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Monday, February 28, 2022

Productive Weekending

Though it went by too quickly, as it always does, the weekend was a good one. We all caught up on sleep after a not-so-great last week, the sun was out, and we had few things on our schedule, which provided us all with some time to rest and recharge. My mother came home on Saturday afternoon (she's staying a few weeks to get my parents' taxes ready and then will fly back to Florida with us girls in a few weeks), so we had dinner with her on Saturday. And of course there was a lot of knitting. Take at look at my Shifty!

It took me a good hour and a half yesterday to complete the tubular bind-off on the hem, but it was so worth it! I ended up knitting only an inch and a half of the ribbing at the bottom, partly because I wanted to ensure that I saved enough of that skein of yarn for the sleeves and partly because I felt that the body was long enough (and I tried it on to make sure and can confirm that fact!). After I finished the hem, I wove in all my ends on the body before I started the first sleeve. If you look closely, you'll see that I have both sleeves on needles; I'm going to work the sleeves concurrently so that I can be sure they match and that they match the sequence of where I used each skein of yarn in the body as closely as possible. On the first sleeve, I've finished up using my first contrast color and have a handful of rounds remaining on the first background color. When I finish those and join in my second background color, I'll pause on the first sleeve and start the second. It's not an especially fast process, but the rounds are certainly much shorter on the sleeves compared to the body, so I think they will move quickly.

I know I've said it was a good weekend, but of course it was hard to watch the news about what's happening in Ukraine. My grandfather came to the United States from Kyiv more than a century ago, back when it was still part of Russian (and still under the rule of the czar), but we still feel a family connection. It is encouraging to see so much support around the world for the Ukrainian people, and we're hoping that cooler heads and wiser minds will prevail.

9 comments:

  1. Your Shifty is GORGEOUS. What a clever way to work on your sleeves. Especially because when you FINALLY finish one, you'll be almost finished with the second!

    Thank you for sharing that your grandfather is from Kyiv. It must be especially startling for you to watch, given that you likely have distant relatives there right now. It's all so awful - and that's all I can keep repeating. It's so confusing to me.

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  2. Your Shifty is indeed lovely, and it looks like it will soon be done! I've looked at your IG post with the beautiful stained glass window often this weekend, and hope that everyone involved will take those words to heart.

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  3. Oh, that Shifty! It's going to be so great to see you wear it. I don't have connections to Ukraine but I appreciate so much hearing about others. Thank you for sharing yours.

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  4. I am so glad that you had a nice weekend (despite everything), and CONGRATULATIONS for the progress and finishing the tubular bind-off!!

    I'm excited to see how the sleeves go and I wish you a speedy progress. :)

    (The news are so scary for me right now. I am actively trying to calm down, but ... man. I am praying for peace and hope that it will be granted to us)

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  5. Your Shifty is coming along beautifully! I think your plan for two sleeves at once is such a smart idea (they'll match AND they'll be done about the same time!) ... and thank you for sharing your family's story about Ukraine.

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  6. That Shifty just gets better and better. I can't wait to see it finished. What a good idea to knit the sleeves concurrently. The news from the Ukraine is very difficult.

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  7. Your Shifty is really stunning, Sarah! The best one I have seen... truly. I think handspun yarn makes that design just sing!

    I agree with Bonny... your IG post with the gorgeous stained glass window was so moving. My heart is full for the brave people of Ukraine.

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  8. Count me as another IG follower who so appreciated the beautiful stained glass window you posted over the weekend. (It was a bright spot.) And your Shifty? It's terrific, too! XO

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  9. Your Shifty is BEAUTIFUL Sarah. Thanks for sharing your grandfather's story. This whole mess is just so sad and unnecessary. I typically don't go on IG, but I am going to hop over there now to see the stained glass window everyone is talking about!

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