Small Progress with a Tiny Needle

Because it is Tiny Needle Tuesday, I thought I would show you my small amount of progress on my current counted cross stitch project:

OK, you can't see the white snowflakes that were already completed above the word "Warm," but in any case I managed to get that word completed, as well as the start of part of the border around it.  Not a vast amount, but as it is using a high count Aida cloth (well, for me at least), it's a LOT.  I am enjoying this project, but it will be a slow one because my poor eyes can only work on it for so long.  Plus, the lighting has to be good, and with the gloomy days we've been having, that's been an issue.

But I don't have a deadline for this - I'm making it for myself - so I can take as long as I need to and I want to enjoy working on it rather than feel like it's some kind of assignment.  So I cannot even estimate when you may see the whole thing completed.

Which of course does not mean that I have not seen approximately 45 other projects I would dearly love to start ... 😉

Hello March!

 

Hello March!  As always. I'm glad to see you, and look forward to seeing daffodils pop up and look happy, hopefully by the end of the month.

This past weekend - bringing an end to February - was actually a good one, especially yesterday.  That makes me happy because the month started out pretty shakily for me, and I kept wondering what was happening.  But the fog lifted and the rest of the month was just fine.  We had a rainy weekend here in Philadelphia, but it might be just what my psyche needed.  On Saturday, my big adventure was to head over to Loop, which is open, but with limited occupancy.  The only other time I ventured over there, there was already a long line to go in, and I figured I'd try again another time.  So a Saturday morning when it was raining seemed to work out well.  

Since they were having a sale, I didn't want to take a lot of time to look around, in case others wanted to come in, so I got the double pointed needles I wanted to get, as well as these two kits:

I have a friend who has made a few of these, and they are SO adorable!  I expect they will be fiddly, but I'm game to try.

Yesterday was an even rainier day, and frankly, it was wonderful.  Other than brief forays outside with Hamlet so he could attend to his business, I spent the bulk of the day stitching and knitting.  I worked a bit more of my counted cross-stitch project, and then in the afternoon sat down with my blanket o'squares to work on a few.  It felt good, since it's been a while since I spent much time on it.  But working on that and watching a few podcasts to keep me company along with a cup or two of tea, made it a cozy, happy day.

And now, March 1 has arrived.  The month of Milo the Koodle's birthday, my birthday, St. Patrick's Day, St. Joseph's Day (zeppoles!!), and the first day of Spring, just to name a few things.  I am hoping that the ick at the beginning of February will be it for a while, and that March can be better all the way around, because if your birthday month can't treat you well, what is the point, you know??

I hope that the first week of March will be kind to all of us, and that even if it's not your birthday month, it will be a good one for you.  

Addicted to Stripes

I am a big fan of patterns - polka dots, plaids, but especially STRIPES!  They just make me happy, and I recently started a project that involves knitting stripes:

This is the start of my Stripey Kerchief, using the Polkagris pattern by Kate Davies.  I've had the pattern in my library for a long time, and also bought the kit when it was offered when the pattern first appeared.  I kept thinking I'd knit it, but then other things would jump the line and it would get pushed away again.

One of the items I'd knit that was the most worn/used ever was my Silk Kerchief.  It was just the right thing to wear around my neck with my coat for most of the winter - warm, but not bulky.  I wore it all the time, except when it would be bitterly cold, and I'd pull out a large scarf to wrap around my neck and my face.  As a matter of fact, I wore it so much, for so many years, that it finally got worn spots and started to unravel!  So last year I had to admit it had lived its life, and was ready to be laid to rest.  However, since the Silk Kerchief pattern had been duplicated and sold by several other designers in spite of legal actions, Kate took it down and it is no longer available.  Which would not have been a huge problem, if my old computer had not died along with all of the information stored on it, which included that pattern.

So there I was, with no neck kerchief, and though I didn't think it would be that much of a problem, it was actually really frustrating.  Everything else was either bulky, or too warm, or just not the thing.  And then the light bulb went on, and I remembered that I had everything I needed to start a Polkagris!  So last Sunday I sat down to start, and WHOA is this pattern addictive - I mean, it's seriously a case of wanting to do just one more row/stripe.  To the point where I have had to force myself to put it down so that I don't end up with sore hands and wrists!  

Even so, I think this is going to be a quick project, and that I will definitely be wearing it regularly.  As a matter of fact, I told myself that I could make a few of them, and that would serve as 1) an extra for myself so that when one wears out, I have a spare, and/or 2) great gifts for the holidays.  Any fingering weight yarn would work, and stripes - though fun - would not be required.  

Of course, you could use any weight yarn if you wanted something a bit bigger. 

I don't know if I'll do anything other than this one right now, but in the meantime  

OH THOSE STRIPES!!!

Temporary Setback = Time Out

Well.  It could be worse, but it's still annoying.

I mentioned that I was on the first sleeve of the sweater I have been knitting.  I had thought that I would do whatever I could to get that finished this week, because I really don't want the project to languish much longer.  So yesterday I was making progress - I even made it to the cuff! - when I took a look and thought, "Hm. That looks like it will be too much room around my lower arm/wrist area."  So I tried it on.  

The good news?  It will be the right size with the ease I was hoping for when it's finished!

The bad news?  1. Even though I was doing helical knitting (which I do not enjoy, sorry everyone who loves it!), it still flashed and pooled; not a big deal since I wasn't making it to be a "fancy" sweater, but if I'd known I would have just knitted it more straightforwardly; 2.  I was right about the sleeves.

So I put it in time out for now, and will rip back to a certain point and do the decreases more frequently to make it fit better.  I will also write down what I did so that the other sleeve will match (which should be obvious, but let's face it, I'm not always paying enough attention to even obvious things).  I'm glad I noticed it when I did, and not near the end of the second sleeve.  This way, it's annoying but not upsetting.  I didn't feel like thinking more about it/doing anything with it yesterday, so it can sit and rest for a while while my brain takes a break from it.  Honestly, I'm not upset about it at all, which is a good sign and also means that I *will* pick it up again and finish it.  Just a temporary setback.

Other than that, I am still deciding which yarn will be next for socks, and am working away on the other small project that has become a favorite.  I will try my best to remember to take a photo and share it with you soon.

***

Blog stuff:  First of all, thank you so much for continuing to read and comment!  You have no idea how it makes me happy.  I don't have a ton of friends in real life, and of course, like everyone else have not really hung out with anyone other than on Zoom for almost a year now.  So having blog friends is filling the void nicely.  

However, please be aware that I continue to have issues replying to comments.  I seem to be in yet another period where I send e-mail responses (when I have an e-mail address) and then 2-3 days later, I get the messages returned as "Undeliverable."  The other day, I decided to try responding in the comments to my latest post.  For reasons that I will never likely understand, Blogger would not accept/publish the responses!  After a while, I got tired of trying again and again and I gave up.  So I truly and sincerely apologize that my responses to comments seem at best infrequent and at worst, non-existent.  I even got The Tim to see if he could figure out anything since he is more technology savvy than I am, but he couldn't find anything that was clearly a problem.  

Please know that I do try to respond, and I realize that it's annoying to only get responses some of the time.  Trust me, I'm just as frustrated as you are.

And that's it for today.  I hope your crafting is agreeing with you, and that technology is treating you well - or at least not mistreating you!  😛

Monday Monday ... and an FO

Hi there - I was MIA last week, not for any particular reason, just because I didn't get around to it.  It happens.

But here is another Monday, which is also the last one of February, so 2021 is moving right along whether we are ready for it or not.  Not much is new around here, except I do have an FO to show you - the first of this year!

Project: Happy Socks

Pattern:  On the leg, I did Row 1=K2, slip 1; Row 2=knit all around

Yarn:  Sinister Yarns Sinister Sock set, in the colorway Come Seekers Where Our Voices Sound

Needles:  US size 1

Notes: I started these socks on Inauguration Day (hence their name), and admittedly, only worked on them in spurts.  I finished the first sock, and then didn't even start the second for about a week or so.  I think it was a combination of two things: I just wasn't really in the mood, and though I love the way they look, they just didn't keep grabbing my attention.  But I am pleased with the way they turned out, and I put them into the Box o' Knits, which I've created this year for knits that are for gifts, charity, or just whose fates are currently undecided.  The sock set has been in my stash for quite a while, so it was about time it had it's moment of glory!

The photo above shows the brightness of the colors when I took a photo in the daylight with my camera - the photo below was taken on my tablet, using the Pixel app from Google, set on "Night Light" (a setting for indoors, under lower light):

This one shows the specks of color in the yarn better, so I'm showing you both of them.  But I think no matter which one you look at, you can see why they are Happy Socks!  😀

**********

I'm still knitting away on my sweater, nearly finished with the first sleeve, so the progress is slow but steady.  And yesterday I started a new project, which I'll show you soon.  Now I just need to decide which yarn to choose for my next pair of socks, and whether they'll be for me, or for someone else.  I'll be sure to keep you posted.

Here's hoping you are doing well, and that your week is a good one.