That Was Unforseen

February was a heck of a month.

Remember how I popped in to show you I'd started the knotworks on my Countess Cathleen cloak?

Yeah, I jumped the starting whistle a wee bit. Turns out, I didn't have enough wool to finish the knotworks where I'd positioned them. And the cloak wasn't where I'd hoped it would be lengthwise either, so...

I frogged back to the row before I started the knotworks (again), started knitting again, adding to the background. And very quietly ordered 4 more hanks of wool.

(Aside: I ordered the wool at 3:45am on a Thursday. Around 8 hours later I had an email saying my order was at the post office, and it was ready for pickup at my local post office on Monday. I can't tell you how absolutely blown away by the service from Cast On! Cast Off! in Triton🔗 (link to their website; they have 5 exclusive colorways of Briggs & Little Heritage!) Of course, it helps they and I are on the same island. But seriously I wasn't even expecting my order to be into the mail that quickly!)

With the new hanks in hand, and a lovely (insert eyeroll here) snow storm happening outside, I charted out the knotworks, and the bottom borders (with transitions for all 3 sizes!).  Happy dance! 

I'm only 3 rows from the (please let this be the final) knotwork starts :) Granted, the rows are over 600 stitches in length so it's taking a bit to get them done. But once the knotworks are started my progress will pick up.

I'm an odd creature in that easy knitting, like say stockinette in the round, takes me foreeeeeevvvveeerrr. But stick a complex cable or lace pattern in the midst of it and I'll have it done lickety split! If you're at all familiar with online knitting magazine, Knitty🔗 (link to the wonderful webzine), and their delightful rating system, I have a tanktop from one of the previous iterations of their shop that says "piquant" on it for a reason. My former knit night pals can laughingly tell you about the time we held a knit-a-long for the Pinwheel sweater (was on the now defunct Elann.com), and everyone finished, except me because I got bored of all the stockinette in the round and started other projects instead of finishing it *insert cry-laughing emoji here*. I digress.

Speaking of snow, that dump we got in February melted down fairly quickly. And then we received another 54cm (roughly 21 inches) this past Thursday through Saturday morning. Guess who tried to shovel out the household for the second time in around 3 weeks. And guess who is hurting a lot, and unable to sleep despite the taking of medications meant to calm muscles and pain signals. Someone writing a blogpost much earlier than she normally does, perchance? See, I figured you'd put the clues together ;)

My recent internet rabbithole has been looking for sources of large quantities of 6/0 beads for Cherish the Ladies, and a few other designs that aren't quite far enough along to put on my cast-on list just yet. Admittedly, I don't have yarn for any of them. Kind of slows things down a bit lol. And yes, other designers probably have yarn before they start a design. Seems logical, right? While I routinely employ logic in all kinds of situations, designing isn't always one of them. We've established I do things my own way, even when it makes no logical sense, right? Oh good. I was afraid no one noticed ;)

The furry members of the household have figured out I'm awake, so I must give them attention. You'd think no one ever pets Jakey and Silver by how they get on...

That reminds me! You need to see the photo of Jakey from Saturday night. I had the cloak out to knit some after the hockey game, and... well see for yourself:

The furry nephew wasn't pleased that I asked him to get off my cloak. And with that expression on his floofy little face, I decided to work on something else completely. He's a benevolent little tyrant of two things: 100% wool (in hanks, balls or already knit up), and my lap if one of his sisters gets up with me. Sil has learned to sit on the arm of the couch next to me to avoid him pushing her off my lap. He's quite the character, our Jakey.

Well, fiber friends, I think I've been at this long enough *yawn*. Maybe I can get a bit of sleep in, on this rainy Tuesday morning. I hope your projects are all coming along nicely. Pop a comment below to let me know what your current project(s) is/are.

Yours in yarn, and an ever stiffening back,

Síle

All the News That's Fit to Print

 Well, maybe not quite, but there's a bit to talk about.

First let me draw your attention upwards, to the blog header. Notice anything different? (hint hint wink wink) I played around and tried a few different things and I really like this one. It's much simpler than some of the others I came up with, which I'll let you in on:

Oh the fun of picture editing apps! 

As you know if you've been reading along, (and if you haven't, you can catch up here, here, here, and here) R*velry hasn't been very responsive about their redesign fiasco. Unfortunately, that's causing a lot of issues for at least one designer I know. Tania has been suffering greatly during this mess and R*velry's response to her request for an alternative way to pay her bill is absolutely despicable! You can find it here on her Twitter and Instagram accounts. The vast majority of designers don't have staff they can give access to in the manner suggested. And giving access to a trusted friend or relative puts the designer at risk for going against GDPR regulations in EU countries, as well as the UK! At the very least the suggestion is unuseful to recommend something that could cost a designer that has already lost her a good portion of her earnings this year. Or was it more sinister and the suggestion was meant to make said designer disappear, along with her nagging requests for accommodation. And yes, I may be a bit over the top with that suggestion, but considering the gaslighting done by persons at R*velry is it really a stretch to consider that possibility? 

Here's some good news! A number of designers are banding together to put together an event similar to the Indie Gift-A-Long, but Off R*velry. Kathleen of WIP Insanity and Rachy of Rachy Newin Designs are our intrepid organizers for the Fasten Off Yarn Along! There will be a pattern sale period, followed by the Along part of the fun. There's a Discord forum set up for chatter, pre-event as well as during. You can find the official Twitter and Instagram accounts for the Fasten Off Yarn Along by following the links I've given. I'm excited to be participating in this new event! I'll post more as we get closer!

On the knitting front, I'm splitting time between the Hornpipe Bag and a blanket for my furry nephew. Here's the latest pic of the HB:

For Jakey's blanket, I've knit a dishcloth (Cat with paw print by Susan Mrenna. I had this in my R*velry library; I don't know if it's available elsewhere), and then picked up stitches around the edge, and I'll be working the rest according to Louise Tilbrook's Fuss Free Baby Blanket recipe; sadly, it's no longer available, a casualty of removing her patterns from R*velry this summer. (You can find her other designs either on her site or in her Payhip shop.) Fairly simple and makes excellent use of some odds and ends I have. Jakey always liked snuggling with Maureen's blankie, which I've put up since her passing in 2018, so I think he should have his own. Little cuddler that he is. How can I not when he gets under my fleece like this:

Isn't he precious? He'll be 7 in a week! Seems like yesterday he was 10 weeks old and uncertain about everything to do with his new home.

And that brings this post back around to me. You may remember I was in St. John's last month for a medical appointment. I had a phone appointment with my doctor last week to hear the results. There were abnormal cells. I'm being referred to a specialist; thankfully, there's a couple here and I won't need to travel. So that's where that is. Injury recovery has taken a bit of a backseat this last while. I manage my passive stretches a couple times a week. I just don't have much energy for more than that. I'd like to burrow under the covers and hibernate it that's not a feasible option with so much on the go. I digress.

What are your crafting plans looking like? Thinking of joining in on the fun of the Fasten Off Yarn Along? ;) Or maybe you're under a pile of mittens for the family before winter truly takes hold. I'd love to hear what's on your needles!

Yours in yarn and cat fur (Jakey is supervising his blankie construction),

Síle

Helpers

 Many of us live with helpers. They often have four legs and fur, and aren't quite as helpful as their title implies. I posted this collage a few places this weekend:

I wanted to take a progress picture of my Harvest sweater. Then Silver, the older of my furry nieces, decided this was a good time to be helpful. As you can see, out of nine photos only 1 shows the entire sweater back. (The cardigan is knit topdown in one piece. I find the back view easier to see progress, so usually take my photos from that view.) And even that one is photobombed by a pair of furry gray legs. She's quite a help!

I did get two other photos last night after using the last bit of the first ball of yarn. (I'm knitting with Lion Brand Mandala which has 590yds in a 150g skein! Talk about value!) No Silver help with these ones; sorry ;)

I started working one of the sleeves today so it should go quick. I'm toying with the idea of adding pockets and making it a bit longer than the pattern. It's such a lovely basic sweater that little bits of customization just adds to it. It's from Tin Can Knits if you're not familiar with the pattern.

My goal is to finish it soon and then bring my focus back to my own designs. Normally having a few of my own designs plus a "me" project or two going at once doesn't faze me but this year... I think we can all agree this year is just something else altogether! I have a worrisome health appointment coming next month and I want to wear my new sweater, a kind of talisman that all goes well. While not traditional autumn colors, it'll certainly be a bright spot.

Yours in yarn and glowing colors,

Síle