Goodbye 2018

I am not sorry to see you go.  You caused me and mine rather a lot of distress and unhappiness, and that was just on the personal level.  You seemed to be heavy handed in shoveling your unpleasantness onto acquaintances and strangers as well, which, I admit, I still took somewhat personally.

The holiday decorations are already down and packed away till next year.  Our household is decidedly ready for 2019 to start.

The Elemental shawl was started August 4th, 2018.  It was bound off December 18th, 2018.  Honestly, this is probably some sort of record for me as it's not quite 1400 yards of laceweight.  Possibly, it is an indicator of how I deal with stress?  The shawl is not blocked yet, and is already the size of a baby blanket.

Yarn is already being wound for another 2000+ yard (also laceweight) shawl.  Igort'th Thawl will be knit in memoriam of MMario.  A knit along is being held by the Ankh-Morpork Knitters Guild. 

Gardening plans are being made, for when the temperatures are back above freezing.  Terroir Seeds has a wonderful selection of seeds, some of which I've not seen elsewhere.
Plans for different makings are also in progress; lotion and shampoo bars, a sourdough starter and whatever else catches my fancy.

When bandying about ideas for a word/theme of 2019, Husband suggested Recovery.  It is a suitable word, though I would add something along the lines of Authenticity as well, as Reclaim and Recover sounds more like a recycling program....and we are not quite that old, yet.

Her Ladyship Alzoa Shadowcat Fluffybutt (and her humans) wish you a wonderful New Year filled with treats and the adoration you so obviously deserve!

Glad Tidings of the Season....

Whatever you celebrate...or not.  Around here things start around the Winter Solstice and just all roll together till just after New Year's Day.
We started with a quiche for Solstice evening, exceptionally not fancy, but tasty.

Then the fun was allowed:  a fire to roast homemade marshmallows over.

After our fill of caramelized, melty sugar, we tossed one of the packets of color changing powder on the flames and watched the pretty colors.

Our tree is up:

Though most of our decorations are not.  Marvin has been over seeing the unpacking though:

Found yet more books in the bottom of a box yesterday, my expression may have been similar to Marvin.

Joy and ample storage find you and yours in the new year!

Still moving. Books help.

The last year and a bit has been rather stressful.  One of the few things that has genuinely helped me deal with things are books; specifically the paranormal cozy mystery genre.  The stories lend themselves well to a series, so you can hang out with the same characters for more than an evening and many of them are also high on the re-readable scale, so if your brain just needs a known happy place to hang out, these work well.

Morgana Best is definitely a favorite, her Witches and Wine series in particular (there are crazy old ladies who knit), but I have read all of her paranormal novels more times than I will admit to!  The novels tend to be set in Australia, so are enjoyable for a bit of armchair travel as well.

Gina LaManna has the Magic in Mixology series and the spin off series The Hex Files.  A fun series about witches and potions and bad people, of course.

H.Y. Hanna writes the Bewitched by Chocolate series, which makes me want to tromp through the British countryside while eating chocolate!  More witches.

Nancy Warren's Vampire Knitting Club series has been quite enjoyable so far!  Witches, knitting, vampires and arm chair travel.

None of these are graphic.  There is the expected dash of romance and frequently a cat.  They are fun distractions to play in.

If you are looking for something decidedly more intense and way more graphic on every level but still an outstanding read Meghan Ciana Doidge has the Dowser Series, which dove tails with the Reconstructionist series and the Oracle series.  Shifters, vampires, witches, dragons, cupcakes and chocolate.  They are highly descriptive and can get rather violent, there is sex as well,  but Husband has been enjoying reading these as well, unlike the other suggestions.

Hide in a book.  Support an author when you can.

Moving.....

It's work. There are appliances to clean, things to get rid of and plant pots to be emptied of wild flowers that refused to bow to winter weather.  Decisions must be made about what you are willing to carry with you and what will be crammed into a box to be re-discovered at a later date.
The rather eccentric collection of things that graced our walls are now in piles in the living room; leaving the walls looking bare and institutional.

For the first half of the day, every time I looked at the walls I would squawk, "Naked walls!"  Unsurprisingly, anyone in the room with me at the time tended to roll their eyes or chuckle.

Then, there is the book collection.  It is a collection of two life long bibliophiles melded into a wonderfully diverse and curated assortment.  Sadly, there is a problem with a glorious collection that is discovered only when moving.
This.....

The large bookshelf is stacked two and three books deep, with more squeezed in wherever possible. 

That is only about a third of the (physical) library.  We are fans of e-books as well, which is probably the only thing that has kept the book horde to a semi-manageable size.

Knitting has been proving, yet again, that it is how I maintain balance.  Two pairs of socks, one which had been on the needles most of year, have been finished!

The purple pair (started mid-December last year) is in Hawthorne Tonal from KnitPicks in their Corvallis colorway.
The second pair is a sock blank painted by Potion Yarns.
Both pair are my personal vanilla sock pattern; sixty four stitch, toe up, rounded toe, fish lips kiss heel, five inch leg and an inch or two of two by two rib.
I've also put a bit of work on the sparkly holiday sweater that I insisted needed to happen.

The pattern is Bauxite from Bitchcraft slightly adjusted to be a bit more tailored.  The back has only just been started. The yarn is Alux from KnitPicks in the Cream colorway, which has been surprisingly nice to work with!

Now back to the work of clearing out nightstands and the freezer, that I may earn the reward of knitting a few rows before falling asleep!

Do Other People Do This?

It started with a sweater pattern,  Bauxite by Samantha Stadter. (Love her stuff by the way!)  Liked the look of the piece, though with an eye to making it slightly less over-sized.

Then my brain had a suggestion; "What about making it sparkly?  We saw that Alux over at KnitPicks...it would make a lovely top for a holiday party!"   

Logic then chimes in; "We haven't been to a holiday party in at least five years.  We don't need a holiday party top."

But by then, it's too late, the outfit design is off and running.

A black velvet skirt would look lovely with the soft, sparkling alpaca!  After searching for just the right black velvet skirt ready made, fabric is ordered.  Before I check out, I realize the sweater is possibly a bit revealing in the back, I should find a camisole to go under it (like the designer suggests).  After much searching ready made items,I pop a yard of linen silk in the color closest to the yarn I've bought into the fabric.com cart, muttering to myself about having a pattern around here somewhere.

Oooh! I have Santa Jack earrings!  And red heels that match!  If you finish that Heads Will Roll shawl you would have a matching sparkling wrap.

Hmmm, needs green.  How about a vintage style hair snood?  Has to be just that right shade of green though.  I'll just head over to Potion Yarns and see what she has in stock.  That Forgeries of Jealousy is perfect!  And it's in a merino silk blend?  Perfect!

Oh goodness! I almost forgot.  What about stockings?  They should have sparkle too, but not be overly distracting.  H&M is the only place with any in stock right now, black and sparkles should work out nicely.

It took ten minutes for my brain to throw together the outfit.  It took an entire evening to find all the bits or the supplies to make them.

All the pieces finally arrive.  Fabric is washed.  I draft a full circle skirt pattern using measurements from the Mood calculator and dig out a rather old Vogue lingerie pattern, playing mix and match with pattern pieces to get the v-neck I want in front and in back.

The skirt and camisole are cut out, just awaiting sewing.  Yarn is wound and knitting is in progress, (though I am wondering if I can find a different lace chart for the snood, maybe I'll just roll with the original).

But the holiday party outfit that I am unlikely to need really is in progress.

It's a glorious combination of color, texture, and sparkle waiting to be completed.

This is how my brain works.  Entire projects, outfits, or other sorts of designs pop, ready to be made, into my head, despite (or perhaps in spite) of all other things already in progress.

This is why most surfaces in my house have some sort of project in progress on them, usually multiples. All still adored, randomly worked on for an entire day, then put down in favor of something else, though only temporarily.  Another idea will strike and I will have to write it down, draw it out or research supplies.  Possibly, I have everything at hand, then another thing will be started, smiled over, and completed at some undefined point in the future or in the next hour, depending on the item.

The one thing I cannot do is ignore the ideas. If I don't acknowledge them, the inspirations become distracting, popping into my thoughts when I should be doing laundry, worrying about what is for dinner or working on the thing that was causing the distraction yesterday.   Thus my piles of lists, notes and sketches for things to make is a collection that rivals my store of craft supplies bought to bring the ideas into reality.

This is my normal.  I know there have to be lots of others out there.  How do you deal with it? 

The Lamentations of a (Spoiled and) Easily Distracted Knitter

I have been knitting for the better part of fifteen years.  It became my primary craft choice almost immediately.  I have been buying yarn pretty much monthly...for fifteen years.  I tend to buy yarn specifically for certain patterns/projects.  What this really means, I have enough projects kitted up to knit without purchasing anything for the next five to ten years. 
I am also not a monogamous knitter.  On any given day there will likely be at least a dozen projects on the needles being semi-actively worked on.
Normally, this is not an issue.  I get teased a bit as I am constantly surrounded by a hill of works in progress, but that's about it.
For various reasons, I am having to curate my projects and projects in potentia down to something a bit more travel sized.  I have done this before without any problems. 
This time, however, the duration of the travel time is not definitive; could be a month, could be almost a year.  Cue my brain whimpering, "But what if I run out of yarn?!?!"
Which is why the "travel stash" has been whittled down to a solid years worth of projects (minus three shawls and a sweater likely to be finished in the next few weeks):

My brain knows that this amount of yarn is just impractical.  That square bin in the bottom photo?  It's an eleven inch cube(yarn is squishy and it has no lid).  Almost exclusively hand-dyed indie yarn.  My entire collection of Potion Yarns and Nerd Girl Yarns sit in that bin with some random Blue Moon Fiber Arts and (now) Verdant Gryphon.  That is an art collection made of yarn!  And while yes, it is "just stuff" I also really like the people who run those shops, so I get a bit emotionally attached to the yarn.  Some of the skeins were a limited edition, others discontinued.  Running out and buying another skein is not an option for most of them.

The question is rapidly becoming, "Do I have one bag big enough to cram all that yarn in?"
Then I can honestly say, "But it's only one bag."

Not knitting, more personal reminder

At first, you press forward as usual and think nothing of it.  New situation?  No problem.
Then the attention starts; negative and some a little too positive.  So, you dial yourself back. 
Clothing becomes a bit more standard, (it's fine, you have little kids anyway).  You retreat from conversation (most folks don't care to discuss plants, tarot cards, or the fact that you know all the lyrics to every song on (the original) Blue's Clues).
Socializing becomes awkward on a good day.
Twenty years later, you are pretty much a hermit; leaving the house only when necessary.
You have outwardly become the quiet, obedient spouse who is considered rather odd and tends to make people uncomfortable when they try and talk to you because awkward at best is your current normal.
Then, you realize the situation is shifting again. Your kids do their own things, clean up after themselves and cook dinner for you twice a week.
The structure and rules, (oh so many assumed and unspoken) your life has followed the last two decades are being phased out.  Change is in the air.
Your wardrobe has been steadily improving.  And while being social with anyone for longer than two minutes is still awkward, your sartorial choices help with conversation.
You've started writing again. The light bulb over your head clicks on as you remember all the different things you are able to do and make...and you can't exactly pinpoint when or why you stopped.
Conforming to what other expect you should be suddenly chafes terribly.
The urge to run down the street cackling with a comet tail of yarn and Halloween decorations is strong.
Instead, you will put out a few more holiday decorations, grinning and humming to yourself...probably making the neighbors uncomfortable. 
You feel more Morticia Addams and less awkward hermit.  Let's call it progress.

I finally finished something...and it's gray

Finally got one of the multiple gray items off my needles!  It's not blocked, there are still a few ends to weave in...and there are sparkly bits that need to be sewn on, but my twist on Julgran is done!

It feels like it took forever...so, maybe I shouldn't cast on two sweaters and a giant shawl in the same color at the same time.
Said shawl is now about two feet across a side.  Happily, I have made it to the final chart.  Sadly, said chart is patterned on every row and has beads.  It may take me awhile to finish.

The picture was taken over a week ago, as that is halfway through the fourth chart.  The pillow, for scale, is fifteen inches across.

Daughter has decided to try her hand at yarn dyeing.

Obviously using a color palette far more exciting than my own.  She has knit with her little samples successfully and my kitchen survived the process.  Wins all around I think.

Technically, these bits and bobs are for my Halloween costume...

I make no promises they won't be part of my wardrobe rotation year round.  The shoe clips are just standard hardware with faux raven skulls from Fire Mountain Gems glued on.  The skeletal cameo bowtie is from Historical Emporium.

Truthfully, right now most of my time has been spent doing things like cleaning out and reorganizing closets (woo) and doing the same for the garage (woo extra hoo).  There was the panicked purchase of a new electric kettle when the old one refused to boil water for my morning tea.  The bonus being that now my kitchen glows like an '80's restaurant when I put the kettle on!

Small Gray Knitting is Now Larger Gray Knitting

My Elemental shawl continues to grow.  I have a longer cable on the way as my stitches are starting to get squished. (Sorry for the lighting, smoke is back in the air and makes good pictures difficult)

My Autumn League has started looking like a sweater, but it's not very exciting on the needles.  It is fantastic for knitting while reading though.

And what I am personally calling my Nightmare Before Julgran is finally showing some progress.

There is alkanet root steeping in a mix of olive oil with a bit of avocado oil for tinting lip balms (that I finally bought containers for).

My holly plant bloomed!

And I wore some of my knitting out of the house (not a great shot of the Dockside sweater but not everyone likes the marled look) and I made mine way shorter so there isn't a whole lot to see really.

At some point, I will get my sock mojo back and finish all the amazing socks I have on the needles...as well as getting to work on the solid three dozen kits I've put together that are marinating in stash.  Must. Finish. Giant. Gray. Things. First.

The real reason I have no small talk?

My Friday involved yard work and cleaning out the drain on my washing machine. After such less than pleasant tasks, one which involved me laying on my hard floor taking out and putting in screws as well as grossness...
I figured I would allow myself some down time over the weekend, Saturday in particular.  Unsurprisingly, I have knit.  What is surprising is that it has been almost entirely on one project:

This is the Elemental Shawl by Renee Leverington  It is a mystery knit along from a designer that I have consistently enjoyed for years.  I have just started clue three, clue four came out yesterday, and there is one more clue to go.  I am using Ella Rae Rustic Lace Quad in Everest and rainbow peacock seed beads (that you can't see in the photo; it's overcast).  I just keep knitting.  The lace is intuitive, the beading uncomplicated.  It needs to be put on a longer cable at this point, but I would have to stop knitting to find one.
I've also put a few rounds on my first Autumn League Pullover done in KnitPicks Mighty Stitch in Ash pulled from the yarn stash.  It's an easier project to knit in bed than the lacework.

I did get out the bits and bobs I plan on putting on my themed Julgran sweater that I really haven't done much more than cast on.  Really need to work faster on that.

Throw in a few loads of laundry and watering my plants...and that is my weekend.  And to be perfectly honest, it's been rather awesome.  I am a homebody.  I am also that person who will have cookies and other snacks on offer if you show up at my door....but you will also have to carry the conversation.  That is, unless we get on to politics, religions, history, crafting (of any sort) or gardening...then you will probably wish I would shut up. :-)

My knitting isn't all gray....

It does seem like it right now though.

The yarns at the top and bottom of the photo are destined to be Autumn League sweaters. Not fancy, but comfy pullovers that I can throw in the washer without worry.
The project in the middle is Elemental Shawl by Renee Leverington, being worked in Ella Rae Rustic Lace Quad in Everest.   I'm only just starting clue 2, but it's been a highly enjoyable knit so far.

Then there is the knitting not quite cast on yet:

The ball of laceweight is Northbound Knitting in their Artemesia colorway that is going to try and be a Carrollton Top once I manage to cast on the endless number of stitches, (I did math for the gauge I liked and have to go up a few sizes).
The pile of KnitPicks Diadem DK I pulled from the yarn stash, I think is going to become a Modesty cardigan.  I'm thinking I will likely forego the button closure.

Gothic Angel MKAL starts in October...and the yarn I have picked is gray, but not here yet.

And just to prove my knitting hasn't been all bland, my vanilla (okay maybe a little bland) socks in one of Potion Yarns hand painted sock blanks, I really love her yarn too...she is also quite charming.  Yes, I am still working on them, but knitting progress has been slow, I've been tired.

Speaking of tired; I posted a photo of myself earlier after a bout of insomnia and my son politely letting me know the makeup wasn't really hiding anything, but having to go out anyway (grocery shopping must be done)...and then posted the worst one out of the set.  I had meant to post this one:

The one where I didn't look as wide eyed crazy scary.  Ah well.  On the upside there is now  Halloween candy within arms reach:

I foresee a relaxing Saturday evening filled with podcasts, knitting and chocolate (and an earlier bedtime). 

Knitting, Sewing and a Quick Personal Update

I felted a bag!  And it looks like a bag! Not something that feels like it should have fangs and googly eyes!

It's the Big Boho Bag, (one of my favorite movies for scale).  It's simple, black and will actually hold my wallet as well as my knitting, not just one or the other.
I also cast on a dress, because that back lace panel!

Knitting up in KnitPicks Dishie, Jalapeno colorway.  It's actually been a really lovely knit.  It seems like it's going to be a slightly fancy tee shirt type dress that will get lots of wear.  I adjusted the gauge (and did math) so the cotton is working up in a way that is less stressful on my hands than usual while not being see through.
I may have splurged just a bit and gotten the Dolores kit...and her matching Rhinebeck outfit. 

At some point in the near future she will even get cast on.  Yes, it's a bit silly, but she's wonderful!

I got fabric for project bags.  I cobbled a design together in my head, still need to draft it out.

And celestial glow in the dark fabric for pajamas because it will make them awesome:

As to the quick personal update:

Husband is still away for work.  It's been seven solid months with no official end date in sight.  I may still avoid any conversation that involves being emotionally honest about how I am doing.  Meltdowns do not get laundry done nor bills paid.  An emotional breakdown is tentatively planned for no earlier than mid 2019.  I may have time then.

Helping both kids through yet more college paperwork and setting up their business stuff, (Daughter is now experimenting with yarn dyeing as well).
Always calming endeavors.

There is a reason I knit.

Speaking up...and also I grew an avocado

So, I was scrolling through Instagram this morning when I came across a post from Isabelle (@fluffyfibers)  It got me thinking; why shouldn't we be allowed to openly express our views and be makers?  What is wrong with taking the stand that people are not things and we should speak up for those with no voice (to badly paraphrase Sir Terry Pratchett)?
Isabelle is far more eloquent than I, so I highly recommend reading her post.

Craftivism is a thing.  I have participated.  It is not fringe behavior, nor is it really edgy or even new.
There are millions of knitters and crocheters and weavers and spinners in this world. Many of us are already connected on some platform or another. We are global. What sort of change could fiber artists make if we came together on that sort of scale? What could we accomplish if we joined with other makers?

I personally think making societal change and knitting socks at the same time would be amazing.

Also, avocado seedling!

I spent the weekend sewing....

And now feel the need to show off what I've finished.  They aren't fancy pieces, but I think two pairs of shorts:

And two pairs of pajama pants:

Are totally something to show off, because honestly...I could have been knitting.  This kind of sewing was decidedly instant gratification, so it works out, even if it meant yards of cotton flannel in my lap in the middle of summer.

The pattern used was a free one from Patterns for Pirates, their Walk the Plank Pj Bottoms, in the adult size range.  Good pattern!  Clear, with pictures, and easy to follow!  I have plans to cut out a Wiggle Dress from them this week!
Pants and shorts are adult sized.  Bright red for Daughter.  Maroon for Son.  Both like the fit and pointed out they would like the shorts back soonest because they wanted to wear them this evening. 

I think that means they like them.

A Little Knitting, Purple Meringues and Expansive Sweet Potatoes

First and foremost, I completed my twelve projects in twelve months...three days ago.  There are seven more items on that list in progress.  There are another two dozen possible new projects on the list as well.  I think I may have been slightly over ambitious.

Ouzo, all blocked and seamed and blocked again; will not be modeled until day time temperatures drop to something reasonable:

I finally made myself a Dragon Scarf from Morehouse Knits  Husband and both kids have scarves, and have for years.

Yes I need to weave in ends.  He should be blocked too.  There should be time to do that between now and when the weather calls for it.

Despite my complaints about the heat, I keep knitting.  Sadly, the warm weather has made me terribly lethargic.  Getting my sluggish brain to remember the need to take pictures of my work in progress hoard is almost as difficult as finding the energy to get up to do it.

Daughter made meringues the other day:

She dug through her art supplies to find something in the equivalent color range.

And this is the result of the grand idea to put a few sprouting sweet potatoes in some dirt and see what happens:

Ummmm, now what?  They are a solid mass of foliage that is a foot and a half high.  Dirt cannot be seen through the leaves.  I have never done this before, it seemed like a good idea at the time...now I'm wondering if in another couple of weeks they will over grow the pot and begin conquest of the yard!

It's Friday the 13th...again.

Unsurprisingly, I spent most of the day knitting, (I try to keep Fridays free).
I had finished the knitting portion of the Ouzo I am working on, so I got to blocking them last night.

But that meant having to wait for the pieces to dry before I could get to the finishing bits....so I had to cast on something new right?  (Please do not notice the three dozen works in progress that construct my current yarn fortress).
This is the start of Summer Feeling

Using some exceptionally green cotton stash yarn.  Knit Picks Dishie I believe.  I figured why not, as it has held up really rather well in less fashionable uses.
But as much as I am enjoying the cotton dress with it's lace charts, (yes really, it's quite fun)  I had to get to the Ouzo finishing otherwise it would get neglected.  It cannot get pushed to the side as it is project number eleven on my twelve projects to complete this year.
Evening plans: seaming and picking up stitches.

Happy Friday the 13th everyone!

Coffee, Tea and Galactic Broccoli

It got hot and I've had a garden to attend to.  Including a couple of coffee and tea plants!

Most of my knitting has been gifts the last couple of months, two-thirds of which has to stay under wraps for another few months and the others got sent off in a rush...so I forgot to take pictures.
I also finished a couple of sweaters, so useful when it's 90*F outside:
The Rule of Three, in some Malabrigo worsted, Chircas colorway:

And a V-neck Boxy, in Knit Picks Stroll Tonal in Thunderhead:

Yes, it looks unflattering. Quite honestly, it was also not the most fun knit I've ever made, but it looks outstanding on!  I made it a slightly cropped length, better suited to my frame.
Both still need to be blocked, but I figured I had some time before they would be in my wardrobe rotation.
I decided to splurge just a touch after finishing so many things and so a skein of Blue Moon Fiber Arts BFL Fingering in the color Galactic Broccoli came to live with me and make me happy. 
Look at that color!

The sewing has also come out again lately.  I have grand ambitions.  I started with a small drawstring bag.

The fabric is from the Ghastlies collection.  I have a large bag cut out of the same fabric.  I have patterns traced for multiple garments. Plans for glow in the dark pajamas.  Even a few skirts cut out, just waiting to be sewn up. 
For today, the little bag is fine.