Kninja Knitter

The headline says it all – it’s going to be a knitting frenzy here later this week! The Splash Pad Party launches on Friday, leading into the US Memorial Day weekend. So often, I’ve been slowing down at this point in the year and have just one or two projects on the needles. This year is definitely different! I have several WIPs I’ve been actively knitting, and I have a couple others that have been languishing for a while. Plus I have a few more projects planned to cast on as I wrap up other projects. Let’s talk more about it!

Stitched or Still-in-Progress

Some of my WIPs got more attention than others, but one of the key factors in determining that is how close each is to completion! The Down Cellar Studio podcast’s Splash Pad Party requires at least some knitting (on knitted projects) to be done before binding off for a project to count. So I have to slow my roll as these items get closer to being done!

Probably closest: my Novus shorties have just a few more rounds of ribbing before I bind off. The one question I’m mulling over is which color do I want to end with. I’m actually leaning toward the next black stripe.

Also very close to done is my black-and-pretties shawl! Last night I finished up with the last color segment. Less than 8K stitches remain (decreasing ridges) before I bind off! I also switched up my project bag since there’s only one cake of yarn left…and I want bonus sponsor points, lol.

I’ll also bring in the scarf I started recently here since I’ve moved along well on it. This is a test knit, though I wasn’t given a set deadline. My goal is to wear it on my cruise in July, setting sail on the US 250th Independence Day celebration!

The other pair of socks I’m working on are also pretty close! I have about 25 rounds remaining before switching to ribbing and binding off.

The bright red cardigan is moving along nicely. I finished the decreases on the sleeves and opted to start ribbing right away. The pattern also calls for smaller gauge needles for the cuffs, so I’ll drop needle sizes when I get closer.

My other sweater WIP hasn’t gotten much attention, mostly because I wanted to get the others closer to completion. I should be able to finish the back center strip quickly so I can start working on the body.

Before I move on, did you notice the new project bag in that last picture? I got my order of Splash Pad Party exclusives from AdoreKnit, and the best part for me was showing the goodies to my grandson. I was very impressed that he was able to name all of the sea creatures in the design created by the host of the Down Cellar Studio podcast. He also “stole” the two bonus progress keepers that Steph included with my order – hopefully I’ll get them back eventually.

Cast-on Conversations

I don’t have any pictures I can share here as the only project I cast on last week was the test knit shawl I mentioned last Monday. But there’s sure to be photos to share here next week! As I’m wrapping up other projects, I’ll be casting on plenty more. I have yarn wound for more self-striping vanilla socks, but also the Supersock World Championship qualifying round starts tomorrow (May 19). I’ve also queued up a couple more shawls, and my grandson helped me wind up yarn for one of them.

I also have yarn slated to arrive this afternoon for my first Camp Loopy project of the summer! For June, I’m going big, opting for Ambah O’Brien’s Lovetta, using two colors. I can’t cast that on until June 1, but I can wind the yarn this week.

Grandson Glimpses

Unfortunately, the munchkin was disappointed this weekend because the Touch-a-Truck event we drove across town for was canceled due to weather. We arrived on site as lots of cars were leaving because a thunderstorm descended upon the Columbus suburb an hour into the event. Initially, they just suspended the event, waiting for the storm to pass. But after a half hour, they called it quits because lightning was persisting. At least the little guy had fun with my umbrella (or “brellella, as he calls it).

The trek across town wasn’t wasted since I’d already decided we’d pop up to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. The kiddo is rather obsessed with the water slides he can see over in Zoombezi Bay next door, but the weather conditions meant that park was closed, thankfully! Still, he talked about wanting to go to the slides with anyone who would listen (he’s quite friendly, saying hi to all the pretty girls, lol). With storms moving in, we stayed closer to the entrance in Asia Quest – particularly since there are plenty of places to shelter there.

Soundscape Sessions

I’ve continued listening to The Martin Sheen Podcast, which I mentioned a few weeks ago. I finished listening to Season One and moved on to Season Two, including a long episode co-hosted by his son Charlie Sheen. Together they read “Casey At the Bat” by Ernest Lawrence Thayer – and the two of them had a lot of fun with that! They also spoke about a variety of experiences they’ve had together and individually, along with Charlie’s memoir and Netflix documentary – which were released on the same day in September 2025.

It’s neat that Martin has now had all four of his children appear on the podcast (his daughter is the producer, so she pipes up occasionally throughout) plus his wife of almost 65 years, Janet. I’m curious to see if he’ll bring other actors on, as he’s suggested may happen. The stories he shares are fascinating to hear!

Random Ramblings

I’ve been rather busy this week, so I don’t have my Legacy post to share just yet. Watch for that later in the week. I’ve been putting a lot of spare time into driving deliveries for DoorDash as I need a bit of extra income right now. I will say that I’m very grateful for the suspension of income taxes on tips up to a certain threshold, as that means I can keep all of my earnings from the gig work since I increased my withholding from my full-time job. That’s about all I have to share for the time being, other than saying I’m glad our weather has finally warmed up!

Knit on. 🧶