What a Week

TGIF, friends. It's a dark and rainy Friday here; a cold front is coming in, bringing an end to the summery weather and the arrival of Sweater Weather (I'm not sorry -- I want to wear my woolies!). Despite a calm week in terms of workload, it's been a long one.

First, an update on the washing machine: The technician came on Wednesday and, unsurprisingly, couldn't do anything because he didn't have the right parts. But the Mister, who isn't very handy around the house but is really good at Googling things, had found the parts online and ordered them, and when they showed up shortly after the technician's visit, he thought he'd try to see if he could replace them. I guess it was an easy fix, because shortly afterward, we were doing laundry again! So far, everything seems to be fine, and I'm reassured that the washer would not turn on if the door wasn't locking, so at least I don't have to worry about flooding the laundry room.

I have made only very small start to my new socks, but I think doing a tubular cast-on and ribbing in black yarn at night deserves a little recognition. I have a bit more ribbing still to do and then I'll start the colorwork.

My main focus the past several days has been spinning (I know, you're all shocked). I am hoping to finish up these singles today:

I still have not decided how I am going to ply these, though I have a little time before I have to decide. When I started spinning, I thought I would do a two ply, plying from both ends, but the singles are turning out rather fine, meaning a two ply would be a lace weight. So then I started considering chain-plying, which would get me a fingering. I posted a poll on my Instagram Stories with photos of plyback samples, and the majority of people seem to be in agreement with that.

Two ply on the left, chain-ply on the right

I will be working on finishing up the singles today in between a lot of baking -- my parents are headed to Florida tomorrow, so I offered to host Friday night dinner, and that means baking challah plus a cake for dessert (I'm trying out a recipe for Apple Cider Donut Cake!). Tomorrow, we're running (or running and walking) as a family in the neighborhood 5K that's a fundraiser for the local Boys & Girls Club -- it's returning after several years away due to the pandemic. This will be Mo's first race, and I told her I'd stick with her, so I'm sure this will be my worst time ever, but that's okay. We're also signed up for the local Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving, so this can be seen as a training run.

Finally, I did want to mention some design news! I have two patterns out with Knit Picks, one existing and one new. First, my Obfuscation pattern was chosen to be part of an Independent Designer Partnership Showcase, and I knit up a new sample using a rainbow set of mini skeins:

You can still buy the pattern directly from me, but now it's also available from Knit Picks (linked above), and you can conveniently purchase a mini skein set at the same time if you so choose.

Brand new is a pattern I've been keeping secret for a while: Funnel Vision.

This is a super cozy cowl knit in fluffy Swish Bulky yarn in brioche stitch. If you've mastered basic brioche and want to expand your skills a bit, this is the perfect pattern for it, as it introduces simple brioche increases. I envisioned this pattern as a cowl with a bit of a sweater attached -- there are raglan increases that mimic the top of a sweater yoke, and that shaping helps it sit perfectly atop your shoulders. Plus, you get a bit of extra fabric so you don't get that one spot where the cold wind can get in when you fasten your coat and there's that one area right on your chest that's uncovered. At the moment, this pattern is exclusive to Knit Picks, so you can get it individually (link above) or as part of the Déja Yarn: Single Color Stashbusters collection.