Hello, June!

Little did I know when I wrote my last post that I had over 3 weeks more to my frozen-up arm. As you can imagine, that's put me waaay more behind on my various projects. Slowly I'm getting caught up while also working with a new strategy of breaks while working to keep my arm from going out again. 

What's going on here at KDRD? I'm currently editing my final tutorial for the Hornpipe Bag and, weather cooperating, photos should be done later in the week. I'm thinking the tutorial should be up on the weekend, with the pattern release next week. We'll see if it gets there!

The Four Hand Reel will be in test/beta knitting around July 5th. This is my log cabin square totebag. I'll be lining my proto soon; I had mislaid the fabric for a bit. The test/beta knit will be run on Yarnpond, which I found excellent to use when I tested the Hornpipe Bag last year. I'm thinking 10 weeks for the test period based on the yardage (5 colors/shades; about 200 yards each of 4 of them and 65-70 yds of the 5th one)

I'm continuing to play with my knotwork motif idea for the Countess Cathleen cloak. And I have a couple double-knitting ideas that I'm playing with too. And at least one other cable rich design. It's been very cold and blah here so I've been bringing more color into my work.

In my personal crafting, I'm well into the first sleeve of my Twist Again sweater. Finally I have the rhythm of the pattern down and the knitting is easy again. (Twist Again by Robynn Weldon on Payhip)

Does that happen to you? Find a pattern a bit of a struggle until you find the proper rhythm and then it just glides along. 

I've decided to change tracks on my bright colors sweater. Instead of crocheting a number of blocks (that truth be told were not lining up right), I've decided to make another Harvest cardigan using the 9 colors (8 bright ones with black) and knitting in alternating bands of the Fibonacci sequence, using ridges instead of rows. If you're not familiar with the Harvest cardigan, the front and neck edgings are knit at the same time as the rest of the top-down sweater, and the edgings are done in garter stitch. Hence using ridges. My plan is to knit 1 ridge in black, 1 ridge in Color 1, 2 ridges of black, 3 ridges of Color 2, 5 ridges of black, 8 ridges of Color 3, etc, keeping the colors in order and cycling through them as needed. That's the plan currently anyway. It could change again! lol (Harvest cardigan by Tin Can Knits on TinCanKnits.com)

 

I'm planning to get a new proto of my Single Jig Mitties on the needles soon. This is both a KDRD project (I want to update the photos when I get the pdf updated) and a personal project (I need something on my poor frozen hands. While the rest of North America is sweltering, we're experiencing Juneuary here on the island. It's 8°C and raining currently (46.4°F). We're living up to our Iceberg Alley nickname this year). I like when things work out that way. Single Jig Mitties on this site

And that's all I have that's fit to print this gloomy Monday! I look forward to getting the final Hornpipe Bag tutorial up this week.

I hope your crafting is going well. What are your plans for summer knitting? A light top perhaps? Or a lacy shawl? Maybe you prefer smaller things like mittens and hats so you're ready when the weather turns back to the cooler side of things. I'd love to hear about your plans :)

Your in yarn and wet weather,

Síle

Happy St. Patrick's Day! ☘

Hello!

It's about time I popped back over here to let you all know what's on the go here at KDRD!

And what better day to write a post than today? So let me get you updated :)

Sadly, Ma Nature continues to be a bit of brat, and photos for the Hornpipe Bag haven't happened. The town where I reside "welcomed" no we didn't! 20cm (about 8 inches) of heavy, wet, sloppy, slushy snow yesterday. Talk about putting a damper on things! So gross, and heavy. Blech. I would hope that's the end of the white stuff but this being Newfoundland, I'm not going to hold my breath. Blue might be my favorite color but I don't think it's a good skin tone for me! ;)

While I wait for the dear lady to sort out the weather for us, I'm getting another tutorial or maybe two ready before the pattern comes out. My way of doing things in double-knitting are just slightly different than what others do so it just makes sense to show you how I did something, doesn't it? I think I'll have one out before next Friday. If the photobombing furry people ever quit with their interruptions ;) Ah, life with cats :)

I'm happy to report the Four Hand Reel, a tote bag pattern drawing inspiration from traditional quilt blocks and céilí (kay-lee) dancing, has been sent to my techeditor. I've tentatively penciled in test/preview knitting to start next month. This would be a minimum 10 week time frame, based on the yardage, so publishing would happen in later June-early July. As always, my timeline is pretty flexible. Definitely out this summer!

The other pattern I'm going over and tweaking before sending off to be edited is my Planxty Hap, a lace shawl with traditional Shetland elements as a base that I've added my own spins to. My aim is to have that through techediting, test/preview knitting, and publishing before winter returns; October/November-ish ideally. We'll see how that timeline comes together.

Countess Cathleen, my hooded cabled cloak design, is at a bit of an impasse at the moment. Charting, and knitting, a knotwork motif based off of the main cable panel I designed is proving a bit of a headache. I will prevail, eventually, but that particular project is in a bit of a timeout right now. I have a couple of other double-knit ideas swirling: a cowl and scarf set, a blanket in three sizes, and a 3 color shawl/wrap with different designs on each side. And there's another lace shawl in the future as well. Plus my usual cable heavy ideas, of course. I have more than a few of those knocking about! 

In my personal crafting I have a few things on the go.

I'm completely charmed by Lyrical Knits' 2023 MKAL shawl, Who Ya Gonna Shawl? (Link to the Pattern listing in Lyrical Knits' Payhip store🔗). I treated myself to this gem and some lovely yarn as a birthday present (Aside: how the heck did I turn 45 last month?!?!), and it's definitely fit the bill as a treat. The mkal, mystery knit along for those not familiar with the abbreviation, is a lot of fun. Check out Mary's previous mkals and her lovely sweater patterns in her Payhip store as well. I have a few in my 'must make' list. You can see my in progress shawl on my notebook blog (link in the sideboard). I'm using 4 colors of West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4 Ply, which is really lovely, both in colors and for knitting with. Really super happy with choosing it!

I finished these lovely Talamh fingerless mitts for Roomy/Sis. These were designed by Liz Corke, and I started them during the 2022 FOYAL. I used Briggs & Little Sport in "mauve", and I think they turned out just perfect. And I have more than enough left of that ball to make something for me too. I love when that happens :) You can find the Talamh pattern here (link to Pattern listing in Liz's Payhip store🔗)

I've got a couple of gifts on the needles for special little people in my life right now. I confess, between my Who Ya Gonna Shawl? and these cute projects, that's where my personal knitting/crafting time has been going. No pics until these are delivered as they're as much a surprise for the little people as their parents ;) I love making surprises, especially cute ones!

How are your knitting projects going? Have you been using precious gems from your yarn horde? Or found a new-to-you yarn that's becoming a go-to? Are you crafting for the coming spring and summer months, or getting one more cold weather favorite finished? Plans for larger projects this year? I'd love to hear all about what you're at :)

Yours in yarn and a shamrock covered hair scarf, 

Síle

Did you think I was kidding? ;)

A FO(!) and New Things at KDR

Pleased to say I have a personal FO this week. I finished the Flax sweater (pattern by Tin Can Knits; link to the pattern page on their site) for Cousin's little guy yesterday and I'm really happy with it.

I think the stripes made it fun. I can say weaving in ends took a awhile though! So I'm going to be staying away from stripes for a bit.

As for my work knitting, the pattern for the Hornpipe Bag will be headed to my techeditor in the next week or so. And if you follow me on Instagram you know I'm doing something with a wide cable panel that needs shaping and I recently posted a photo of it on my head to Instagram:

Yes, this is for a new design and I admit I'm really excited about it. 

I've had the picture in my head for a few years (and copious notes hither and yon lol), for a hooded cloak with a cabled  panel running from the front of the hood, down the back of the neck, and then straight down through the body to the bottom edge. I'm finally getting the shaping of the hood down. 

And while I've made notes and calculations, I'm finding I really need to see how this is looking as it progresses so I grabbed a similar wool to the one I'll be using for the sample (hood swatch is in Briggs & Little Tuffy in the "Blue Mix" colorway) and started playing around. I really like how it's progressing, silly photos included. 

I'm calling this hooded cloak pattern Countess Cathleen, after the iconic slip jig piece in Riverdance, choreographed and first danced by the inspiring Jean Butler. It's my favorite dance/tune in the entire show. And eventually I was going to have a design inspired by Riverdance. One can't ignore a global phenomenon especially in its 25th anniversary season!

I have another design on the needles right now that I can't share with you just yet ;) My goal is to have it ready for announcement in late July/early August. I think it's going to be a fun way to get ready for colder temperatures ;) I can say I'm really pleased with it and it's knitting up fairly quickly. 

What are you working on this week? Anything you're sharing for #WIPWednesdayOffRav? I'm off to scroll Instagram and ❤️ a bunch of lovely projects!

Yours in yarn and cabled hood trying-on,

Síle

Finished Object Friday!

YarnTowers.comYes, really :) I can happily announce a finished project.

My Finola is off the hook! :) And I love how it's turned out. Now I need an occasion to wear it. Those sparkles say "Dress up, girl!" to me lol

And of course Jakey decided to photobomb. Little cutie.

(Finola was designed by Aoibhe Ní and can be found on her website YarnTowers.com along with all of her other clever and beautiful designs.)

Are you close to an FO? Or maybe you just started a new WIP? I'd love to hear about what you've got on the go

Yours in yarn and sparkles,

Síle

Multitasking

(Note: While this post was published on February 7th, I started writing it on February 6th.)

Hello again!

I'm a bit behind on knitting the squares for my temperature blanket, so indulge me while I blog and knit at the same time. You can find the ins and outs of my project in this post.

I'm working on my January 8-14 square, which is a G knot on an I background. Here's how it looked after 4 rnds:

And here's how 10 rnds look:

The cables will start pretty soon, which I confess is my favourite part. 

We're due for a good snowstorm on Monday so maybe I'll get caught up with these squares. I'm glad I'm doing a square for every 7 days otherwise I'd be really behind!

I've finished rnd 20 now and it's getting a bit precarious on the double-pointed needles, as you can see:

While I've been knitting, and writing this post, I've also been giving "lubs" and attention to my favourite furry guy:

I'm sure you recall Jakey from other posts. He's keeping an eye on the iced aqua yarn for me. Isn't he a helpful boy? The wind has picked up considerably so he's happy to stick close to Auntie. He really dislikes wind, poor thing. Sounds to me like that storm might be getting to us a little sooner than expected. We'll know for sure if we wake up to a snow covered world! I think it's time for me and this fella (and his two furry sisters) to say good night.

No snow yet! The wind is really howling though. House feels like it's going to shake down around us. Good day to stay in with a mug of tea, some furry companions, and my knitting.

I'm in the midst of rnd 25 now:

I was "talking" with a friend on Twitter earlier today; she's ordered a book on knitting socks two at a time by using magic loop or two circular needles. She's a fairly new knitter and is more than a bit offput by double-pointed needles. Isn't it handy that there are ways to knit things in the way you're most comfortable with? I'm a decided "octopus rassler", that is I like double-pointed needles. Ages ago I was knitting a sock and my dad said it looked like I was "rassling an octopus"; the image has never left me :D I've been tempted to add it to my social media bios but living on an island someone might actually ask me to help with an octopus and I wouldn't be the least bit helpful :D

Let's see if I can get these last few rnds done, shall we?

And voila! A newly finished (not blocked) square emerges :)

And with the first square:

I think it's time to end this post.

Yours in yarn and unblocked Iona squares,

Síle

Greetings from 2021!

That was a bit hectic! I'm so glad that so many knitters and crocheters enjoyed the Fasten Off Yarn Along :) It made for a very fun month! I love that we formed such an amazing community feeling in such a short time. 

Ah, but now the New Year's been rung in and things return fairly much to normal. Well, new normal anyway. I know some places are going into tighter Covid lockdowns again today. I hope all of the crafters have enough supplies to themselves through it all!

Are you a fan of goals at the start of the year? I don't mean the typically broken ones like losing weight or exercising X days a week. I mean fun goals, like reading X books this year, or learning to knit cables. 

I enjoyed the Challenge feature on R@v the last number of years, and I've done alright with it. I had a goal of 15 projects last year and I finished 17. We won't go into how many I started ;) I could still set a goal and track it here I suppose...

One thing I had decided on a bit ago was to knit myself a sweater each year; cardigan or pullover, didn't matter. As you know if you were following along, I knit a Harvest cardigan last fall (link is to the pattern's page on Tin Can Knits' website). This year's sweater is a pattern I bought during the Fasten Off Yarn Along: Twist Again by Robynn Weldon (link goes to the pattern page in her Payhip shop). I just love all those cables!! And I have a lovely dark lavender yarn for it :) I haven't started it yet. I've been tempted to, but I decided I need to get at least two projects off the needles first.

I did finish a project during FOYAL (although I only swatched one officially, the aforementioned Twist Again)! I finally got my G'night Cap by Sarah Schira (link is to her website) finished; I only cast-on in January 2019! I only meant to set it down for a week or so to finish up something else and... Anyway!! It is done, it is fabulous, and I love it! Picture? Why of course!

I used just a bit over 1 hank of Briggs & Little Heritage in "Light Green". It's cute and oh so warm :) Let January throw another Snowmageddon at us! Ok, not really; I don't want to that much snow at once ever again. But my new hat is warm and wonderful.

What am I working to finish up? So glad you asked! I started Simee Dimeh by Romi Hill (Sorry, no safe link at the moment. I know Romi is getting her website set up, and I that you can email her to get her patterns via email instead of through R@v at this time) last May and I'm in the midst of chart J. It ends after chart K, so I'm very close to finishing. I chose to use the rainbow for my 7 colors and ordered 7 hanks of Briggs & Little Sport from Wool Trends, one of the lovely lys' in St. John's aka Town. Here's where it's at currently:

How's that for colorful?! I've used red, orange, yellow, paddy green, light blue, blue heather, and violet to make my rainbow, and I'm really pleased with how it's coming along. 

So that sums up my personal knitting, let's look at my work knitting!

I published two patterns last year, the Treble Reel Toque and the Treble Jig Legwarmers (links are within this blog. You can also visit the Patterns tab near the top of this screen)

This year I'll be publishing the Hornpipe Bag and the Slip Jig Shawl. I'm continuing to work on the samples and tweak the wording of the patterns as I do so. (Behind the Scenes info: unlike some (most? probably most) designers, I first outline the pattern and swatch and make notes, and then I write the pattern as I knit the sample.) I hope to also publish at least one of the two other samples I have on the go currently. These are Hap-Hazard (my twist on a hap shawl), and Gone Feising (pronounced "feshing"; an Irish dancer's outfit for an 18 inch doll).

I'm also at work "translating" the charts from Rínce Fada into line by line instructions to make a low vision accessible pdf to go with the standard one already available. Because I charted it for reversible double-knitting (standard double-knitting gives you a mirrored image on the backside that gives you backwards facing letters and words), each and every stitch is represented, and when I choose the written instructions option from my charting software I get "KMC PCC KMC PCC KMC PCC..." instead of "(KMC, PCC) 3x..., so I have to manually edit each row, which isn't easy on my eyes, and yes, I'm taking regular breaks to rest them. I'm about half through chart B and the charts go up to I so it'll be a bit before I have it ready but I am working on it, and hope to have it ready to go for you summerish ideally. Watch this space! There will be fireworks* when I announce it's ready! *Not really fireworks. A photo of some most likely. No animations will be on this site. 

I think that's all I have to tell you about today. Happy 2021 to you, again :) If you'd like to tell me about your crafting goals for this year, please leave a comment. I'd love to hear what you've got planned!

Yours in yarn and to do lists,

Síle

How Not to Knit a Sleeve (aka Read the Pattern)

Last evening I settled in to get more done on the sleeve of my Harvest cardigan. I knit for awhile and thought I was nearing the number of stitches where I would stop the decreases and work straight, so I pulled up the pattern (I do everything on my phone. I mean everything: drafting patterns, writing blogposts, all social media, etc). And as my eyes scanned along I realized something. 

I had skipped a very important line. 

After returning the sleeve stitches to the needles (I'm working the sleeves on double-pointed needles), and before starting the sleeve decreases it reads "Knit straight for x inches."

Um... yeah, that's not what I did. I went straight into working decrease rounds interspersed with x plain rounds. *Facepalm*

I measured how long the sleeve was at that point: 7½ inches (19cm). *Facepalm*

After saying a few choice words, I frogged the sleeve. And then I restarted it. I knit 4 inches, without decreases, before turning in.

I haven't done anything quite so silly in quite awhile so I guess the yarn gods decided to keep me from getting too cocky. I will say it's going smoothly and I'm hoping to keep to my original timeline and be able to wear my new sweater when I go to Town later in the month. 

So that's my tale of knitterly woe. I hope this saves you from doing the same thing.

Yours in yarn and sleeve stitches,

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

Fall, Nature & Music

Yesterday was the first day of Fall so working on my Harvest cardigan seems seasonally appropriate. I have the sleeves and body separated now:

This is a very relaxing knit, which is good for a day when a former hurricane is making its presence felt nearby. Around 9:30am NDT today, Teddy made landfall in Nova Scotia. I've seen some video from near Port aux Basques, NL showing the winds and waves they were starting to get about an hour ago. Nature is truly awe inspiring; it can destroy as quickly as it can renew. A sobering reminder of how fragile we are. 

I made some more progress on the Hornpipe Bag yesterday; almost to the halfway mark of the knotwork motif:

My roommate and I were listening to my itunes while I was knitting, which was interesting to say the least. Do you ever do that? Just hit shuffle instead of a specific playlist, I mean. I think it's revealing to hear so many different parts of my personality and/or interests placed next to each other. The Andrews Sisters followed by Bon Jovi followed by a set of slow jigs followed by Allan Sherman, ... You get the idea. I'm more than a little eclectic in my musical tastes, to say the least. Give it a try sometime; you might be surprised by what gems you have hiding in your collection. And you might find some interesting combinations of songs that you otherwise wouldn't have found too.

Yours in yarn and BNL's "Pinch Me" (current song playing),

Síle

A Finished Project

 I finished my pillow. I think the i-cord I talked about last post was just the right touch for it. Here's the finished look:

I'm really pleased with how it turned out. 

Now I can get back to the Hornpipe Bag. I made a mistake with the side chart so I've been knitting from my handwritten notes until I redo it. Which works well on my flair up days; I can't process charts as easily on those days. Which is why my patterns almost always have written out instructions for any charts; Rínce Fada being the current exception.

Yours in yarn and words,

Síle

Joining

 I finished knitting the second hexagon for my pillow project last night. Here's how it turned out:

I like that the two charts I chose are different from each other; chart D is predominantly blue, while you can see chart E is predominantly white. 

I've chosen to use an i-cord edge to join the two sides together; I have just over two sections done so a bit more than 1/3 the way around. I'm doing the edge in blue; white on the edges would look gungy too quickly, I think. 

The final two rounds on both sides were knit with white and I'm employing a little trick to keep from having white blips happening, as you can see in the next two photos (one from each side):

What's my secret? Purling the side away from me. 

Ok, so I'm working a 3 stitch i-cord to join two pieces together. The two pieces are on their own holder needles. I cast-on 3 stitches onto the "front side" needle; that is the side facing me. I'm applying the i-cord with the predominantly white side facing me. Using a dpn (double-pointed needle), I knit 2 sts (of the i-cord), then I slip the next st as if to purl. Next I slip the first pillow stitch from the front needle, also purlwise. Now I purl the first stitch from the back needle, pass the slipped pillow stitch over the purled one and off the needle, then pass the i-cord stitch over the purled on and off the needle. There are 3 stitches on the dpn and I slip these back onto the front needle and continue on.

More conventionally written, it looks like this:

*K2, sl 2 pwise from front needle, P1 from back needle, p2sso, transfer 3 sts on dpn back to front needle; rep from *...

Amazing how a little thing like purling a stitch instead of knitting it makes for a cleaner look.

I want to get this joining (and stuffing once 5.5 of the 6 sections are joined) finished this evening, so this is where I'll leave you.

Yours in yarn and i-cord,

Síle

Halfway

I got the first side done last night/the wee hours of this morning. And happily it's a lot more even than my colorwork usually is. *insert image of Kermit the Frog flailing his arms here*

In Knit Dance Repeat news, you'll notice a new tab above. I've got two patterns (hopefully) set up so you can shop right from here if you prefer. Yes, my Payhip shop will still be there and I intend to keep adding to Love Crafts as well. Options are good! I'm making sure those two are working and then I'll get to work adding the rest of my back catalogue. While I continue to work on my sample for the Hornpipe Bag and iron out the details of a special project for someone very dear to me! This summer has been one heck of a learning curve!

Back at it while I wait for the hamburger to thaw; I'm whipping up meatloaf and mashed potatoes for supper. 

Yours in yarn and html code,

Síle

Challenges

 

Today I'm working on a bit of a modification; I'm using a pattern and then diverging from the original. Let me explain.

I've had the pattern "Friesland" by Jenise Reid in my pattern library for a bit. [Aside: She's the designer of the gorgeous "Persian Dreams" blanket that many of us have admired/drooled over.] And it's sat in my library because I am not a stranded colorwork knitter. Quite frankly, I stink at it. 

Now, I've read all kinds of tips and hints, and been given more of the same from other well-meaning knitters. I don't need or want any more. Just as some knitters find lace an incomprehensible tangle, and others fear cables, stranded colorwork and I just aren't ever going to be pals. And that's ok! There's so much knitting inspiration out there! Do what you love doing, be it fancy Fair Isles in 40 colors, or intricate cables in cream coloured wool. That's the beauty of knitting, there's something for each of us.

But, and isn't there always a but that gives us pause and makes us reconsider something? But then a challenge appeared in a crafting group I belong to. And that challenge was to take a virtual trip to Holland, centering on the lovely Rijks Museum, and craft something inspired by your trip. 

I have Dutch ancestry; Belgian ancestry from the Walloon region [Aside: I go through life with an Irish first name and a Belgian/Dutch last name; I am the bane of English pronunciations hee hee!] to be more accurate. And the first thing that came to mind was the lovely blanket pattern in my library that is so reminiscent of Delft tiles and ceramics. And of course the Rijks Museum has some stunning examples of that. I made a collage of some of the pieces found there:

Beautiful aren't they? The detail in each example is absolutely breathtaking. I never could have imagined a Delft violin and yet suddenly there was one in front me! And the birdcage! And...

I know I don't have the skills to knit the entire blanket, especially within the timeframe, but I thought I could try to capture a bit of the feel by knitting two of the hexagons and making them into a pillow. What you see in my top photo is my progress using chart D; I'm on rnd 20 of 39. The other side of the pillow will be chart E. 

And this is why today finds me with stranded colorwork on my needles in blue and white. A little challenge to myself to tackle something different. And get some points for my team in the process.

Also currently being worked on are my Hornpipe Bag and a summer sweater called "Twillingate" by fellow Newfoundland designer Jennifer Beale. Here's a peak at the progress on the Hornpipe Bag:

It looks a bit odd squished up on the needle but you can see the sides are growing. I'm quite happy with it, I have to say.

Yours in yarn and wooden shoes,

Síle

Someone Else's Numbers

Today is a misty rainy type day. And along with yesterday, it's a pain and inflammation flare up day. To say I'm taking things easy is probably an understatement. 

So today is a day of knitting someone else's numbers, not trying to crunch my own.

I'm knitting a pair of Fire & Ice Fingerless Mitts by Roz Harmon. I find the cables soothing. I'm almost done the thumb gusset so this one (the left mitt) will be done soon and then onto the right one! I'm trying to get these finished before Sunday ends; they're my entry/score for a game a group I'm in is holding. It's fun to find patterns and/or yarn you've had for a bit and not tried yet. I'm finding these games give me a chance to get to those patterns that otherwise would've probably sat in my library for ages before I found them again!

 

And to be honest, it's nice to just be able to just knit without needing to decide whether 9 sts of moss st overwhelms or accents a particular cable, or whether the new lace edging repeat is going to work out to cast off all the shawl's body sts, or ... You get the idea.

Dr Jakey is on the case, so there's no worries about me going anywhere; he's literally on the case, ie Me! There is nothing so determined to thwart movement as a comfortable cat. 

What's on your needles today? Something soothing? Perhaps a pattern you've knit before? Or maybe a new pattern that you just had to start? 

Til next time,

Síle