Kninja Knitter

This is my weekly Mark It Monday post to share my knitting updates, with some more goodies to share! But we’ll kick it off as usual.

Stitched or Still-in-progress

I’m starting off with a project that wasn’t even on my radar when I posted last Monday! I cast on this pair of shortie socks on Monday afternoon, and I finished them on Friday! They are shorties, and knit in DK weight yarn, so it really wasn’t a stretch to manage that. I also reached out to the designer to get clarification on the pattern instructions for the toe decreases. These fit me perfectly (but photograph better on the mannequin feet!) – and I received many compliments during the week as I shared my progress on Ravelry. The yarn is from a Suicide Awareness fundraiser the dyer held, and the pattern is from a previous year’s Pigskin Party. Both elements earn me points in the Splash Pad Party (both parties hosted by Down Cellar Studio) along with the amount of yarn used and the stitch markers I needed when working the heel and gusset.

This week was also a productive one for my Camp Loopy project! I couldn’t start until June 1, and this needs to be done by June 30. That deadline shouldn’t be a problem, as I’ve used up nearly half of both skeins of yarn. If you recall from last week, I need to use at least 400 yards in this project, and the two skeins combined have 440 yards (or more); my goal then is to use as much as possible. I need to double-check with The Loopy Ewe event moderator, but I think I can add in more yarn I’ve purchased from them previously, so I might work until at least one skein is all gone, then use one of my leftovers of Cascade 220 Superwash in black to complete the bind off.

I made some progress on the Palette hat, and I did decide to change colors for the next color block based on suggestions in Ysolda Teague’s Mussleburgh hat design. And a fun fact is that I’m working in the same color sequence (in reverse) as I used in the Islesburgh Toorie I knit in April. The bold colors will then be seen together when the brim is folded up – or the pale colors, depending on which side is showing.

The Lake Hug project is continuing to grow as well. I finished the stitch pattern on the second wing so it’s a simple stockinette plus edge stitches for each wing. I’m working them 2AAT, and the skein on the second wing is nearly depleted. I’ve got a ways to go before starting the sleeves; now that the designer has released a video showing how to wear this piece , I understand why the wings need to be so long!

And the blanket saw a little more attention, though not much. At least this time I finished a complete ten-row zig. 😉

Cast-on Conversations

Once I finished those quick shortie socks, I discovered another shortie pattern that was released on June 1 by another sponsor of the Splash Pad Party. Given how much I enjoy have socks on the needles, and wanting a brief respite from the Supersock World Championship qualifier pair I have in progress, I cast on. For this edition, I went to my stash and found a sponsor yarn mini and wound up a skein of yarn I purchased earlier this year. With the Net Loss challenge in the Knitters Brewing Company group on Ravelry, I’d like to use as much of the yarn I take in this year as possible – and continue using up my stash! I’d really like to craft up more than I take in by the end of the year! Shorties won’t get me there quickly, but it’s at least a dent in the total.

Random Ramblings

In knitting related content, this past weekend I went to a local yarn store for a knitting workshop: Laura Nelkin’s “Knitting a Novus Sweater Workshop.” In full disclosure, I took this course back in 2021 in Pittsburgh, my first time meeting Laura IRL. But since then she has discovered several ways to use stitch saver cord to simplify several techniques in the sweater construction process. Her Novus collection of designs feature “her seamless yet structured modern approach to the side-to-side sweater” and having her on site gives us the opportunity to get her input in choosing a pattern, a size and yarn. Laura also is quite accessible to answer questions later.

I was so excited to see Laura again! I wore my Ceci T and brought my Lake Hug WIP. At one point, Laura was taking pictures of people working on their Eeny Weeny Novus for the workshop. She remarked about the meta shot of my wearing one of her designs, knitting another, with my other WIP resting in my lap. Being the overachiever that I am, I would often work ahead in the workshop, then work on Lake Hug while I waited for the class to catch up.

Attending the workshop scored me a discount on yarn purchased for a sweater from the Novus collection. I couldn’t pass up the deal! They didn’t have my preferred color in stock, so it’s been ordered: Berroco Tillie (62% Pima cotton, 38% Cupro – a by-product of milling cotton), and I’ll be knitting Laura’s Hot Flash pattern (Ravelry link). I’m still evaluating my sizing options – there will be plenty of yarn to work with given the hefty yardage. And swatching is an imperative here, particularly since row gauge (flat) is an essential element in making sure the design fits! I’m hoping the yarn will arrive in time to pick it up before I fly to Minnesota for Zombie Knitpocalypse. I’ll likely take that time for my swatch, along with my other project plans.

After the class ended and everyone had purchased their yarn, Laura and Andrea (LYS owner) invited me to join them for dinner and ice cream. We had a lovely meal on the Northstar Cafe patio followed by some Jenni’s ice cream. Yum! I was quite satisfied, not to mention exhausted. But I managed to grab a selfie with Laura before we parted ways – and she snapped a bunch of photos of me in my Ceci T. Enjoy!

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, and we’re prepping for the 15th year that kicks off next month!

Bookish Banter

A quick mention here as I stayed up late last night reading – I’m currently devouring The Housemaid by Freida McFadden. It’s available as part of the Kindle Unlimited subscription, and it also checks a couple boxes on this quarter’s Kindle Reading Challenge. Now I’m getting excited to see the movie adaptation I that’s due out at Christmas, starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried. (I didn’t even know about the movie when I started the book!)

Movie Moments

And another quick remark here – I haven’t gotten out to see a lot of the movies on my list this year, but last week I did make time to enjoy The Karate Kid: Legends which was a wonderful tribute to the “classic” 80’s movies along with the fifth movie in the franchise, as well as some references to the Netflix series, Cobra Kai (which I haven’t seen yet). Ralph Macchio was one of my favorite teen heartthrobs in the 80s – a couple of his Tiger Beat magazine centerfolds decorated my wall in high school! It’s nice to see his tribute to that original story here.

Environment Evolution

I haven’t had a great deal of time to make progress on the decluttering front, but I did complete a little project on the decor front. I put together the photo collage from my South America cruise last Monday. I’d printed the pictures before Memorial Day weekend, but the family drama stalled my efforts to work on this. I had printed fifteen of my favorite photos, and I could only put twelve of them in the collage, six portrait and six landscape. One nice things about these collages is that I can swap out photos if I choose to. I have two other travel-related collages on this wall, and I’m contemplating changing things up. Stay tuned.

In other news on the home front, I did figure out how to use my string trimmer as an edger to groom the grass growing along the sidewalk and walkway. I took some “before” pictures, but I am waiting for the latest rainy period to end before I make further progress there.

Travel Tales

I mentioned Zombie Knitpocalypse earlier – that’s only nine days away now!! Last week I registered for the two classes I was most interested in: “Introduction to Knitting Looms: Friendship Bracelet” with Bethany Tiner and “Being Choosy When Size Matters” with Terri Schlather. The materials cost for the first class covers a Knitting Board Flexee Loom Bitty and a Loom Hook among other things. I’m intrigued! And the second one will be great as I plan to knit more sweaters.

I’m still thinking through what I’ll be packing for this trip. I have my flights booked, and I’m putting the plan together for my shuttle reservations. The hotel is reserved already, and that will provide me with three instant friends, lol. The one familiar person I was expecting to see won’t be there this year, unfortunately. It’s sure to be a fun and exhausting long weekend, lol.

And I’m going to tease a little longer about my next cruise. I’ll share the details in a few weeks. Watch for that after I give the summary of my Minnesota Adventure! For now…

Knit on. 🧶