Kninja Knitter

As Marsha nicely pointed out last week, I do have a lot of projects underway. I’m thrilled to be juggling several different things so I can switch off when the mood strikes. This reminds me of my days in the Harry Potter Knit and Crochet House Cup group where items are crafted to earn House points. One of my favorite things about the House Cup was that I could take on projects of varying sizes to qualify for different opportunities. The group offered points-earning opportunities to craft over periods from a week or two up to four months. This is how I developed my juggling practice, having short, medium and long-term projects on the needles.

Today we are recognizing Memorial Day, honoring those who died in service to our country. It’s an unusual holiday as we don’t celebrate, per se, since it’s a somber occasion. Still, I appreciate the extended weekend to spend more time doing things I enjoy. I will be participating, though, in a local event for the occasion. My community choir (or a subset of it) will be singing the national anthem and another patriotic song at the ceremony.

With this holiday, my company gives us some extra time, as they grant an extra half-day ahead of the weekend. I made good use of that time on Friday, scheduling a portrait session for my grandson. And it was brilliant- there was no one else there, so we had quality time with the photographer and no added distractions. Z is still learning about how this works. At 16 months of age, there’s only so much we can do. But it’s great to give him the exposure, and the photographer was wonderful. I loved her comment, “I wish I knew what he was trying to say.” Z had quite the monologue going as he explored the studio, showing particular interest in her camera as well as the lights and the portable air conditioner. 😂😂😂

This weekend I also ended up with triple duty at church. The worship team that I lead ten times a year was “on” for the Saturday vigil Mass. Sunday morning, I directed the choir I’ve been a part of for nearly eighteen years. Then, on Sunday afternoon, we had a special Mass to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of our former pastor’s ordination to the priesthood. I had the honor of leading/singing the psalm, one of only two solo elements of that liturgy.

Of course, there was also a fair amount of knitting this weekend, as well as a decent amount during the week. I saw two movies in the theater: The Fall Guy, starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, and Challengers starring Zendaya along with Mike Faist (from the Columbus suburb where I spend a good portion of my time) and Josh O’Connor. I’d also wanted to see IF, but I wasn’t able to work it into my schedule. Still, I finished my Desert Vista Dyeworks socks for May, finishing the bind off in the parking lot at church yesterday morning.

Not exactly identical, but they’re pretty close, and that’s alright by me. The other socks I can work on at the movies, at least a little bit longer, are doing well. I’ve got seventeen rounds to go before I start the ribbing on this second sock, and this pair will use 99% of the skein. Woot!

My last pair of socks are my first pair of two-at-a-time in ages! These should also use up most, if not all, of the yarn, which is one of my favorite things about knitting socks toe-up. I managed three full pattern repeats this week. Oh, and all of these socks qualify for the Summer Sock Camp hosted by the Crazy Sock Lady.

My Bandola saw no love this week, and my sweater barely got any attention. But here’s the #MarkItMonday progress on the latter.

The last project for the week is the Prairie Fields blanket, but I haven’t grabbed a picture of it yet today. I only managed two rows on it, so you’re not really missing anything! I will get a photo later today for my Ravelry project page, and hopefully there will be more progress on it next week.

That being said, I may not get a ton of knitting in this week. I’ve been wanting to revisit my vacation photos to put together a video and memory book so I can have the memories well preserved. Now that my DVD socks for the month are finished, I can take some quality time to work with the photos. The super long socks will get some attention if I manage to get to the movie theater. I do have two evenings free plus time next weekend, so I should get at least one show in. If I only see one, it will be Sight, starring Greg Kinnear and Terry Chen, as that’s the one I expect will leave the theater soonest. In addition to IF, I’m also keen to see Back to Black, the Amy Winehouse biopic, and possibly The Garfield Movie. Furiosa looks intriguing, but I tend to get bored with that series quickly; that might be better to stream later.

That’s about all I have to share today. Oh, I wasn’t able to get a modeled FO pic of the rainbow shawl yesterday, sadly. I forgot to bring it to church in the morning, and it was too hot for it in the afternoon. Will try to get one on a nice day this week.

Knit on. 🧶