Kninja Knitter

It’s Thanksgiving Week, which is nice because it means I only work half the week in my day job. The holiday itself is generally low key, though I’m planning to earn some money via DoorDash on the day since I have no commitments. But the major highlight for me this week is The Game between my Ohio State Buckeyes and TTUN (University of ❌ichigan Wolverines). If you’re not familiar with this almost annual tradition, do a quick search. It’s been named the greatest (American) sports rivalry of all time, at least by ESPN.

But let’s get on with what happened this past week.

Stitched or Still-in-Progress

My knitting was very focused. I finished a pair of socks and I completed the lower portion of Laura Nelkin’s MKAL, Into the Hoods, with the drop of clue 4. Here are the socks – I’ll do my best to give you space to scroll past the second project if you don’t want to be spoiled!

You may recall that I knit the first sock of this pair as a test knit for the designer as part of her Wicked Collection, celebrating the movie that opened this past weekend (I haven’t seen it yet). While the inspiration for the sock is the magical school, Dear Old Shiz, I used my favorite team’s colors instead. And the second sock will earn me a few points in the Down Cellar Studio Pigskin Party!

As for the MKAL project, I hadn’t worked on it last week since Laura had a gap in the release schedule to accommodate her knitters’ trip to Spain. The front opening of the hood is super long, so I’m glad that she offered additional instructions to create a drawstring casing so the hood can be snugged up. I picked a contrast color for my drawstring, and I cast that on once I’d bound off the bottom of the piece. I’m waiting for it to dry before I pick up stitches and work the casing. The drawstring isn’t spoiler-y, so here’s that…

And here’s my completed (sans casing) Hooded Dickey.

Cast-on Conversations

I didn’t start any projects last week, but now that I’ve finished my second pair of Wicked socks, I’m planning to knit the mate to my first “Defying Gravity” design (test knit: green). I’m also itching to cast on Joji Locatelli’s mystery shawl using one of my travel souvenir skeins of variegated yarn. With December fast approaching, I’m also planning another shawl project – the “quarterly” challenge for the DCS Pigskin Party is to make something using four or more minis, and of course, I’m an over-achiever. This week I’ll set up my spreadsheet so I have my daily stitch targets so I can be sure to finish my December 31. I have plenty of time off work during the month, but I’ll be splitting much of that time between decluttering and Dashing. My evenings are most often reserved for cozy knitting.

Grandson Glimpses

This past week/weekend I had double duty/double fun because I was dog sitting for friends, their beautiful Golden Retriever, Baxter. And then the munchkin came to visit Friday to Saturday. The most intriguing part of the story is that my grandson’s drop-off was night-and-day different compared with the last time he came to this house. I’m so glad he’s moved past the meltdowns when Mommy goes to leave. He recognized the house when they pulled in the driveway, and Mama said he was all smiles. For some reason, he was calling me Grammy, but that subsided eventually – I’m not sure where it came from, and while I’m not opposed to the alternate name, it seemed as much a mix of Grandma and Mommy than anything.

Baxter was quite the doting caretaker while the toddler played. And he didn’t object when he was covered with blankets. He simply laid there. So sweet! Our walks, however, were not as sweet. My grandson likes to hold the leash, but the dog outweighs him three times over, so I have to temper our speed and direction. The kiddo took a tumble on the sidewalk, too, and got some abrasions on his hand. Tears were shed, but he brushed it off and we marched on. I usually manage about 3/4 of a mile with each outing, and we walk twice a day. That’s a lot for a little guy, but he managed.

Now for the photo dump… so much cuteness!

I will note that the munchkin’s visit was not always hunky dory, as he IS a toddler. I had to stop his antics on the mechanical recliner – he stops pushing the button and then tries to push the footrest down by force; and his obsession with wall switches meant that lights were on throughout the house… and then the TV stopped working. That one had me baffled and stressed until I realized that he’d flipped the switch for the outlet the TV uses – even though it’s taped in position to avoid such wackiness!

Environment Evolution

As I mentioned last week, I had plumbing repair work done. So that’s another basement issue resolved! The company sent two guys to complete the work, so they were done in roughly half the time the job was slated to take. They also pointed out one other spot in the basement pipe work that needs to be monitored.

I also took some time one afternoon to work on decluttering the bedroom. I only had an hour to spend, but that’s plenty of time to make an impact! This month I’m trying to focus seriously on the bedroom, and the work I’ve done so far has all been motivating as well as bringing me more peace.

Tail Talk

We’ve passed the three-month mark of River’s arrival here. She remains a reserved kitty, coming to me for pets and letting me know if there’s a problem with the litter box mechanism. If she spots Zayne, she goes into hiding, but otherwise she’s out and about a fair amount. (She had a case of the zoomies at 5AM today, to my “enjoyment”)

One thing that always amuses me is the way she watches television and reacts to voices on the screen. I often like to watch along with my favorite reactor, Kaiielle, having her video on my iPad and whatever we’re watching on the television. The iPad usually sits on my chaise, but last week I moved it to the Little Tikes chair. River has always responded to hearing KL’s voice, but with the screen closer to her level, she sat down and watched this video for a bit while I was watching Superman on the big screen.

Too cute!

I’ll be wrapping up the month in the coming week, and lining up my plans for December as well. So many things I hope to complete by the end of the calendar year – we’ll see how much I can accomplish!

Knit on. 🧶