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.