[knitting] Starfall Sweater

The start of my Starfall sweater:

The yarn is Knit Picks Main Line, 75% cotton / 25% wool. Long since discontinued-  I've had a sweater's worth of this stuff in my stash for a decade. I think Knit Picks was a new company when I ordered it.

Hope to cast on for the body this weekend.

[knitting] Icy Fingerless Mitts

Another pair of quick fingerless mitts:

This is leftover yarn from another pair of fingerless mitts from 2013.

The yarn is Manos del Uruguay Maxima, which looks/feels is almost exactly like Malabrigo Merino Worsted. Both companies are from Uruguay but the Maxima is priced much higher (from Webs: $20 for a skein of Maxima, $12 for a skein of Malabrigo Worsted). But Manos yarn is Fair Trade and made up of a dozen non-profit cooperatives, so I think that accounts for the higher price. 

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It's been cold and really windy the past few days. Made more progress on my shawl. For some reason the shawl seems to be weeknight knitting and the sweater is weekend knitting.

I made a sausage/green pepper/onion pizza last night and my crust game was on point. Going to whip up another bucket of no-knead dough with whey strained from last weekend's yogurt making.

I have to figure out some kind of DIY curtain or window decoration. My office shares a door with the office next to me (like a door between ajoined hotel rooms) and the door has a window in it. There's a sort of peeping-tom-staring-in-your-living-room-window vibe that you get when you catch the other person looking in on you. I'm not saying it's just him- I do it, too. For example when I'm getting my jacket and happen to look through to his office... and I stand there... staring at him working at his desk... and he sees me... and I narrow my eyes and draw my index finger across my throat. I'm just saying a curtain would help this privacy issue. 

Macrame might be too see-through. A knit or crochet one would take too long. I don't want to buy any window film. I actually don't want to buy anything. And I can't do anything permanent. I just want something I can hang on a tension rod. I do have a Schacht School Loom for weaving but the finished width would only be 15" and I need at least 23" by 26". Hmmmmmmm... What to do, what to do. 

[knitting] Byron's Hat

Made a hat to send to a coworker:

It's a free pattern from Ravelry called Allen Hat. This is my second time making the pattern- I made one in December as a Christmas gift. It's a nice, quick pattern.

It's being mailed to Minnesota; I just have to gather some more Vermont-y things to send along with it.

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Made some nice short ribs for dinner last night for the Season 3 finale of True Detective. And some lazy focaccia. Pizza tonight.

Worked on the Rumplestiltskin shawl and reached the end of the first ball of yarn (I have three).

We've moved our offices around at work and have nice new furniture. Everyone has spiffy glass "white" boards for dry erase writing but there's nowhere to store the markers. No shelf/ledge like a chalkboard. I'm going to crochet some pen holders that can be hung from one of the support pegs- for holding the markers. Maybe I'll make one for everyone. OR MAKE THEM PAY FOR ONE.

For any local people reading- there's a new yarn shop opening in Norwich called Norwich Knits. It's going to be in the same spot as where Northern Nights Yarn Shop was. The grand opening is this Friday, March 1 from noon to 8 pm. I'll be checking it out for sure!

[misc] Santana Monday

Santana went to the vet on Saturday morning:

She did well- had blood drawn, received an exam and rabies shot. She's losing weight and is only 6.5 lbs now, so we're trying a week of steroid treats to increase her appetite (it's working so far). She's just about 16-years-old.

Penny has her appt this coming Saturday. It will definitely take both of us to bring her down since she screams in car the entire trip.

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Was able to get my tire patched Saturday afternoon. So relieved.

Sunday we had a family birthday lunch in Norwich. After, we stopped by my mom's to pick up kimchi- and marinated short ribs. Looking forward to braising those for dinner tonight!!!

Worked some more on my Starfall sweater (2nd sleeve almost done). Made progress on the Rumplestiltskin shawl at my car appointment. Did a round of crochet on my Sophie's Universe afghan. Here's my crochet nest in the craft room:

I've got it all set up just so- the laptop to follow along with the pattern digitally (it's very thorough). My phone and charger- and a Bluetooth speaker to listen to podcasts. Chai tea, hand lotion, a basket of yarn nearby... pillows, heated cat mats (the cats use this couch the most) and an extra knit blanket. Ugh, once I get settled into this spot, it's hard to get back out.

Rather than crocheting a lot, though, I spent hours on Sunday just trying to free up space on my laptop. It's a 120 GB hard drive but I only had a little more than 1GB free. It was the iPhoto library taking up tons of space (of course). I bought a 2TB backup external hard drive a while ago and was able to move the whole library over- and delete it from my laptop... freeing up 90GB of space. Omg. Then it was running update after update after update. I really should use my Macbook more.

[cooking] King Cake

I made two King Cakes a couple nights ago- one for the band and one to bring in to work. I used this recipe, which is written for two cakes. It's pretty simple brioche dough- richer that the dough I'd normally use for cinnamon buns because of the sour cream and butter and eggs (oh my!). It is also a more relaxed dough that is easier to shape and roll out.

I remembered to hide a baby before rolling up the log:

After a second rise and bake:

And decorated:

The key is quickly putting on the icing and then adding the colored sugar so that it sticks. I was getting a little precious with icing the first cake and making the dribbles just so, so that by the time I was ready to decorate with the sugar, the icing had hardened and all the sugar was sliding off the surface. Sigh.

But everything turned out fine. The band liked the cake (everyone has their own King Cake stories/memories!) and I brought the other to work. My coworker, who first told me about King Cakes, found the baby of the first try:

It's breech! I told him to grab the little feet and pull it out but he left it for the next person.

Until next year...

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TGIF. I have a screw in my rear tire. I was getting a low-tire pressure light on in my car but after walking around the car- all the tires looked fine. It wasn't until I got back home and the car was in the garage that I heard hsssssssssss. We found the screw but what to do? I called the local Honda place and they said they can repair it tomorrow afternoon. Hope it all works out- I'd LOVE to not have to buy 4 new tires.

Santana has a vet appt tomorrow morning, though. So either (a) Dollar lets me take his new truck to the appt myself (which his seems annoyingly hesitant about), or (b) he gets up a 7:15 am on a Saturday to make the 8 am appt. He's torn.

But we're both sure that the screw in the tire was somehow orchestrated by Santana to get out of going to the vet. NICE TRY.

[beading] Lace curtain weights

I finished my dappled lace cafe curtains a couple weeks ago. They were a smidgen too short and I mulled over the idea of adding beads to the bottom- to add a little length and weight.

I was all set to go to the craft store and spend money. Then I remembered the veritable craft store I have at home. I dug around for beads and jewelry making tools that I used last fall when I made stitch markers.

I had exactly the right amount of beads for both curtain panels, in terms of lining the beads up to match the lace pattern repeats. They are permanently attached and not removable, but that's fine. They look just perfect to me.

Close-up of the beads:

Skulls. Aw yeah. I love the turquoise color with the coral yarn.

Night shot:

It only took about an hour to add the beads. If they droop over time to touch the window sill, I'll just raise the tension rod a little.

[knitting] Finished Teapot Cosy

The teapot cosy is complete and it's adorable!

I used Knit Picks Palette from the stash- blush, rose, red, green- and US 2 needles.

The vintage pattern is free: Daffodil Stitch Tea Cosy.

Two rows of red, two rows of rose, one row of blush. You knit two sides and then sew them together- leaving an opening for the handle and spout. For my tea pot, I left the two blush rows open for the spout and for the handle, I left the two blush rows and the top red row open.

The pattern suggests knitting a garter stitch lining for the cosy, which makes sense. Once the daffodil stitch is complete, you see it's a rather hole-y pattern that could let a lot of heat escape.

I had plenty of yarn leftover, so a garter stitch lining sounded doable.

I did bands of red, rose and blush to match the outside.

The topmost blush garter stitch band is heavily decreased (one stitch at either end, every other row) to give it a final trapezoid shape. This is to avoid excess fabric and the top bunching up.

Cosy inside out:

The flowers and leaves around the top:

I just made some misc roses and leaves from Nicky Epstein's Crocheted Flowers. There is still a little bit of an opening at the top for the tea pot lid's knob handle.

All the leftover yarn, tools, ends:

Love it. Love love love love it. I haven't actually used it to keep a pot of tea warm yet. I just keep putting it on and taking it off and putting it on and taking it off. 

But soon.

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I finally started the Starfall sweater (rav link) and have already raced up one sleeve and completed the stranded cuff of the other.

I also cast on for a Rumplestiltskin shawl (rav link) last night. I am using three balls of Renew Wool from Universal Yarn (now discontinued).

I think I have enough leftover Cascade Casablana yarn from this tote to make a new teapot cosy.

My crafty mojo is pretty high right now and I feel like I'm using up stashed yarn pretty quickly. But then I go to Michael's and see all the Caron x Pantone bundles are on clearance for 50% off and are only $4 each. A bunch just jumped into my shopping baskets and now they're all home and I'm searching Pantone patterns on Ravelry. Maybe a brioche cowl?

[needlefelting] Finished Sing Bird Tapestry

Finished the tapestry this weekend:

Love how it turned out. I took out a straight-edge and trimmed the border. It is 11 inches x 15 inches. Going to look for a frame after work today.

The wrong side:

I deviated a bit from the picture that comes with the kit- I added some different flowers and a little butterfly and bumblebee.

I loved working on this project- it was fun to do and I love the colors and fuzziness...

I have a decent amount of leftover wool, as well, for another project. Maybe a landscape.

Will probably be entering this into the fair this fall...

[knitting] Teapot Cosy Progress

The teapot cosy, which is taking up all my time and yarn:

At this point, the two ruffled halves are done. I did decide to go with a garter-stitch lining, which is half complete. I pulled out Nicky Epstein's Crocheted Flowers and made several roses and leaves to decorate the top of the cosy. This project is snowballing into something pretty involved but I think the finished cosy will be pretty nice.

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Looking forward to the three-day weekend. I should be able to finish the cosy and putter around on other projects. Planning on doing a lot of baking (biscotti... King Cake on Monday to bring in to work on Tuesday...)

I made some homemade yogurt in the Instant Pot this week. I strained it to be extra-thick Skyr style. It. Is. Wonderful.

TGIFFFFFFFF.

[knitting] Flaco Socks Complete

Finished the Flaco socks:

I really could have used them last night. I was in bed, my toes were freezing and Penny was between my legs, so I couldn't get up. Luckily, I had a handknit pair of socks just within reach and I was able to grab them and put them on without disturbing Penny TOO much.

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Happy Valentimes! Going to make a nice duck dinner tonight. I wish my teapot cosy was done- it's in pinks and red and I've crocheted some roses and flowers... it's very Valentine-y.

I'm nearly done with my needle felted tapestry. Just got to fill a few remaining blank areas. Felt it a bit.... Trim... Frame? I'm not too sure, I haven't really thought that far ahead. There is a lot of wool leftover, though- enough for a another project.

[knitting] Drawstring Pouches

In mid-January, I posted a pink drawstring pouch that I knit during the NFL Playoff games. The Pats won their game, so I had to keep making the pouches during their games. 

I made this during the AFC Championship game:

AFC Champs. So I had to make another during the Super Bowl:

WORLD CHAMPS. Got to watch some good football and close out the season with some nice little bags:

I think I'll use these as gift bags in the future.

[misc] Murderface Monday

Weekend napping on the couch:

Murderface was leaving wet paw prints all over the kitchen floor this morning. Great- where's the barf? He must have walked through some and was tracking it all over the house. Or, god forbid, pee. I followed the trail back upstairs... to the bathrooooooom... shower. He had gotten in after my shower. Whew.

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The weekend went by too fast. I finished the two halves for the teapot cosy- just working on crocheted flowers to decorate the top with. I'm also contemplating going the extra mile and knitting a lining for the inside (gotta keep that tea HOT).

Other than a quick cabled hat that I want to knit and send to a coworker, I think I'm ready to stop procrastinating and cast on for a sweater. I swatched (a bit)... I just need to get everything together. Like the yarn and the needles and... ok, that's literally all I need to get together. I'll cast on this week. Probably.

[cooking] 'Za and cookies kind of night

It was a stressy stressful week at work. The only cure was pizza:

And cookies:

This basis of this is oatmeal raisin but I used dried cranberries instead of raisins. I also chopped up half a bar of baking white chocolate and added the last bit of a jar of marmalade. Just using up bits of whatever I had on the baking shelf. I baked off a dozen and put the leftover dough in the freezer.

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We had a fake spring this week- temps in the 50's, snow melting, ice everywhere, dirt road getting rather squishy. It's going to get cold again this weekend (highs in the 20's) but it will be sunny. I plan on taking lots of pictures of the cats napping in the sun.

I finished my Flaco socks and got back to the tea pot cosy last night. My weekend plans are just to putter away on crafty stuff, which I haven't been able to do (too busy and too stressy), and chillax to the max. I've got a couple duck breasts in the fridge and I'm planning a nice dinner for Saturday night.

I swatched for a sweater (as much as I'm willing to swatch, anyway) and I need to just bite the bullet and cast on for it.

TGIF, for reals.

[knitting] Teapot Cosy

In need of a teapot, I rummaged around TJ Maxx and found one for $10. I've been making pots of barley tea and wrapping the pot with kitchen towels to keep it warm. There are so many adorable teapot cosy patterns out there, I decided to make one:

This is a vintage free pattern: Daffodil Stitch Tea Cosy from 1929. I'm not too far into it but I think it's two identical panels that are sewn together, leaving openings for the handle and spout. I grabbed some Knit Picks Palette in the stash and plan on making mine in red-blush-pink with green trim.

[knitting] Flaco socks progress

New socks: 

This was my travel knitting for DC last week. The yarn is Fiber Stash Dyeworks Strong Toes in the Chestnut colorway (I believe). The pattern is free and called Flaco (rav link).

After completing the blue Lissajous Figures socks recently, which had lots of traveling and twisted stitches, this is a much more relaxing pattern. With just rounds of purl, knit and moss stitch, it's working up quickly.

[knitting] Totally Biased Rainbow Cowl

I finished this a while ago but only got a chance to take pictures over the weekend.

The pattern is Totally Biased (rav link). This is at least my 9th time making this pattern and I love it. It's easily customized to different weights of yarn and widths. The only hard part is the grafting at the end but that can be meditative.

I used one skein of Knitting Fever Painted Desert in a marled rainbow colorway. 

It's a fingering-weight sock yarn. I provisionally cast on 70 stitches and placed my purl ridges randomly (trying to roughly line them up with the color changes).

The cowl was taken on my work trip to DC last week and worn around the Metro area.

[knitting] Dappled Lace Cafe Curtains

Finished and hung my lace linen curtains in the bathroom over the weekend:

Each panel is one skein of  Euroflax Linen Sport. The pattern is from Knit Picks: Dappled Lace Cafe Curtains. I charted the pattern before knitting. The walls are white and the curtains give the room a coral glow.

Blocking:

I folded over the top stockinette edge and used a long tail to sew it to the top of the lace area. It was a tight fit getting the tension rod through but I managed.

They are slightly too short but I used up practically every inch of the two skeins (I think I only have a couple yards leftover).

The knitting worked up rather quickly and I would happily do this pattern again for another window. 

[travel] DC

Was in DC this week for the ESRI Federal User's Conference. Always a good time to see colleagues from across the country- who I email frequently but only get to see a couple times a year.

I love visiting the DC area for all the restaurants. We went out to a nice Korean place in Annandale the first night.

Seafood hot pot at the table:

Lots of banchan:

And makgeolli:

I was staying by the metro stop at the top of King Street in Old Town Alexandria. Theismann's bar was right across the street, so we were there a lot. Their flatbread was great:

I also got a little mushroom pizza at Matchbox in DC one night. All I really want is mushroom pizza. I never get to have it at home.

The conference reception was at the National Building Museum, which I've never been to but it was sooooo beautiful inside:

Did more than my fair share of drinking, so I'm going to detox for a while. Chill and take it easy.

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My plane knitting was a new pair of socks- which are working up pretty quickly (nearly done with the first one). I also started a tea pot cosy.

I did visit a yarn shop while I was down there- Fibre Space in Alexandria. Just got a couple Berroco yarns (worsted for a pair of Dollar socks; bulky yarn for a quick niece sweater).

My weekend project will be finishing up the linen curtains- I cast off and blocked them before I left. I just need to sew the top closed for the tension rod and then hang them.