Slowest Knitting Ever

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I got a wild hair this past week and decided to make a Ripple Brawlet DK in some precious Chromatic Yarns DK from my stash. I bought the pattern, skein-ed my yarn, kitted up a project bag and accessories. I was full of enthusiasm and cast-on-itis so I jumped right into the pattern. I then came to a screeching halt as the pattern called for an Old Norwegian Cast on. I don’t know how to do that one and after an hour on YouTube and complete concentration in a kid free environment…I had five stinking stitches.

I used many tutorials including the “slow” version by Very Pink Knits YouTube channel. I just couldn’t make it click with my brain and my hands. I really want to start this project so I think I’m going to use an alternate cast on that is also stretchy. I will learn the Old Norwegian Cast on someday….today is just not that day!

Happy Knitting!!

Radiate Progress

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My Radiate pullover is swimming right along. I’m several inches into the body with lots of zen round and round knitting.

The pattern calls for 14 inches of body and I haven’t measured to see how far I am. The pattern also called for waist decreases and increases. My midsection after two babies is less shaped that it used to be so I’m omitting the shaping and just knitting straight down.

I think I’ll try it on when I get close to 14 inches and see how it looks. Both these yarns are super-wash so I know i’ll get some stretch. But I like a nice long sweatshirt length sweater in my garments. Next up for this one is sleeve island. I think I will use my Chia Goo interchangeable needles to knit the sleeves in the round.

Happy knitting!!

Summer Canning

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Our current temperature in Kansas is roughly the surface of the sun with like 1,000% humidity. So why wouldn’t I want to haul out all my canning supplies and heat up my kitchen? I was having some anxiety related to world events and general unrest so I felt the need to make something. That feeling turned into one batch of strawberry rhubarb jam, two batches of blackberry jam, two batches of peach jam and one batch of strawberry jam.

Jellybean helped me off and on saying that he “didn’t like the hot and sticky parts”. Which we all know is almost the whole process. He did like how dark and ruby colored the blackberries cooked down into. All this fruit, except for the strawberries, was homegrown from my families gardens. To me this gave me a grounded feeling and a connection to people I can’t visit right now.

This project did make me feel a bit better. I did have a tiny bit of frustration when my peach jam didn’t set and I had to haul all the supplies back out to re-cook and add more pectin. But the re-do process did seem to work. Now I have some jelly stores for the next year and enough to give as gifts this holiday season.

How is everyone else coping lately?

A Quick Tutu

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My daycare provider is about to be a first time grandma. Her daughter is having a little baby girl in October. Both of these ladies hold a special place in my heart because they love my children almost as much as I do. So of course I needed to knit something!

I made a quick Lexi’s Knitted Tutu by Ashlee Lackovic this past weekend. I just grabbed some Caron Simply Soft acrylic for the waistband and some leftover Red Heart Boutique Sashay multicolor. This is just such a quick knit and it ends up looking more complicated that it actually is.

I finished off with some eggshell colored ribbon to make the waist tie. I think beginning to end this maybe took me an hour? The newborn size is like like 40 rounds of knitting. I can’t wait to wrap this precious gift up!

Happy Knitting!!

Packing Of The Knits

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I don’t have any finished objects this week. But I did check one item of my “to-do” list and that was to “summer-ize” and pack away my knitted things. Yeah…its July and I’m just doing this. But come on, there’s a pandemic and I think I get points for doing it at all!

I inspected each item for damage or stains, gave them a quick rinse and a fully dried them and then packed them in to my cedar lined chest. This pile consisted of a ton of shawls, some baby PB knits, hats and some cowls.

I can’t wait to pull these things out in the fall! They smell like my lavender sachet and it might be my second favorite ever scent in the world!

Happy Knitting!!

Knitting Poolside

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We are in the middle of a long heat wave in the Midwest right along side big increases in COVID cases. So my family and I are doing our best to find ways to have fun and stay safe at home. This week’s adventure had water balloons, lots of driveway swimming pool time and me knitting in the shade.

Modified version of Helen Stewart’s Habitation Throw

This photo was taken 10 minutes before I dropped a stitch and made a huge hole in my Rainbow Habitation Throw. I literally spent the next hour tinking back two and a half rows to fix my mistake because it just wouldn’t ladder back down and back up again correctly. So that means I’m still in my fourth color of twelve.

But the good thing about knitting garter stitch is that you can just knit and knit and eventually you look down and a blanket has popped out of nowhere!

P.S. I completely see the irony of knitting a lap blanket during a heat wave. I’m a special kind of crazy!

Happy Knitting!!

Diving In

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I was flying on the high of successfully plying on my spinning wheel that I decided to attempt to now spin on it. I pulled out some 100% BFL from Jakira Farms from my recently updated stash and pre-drafted the roving.

I fared much better this time than my first few attempts. I did actually succeed at getting the yarn spun on to the wheel. I’m still struggling to figure out the treadling and drafting motion of my hands all as once coherent movement. This first little bit spun VERY thick and mostly over spun. I think I needed to perhaps pre-draft the roving a little more aggressively? I weighed the braid and split it in the middle. Then I took each half and drafted out the fibers to loosen them up.

Both my frustration and the ambient temperature quickly heated up so I put it aside for the time being. I know learning is an uphill curve for awhile when doing a new skill. I’m just ready to be “good” so I can find the zen of it and make usable and pretty yarn. I honestly just need more patience and more practice, both of which are in short supply here lately. Time to give myself a literal and metaphorical break!

Happy Spinning

Sunshine and Plying

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The day came this weekend for me to have been couped up in my house with littles just a teeny bit too long and it made me brave enough to attempt plying on my spinning wheel. I pulled out my well rested 70s kitchen themed singles and made a spinning oasis on my back patio sans kids.

I made a couple of lazy kates out of some amazon boxes and two wooden straigh knitting needles. I made sure to load my biggest bobbin and practiced treadling in the correct direction. Mind you I spun these counter clockwise on my drop spindle so I was plying the clockwise on my spinning wheel.

I also took a minute to enjoy the kid free silence and salute my heat wilted garden with a cup of hot coffee. I’m Scandinavian and we like our coffee hot and strong all year round. It’s genetic I think…we can down hot coffee on a 98 degree day and not miss a beat!

After a few false starts/stops and some occasional over plying….I made a successful two-ply yarn!! It’s thick and thing and all over the place with how I plied it. But dang it….it’s yarn and it holds together. I might even be able to knit something from this yarn!

My bobbin has been set aside to rest for 24 hours and which I will wash and whack the skein. I’m really interested to see how many yards I got out of 4 ounces of alpaca!

Happy Spinning!!

Sunlight and Knitting

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I took advantage of my parent’s deck to take some beauty shots of my Rainbow Fluff Habitation Throw. I couldn’t get over how beautiful the sunlight looked shining through the fabric.

This is a modified Habitation Throw by Helen Stewart. I’m omitting the eyelets and adding a fluffy alpaca stripe in between each color change. I’m just starting the fourth color of the gradient. I have 12 colors total so I’ll work the increasing section for the first six colors and then decrease for the last six.

This has been a nice lighweight knit to keep in my lap while it’s hot. It’s also soothing garter stitch with a little interest at the edges. So it is balm for my troubled mind and spirit. I haven even started weaving in my ends so I don’t leave them all to the end. You are welcome future Rachelle!

Happy Knitting!!

Retro Rainbow Progress

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Sock knitting really hasn’t been my jam lately, but my purse knitting is still a pair of socks. My Retro Rainbow Socks are a few stripes longer now.

I’m knitting these as sock tubes and I will cut in afterthought heels. The yarn is some de-stashed MustStash yarn in Stacie’ Retro Rainbow colorway. I’m working 72 stitches on US 0 needles.

I’m not going many places anymore so I don’t seem to pick these up as often. We largely go to work and then stay home otherwise so I am putting a lot more work on my larger projects. Good thing yarn and knitting doesn’t go bad!

Happy Knitting!!