To New England (and back again)

Hello friends, happy (checks calendar) almost October! The last time I checked in it was mid-July! That feels so long ago! I truly do not know what happened, it's just been a busy couple of months. 

I spent five days in New England this month because my sister got married! I loved being back—this was my third trip to New England since we moved away after I finished high school, and I really liked seeing all my old haunts. It was great to see my whole family and to spend time with my new BIL and his family. Of course, we made it out to the beach, and I stepped in the ocean and collected a healthy little pile of shells and rocks!

 

I also managed to break my 35-year streak of never being stung by an insect by stepping in a wasps nest (twice!!) in the woods behind my sister's house. Luckily, I am not allergic, and the wasps only managed to land two stings on me, though we are now over a week past the incident and the sting sites still itch. I feel very badly for the wasps, and I hope that I didn't kill too many of them, and that whatever damage I did to their nest can be easily repaired before winter.

While I was out of town, Coleslaw got to go to camp, where she had a total blast! Despite being properly fall now, it is still stupid hot outside, so she got to play in the pool (which she loves). I missed her more than she missed me, but I think we're both happy to be home and just about settled back into our usual routine. 

 

If you've been following me for a while, you might remember that I started a tradition when I finished undergrad of knitting a white lace table runner for friends and family members getting married. Of course, I had to do one for my sister and her new husband, and I chose the Madrona Lace Scarf pattern by Evelyn A. Clark. I had to keep an eye on the pattern for the column of openwork leaves, but the rest of the pattern was easily memorized, and overall it was an enjoyable knit.

I used Knit Picks Shadow (Bare), and I knit 11 total repeats of the lace pattern before I was pleased with the size. Obviously, it's not a full-length table runner, but it's a good size to place a centerpiece on, and I think the size is flexible enough if they wanted to use it on a hutch or buffet or somewhere else that isn't their dining table. 

Post-Visit

It has been a busy couple of weeks! When I last left you my mother was coming for a visit—we had a very fun weekend together, checking out the farmers' market and thrift stores, and we also went to the train museum for a ride in their antique passenger cars. After our weekend visit, she went out to visit my sister, and I watched her cat at my place, and then she came back to hang out with me for another week. 

 

Coleslaw was obsessed with my mum's cat and wanted to be her best friend, but AggieCat wasn't as interested. Our biggest conflict was that every time Aggie slapped Coleslaw, Coleslaw thought they were playing, so she would become even more exuberant and bouncy! We did finally manage several periods of peaceful cohabitation, but sometimes Coleslaw would really get on Aggie's nerves. It was so nice to see them when they were getting along, though. I did end up getting Coleslaw a new Lamb Chop as a bribe to leave Aggie alone, and it was, shall we say, moderately effective.

I wanted a new knitting project while my mother was here, so I finally pulled out my bag of worsted scraps (technically they range from DK to bulky) and started a new blanket. I've really been enjoying working on it the past couple weeks, and it's knitting up so much more quickly than my sock blankie! It's so cool that I can take what is literally a bag of scraps and turn it into a functional object. I don't know how many squares I can get out of my current scrap stash, but the great thing about these modular mitered square blankets is that I can always go back and add more squares when I have the yarn to do so. 

This week we're working on settling back into our regular routine. I love having my mum and her cat here, but it does change things up in the apartment! 

June-ing Along

Once again, I did not intend to go almost a month without posting, but June has been very busy and hectic and time just got away from me.

June 6th was Coleslaw's birthday, and I can hardly believe that she's two already! We went to the park (which isn't really a special treat, but she still loves it) and I made her a "cake" out of a piece of salmon jerky and peanut butter. 

We're definitely stuck under the heat dome here; our heat warning went into effect at noon on Saturday and is supposed to end this evening. I tried to go to knit group on Sunday, but even just 15 minutes outside made my blood sugar crash almost 100 points and triggered a migraine, so I called it quits and went back home. I haven't stepped outside since then—Coleslaw's been mostly cuddly this week, but we've been playing fetch and wrestling, and I've been putting down some treat puzzles for her to make up for not going to the park. 

Aside from my sweater project, which I still have no photos of, I have two socks on the needles! The orange one has been on the needles for several weeks, and it's my meetings sock. Since I haven't had a ton of meetings or webinars lately, it's pretty slow going. The multicolored sock, on the other hand, I just started Sunday night, and I've been working on it while watching youtube in the evenings. The colors in this yarn are so fun (and even brighter in person!), and I haven't been able to put it down!

My mother is coming for a visit this weekend, and Coleslaw and I are both looking forward to that. This does, unsurprisingly, mean that I need to clean my apartment real fast this evening—fingers crossed I get it all done! 

The Last Month

Well, I hadn't intended to take an entire month off from the blog, but life happened! May just got away from me; I started off the month with an overnight work trip (my last one until conference season in the fall!), I was sick for a while, I had a day trip for work, and before I knew it, it had been a month since my last post. 

And boy, do I have a lot to share from the past month! I finally finished my 13-year socks, and I'm so pleased to finally have these done. They've been my albatross for so long, and it felt good to graft that second to closed.

After finishing the socks, I focused full-steam on my green sweater, and with Coleslaw's help, I got it finished. I did have to rip back several inches of the yoke after discovering a mistake, but even with that small setback, this about flew off the needles.

I then took two days to whip up a Sophie Scarf. I've had this yarn set aside for one for over a year, but I lost the tag ages ago and have no idea what it is. I do know it's at least mostly silk (maybe all silk??). 

Right now I have a sock and a new sweater on the needles. The sweater is Thea Coleman's New York Sour, out of the KP Palette my mother got me for my birthday last year. It's much slower going than the green sweater was, but it's a really enjoyable project so far. 

Last weekend I gave myself a four-day weekend because I realized that it's been ages since I've taken time off to just be lazy at home. It was a nice break; Coleslaw and I hung out, I read a lot, and I worked on my friend's baby quilt for a few hours after not having touched it for three months. I'm pleased with the progress so far, but I definitely need to not let this hibernate again so I have a chance of finishing it while the baby is still a baby!

A sock, a sweater, and a soup

Yes, friends, that is a 13-year-old sock project, and yes, I have finished the gusset decreases on the second sock. I actually managed to figure out where I was in the pattern (and figure out how the heck I did the first sock) fairly easily, and my only complaint with these is that the needles are shorter than I'm used to using, so that slows me down a little. The needles are a vintage set, though, and I'm not 100% convinced that I have a set that matches them exactly, so I'm not really comfortable swapping the needles out. Once I've finished this sock, the set will be retired in favor of my usual seven-inch DPNs. 

I've also reached the point in my sweater where I'm starting to get nervous about having enough yarn. I'm currently on my fifth of seven skeins, and of course this yarn is discontinued. The body is currently measuring about 12.5 inches, and I think my current skein will get me to at least 17 inches, which would leave two full skeins for the yoke. Fingers crossed! I'm really enjoying knitting this, and I'm excited to add it to my wardrobe. I don't know what it is about the lighting in my office, but the green isn't really photographing well here, it's much warmer in real life.

On Saturday I spent the entire day making soup! I started in the morning putting a pound of white beans in the crock pot, and then when those had about an hour and a half left to cook, I prepped a whole bunch of shallots, potatoes, and asparagus. It definitely used up all my spell slots for the day, and left a lot of cleaning up to do, but the end result is about 18 cups of creamy, delicious soup. Getting it all run through my blender was a bit of an ordeal, but I managed, and the end result is worth it!

 

I had hoped to make a loaf of sourdough this weekend—I'm so close to having figured out the perfect technique for my GF flour blend!—but it turns out I'm out of all my GF flours, which makes sense, given that I've had Vitacost open on my computer since the last time I made bread. So further experiments in breadmaking will have to wait a couple weeks, alas.

A Visit, a Doll, and More Socks

Happy Monday, kittens! My mother came to visit over the weekend, and Coleslaw was SO EXCITED to get lots of snuggles with her. We hit up several thrift stores as well as the gluten-free bakery, and we watched lots of British murder shows. 

I found several puzzles and a couple books at the thrift stores, as well as a new quilting project (the finished top together with its backing fabric, just waiting for batting, sandwiching and quilting!) and a new haunted doll for my collection. My mother and the cashier both gave me grief about bringing her home, but she has a nice place in my office now and she seems to be settling in great.

I also managed to finish another pair of socks! I started this pair in January 2024, same as my last pair, and I've been banging them out during meetings and when mum and I had the tv on. They are squishy and cozy and just what my sock drawer needed! 

Now I have just one pair of socks on the needles: the pair that I've been "working on" since 2012. I'm hoping to get them finished quickly—I think I remember how I changed the pattern for the first sock, so I just have to pay close attention to what I'm doing to make the second sock match. 

I did pull out two new sock yarns last night, but it's sitting on my desk and I'm going to try not to cast either of them until this last WIP is finished. One of the yarns is for a plain ribbed pair, so if wrapping my head around the mods to the WIP socks is too overwhelming (because of course I didn't write anything down!), I can cast on that pair so I at least have something for meetings this week, but I really want to get this 13 year old pair off the needles and into my sock drawer! 

The weather is still doing its crazy spring thing, and I am well and truly sick of it. I had to fight with my "smart" thermostat last night to turn the air on because it was just too warm and humid for me to be comfortable, especially since the temperatures haven't stayed above seventy for long enough for me to get acclimated! We're back in the high forties-low fifties today, so the HVAC is set back to heat and we'll see how the rest of the week goes. 

Brother's Hat 2: Electric Boogaloo

Good news, my mug shelves are still secure! Bad news, I keep having bad dreams about them collapsing again! Hopefully my subconscious accepts that the shelves are secure now and finds something else to worry about!

I got pictures of my brother's finished hat! I love it just as much as I did the first one, and I swear the next time I knit this pattern it will be for myself.

 

I spent all day Saturday deep cleaning my apartment, which really needed it. It's much nicer now, and it's been warm enough the past couple days to have a couple windows open to air out from winter. The temps are still swinging back and forth a bit, which makes my bones ache, but hopefully things level out soon.

The grocery store in my neighborhood has asparagus for $1.99 a pound this week, so I got four bunches. I rinsed and chopped three of the bunches before freezing them in baggies so I have them on hand to throw in packet risotto. Asparagus is probably my favorite vegetable, and fresh asparagus is one of spring's few redeeming qualities. I'm looking forward to eating lots of roast asparagus over the next couple weeks, and I'm glad I thought to put some aside for risotto once asparagus season ends.

Mugs and Trains and Socks, Oh My!

Great news, my mug shelves are back up and secure! It ended up being a five-day ordeal, as it took me two tries to get the right drywall anchors, then I needed to get different screws, and THEN I needed to move all the shelves down an inch and drill new holes because I absolutely made a mess of one of the initial holes and couldn't move that one shelf without moving all of them. But it's done now, and fingers crossed that nothing precarious ever happens to my beautiful mugs ever again.

The last weekend in March there was a model train show in town. I didn't find out about it until that Saturday, but I went over on Sunday and really enjoyed myself! There were some really cool setups, and even a club that ran miniature steam engines! While I don't have room for a train setup in this apartment, I've always wanted one, and I picked up two cars to start my collection.

Knitting wise, I finished my brother's hat (unphotographed), and I also finished a pair of socks (Ravelry page) for myself! Aside from the worsted weight house socks I knit myself for the GAL last year, I haven't finished a pair of socks for myself in over three years. Carpal tunnel surgery has been an absolute game changer, and I'm so pleased that I can handle knitting on 2.75mm needles for longer periods again. I've also been making progress on my green sweater: both sleeves are done and I'm about six inches into the body.

The end of last week I had to go out of town for a conference and Coleslaw got to go to camp. It was a little rainy, but that didn't stop her from climbing all over the playground equipment! I am glad to be back home, though, and as much as Coleslaw loves camp, she's definitely been catching up on cuddle time now that we're both home.

Mugpocalypse

This weekend I had to go out of town for work, and when I got back on Saturday evening I was tired, sore, and desperate for some Coleslaw snuggles. And then I noticed a couple of the mug shelves were sagging.

 

They seem to have come down with a case of "Kat should have paid for better drywall anchors," so now the mugs are covering every surface in my kitchen while I wait for the new anchors to arrive. Fortunately there was no great collapse, which I am so, so thankful for, but it's certainly not convenient, and it's exactly the kind of stressful situation I don't want after traveling. 

(On a lighter note, I made quite a bit of progress on my brother's hat and joined the second ball of yarn yesterday. Since we're past the halfway point now it looks much more like a green blob than a hat, but hopefully the next ten or so inches will fly right off the needles.)

(As far as the mug shelves are concerned, I have invested in Toggler brand drywall anchors and they should arrive within the next couple of days, so hopefully I'll have my counters back soon!)

March So Far

I honestly don't know how it's been three weeks already, but here we are halfway through March! 

My dad came for a quick visit the last week of February and we hit up the antiques mall, where I picked up a new doll for my collection and a new quilt, which was promptly claimed by Coleslaw as soon as it came out of the wash.

We also popped into JoAnn to take advantage of some of the clear-out sales, and I picked up backing for my friend's baby quilt (which is nowhere near as far along as I'd like!) and I stocked up on Americana quilting thread. I also made the following completely unnecessary purchase, but, in my defense, mushrooms!

On March 1 was the Fiber Fest in Bloomington, IL, and I went over with a couple of friends from knit group. Miraculously, I stayed exactly on budget, and I'm super excited about the skeins I picked up. First is this skein of SW Merino, which is totally my colors. This is from Ewe2Me2You and the colorway is "Cathedral Mountain."

Next is a skein of SW Polwarth from Noumea Hand Dyed Yarn and Fiber, in the colorway "Sunflower." I love the yellows and oranges in this skein along with the black flecks, and I can't wait to see how it knits up.

I didn't know ahead of time that my friend Heather from T&H Fiber Works was going to be vending, so seeing her was a happy surprise! I haven't seen her in a few years, and while I still have several skeins from her in my stash, I picked up two more of her "Heather's Favorite Sock" base. The pink and orange is "Tequila Sunrise" and the multicolor skein is "Fall is for Lovers."

 

I also finished my Laphroaig scarf this week! I wanted to use as much as the yarn as possible, so I did have to rip back and change where I started the edging a couple of times, but it's worth it. I'm so pleased with this, although I still need to weave in the ends and give it a bath.

Right now on the needles I have a few old pairs of socks, the sweater I mentioned back in January (which looks exactly the same as it did then), and another Musselburgh for my brother. The one I knit him for xmas last year accidentally went through the wash, so he's getting an exact replacement. I'm almost halfway through now, and it's been a great project to keep on hand for meetings and webinars. Now that the scarf is done, I'm really hoping to make some more progress on the sweater, and I'm also jonesing to pick up my old sock projects now that my hands have recovered from surgery.