It's late August . . . the last blast of summer. Much to my dismay, hazy, hot and humid weather has settled in for the week. Many people are on vacation, but for those of us still working, it's hard to be productive. This is the time of year when schedules are put on hold, unanswered emails linger and planning grinds to a halt.
On those days when I'm spinning my wheels, I knit a few stripes.
Fall is right around the corner, and we've teamed up with our friends at Salt Yarn Studio to offer a collection of new kits.
Each kit is available in a variety of colors and includes yarn, pattern and some goodies. All you have to do is add needles. As a bonus we're offering six Zoom sessions throughout the fall to build community, share tips and tricks, make new connections and have fun.
Kits are available for pre-order here. You can pick up your kit at Salt Yarn Studio during the Cape and South Shore Yarn Haul. We can also make arrangements to ship your kit if you're long distance or can't make it to the shop.
This week's color inspiration . . .
In the course of daily life, things go missing around the house. Shoes, keys, wallets, phones . . . at times you think they've vanished into thin air. When my kids were younger, I would reassure them. Don't worry. Everything turns up eventually.
Sometimes I'm not very good at following my own advice. The other night I was looking for a particular needle size. I knew I owned the needles . . . it was just a matter of locating them. I searched the box where I keep my needles. Make that usually keep them since the ones I needed weren't there. I went through all my project bags. I checked the closet for stray projects. I searched baskets that often contain bits and pieces of knitting. I went back to the box of needles. No luck.
At the two-hour mark of my now frantic search, I began to question whether I owned the needles or not. I consulted my knitting notebook where I jot project notes and found evidence that I had used them two years ago. I had been thinking maybe I could substitute a different needle, but that tiny shred of information spurred me on.
It was all coming back to me. I remembered the project and knew I had ripped it out last year in one of my pandemic-induced cleaning binges. Where had a put the needles?
That led to more searching in the area where the project had been languishing. I went through drawers, the desktop organizer, cups with pens and pencils . . . any place where I could easily stash needles.
I went back to the project bags. One more time, I told myself. This time I hit the jackpot. The needles were in their wrapper at the bottom of a project bag under a ball of yarn. I had searched that bag earlier but obviously didn't do a very thorough job.
My theory still holds up. The needles did surface, but by the time I found them it was after midnight and I was too tired to do any knitting. And that was fine.
The other day I did a quick update to the website. I'm hosting a fundraiser over there. My daughter, Estrella, is running the Boston Marathon in October. She's on the American Liver Foundation Team and is busy raising money for them. You can read her story here.
Everyone who buys Heartbreak Hill will be entered in a drawing to win a $100 Dirty Water DyeWorks gift certificate. The winner will be chosen at random on October 11.
The weather here in New England has been brutal. Keep cool if you're in a hot zone and enjoy the weekend.
This week's color inspiration . . .
I've had my head down and realized today that August is zipping by. I'll be out and about in a few weeks, so I took a couple minutes to update the right sidebar.
The pandemic puts long-term planning in a different perspective, so I only updated through September. There are more events in the works for October and November, and I'll add them when plans are finalized.
If you're in the area, check out the Cape and South Shore Yarn Haul. I'll be at Salt Yarn Studio on September 16 and Plymouth Harbor Knits on September 18.
There are eight participating shops with a variety of trunk shows and prizes during the four days. This is a good opportunity to visit different shops. It's been a challenging year for everyone. Get out and support these local yarn stores.
After spinning my wheels for a few days, it's encouraging to see a project take shape.
This skein has been sitting next to my desk for a few weeks.
This week's color inspiration . . .
I've had a day full of twists and turns, and my plans were upended by mid-morning. I made adjustments along the way, but even my knitting is twisted.
I'm having a crazy Monday complete with a couple technology glitches. I didn't get all the tech sorted until late afternoon, but by then the day had definitely slipped away.
We had a busy afternoon in Inman Square yesterday.
It was great to see so many people in person. Thanks to everyone who came out.
