Kninja Knitter

I’ll start with the exciting news. As of right now, the Knit for Food fundraising event that was held on Saturday (5 April 2025) has raised $528,081! I’ll share later about what I did on Saturday, knitting, but I was happy to exceed my personal goal, though it was like pennies compared to the overall total. Still, every dollar matters – and the speakers for each of the four benefiting charities shared what that looks like. Several people gave the statistic that every $1 can feed ten people. Laura asked for links to the videos that were shared – I’ll pass those along if you’re interested. Each organization (No Kid Hungry, Meals on Wheels, Feeding America and World Central Kitchen) does vital work to address this tragic reality that not everyone is able to meet their own daily needs.

Stitched or Still-in-Progress

I’m starting off with a project I forgot to mention in my update last week! But I cast on this hat on Tuesday, using the magic of stitch saver to work the tubular cast-on. I completed the 28 rounds of ribbing plus a couple stockinette rounds in black before Saturday. Then, when the knit-a-thon began, I started the color work section. I completed the decreases and bind off during the evening Zoom session for event participants. And to make the hat extra special, the red yarn is one of my acquisitions from Manos del Uruguay on my visit last month to their outlet store in Montevideo. Now to plan how to use what remains of both yarns!

And back to my ongoing projects you’ve seen before. During my cruise last month, I had to purchase some knitting needles because I had left my bag of supplies at home, lost in the melee that was my living room as I finished packing. While I’ve traditionally been a Knit Picks girl for interchangeable needles, mostly due to the price tag, I didn’t have that option in Buenos Aires. I’ve now begun building a collection of ChiaoGoo Twist (stainless steel) needle tips and cords. In Argentina, I bought a 50” cable, knowing I could magic-loop anything with it. But this sweater was rather unwieldy, having to manage the cable with each round. Now that I’ve acquired a shorter cable, I made good progress on my sweater even though I didn’t have a lot of time to work on it!

I will note that the orange cowl received no attention this week because of everything else I had going on. I finished the test knit for Paper Daisy Creations, but that’s still a secret project, so I’ll share photos when I’m permitted. The blanket, while relatively untouched, did get two more zigzags in strip four, and I added another yarn! I finished up with the Hamlet colorway and am now working with Zombody Wolverine, named for my favorite Marvel superhero.

Cast-on Conversations

Because I bought some ChiaoGoo needles from a local yarn store in New Hampshire, I started receiving their marketing emails. One of those emails got my attention, talking about the Shetland Wool Week hat patterns. The 2025 pattern was released this week, but the LYS was promoting kits to knit the 2024 pattern – and that design grabbed my attention quickly! Having planned to knit a bunch of hats in the Year of Projects (and having reviewed said plans last week), I jumped in on this plan. I ordered yarn from Knit Picks as their Palette collection has colors that are close enough to the original Jameson & Smith set used in one of the pattern samples, and it arrived two days later. (It helps to live in the same metro area as the Knit Picks warehouse!) Once my KFF hat was ready for color work on Friday, I dove in to swatch for my hat. After some testing, I opted to modify the hat, increasing the stitch count and increasing the needle size. Hopefully my excitement over the color combination doesn’t wane, but I’d like to have this hat done this month! And side note, I saw the 2025 hat patterns when it was released, and it’s not as captivating as the 2024 design (Ravelry link), so I’m very pleased with my choice.

After finishing the test knit for Lisa, I decided to cast on another sock from her design collection. She is hosting a sock knitalong, the Single Sock Spectacular, through 31 May. There are over $700 in prizes up for grabs, and entries are earn=ned by knitting single socks (two entries if you complete a pair), and there are even prizes for posting on Instagram, so entries can be earned without finishing a sock, lol. I’ve test knit a bunch of patterns for Lisa, plus I’ve added other designs to my library through sales and coupon offers. Here’s my first selection.

I still need to get a vanilla sock on the needles soon – I’d like to get to the movie theater, and none of my current projects will work there!

With my Knit Picks order, I couldn’t just limit it to the Palette colors for the hat… a few other things jumped in my cart, mostly because they were on sale. But since I’m trying to use more yarn than I take in, I will be turning these into FOs in the near future!

This is a Year of Projects post. Officially the Group is in its 14th year, my first. If you would like to find out more about the Year of Projects Group on Ravelry, please check it out; it’s a very welcoming group!

Grandson Glimpses

I will get some bonus time with my munchkin later this month when they visit for Spring Break. But I was missing the little guy, so we had a FaceTime connection yesterday. Zayne has just woken up from his nap, so he had plenty of energy. The kiddo is currently obsessed with The Wiggles, so mama set her phone in front of the TV so I could watch him dance, and he could see me “singing” along (if I actually sing, I don’t get to hear what’s happening there). Once again, I captured his quirky open-mouthed smile that matches his dad’s.

I’m working on my next podcast episode – due out later this week!

Knit on. 🧶