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I've been struggling to find my holiday spirit this year. The rush is on now, and I haven't lifted a finger to do any decorating or baking. I had some help earlier in the week when my son and his girlfriend put lights up around the house. We did get a tree yesterday, but it's still outside. I need to put clean and rearrange living room on my to-do list to make room for said tree. All of that is going to take a bigger block of time than I have available right now.
We celebrated one December birthday and have another one coming up this weekend. That will involve more planning, preparation, cooking and shopping. The kids have talked about baking on more than one occasion and I was hopeful it might actually happen, but so far we don't have one cookie in our possession. I bought all the necessary ingredients. Maybe I should put the recipes on the counter to see if I can jumpstart the process.
Clearly I need to make efficient use of my time if I'm going to pull everything together. This is one step in that direction.
A Coloring Book for Knitters.
I got a few of these for the knitters on my holiday list. Yes, I also got one for myself, but I put it away. This is no time for distractions.
Last week I mentioned I was having an issue with my left-leaning decreases.
This is the back of the offending project before I ripped it
out . . . twice. You can't see it here, but there are mirror decreases for shaping. I was cruising right along, diligently doing my decreases. My left-leaning ones were a little sloppy, but I was sure blocking would help. A couple more inches after this picture was taken, I had to admit that blocking wasn't going to miraculously fix the situation, so I ripped it out.
It was time to adjust my ssk. For some time now, my preferred method for ssk has been slip, yank, twist, knit. See the link for all the details. This method has served me well, and I've been happy with the results. But for this project, I was left with a sloppy, jagged line. I think it's a combination of the yarn and the sharp contrast with k2tog which always leaves a straight, smooth line.
I did a little experimenting and reverted to one of my old ssk
methods - slip 1 as if to knit, slip 1 as if to purl, knit them together through the back loop. I got to work right away and knit up several inches with the ssk adjustment. The left line was better, but it still looked sloppy when compared to the k2tog line on the other side. I still wasn't satisfied.
Back to the drawing board. I ripped it out again and did a little more research. I stumbled across this post from Wendy at Muddy Sheep. She claimed that if you work that ssk stitch through the back loop on the next row, it will smooth everything out. Depending on your pattern, this will either be a purl through the back loop or a knit through the back loop. I tried her suggestion with my slip 1 as if to knit, slip 1 as if to purl ssk, and it made a noticeable difference.
If you really want to get in deep, Wendy also mentioned this video from Cat Bordhi. Cat recommends slipping a stitch in the row below the ssk to create a "hungry" stitch. I tried this method too, but it didn't create the neat stitches I was looking for - maybe because I'm working back and forth, not in the round. I haven't totally discounted Cat's method and will probably experiment with it some more.
For now, working that ssk stitch through the back loop has made my left-leaning decreases much neater.
Third time's a charm.
Here's a quick bonus. Tin Can Knits is celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas by offering a free pattern every day from now until December 25. Today's free pattern is Antler Mittens. Check it out.
I've been working on an experiment with the 3 Color Cashmere Cowl. Instead of picking the colors before I cast on, I've been making my color selections as I go. I'm working with Bertha Sport and started with Cloud. When it came time for the second color, I debated but finally chose Raven.
I had plenty of time with the two grays to contemplate the third color. At first I was tempted to go with a red. Then I briefly flipped to a yellow, but I've done a lot with gray and yellow, so I abandoned that notion.
In the end I settled on Peacock. It feels like I found the last piece to a puzzle. I'm smitten with this color combination, and now that all the decisions have been made, I can put my knitting on autopilot.
The other day I took a short walk along the beach. I enjoy these
off-peak visits to the water . . . peace and quiet. I came across a pile that had washed up on shore. This week's color inspiration reminds me of some of my yarn messes.
A colorful tangle.
My day started with a visit from the appliance repair guy, and he completely derailed my morning. The good news: The repair guy was able to get the dryer running on a temporary basis while he orders a part. The bad news: Knitting pics will have to wait until later in the week.
Never fear, I do have something to share. The world is full of so much destruction and devastation these days, but here's a glimmer of hope. Designer Bristol Ivy is donating 50% of her December pattern sales to charity. Buy a pattern, spread the word, share the light.
With that I'm off to get ready. Today is my daughter's birthday, and we have a date this afternoon. She has an extended celebration planned with more festivities this weekend, but today it's just the two of us. I'm savoring the moments . . .
I'm starting fresh with a new day, a new week. I fell off the Get To Work Book bandwagon a couple weeks ago, but today I'm jumping back on.
This is what happens when I don't pay attention to my planning. The dyeing schedule becomes unwieldy, yarn arrives and I don't know what it's for, I lose perspective on how many new booth samples I can really churn out between now and January. I need to organize the chaos, and this handy book will keep me on the straight and narrow.
The swatch is for a situation I have with wonky decreases. I'm digging deep to sort it out . . . one thing leads to another. I'll report my findings.
Last call for Yarn Knot Socks.
The December installment of the sock club will be shipping soon, and there's still room for a few more. I'm excited with the
base . . . something new and different. Treat yourself or a knitting buddy. Click on the link for details.
Gray is trending in my knitting world.
Usually I plot out my project colors before I cast on, but this time around I'm sorting it out as I knit.
I started knitting with the light gray. I thought I would be inspired before I needed the second color, but it didn't come together that way. A couple days ago I dyed more colors in this yarn base, and that generated some good possibilities for this project. It was a tough decision, but I'm going with more gray. I'll add another color to the mix, but I can wait before making my final decision. I'm enjoying this process of no predetermined color commitments.
At the end of a gray day (or, especially after a series of gray days), a glimpse of the sun is a welcome sight. My color inspiration for this week . . .
Sunshine breaking through at sunset.
This morning I woke up to a raw, wet, gray day. I stopped in the kitchen long enough to retrieve a cup of coffee and quickly decided my duties as a scullery maid could wait until later. Since I didn't have any pressing plans, I retreated to my knitting and an audio book.
This is just the beginning, and it echoes today's weather. I need to add a couple colors and am still considering the options. This decision is going to require some dyeing.
