Kninja Knitter

Lots to share this week including some combo topics as I’ve been away from home for a while. Enjoy!

Stitched or Still-in-Progress

While I’ve gotten so many compliments on my striped socks, I only managed to knit one round, so I’m not sharing an updated photo this week. I have several other things to share though! First, I finished the beaded scarf easily enough. I still have to block it (soaking right now), so I’ll share the finished-finished photo next week.

I also put a fair amount of time into the rainbow scarf, adding a bit more than one pattern repeat (40 rows). I need to weigh the remaining yarn to see if I’ll just work the garter section for the remainder of the piece.

Lastly, I made good progress on the tee, even though I didn’t work on it for a few days. I managed to get the front upper section done through the shoulders, and then I forgot to bring it to where I’m dog sitting. Since it’s knit on large needles, I can advance quickly. The picture shows the back side, fitting since that’s where the progress marker was a week ago. I’ve got another thirty rows to go for the upper back, then I’ll join at the shoulders with a three-needle bind-off.

Cast-on Conversations

I don’t have any new cast-on projects this week, but I’m close to starting one! I’m holding off on the shawl (mentioned last week) until that tee is done. But I want to finally cast on Joji Locatelli’s Fancy Cardi. I had swatched over a year ago, as this is what I’d like to make with the cone of red fingering weight yarn I bought in Ireland. Thinking about the knitwear I’ll don for this summer’s Zombie Knitpocalypse (last year I brought almost nothing), this is sure to be a staple to deal with air conditioning in the meeting rooms.

Grandson Glimpses

I’m going to merge a few things into this segment because the munchkin had a grand time with me on Friday and into Saturday. I took the afternoon off so that we could get some quality time after I’d been away for a couple days. He was extremely excited about going to see Baxter! Heck, ten days earlier, he wanted to get in the car and go when I mentioned this visit was coming up. (He’s three, so the concept of time is a little fuzzy)

Before heading to Baxter’s house, I had to stop for gas. Lo and behold along our way, we spotted An Excavator! Kiddo is obsessed with them thanks to Blippi’s song about it.

We saw at least four more along our route, and the friendly little dude also waved at the man pumping gas opposite me at the gas station.

All Friday afternoon we had to deal with a nasty windstorm that threatened to sweep the munchkin away a couple of times. While Baxter was eating, I heard a loud boom in the backyard. The next day I finally got a good picture of the tree that was blown over thanks to a particularly strong gust!

There was also a bit of property damage, but nothing significant – and I had to retrieve a deck chair from the neighbor’s yard. We also lost power before I’d started getting ready for dinner, so we needed to change plans. The parish fish fry provided a reasonable alternative, particularly since the kiddo ate for free. He also provided entertainment to those around us.

The next day we walked the dog in the morning – a 0.76 mile route we’ve done before. I was pleasantly surprised that Baxter walked nicely with him instead of dragging him. Halfway through, the little guy got tired, but I managed to keep him going (since I cannot carry him for any long period/distance). When we got back to the house, though, he promptly exclaimed, “Grandma, I need to sit down.” 🤣

This week we’ll be having another portrait session and seeing the Easter Bunny. I’m having fun picking the “perfect” outfit for this!

Tail Talk

I will just add a note in this section, I was stunned to see how much weight Baxter had lost when I arrived on Wednesday morning. He has cancer, and it’s becoming more prevalent. Doggo drinks a lot of water, and that also means we get in another two walks each day. (My fitness apps are loving this!)

Travel Tales

I’m finally starting to get more concrete with my travel plans for the year. This week I bought my ticket to Steel City Con in Pittsburgh in April, along with one photo op (so far). More on that a little later. I also bought my ticket for the singalong event in Winnipeg in May. I already mentioned Zombie Knitpocalypse which is in June, and then my cruise is in July, sailing out of Boston. The last journey on my calendar this year is a convention in Philadelphia in September (details still coming in on that).

Random Ramblings

My last tidbit for this week is that I’ve signed up to participate in the Knit for Food knit-a-thon again this year. Last year was my first time participating, and I was very impressed with the event. We raised over $530K then, and this year’s goal is to raise just $1 more. As it happens, the event this year falls on the same weekend as the convention in Pittsburgh, so I won’t be as dedicated to the knitting this year. BUT, I’m doubling down on the fundraising efforts, and I also get to promote it in another city.

If you’d like to contribute to my campaign, here is the link: Knit for Food. All donations are split evenly across the four organizations: Feeding America, World Central Kitchen, No Kid Hungry and Meals on Wheels. Yes, it’s somewhat US-centric, but the reality is that food insecurity is ridiculously common in this country. WCK, though, has teams on the ground in Lebanon, among other places, so that’s a global effort.

The best part about combining this fundraising event with the Steel City Con: I’ve booked my photo op with Sean Gunn for that day. While I have enjoyed his antics in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies in the MCU, he also was a regular cast member on Gilmore Girls, the show whose knit-a-thon episode inspired the KFF event! My plan is to have an extra knitting project with me so I can have him “knit” with me. I have a promo t-shirt for the event to wear, plus I’ll probably don my Hot Flash cardigan with it.

In other news, Mother Nature is continuing to mess with us here, as yesterday it was 74F and sunny while today has been rainy and cloudy and ~42F with snow showers expected this evening. We’ve got some high winds today as well, though so far it’s nowhere near as strong as Friday, thankfully.

I’m hanging out with Baxter until sometime on Thursday, so I should get a fair amount of knitting in again this week. Hope you’re faring well wherever you are!

Knit on. 🧶