Stumbling through life one knitting project at a time.
Sorry for the poor photo, but the blanket is finished. It isn’t as big as I had planned, it ended up being 30″x34″, but still turned out decent. Hopefully the baby likes it when she is born, too.
Now I can work on the husband’s socks and the shawl that I haven’t touched. Or start something new. I don’t know at this point; I’m just glad the blanket is done.
I know when my nephews are being quiet, there is the assumption they have gotten into something they shouldn’t have. Especially the little one. I’ve been quiet a bit lately, and actually have been getting in to trouble, too, so to speak. I have a baby blanket that is 1/3 of the way done and needs finished by 6/15. I have socks for husband that need worked on, they are toe up, two at a time, and aren’t even halfway through the foot. Ok, MAYBE halfway. I haven’t done much knitting at all lately; normally it’s done at work but I haven’t felt like it. On the weekends, when I should be knitting, the husband and I have been going away/out. This weekend we are most likely staying in. I’ll have all weekend to knit. Maybe when the blanket and socks are done I can work more on the shawl that’s only halfway done. (See how I said when? Optimism. I got it.)
I’ve also been reaching out to people to set up interviews for my new magazine column on local breweries. Waiting to schedule now. My first article will be published this month, and they will also be listed on Southwest Pintsylvania, a blog I’ll be updating each month with the corresponding monthly articles. (June is up now if you are interested.)
Well, until next time. If I have anything done with socks, it’ll be Thursday, otherwise it will be when I am finished with something.
I know I briefly mentioned that I was starting a baby blanket. Well, it’s started. It’s for a baby girl a family friend is having, and it’s blue because the bedroom was supposed to be fish/ocean themed. You read that right; supposed to be. They changed the bedroom theme and it’s now nothing blue at all. I’m still powering through, though, and still plan on finishing it. I did make a sweater for the baby, and am debating on giving the blanket to her still or sending it to a family member having a boy. If I sent it to the family member, then I feel obligated to send something for her older child + my other cousin’s child, whom I sent nothing for at the birth.
The baby girl may just end up with a blue blanket…
A small update to say that I made the recipe that was included in my sock yarn swap package! They don’t look pretty but taste so, so good. I’ll definitely make again.
I got my sock yarn swap gift! I had to stop at the post office to pick it up this morning, it needed a signature for delivery and no one was home when mail was delivered yesterday. It was an INTERNATIONAL package! SQUEE! I couldn’t wait to rip into it. (OK, I cut it with scissors, but I tried to rip it like the Hulk…) My package was from Steph at My Making Do Adventure. She lives in Wales! I loved my package. She took a wild guess and hoped I was a fan of Game of Thrones (I am) and that was the theme of the package. She sent so much fun stuff! Even if I wasn’t a GoT fan, I read two book series that are about dragons and take place in the UK, so it would’ve worked either way!
She sent me yarn in the colorway Lannister by For the Love of Yarn, which is a UK company that I’ve never heard of (I think I only know one UK company, tbh…) and it is a gorgeous yellow and red yarn! She sent so many other goodies, too! I got a cute sheep card (kind of as a get well soon from surgery card;) a refridgerator magnet that I am torn on keeping at work or taking home, a stuff dragon keychain, a dragon stitch marker, a postcard of a castle in Wales, a gift tag, and a wax melt called Dragon’s Breath!
She wanted to send me food items, but with it going international, it seemed sketchy, so she sent me the recipe for traditional Welsh cakes, which I cannot. wait. to. try. I’m not sure if they are a dessert/cookie or if they are like pancakes, though….hmmm…maybe she (or someone) can chime in and let me know!
I can’t wait to cast on with the yarn and I LOVE LOVE LOVE everything that was sent! It was well worth the wait.
THANK YOU SO MUCH! And thank you to Kat for organizing!
My package is in my home town but I haven’t gotten it because it needs signed for! I’ll get it and post an update tomorrow!
I don’t really have any photos, but thought I would post an update on what I got! My mom and I drove to Deep Creek Lake, McHenry, MD on Friday evening and stayed there. My parents have an RV and it stays there from May – October. This is not quite a halfway point to the festival but good enough so we aren’t driving from Pittsburgh, PA the next day. Saturday morning we got up bright and early (the coffee shop I like there wasn’t even open yet!) and headed to the Howard County Fairgrounds. It’s a 2-1/2 hour drive so we ended up getting there about an hour after it opened. The first thing I did was drop off some yarn I was donating to The Buffalo Wool Co. They were collecting yarn for various charities and are going to redistribute it between the charities. This was part of a trade in/trade up event they did: You could purchase some new colorways on a new yarn base after trading in. I was just donating, though. After this I started to walk around and see what I could find. I did have a list, but I really didn’t follow it.
One thing I knew I wanted was to check out Indian Lake Artisans handmade hexagonal needles. I didn’t want to buy an entire set just yet, but I did buy a 40″ US2 to try for socks. I figured this was pretty versatile since I use a lot of fingering weight and could do socks or shawls with it to see if I like them. If I do, I plan on slowly upgrading my current Knitter’s Pride/Knit Picks needles. $30 didn’t seem bad if they are as good as I am hoping – I chose the maple because it is the slickest (and the only one that came in a US2.)
Next I stopped at Spirit Trail Fiberworks. I ended up stopping there last in 2017, which is another reason I started at the opposite end of the festival this year. Spirit Trail is what my Lannister shawl is made from, and I knew I wanted something else. They didn’t have the color I was hoping for in a fingering weight base, but did have my second choice, Ashes and Embers. It’s a black/red yarn that will pair well with my Baah! La Jolla that I have. I was going to pair the Baah! with another one of the same brand that I purchased in Seattle, but I feel like it might be just too much red. This will work out much better.
One thing on my list was self striping sock yarn and Fiber Optic Yarns delivered! I ended up with one skein of her self striping in Thunderstruck. It’s grey, yellow, white, and orange. I’m going to try to do white heel/toes with it I think. I have socks on the needles for husband already, but really want to cast on with my new needles. We’ll see how long I hold out…
There was also a stitch marker swap at The Buffalo Wool Co! I participated last year, too, and got so many cool new stitch markers. I also managed to meet one half of one of my favorite podcasts, Misadventures in Knitting. I met Tara. She did take a selfie but I forgot to! I’m going to try to get it from her so I can post it, too. We swapped tea, not yarn or stitch markers, and I’m hoping I can get a hold of her and mail her some markers! She also brought me a giant bag of granola from a company local to her — totally unexpected! She was so, so sweet. After the swap I worked at the Buffalo Wool Co stand for 2 hours or so and it was so fun talking to everyone coming in to the booth! I am hoping to help out next year, too, either with them or someone else. I managed to pick up a skein of the show colorway, too, in the Prairie base. Prairie is 50% muga silk/50% bison. The bison fiber is so, so soft. They have a pattern on their site that I really want to knit so I know I’ll be ordering a few skeins of their ‘sexy’ base soon.
The last two stops were quick and not planned (not that I planned any of them…) I picked up two skeins of 100% silk from The Whispering Woodturner that matches the show colorway from BWC, and then I picked up a mini skein in hot pink from Rainbow Rapunzel (sorry, can’t find a site.) Husband likes black and hot pink so I am hoping I can use this on something for him. The hats I made for him that are in this combo, according to him are orange. I think he’s wrong but I’ve been known to be a poor judge of color in the past.
I can’t wait to go next year, and hopefully at some point I’ll make it to Rhinebeck! I didn’t wear any (visible) knitwear, the weather just didn’t want me to this year. I did wear handknit socks, though.
I’m back! I can’t believe it is already May and time for a new Once Upon a Sock. Surgery went well and I am back to work already. They told me I could go back whenever I felt up to it, so I went back early to conserve a little vacation time. (I had to burn all of it before short term disability would kick in, which I ended up not even using.) I didn’t do much sock knitting the last few weeks, but did get a tiny bit done. I was focusing on a KAL shawl, that never got finished, and also fighting with a baby blanket. I had to cast on and frog 4x before I finally got the hang of it. I was a bit groggy from medication, so that’s what I’ll blame. I’m finally on the third row of the Bounce Blanket by TinCanKnits.
I worked more on the socks for my husband, and these will probably be what I work on this weekend when I go away. I also finally finished the Christmas gift socks that were for my dad. It took me a very long time because I had never done two at a time socks or afterthought heels before. I also hated the afterthought heels so I will never be doing those again. I’m going to work on perfecting short row heels.
You saw that I said I am going away this weekend, right? This weekend is Maryland Sheep & Wool! I’ll be heading to Deep Creek Lake, MD with my mom on Friday and then we will drive to the Howard Co Fairgrounds on Saturday morning. I can’t wait to see all of the fuzzy critters and crafters from all over. I plan on picking up some sock yarn definitely, but also have a list of patterns I am interested in getting yarn for, too. I plan on being at the stitch marker swap at 1pm at the Buffalo Wool Co booth and then from 2-4 I’ll be helping out at the Buffalo Wool Co booth! If you are there, stop and say hi! I have pink hair — you can’t miss me.
I know that my swap recipient received her package and am so glad she likes what I sent! I sent a package to Paula of Spin a Yarn. I had a few stitch markers leftover from LAST year’s swap at MDSW, and then I sent some Blue Moon yarn that I had, a tiny bit of Meadowcroft Dyeworks that should work for heels/toes, and then some Ms.Knotty from my LYS! I can’t wait to see what she creates with it. I’m waiting as patiently as I can for my package. Between this and my purse that may never arrive from Mexico, I’m driving my husband crazy with inquiries regarding the mail.
Well. that’s it for me this week!
Head on over to Paula at Spin a Yarn to link up! She has the details!
Well, I report to the hospital at 5:30 AM tomorrow for surgery. I am the first surgery at 7 AM so that’s nice I guess. I should be home early at least?
I’ll be off of work for about two weeks, which should give me plenty of time to finish the Afterparty Shawl I am working on. It’s a KAL in the Dominique Trad rav group. I don’t know if I’ll be finished by the 4/30/18 deadline, but hopefully I will! I also want to work a bit more on the socks for husband. I haven’t touched them really because I’ve been fighting this shawl. I had to frog a garter section and I finally finished reknitting that and started the 3rd lace repeat. I need to make a baby blanket, also, though, so we’ll see how this goes. I want to do that while I am off definitely. I am going to knit Bounce from TinCanKnits.
I sent the package off for the sock yarn swap I participated in, now I get to patiently wait for my package to come in the mail! I am not a very patient person, and my husband is getting tired of me asking, daily, if the package came yet. I am also waiting on a purse I ordered on Etsy, but I at least have tracking for that.
MDSW is in a week and a half and as long as I am feeling well, I’ll be working at a booth for a little bit, participating in the stitch marker swap, and hopefully meeting some online craft buddies! I’m excited, I loved going last year, so I’ll be bummed if I am not feeling up to it.
Oh! I got a new knitting bag. Actually it’s just a tote bag, but I love it and got it at a concert for my favorite band in the whole world.
I’m starting to compile a list of the weights and amounts of yarns I need for certain projects. I am going to Maryland Sheep and Wool in a few weeks, and last year I didn’t have a list, and ended up with yarn that I will probably never use. It bummed me out, for sure. I have realized over the last 6 months or so, maybe more, that I HATE BULKY YARN. I don’t know why, but anything over worsted is just…blech. I don’t want you to be offended if you love it, I just…don’t and I don’t know why. Really, worsted or aran is too thick for my liking usually, but I also want to try to knit a sweater at some point and don’t want to dive right in with a fingering weight sweater. That will come later. There are times I have and will continue to use bulky or heavier yarns, but they are few and far between. I have a coworker that can’t stand the fine yarns that I knit with (sport weight is fine?) and that’s how I feel about her heavier yarns. The baby blanket I am planning on making is worsted, and I do have some worsted in my stash, but I also have some acrylic bulky floating around that I bought when I was a brand new baby virgin knitter. I won’t use it. I don’t know what to do with it. I have given a bunch away to a former coworker for her nephews but other than that… I have no idea. It’s just taking up space. Maybe while I am off for surgery I will clean up the stash a bit. I’ll need somewhere to put the new yarn anyway. Are there any weights or styles of yarn you dislike? Do you know why or is it random?
FYI – I also hate cotton yarns so my husband will never get his Hitchhiker’s towel he wants for hiking. It kills my hands and I don’t even know what to do to fix that.
