Friday Finishes

TGIF, friends! Later this morning we'll be headed to the airport; I'm glad we have a flight at a civilized time today and I can enjoy my coffee and breakfast at home before we need to get on the road. I'm happy to report that I'm feeling almost completely better, though it's hard to tell whether my nose keeps dripping because of the last gasps of the sinus infection or because of the frigid weather that's moved in. Staying home on Wednesday proved to be a good move because it was chilly and rained all day, which means had I gone to the retreat, I likely would have been sitting around in wet clothes all day.

This week has been about finishing things up, at least as far as my knitting is concerned. I did in fact finish the charity hat on Wednesday night, and it used up a whopping 440 yards of leftover yarn!

Pattern: Sagamore Flyover Hat (Ravelry link) by Jennifer Lassonde, size L
Yarn: Fibernymph Dye Works Bounce (superwash merino/nylon) and Bedazzled (superwash merino/nylon/sparkle), held triple
Needles: US 7 (4.5 mm) and US 8 (5 mm)
Started/Completed: January 11/January 14
Mods: changed the crown decreases

I have knit this pattern many times before and likely will again. It's very intuitive and easy to memorize and is a bit more exciting than a plain stockinette beanie. Plus, it works really well with fingering held triple. I used leftovers from a baby sweater and four pairs of socks, purposefully choosing colorways with bright shades. My only modification, which I've done every time I've knit this pattern except for the first, was to work more traditional spiral decreases of 8 stitches every other round. The pattern has you decrease much more quickly, leading to a scrunched-up crown that I don't care for. I had to do a little finagling to keep the stitch pattern consistent, but the thought required was minimal.

I also finally got around to doing the embroidery on my recent design sample. It didn't take very long, but I wanted to do at least some of it during the day when I would have some light to take photos for the pattern, and I didn't manage to find time for that until yesterday after Ruthie got picked up by the dog sitter.

The final thing I finished this week was the second swatch for my sweater. I went up to a US 8/5 mm needle, just to see, and it turns out to have been a wise choice because I perfectly matched stitch gauge and got even closer on row gauge. I'm not going to be starting the sweater until we're back from our trip, but at least now I know I'm ready to wind some more yarn and cast on when we get home.

There's also been a bit of stash enhancement this week. Although I am still very focused on using up the yarn I have, I really only bought yarn once (I think?) last year and decided I deserved a little treat. Plus, I wanted to support my friend Lisa, and she was having a new year's sale -- and offering a free gift with every purchase, too. And then she recorded her first podcast of the year and announced winners for the last quarter of her 2025 make-along, and wouldn't you know I was one of them? So now I have some new pretties:

The free gift was the two mini skeins on the left, along with some attached stitch markers. My purchase was the two skeins in the center, Traveler (sport weight) in Gathering Seashells and Bounce (fingering) in Tracks in the Snow. My prize was the set of Inversibles on Mountain Tweed (fingering). I don't have anything specific planned for these skeins just yet, but I'm sure I'll figure it out.

As for trip knitting, I am only taking the socks I started for my mother when we were in Florida because I haven't touched them since we got back and we're not checking bags, so I don't have much space. My knitting time is likely to be limited, in any case, because we've got a full schedule of activities related to the bat mitzvah and have plans to visit with some friends who moved to Chicago last year. Plus it's going to be cold, maybe too cold to knit!

I hope you can stay warm and cozy this weekend -- have a good one!