Knitting, Sci-fi and other stuff...

     Oops, looks like three weeks have gone by.  I've been very busy with work, my second job, outside tasks and some knitting, so it's not all bad.  It turns out planting my garden Mother's day was a bad idea.  Very few things actually came up.  I replanted the cucumbers, watermelons, zucchini, eggplant, and beans last weekend.  The lettuce and peas came up pretty decently.  I planted more of those, since I spaced out the peas too far and only one of the three varieties of lettuce grew.  I didn't replant the onions, I'll put pepper plants there if I ever manage to buy some.  The tomatoes are still alive and blooming.  It keeps raining here nearly everyday so if they pollinate and actually bear fruit it'll be a miracle.  I don't thinks it's going to be a good garden year, but oh well.  It's still fun seeing something grow.      My new second job is going well.  I worked my first 24hour shift yeste...

     Since I couldn't decide weather to continue Get A Shift On with yarn I have or buy different colors I set it aside this week.  Instead, I started a pair of socks.  I've been looking to try some different techniques, so I chose an ankle style with a heel tab and a short-row heel.  Bonus; it's a free pattern:  Shorty Heel Tab Socks  I tried on the sock last evening and it's fitting quite well.  I did a stretchy cast on then knit the cast on together with the active stitches when it came time, the pattern gave directions for this and also suggested a provisional cast on as an alternative.  I have a ridge of cast on stitches on the inside of the cuff; I was a little afraid this would feel uncomfortable.  I didn't even notice that ridge when I tried it on.  (Granted, I just tried on the sock in progress, so it may feel very different when I actually wear them.)  The seaming of that folded cuff, however, was pain to knit ...

      I finished Killer Queen Cowl and That Nice Stitch Bandana.  I trimmed the ends and got final pictures today. Killer Queen Cowl That Nice Stitch Bandana Both of these were made from Malabrigo Rios.  Killer Queen in the Pisces and Leo colorways and That Nice Stich in what I'm assuming is Indiecita.     I've also overcome my knitters block, sort of.  I've started another  Get a Shift On .  I have a multitude of Malabrigo Sock leftovers from several projects so I'm changing up several colors and doing another one.  When I took the progress photo today I realized its rather autumnal looking.  I'm debating my next color choices now.  I'm not sure if I should keep going as I had sort of planned or if I should stick to a more fall scheme.   This is Eggplant as the main color, Lettuce as the CC1, Cameleon as CC2 and Terrecotta as CC1.  The Cameleon blends a little too much with the Eggplant but works well with ...

      Its been an eventful two weeks, not in a good way either.  I'm not really ready to go into all the details but the job my husband was supposed to start fell through.  I had already given notice at my second job, but a really great opportunity dropped into my lap instead.  More on that later.  My full time job is keeping me extra busy with a ton of new tasks and projects.  I'll be starting the validation process for yet another new instrument later this week.  (That's number three if anyone is keeping score.)       Sadly, I've gotten a case of knitters block or executive disfunction, whatever it should probably be called.  I want to knit, I just have so many potential projects at my disposal I start none of them instead.  I did seam Killer Queen Cowl yesterday, finally.  I also washed, partially dried and blocked both Killer Queen and That Nice Stitch Bandana.  They are both still drying.  Fin...

    I finished knitting  That Nice Stitch Bandana .  I seamed it and got the ends woven in.  I need to wash and block it yet.  It looks snug in the neck area but it fits over my head fine and is cozy but not too tight around my neck.  This was a quick and fun knit, I highly recommend. I haven't made anymore progress with my  Killer Queen Cowl .  I'm going to seam it first then wash and block it, I think.  Then I can do both these cowls at the same time.     I'm not sure what to knit next.  I have the yarn ready for the Butterfly Papillion; I also have the yarn ready for the 2023 LYS Day shawl from Art Yarns and yarn ready for yet another shawl....  I may need to do a dishcloth or two to get over this startopenia.     The kids dyed eggs yesterday.  We used a "Superhero" kit and a "Galaxy" kit.  I've had these kits for a number of years now and the liquid dye that was in the Galaxy kit had crystalize...

      I finished the knitting on my Killer Queen Cowl before I left for my work trip.  I haven't done anymore with it since I returned.  It needs to be blocked and seamed. I realized as I was nearing the end of this knit that I would need something to take with me on my trip.  Stitchnerd just published a new cowl pattern and at least three people in the Malabrigo Junkies group have already made it.  It only takes one skein of Rios and I had a nice variegated one already wound so I tossed everything in my bag to take with me.  I started this in my hotel room while I was on my trip. That Nice Stitch Bandana Cowl My trip went well.  The drive was just a little less than 5 hours down.  I took the "short" way down which involved a county route that goes around the old Erie canal locks.  I haven't taken that way in a long time, there was construction and then more construction in Utica when I needed to get on Interstate 90.  It was a...

    I got sidetracked last weekend and never got around to posting.  I finished  Get a Shift On! , finished weaving in the ends, washed it and blocked it.  I've even worn it twice already.  I was worried right at first it would be narrow but it came out a really good scarf size in the end. Its been really rainy here so I had to take the "glamor" shots under fluorescent light, but oh well.  This was a fun pattern and I still have left overs.  I'll probably be making another one at some point with a little different color scheme.     I worked on this exclusively once I started it.  So once I finished it I went back to  Killer Queen Cowl  and I've made some good progress on it.  I've done a little more than what's pictured.  I'm into the decreases now. I n other news, I met up with some former co-workers last weekend for dinner and wound up with a commission.  My very knitworthy friend Jim asked me if I would k...

    I haven't made any more progress on my Killer Queen Cowl.  I put that to the side so I could make progress on  Get a Shift On!   I've made quite a bit of progress.  I'm on the last contrasting color now, then its into the fade portion.  I can't find my scale so I wasn't able to measure my scraps before starting.  I don't know if I'll have enough of each color for the fade portion... so this may get interesting very soon.  The stripes didn't take very much so I'll have left over left overs from this.  It's been really fun so far, so I see another in my future. Get a Shift On! It took me a little bit to figure out my color order but this is what I've done so far.  The MC is Eggplant.  CC1 is Dewberry, CC2 is Abril, CC3 is Anniversario, CC4 is Solis, CC5 is Indiecita, CC6 Aguas and CC7 is Plomo.  Its all Malabrigo Sock.  I've been knitting this at a pretty tight gauge compared to the pattern.  I don't care for s...

I tried to get a better picture of my DRK Everyday Cowl, but yesterday was a blustery, cold but very sunny day.  Despite the look on my face I do really enjoy the cowl. I made some more progress on my Killer Queen.  I stayed up a little too late working on it last night.  I feel like it's going a little faster than my first one, even though I keep making minor errors.  I have to pay very close attention to each row instruction or else I get off by a stitch.  I find the wording in some places to be counter intuitive, at least for me. My swap package arrived yesterday.  I received an absolutely wonderful package.  It also included Original Peaches and Creme yarn, back from when it was produced by the Elmore Pisgah mill in the US.   I plan to start using the project bag immediately.  The next Mal March project I'm going to start is a stash buster.  I'll be using some Sock leftovers from Find Your Fade and a full skein of Eggplant to ma...

      I finished the DRK Everyday Cowl on the 28th, steamed it and got it posted to Nerdopolis before midnight GMT.  I'm glad I read other peoples notes and decided to go with the adult large.  It's got a good amount of space to slip over my head but is still nice and snug around my neck.  I need to get a better picture of this one.        I spent all yesterday and most of today sewing project bags.  I made two for the swap and two for me.  I always say, oh I'll make a bag for myself some other time, then never do.  I used similar fabric combinations for my bags, but they're not identical.  Since I haven't sent my swap package yet, I'll just show off my bags. Open Wide by Noodlehead Inside of Open Wide This was the first time in quite a while that I had inserted a zipper, which did a good job of reminding me what a pain in the butt they are.  This one didn't turn out the best.  The zipper pull doesn't s...

     I haven't been up to much on the crafting front in the last two weeks.  The kids were on winter break from school so my daughter had her best friend over for several days.  I spent most of last weekend cooking.  Liara's birthday is today so having her friend over was part of her birthday celebration.  We had a birthday dinner for her with my parents on Friday.  I was hoping to get some sewing done but got sidetracked.  I whipped up a toddler sized hat for my pregnant co-worker.  Her last day was today, so we threw a baby shower/send off party today at work.  I made a  Windschief , in the smallest size.  I've made it a couple times now.  It's a great straight forward hat with a little bit of interest.  The smallest size should fit her son when he is toddler sized.  I wanted to do something a little bigger so she'll have something for later.   I used Knit Picks Wool of the Andes left over from a...

Last weekend got away from me and I forgot entirely to write a post.  I washed and blocked my Unicorn Cowl.  I've been wearing it since it dried.  I like it overall.  The alpaca has a fair amount of guard hairs so it's a little itchy, but not terrible.  I've been plucking them out whenever I see them.  I even took a nice action shot when wearing it the other day.      I've been working on a project a coworker requested me to make.  She wanted it out of acrylic for easy care.  I very rarely work with acrylic anymore.  It causes all my issues to flare up because of its non-elastic properties.  I've been working slowly to minimize my back and wrist pain but I have a deadline.  I just finished the ensemble.  The pattern is okay, probably not something I'd knit again.  I used the free pattern from Lion Brand  Holding Hands Mitts .  The decreases in the franken mitt are a little wonky in my opinion....

I finished my Unicorn Cowl last evening.  This was a fun pattern and one I'd have no problem knitting again. I've woven in the ends since I took this picture.   I had a pretty normal week.  It was stormy at the beginning of the week and very cold for the remainder of the week.  We have a warm front moving in.  It was a balmy 29 degrees F when I left for work this morning.  After experiencing negative digits earlier, near "freezing" is a veritable heat wave. We've had three new people start at work all within the last three weeks.  It's great to have some more staff, but training can be very tiring.  Thursday and Friday we're busy and I felt like I was pulled in all directions; especially Friday.  I'm looking forward to the future.  We have a lot of changes coming to this lab and I'm excited about them.  Just gotta get through this little sludge patch. Until later.  Happy crafting. -Q