The NFL season opens this week, which also means the Down Cellar Studio Pigskin Party kicks off! I’m very excited for this, but it also means I have two more days before I can cast something on. Gasp! I mean, yes, I could cast on something new, but if it won’t count for the make-along, I’d rather hold off, lol. Those internet points are imaginary, but they do have potential real-world impact since the event includes prizes of yarn and patterns. And the beauty of a five-month-long event means I can complete larger projects! I’ll share more on that in a bit. First, let’s looks at what the past week held on my needles… (no spinning)

Stitched or Still-in-Progress

First up, I finished my cowl and used a three-needle bind off to join the provisionally cast on stitches to my final row. This piece is super soft! I’ll likely bring it to Philly with me later this month. Interesting note: I have exactly enough yarn in all three colors to make another. But I won’t, lol. Looking for something new though!

I also finished up the sock test knit I’d started right before my last blog post. Since the pattern hasn’t been released yet (coming in Socktober, next month), I can’t show the full sock – I did only knit one because that’s all the test knit required. I’ll probably knit a pair in another yarn.

I found an interesting way to photograph my other sock project! This pattern will also be released in Socktober. I test knit the design last year, so I’m working on knitting the mate. Once the design is released, I’ll share FO pics and info. For now, I’m about twenty rounds from the ribbing.

And my other WIP is the sock yarn blanket. I’m determined to make meaningful progress for the rest of the year, so my goal is to complete one zig-zag pair each day. Thanks to some football yesterday, I managed eight pairs this week.

Cast-on Conversations

I have a few things to share here including acquisitions from the week and my plans for Wednesday’s upcoming Cast-On Frenzy! First up, I bought a skein of Desert Vista Dyeworks yarn from another Ravelry member. While my DVD-yarn blanket has moved to a focused project in memory of Susan Hayes, the DVD genius, who died back in March, I’d like to knit one last pair of socks in her memory. This is a speckled skein, not self-striping, that she dyed up when she was a Pro Shop Sponsor for the Down Cellar Studio Splash Pad Party a few years ago. I didn’t buy the colorway then, so I’m glad I could obtain a skein!

And I found my complementary yarn to go with the Fibernymph Dye Works self-striping skeins to make up a Tetris Pullover for my “National Knit a Sweater Month (NaKniSweMo)” in November. This tweedy red yarn should be a nice pop against the red-gray-black-white striping design!

This week I took some time to start matching up my PSP projects with project bags, keeping in mind that I have plenty of options from the two Pro Shop sponsors I’ve purchased from. I think I have another AdoreKnit bag somewhere, too. And there are still plenty of projects planned when a number of these are done! I have several small projects planned (hats, socks, mitts, shawls) along with the bigger ones (Fireplace Sweater, Radical Acceptance Shawl, Sky Song MKAL Wrap).

Football Frenzy

Football season is here! I enjoyed watching my Ohio State Buckeyes show off some of their talent against Ball State on Saturday. It took some time for them to get past the nerves, but the 56-3 win was a respectable result. Most of the Big Ten celebrated wins, too. This week, as I mentioned, the NFL resumes play, and I’m excited for both the Seahawks-Patriots rematch of the Super Bowl, and the Rams-49ers game Down Under!

Grandson Glimpses

We had some really sweet moments this week. My favorite was definitely when the munchkin came to me saying “I just needed a hug.” He was not happy about going to bed, so he used me as an excuse to delay, but it was a heartwarming one! He did go back upstairs to go to sleep then.

A funny aside from him has been his interest in a “magic wallet” – so he could say “Abracadabra!” (magic wand) We’ve managed to repurpose a Power Rangers toy to satisfy him. He also picked up some empty hangers in my bedroom and decided they were airplanes.

Lastly, he’s finally showing some interest in potty training! It’s not consistent, but he’s had some success. He’ll be four in January.

Movie Moments

I actually made it to the movie theater a couple times this week! Finding Emily was a very sweet story, and I enjoyed it immensely, even if I couldn’t understand a small percentage of the dialog. I’m generally good with British accents, but I think there was a bit of slang thrown in there (college students) which would be lost on me. And my second film, also British, was The Salt Path, starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs. Their performances are absolutely wonderful, and the scenic settings for their journey have me aching to cross the pond again and get to Cornwall!

I forgot to share last week that I’m on a path to rewatch the entire MCU collection (films only) – in release order. At the end of August, I realized that it was 16 weeks until the release of Avengers: Doomsday, and then I calculated that I could complete the rewatch just ahead of the next movie if I kept the pace of every three days. And of course, I’m often ahead of pace when I set goals, lol. This week I’ll be wrapping up Phase One with The Avengers and starting Phase Two with Iron Man 3.

Tail Talk

River woke me up at 4AM the other morning… she caught another mouse. I need to figure out where they’re getting in! At least she’s a very competent mouser. And she gets my attention when she’s successful. This time the critter was set in the hallway> I managed to keep her away from it so I could scoop it up and dispose of it. Good kitty!!

Random Ramblings

I have been doing a bit of planning and goal setting as the year end keeps creeping closer. This week I did a session of long-range planning since I don’t feel I’ve been concrete enough with that. My general goal setting work for several years has been using the MäkseLife system. Now I’m adding in the Passion Planner to complement it. We’ll see how things progress. Despite some setbacks, I’m still on track to be debt free in under two years now. I’ve selected that as my Game Changer goal since my retirement plans are dependent on it! I haven’t done a financial update in a while, but I’m planning to do that following the end of the quarter.

Knit on. 🧶