Wonder Woman

It’s been a busy few days at work, then I got stuck into the Cormoran Strike series by JK Rowling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, one more season of Master Chef Australia, then I’ll check out the TV series, Strike. So my knitting has been less than prolific. I am to the ribbing on Humulus, then because it was my birthday on Tuesday, I have decided to finish my Wonder Woman socks before returning to Lynn’s Humulus.I was just at the heel turning point when I realized I had two extra stitches in the heel. I ripped it out right away - it’s kind of just an instinct to me when I’ve made a mistake. In hindsight, the two sts would probably have been if little consequence, but done was done, so I just re-knit the back of the heel. 

Craig bought me more yarn and a really lovely shawl pin for my birthday. I’m personally not much for celebrating it, but how could I not be pleased?!? 

Potlucks - the pink is perfect, though I’m of two minds on the yellow. The more I look at it, the less I am loving it. What do you think?
I did make a cake though, and it’s keto!! The coffee cake has an almost soufflé texture, and it is so moist. Yum!! 
I was quite impressed with it, and Craig was totally blown away with how delicious it was! 

The puppies are little heat pad sucks. Petey has the decency to look a bit bashful, but Chica, the little minx, shamelessly slides over to my spot the second that I stand up!! Lol. 

Tonight I made an old fave for dinner - chicken with a mushroom and bacon cream sauce. 

So delish; I am literally drinking the sauce by the spoonful!! Dinner for days! 

The keto eating is working - I’m down 30+lbs and I actually had to go shopping for jeans. I loathe clothes shopping, but my other pants were beyond too big and while I would like to wear clothes just for comfort, I am conscious of societal norms and do also enjoy looking good in what I wear. So I spent the afternoon trying on countless jeans for work, and came away with a few pairs. With the washing machine at mine now, I don’t need as many pairs, so I’m set for a bit. 

I also had two links taken out of my watch - it was to the point that it was spinning around my wrist!! 

I am proud of myself for making this lifestyle change for me. I feel a lot healthier, and happier with myself. 

Not enough to do ...

Slow and rather disappointing start to the day. I shan’t bore you with the details, since the problems have been sorted and the remainder of my day at home was quite nice and fairly productive. 

I got a bit done on my Turtlepurl Wonder Woman socks. I am not used to matching socks, so this is rather a novelty! 

I also need to get a push on as these will be a part of my Wonder Woman costume for Halloween at work.

I am 48 rounds into the 90 rounds that I need on the body of Humulus. 

I just had to use my new Starbucks stitch marker that I got from Fibermancy!!

Because these projects on the needles just doesn’t seem like enough (on top of the Wonder Woman cape that I need for Halloween as well), I have signed on for the Till Death  MKAL  My only saving grace here is that they.are mittens and I should be able to keep up! LOL I’ll have to go stash diving to find a some yarn to knit them with.

Got a bit behind on my 30 Days of Flowers colouring, but I am caught up now - days 6-9. 

All of this therapy, along with the love of puppies, the support of friends, and doing some baking has made a massive improvement to my mood! I have changed what I can today and left alone what I can’t. I’m getting better at that and it makes a difference. 

Treats!!

A long but productive couple days at work. I was so looking forward to getting home because I had remembered to take out steak, so I knew I was having steak and Caesar salad with a glass of red wine. If I had to choose just one meal to eat for the rest of my life, that would be it. I would never get tired of it!! 

I had stopped at the post box on my way in, and my package from Helen had arrived!! I texted her and she FaceTimed me, because the package I sent to her arrived today too!!! I left that envelope on the table until I had eaten and had my pudding in the oven. 

I live my most adventurous life through my friends. I’m a homebody by nature, and I have my puppies to care for. I know, handy excuse ... 

Helen sent me the most awesomely excellent coffee beans from her tour of the Seattle Starbucks!! If you could just smell these - sweet baby Jesus, I just woke up a bit! There was a wonderfully soft skein of yarn from Sin City Yarn  It reminds me of the colouring of orchids or gladiolus. The the fun bit - which I’ll have to photocopy to use because I don’t want to use it and then never be able to use it again. Dr Who Mad Libs!!  I don’t know if I have enough friends to play it with anyway ... maybe when Storm Crow Manor opens up in Toronto? 

Then I decided to make my fave keto brownies made tonight with Magic Butter. It’s a mug recipe that is primarily promoted as microwaveable. Fortunately, the recipe includes traditional baking instructions as I don’t have a microwave.

I thaw/warm the berries on the burner that the oven vents from while the brownie bakes. Then top the hit-from-the-oven brownie with Krisda chocolate chips so that they melt perfectly, the perfectly heated berries, and softly whipped cream. One generous single serving of absolute unguilty chocolately guilty pleasure!!! 

Gonna get some knitting done on Humulus, then sleep until I wake up. A small work errand to do tomorrow, but otherwise I anticipate much knitting!! 

Traditional Progress

Just a quick little update tonight. 

The carpet is drying nicely. The white noise of the a/c and the ceiling fan are for a function, so I am tolerating them. I usually try to turn them off for a few hours a day at least to give myself a mental rest, but needs must. 

A sunny day meant another lovely day to hang out some washing. Is fall cleaning a thing?? I’ve been in a mode lately ... today it was the shower curtains and liners, and a couple of blankets. They all now smell like sunshine!! 

I managed to sort out my gauge, though even down to 4mm needles I still need to be mindful to knit snugly almost or I stray into too loose territory. 

Wow - don’t the colours really start popping in that yoke??

Once Peter and Chica got used to the living room not having the usual things in it, (they are quite attuned to things in their environment and aren’t keen on change. Don’t know where they get *that* from -lol!) they were happy to have the extra playing space. 

A lot of people see stockinette/garter as boring; I love it!! It is so relaxing and soothing to me. It is also something that I’m known for - my even gauge, and nothing shows it off like stockinette! It’s a lovely way to finish off an evening. 

My Ignorance Amuses Me

So I’m on series 8 of Masterchef Australia. Every year, they do this challenges, and for the life of me, I would’ve sworn on a stack of bibles that they were saying “diggerstation”. Between the accent and not really knowing what the word was, I just rolled with it. I finally decided to Google it. Big Surprise - no such thing as a “digger station”. Some research later, it turns out that it’s a “dégustation”. :facepalm:  What immediately came to mind is that bit in Tomb Raider where Manfred Powell says, “My ignorance amuses me”. “Digger station” - LOL!!!  

My knee is back to normal - phew!! I iced it to near frozen on Friday night. It wasn’t perfect Saturday morning, but I had to work. I think that the degree to which my knee got iced the night before and the amount of Naproxen and codeine that I can function on scared my knee into self-reparation! 

So I had today off from work. I think that I actually do not know how to relax. I mean, I get the concept, but I don’t know how to not do something productive. Unless I’m actually asleep or physically incapacitated, I need to be doing. So I had started deciding last night that yes, I really did need to clean the living room carpet. The stains had started to run into each other, and I couldn’t remember the last time that I had done it. I shifted furnishings and strayed last night, and then 6-ish hours later today, with a load of laundry done and hung as well, the carpet is clean(er). I don’t know how many more wash/rinse sucked I would have had to do to have it come out actually *clean*, but there is a marked improvement! 

I will feel the workout tomorrow - pushing and pulling the 25lb+ Bissell Proheat 2x (mine has yellow accents which I love!) an incalculable amount of times adds up. I was focusing on holding my core tight and alternating between my left & right arm, paying attention to being hard on the muscle and easy on the joint. I am pleased that it is done though, and while I don’t use it a lot, I have to say that this carpet cleaner is worth all the money! 

I had been making nice progress on Humulus  but the fabric just didn’t look the same as the stranded yoke. Sure enough, too loose. GAH!! I reknit the 2” after the sleeve division, trying to tighten up my tension a bit; still too loose. I’ve taken it back to just after the fair isle bit and am dropping to 4mm. Pretty needle tips on the Marblz!! 

Remember when I started out and said that I tend to knit more loosely on circulars - yeah, here it is. The fair isle was keeping the looseness in check.  It is easier to adjust needle sizes than it is to consistently adjust your tensioning to achieve gauge. Well, for me anyway. 

So here is to a night of backwards progress!!

Yoke

Day 5 of 30 Days of Flowers!
The lines are so tiny, it makes trying to stay inside them a challenge, but I don’t give up easily. Another Prismacolor lead  failure. 

I have made excellent progress on my friend Lynn’s Humulus  You can see the floats and the pattern. I really try to do my fairisle neatly, and don’t carry a float more than 3 stitches. Just another round or two then I’m onto the separation of body and sleeves. I really love that pink bit in the Dream State fairisle section!!  

Yes, that is a bag of ice on my knee. I really didn’t do anything, but after lunch I got up from the table and my knee just felt wrong. It’s not muscular, or a strictly weight-bearing pain. It’s a stabbing pain when I move my knee. Hopefully rest, ice, and elevation will get me through work tomorrow, then I can decide on going to urgent care or not. I did try a knee brace that I have (not THE knee brace which is for my right knee, but a good one from years back) and it didn’t help in any noticeable way. I hate mystery injuries that I can’t diagnose. 

Humulus Le Deux

Made excellent progress after re-starting Humulus and the gauge is spot on. 

Because I prefer a tighter gauge than is generally called for in most patterns, sometimes I don’t realize I’m off until a bit in. This fabric, relative to the first go, definitely feels looser in a better way.

I’m definitely liking the gentle fair isle effect that the Spincycle Dream State is giving without having to change yarns! I love yarns that do the work for me. 

I made egg bites in my Instant Pot yesterday from this recipe  They can put a bit more dense than the Starbucks ones that I love, so I may reduce the steam time a minute or two next go. 

The flavor is good, though the flavor of the Swiss cheese that I used is coming through rather strongly. I’m not a massive fan of Swiss, so I think I’ll have a go with the Gruyère next time. 

I also need to let them cool down in the mould so that they come out less misshapen ... I was in such a hurry to try them though.

Today is day 4 of the 30 Days of Flowers colouring challenge with Johanna Basford. The colouring pages are a free download - give it a go!

Does colouring make you happier? I think so. It’s relaxing, except when I look at it and I’ve gone outside the teeny tiny lines. D’oh!! Still, I enjoy it. 

Except when the lead is broken all the way down and I just have broken tips. These are Prismacolor; I may pop into the art store in Barrie and see what other options there are.  

Giant swatch

Well, it’s a giant swatch, but it serves its purpose and I know that I have to go up a size needle. 
Honestly, I think that the time invested knitting this was worth it. I struggle with circular swatches - the arranging of the yarn behind to do just knit rows. They use up a lot of yarn and in my experience, they aren’t as accurate as actually knitting around. 

I have also enjoyed knitting with both the Woolstok and the Spincycle yarns - this was not a hardship and I don’t mind that I’ll be in a state of déjavu reknitting this first bit. 

I don’t ham it up a lot for pictures - I mostly don’t like having my pic taken - but Julie caught me in a moment!!

 I love this pic (I ganked it from her blog). It is a sweet torture working her booth at the shows - I can’t have all the yarn and yet I want all the yarn!! She has so many projects knit up for inspiration and the colours!! 

I am wearing the Veronika cardigan in in Mad Tosh Chunky in Wilted Rose. Lynn and Sarah are wearing their Comfort Fade Cardis. 

Wonder Woman Socks

One sock down!! I am a knitter who does not suffer from Second Sock Syndrome. I think that I’m actually faster on the 2^nd one because I’m not measuring, I’m just knitting to a row count to match the 1^st sock. 
I love it and Petey approves!! The Turtlepurl yarn is a titch thicker than the commercial fingering I’ve been using lately, so it knit up even a bit more quickly. I also had to adjust my toe shaping a bit to compensate for the fewer rows required. 

I have cast on for Lynn’s sweater. I find that swatching for a circular knot is rather challenging, so as much as I am an advocate and believer in swatching, I have skipped this step. I am not doing so without knowing that I may have to rip it all out and start over, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take. I’m generally a tight knitter, but knit more loosely on circulars, so I think it will work out. Gauge seems good so far, but it’s a bit hard to judge accurately with the short row shaping and rapid increases at the top of Humulus. 

Hopefully time will tell a nice story for me. 

KW Knitters Fair

I love the yarn shows!!

I get to see friends that I sometimes only see 3 times a year. 

I get to touch the yarns that I see on Instagram and FB, and get to fondle and stroke them lovingly, arranging and re-arranging colour combinations. 

I get inspired and get to inspire. 

Thank you to Julie for allowing me to be a helper at The Needle Emporium booth. The number of samples and range of yarns that she manages to pack in to every show is just amazing!! It is a sweet torture to be so close to such stunning yarns all day. 

My first stop was at Fibremancy to get some stitch markers (that I don’t need but desperately wanted). 

There’s a double of one of these sets for a certain someone wink wink 

I was on a mission to get yarn for the Wonder Woman shawl  We have decided at work to do a superhero theme for Halloween this year, and I immediately called dibs on Wonder Woman since I’m working on the socks and had the shawl in my Ravelry queue. Mission accomplished at Indigo Dragonfly.

The absolute gem today was meeting an old acquaintance. I knew Sheryl when she was a young girl. As I passed by her booth today, peering in to see if there was WW shawl yarn, I met her eyes. There was a flicker of recognition, and I glanced back. I stopped, and she stood up. She looked familiar, but she remembered me first. I knew her from years ago when we lived in Milton. 

Sheryl is now in Midland and a skilled indie dyer with a wide range of yarn weights and colourways. Her company is Essence of Autumn Yarns  It warmed my heart to hear her say that I had inspired her with my knitting ☺️☺️ I bought a skein of her worsted yarn to make an Entrechat for our Mina. 

WOh - speaking of the cutest grand baby in my life!! Snapchat has never been so cute!!

 I spent some time Friday with Kyle and his little family (sans our Amin who was in school) and it did my heart good! I haven’t smiled so much in a long time. She is so alert and telling stories ... she is utterly captivating! And seeing Kyle be a daddy ... fills my heart with such joy. 

What to do??

It’s been a long couple days at work, but I love working with Veronica at DQ, so the longs days pass quickly and are not onerous. 

My knitting has been neglected, but I have made some progress into the heel of my Wonder Woman socks. I love that Emily has put lively gold tones in the heel yarn - it’s not just a solid contrasting colour!!

I was feel a bit betwixt and between on whether to continue on this project, start the new one for our ‘Mina, or wind up the yarn and swatch for Lynn’s Humulus. But the longer I thought on it, the less knitting that got done. GAH!! 

So I went with my heart, not selfish, not work, my heart. I have cast on - look how tiny it is!!! I’m making the 6-9 month size so that our ‘Mina can get some use out of them.  

Thank you to Julie at The Needle Emporium for gifting this kit to me. What started out as a just a job turned into a friendship - more knitting magic ♥️☺️♥️

I am still eating to a keto diet ... it’s not a hardship; I don’t crave sugar. I sometimes think about pasta or a Blizzard, but I don’t truly crave them. 

When I do fancy a sweet, I make these brownies  They are not sweet in the sense that most people are accustomed to, but they satisfy me and I add a few berries and some whipped cream and I’m a happy camper!! My secret is in the butter. Remember at Christmas when Craig surprised me with the Magical Butter machine  The canna butter that I made is top shelf and 1/2 tbsp is sufficient to ensure a good sleep. 

So, back to my knitting until it’s time to sleep!