Mixed Emotions

Graham would have been 58 today. I miss him terribly, but at the same time, I am so grateful to him for enriching my life.  I still imagine had he lived, we'd spend evenings in the flat he was on the verge of renting the week he went into hospital;  he reading, me knitting. Talking for hours the way we always did. Graham would have really enjoyed the series of history lectures I've been listening to in the evenings the past couple of weeks. We could have resumed are continuous argument about the Sea Peoples.

Between listening to the history lectures, doing a bit a tidying, sticking to my knitting schedule and playing with puss, I keep abreast of the continuing saga of ACM's business practices and the fallout on people who subscribed in good faith to its clubs and magazines. Not to mention the designers, writers, photographers and former employees and contractors who've not been paid or had their work sold on.  For a history click and read the April 25 post.

But for all the angst, anger and bitterness ACM has caused and continues to cause, the Friends  Ravelry group soldiers on.

Some yarn yummies and a cat:

 Three yarns from indie dyers

Wildcraft BFL and Silk Lace in the Tabby Cat colourway

Willow Knits Hand Dyed DK Silk Yarn in Cantaloupe Colourway

The YarnYard Bonny in Old Furniture colourway

Toupie's response to clean sheets

Button for Lady Kina

Lady Kina Sweater with button from Looped Yarn Works

Merino Lace Weight Yarn in Alligator Alley Colorway from Wandering Wool

Organic Merino Lace 50g - Pumpkin from Rebel Yarn  



I saw birds the other day picking up bits of dried grass and twigs. Must be nest building time.

I've been busy. Keeping to my knitting at least one hour a day pledge. I'm doing my first test knit for a designer on Ravelry. It's going really well.

I'm back at work on my Eye of the Partridge Shawl in KP Bare with Donegal Nubs (discontinued).

I love Craftsy. I've learned so much for the knitting classes I've signed up for. The nice thing is getting a pattern to actually make a garment using the skills and techniques you've learned. Being able to watch the videos as many times as needed to understand. And the instructors are fun and they know their stuff. My latest Craftsy course is The Perfect Fit Seamless Crazy Lace Cardigan with Myra Wood. I've watched the first couple of lessons and needed to get some supplies: stitch markers in different colours and a tape measure. Which of course means a trip to Looped Yarn Works. While there, I found a button for the Lady Kina sweater. I was really good: didn't buy any yarn.

So in between trips to the laundry room and my usual weekend tidy, I will be:

• working on the test knit
• knitting at least two gauge swatches for the Seamless Crazy Lace Cardigan using Berroco Remix in Strawberry 

Silver Linings:
Two new books by mates:
Murder Fortissimo by Nicola Slade
Jo Styles Short Story Collection No. 1 by Jo Styles is a selection of 8 short stories from ghostly goings-on to romance by Jo Styles who is regularly published in Woman’s Weekly and Take a Break’s Fiction Feast.

Lastly but not least, pictured above are this week's yarn yummies by Wandering Wool and Rebel Yarn.
Please mark your calendars for the Wandering Wool Trunk Show at Looped Yarn Works on 21 April.

Saturday's post will feature more yarn yummies and some adorable stitchmarkers.

 

  

Above is the Lady Kina after a soak and blocking. Interesting the sweater seems lighter now that it has been washed than when I was knitting it. I've had a ramble through my button collection and nothing seems to fit. Trip to Looped Yarn Works on a button hunt is in order.

One of my great achievements with the Lady Kina was learning to knit continental. I still purled English (throwing). But I am working on a swatch and I have finally mastered Norweigan Purling. OMG the difference in the way my wrist and arm feels at the end of a row is wonderful.

Toupie has had several fits of rapid tail switching followed by mad dashes through the apartment this morning. No vocalizing or meowing, just frenzied movements. I think he needs a trash run to wear him out.

Lady Kina is Finished

Lady Kina Before Blocking

Toupie catnapping

Lady Kina is finished, soaked, blocked, and currently drying. Just need to add a button once it's dry.

In celebration, I set out to consolidate stash to select yarns for the Knit One, Knit All KAL in the Knit Picks group on Ravelry and to start the first of at least two summer tops. In all honesty, I can't do a woe is me how did I end up with so much yarn because I know the answer.

So I've set myself the task of a minimum of one hour knitting each day.

Toupie did have a bit of meow jag this week. Unusual for him, we had quite a convo going for a bit until his insistence told me something was amiss. Yep, you guessed it: empty food bowl.
I have to relate what happened Monday morning of this week: I didn't go out last weekend, because there was nothing I needed, except cat treats. Toupie had eaten all his treats by Friday night. His displeasure was expressed by dashing out the door as I was leaving for work, sitting down in the hallway with his back turned to me. It lasted almost five minutes. Fortunately, I was 15 minutes early and was able to give him space (not that I didn't know he was unhappy about having to eat just food all weekend).

I am always amazed how every tidy ends up revealing more cat toys.

This week’s Silver Linings:

Wandering Wool: Okay, I confess; I had a hard time deciding on which colourway to order first. I finally decided on Alligator Alley. Mark your calendars: Wandering Wool Trunk Show at Looped Yarn Works 21 April from 3:000-5:00.

Travelknitter and Nimuyarns  for lots of hand dyed/painted yummy yarn goodness.

On the needles:

Swatching for the Purless Pullover by Karen Hipsky.

For the KAL, I'm going to try to finish the following by June 30 from Knit One, Knit All:

Diamond-back Bonnet
Kathmandhu Hat
Knitted Clogs
Add a Booties

Start of Another Week

Local Happenings:

Metro Yarn Crawl is April 14-22. Click for details.

Silver Linings:

The Yarn Yard luscious colourways

Yarnmaker a British magazine for hand spinners

Maple Tree Yarns quality natural fibres

And for you Kindle-owning mystery readers

Death in Spriggs Wood by Linda Gruchy

Lady Kina

I’m down to my last few rows of the Lady Kina. And if the weather remains as cool all week, I shall get to wear it at least once.

I'm this close to getting my 15% off at Looped Yarn Works: they are now carrying Quince & Co. Yarns.

March is Marching By

Where did the month go. It's been horridly warm here. So warm in fact it was still 70F at 11pm last night. All the trees are in bud and I saw a butterfly yesterday morning. I've had to run the fan because of course it's a bit muggy with the warmth.

The old saying about clouds and silver linings still holds true. Despite the continuing revelations and convolutions of the KAL/ACM magazines, their sock and lace clubs, a Ravelry group has formed to support and inform designers and writers who've been unpaid. The silver lining is that the call for indie designers, spinners and dyers has been answered and there are spectacular items on offer.

To lift them up, I've decided to weekly feature a Silver Lining list:

Literally Yarn is available from The Yarn Cafe
Swifts, Noseprinnes, Spindles, and Niddy-Noddys are available from Sunflower Swifts and Sublime Spindles
Colorimetry sells hand dyed yarn and fibre goodies both wool based and cotton/vegetable. We have sourced some unusual base yarns including a wool/linen sock blend. This Esty shop is updated on Thursday's.

Lady Kina is still on the needles, but I expect to finish by the March 31 deadline. Wearing the Lady Kina upon completion will require a return of Old Man Winter. So I shall finish, block, and store until next Fall.

Next on the needles will be the Bristol Shirt in Berocco Remix in the Strawberry colourway.

March Madness

I'm getting veg again. The organic Swiss Chard was lovely as was the celery for dipping in hummus or just chomping on.

I'm knitting the Hoover Blanket from Knitty using Berroco Remix. I've finally mastered double knitting.

There's Toupie having a Saturday afternoon kip on an unmade bed dusted with catnip.

We've been visited by the temps of late spring this last week, leaving me scrambling for what to wear and Toupie shedding great clumps. He gratefully agreed to be brushed this morning.

Meanwhile, I shall have to devote time this weekend to switching garments and dusting off the spray starch and iron.

I have two more inches to knit on my Lady Kina but it's kind of hard to knit alpaca and wool when it's 81F at 7pm.

The Freer Sackler has two exhibitions that I want to see. I will have to time my vist between the Cherry Blossom madness and the yearly spring school trip onslaught.