Resilience

Time has a way of becoming meaningless during a pandemic.  Add a holiday week into the mix and the days simply melt into each other.  My daughter was convinced today was Saturday.  I was pretty sure it wasn't, but I had to think long and hard to figure out our true place on the calendar.

As knitters, we've been coping with this pandemic one stitch at a time.  There's a distant light on the horizon, but we still have a long way to go.  The calendar will be changing, but the pandemic rages on.  Don't give up . . . keep knitting, keep stitching, keep making.  Resilience will carry the day.

This week's color inspiration . . .

Brighter days ahead.

Finding the Rhythm

I hope everyone had a good holiday and has recovered from the festivities.  It's challenging to be productive on the Monday after a super long weekend.  I thought I would ease into the day, so I started with some knitting.  After an hour or so, I discovered my stitch count was off and had to rip out everything I had just knit.

It's all been reknit now, and as long as I keep counting my stitches, I'll be OK.

It can take a while to find the rhythm of a new project, but I think I have the hang of it.  This is the beginning of my Christmas In The City Wrap.

Here's the full color lineup.

I needed a new shawl project.  Early in the pandemic, I made Namibia by the same designer and really enjoyed it.  I think this design will be equally entertaining.  Anything new on your needles post-holiday?

A Time to Make Do

It's crunch time.  This year the scope of our holiday preparations is different, but that doesn't mean there isn't last-minute scurrying.  A week ago I thought I had it all under control.  This week, not so much.

I had a cookie baking marathon over the weekend and crossed that off my list only to get a request for one more kind of cookie.  Now baking cookies is back on the list.  I positioned the vacuum cleaner in such a way to encourage others in the household to take it for a spin.  That strategy hasn't been successful.  I'll either have to give a direct order or do it myself.

This year the holiday menu is long, but the guest list is short.  There will be plenty of food to deliver and share.  

I know many others are facing similar pandemic restrictions.  I'm reminded of the matter-of-fact way my grandmother would talk about shortages during the war.  She would make do with what she had and carry on.  So it is today.  We have to make do with the current restrictions and carry on.

After all the hustle and bustle, there will be plenty of time for knitting.  Every year I look forward to some relaxing downtime.  Maybe even a little peace and quiet.

There are a couple projects that are almost finished and some new ones waiting in the wings.  I've just joined my Blurry Cowl and am ready for the stripes.  I know many knitters cast on something new during the holidays.  What's on your list?

If you're celebrating this week, take a moment to pause and reflect.  In the midst of all this crazy chaos, there's still so much to be grateful for.  Enjoy the holiday!

Since it's a short blogging week, here is this week's color inspiration.

A wall of holiday cheer.

Winter Solstice Giveaway

Happy Winter Solstice!

I've been toying with the idea of a holiday giveaway, and today seemed like a good day to get things rolling.

I'm giving away one of the winter club installments.  The winner can select either the fingering or DK weight option.

To enter, hop over to the Instagram post and leave a comment with your current favorite project.  The comments will be open through December 24.  Looking for pattern ideas?  Be sure to browse the comments.  There are a lot of good suggestions.

Take Two

It's been quite a week.  A topsy-turvy week.  My schedule is in a bit of a free fall, and every day I rearrange priorities and shift deadlines.

The holiday baking isn't finished.  To be honest, it isn't even started unless you count buying all the ingredients.  I've delegated some of the baking to a couple of my kids, and I'm hopeful that piles of cookies will appear.  I want to pop a few cards in the mail, there's decorating that needs attention and I should take the vacuum cleaner for a whirl around the living room.  So it goes.  It seems that holidays in a pandemic are just as chaotic as in normal times.

As for knitting, the other day I decided a do-over was in store for my Blurry Cowl.  I was pondering it while waiting for the furnace to be fixed.  I was so cold my options for productive activity were limited.  I wasn't that far along with the project, so it was easy to justify starting over.

I swapped the placement of the two colors, and I must say I like this better.  It's easier to see the texture in this section.  Weekend plans include plenty of knitting (after baking, cards, decorating and cleaning), and this project will probably see plenty of action.

I'm a big fan of winter.  We had a decent snowstorm the other day, and now the world is covered in white.  This week's color inspiration . . .

Peace and quiet in the Back Bay.

Waiting for Heat

I started out with the best of intentions for a productive day but was quickly derailed when I went downstairs and noticed a chill in the air.  The temperature was just above 50 degrees.  I made a couple phone calls and a cup of coffee.  While I waited, I quickly constructed an alternate plan for the day.

Before long, the furnace guy was here assessing the situation . . . up and down, back and forth between the cellar and the thermostat.  He determined he needed a new part and off he went.  While this was unfolding, I scratched baking off the list for today.  It's too hard to bake cookies with a parade of extra people marching through the kitchen.

I found myself hanging out in the dining room so I could monitor the commotion without being in the way.  Since baking was out of the question, I turned my attention to knitting.

That led me to this sock.  This is one of last year's sock club installments.  The first sock is finished, and I've been meaning to make the second one.  Now that winter is upon us, a new pair of socks would come in handy.  

At the end of the day, I don't have fresh cookies, but I do have a second sock in progress.  And more important, the heat is back on.

Sweater Hiatus

I've been focused on sweater knitting, but I had to take a brief hiatus.  It's not by choice.  One sweater is almost done.  I can see the finish line, but my stitch count is off and I had to give it a little rest.  Ripping out mohair isn't a pretty sight, and I can only take it in small doses.  On the other end of sweater production, I'm ready to start a new one but there's some waiting involved.  I dyed the yarn over the weekend, and it's still drying.

It's a good thing I had started this project, because now it can fill the gap.  This is Blurry Cowl.  It takes two colors, and today I'm thinking of swapping the colors.  That means I'd have to rip this out, but I'm OK with that.  Either way it's an entertaining project.