Pumpkin Sunrise

  I am so excited that I'm on my second sleeve and over half way on that second sleeve. I had grand plans to finish this sweater on my weekend trip to Cambridge MA but that was lofty and impractical. I've been asked if I knit in the car, the answer is YES but I frequently zone out and daydream or take in the scenery. More often than not, I tell my husband how to drive which annoys him to no end. I have lofty goals of having this sweater finished by next Wednesday but I know that I am sporadic in my knitting attention these days. Please send all the good finishing vibes if you can. Below is a photo of the two skeins of yarn I purchased at Mind's Eye Yarns  in Cambridge MA and so close to our hotel that we stayed at. I'm thinking his and her matching pair of socks. What a sweet little store that was jammed packed with yarn. I was in heaven. What are you working on this week?

  Just look at that glorious sleeve, so so close to the end. By this evening, I will be picking up the next sleeve and carrying on with getting this sweater finished and blocked in time for the crisp fall season. Speaking of cooler air, yesterday was gorgeous, I wore a long sleeve shirt for the first time since the spring and felt cold.  The first sock is almost done! I love this color and after nearly a week of knitting these socks in front of my husband (which are for my husband) he asked if they were for him. So now the surprise socks are not some much a surprise anymore. What are you working on this week?

  Hello!  Once again, here we are sharing our projects. This week I've been working on the first sleeve of my blue sweater and loving the speed of a sleeve compared to the body shaping. I might be half way done.  I am half way done on the first sock for my husband who doesn't know these are for him and yet I knit in front of him. He will be super excited to receive them since green is his favorite color. The pattern is memorized and I added four rows of knit two purl two and then four rows of stockinette stitch just so I can easily make the socks matching without measuring. What are you working on this week?

  I'm happy to report that my knitting enthusiasm has been slowly increasing after all the travels last week. More importantly, my husband and I continue to be healthy. This sweater is so close the the body edging! I believe there's less than an inch to go. After the body, I will be on the sleeves which I love to knit because they are speedy. It's all downhill from there my friends. What have you been working on this week? Can you believe it's the end of August??

 I did it! I finished my grandson's Christmas stocking, well, almost finished. I have yet to duplicate stitch his name on the top which is always a challenge for me. My duplicate stitching skills are not that great. For some reason, this red skein of yarn ran very short of yarn so the white toe has more white than usual. What matters is that the socking can still be stuffed with many little presents. Ravelry notes What are you working on this week?

  Good morning!  Around here the humidity has left and Mother Nature has gifted me (us) some beautiful cool crisp air. I'll be walking this morning with a sweatshirt on - what blessings! The days are shortening quickly hinting at fall weather, thank goodness. I'm sitting here with jeans on hoping that I do not need to switch to capris later in the afternoon. My husband and I went to a restaurant with outdoor seating for lunch over looking a pond. The food was delicious and the views made the food taste better. All you could hear were birds chirping and an occasional flopping fish in the water. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I've been in a creative lull.  I'm just going with it because I know it will pass. Yesterday I wanted to start a pair of socks for my husband with this delicious merino yak blend in the photo below. I ignored the voice in my head that said 'but you have three other projects you should be working on'. Life is for living in the moment an

  Good morning! I hope you're having a wonderful day.  Knitting this week has been pretty good. I started a Christmas Stocking for my grandson over the weekend. I successfully found the hand-written pattern that my mom wrote (photo copied by me so as to preserve her original writings) I believe the stocking pattern is from a VERY old McCall's or Family Circle magazine from the 1970's...or around there. It's a treasure! I also found my hand-written notes where I changed things up, let's hope I understand what I wrote. My blue sweater is such a delight to knit! I zoom along in stockinette miles enjoying the simplicity of the design. I am over half way done with the body of the sweater. I also believe I have enough yarn but I'll know for sure when I get to the sleeves. I'm usually optimistic during this part of the knitting. Anxiety will build during the sleeves if there is any worries of yarn shortage. What are you working on this week?

  Hello! How are you and how has your projects been coming along this week? I cast on and then finished a sweet little pumpkin hat for our grandson in less than 48 hours.  I adored making this little hat speedily out of deep deep stash left over worsted weight wool. I straddled different sizes for him because he has a big head (!). So I cast on for the child size, but the length is a toddler size and I went down one size for the recommended needles. Kind of a slap dash guestimate size for our little guy. My hope is that this October he can wear the hat with the brim rolled up and next October he can still wear it with the brim down. No matter what, it will definitely be worn one season! What are you working on this week?

  Happy first day of August! We are crawling towards FALL and it is glorious. I'm noticing how the days are getting shorter and the cicadas are quite loud this year.  How was your weekend? My weekend was quite restful! My husband and I took it easy and relaxed. Relaxing for me was reading and knitting, not necessarily at the same time. I started a pumpkin hat for our grandson yesterday - I'm making a bigger size because then he can wear it multiple fall seasons. We sat on the back patio coordinating our planners bringing them in paper sync. I am thrilled to be home, to be sleeping in my own bed, having quiet mornings to ponder everything and nothing at all.

  My knitting news is minuscule.  However, progress no matter how tiny is progress. I've been mainly working on my blue sweater . I haven't been knitting during the day and only knit for an hour or two at night. I tend to do this in the summer time as other activities become my focus. Also that dastardly cold really set me back. I am feeling better though! Even though my knitting is minimal, I am dreaming of new knitting projects I want to knit for my grandson and some other family members.  What are you working on this week?

  Well hello! This week there hasn't been much knitting because what I thought was a terrible allergy attack over the weekend was really a nasty nasty cold (definitely not covid, I tested twice). I haven't had a cold since before the pandemic and was not really ready for it. However when are we ready to be ill? I am thankful to not be blowing my nose every second, sneezing my head off every second and being able to sit upright --  it's those little things we take for granted.  Since Sunday I have been marathon reading Stephen King's The Stand which is about a pandemic virus. I do love how he weaves a wonderful story line and his in depth character development. Also the tingly creepy feeling of doom. Above is the seashell shawl and below is the sweater I am working on. For the sweater I went down one size and really hope that was a good decision.  What are you working on this week?

  Good morning! How are all of you and more importantly how is your crafting coming along?  My knitting needles have been busy clicking away. I finished our grandson's Christmas sweater (I know I am super early and on task with the gifts this year). I still have many things I want to make him before fall arrives. The hyphen cardigan pattern I picked up as a physical copy at a local yarn store. I loved the construction and the yoke detail. I'm thinking of making this sweater again for another baby-to-be (not a grand!). As always Malabrigo Rios is a stellar wool to knit with and a delight to have in my hands. If you haven't knitted with it, you should.  Ravelry notes are here. What are you working on this week?

  I've got three projects going on at the same time and they each fill a niche in my life. First off is the Grandson's Christmas sweater that is almost done. I love how this is turning out and those sleeves are speedy knitting. I am thrilled to be working on December gifts so early in the year.  Next up is this seashell shawl that is my tv knitting or talking knitting. I can do both at the same time and not make a mistake. I love picking this us and knitting on it, it feels so very soft. Last but not least is this blue pullover sweater for me that is using up some gift yarn from my sister. One of her clients was decluttering her stash and so I inherited this yarn. This project is also a multitasking project. The yarn is a bit rough compared to the above shawl. I also do not know if I have enough yarn for the sweater - you know I love a bit of mystery while knitting. I figure once I use up one entire skein, I will have a sense of whether I have enough yarn or not. Also I can

  I finished this shawl last Friday and then forgot to soak and block it because of family visiting. However on Sunday I remembered. This is the second time I knit this shawl , it's a fun pattern and I recommend it.  Ravelry notes What are you working on this week?

  On Monday while the workers were here in my house installing insulation in the attic and sealing the air leaks in the basement, I decided to start my grandson's Christmas sweater. Well due to the noise and disruption of the busyness of the past two days, I made numerous errors and was unknitting rows.  The good news is that I love the yarn and the re-knitting makes me happy. I bought the yarn and the pattern at a local yarn store. If you know me well, I am drawn to top-down seamless sweaters. What are you working on this week?

  This week I'm sharing my impulsive cast ons that are both captivating. I enjoy working on both of them and the ease of the patterns. I can talk (well most of the time) during each knit and rarely make a mistake.  The above photo is the seashell shawl  that I saw trending on Ravelry a week or so ago. I promptly dug through my yarn stash, wound up some lace weight yarn and cast on. I confess it was exciting to be so spontaneous. Below is a photo of the confetti shawl . This is the second time I am knitting the Herald shawl with a variegated yarn from my deep stash. I'm loving the cheerful colors in this one! What are you working on this week?

  I'd say the bottom photo is the true color compared with the top photo, the lighting in this house is fickle and I'm still getting used to it. I finished another gift cowl to put in the present box for later this year. The wool was a left over skein for my sister's sweater . I had plenty of yardage to knit this cowl right up! I've knit this cowl before and enjoy the pattern immensely. Ravelry notes are here What are you working on this week?

  I finished this shawl last weekend and once it was off the needles I started another one because I loved the mindlessness of this simple pattern. I did not aggressively block the shawl but I probably could have to make the eyelets pop a bit more.  This pattern is so easy to memorize and it's the kind of pattern you can talk and knit (at the same time!) and not make a mistake.  The wool is MadelineTosh Merino Light, which is a lovely soft fingering weight, but lately I've not been a fan of single-ply because of the slight fuzz that appears and the increased chance of the yarn spitting while knitting with it (I used to be okay with this 5-10 years ago). This skein has been in deep stash for quite a while so I enjoyed knitting up the shawl and using every inch of the wool! Ravelry notes What are you working on this week?

  I cast off this beauty last night so today I will block and photo and share next week. I loved the pattern so much I cast on another shawl, just because I can. What are you working on this week?

  Buckle up! I've got lots of knitting to show you this week. First up are these quick and easy wash clothes I whipped up as a little gift. I used left over worsted weight cotton and enjoyed immensely how fast they knitted up. Wash clothes are the palate cleanser of knitting for when you finish a big project (the never ending blanket) and want something that is instant gratification. I stared a gift cowl in one left over skein from my sister's sweater. This is knitting up fast!! And finally a much better photo of the shawl I am currently knitting that has eyelet rows galore. I know when this is blocked this will look fantastic. I rather enjoy the knitting (reminds me of the hitchhiker pattern - addictive) and I have another skein of variegated wool wound up and ready to cast on maybe when I finish this one or maybe before I finish this one. I'm in a 'cast on' mood. What are you working on this week?