Doughnuts, Unreasonable Craft Goals and Hair

First and foremost; they opened a huge new Albertsons just a few minutes from the house.  Shouldn't be at all exciting right?  Wrong.  It is one of the most amazing grocery stores I have ever been in!  The store has standards like a bakery, meat counter and pharmacy...as well as places where you can grab poutine, a bison burger, fried chicken or a poke bowl.  They make tortillas fresh and there is a bar in the grocery store!  The selection was outstanding.  The produce was some of the best I have seen in ages!  I may have called it "Food Disneyland."  The only down side is that everybody else seems to love it too, so it is quite busy, pretty much all the time.
We may have bought a smattering of their doughnut selection...to taste test of course.  And that giant apple fritter just seemed to hop into the cart.  It was all quite tasty!

I finally finished my Sea Witch hat:

I've put in a bit more work on my crochet scrap blanket:

I also cast on a heavily modified Brenda in Winter Night blue:

I also realized just yesterday, that maybe I should be working on items that I could wear during the Spring and Summer...and I probably didn't need another Winter hat right this instant.  So on top of the list I already had planned for the year, I made a list of things I want to knit to wear in warmer weather.  There are twelve tops on that new list.  Those twelve do not include the five warm weather tops on the original list, nor the six other cold weather sweaters (three for other people) I would like done before Fall comes round again.
And because it is a Summer Knit List, none of the sewing projects (that I cut out last year) are on the list.
Even the brain that came up with these grand plans, trying to rationalize such a crazy amount of things to finish by say, the end of this May (at least for most of the sewing and a handful of the knit tops), is questioning the actual feasibility of this endeavor.
Part of this likely comes from the fact that I cut my hair (which totally requires new clothes, right?).  It's still just a bit longer than shoulder length, but I now have chin length bangs.  This is the most dramatic change in the styling of my hair for a solid twenty years.

Still not sure how I feel about the look yet.  It also requires actually doing something with my hair.  The most effort I've put into my hair most of my adult life is kept it trimmed and dye it red.  This is definitely new territory.

I guess I crochet now....

I finally dove into my basket of sock yarn leftovers and put a Granny Stripe Blanket on the hook.  It took a couple of tries to get things rolling, but there is now a six foot wide blanket started. The extent of my crochet before has been simple edging on random knitting projects and a double handful of festive dishcloths one year. This will be a huge blanket, which is rather the point, my bed is a CalKing.  What it really means, my crochet will get better, eventually.

It's not beautifully planned like some.  This will be a true scrap blanket, working the yarn amount that I've picked next till I run out or am bored of the color.  This...is going to take a good while, about five months at an inch a day.  It is kind of a perfect project for my accidental year of working from stash though.

I also had a sock jump on my needles, because my brain said I needed them.  These are the Kia socks by Dawn Henderson.  The yarn is Junkyarns in the Sophie colorway.

I really need to stop casting on new things, even if it is all stash yarn.

Randomness and Things I Think Are Important

There are a ton of things on the needles right now.  May even get that crochet scrap blanket on the hook soon too!

As I knit quite a lot of gray last year, I made the (unconscious) decision to knit more purple.  The glorious blue-green is the first of three Sweaters for Other People.  As two of those people are over six foot and all three are taller than me I feel it deserves a capitalized title.
The Sea Witch hat finally got cast on.  The Shiny, Datura, Rizzo, as well as the sparkly vanilla sock, in Endora from Blue Moon Fiber Arts, are all for me.  The first Sweater for Other People is the Hyde's Hooded Sweater  for Darling Son.  It will be hooded, long and rather a behemoth, but it's knit on largeish needles so it should go kind of quickly. I hope.

The other thing that is still consuming my personal brain space is the discussion of race in the fiber community.  No, it is not going away.  Yes, it is important.   A few weeks of discussion does not automatically fix a major societal problem in the same way a few rows of stitches do not a sweater make.  I will continue to randomly signal boost it.  This article on Vox sums things up nicely.  This is the blog the lovely humans have started, Unfinished Objects.  The Militantly Mixed podcast was recently brought to my attention, there's a Twitter too!  This kid...he is just absolutely amazing!  Please, go take a peek at Jonah's work.

I am a nerdy, over 40, white woman who rarely leaves her house and who talks more to her knitting than to other humans. I still try to practice what I preach when I do leave the house.  I am frequently awkward, but as that is the normal for me, it's all I've got to give.  This is my favored platform just because, by current standards, I am old fashioned in that I prefer my computer to my phone. 

Whatever method, you have to at least try.

I knit a hat.

It's the Braineater by Vi Caughran, the large size, done in Husband's current college colors (I call it the Boise State Braineater).  Happily, the hat does fit him beautifully...me, not so much!  I do apologize for the less than ideal photo.  It's been raining for days here, so the light is awful...and I did take the shot selfie style and blind.
At some point I will remember to take pictures of the four other projects I've finished so far this year, out of the fifteen I set for myself, all stash. 

As it's Valentine's Day:

And so do I!  I am absolute shite at demonstrating it, but whether we are just internet acquaintances or someone I have known (and likely not seen or even talked to) in more than twenty years;  I love you.  I think of you often.  I probably know what is going on in your life (at least superficially) and wishing good things for you always. (The embroidery pattern is from Urban Threads.)

Please do remember that you are loved.

I swatched.

I am really trying to stick to my list of things to knit this year. Seasons of Love  was an impulse cast on, but uses up stash yarn, so it's not too far off course.  It's also now about three quarters of the way complete and I am trying to finish it by the end of January.

I did pull out yarn for three other projects actually on said list; the Igor'th Thawl. the Hyde Sweater and the Rizzo sweater.  I swatched for all three.  Not huge swatches, but at least four inches (10 centimeters) wide(except the shawl as I just had to like the fabric), washed and blocked so I could even check row gauge.

As I was conscientiously knitting away on things already warming my needles, I couldn't stop thinking about the skein of Nevermore (special colorway for last years Poe kit) from Potion Yarns waiting to become a Corvida.   So I wound the yarn, thinking that maybe it would be enough to just play in the yarn for a bit...it was not.

While the colors are not my usual, the colorway is making me absurdly happy while I work on the shawl.  The finished item will also be perfect with a black dress or three that reside in my closet.

In my defense, the shawl pattern was on the list and kitted up with the yarn already.

The Hedgewitch pattern is another story though.  The pattern has been in my favorites for a year.  Every time I see a finished one, my brain wants to cast on the giant, woolly goodness immediately.  That would require buying yarn, which I've not done since October. 

We do have a craft room, though right now it's rather a catch-all space.  The inversion table, folding chairs, table linens, spare blankets and other random bits have found a home there for the moment.  It is also the lowest priority on the organization list...and it shows:

It's also the first time we've had a room just for the making supplies, (yes, we, it's not just my stuff in there), so I am going to have to find storage solutions.  Previously, if it lived in a bin, it likely was in the garage and if it was in a project bag, it got crammed into the linen closet or a random corner.  Now, there is finally dedicated space...and I am not quite sure what to do with it. ;-)

There has been a discussion...

Mostly on Instagram, in the knitting community there has been an active, seemingly productive, discussion about race.  My reach and audience is....limited.  It would not matter the platform used really, but you have to try.  There was also no way I was not going to say something, even in a minor way.

These lovely humans, aside from making wonderful things, have said it better than I can, as I do not have the personal perspective to do so; ggmadeit, jeanettesloan, su.krita, ocean_bythesea, and thecolormustard. 

Jeanette Sloan also has a lovely page of POC designers and crafters.  Expand your horizons, find more people that make beautiful things.  On Instagram?  Follow Meet Makers of Color.

This is the Swag page of Neighborhood Fiber Co.  there are bits with "Unity" on them.  We are a community.  All of us.  Read a post.  Like a picture.  Buy something gorgeous (or even just a coffee) from (or for) a new to you maker.  Please, do not just sit there.  Listen to what is being said.  Say something.  Do something.  Make our community better by including everyone. 

 

Making

There has been knitting, unsurprisingly.  I finished two Bloody Stupid Johnson hats

The kids picked the colors they wanted and absconded with them almost as soon as they were off the needles.
I went stash diving, (something I've been doing often this year already), as soon as the Seasons of Love wrap by Tif Neilan went live.  It's been a joyous knit, which might explain why I am over half way through the wrap in a rather short time frame.

I kept it simple with only two colors.  The gray is Deep Unrelenting Gray from Blue Moon Fiber Arts Targhee Worsted and the tweedy cream is Lion Brand Fishermen's Wool in Birch tweed

I made lotion and lip bars.

The recipe I found online wasn't bad, but not quite right for the personal preferences of the house, so they got melted down and re-worked to much better effect, though not as entertaining to look at.

I pulled out a bunch of yarny fingering weight odds and ends to start on a Granny Stripe blanket, which is crochet and there is no rhyme or reason to the colors I put in the bag, so we will see how it works out.

I've started some seedlings already since our warm weather season isn't overly long.  I also needed to replace the catnip plant as it was gotten rid of during the move.  I haven't been able to find a replacement locally.

It's very much been a mentality of use what you have, to make what you actually use.

The house is mostly put together, some refinement as well as extra shelves and the like are still needed, but there is no doubt we are making it our own:

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!