I finished the Hitchhiker. I enjoyed knitting this. The ease of a garter stitch project was just what I needed. I used pink and orange tweed from my stash. The label was lost long ago, so I have no idea what brand it is.
I tried it on. It is not me. I might try to keep it to use it as a scarf. It is far more likely that I will put it in my gift bin and wait for the right situation to present it as a present.
Did you finish anything this week?
Dear Blogville,
I’m not handling this time well. I keep baking. I’m putting all of my mental strength into keeping the kids days as normal as possible. I don’t have the mental energy for difficult knitting.
I usually have a lot of rules around my knitting. I cast on my scheduled project every month. I don’t have too many cast ons. I knit with my normal color palate and don’t stray from that.
In the time of COVID-19 I’m letting go of that and just knitting what I want to knit. For some reason what I want to knit is a pink and orange tweed hitchhiker. To say that the yarn is out of my wheelhouse would be an understatement. The pattern, a shawlette, is something I won’t wear. Yet it is all I want to knit.
I had a lot of trouble getting started with this project. It’s not difficult, and under better circumstances it would have been a breeze. I texted Jess a lot of questions, because I remember her knitting about 8 of these shawls. On a zoom call last week I mentioned that she had made tons of hitchhikers. She told me she had only made one. I was way off, but it did make sense why she seemed to be confused I was asking her so many questions.
What are you doing for yourself in these difficult times?
Miles of stockinette. Three rows to think about between the cast on and the decreases. I can’t say enough about the Midas Hat as COVID-19 knitting. The yarn is deep stash, probably about 10 years old, and I’m fairly certain it is Mad Tosh.
Were you able to finish anything this week?
I have a new hat. The pattern is Midas Hat by Laura Reinbach. I really like this pattern, and have already cast on another. I like this hat, but it is too dark for me. Maybe not always, but at least for right now. John was giving the hat googly eyes, so it is his now.
Why yes, I am spending lots of time at home trying to calm my mind with simple knitting, why do you ask?
I love these socks. I’m happy they are going to a loving home this spring as a graduation present for one of my favorite people.
I was casting on my Throughstone Cardigan this morning and watching the Bluprint class that goes along with it. I didn’t think I would learn much from the cast on video, but figured it didn’t hurt to watch. Boy, was I wrong. I discovered a great tip from the class. When using the long tail cast on to cast on a large amount of stitches (I was casting on well over 200) use two balls of yarn. Tie a slipknot using both balls of yarn, using one for the tail and one for the cast on. You have two extra ends to weave in, but you don’t end up with a really long tail or a tail so short you have to start over. I will be using this technique the next time I have to cast on a lot of stitches.
Fun fact: once I had cast on all of those stitches I realized it wouldn’t work to magic loop the neckline and I didn’t have the right size needle. If Skein Shop isn’t closed I should have a new needle later this week.
Please note that the stress of COVID-19 is not getting to Wrigley. She is still able to nap in in any position she chooses.
mildlygranola 