Taking a Pause

Sitting in a nice hotel room, balcony door open, listening to waves crashing on the shore.  The sensation of not having to do anything or be anywhere, alien and welcome.

This year started with great stress.  The year before that was rather a lot as well.  

Being able to pause, take a breath, and maybe regain a little balance before the new year begins seems like a really good thing.

I am incredibly  grateful for it, (it's  my third  vacation-type excursion  in twenty-four years).

May you also manage  to find some breathing space. At some point.  Eventually.  Far more often than once every  eight years! ;-)

Happy Winter Solstice!

Because festive bats should totally be a thing!  May your celebrations bring you joy!

A Pea on the Windowsill

My winter windowsill garden actually produced something!  Which has me wondering if indoor window boxes are a thing and how would that work? Can you get them built in?  Because I must grow all the plants!

It's a wee thing that brings great joy.  There are tiny tomato plants too!

Most of my knitting hasn't been overly exciting.  I adore the pieces; wearable, simple and useful.  Two sweaters, Morticia and the Felix cardigan (done in black and dark charcoal gray), a Little Black Skirt (done in black of course), off set by my second Ripple Bralette worked in Nerd Girl Yarns Glow Cloud.

The finished pair of fingerless mitts are for Daughter, the blue ones in progress are for Son, using leftovers from the hats I made them in January.

Really, I sit in a rudimentary fort made of partially finished socks and sweaters, hoping that proximity will equal progress, waiting for (yet more) yarn that I may cast on my Lisbeth set to perfect my ever more Addams Family-like wardrobe.

Mostly pictures

My inner Cassandra has been shrieking at me for the last two weeks solid, leaving me endlessly agitated.  So instead of trying to be thoughtful and coherent, here are some stills of my house in it's natural state (inspired by a challenge a friend is doing on Facebook).

Sticker courtesy of Subversive Cross Stitch. 

It started as an endeavor to be practical....

Use what you have to make what you use.  Simple enough, right?

It began with the idea to plan my knitting out for the next year.  Purchase patterns and supplies to stash away as needed. Knit through everything on the needles, move on through the planned list, no muss, no fuss.  I should have all sorts of lovely finished items at the end as well as stashed projects in potentia to last me through a good portion of 2021, which does not include any of the embroidery, cross stitch or clothes sewing projects already hanging around.

Then, I started contemplating the yarns I was using; most are some flavor of wool, sometimes blended with other fibers.  How were they going to wear?  What environmental impact had I overlooked in my search for the "perfect" yarn for the project?  What was wrong with "plain" wool?
Nothing is wrong with wool.  I own quite a lot of it, mostly in half-finished projects from most of a decade ago.
Well, why didn't I rip out the unfinished items and re-use the yarn for something I might actually finish?  Brilliant.

We've been doing a lot of planning for back packing and camping trips lately (that started with a discussion about re-doing our emergency kits that escalated quickly into must have all the gear)....why not make a lovely wool blanket for that?  I had two skeins of Cascade EcoWool now available.  Unsurprisingly, I also had a pattern I could use.

It's working up beautifully, but...it's a bit lacey and a bit prickly, not the snuggly thing I had in mind.  So, flannel backing seemed like a good idea...but soft, cotton flannel gets soggy easy, (it's the PacNorthwest, lots of things do).  Hmmm, a layer of duck maybe, then the flannel?  (Trying to avoid plastics and the like).  But would that be enough?  My brain helpfully reminded me that there is wool batting.  Now my simple, use my stash wool blanket project has become a camping quilt with a hand knit wool top.

Then someone in the house pointed out how useful boot socks would be.  Boot season is pretty much here, all the local stores that stock socks have them....but I do like to have a non-store bought option available...for pretty much everything, and I do have a knitting pattern.  I haven't yet gone stash diving to see if I have enough yarn.  Husband has some rather large feet, so I may let myself buy some sport or DK weight sock yarn to speed up the process a bit.

I may have also bought a coffee plant, as well as an orchid:

And maybe a yerba mate too:

Is this all practical?  Sort of.  After a fashion.  I suppose.  Mostly, it makes me feel better.  Is security puttering a thing?

Winter Gardening and An Unexpected Sweater

With winter temperatures hitting before many of the trees had lost most of their leaves, cold weather measures had to be implemented in a hurry.
The front porch now houses what is left of the surviving summer garden:

Mints, aloe, calendula, geraniums, a few avocado seedlings, and some of the heavier vegetable greens.
I pulled the squirrel planted peanuts:

We actually got a solid handful of full grown peanuts! Once fully dried, a few will be set aside for planting next year.
The winter window sill garden got started and is already starting to make a showing:

Most of what I planted are from the container section of Urban Farmer.  The rest of the small army of pots lining my craft room windows are random, slightly less common (or even rare) herbs like Toothache Plant.  Terroir Seeds has a good selection of pretty much everything really, but I really like their stock of currently less well known herbs.

In the midst of all this dirt flinging, husband announced that a burlesque troupe we were both interested in seeing was going to be in town at the beginning of November, should he get tickets?
I said yes, then immediately wondered out loud what I should wear.  Husband laughed, pointed out that it was why he had been looking at shows in that time frame and said he figured a month would be long enough for me to figure it out, but I could wear "those boots".
The outfit started with "those boots,"  a pair of boots I don't wear near as often as I would like (high heels don't figure largely into my daily wardrobe) in an oxblood red.  I had been figuring on wearing my Ripple Crop Top, but the yarn I was making it in didn't match the boots.
So, I bought the Ripple Crop Top Worsted pattern, found yarn in the right gauge and color to match the boots, ordered the sweater quantity and got to work.

That gold thing?  That is The Dragon's Tale I started....in 2014? Early 2015?  Guess what I decided I had to finish because it would look amazing with the outfit?

The Ripple Crop Top Worsted?  The colorway is KnitPicks Merlot Heather, I lengthened the body (just a smidge) as well as the sleeves (it's Idaho in November):

Yes, it looks under-sized.  It has been tried on.  Husband was properly impressed.  At some point, well styled photos will be taken as proof.  Once the skirt I plan on wearing is suitably hemmed, (it's currently still a pair of pants), the outfit will be complete!

Back to the other three dozen projects in progress!

So, September Happened

September involved an amazing amount of house cleaning (resulting in an unintentional digital hiatus).  Every closet, every cupboard, even the garage, got cleaned out and put in order.  Yes, even the craft room got sorted.

The drawers are currently holding sewing notions, random household stationary stuff, beading supplies, and an assortment of scented candles.  There is more yarn stash, still in less than photogenic bins, on the opposite side of the room and in the room's closet.  All the "knit soonest" projects are in the cubes, affectionately dubbed, "tribble corrals".

All this cleaning was part of the run-up for family coming to visit a few days in late September.  They brought germs.  We spent the last week of September, plus a little bit, fighting off a cold that didn't seem so awful at first.  This was an incorrect assumption, as I spent two and a half days with no voice at all.  The coughing still lingers.

There has, of course, been knitting.  Not many projects have been finished.
My Love Note:  Not the best photo, the light has been down right awful lately.

As well as my first (of soooo many) Ripple Bralettes:

The yarn is Cat Sandwich Fibers on the Skinnie base, How to Mix Black colorway. ::swoons::

The recent dramatic temperature drop, paired with all the fabulous new patterns(have you seen this one yet?!?!), has made it difficult to not buy all the yarn to build a wool fort to hide in till Spring.

Leeloo from the Women of Sci-Fi collection may have hopped on the needles, but with colors like these, how could I not?  Nerd Girl Bounce and Stomp in Girl on Fire and Twirl for Me.

Belladonna from Andi Satterlund's Spooky Collection is also on the short list for cast on, in multiple colors...as soon as I free up some needles, likely in some Northampton I have in stash.  Ichabod is probably not far behind.  Maybe in something tweed?

I also feel I need a Diaphanous Raglan, though I haven't quite found the yarn for it yet.  Maybe something black and sparkly to counter-point the soft, fluffy sleeves?

Yes, there are seven other sweaters on the needles.  Why do you ask?

Since the stash got organized, the yarn for two more projects came readily to hand;  Scoops Ahoy socks and The Hen Wife shawl.

Random KnitPicks sock yarn pillaged from stash.  Two are sparkle base, one is un-dyed.

I found so much Northampton in their Dark Olive Heather colorway in the stash, there should be enough to make a sweater after the completion of a giant shawl.

Sewing got put on hold, though I have plans to get back to it...and actually start finishing things, this weekend.  After the grocery shopping and food prep that needs doing.

There was an awful lot of time also spent on gathering and drying herbs and hot peppers, as well as just the tending of the plants so they would make more things to gather.
The pots for the planned winter window sill garden arrived today, so the tending of the food plants will continue.

I learned a new term: echoism.

I found a new author.  I've only read their blog posts so far, but The Witches of Portland series in now on my to read list.

Mostly, I am just trying to get back into a productive groove.  Get all the piles of festive lights scattered about the house actually put up, along with more glow in the dark bats. (Note to self: make more glow in the dark bats!)  I might even pull out all the (old and new) bits and pieces for my Dr. Isley costume to (hopefully) fuel a little more excitement for Halloween on my part; apparently all that cleaning wore me out!

Almost a sweater, Accidental peanuts and Why I am behind on all the t.v. shows always

My Shiny is oh so close to being complete! 

I shortened the body, as well as making a size with almost no ease.  It fits beautifully.  Now if I can manage to get that second sleeve done, I'll have a new sweater (after weaving in ends and blocking)!  The yarn is Valley Yarns Charlemont in the Thistle colorway.  At this particular gauge, the fabric created has wonderful drape.

The realization hit the other day, that courtesy of our local squirrels, (all affectionately called Little Bastard), there was a peanut plant growing in with my blueberry bush!

I thought it was a pea plant at first, but there were no tendrils and the flowers were a bright, golden yellow.  There is also one in a flower box out front.   Are gardener squirrels a thing?  Or should I just be happy they planted the peanuts and did not dig up all my plants to get them back?

Confession time:  I do not watch much television (okay, truthfully, almost none at all).  Apparently, I spend more time watching the squirrels in my backyard.
I enjoy television.  There's tons of shows I want to watch, with new ones coming out all the time.  The problem is, I don't sit still well.  When I am sitting still, I am likely writing or doing some sort of needlework; knitting, cross stitch, even crochet.  Admittedly, some of those projects I can work on and watch t.v...if I'm not doing laundry, tending dinner, cleaning house and doing some sort of yard work at the same time.  I do listen to quite a few podcasts; current events/news, knitting, sewing, history or some combination thereof usually.  I don't lose the thread on a podcast when I have to pause it ten minutes in, nor do I get cranky if I have to turn it off completely for whatever reason.  I don't have to look up from whatever my hands are doing.  I can turn it up, clean a bathroom and not miss any plot points that may flash across a screen.
In reality, this makes me feel like a bad modern human, but, binge watching a show (or even just a few episodes in a row) makes me feel guilty, as nothing was likely done while I sat there. 
There is a chance that Good Omens can entice me back.  It is based on one of my favorite novels about the Apocalypse, with some of my favorite actors on the cast. . . I'm sure I can find t.v. knitting around here somewhere.

A Shawl Interlude, New Yarn, More Sweaters and a Dress That Glows in the Dark

It has so far been a Sweater Year.  Yarn has arrived (and will be arriving), for even more sweaters.  To break up this mass of sweater-ness, I cast on a shawl.  Bulky yarn, size 11US (8mm)needles, a lovely quick project made slightly larger than the pattern calls for.  

Nothing says high summer like a heavy, hooded, wool shawl, right?  The yarn is KnitPicks Wool of the Andes Superwash Bulky in the Briar Heather colorway. I am modifying the pattern to extend the hood portion just a bit more.  As it's been on the needles for just about a week, it feels like a nice, mindless, instant gratification knit.

Which brings me to new yarn and the sweaters I plan on knitting with it.

First, there is this beautiful skein of Cat Sandwich Fibers I got from Eat. Sleep. Knit.:

It is the How to Mix Black colorway on the Skinnie base, which will become a Ripple Bralette.

Next is the yarn for a Love Note sweater:

KnitPicks recently came out with new Felici sock yarn colorways.  When I saw the Sally colorway, I knew I needed a Sock Arms sweater. 

There are two more sweaters I am still sorting out the yarn for; a My Boy Lollipop and a Half Moon Tee, (yes that last one is colorwork, which isn't my favorite technique, but I need that sweater).  

Today I also cut out one more Popover Dress.  I hadn't planned on this one.  I just kept thinking about the fabric.  The fabric that had been bought for some menswear style pajamas.  Woohoo!  Glow in the dark pj's!  Which really would be awesome...until I realized the fabric was just a bit stiff and the pajama pattern a bit fussier than brain space would currently allow.  Glow in the dark dress it is!

To go with my glow in the dark night sky dress I have a bat belt that feels like the perfect accessory. (At some point I will remember to buy washers for pattern weights.)  

I am thinking this will be most of a perfect outfit for a witch themed fundraiser for a local domestic violence charity that happens in a few months.

The actual sewing will likely take place next week when it is supposed to be too hot to even think about sweaters or knitting.  Who am I kidding?  I will totally still knit.

I have some thoughts. It may get a bit swear-y.

A rather well-known white man in knitting circles, the Sockmatician, has behaved appallingly.  He posted things on Instagram against the BIPOC community that he needs to apologize for.  His husband proceeded to post ever more things that compounded the problem, including placing the blame on the BIPOC community for the Sockmatician's recent hospital stay.  At a fiber festival this weekend, when confronted by a Person Of Color about his post, Sockmatician apparently went on the attack, quite literally. ( I had this linked but have no desire to accidentally target the person he went after or the others involved.  You have internet, look it up if you must).

What the actual fuck?

He's a gay white man.  None of these things give him a pass to behave this way.

This is shit behavior.  It is not acceptable towards anyone,(though personally, I make exceptions for nazis and similar. Tolerance only stretches so far).
So, I shout into the black hole that is the internet, from my tiny, mostly unnoticed platform; " Don't be an asshole to people based on appearance(gender/race/religious garb/everything else I can't think of right now)!"
Help where you can, when you can.  Listen, don't assume you've got things right.  Be kind.  Be respectful.  Stand up to assholes.  My personal actions tend to be minor and local, as I rarely leave the house.  I donate to various people and organizations when I can.  I know it is not enough.  I will keep trying.

Knitting helps.






[A little context for those who don't know me personally so you know the perspective I am coming from. I grew up in Northern California in the '80's and early 90's. I am a white, cis-gendered woman, an introvert that is frequently socially awkward, who has been an active duty military spouse for the last twenty-two years.  Happily, he is now retired, (I got a lovely letter of appreciation.  It's in the back of a closet.)
What this really means is I can now speak my mind without repercussions to my husband's career, (please do not tell me this is not a thing, it very much has been, in my experience.)  Sadly, I am out of practice and rather angry so eloquence may not be achieved quite yet.]

Just a wee change that most won't notice

The name of the blog has been changed.  It seemed appropriate and timely to do so.  The url is the same.

Some Finished Knitting, Actual Sewing Progress, and Discworld Adoration

I finished my Special T!  I made it a bit shorter, but other than that, followed the pattern.  I adore it!  The Berroco Remix Light makes for lovely, wearable top.  I may be contemplating a couple other colors to make more.

I also finished one of my Rose City Rollers:

And even cast on the second one!  At this rate, they may get done before the end of September..maybe.
The body of my Shiny sweater got bound off today, though I am going to rip it out and add an inch to the body, as I made it shorter, but wasn't sure how the sweater was going to sit. My fault for also making a size with almost no ease instead of the suggested six inches.  Still like it.  Highly wearable. It (quite accidentally) matches a Halloween themed circle skirt I bought more than a year ago.

Earlier this year I bought Gretchen Hirsch's latest sewing book. My goal was to make simple, wearable pieces that would use up some of my rather large fabric stash. 
In a surprising turn of events, even to me, I got out fabric, traced patterns, bought notions, and actually cut out the first three dresses I wanted to make! 

Two are for me, the third is for Daughter.  Unsurprisingly, hers the blue one.  I still need to figure out where to set up my sewing machine though, so it may take me a little while to get them sewn up.

I started reading the Discworld novels in the late '80's.  They are still some of my favorite novels to re-read, especially when things get stressful.  Sir Terry Pratchett (gnu) is one of my favorite authors, ever.  So when I saw this bag at Discworld Emporium it had to be mine.

As I tend to view myself as a combination of Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax (with a dash of Miss Susan), this bag is perfect.  Happily, it is a good sized, heavy canvas tote bag as I will be carrying it around until it disintegrates.

Happy Fourth of July

We tend to be low key around here.  Husband and I went out to have a drink at our new favorite place:

That is a glass of Sif's Passion, a little sour (with passion fruit and guava, very tasty), but no where near as face-puckering as Husband's Watermelon Sour(that I could barely sip).  The knitting is my in progress Special-T.
It's actually unusual that we left the house on a holiday.  The taproom was quieter today than is was going to be tomorrow though.
There is even less enthusiasm than usual for the holiday this year.  We are all anxious and distressed at where things are and the governmental goings on.  I am NOT okay with tanks in Washington D.C.(amongst soooo many other things), nor are we looking forward to tonight in a normal, suburban neighborhood...at least one member of our household suffers from PTSD, and small (and not so small) fireworks are quite popular in the local area
. 
We will put food on the grill.  Hopefully, the detonations will stop before midnight.

Hot Water, Finished Objects,Arbitrary Goals, and Some Current Event Commentary

Around here we have squirrels.  Everywhere. They dig in the lawn and the flowers, herbs and food plant pots alike, peanuts found in the most unlikely spots on a regular basis.  A sprinkle of cayenne slows them down, but cayenne degrades rather quickly when left out in the elements.
We have dried arbol chiles in the pantry.  Half a handful were chucked, seeds and all, into a mortar and pestle.  After a bit of pulverizing, the chiles were dropped in a large container, with some dried rosemary, and doused in boiling water.

The resultant infusion will be strained, placed in a spray bottle, then have some neem oil added to it.  This combination should deter most bugs and critters.  We shall see.
The baby socks and hat have been completed and gifted.

My summer Autumn League pullover has also been finished:

Which means the arbitrary goal of fifteen projects completed for the year...was achieved before the end of June.
My brain has kindly supplied yet another arbitrary goal/time frame in which it seems to think I can finish another three sweaters.

From left to right they are: Shiny, Ripple Crop Top, and Special-T. (Shiny has been on the needles since late July 2018. I really do need to finish it)  Two weeks is totally reasonable right? 
The Ripple Crop Top actually went to Barbarian Brewing with me this weekend!

Two hundred percent of my previous annual goal? Sure! I can do that!  (Just have to skip some housework and sleep.) Of course, I've finished most of the smaller projects on my needles and there aren't many small items on my "to knit" list and at least two of the sweaters I want to finish this year (only one of which is on the needles) require a solid 1500 to 2000 yards of yarn...so maybe aim for one hundred and fifty percent of the annual goal?  Totally reasonable.

As for current events; most of you probably saw something about an announcement on Ravelry. It was mentioned on various news outlets and late night talk shows.  The new policy is a step in the correct direction.  Ravelry is a private company (run by good people), this is totally valid.  I don't just stand with Ravelry though;  I stand even more with the Ravelers who reported those on the site being malicious, who pushed for action to be taken.  Speaking up is difficult; more so when you are personally threatened.  To all those that continue to speak up, to push, to fight; you are understandably tired, I hope you are safe, and thank you.

Happy Solstice!

We went to a barbecue this afternoon.  It was about 60*F.  It also rained.  I lamented not bringing a jacket and gloves to the park.  Yay summer?
My plants continue to give it their all though. 

The raspberries will be ripe, eventually:

Tomorrow is supposed to provide us with the perfect weather that we hoped for today.  Husband and I will likely hit Barbarian Brewing to sample their new stuff for this week. 
Tonight,  we will drink local and semi-local mead while nibbling fresh strawberries.

May your barbecues be warm and your beverages tasty for the shortest night of the year!