Kninja Knitter

I had quite a week! I have a few topics to share, so I’ll go ahead and dive in.

Stitched or Still-in-Progress

My first finished object is the completed test knit for Triona Murphy, the Heath toddler sweater. The pattern has sizing from 6-9 month baby to 10-12-year-old child. I still need to block the sweater and affix the buttons – and hopefully I can get a couple pictures of it on my grandson this coming weekend!

While this isn’t technically a finished object, I finished knitting a sock. And for the Single Sock Spectacular challenge hosted by Paper Daisy Creations, this was enough to earn me an entry in her challenge and prize drawing that will follow in June.

And I had another exciting accomplishment in my knitting adventures this week. I managed to do a LOT of knitting on the Ceci T this week (see that progress keeper???) – including frogging the one sleeve I’d knit at the start in March, and I worked up both sleeves in a modification of the original design. Laura likes the contrast color as a hidden hem feature, but I wanted to use more of the contrast color than this allowed. So I split the remainder of the CC skein and caked each half separately to knit both sleeves. Then I knit to the stated length in the pattern, but after measuring one of my favorite T-shirts, I switched to the MC and knit another half-inch of sleeve before joining them with the body. I also added about three inches to the body before starting the yoke, again based on the dimensions of one of my favorite shirts. From this point, the rounds will decrease up the yoke, so my knitting velocity should increase. My planned timeline is to get to the neckline by the end of May, then I’ll finish the knitting on June 1 to get some quick points in the Splash Pad Party hosted by BostonJen of Down Cellar Studio.

As I mentioned last week, I was close to starting the ribbing for the central part of the tube hat, using leftovers from the Shetland Wool Week hat. I ultimately decided to switch colors as I was ready to start the ribbing. This does mean I have some of that first color remaining, so I may be looking for another pattern to use up Palette remnants.

And because I was so invested in the Ceci T, I didn’t make much progress on the blanket. I did try using a 9-inch circular needle I had in the correct size, but the cable was too short for this project. Perhaps if it were only ten stitches wide it would work. But I’m back to the 24-inch needle again. I have one zigzag to go on the fourth strip before starting the fifth! And I bought more needle stoppers at the fiber festival I attended this past weekend (more about this later), so that should help to prevent issues with the needle falling out of the work!

Cast-on Conversations

The next twelve days could be a whirlwind, but I have a couple cast-ons planned. Lisa Ross’s single sock challenge wraps at the end of this month, so I’m planning to start the mate to Dwight #1 that I knit in April. Because the Splash Pad Party allows WIPs, I’m also going to start on my next bigger project, and the goal will be to finish it in July. I bought the yarn last month to knit Laura Nelkin’s Lake Hug sweater scarf, and with the toddler sweater completed, I’m ready to begin this one. I’d like to get through the center swirl section before I see Laura in Columbus the first weekend of June.

Environment Evolution

After putting so much energy into decluttering my office, I turned my attention to the living room this week. There’s still work to be done in the office, but that can keep a while. In the living room, I wanted to rearrange the furniture a bit. In order to do that, I had to start with decluttering. I made good progress through the week and was able to move the couch back to its original home in front of the window. And once I hauled the bookcase to the road (with help from my Grubhub driver) I was then able to move a smaller storage unit into the office, and then I could move the tall table back to its original home opposite the window. All of this now gives me access to the boxes and bins of stuff to be decluttered this week.

I also managed to get a lot of recycling and trash out of the house. I still have some hefty boxes of donations to deliver, so that’s on the agenda for this week.

Grandson Glimpses

I wasn’t able to catch up with the munchkin this week, but mama did share some photos during the week. Early in the week, she said she’d be coming to Columbus over the weekend if my son managed to have enough money for her to do so. That was sad for me as I was going to be away for a good chunk of the weekend. But on Thursday she texted to say that her trip has been postponed, so she plans to be up here this weekend, over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. That works for me!

Travel Tales

At last, I can share some tidbits about my adventures in Kentucky over the weekend. I got a later start than planned thanks to an extended DoorDash shift, but I still hit the road at a reasonable time. The drive south was relatively uneventful, despite the tornado watches that were all along my route. There were some devastating touchdowns overnight, but none in my path. And even the rain wasn’t problematic on my drive – though I heard a downpour after I got to my hotel room! My biggest issue during the drive was people who don’t turn on their headlights! This is a pet peeve that’s grown in the past few years – some car makers have made their running lights to be quite bright and larger than others. It’s quite obvious to other drivers, though, when headlights aren’t turned on because it means there are no taillights!! Infuriating.

I stayed at a hotel in Georgetown, just a few miles north of Lexington. I had just a ten minute drive on Saturday morning to the park where the Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival was held. It did take me a while to find the event though, as Masterson Station Park is rather large, and the festival runners didn’t put any signage at the entrance I used. It was still a pleasant drive – past some horse pastures, and a stock dog trial.

Since I’m in a year-long challenge to use more grams of yarn than I bring in to my stash, I had committed to only buying 200 grams of yarn, max. I made two complete circuits of the vendor booths before settling on my choices of yarn. But I didn’t just buy yarn, lol. And the first thing I bought wasn’t even for me – I spotted a pottery vendor who had mugs that celebrated all the fandoms!

I shared a lot of pictures along the way with my knitting buddy from Columbus. When I shared this picture of the mug offerings, she spotted the Wheel of Time option (top, second from left), and when I offered to get it for you, she accepted. And from that point on, I was carrying something, so that made it easier for me to shop for me, lol. (This looked to be a one-of-a-kind, so I didn’t want to wait and risk it being sold.) I’d already had my eye on a vendor’s collection of needle stoppers, now that I’ve found them to be incredibly useful on my Ceci T and hat projects. Then it was a matter of deciding from the options.

Choosing yarn is a very tricky thing at fiber festivals! It was a little easier because the prices can be rather steep. I saw some gorgeous yarns throughout, but I couldn’t justify spending $30+ on most of them. I ultimately chose based on the colorways, knowing that I’ll be wanting to knit “scarlet & gray” items when the Pigskin Party begins in the fall. I spotted the first yarn on my first loop around, and then the self-striping option caught my eye on the second pass.

A fiber festival, though, is more than just vendors selling their yarn and such. Livestock is a fun part of the experience. There were sheep at a number of locations outside, and one booth had a pair of angora rabbits – signs touted the pet therapy that the soft critters offer. There was a group of llamas in the shearing tent, and this beauty couldn’t be missed.

I also was surprised to spot this beauty who flirted with me when I pulled my phone out to take a picture.

Just before I managed to find the group of friends I’d planned to meet up with (we had dinner reservations nearby), I made one last splurge: a yarn minder. Others have a similar tool made by Lemonwood, but that brand wasn’t offered here. I picked the one I bought because it sparkles with glitter and looks to me like knitted fabric.

I’ll share more on this later in a Bookish Banter segment, but during my long(ish) drive to Lexington and back to Columbus, I listened to the audiobook My Next Breath, a memoir by Jeremy Renner and read by the author. I’m not finished with the book yet, as the drive time was less than three hours each way. Once I’ve finished the book, I’ll share my thoughts – but even without hearing the end, I highly recommend the book! I’d read a recommendation from another knitting blogger recently, so I bought the book with an Audible credit, and this is one I’d listen to more than once, much like both of Rob Lowe’s books.

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!

Knit on. 🧶