Kninja Knitter

I took a look at my calendar as we’re getting so close to the end of the Year of Projects (June 30). Clearly I lost track of the weeks somewhere along the way, and I’ve realized that Week 50 just ended, not Week 49 as my previous post would suggest. It helps that the year began on a Monday (loved this in 2024 – three of the four quarters started on a Monday). And while the standard rule is 52 weeks in a year, it’s actually 52 weeks and one day. I’m a detail-oriented person, what can I say?

Of course, my plans from a year ago have changed along the way. I love sharing my #MarkItMonday progress every week, but because I’m simply enjoying the journey in most cases, I expect to have a number of projects carrying over to the next Year of Projects. And as I’m developing my plans for the coming year, that’s top-of-mind. Hopefully I can post my MIM update on June 29 for Week 52; and either in the same post or in a separate one on June 30, I’ll reflect on my plans and accomplishments for the past year and share my plans for the coming year.

Stitched or Still-in-Progress

Nothing finished this week, but I made some decent progress on most of my WIPs. I did not work on the sock I’d cast on the week prior, but that’s being added to my plans for this week. Meanwhile, the brioche cowl is continuing to grow. I’m still loving the contrast of the bright red and dark heather gray – and I confirmed that I can add black yarn for my bind-off. Because this project is my June edition of Camp Loopy, the make-a-long rules impact my choices. I’m allowed to add in additional yarn (purchased from The Loopy Ewe before the Camp ordering start date) as long as the qualifying yarn meets or exceeds the yardage minimum (400 yards for this project). If I completed this cowl per the pattern, I’d bind off in red. But I want to maximize the yardage for both the red and gray yarns, plus I think the red would be jarring as the bind off color.

The simple color block hat is also continuing along nicely. I’ve taken it to the movies a couple times this week, but I’ve found the ribbing is a little tricky in this yarn at this gauge. My ribbing got messed up at one point, and I also dropped a stitch at one point. It’s easy to recover in good lighting, so it’s not earth shattering. But until I get back to the stockinette section, I’m not going to attempt knitting the ribbing in the dark. It’s quite possible that I’ll get to that section this week! Oh, and I also worked on this project during Worldwide Knit In Public Day on Saturday, though I didn’t take any pictures as I had a lot going on. Sadly my gnome needle stoppers are currently MIA…

I didn’t put a lot of energy this week into the Lake Hug, but the wings are now about 25% complete. It’s such a simple knit, I expect to make great progress on it during my travel time this week. I have another skein wound up to add when that little ball is depleted in another two rows or so.

And the last WIP that got some attention got very little attention. I only managed one zigzag this week. Again, traveling this week may mean more progress.

Cast-on Conversations

I did cast on a couple projects this week, part of the reason I didn’t get as far on the WIPs. Both are starting off beautifully, too! To begin, I had pulled out the two skeins I bought in Myrtle Beach back in January. I don’t know that I’ll finish it this month, but the rainbow array of colors in the bright yarn gives it a Pride aesthetic. This is a nice design that allows me to work as far as the yarn allows.

Then, the yarn I ordered last week following the Novus Sweater Workshop with Laura Nelkin arrived! I picked it up on Saturday and wound up the first skein right away. I started off knitting a stockinette block, and then I read Laura’s guidance blog on gauge swatching for the Novus collection. She recommends starting the sleeve and blocking that piece. If the row gauge is working as expected, I can simply continue the sleeve. I’ve ordered some Wonder Clips, slated to arrive later today, so I’m hoping I can confirm gauge before I head to Minnesota!

And one last tidbit to share about cast-ons: I’ve ordered my yarn for the July edition of Camp Loopy, and it’s supposed to arrive soon. The pattern is Frosted by Alla Saenko (Ravelry link) and this could easily be my 800-yard project for this year’s camp. Here’s the yarn I ordered:

Travel Tales

Continuing on the knitting content, I’ll be flying to Minnesota on Wednesday to enjoy the Zombie Knitpocalypse retreat hosted by Megan Williams and Amy Spinler of the Stockinette Zombies podcast (YouTube). I first heard about the ZK retreat when I was attending the Into the Wool retreat in Tennessee. This annual event has been so popular, it usually sells out shortly after opening up for registration. I was thrilled to make it in on my first try! While it’s not as long as my cruise vacation back in March, I’m loving that it gives me a long stretch of time to spend knitting!

I’m planning to report back while I’m on-site, so you can look forward to extra content in the coming week. There’s a market, naturally, and I’m particularly looking forward to seeing Leading Men Fiber Arts in person! My current budget situation doesn’t have a lot of room for more yarn, but I’ve given myself a little leeway if I find a “perfect” yarn.

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

I guess the summer weather has me more interested in reading these days, and it helps to have found some engaging material. This past week I finished The Housemaid by Freida McFadden. I mentioned in my last post that I was able to borrow it from the Kindle Unlimited library. The plot twists were truly captivating, and I returned that book and downloaded its sequel immediately after.

But I haven’t dived in yet to The Housemaid’s Secret (book two in the series) because I chose to pivot instead to Nora Roberts. Last year I read Inheritance: The Lost Bride Trilogy, Book 1 and then bought the Kindle edition of its sequel. It was quite easy to dive into The Mirror and it picked up exactly where the first book left off. The plot is intriguing, the characters are so vivid, and I’m loving the additions in this second book. More than once I stayed up far too late at night to finish “one more chapter.”

Movie Moments

I actually made it to the theater twice this week! On Tuesday night, I thoroughly enjoyed Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie did a wonderful job, paying homage to the nearly thirty year span for this movie franchise. There are a number of flashbacks within the story, showing scenes and characters from that first movie back in 1996. And while jokes are made about Tom Cruise not visibly aging, you can see how the years are showing, particularly when you see his “baby” face from that first film! Granted, he does NOT look his age (62!), and he’s still quite fit and capable of doing those stunts. Still, there are some very amusing moments in this movie (particularly on an airplane) – and I also chuckled a number of times because the whole shtick of the M:I franchise is how crises are averted at the last second.

Yesterday I got out of the heat for a couple hours to enjoy the latest Chris Evans romp, Materialists. I expected more comedy than I got, as it’s really a straight romance story. But what I didn’t expect was to hear more than one character voice so many of my thoughts on the frustrations about dating. Dakota Johnson has become one of my favorite dramatic actresses out there today. And Pedro Pascal is always a joy to watch, too. On a side note, it’s super-fun to have the three leads in this movie, knowing they all have a part in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Pardon me while I geek out a bit…

Environment Evolution

My last segment for this week – I didn’t make a lot of progress, but something is always better than nothing! The Take Your House Back course offers live segments from the three founders, and this week we had Dana for 45 minutes, presenting “Reality-Based Decluttering: No-Mess, No-Decision Starting Points.” Side note: the Ravelry group “Clearing the Clutter” is highlighting a number of Dana’s publicly available materials.

Anyway, the live session was presented around midday, so I set aside my lunch hour for decluttering. Before and during her YouTube livestream, I focused on a corner of my living room. I’ve been wanting to tackle this mess for quite a while, but it hasn’t been a priority for me. Dana’s no-mess five-step approach makes it very easy to make progress. And I got a lot done in the hour I had to devote to this spot.

Ultimately I want the contents of this corner to be gone – the small table/shelf should be going into the office when it’s cleared. I made a couple more improvements after this “after” photo, but I’m planning another focus session on this space in the near future! I’d like to have the space cleared by the end of the month.

Knit on. 🧶