What I made, by Sharon

We went on a 4 day holiday from Boxing day until Tuesday. I'll tell you all about it on Friday - I didn't have the energy to write a post when we got back yesterday. Because I knew we were going to be spending a fair wack of time in the car, on Christmas morning I cast on a simple project (the body of Sock Arms ). I did not expect to get up to the yoke, and almost through the front in 5 days, but there you have it. I'm putting this aside now to take on out next short holiday, which is happening in a mere week from today. I started a new book while we were away, another NetGalley review  book. Like last week's book, this is a re-release.  Called Mazel-Tov , it is a memoir, set in the 80s about a student who gets a job tutoring in the children in an orthodox jewish family. It's funny seeing it from a non-jewish point of view, I grew up jewish and orthodox, although never particularity observant. I'll probably follow it up with Jew(ish) , a book I got a little whil...

Or longtime cardigan , as I like to call it. I didn't really enjoy the knitting that much. It starts with a provisional cast on for the back neck, and because of the way these things work, it will always be offset by half a stitch. Did not stop me trying to make it match up though. Then I had to alternate skeins because the dyer (that would be me) didn't quite get the same colour in each skein. In the end it looks like a really subtle fade, but alternating while using a mohair carry along was annoying. It wasn't until after I'd finished that I realised I could have just plied it and saved myself  the grief.  It took me a month to finish this, and I was kind of bored and over it by the end. And then I finished it, blocked it, put it on and won't take it off. It's warm, and snuggle and a delightful colour. Sometimes I use a pin (or DPN) to hold the front closed, sometimes I let it fly free. So a win, in the end, even though it took a bit to get there.

Everything this week  is fresh and new and fun and good. Starting with the knitting, which is a pair of Rye Light Socks for Leon. It's just a simple pair of socks that were perfect for our long weekend away  I love knitting with yarn I've dyed myself, it adds another layer of enjoyment to an already fun process.   I've also got some "new" yarn - I dyed up the last of the undyed sock yarn I bought in July . I can't believe I've dyed 5 kilometres of yarn, and knit all but this last 200 gram hank in the last 5 months! I dyed it to go with the self stripping Christmas yarn Dani dyed for the Richmond Knitters Christmas party  and I'm going to cast on a Sock Arms , very soon.  I'm reading a NetGalley review copy of Octavia E Butler's Kindred .   They are doing a re-release of an omnibus of a number of her works, and since I had rather been planning to read her I was thrilled to be given a review copy. Kindred  is about a black woman ...

We hadn't been away since June, and this weekend we took Monday off and spent the weekend in Marysville. We love Marysville, a little village in the mountains, and I am lucky enough that my parents own a (shared) holiday house there. We had a lovely time - we went hiking on Lake Mountain ,  trail running the back way to Steavenson Falls , reading, drinking coffee and waking up somewhere else! It was a good weekend. But, I hear you ask, did you do any crafting? Yes, thank you for asking, I did. I cast on a sock for Leon on the Friday, and am motoring down the foot of the first sock. Photos on Wednesday, but it's a fairly simple grey sock. I am very surprised I got the far, because I also knit a fairly significant swatch for the Tracery vest. I'm basically using the chart and re-writing the rest, because I am not interested in knitting colourwork flat. I also brought my folding wheel and spent a little bit of time sitting in the sun spinning. All in all, a very relaxing, mu...

On her Patreon Stephanie Purl-McPhee  released a "how to" for a planned pooling cowl. I thought it would be fun to dye some left over yarn, and make it - maybe for Elise, maybe to donate. The first thing I did wrong was not tie the skein before dying it. I have no idea why I suddenly, after all the dyeing I have done, decided that step was optional. It came out OK, and I untangled it. The problem is, I can't say for sure that I dyed it in an entirely regular pattern. I f not this won't work at all. I swatched and checked, but it's a bit tricky, because I can't really see where the start of the colour repeat is. I knit on with hope, but got this: Nope. Since no-one really wants the finished cowl, I'm going to rip it and make a nice baby jumper. I mean, no-one is having a baby right now either, but sooner or later someone will, right?  

Yep, I'm still working on my Longline Cardigan. I cast it on a month ago. I think it's some kind of record for me. I tried it on last night, and I think it's just the bottom ribbing and I am done. It will be delicious and snuggly and cosy.  I've also almost finished the book I'm reading - a NetGalley review copy of Detransition Baby , by Torrey Peters. It's a really great read about a transgender woman who really wants to be a mother, her detransitioned ex-girlfriend and his boss - who he has accidentally impregnated. Sounds complicated? It's not, although in the hands of a less skilled storyteller it could be ridiculous. Instead it is interesting, sad, beautiful and even funny. It's about being trans, and queerness, womanhood, race, gender, how we construct ourselves. So many things. Highly recommend. Tomorrow I'm going to have to find a new book and decide on my next knitting project. Fun! As usual, on a Wednesday I am linking up with Kat from As K...

What a strange year it's been. This week I did my third sewing project for the year: oven mitts. For years we've been using silicone ones I bought from Daiso (everything is $2.80!) and one of them broke. I used this pattern from The Spruce Crafts. It wasn't particularity difficult, although I would  say estimated time of an hour and cost of $15 were wildly underplayed.  I'm really happy with them - proper old fashioned oven mitts. I used fancy heat resistant batting, and put a velcro on them, so they can hang off the oven door. I really like the fabric - it matches the tropical theme I have going.  Now what should I sew next? Maybe some cushions...

Actually, pretty much identical . I'm still knitting   Longline Cardigan . It's got a sleeve on it now. I'm not loving it, or at least not loving it for right now. I think it will be an amazing warm hug for next winter, but not so much for summer - if summer ever comes. We're in the middle of a surprising cold snap, although today is nice and sunny. I'm still reading N.K Jemisin's The Kingdom of the Gods. Only because I had just started it last week. I'm three quarters of the way through and really enjoying it, although I don't think it's as good a book as the previous ones in the series. Spinning is going to look the same until I finish the singles. Six bobbins of even grey yarn. I really haven't found that much time to spin. I have no idea what is happening to my time. We are starting to go out a bit more, but I'm still (mainly) working at home, and we are not that busy. Come back on Friday and I might be able to show you something I'v...

Every year the Richmond Knitters have a Christmas party (I blogged about last year here, 2018 and 2017 ). We got to do it again this year! We haven't been able to meet up as a group since March, and here we were, finally together. Longstanding traditions were upheld: Dani from   Halfbaked Hand-Dyed made us a particularly beautiful ichmond Knitters  colourway  There was an ornament swap. I made these the night before. They are from Elizabeth Zimmerman's Christmas Fiddle Faddle . They looked pretty scrappy, so I didn't include them. The Richmond Knitters ornament game is strong - I wish I'd got some pictures of the gnomes, they were so cute. I did win a door prize of this beautiful Madeline Tosh Laceweight yarn. Mainly though it was the delight at catching up with friends in person, laughing and  chatting  and knitting together.   

  I mentioned I joined the Ixchel yarn club . She does her subscriptions for three months, and here are the stunning skeins I received: They are all merino / silk / nylon, so they are soft and hardwearing This is November and  December together: Each came with information about the inspiration, being an artist, and a pattern that would work with the yarn.  I recommend checking out Charly's blog , where she talks about sheep breeds and puts her updates. I won't be extending my membership because I like to buy yarn with a purpose, but these are so pretty. i really wanted to support Charley, who is an amazing fibre artist and lived just up the road from me (about 85kms away, but whose counting). So I'm left with two questions - what should I knit with this yarn and 2) Now that I am spinning again should I join her fibre club for next year?

  First Wednesday of the month. Last week flew by, and also I haven't finished or started anything. I finished my first bobbin of yarn - got 200 grams on it, so I'll do two more and have plenty of yarn for Leon's Winter Set. I knit on my L ongline  cardigan. I'm going to start the sleeves, to make sure I'm not going to run out of yarn. I don't really now how long I want the body anyway.  Reading shone this week. I just finished Anne Tyler's Clock Dance (review here ) and started the 3rd book in N K Jemisin's Kingdom of Gods trilogy. I'm liking it so far, but I'm only a couple of chapters in. Quality front cover, anyway. No, the big surprise was Viral BS: Medical Myths and Why we Fall For Them   by Seema Yasmin, which I was given as review copy from NetGalley. It's a collection of columns, rather than a cohesive book, and the title is as good as a description as anything. What's odd is that I thought I'd read a chapter every so-ofte...