Mid-July Weekending

Did I say I was going to have a relaxing weekend? If so, I must've jinxed it. That's not to say that I didn't get time to myself, but when your Saturday starts with an alarm going off at 5:45 (a certain spouse of mine turned on his weekday alarm without thinking) followed by a thunderstorm, it's probably an indication that things are going to be more exciting than you bargained for.

When I took Ruthie out for her morning walk, I noticed that it smelled like a campfire outside -- different from the smoke from the wildfires, which smelled more plastic-y. When we got to the business district of our neighborhood, I discovered the source:

It's hard to make out what's in the photos, but the black and red storefront you see just to the right of center is a ramen restaurant that caught fire Saturday morning. By the time we walked by, the fire was out, but there were still five fire trucks, at least two police cars (to block traffic), and a truck from the Salvation Army there as well as two news cameras, which you might be able to make out in the photo (one in front of the person wearing the blue shirt and one to the left of that, by the rear wheel of that black SUV). No one was hurt, thank goodness, but the building is now condemned. And it was much more excitement than we're used to on a Saturday morning -- I think Ruthie was a bit overwhelmed by the noise and the lights.

We had thunderstorms and heavy rain on and off all that day, including when I took Ruthie out at midday, and we both got completely drenched even though I'd checked the radar before we left and it was clear! The rain was very welcome, though, and it helped to cool down the temperatures and clear out some of the smoke. And yesterday was beautiful and so much more comfortable.

Some highlights from the weekend include going out to dinner on Friday night, where we were seated right next to my parents (no, we didn't plan it!); picking some more zucchinis that seemed to grow overnight as well as some more ripe tomatoes; making zucchini bread with some of those zucchinis; and sleeping in on Sunday (I made sure to tell the Mister to double-check that his alarm wasn't on when we went to bed). 

This is what happens when a zucchini grows up against the side of your fencing.

I also got to measure and photograph that skein of handspun:

I ended up with about 296 yards of two-ply that's roughly sport weight, though it varies a bit like any good handspun does. Because of the high silk content, it has incredible drape and sheen. I'm very happy with it. I might even knit something with it, and soon!

The weekend ended with dinner with my side of the family for my brother's birthday, for which I made an ice cream grasshopper pie:

It wasn't going to win any beauty contests, but it sure tasted good -- especially because I made the crust with Thin Mints!

The Mister is at a charity golf event today, and I'll be meeting him for the dinner portion. Then he's away on a work trip for a few days, so it'll be just us girls at home -- and I'm going to use his absence to do some stash organization because I can spread things out on his side of the bedroom. I'll be sure to share an update on that later in the week.

Have a good start to your week, and see you back here on Wednesday!

It's Friday -- I Think

As much as I love an extra-long weekend, they do make it difficult to keep track of what day it is. Yesterday I kept thinking it was Saturday, so it was nice to wake up this morning (even if my regular weekday alarm woke me up) and remember it's only Friday. I'd already planned to take a vacation day today, but then the university decided to give us a bonus day off as a holiday and we had a 2 p.m. closure on Wednesday in my office, so my weekend is ending up longer than my workweek!

We had a very low-key Independence Day here. The weather wasn't great -- overcast, hot, and very humid -- so I went for a walk in the morning but then spent the rest of the day indoors. One project for the day was going through my handspun stash (well, part of it, anyway) and pulling out and labeling skeins to take to sell next week at the Twin Set Summer Retreat. Mo helped by attaching the tags after I wrote them out.

I still need to go through all of them to create an inventory, so I don't know exactly how many skeins there are, but let's just say I am feeling very overwhelmed by the amount of handspun I have and really need to focus on using it up, selling it, and/or giving it away!

I also spent some time yesterday working on my Little Plinth Tee preview knit. I was having an issue with it, and it turns out that it's all due to my apparent inability to count, so I had to do a little frogging back. But everything is back on track now, and I have a feeling I will finish it up very quickly now.

It's a bit off center here (the two white markers you can see are the center front), but you get the idea. Right now I'm in the "work even until body measures X inches" part, and everything you see above the ruffle was knit in less than an hour last night.

The most exciting thing to happen yesterday is that after finishing my plying on Wednesday, spending about an hour skeining, and then waiting a good 24 hours for the yarn to dry after its wash, I finally measured the yarn and confirmed that I have enough for the main color of the intended sweater!

It really is as shiny as it looks here! I wish I could show you how much drape this yarn has; you'll just have to take my word for it. I've got approximately 1,168 yards total, which is about 200 yards more than the pattern says I'll need. I've looked at the pattern and done a little math to figure out roughly the proportion of the contrast color I'll need for sleeves versus body, so now I am ready to split up the remaining fiber. I'll share how I'm doing that in a future post.

We don't have a lot planned for the rest of the holiday weekend, although today I'm attempting (this is attempt number four, if you're keeping count) to donate blood this afternoon, and this evening the Mister and I are going to a wedding (the son of one of his coworkers is getting married, so we won't know many people and likely won't stay too late). I'm hosting my mahj group on Sunday afternoon, and that's it! I hope to get some more spinning and knitting and reading it as well as to catch up on sleep (the Mister has been snoring a lot this week). I wish you a weekend full of whatever brings you joy and offer you the greetings of this tiny visitor to my zucchini:

Hello, Monday; Hello, July

I was not very excited for my alarm to go off this morning after a not-so-great night of sleep, but at least it's a short week. And while the heat and humidity are coming back midweek, right now it's 56ºF with a 50º dew point, which means I'm going to have a very comfortable run this morning!

We had a fairly low-key weekend, with the usual chores and errands but also a lot of relaxation time. I started out by finishing up both of the projects that were close to the end, starting with the second Bousta Beanie:

Somehow I used less yarn (about nine yards) on the second hat, despite knitting them exactly the same way. No matter -- I'm very happy with them both! Now they're ready for a bath and a block before they're added to the donation pile.

I also finished up the Benny singles Friday evening, so I was ready to start plying on Saturday:

After several plying sessions over both days, I had one bobbin finished yesterday:

I was concerned about having enough of this yarn for the main color of the sweater pattern I have in mind, but based upon how long it took to fill this first bobbin, I'm feeling more confident. I'll have to wait until I skein up the yarn to know for sure, of course, but there seems to be quite a lot of yardage there. I will continue to ply the rest today, as work allows.

I also started my test knit of the Little Plinth Tee over the weekend:

This is the peplum/ruffle along the bottom of the tee, and I actually think this part is going to be the slowest of the whole project because I have to count rows and work a set of short rows every 12 rows. But I've gotten into a groove now and no longer have to check the pattern as closely, so I don't think it will take me too long to get the rest of it done. Once I pick up for the body and start working in the round, I think it will be even faster. It would be great if I could get the whole thing done before Mo and I leave for our retreat next week, but we'll see. I'm focusing on this week first and will think about retreat knitting next week.

As I mentioned, it's a short week. Obviously we're off on Thursday for the holiday (I'm hoping for an early dismissal from work on Wednesday to kick it off), but I decided to take a vacation day on Friday as well, both because I needed to use up some time and because the Mister and I have a wedding to go to in the evening. I'm also going to try to donate blood again (this is attempt number 4 in the last month) on Friday afternoon; I'll share that saga if anyone is interested, but I'm hoping this is the end of it. In the meantime, I'm hoping it's a quiet week at work given the holiday. I hope it's a good week for you!

Kicking Off a Busy Week

Good morning! Today is the start of a big week for me. I'm leaving Wednesday for SSK, and I still have a ton to do to get ready to leave. Packing is the most important, and that's going to be an extra challenge because I'm trying to go with only a carry-on suitcase because I've got a connection on the way to Nashville and am paranoid about the airline losing my luggage. It's been a long time since I've flown anywhere but Florida, where I have options if my luggage is lost or misplaced, but I definitely don't want to get stuck without my stuff. (I do have a direct flight on the way back and plan to take a tote bag with me so that I end up coming home with more than what will fit in my suitcase, I can check that bag and carry the tote on the plane.)

I did manage to ply that skein of handspun on Friday, and I ended up with about 389 yards of two-ply yarn. It's wildly inconsistent, as I was really fighting with the high silk content the whole time I was spinning it, but that's okay -- it's still pretty!

In real life, it's a bit darker than it appears here, but no amount of fiddling with the photo could give me a more accurate representation.

I have started a new spin, though it certainly won't get finished before I leave. This is Turtle on Polwarth from July 2021 (now the oldest SCF fiber in my stash), and this is the first thing I thought of when looking at the colors:

I can't say for sure that David was thinking of Crush from Finding Nemo when he dyed this fiber, but I think the colors are a perfect match! I'm spinning another traditional three-ply that I'm hoping will be fingering weight; I'm spinning singles that are pretty much the same diameter as my Tokyo singles were, but Polwarth is notorious for poofing up when it's washed, so I expect my yardage will be significantly less.

While I'll continue to spin a bit every day in keeping with Tour de Fleece, my main priority right now is knitting. I have some homework to do for my toy class, and I also want to finish up these socks for Mo before I leave:

I worked on these quite a bit yesterday -- I was just at the beginning of the gusset decreases when I picked them up yesterday -- and I think if I really focus on them, I can easily knock them out before I leave. I'm hoping I can actually finish them today, but that very much depends on work today.

I've decided to take just two projects with me on the trip, mainly in the interest of space. I have another skein of sock yarn wound and ready to go (the socks will be for my mother), and I'm going to take my Mas Vida shawl, as I want to finish it by the end of the month. I'm also planning on taking a Turkish spindle with me so I can continue my TdF spinning, along with some fiber to split up and share -- Jillian Moreno did a fiber swap of sorts last year involving a blow-up kiddie pool and fiber minis, and it's happening again this year (basically you bring up to 8 oz. of fiber to contribute, all the fiber is split up into little bits and mixed in the pool, and you get to take out as much as you put in).

That's it for me for today. I'll be back on Wednesday before I leave -- please keep your fingers crossed that I have no travel delays!

TGIF, Indeed

Happy Friday, friends. It's been a weird week here. My boss was off on Wednesday, which made it feel like a vacation day to me, and a couple of normal meetings were canceled, so my usual schedule was off. Then yesterday I went to get a breast MRI (per the new screening recommendations for those with dense tissue) right smack in the middle of the day, which meant a late lunch and a further disruption to the usual schedule. But we've made it to the end of the week, and today should be a typical day -- whatever that is these days!

Tour de Fleece is continuing, and I'm continuing to rack up the skeins. After spinning my most recent club shipment, I dug out the oldest one still in my house -- Weathered from December 2020 on 50/50 South African fine/mulberry silk. The colors weren't my favorite, which is why it's sat it my stash for so long. I decided to do a quick-and-dirty spin -- all on one bobbin, then wind it into a center-pull ball and ply from both ends. I split it in half lengthwise just to make it easier to draft, in theory, but struggled a lot with it because of that high silk content. Still, I have a full bobbin:

Provided work cooperates, I'll be plying it later today (considering I spun all the singles in just a little more than a day, I think plying in one day is a reasonable expectation).

I did sneak in a little sock knitting on Wednesday evening during my board meeting, and I'm now at the last stripe of leg before I start the heel flap on the second sock.

It would be great to finish this pair up before I leave on my trip next week so I can start a new pair to take with me. I'm actually probably going to only take sock knitting with me, as I think that will be the best kind of knitting for doing while socializing and will take up the least amount of space in my luggage (I'm hoping to go with just a carry-on on the way there, as I have a connection and don't want to end up with lost luggage).

I know I've mentioned my trip before, but in exchanging some emails with Carolyn yesterday, it occurred to me that I might not have given specifics. I'm headed to SSK -- formally the Super Summer Knitogether -- in Nashville. This is my second time going (I first attended back in 2017), and I'm very happy to be headed back. I'll be taking two classes, one on finishing knit toys with Sarah Schirra (of all things gnome fame) and one on color handling in spinning with Jillian Moreno, and also hope to take a trip to Parnassus Books while I'm in town. I'll be flying to Nashville on Wednesday (with a connection in Chicago) and coming home on Sunday. I'm sure I'll be pretty tired when I get home, both from the travel and the extroverting, but I'm really looking forward to it nonetheless. I will be taking my computer with me, but I don't know how much time I'll be spending online.

That's all she wrote for today. Hope you have a great end to your week and some wonderful things to look forward to this weekend!

Spinning My Wheels

It took me a minute this morning to remember that it's Monday; having a Tuesday off is a bit weird, and if I were in charge, I would have shut down the office today as well. I expect that many people will be off today and not much will be happening at work, but I do have two meetings this morning.

We had a very wet weekend, with rain and storms on and off. I did manage to get out and walk both days, and it felt a bit like walking through soup because the humidity was so high. I had grand plans of spending Saturday afternoon at my wheel (as Saturday was the first day of the Tour de Fleece) but got caught up in cleaning bathrooms and doing laundry. Still, I managed to finish up the final bobbin of singles for my combo spin yesterday morning:

I spent about three hours total yesterday afternoon and evening plying, and I still have room on the bobbin (and will likely be filling a second bobbin as well!):

I'll be interested to see how much yardage is in the finished skeins. If I assume an average of about 400 yards per bag of fiber, then I should have somewhere in the range of 1,200 yards, but I would not be surprised if I have more than that. I will say that for projects like this, I am very glad to have my Super Skeiner so I don't have to kill my shoulder winding off the yarn using a niddy noddy!

Finally, I wanted to mention that I did manage to publish my sock pattern Friday afternoon, so you can find it on Ravelry and Payhip if you're interested.

If you're celebrating the 4th tomorrow, I hope you have a wonderful holiday! I'm not feeling especially patriotic this year, but I will certainly enjoy a day off from work and a chance to get together with family.

A Final Spin for the Tour

The Tour de Fleece (and, naturally, the Tour de France) wrapped up today, and thanks to several hours at my wheel yesterday, I finished one more skein of yarn for the year -- well, technically two, if you count the wee mini skein that came with it.

This skein used 11 of the mini batts that came in my giant bag 'o fluff from HipStrings. The tag that came in the bag said simply "TdF 2022 Bits n Bobs," so I have no idea of the content. Obviously there's wool, but what kind, I could not tell you. Similarly, I could identify bits of silk of different colors and some sparkle here and there, but really what I was spinning was a mystery. And I think that's what made it so fun. I picked out the more neutral batts from the bag -- four that were cream with some black silk and a hint of a pale pink, four that were a medium gray, and three that were a dark gray with tons of colorful add-ins -- and split them so that I spun them in that order onto three bobbins. Then I plied them together, and because the batts weren't all the same weight and I split some up, there were obviously some areas of overlap in the transitions. When the first bobbin ran out, I wound of the singles from the fullest remaining bobbin and made a plying bracelet; the mini skein is a two ply created from just those singles when the second bobbin ran out (there were more, but they got all tangled and I decided I didn't want to fight with them).

The finished yarn is roughly sport weight -- I couldn't make my singles as consistent as I do with combed top just due to the nature of the carded prep, so it's a bit thicker in some places and thinner in others -- and very nearly 440 yards. The skein was still a bit damp when I photographed it, but once I'm sure it's dry, I'll weigh it to get a sense of how much fiber I used. The mini skein is about 10 yards of heavy lace weight, and I'm just going to add it to a little baggie I have of small skeins like this that are really not enough to do anything with but are too cute to throw away.

Something I really love about this skein is how it reads as neutral colors from far away, but when you look closely, there are really a ton of bright colors in it. Spinning batts with a lot of textured elements is also a bit outside my comfort zone, so it's good for me to do to stretch my spinning skills. I still have about a dozen batts in the bag, so I'll be spinning more of them soon!

It wasn't my most productive Tour ever, but I very much enjoyed it, and really I think that's what counts. I plan to spin some more this week as well, because the organizers of the Ravelry event have announced that spinning will continue to coincide with the Tour de France Femmes. I didn't even know this event was happening until a couple of days ago, but I really could not have picked a better week to take a vacation!

Same Old, Same Old

We have made it to Friday, friends. It's been a long week. One reason I so rarely take time off from work is that it ends up being incredibly busy both before and after as my coworkers anticipate my absence by loading me up with work, and that's been the case this week. I just need to make it through today and then I get to relax for the next nine days.

I wish I had something more exciting to share, but I'm still chugging along on the sweater. The collar and button bands aren't that much knitting in the grand scheme of things, but the rows are very long and a bit slower to knit because there's the weight of the entire body of the sweater on the needles that has to be manipulated. On the plus side, I am almost done with the short rows shaping the shawl collar (they get shorter as I go, too), so pretty soon I'll just be working back and forth again and will only need to may more attention to what I'm doing when it comes time to do the buttonholes. On my to-do list this weekend is to dig through my button collection to find something suitable.

I'm not knitting quite every spare minute because I'm still spinning for Tour de Fleece. Yesterday was a challenge day, and the challenge for me was just to find time to spin (see the aforementioned piling-on of work). Luckily I had a Zoom meeting for work in the afternoon, one where I had to sign on and listen but didn't have to participate, so it was a perfect time to get in a little time at my wheel. I'm roughly halfway done with the third bobbin of singles, so my hope is that I can finish it up today or tomorrow and then ply before the Tour wraps up on Sunday.

In another instance of same old, same old, I have some disappointing new from the garden. I moved the tomatoes and peppers to the front yard this year because it gets a ton of sun, and they were doing really well (provided we remembered to water them!). The increased sunshine helped with growth, but I'm still dealing with the same old problem of critters getting at my plants. First, some bunnies (I'm assuming) ate Every Single Leaf off my pepper plants; they've started putting out new leaves, but I doubt they'll grow back in time to produce any peppers. Then yesterday I went to harvest my first tomato, only to discover this:

I found another one that had been gnawed on later in the day. I guess next year I need to put some screens or cages around the plants to keep little mouths off of them!

The weekend is shaping up to be very hot and muggy with a good chance of thunderstorms, so I plan to stay inside the air conditioning with my knitting for much of it. I'll likely be back on Sunday with a Tour de Fleece wrap-up and then Monday it will be time for our monthly One Little Word check-in. Have a great weekend and stay cool!

Unraveled, Week 29/2022

Happy Wednesday, friends! It's going to be another hot one here, like it is many places right now, so other than my walk later this morning, I'll be hiding in the air conditioning with my knitting. As per usual, today I'm linking up with Kat and the Unravelers to talk about what I'm making and what I'm reading.

You already know what I'm making -- though I'm hopeful this is the last Wednesday I'll be talking about it. Yesterday I wove in ends and blocked the sleeves, and last night I seamed the shoulders and picked up for the button bands and collar on my brother's sweater. I'm officially done with the cabling now, as this last bit of knitting is all ribbing.

I have not counted how many stitches I've picked up, but it's probably at least a couple hundred. This bit of knitting it's exactly going to be fast, but it's all relative. I've done so much knitting already that it doesn't feel too daunting.

I probably should be focusing exclusively on the sweater, but the Tour de Fleece wraps up this Sunday and I'd like to finish one more skein before it ends. I've completed two of the three bobbins of singles using a selection of batts from HipStrings and just started the third (not shown) yesterday afternoon. I've been spinning during my work meetings, and I have two of them tomorrow.

After doing some serious reading recently, this past week I've turned to some lighter stuff and finished two books.

The Cartographers just came out in March, and I'd had it on hold at the library for a while. It follows Nell, once a promising cartographer at the New York Public Library whose career was destroyed when she found what seemed like a worthless map. When her father suddenly dies and she finds the map hidden among her things, she realizes that it is anything but worthless and may hold the key to the secrets of her family and the death of her mother. This is a fun romp through the world of maps with some added fantasy. The writing isn't anything spectacular, but if you need a page-turner for some summer entertainment, it's a good one. I also found it really fascinating that the basis for all the drama was a real story (be sure to read the author's note at the end). I gave it 4 stars.

Last weekend I found myself without much to listen to in my podcast feed, which meant it was time for another audiobook to accompany me on my walks and runs. I'd seen Crazy Rich Asians the movie and tried to read the book with my eyes once before without success; it turns out that audio was the way to go. It was an entertaining listen in a soap opera kind of way, but after a while the listing of all the designer labels got to be a bit exhausting. I think I might actually like the movie more because it's all visual, but I will say that the narrator did a good job of doing different accents and voices. The book was a fun diversion and did its job as an exercise distraction. I gave it 3 stars.


Yesterday afternoon I decided to start another Maggie O'Farrell book as part of my long-term plan to read all her books, and given the current state of the weather, it seemed appropriate to select Instructions for a Heatwave. I haven't gotten very far in it, but I'm already enjoying being back in O'Farrell's prose.

What are you making and reading this week?

Now That Was a Weekend

Good morning, friends! Even though I am sucking down my coffee this morning, I am feeling rested and refreshed from a weekend that was finally quiet and relaxing. Partly that's due to the fact that yesterday was a rainy day, forcing me to be inside. But we also weren't overscheduled or really scheduled much at all, and that meant plenty of time to knit, spin, and read.

First, I have to thank you for any good thoughts you may have sent my way on Friday regarding my blood donation. I was a bit worried when they tested my hemoglobin and it was too low, but they tested again and I was more than fine. I completed my donation in about seven minutes!

I would have liked to have started off the week with finished sweater sleeves, but I'm not quite there yet. I am close, though! I'm about halfway through the sleeve cap shaping and am hopeful that I can finish up today or tomorrow. Decreases are worked at both ends of every right-side row at this point, so the rows are quickly getting shorter.

How do you like our new duvet cover?

On today's to-do list is to block the fronts and back so that as soon as the sleeves are done, I can seam the shoulders and get started on the collar and button bands. My brother's birthday is tomorrow, but realistically we likely won't see him until the weekend, so this present might still be considered on time!

I did a fair amount of spinning yesterday while reading a library book. I decided that rather than spinning up all 13 oz. of my HipStrings mini batts, I'm going to spin a few skeins using a selection of them in each, and the first one is well underway. This one uses the more neutral batts, three shades of them in a gradient-ish progression, and I'm almost done with the second bobbin. The Tour de Fleece runs through Sunday, so I'm hoping to have at least one more skein complete before it ends.

Finally, some good news from the garden -- looks like we'll have some ripe tomatoes to eat soon!

There was another one starting to change color, too, but the one that's slightly red here was the very first fruit to start growing, so I'm not surprised it's the first one that we'll probably get to eat. I should note that this photo was taken on Saturday, before all the rain, so it's entirely possible that there are more that are changing color today.

How was your weekend?

Unraveled, Week 28/2022

Happy Wednesday, friends! It's been a long week already, even though we're not officially halfway through it. I am looking forward to the week off I am taking at the end of the month, not that I will be going anywhere -- I've taken so little time off from work because I've been working from home that I had hit my limit of accrued vacation time and needed to take some of it or I couldn't earn anymore!

As per usual on Wednesdays, I'm linking up with Kat and the Unravelers today to talk about what I'm making and what I'm reading.

Surprise, surprise -- I'm still knitting sleeves. My brother's birthday is next Tuesday, and it's now looking unlikely that I'll be completely done by then. I did finish the increases on the sleeves (the orange marker on the sleeve on the right above shows where that happened) and the pattern calls for working another two inches straight before starting the sleeve cap shaping, but there's an important note in that instruction: work two more inches or to total length desired under the arm. I double-checked the measurements my sister-in-law took for me using one of my brother's store-bought sweaters, and it's a good thing, because he needs more length than another two inches. His total length from the underarm is 19.5 inches. Right now, I'm at about 16. So I still have a bit of knitting to do. And I have to say that I'm feeling much less stressed about this project since I told myself that it's no big deal if it's not done by next Tuesday -- after all, my brother isn't expecting it, and even if he was, he won't be wearing it anytime soon!

I started a new spinning project last night for Tour de Fleece using a set of mini batts from HipStrings. I have no clue what's in them, so this is going to be a very fun spin!

Reading has been slower this week, unsurprisingly, so I've only finished one book. But it was a good one!

The Painted Drum is the next book we're discussing for the Erdrich-along, and it is a bit different from the previous books we've discussed. In this book, we learn the origin story of Fleur Pillager, one of the central characters in many of the previous books we've discussed, but she's really a minor character in this one, as she's only in one part of the book and is a baby for that part. But this book is classic Erdrich -- gorgeous, complex writing that requires the reader to slow down and fully appreciate it. There is tragedy in this book, but out of that tragedy we get a beautiful story of sacrifice and healing that provides a fuller appreciation of Indigenous customs and ritual objects. I gave it 4 stars.


I finished the book yesterday evening, so I've only just started my next book, The Cartographers. I'm only a chapter in, but I can tell that it's going to be a lighter read, which is just fine with me.

What are you making and reading this week?

Can I Get Another?

Another weekend, that is -- this one went by way too quickly! After last weekend, when I was busy cleaning and cooking and doing all sorts of things, I really wanted to have the weekend off. Alas, that was not to be. Saturday involved cleaning and a lot of laundry (five loads!), and yesterday had three Zooms. Two of those Zooms were knitting related, but that's a lot of time spent in front of the computer.

On the plus side, I did manage to finish up my first finished skein of the Tour de Fleece -- finally!

This is Southern Cross Fibre 50% superfine New Zealand Merino/50% silk that I spun end to end and chain-plied. I wish you could see this in person to get a sense for how much drape it has! I was skeining it up while I was on my first Zoom of the day yesterday, and Mary asked me how much yardage I expected it would have after it was washed. I explained that while my Super Skeiner makes a two-yard skein, yarn usually shrinks up after it's finished, both because I wind it under tension and because the twist in the wool reactivates when it's washed. I conservatively estimated that my skein would measure 60 inches around once dry -- but it's actually closer to 66, so I have nearly 540 yards in this skein!

It's most definitely a light fingering, and the shine on it is really amazing. Don't ask me what I'll use this skein for -- I have no idea!

Meanwhile, I've continued to work on the sweater sleeves and have just joined a second skein of yarn to each. I have three more sets of increases to work.

It's very likely that I won't finish the whole sweater by my brother's birthday -- there's still quite a lot of knitting and finishing to do, and I have only about a week left -- but I don't think he will mind one bit if I  give him a sweater in progress as his gift. He's certainly not going to be wearing it anytime soon!

I did have to pause this knitting briefly yesterday when I had MacGuyver a way to keep my Fitbit in action after the connector to the wristband completely broke off yesterday. I ordered a new one, but it won't be here until later in the week and I want to keep my step streak alive. Knitting to the rescue!

I used some unknown yarn from my scrap bag and knit a cuff that comfortably covers the tracker. I figure if it gets gross from exercising in it, I can just toss it when I'm done. But so far, so good!

How was your weekend?

Good News and More Good News to Come

I haven't formally declared Friday to be a day for encouraging or happy news on the blog, but it's starting to be a regular occurrence. Something about the end of the week, when we're all ready for work to be done and the weekend to start, seems like a good time to focus on the positive. So I have some more of that today.

First of all, our family has finally been reunited, as the Mister finally tested negative on Wednesday! He'd felt pretty much back to normal last Thursday and really only had a few days of sickness, but we were being very cautious and staying apart/wearing masks until we were sure he was no longer contagious. I'm still sleeping in the guest room until I have a chance to strip the bed and wash everything (and to be perfectly honest, I haven't minded the snore-free sleep!). Rainbow actually was sleeping with me until last night because I think she was anxious about her dad, but her only bad sleep habit is stealing the covers.

Speaking of Rainbow, we decided that it was high time she get her booster shot, so we took care of that yesterday:

The cutout behind her is Dr. Jonas Salk, who you have probably heard of for his efforts to create the highly effective polio vaccine, but you may not know that his research and the trials for the vaccine where done here in Pittsburgh. Fun fact: That cutout used to live in my office because of a big event we did years ago to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the polio vaccine!

After yet another hiccup with the sweater sleeves (I apparently wasn't paying enough attention and knit a half dozen or so rows on only one sleeve rather than both), they're back on track. I've finished the first section of increases and have eight more sets to go. Here they are with my hand for scale:

I think I really need to buckle down and work on these every moment I can find if I want to get the sweater done on time, especially because I need to allow time for blocking and drying. Of course, if I don't manage to get it done, I'm sure my brother will be happy to get an almost-done sweater as a gift.

I am still spinning a bit each day for Tour de Fleece, and as of this morning, this is all that's left to spin to finish the singles for this project:

That's maybe an hour of spinning time left, so I'm hoping I can squeeze that time in today, provided work cooperates.

As to the additional good news to come, it's some really good news. You may remember that almost exactly a year ago, my brother- and sister-in-law lost a baby. A few weeks ago, they told us they were expecting again, and on Wednesday, they went into for their scan to find out the sex. This was the sum total of the communication we received from my brother-in-law afterward:

Yes, that's exactly what you think it is in the middle! He'll be making his arrival around Thanksgiving, so this rainbow baby will be needing some fall/winter knitwear. Once the sweater is done, I'll be knitting some tiny things for my new nephew -- and Rainbow has already started a crocheted blanket that is flying off her hook!

I hope you've found some happiness and joy this week in spite of, you know, everything. Happy weekending, friends!

Unraveled, Week 27/2022

One really nice thing about having Monday off is that on my second day of the week, it's already Wednesday, arguably my favorite blogging day, as it's the day I link up with Kat and the Unravelers to talk about what we're making and what we're reading.

What I'm making shouldn't come as a surprise -- until further notice, it's my brother's sweater.

I had a bit of a hiccup on Monday night in which I managed to forget to do the cables on one of the two sleeves, so I had to rip that one back and reknit a half dozen rows. Then I discovered that I crossed a cable where I shouldn't have on the other sleeve, so I had to fix that (fortunately I only had to drop those four stitches and pick them back up). Now, though, I seem to be on track. There are a lot of increases to do -- something like ten increases every four rows, then eight every six rows -- and the new stitches need to be incorporated into the stitch pattern, so this isn't something I can do while reading with my eyes, but that just means I've primarily been working on it while watching TV in the evenings.

Meanwhile, I'm also trying to squeeze in at least a little spinning every day for Tour de Fleece, and the bobbin is slowly filling.

The strip of fiber left to be spun is shrinking (it's maybe a couple of feet long now), so I'm hoping that these singles will be done before the week is out.

Reading has been continuing, though perhaps at a slightly slower pace this past week because life has just been busy. I've finished three things since last week.

Do you remember a couple of years ago when quite a lot of people read and loved The Murmur of Bees (me included)? Well when I saw that an Amazon First Reads offering last year was another book by the same author, I didn't even bother to read the synopsis before picking it. It turns out that was a good move. In Tears of Amber, we find ourselves following two families in East Prussia, the far eastern edge of Germany, as they struggle to survive World War II. I have read many books set in this era but none quite like this. These families are German and somewhat loyal to that identity but not necessarily supportive of the Nazi regime. They have lived for years with the neighbors who are suddenly enemies and are really more interested in farming their land than fighting. This book reminds us that while there were plenty of civilians who supported the regime's policies and believed in its principles, there were also those who simply wanted to live in peace, and it really brings home the devastation of war even to those who aren't on the front lines. I gave it 4 stars.

Over the weekend I found myself with not much to listen to in my podcast feeds, so that meant it was time to borrow on audiobook from the library. I have slowly been making my way through the Maisie Dobbs series and found the fourth book was available without a wait, so I started listening on Saturday and finished it up yesterday. In Messenger of Truth, Maisie is charged with investigating the death of an artist shortly before the opening of an exhibit of his work. The year is 1931, and while the horrors of WWI are still echoing, there are also some hints to what is coming in WWII. Maisie also wrestles with the very real consequences of what life is like for the haves versus the have nots. I enjoyed this book, though I figured out one storyline about halfway through. I gave it 3 stars.

Finally, I finished a short story from Kate Quinn that was another Amazon First Reads selection for this month. I've gotten pickier in what, if anything, I pick from this program, but I have enjoyed my previous reads from this author and thought I'd give it a try, especially as it's only about 50 pages long. Signal Moon is part historical fiction and part science fiction, with dual timelines set in 1943 and 2023. If you enjoyed The Rose Code, then you'll like the historical setting and be familiar with the women who listened for enemy radio transmissions that were then passed along to the codebreakers at Bletchley Park. But the science fiction element felt a bit out of place to me. As I said, it was a quick read, so I won't discourage you from reading it if you like Kate Quinn's books (especially if, like me, you can get it for free), but I don't think it was her best effort. I gave it 3 stars.

Last night I started the next selection for the Erdrich-along, The Painted Drum, and I am delighted to be back in Erdrich's world. Her writing is just exquisite. I haven't gotten very far because I have to read it slowly, but I hope I'll be able to get through the book in time for next weekend's discussion.

What are you making and reading this week?

An Alternate Celebration

Good morning, friends! Today is, of course, July 4, Independence Day here in the United States, but I'm not too keen on celebrating that holiday today given recent events in this country. But it is a day off for me, which is cause for celebration anytime, and I'm finding some other reasons to be happy today.

First, an update: The Mister is feeling almost completely back to normal and has been out to run and bike over the weekend. He did another test this morning and sent me this photo:

So he's still positive, but see how pale that line is? We're hoping he'll be negative in another day or two, but for now he'll continue to isolate in our bedroom. The other good news is that neither Rainbow nor I has had any symptoms (other than my psychosomatic ones early last week), and we seem to have gotten into a good routine for meals and such.

I did not get a ton of crafting time in over the weekend because I spent a lot of time outside (exercising and working in the garden), but I have made progress on my brother's cardigan!

Both pocket linings are complete (and they and the front pieces are the same size, despite how they look in this photo), and I have started the sleeves, which I'm knitting at the same time. Once the Mister is fully recovered, I'll be blocking the back and fronts and seaming the shoulders so I can knit the button bands and shawl collar; the pattern calls for doing that first before setting in the sleeves, which makes sense because it means less weight on the needles. I've got 15 days to finish this sweater, and I suppose I should also look to see if I have appropriate buttons now in case I need to order some.

I also spent some time spinning over the weekend, as it is Tour de Fleece time and at this time of year I try to spin every day the Tour de France rides.

I think I've got about a quarter to a third of this fiber left to be spun into singles and I'm hoping to make a decent dent in it this afternoon while I watch last night's episode of Endeavour (I decided to watch a Disney+ series with Rainbow instead of watching in real time).

In addition to getting all the enjoyment I can out of having a Monday off, I've also started out the day by making donations to the National Network of Abortion Funds and Josh Shapiro's campaign. Perhaps I'll also contact my elected officials later. Rainbow and I plan to make a bread pudding later on, and the two of us will have dinner with my parents tonight (the Mister will get his dinner to go). I doubt we'll watch the fireworks, but I'm sure we'll hear them.

Whatever you're doing today, I hope you find something enjoyable and joyful in this Monday.