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!