My 2020 goals were as follows: Whittle down the WIPs and Query the Queue. A Bit of Brioche. Top to Toes Some Smaller Shawls By my mid-year 2020 fiber-goals check in post, I’d already done 3 of them and decided that #4 was a silly goal in a year when it was finally easy for … Continue reading
I mentioned in August that I seemed to be doing some unsettled knitting. Fast forwards a few months, and I’m entering a bit of a pattern: one big project for sitting, one tiny project for knitting on the go, and a few more complicated things for my “nights off” (where I’m not in charge of … Continue reading
Pattern: Half the Knit Sky by @pdxknitterati inspired by photgraphic star trails. It’s such a great concept! Yarn: Gold cache gradient in “Bleeding Heart” from @fiercefibers (bought at @pearlfiberarts) and silver twist in “Good Silence” from @madelinetosh (bought at @foryarnssake) I always enjoy Michele’s patterns. They’re clever and often have stunningly beautiful results with easy … Continue reading
In September, I did another sock knit a long. This time, I dragged my friend M into it. We’d been talking about doing something a little more epic together for her birthday this year, but then covid-19 hit and birthday in person had to be postponed. A sock knit a long is not at all … Continue reading
The Sharon Show was a mystery knit a long for a very long square shawl, easy knitting combined with some light hearted cat themed entertainment. I don’t actually love the long wraps, but I’d never tried a Casapinka pattern and I liked the pitch of $7 worth of entertainment. It didn’t start off so well: … Continue reading
I started the month planning to do a gnome mystery knit (because I’d never tried one) and The Sharon Show (because the pitch of $7 for cat themed entertainment appealed to me). I did manage to finish the gnome, and it was such a delightful little thing that I’ll probably sign up for the next. … Continue reading
Time for a little reflection on how my 2020 fiber goals are going! 1 Whittle down the WIPs and Query the Queue. This has been really successful! I finished up my Poca sweater that had been languishing for two years, the Cascadial Wrap that had been in there nearly as long (no blog post yet … Continue reading
As I’ve mentioned before, I love advent Calendars but not so much the fact that they happen in December. But by chance I heard about the Made BySarahS MSKAL in time to join in for a nice May mystery (This post was written at the end of May right after I finished, but it’s been … Continue reading
In this year’s fiber goals, I decided I wanted to give brioche another go. So when one of my favourite designers mentioned that she’d be doing a course via Zoom, it seemed like a perfect opportunity. So I signed up for PDXKnitterari’s course on May 2nd as soon as I could make sure my husband … Continue reading
Pattern: Romi Mystery Shawl 2020 by Romi Hill Yarn: Floating by A Verb for Keeping Warm I did Romi’s mystery for the Rose City Yarn Crawl last year and though I was a bit sad about my overall crawl experience enjoyed the pattern so much that I did her own regular yearly MKAL right after. … Continue reading
My yarn subscription for this year is the Made Here Yarn Club 2020 from Sincere Sheep, which was a splurge but one I could afford and one that focuses on local makers. Pretty cool! I decided to make up my own pattern (after getting partway through a lovely hat and realizing I wasn’t feeling it). … Continue reading
Since a few e-learning craft sites were offering free stuff to help amuse people during quarantine, I decided to try a couple of courses on Bluprint and Knit Stars. This is mostly notes for myself in case I decide to subscribe to either of these later. What did I take? Bluprint: Spinning Dyed Fibers with … Continue reading
I started this sweater for the knit along when it was first released in August 2018. It wasn’t my oldest unfinished object (that’s likely the crocheted bobble baby blanket I was making for no particular reason in 2011 or so) but it’s probably the oldest I intended to finish! Pattern: Poca by Laura Nelkin Yarn: … Continue reading
I like advent boxes, even though it’s a busy time of year and normally I’m traveling so they’re not really convenient. Jimmy Beans Wool makes one they call Craftvent and I enjoyed it in 2017. In 2018 I bought it to save for later but then I got a lot of great travel opportunities and … Continue reading
I decided to take part in the Rose City Yarn Crawl mystery-knit-a-long (MKAL) again this year! I’ve had mixed results with the patterns, so now I wait until I’ve seen clue 1 and sometimes 2 before I join in, which means I can make more educated yarn choices. This pattern is from Marie Greene of … Continue reading
Sweet Georgia Yarns made this lovely set of yarns as a holiday kit, and I loved it so much I bought two: one for me and one for my friend M as a Christmas present. It has 15 yarns, so I figured I’d do it as if it were a monthly yarn subscription, and maybe … Continue reading
My mom hates shopping and gives me birthday money, and I’ve tried to make a habit of actually buying myself things in December and January as presents. And lately, most of what I covet is yarn, so… These two kits are from Laura Nelkin, whose kits I’ve enjoyed in the past. Mudra This was very … Continue reading
Two finishes to share! First off, surprisingly, isn’t knitting! I started and finished this Kiriki Press embroidery kit in 2020 after I got back from Ottawa. This one was a lot faster than the spring one because there was no time-consuming satin stitch. I’m still having fun learning new stitches and also giving my hands … Continue reading
I never really loved new year’s resolutions until I started making them related to fiber. I think it’s because my fiber goals are more like little yearly bucket lists. So here’s this year’s set! 1. Whittle down the WIPs and Query the Queue. I’ve got a few works in progress that have been languishing, like … Continue reading
My 2019 goals: Learn steeking. Document better. Finish another sweater. Play with mini skeins. So how did that go? 1. I did the steeking! 2. I blogged a couple of times every month all year, and I’ve made sure to put photos into Ravelry. So not only is it better than last year, but it’s … Continue reading
While I was sick over Thanksgiving, I suddenly thought it would be a good idea to knit a toddler sweater. I had a grand idea of doing it in a weekend, which wasn’t very likely, but a fun thing to try. It might have been doable if not for the toddler himself! Yarn: Bumblebirch worsted … Continue reading
Tried a new way to keep my toddler entertained on a holiday weekend: we made play dough together! 1 cup flour 1/4 cup salt (Mix these and set aside) (In a glass 1C measure) 3 tablespoons lemon juice Fill rest of cup with water to 3/4 cup mark (Microwave to hot: 1 min or so) … Continue reading
Recently finished: – Woollywormhead’s 2019 mystery hat. It’s blocking right this moment. – my Lucky Star shawl (blocked, photographed today, but not worn yet!) – Mom’s Christmas sock #1 Works in progress: – Mom’s sock #2 (cast on this afternoon) – Cascadial Wrap (maybe 3/4 done? More? Abandoned again for travel last month, poor thing) … Continue reading
This was a particularly satisfying pattern to knit. It starts out so small and that first chart seemed daunting. It’s well written, but there was just So Much Going On that I needed to concentrate and I despaired of ever finishing with a toddler around. But once I made it through the first chart, and … Continue reading
My final socks on vacay socks were started on the way back from Ottawa in August and finally finished after my hand recovered! Yarn: “maybe unicorn dreams?” From Knitted Wit. It didn’t have a colour written on the tag and I thought the guess sounded like a hugo nominated short story so that’s what I’m … Continue reading
I strained my hand/wrist/arm at the end of socks on vacay (it wasn’t *just* knitting but the short needle setup I was trying didn’t help), so I took a two week break and tried some different crafts while I waited for my body to recover. Embroidery has been popular in knitting circles. (even punch embroidery, … Continue reading
I bought this yarn because the name, “time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana” reminded me of my biochemist parents, and then my mom asked for socks so away we went. It was also socks on vacay time still! And Mom’s birthday was coming up! Yarn: Knitted Wit “time flies like an … Continue reading
My work open source project had its second public release! Python folk can get it via pip install cve-bin-tool or by going to https://github.com/intel/cve-bin-tool/releases/tag/0.3.0
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I got a neat new toy: This is a teensy little electric spinning wheel! (Crayon for scale.) It’s called the Electric Eel Wheel Nano and I got in on the end of the Kickstarter campaign. I’m still a relatively inexperienced spinner, so I was worried this might be a ridiculous thing to buy, but it’s … Continue reading
Shannon Squire and Knitted Wit have my favourite summer knit-a-long: Socks on Vacay. My first pair of socks took me around two years to finish, but I liked wearing them, so I foolishly joined in last year and knit 3 socks in time, and I guess I’m a sock knitter now? So here’s a few … Continue reading
Although I was terribly restrained in buying kits from Laura Nelkin, I did pick up two (plus her perfect little beading tin) so here’s the second! This is called Hibisco, and it’s another beaded jewelry kit. I’m not normally a fan of pre-strung beads for bigger knits, but they’re not too annoying for a smaller … Continue reading