My post last week was very late, so I’m determined to get this week’s update in a timely manner. I also shared last week that I’d fallen behind on my big project for the rest of the year, and I’m happy to say I’ve made decent progress there! I’m still a couple weeks behind my original timeline, but I had an a-ha moment over the weekend. Lots of fun to share, so let’s get into it!

Stitched or Still-in-Progress

I have no finished objects this week, but I have a half-finished pair of socks. I completed the test knit of the third design in the Socks of the Guardians collection.

Once again, the Advent scarf gets lots of attention since it’s simple stockinette in the round. This is my current go-to for the movie theater. As of Sunday, I’m more than halfway through the collection, currently on the fourteenth mini; and at the halfway point, the project was nearly three feet long. This will be a nice, warm, snuggly cowl when it’s done!

The DVD blanket, in contrast, got very little attention. That’s mostly because it doesn’t qualify for any of the makealongs I’m participating in. But also because it requires light and focus, given that each zigzag builds on the row below it.

A couple projects finally got some love this week after being neglected for a while. First, there’s the vanilla sock. I’ve had this yarn for several years, so I’m happy to finally put it to use in a pair of socks. This pair will be included in my Knit the Rainbow donation box.

And last, but certainly not least, I resumed working on my Aran cable knit sweater! Along with writing last week’s post, I had worked through my original timeline to account for the delays. And once I got into the pattern knitting, I made a huge realization. I’d been making this project a lot more difficult in my mind than it actually is. Yes, it’s an intricate pattern with several different cable structures; and yes, it’s knit in black yarn which is hard to see in low light. But because I’m working from a chart, and particularly as I’ve acclimated to the specific elements of the design, I need only focus on one stitch at a time, one row at a time, and I can make steady progress. Based on my revised schedule, I’m already ahead of schedule. I have just a few rows to go before the upper back is complete.

I do need good lighting for some work. Once this section is done, I’ll be picking up stitches for the left and right shoulders to knit the fronts; the revised schedule calls for joining in the round about the time of my next trip. I should be reporting back separately for another Sweater Spotlight post.

Cast-on Conversations

I have a couple new projects to share here. Having finished Drax’s sock in the Guardians collection, I was then given access to test the last design of the collection. I volunteered for this one since it did not have colorwork – the deadline is later this week, so I’m always careful to commit only if I’m confident that I can meet the deadline. The design is not as complex as it looks as long as you’re comfortable with charted designs. There’s no cabling, but there are increases and decreases throughout to direct the columns of knit stitches. This pattern will be released later this month.

And a late addition to my rotation is one I should have started and finished already. This is a dishcloth, my core requirement to participate in the NFL Pick-em game in the Knitters Brewing Company Ravelry group. The person with the most correct picks in a week (Thursday to Monday) wins a prize pack from one of the participants. We’re only required to send a dishcloth, though most people include additional goodies targeted to knitters, possibly with local flavor. I always send along a box of Anthony Thomas Buckeye candies (Peanut butter covered in chocolate, formed to look like the buckeye nut). This pattern is pretty simple, so I’ll be able to finish it and send off the package in a couple days.

Book Banter

I’m continuing to participate in Amazon’s Kindle quarterly challenge, and I was very proud that I managed to earn every achievement at least once last quarter. I’ve also finished sixteen books this year, though I didn’t set a specific goal. The sixteenth book I started and finished this week, but it’s a disturbing one. The Back Bedroom: A True Story of Exorcism and Murder by Gregg Olsen tells a tragic tale of a toddler being victimized by his own mother and several people in an unrelated family with whom she’d become close. The story reminded me of Dave Pelzer’s memoir A Child Called ‘It’ which also hurts my heart every time I think of it. The latter at least started a series that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit since it’s authored by the person who suffered the experience. I’m grateful for movies and music to soothe my soul to move past that heartache.

Environment Evolution

I don’t have any big news to share on this topic, but I have a little thing. I ordered a set of small area rugs, and they finally arrived. Since we’re already into October, I placed the Halloween themed rug in the hallway between the living room and kitchen. River’s reaction did not disappoint, lol. My grandson was also quite intrigued, but he wasn’t fooled by the illusion.

Football Frenzy

An exciting week in sports, I watched a number of talking heads bantering about Ohio State’s win probability in Iowa City based on the result of their last game played in Kinnick Stadium combined with the fact that the Iowa Hawkeyes beat TTUN the previous weekend. For those who aren’t following along at home, Ohio State had no trouble against the Hawkeyes, winning 31-14 with no offensive turnovers. The other big news in the game was that Jeremiah Smith has surpassed two more program records, taking the lead in career receptions (207) and touchdowns (36). What makes these achievements so remarkable is that there are seven more regular season games remaining, plus the expected post-season for him to increase these numbers, whereas the records he has surpassed where earned in at least three full seasons, and in some cases four. Heisman buzz continues.

The Cleveland Guardians, however, had a less than stellar experience on Saturday as they hosted the Chicago White Sox in game #1 of the five-game AL division series. In the NFL, I watched the Battle of Texas as the Dallas Cowboys visited the Houston Texans. While I picked Dallas to win the game, I was still rooting for C.J. Stroud and the Texans as they have yet to win a game this season. They had a very strong showing, particular with the return of their star wide receiver following an injury, but it just wasn’t enough.

Grandson Glimpses

I have a few fun things to share here. As the kiddo continues to enjoy singing and dancing along with Bruno Mars and “Uptown Funk,” I turned to Amazon again to provide a hat for this enjoyment. He calls it his “Michael Jackson hat” – possibly partly due to a misunderstanding, thinking that Bruno is MJ, but also because he still enjoys the music video for “Smooth Criminal” in which Michael wears a fedora.

Last week, I got a great surprise, winning tickets to the Columbus Blue Jackets’ opening night game against the Buffalo Sabres. It wasn’t hard to choose my companion, and my son was amenable. Having won the tickets, I managed my own expectations knowing that the munchkin would not be able to last the whole game. We did get there pretty early though to enjoy the party on the plaza outside of Nationwide Arena. The little guy wants to do everything the bigger kids (and adults) do, so he had some disappointments, but overall, I think he had a grand time. Once we were inside the arena, his interest grew – he wanted to say to everyone, and he even had me go with him to meet the family sitting three row behind us. Watching both teams warm up during the pre-game period had him really riled. 😆

The Blue Jackets were up 3-1 when we left after the first period, and the final score was 6-3 in our favor. Unfortunately their second game wasn’t so great in their second game, losing 4-1 to the Utah Mammoth. But it’s a long season.

One of my favorite moments was when I had asked the DJ to play “Uptown Funk” and the munchkin heard it… he also danced for the drone he spotted overhead.

I have one more fun story from the week. Building all kinds of things with Legos (mostly the traditional set from my family’s original 70s collection), he brought an assembly into my office, announcing that it was a vacuum cleaner. Then he sat down and began to disassemble it, possibly to reconfigure it. But what he did next was to pull off several four-top yellow pieces, calling them his Lego chicken nuggets. He picked them up and placed them on my desk, so I had him count them: six. The big surprise was when he picked up my collapsible back scratcher, extended it, and waved it over the Legos, saying “Abracadabra!” He was trying to turn them into real chicken nuggets.

Movie Moments

My MCU re-watch has progressed well this week. I was late getting to the Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 1, but I finished phase one during the week and right on time with Captain America: Civil War. I also made it out to the movie theater several times, as I have a growing wish list, mostly fed by the trailers I’m seeing. I started off with an unexpected screening of Runner starring Alan Ritchson and Owen Wilson. Produced by Angel Studios, the movie had a bit more grisly moments than I would have expected from that house. It’s always fun to watch Alan throw down though, and I really should get back to watch his Jack Reacher installments.

The other two movies I saw during the week were on my list. I expected Heart of the Beast to be a simple Brad Pitt delivery device, but the dog(s) stole the show. (Plural because the animal in the movie is played by multiple dogs.) I was quite weepy when it concluded, but the ending did not surprise me at all given how the film opened. And The Incomer was hilarious Scottish fun, pretty much as warped as I expected from the trailers I’d seen. I also saw a few new-to-me trailers to add to my list.

Random Ramblings

Sigh. This is more of a random rant here. I watched most of the Guardians-White Sox game on Saturday on HBO. The collection of commercials that ran at each break had me muting my television every time. First, it’s almost time for the midterm elections, so political ads were not a surprise; however, the only political ad that ran throughout was a negative ad disparaging our incumbent senator using a false story shared by someone from Texas who is deceitfully displayed as an Ohioan. And that ad ran in every single commercial break. (I’ve read but have not verified that the ad was paid for by El0n Mu$k.) The other frustration with the ads is that the majority of them were promoting prescription medication. The fact that these ads are shown in this country illustrates the disgusting hold that businesses have on our government. The manipulation of the masses is downright insane.

I’m going to go back to my knitting and entertaining movies as a brain cleanse of sorts because I’m not the pessimistic, defeatist type. I know the world isn’t sunshine and rainbows, but I prefer to focus on the light while keeping the darkness at bay. In happy-ish news, the governor of Ohio passed a bill to give us a 90-day hiatus on state sales tax on fuel (gas/diesel). Something is better than nothing, and it’s nice that it will be in place through the holidays.

Knit on. 🧶