Obsessions and whims

My latest projects and things I got myself for Christmas were all fairly whimsical.

I caught up on a couple of years of My Favorite Murder podcasts.  The result was a cross stitch picture of the podcast’s tag line.  It also included a purchase of several skeins of yarn from Colorful Eclectic’s Murderino collection.

I am watching a Doctor Who marathon.  The new season starts New Year’s Day after a ridiculously long wait.  I stitched up a TARDIS tissue box cover on plastic canvas.

I love a sock pattern called Patchwork Mix Socken.  The construction is unusual and the yarn used for the design results in a wild pattern.  I went a bit crazy  bought three balls of Opal Hundertwasser so I can make more.

I liked the Smoky Mountains National Park kit I got from Must Stash so much that I ordered the Denali one when it was offered just before Christmas.  

I got a gradient set from Miss Babs that was meant for a shawl pattern.  I have sworn off of shawls so it is a bit concerning that I can’t remember why I bought it.  It turns out that it is perfect for a hat I want to make.  More on my hat obsession later.  I need to get back to the hat:  128 stitches in an I-cord cast on.  Arrrrrgh.

A little bit every day...

...for 24 days.  I am doing two different advent KALs.

Doucet Winter socks uses little bits of leftovers and mini skeins.  The designer says that doucet is Middle English for sweet.

I started a second pattern when I found it on sale.  Walking into Winter is by Sivia Harding.  The KAL is being done by Must Stash.  They make the nicest self-striping yarns.  I am tempted into buying more all the time.  The yarn for the KAL is Hobbit Christmas which I like but I absolutely need to knit up some of what I have.  That’s why I chose Lykke, which might be Danish for happiness.  The pretty stripes do make me happy.

I am working on the second of three ghost sock patterns.  This one is Black Friday.  The KAL had some cool looking yarns from the Lucky Violet Color Co.  I managed to resist somehow and am using something from stash.

I have not been cured of giving in to yarn temptations, though.  I have been listening to podcasts lately.  I have been working my way through My Favorite Murder, a comedy true crime podcast.  I happened upon a yarn dyer who is doing a series of colorways based on some of the podcast’s catchphrases.  She is making a donation for each skein sold to an organization dedicated to reducing the backlog of untested rape kits.  Worthy charitable donation?  Connection to something fun?   It was a no brainer.  Santa is bringing me three skeins for Christmas.

Done, sort of

There are a bunch of completed but not blocked projects piling up around here.

Vacillate is a shawl made from a Doctor Who themed kit.

She Blinded Me With Science is a salute to four female scientists.  That’s DNA’s double helix below the cuff and a jellyfish near the toe.

Jingle All the Way are elf feets with little silver bells.

Barnivore didn’t need blocking, yay!  That’s a cow and a pig in the barn’s mouth/door.

The second of three ghost sock patterns is coming up this weekend.  After that is an advent pair and a 12 days of Christmas pair.  Those will have me knitting a few rows daily for six weeks.  There should  be little chance of boredom or distraction this way.

Until those start, I am working on an embroidery kit.  I stashed it in a knitting basket and forgot about it for months.  

Knit along, along, along...

Just when the works in progress pile started to shrink, I started in on a bunch of KALs.  Five days in a row had new clues appear.

Halloween in Space had two clues, which were enough to finish the socks.  I liked the yarn from Yarn Over New York.  I wasn’t fond of the pattern.  It was well written, but the textured stitches weren’t my favorite.  I would have done it in narrower stripes instead of the clue at a time blocks.  The lesson for me is to not commit to a project using advent-style mystery boxes until all boxes are open.

Griffin is one of a series of three sock patterns from J.L. Fleckenstein.  This one is Halloween theme and uses yarn from ancient stash.

The Great British Baking shawl has begun.  It is fun to see all the color variations, even among the people using the same collection of yarns.

Woolly Wormhead is doing a hat-along.  The first clue is the brim, so there’s not much to see yet.  I suspect that my yarn choice was a bit busy for what is to come.  I wanted to work from stash and there’s usually nothing solid or semisolid there.

Halloween in Space - Day One

The works in progress are beginning to pile up around here:

• National Parks blanket is big enough to require a lot of space when I want to pull it and all the different colors out.  It gets set to one side frequently.  Much of the yarn came from Knitted Wit.
• Vacillate is the Doctor Who shawl I started with some birthday yarn.  It is coming along well.  I am attempting to alternate it with other stuff.
• Astrifiammante is a beaded lace scarf.  The pattern was created in memory of a woman on Ravelry who recently succumbed to cancer.  It is nearly half done.  I also did a pair of Bellybuttonknits socks in her honor.  She did a lot of great lace and sometimes also beaded sock patterns.
  
• Peached are two knitted peaches that need blocking to be finished.
• Jane and Hercule are pairs of socks that require blocking.  Someone has been watching a lot of Agatha Christie and had to do the socks.
• Kodiak Bears are a pair of slippers I whipped up last night.  They require felting, so it might be  some time before that happens.
• Halloween in Space is scheduled to start tomorrow. I cheated and opened the first box now.
  
  The pumpkin lights up and flickers as if it had a candle inside.  Looks like at least one sock toe will be sparkly purple and green.
  
  

More projects

I have been in a bit of a funk lately.  I start one thing, get bored, and start another.  Then I get bored and start buying things.  I can be excused for the shopping trips because I wanted some fun things for my birthday (today, as it happens).  Here are the stories.

Must Stash is always tempting with their great colors of perfectly matched self striping sock yarns.  They also have collections that often beg to be purchased.  The latest one was a national parks themed one and That I had to have.

The dark green thing in back is a big canvas bag with straps so it can be used as a backpack.  The Must Stash bag is more of a sock project bag but a bit heavier and sturdier than it looks.  The yarn is Great Smoky Mountains colorway.  The other goodies are a GSM patch and park map, hand balm and wool wash bar, and lip balm.

I spotted a cool sweater pattern with birds on it that I liked.  Sizes went up beyond what I needed, so I got some nice soft Knit Picks Stroll to make it.

I have been going through Doctor Who withdrawal, so I ordered a shawl kit from Stunning String Studio

I got a kit from Yarn Over New York for their Halloween in Space Mystery Socks.  With a pattern name like that, I couldn’t resist.  The yarn came in six or seven little boxes, like yarn advent calendars.  I have not even peeked into the boxes.  The KAL starts next week.  I aim to behave and only open them when told to.

The last in this batch of things was more of a stash hunt than actual shopping.  I am a big fan of what’s called in the US the Great British Baking Show.  When I spotted a KAL for the Great British Baking Shawl, I knew I had to play.  It takes smallish amounts of a rainbow of colors.  I can’t imagine what the pattern will be like,

What’s new

Mostly I have been working on the throw/blankie made with all those national parks inspired yarns.  This is just a quick shot of a bit of it.  The whole thing looks better than this random bit.

I got a bunch done last weekend because I signed up for BritBox.  I binge watched all of Cold Feet and Shetland.  Nothing else is calling to me so the blankie is getting boring.  The last time it happened, I tried and failed at a couple of different hats.  I did finish Scare Isle.  It needs blocking.

Before that, I was reading a description of the Thirteenth Doctor’s socks.  I made a pair without a pattern.

Dolores and more

I thought I posted my last Tour de Sock pair.  Here they are.  The toes are supposed to be that way.

Dolores needed a new pal since she didn’t have Jasmine the cat anymore.  I knit her a Harry.  He’s dressed for Poetry Appreciation night.  Dolores is dressed for Martini Appreciation night.  I liked the olive and martini glass pattern on her dress and tote.

My current project is a national park blanket/throw.  It has all the national park theme yarns in it.  It is a very long term project.

Tour de Sock, stages 2-5

Stage 2, Diversion

Stage 3,  Ancient Path

Stage 4, MondKristall

Stage 5, Prism

Haleakala National Park

One of the many parks that will stay on my imaginary trip list is Haleakala.  I have managed to visit all of the 48 states.  The last two never worked into my plans.  I wonder what volcanoes must be like.  I imagine that there are exotic flowers everywhere and that the air is full of their scent.  I even want to taste that uniquely Hawaiian treat, shave ice.  Alas, I expect I will be limited to this souvenir yarn from Knitted Wit.

Beyond Enhancement

The self striping yarn from Must Stash showed up today.  Anything that comes into stash now is officially beyond stash enhancement.  The color with a lot of brown in it is Woodstock 50.  The one with a lot of gray is Ready Player One.

Shop Therapy

I’ve been sick.  I miss my cat and have been wondering if I should get a new one.  The country has reached a new level of stupid and it makes my head hurt.

To offset some of this nastiness, I have been following some dog people on Twitter.  I think they may show up other places, but that’s where I see them.  If you need some sweetness and happy, I recommend them.  I’ve Pet That Dog is 10 year old Gideon from Iowa.  His goal is to pet all the dogs.  He posts pictures daily of the dogs he pets along with a charming story about the dog.  We Rate Dogs is Matt the dogfather whose daily posts include a rating (never less than 11 out of a possible 10) for that day’s dog.  Once a week, a dog is featured whose caregivers are overwhelmed by medical costs.  It gives you a little faith in humanity when you see how fast each goal is met.  The Golden Ratio is a group of mostly rescue golden retrievers.  I think there are six at the moment.  They are all cuties with distinctive personalities.  Their caretakers do not hesitate to give love and care to even the oldest and sickest puppers.  It is very positive and I enjoy their adventures.  Go find them and discover the importance of waffles, carrots, a rock in Florida, and a shark.

This should be enough, even for a yarn junkie who suspects she may have achieved SABLE (stash acquisition beyond life expectancy).  It wasn’t.  I changed my National Park project. The new project requires 3 more skeins.  When I ordered one from Miss Babs, I saw this and decided to get it.

Then there were emails from Must Stash.  They do the best self striping yarns.  Ready Player One is a rainbow on a gray background.  I liked it and having read the book recently, the yarn kept calling.  I was good until a well-timed email caused me to give in.  I also got a 50th anniversary of Woodstock skein.  It has a zillion stripes with each one representing a band that was there.

That was more than enough until the train wreck/dumpster fire was last week.  I saw the newest Dolores kit on the WEBS site.  It is a cute sundress with a martini glass fair isle border.  Clickety click, I’ll have that.  And since Dolores no longer has a cat companion, I got the Harry kit too.  He’s a  ball of yarn that features in many of her adventures.

Yeah, I have been here before.  I may be here again.  In the meantime, I’ll be working on Tour de Sock stage 4.  Ever hear of first sock syndrome?  I think I just invented it.  I want to do anything but finish one stupid toe.

Socks

I decided to behave myself and work on my Tour de Sock pair instead of the patchwork queue jumpers.

The TDS sock is called Ancient Path.  It has fancy colorwork cables on it.

Judging by my credit card bill, I have been doing much better with not indulging in yarn.  The exception is this Shiver of Socks kit.  It is for celebrating Shark Week, so it was a necessary purchase.  Also I had a credit at Jimmy Beans.

Pillows

I finally got a pillow form for the Shadow Magic pillow.  The colors are from the yarn advent calendar I got last year.

I completed a Franklin Habit KAL for a counterpane pillow.  I weighed the leftover yarn and there should have been enough for a second pillow.  I knit it, but needed 10 grams of another color to finish the back.  Not only do swatches lie, scales do too.

I learned a new knitting phrase this week:  queue jumper.  I saw a pattern I really liked, discovered it was already in my Library, and found a ball of the recommended yarn in my stash.  And when I say found, I mean it wasn’t where it should have been.  The minute I realized it wasn’t in the proper bin, I glanced up and spotted it on top of a mixed up pile across the room.  I considered this to be a sign from the universe that I was supposed to drop everything and knit these socks.  These socks are a queue jumper.  I am behind two squares on an afghan KAL and the next stage of Tour de Sock starts today.  I am still knitting merrily away on these socks.

Tour de Sock 2019 Round 1

The socks are a pattern called Fledermaus.  I don't think I care for twisted stitches anymore.

Yellowstone and Banff National Parks

I visited both of these parks on a single trip.  Most of my memories are not the best, due to car troubles and relationship troubles.  The car continued to be a royal pain for the next 3 years.  I continued to be a royal pain for about a year.  Some people should never be married and I would put myself high on that list.

As usual, I digress.  I would put both parks on the wish I could visit again list.  Banff is in the Canadian Rockies and is beautiful.  I remember thinking that they were even nicer than the Rockies in Colorado.  This is especially sacrilegious because that was where I was living at the time.  Even if you’ve never heard of Banff, you have probably seen pictures of gorgeous Lake Louise.  I remember seeing wildlife including moose and bighorn sheep.  There was a bear visiting one of the campgrounds we stayed at but there was no way I was going to go wandering around looking for it.

My souvenir yarn Yellowstone came from Knitted Wit:

The Banff yarn is a substitute for the yarn I really wanted.  It has some of the colors.  It is Malabrigo Mechita:

I have yet to settle on a project for the souvenirs.  There are a lot more parks and yarns to share in the meantime.

I have started on the annual Tour de Sock, which should keep me busy into September.  This year’s event is not competitive because the organizer is taking a year off to do family stuff.  Every 10 days we pick a pattern from a list of free patterns and we whip them up.  I have a major case of second sock syndrome which is why I am posting this instead of knitting.  The pair I am doing have more twisted stitches than I thought would appear on any sock.

Riding Mountain National Park

There’s a third category on my National Parks list:  almost visited.    Riding Mountain is a Canadian park in Manitoba.  My mother’s parents came from Manitoba. When I was young, they wanted to take me with them on a trip there.  I decided for some weird reason that I didn’t want to go.  It was more than 35 years before I got a chance to visit the province.  Unfortunately I did not get to Riding Mountain.  If I had gone on the first trip, I could hardly have missed it.  The closest town to the park is Dauphin, where my grandparents are from.

I managed to miss the US National Parks 100th anniversary in 2016 and Canadian National Parks 150th anniversary in 2017.  If I had started this project earlier, more souvenir yarns would’ve been available.  Fleece Artist did a whole series covering the Canadian parks.  They are pretty, unique, and no longer available.  I used pictures of their Riding Mountain yarn to select a souvenir.

This skein from Hedgehog Fibres is a pretty good consolation prize.

Dry Tortugas National Park

I visited the Dry Tortugas  just before it was officially a national park.  I still count it as a park I actually visited.  It is a group of tiny islands about 70 miles from Key West.  It is the southernmost place I have been on the planet and the most exotic. My traveling companion showed me how to go snorkeling.  The water was so clear.  I enjoyed swimming with the fishes.

My souvenir yarn came from Knitted Wit.  I think the colors captured the Dry Tortugas very well.

National Parks project

I knit a log cabin blanket to go in my imaginary camper for the imaginary part of my parks trip.

It is made from 13 colors of Lion Brand Heartland.  Each color is inspired by a different US National Park.

I have been collecting souvenir yarn to represent both my real trips and the ones I wish I could take.  Stories and pictures should follow pretty soon.

RIP Jasmine

My little furry pal Jasmine is gone.  The vet found a tumor before Christmas and said she wouldn’t be around much longer.  In true cat fashion she proved him wrong.  Six months was more than I expected.

Dolores is not known for her patience with other critters.  Jasmine liked to snuggle up with her.  The sheep tolerated it and did it without being bribed with martinis.

Actually Finished Hats

Das Homin

Thrift Hat

Crofthoose Hat

Roadside Beanie

There are a couple more that are in the redo or toss categories so I didn’t include them.  I thought I was done with this Shetland hat binge.  Then I spotted a pattern whose profits go for some medical equipment in the Shetlands.  That one and the reknit of the Welsh dragon hat will show up here eventually.

Actually Finished Socks

Ta da!  Pizza Party socks:

Cinco de Mulder Socks:

The colored yarn is UV reactive.  It is very bright under a black light.  The picture was taken with a small portable light.  It was the best I could do with my tablet in one hand and the light in the other.

The original pattern, Mulder, is a cowl with little green men on it. 

Real Soon Now, actually finished hats.