk while working (a cup of noodles and an apple).  Today (so far) looks to be better and I should be able to work on my Hitchhiker for a bit.  More on that tomorrow....

Have a wonderful day!

Weekending

Good Morning!

Another grey, wet day here...but that is better than we thought.  We were supposed to get more ice last night, but all we got was rain which is fine with me.  The roads were empty this morning thanks to it being Presidents' Day, so my drive into work was easy-peasy.

And just like that, another weekend is in the books.  And it was a fine one.  Saturday was beautiful - sunny and blue skies.  I met up with Dee for a bit of retail therapy, stash enhancement, coffee and knitting.  First stop was to Stitch Central - a new-to-me shop.  It is lovely!  All you quilters out there would go nuts with their fabrics.  The yarn is not bad either - lol.  Next we headed to Twist - a great shop near New Hope.  I exercised some restraint and don't think I got too much for visiting two (!!) shops.

A couple skeins of fun yarn, some DPN protectors and the latest issue of "Laine." 

We grabbed a bite of lunch at a very nice cafe in Peddler's Village and then headed over to the coffee shop for sipping and knitting...and chatting.  I actually started the toe decrease on my first Sunday Swing sock!  And finished it up that night as well as casting on for sock #2!!

The yarn is dark and it is hard to see the pattern, but it's there and the first one fits perfectly.  The ribbing for #2 is complete and (hopefully) I'll be able to start the leg tonight.  Yesterday I just worked on Fletcher's cowl which I had to rip out and then start again on smaller needles.  So far, so good (fingers and knitting needles crossed).  Sunday was also filled with chores - laundry and grocery shopping.

I'm hoping for an easy week with knitting time at work (Hitchhiker) and wishing you all a wonderful week.