Frolic

Totally got the Sleeveless Slipover done and blocked for the Frolic. Once again, I didn't get a picture of a FO, but I know that Julie will take a pic that I can snag 😏

We were up and on the road early. Craig offered to come and drive, even though I explained how much knitterly things that there were going to be and it was a whole day. He was adorably eager, and I want going to turn down a driver and traveling companion. 

 I needn't have worried - he was well occupied hitting up the Pokéstops at the JCCC  and there were judo, aikido, and archery classes to educate and entertain him.  

 

 

He also did a Tim's run for us and he might have to come to every show from now on!! 

It was a terrific day, I saw all sorts of friends, customers and students from previous years. It's so gratifying to hear how taking a class had changed how they knit and how much more they enjoy the entire process, including finishing because the result is more polished and with practice, easily achieved. It's why I enjoy teaching and maybe I'll submit to do it agin next year. 

I was at the indigo dragonfly booth first thing to get my Frolic colourway in the 3 bases. One of these years I will decide on what they will be ... 

 

After much deliberation, picking and choosing, 2^nd guessing, walking away and coming back, I made my colourway choice for the Starting Point MKAL  It's the Skinny Singles from Hedgehog Fibers. I loved knitting with the Singles so much on my Building Blocks shawl that this was the easiest choice I had to make. 
I am pleased with the combination and look forward to the winding and knitting of it. 

I also got another bottle of SOAK for all of my soakworthy projects! 

 

I hadn't bought a ZigZagStitches bag in awhile, but the batiks the Catherine had hanging called my name. I also bought a smaller Northcott Canadian one for a friend. 

Craig was photoshopping this morning ... he's really quite good and in comparison to what he usually does, a Mother's Day project for DQ was a simple diversion. He made my initial efforts look basic. He's going to be pressed into service all the time now!!  I'm going to knit on my sock 

and study for my DQ mgmt exam while I wait for my next work project from Julie. Some relative down-time. 😏☺️ 
 

 

Mid-blocking

So I decided to block the back after the armholes to make sure I was on track, no loosening up at all. 

Sometimes my gauge changes from swatch to garment, especially if I'm making a conscious effort to knit tighter than on the swatch. Though it's easier for me to be consistently more tight than loose, things can change. Everything is good - the yarn def seizes up with the wetting, so swatching and relying on your swatches gauge to calculate your rows required to meet the measurements is key!! 

The puppies had a good dig outside yesterday. 

 

It's mostly Petey, but Chica gets in there a bit to make sure that she isn't missing out on anything delicious! 

I had to give Petey a quick tubby because he had dirt packed into his nails and pads!

He is so much nicer to sleep with now 😊 he's also gotten over his habit of chewing on my bedding. He's still adorable in the morning; he senses when I'm awake, as opposed to going back to sleep, and he comes crawling up and licking on my face. Then when we get out of bed to go get Chica (who still gets crated because she is so guardy of her space that she growls when I move at night), he acts as if he hasn't been with me all night and jumps around like we've been apart. He's my boy and has my heart. 

I went out last night with work friends. I made a concious effort all day to make it a positive in my head and not talkyself out of it. That's kind of my go-to strategy - accept invites when they are days/weeks away, but find a way out at the last minute. And I truly believe that I will go, have fun, and I look forward to it the further away it is. 

But then it gets closer and I start stressing - mentally and physically. Even though I know and like these people and I interact with them on the daily, socializing with them is different. I felt physical symptoms from the anxiety and cancelling was just a text away, it was painfully tempting, but I battled my mind and put one foot in front of the other and just went. 

It took a few drinks to relax a bit and I allowed myself to be drawn into the group; I didn't rely on my phone or knitting as a coping mechanism (which was sorely tempting). I didn't beg off early (though a knitting deadline would've been legit). One of the ladies provided an amusing diversion, and we had a lovely night. 

I was deeply relieved to be home and stayed up later than I should've to decompress with the puppies and knitting, but I am proud of myself for just doing it. 

My rhubarb is coming along. 

 

I am looking forward to the first batch of rhubarb muffins! My mouth waters at the thought of it!! 

Okay - back at it before my mid-shift today! 

Best of Intentions

So I closed the last three nights at work, and I had taken pictures and fully intended to do a quick post each night in my break. 

But as things are wont to do when you've laid out a plan, it went awry. 

So now I'm writing up a post on my day off! It's not been a knitterly day - trip to see my dad and a sneak nap attack - but I've got a few quality hours ahead of me. 

 The 3^rd swatch was the key. Still a stitch off, but I am making sure to knit snugly, and the row gauge is spot on, so I forged ahead.  

I made excellent progress! 

 

I signed up for the Joji Knits Starting Point MKA  - I am tingling with excitement to pick out yarn!! I am screen-shotting colourways that catch my eye, and I'll see what Julie brings to the Frolic  This may require a road trip out to The Needle Emporium though ... 

 

I don't really want to buy a pre-fab kit; I want something unique. 

I have been plagued by a relentless tension headache for the last couple of weeks that is radiating from my right neck/shoulder. I've tried all sorts to remedy it, all to no avail. I caved and went to see a professional yesterday, and I have found my new massage therapist!! Lindsay went hard and deep, and even though I knew I'd be feeling it today, it cured what ailed me for a day. Today the headache has come back a bit, and I hurt like I took a beating, but it's a start. I'll have to see her on a regular basis, and I'm adding a chiropractor to the mix. Gotta stay in fighting shape 😏

Ok - now that you're caught up, I must make more fabric! The Frolic is fast approaching, and I don't miss deadlines.  😃😃

Next!

So I finished a Secret Project, and now I can blog what I'm knitting.  

I started knitting on Churchmouses new Sleeveless Slipove . Well, to be more accurate, I'm still swatching. 

 

The 1^st one on 4mm needles was too small. The 2^nd one one 4.5mm needles is too big. Le Grand Sigh. The 4mm swatch was on Signature needles, but I went to Aero's for the 4.5mm for a less sharp tip as the linen tends to split with a sharper tipped needle. I'm going to swatch again with 4.5mm Signatures and deal

with any splitting. 3^rd  time's a charm, right?

I'm without internet service at the mo ... it's been failing all week, but I haven't been home long enough to deal with it. Bell is coming today, between 8-12 (when in the history of "we'll be there between 8-12", have they ever shown up at 8??) to rectify the issue. 

I have 7gb of data on my phone, so that's alright. I spent the better part of yesterday at work (Dairy Queen) using the free wifi to do work that I could've been doing at home. Between that knitting time and the Rock lacrosse game Friday night, I did get a sock finished! 

 

A better result for me than for The Rock 😏

Awaiting test results - my foot has swollen to painful proportions! 

It's been off and on swollen, and will continue to be from the break, and the left foot has always been prone to swelling, but it's been actually downright painful lately. X-ray and blood work have been done ... hopefully it's just something that will self-correct sooner than later. 

My rhubarb is budding!!  

I am giddy with anticipation for it to grow to harvesting size; I really do need to plant more. 

Okay ... back to the needles - I got gauge to match!!

Swatching

Here's a much better picture of the finished Sorrento  courtesy Julie  I have a tendency to forget to take progress pics and a finished one is hit-and-miss. It takes a village, and this idiot is happy for my village ❤️❤️

 

Wow - I'm even a little impressed with my handiwork seeing it like this!

I should say something about the Studio Linen  Being comprised of 85% recycled rayon linen, it has a softer drape right off of the ball. It doesn't have the stiffness that linen is known for for and that is so hard on your hands when knitting with it. I love linen, the breaking in of it is part of the magic; a shortcut is awesome though! It was a pleasure to knit with, block and seam. 

I have been swatching and knitting on Lemongrass. 

I jumped straight to 6.5mm needles, since I knit tightly in general, though a bit more "standard" on circulars. The swatch was a bit loose, though the row gauge was spot on, which is important on a raglan shaped sweater. I could do and have done maths to correct my inexplicably right row gauges, but swatching is quicker for me. 

I cast on, but by round 16, realized that I'd been knitting tighter, perhaps subconsciously because I knew my stitch gauge was loose. Also, my shorter Addis are standard and the ones that I swatches on were the lace tips. Yes, needles matter. 

 

So I pulled out my Marblz and cast on a new swatch with 6mm needles. 

Much better - stitch gauge is spot on and row gauge is the same as on the 6.5mm. I know, weird. It's a skill; not particularly marketable, but a skill nonetheless. 

So I cast on anew and am at round 16. Again. The best part about using and interchangeable set is that I can just upsize/downsize the cord as needed. 

I didn't get much done on my Flamingo Beach socks last night; I was in plant 2 for 3/4 of the night as they were short-handed. But my step count was higher, so trade off; my steps are about 1/2 when I'm working dock. 

Swatching

Here's a much better picture of the finished Sorrento  courtesy Julie  I have a tendency to forget to take progress pics and a finished one is hit-and-miss. It takes a village, and this idiot is happy for my village ❤️❤️

 

Wow - I'm even a little impressed with my handiwork seeing it like this!

I should say something about the Studio Linen  Being comprised of 85% recycled rayon linen, it has a softer drape right off of the ball. It doesn't have the stiffness that linen is known for for and that is so hard on your hands when knitting with it. I love linen, the breaking in of it is part of the magic; a shortcut is awesome though! It was a pleasure to knit with, block and seam. 

I have been swatching and knitting on Lemongrass. 

I jumped straight to 6.5mm needles, since I knit tightly in general, though a bit more "standard" on circulars. The swatch was a bit loose, though the row gauge was spot on, which is important on a raglan shaped sweater. I could do and have done maths to correct my inexplicably right row gauges, but swatching is quicker for me. 

I cast on, but by round 16, realized that I'd been knitting tighter, perhaps subconsciously because I knew my stitch gauge was loose. Also, my shorter Addis are standard and the ones that I swatches on were the lace tips. Yes, needles matter. 

 

So I pulled out my Marblz and cast on a new swatch with 6mm needles. 

Much better - stitch gauge is spot on and row gauge is the same as on the 6.5mm. I know, weird. It's a skill; not particularly marketable, but a skill nonetheless. 

So I cast on anew and am at round 16. Again. The best part about using and interchangeable set is that I can just upsize/downsize the cord as needed. 

I didn't get much done on my Flamingo Beach socks last night; I was in plant 2 for 3/4 of the night as they were short-handed. But my step count was higher, so trade off; my steps are about 1/2 when I'm working dock. 

The end of that, the start of this

I finished Sorrento, pockets and all! Yeah, you know pockets aren't my fave thing, but they really add the perfect touch to this sweater.  

I did discover an small error on the inc section of the back; the correction is on the errata section of the Erika Knight website. 

I'm sure that Julie will post better pics, this one is rather dark. 

I have moved from the plant at Honda to the dock crew. There is more parking, driving, and getting driven back around. It's a smaller crew, just 4-5 of us and Mark is chill and lets me knit while we're in the bus. Seriously, it's just dead head time. I take the expected teasing in stride, just happy to be able to fill in the time productively. 

 I started these on Tuesday, and considering that I spent most of Friday helping out in Plant 2, I'm well pleased with what I got done. I estimate that if I only knit socks in the bus I could get approx 1 sock knit per week. Impressive for straight up bonus knitting time yo!! 

My plans for this weekend fell through and with Sorrento finished, Craig and I decided to head to Ancaster to trade a finished sweater for a potential sweater and chat with Julie and Cathy. It was a decent day for a drive when we set off. Ditto has been in play in Pokémon, and we've both been capturing low level Pidgeys, Rattatas, and Zubats like crazy trying to find one. Well, Ancaster is the place to go! 5 between the two of us, and I caught my first whilst I was sitting in The Needle Emporium!

 We stopped at Costco for my work week snacks (chicken nuggets, eggs to boil and yogurt) and when we came out it started pouring bone-chilling rain. I dozed off on the drive Back and woke up when Craig stopped at a Tims just south of Orangeville. We went in for a coffee and when we came out it was snowing giant, fluffy flakes like someone had just shaken our snow globe!! 
 

Needless to say we started to think that we should stop stopping and just get home!! HA!! 

Since we decided on chili for dinner, there were a couple of stops for provisions, then I set to the making as soon as we got in, getting Craig set to his sous chef duties. 

 This is the start of something delicious!!

We are enjoying a lovely bottle of red while the chili cooks down.

 

 As soon as I post this, I am going to wind one of the giant skeins of Cascade Yarns Eco in Turtle and cast on for Lemongrass  I was admiring pics of her new Vneck Boxy on Jojis instagram feed, so I'm excited to knit this up!!

Bread's ready - gotta go!

Treats

So on this, the day before my 47^th natal celebration, Craig and I set off for The Needle Emporium. Truly, where else would I find the perfect gift for myself?!?

 

 Another beautiful day for a road trip, even with a decided chill in the morning air. 

My mission to Julie's was to make sure I had a proper

selection of Hedgehog fibres Skinny Sock to make a final decision on my colourway for the Westknits Building Blocks MKAL  I was more than successful! I also picked up the latest Rowan magazine. 

On the way back we veered off of the highway since traffic into Toronto was nuts - concerts & sporting events galore - and I remembered how much I love a Krispy Kreme donut. And since it was on the back way home, and the Magic 8 Ball concurred, we stopped in. It was more processed sugar than we usually eat in an entire month, but it was so totally delicious!! Craig had a simple glazed, but I went with a salted caramel, and a lemon filled. It's my pre-birthday, I shouldn't have to make the hard choices. 

Then there was groceries and home. Since we were making this a cheat day, it was manicotti with a homemade pasta sauce. 

I am now defrosting the freezer to make room for all of the yummy things that I'm making tomorrow. Planning and meal prep is key to any kind of diet plan and having only a 1/2 hour lunch with no easy access to other food. 

I am getting ready to cast on my next project:

 Sorrento from The Studio Linen Collection by Erika Knight. 

I am having a lovely day, and looking forward to another one tomorrow!