Lorette

100

My mom’s birthday is today. She would be 100 years old. That’s tough for me to wrap my head around.

She grew up in the depression years, and during the war. She married, not particularly successfully, but made the best of it, since that’s what women did then. She raised four kids mostly on her own, though she had an army of other women to help her: my grandmother, her sisters, and many neighbors and friends. Other than the few years when my siblings and I were babies, she worked as a teacher.

Though she lived in very conservative times, and in a conservative small farm town, her world-view was not one of restriction. She was funny, generous, and interested in the world around her. She graduated from “normal” school as a teacher at age 18, but then went back to college when I was in my early teens, and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree. I remember one of those years when she was studying John Donne in her spare time, whilst running a small farm household and trying to keep all of us clothed and fed.

She taught me that I can do almost anything I set my mind to, she never doubted that I could go to college, then medical school. She was a teacher her entire life, and instilled in me a love of reading and learning that I will be forever grateful for.

Happy heavenly birthday, momma. I think of you every day.

Retirement, Month 2

If there was ever any concern that I would be bored in retirement, stop worrying. I am having a blast, with no regrets, and no thoughts of “oh, maybe I’ll keep my work privileges and work a few days here and there”.

Nope. Just nope. I’m already running into the problem of too many fun things to do and not enough days in the week. And we’re in a pandemic in crappy weather, so I’m stuck at home, indoors. Once the weather gets nice and we’re all given the green light to get out in public, I may have to give up sleeping.

Of course I’ve been knitting. I’m trying to pare down my WIPs (works in progress, for the uninitiated). My ideal number of on-the-go projects is five or six: a sweater, a sock, a lace thing, a simple mindless shawl for knitting when I’m doing something else, and perhaps one or two small things (think hat or mittens). I’m getting there. I still have 3 complicated lace shawls in progress, but my goal is to get that down to ONE complex lace shawl at a time, in the hopes of actually finishing things.

The sweater project that I mentioned a few posts back has been started. After a lot of dithering around, I found a CustomFit sweater pattern by Amy Herzog that is just what I was looking for. It is her Dockside Cardigan. If you aren’t familiar with her patterns, she sells pattern templates that you can personalize with your measurements and gauge.

That’s a photo from the pattern page on Ravelry. Isn’t that pretty? Here is where I am now:

I think this will be perfect for this yarn.

I have bunches of other non-knitting projects in the works, but I’ll save that for later. Happy Monday!

Socks for John

A finished pair!

The yarn is Regia 4 ply, the color is one of their Nation colors. This was from deep stash, I bought it for John since he is all about the blue. It’s the same old jerry-rigged vanilla sock pattern I always use. He has weird feet, so I modify the foot shaping to fit him better.

72 stitches, knit on 2.00 mm double pointed needles. I do the heel flap a little longer, and do the gusset decreases a little slower to make it wider around his instep.

That’s my sock cheat sheet.

I really like the Regia sock yarn. It is sturdy, and wears well. This was put up in two separate 50 gram skeins. Each one had one knot, so the stripe sequence was off. This would bug the shit out of me if I bothered to match stripes in socks, but I don’t, so it doesn’t.

These are a win!

Yippee!

I finally got photos taken for my Hudson Valley Cardi. It was pouring rain most of today, but the sun popped out a bit ago, so here you go!

Project Notes:

Project: Hudson Valley Cardi, pattern by Patty Lyons
Yarn: Rowan Cotton Cashmere, I used 11 skeins, or 1507 yards
Needles: 3.5 mm for the lace edging, 3.25 mm for the body
Started/Finished: 7/11/19-2/19/21
For: Me
Modifications: I added about 2 inches to the body length, since I’m tall.
Project/Yarn Rating: Definitely ***** for the pattern. Patty writes extremely clear, no-nonsense patterns. This is one of her video sweater class patterns, so has a ton of linked instructional videos included. The yarn is also *****. Being a cotton/cashmere blend, it doesn’t have a lot of spring, but knits up very nicely. It is a tiny bit splitty, and I ran into a few knots, but nothing I’d complain about. It’s a perfect weight for spring and summer. I had my doubts about the color, since it borders on “blah”, but I like it, and it will go with anything.
What I learned: Where to start? I learned to do cables without a cable needle. I learned how to do a sloped shoulder bind off to avoid that stair step look. The videos had a lot of great suggestions to improve seaming and sizing. This one really took my sweater knitting up a notch.

I predict that this one will get a lot of use!

And one more photo, since it isn’t every day you see a new sweater at Chez Knitting Doctor.

Sigh

As it turns out, this yarn does not want to be knit at 20 stitches per 4 inches. I sort of expected this, which is why I did a swatch. It also doesn’t like being knit into cables. The heathery alpaca/wool blend just really wants to be stocking stitch. Fortunately I’m not bored at all by miles of stocking stitch.

So here’s the deal. What I want is a plain long cardigan, knit in pieces, seamed, and with a wide shawl collar. I don’t want to do a top down cardigan. My ideal gauge for this yarn is at 17.5 stitches per 4 inches. You wouldn’t think this would be a tough pattern to find, but there you have it.

You do know where this is going, right?

It looks like I’m cobbling together my ideal sweater on my own.

This is either a brilliant idea, or quite insane. But how hard can it be?

Stay tuned.

Unraveled

No, not that Hudson cardigan sweater. That is finished as of this morning. The bit of collar that was finished last is drying, and then I’ll do a “finished” post.

It’s this*:

I started this one forever ago. 2018, according to Ravelry. The pattern is Shinsetsu, which is quite pretty. That is nearly the whole back, about a few inches short of shoulder shaping.

Here is what it looks like now.

I have gotten at least marginally smarter about choosing flattering patterns as I’ve had more experience in sweater knitting. This pattern is gorgeous, but it is intended to be worn with quite a bit of positive ease, and has a drop shoulder type of construction. This is actually very similar to the one I just finished. However, that one is in a lighter yarn, and the fabric has a lot of drape. In this yarn it will just be a big bulky sweater with a lot of baggy bulk under the arms.

I sort of knew this. I kept knitting along until I got to the part at the underarm where you add even MORE stitches to make it wider. Then it went into time out when I got distracted by a new, shiny pattern. There probably was a reason why it went into time out.

Also, if you click on that pattern link, and look at the photos, you’ll see one of my knitwear designer pet peeves. The model is crouching down, or standing with her arm out, holding the sweater out. No straight-on shots to show what it really looks like.

Anyway, I adore this yarn, and want a wearable sweater out of it, so out it came. John was a bit horrified. “All that WORK!”

I’m swatching again to make sure, but I think this will be the new sweater. It has a much more fitted profile, and I like the cables a lot more.

Stay tuned.

*Cat included for scale. I put that sweater down, and picked up my phone to take a photo. That’s how long it took Ripley to make herself at home.

Almost there

Whew. This is a LOT of seaming. I have the shoulders joined, the sleeves in, and one side seam done. I’ve been mostly estimating the fit until I got to this point, but I’m quite relieved to be able to try it on. I think this will be a wardrobe keeper once done.

It should hang better once the lace collar is knitted and sewn down, that will stabilize the shoulders better. And those clips holding one side together make it heavy on that side so it looks lopsided.

I predict that I’ll be happy with this one!

Seaming party

Or,

A Pile of Sweater Pieces

Fortunately, I’m one of those weirdos that actually enjoys sewing up sweater pieces. This means a finished sweater isn’t too far off!

Getting closer

That is one big pile of sweater pieces right there. This is my Hudson Bay cardigan, which I started knitting about a billion days ago (pre-pandemic!). I’m finally on the second sleeve, then it will be time to finish the neck band and call it a summer sweater.

This is knit in pieces, which is hands down my favorite way to make sweaters. The front lace bands are knit along with the fronts. After the pieces are seamed, the live stitches at the top of the band are picked back up and the lace continues around to meet at the center back.

I think I’ll take a break from knitting to block the other pieces. That way once I finish this sleeve, I can do the seaming and get the rest of the knitting done while the second sleeve is drying. I’m ready for this one to be done, even if it is only February and I won’t wear it for a few months.

My new tea mug. And my new motto.

Finished Project

Actually, TWO finished projects.

The first is a huge one. After nearly 40 years of doctoring, I’m hanging up the stethoscope and retiring. My last day was one week ago, and I’m just now settling in and figuring out what the new life will look like. For now, it will be hanging out, reading, knitting, spinning, and catching up on house projects. And spending time with John, which is the best thing about retiring. If I’ve learned anything from my patients over the years, it is that nobody gets to their deathbed and wishes they’d spent more time at their job. They all wish they’d had more time with their loved ones.

And I won’t lie, this last year at work has been a little soul-sucking. Being a doctor in the midst of a pandemic can offer some challenges in a good way, but mostly it’s been a slog. So I’m not sorry at all that I’m out of it.

The second finished project is socks!

The yarn is West Yorkshire Spinners sock yarn, which is lovely. The color is named Hope, which is only available currently from Yarndale in England, with somewhat exorbitant shipping costs. (Though that didn’t stop me!)

The pattern is my same old vanilla sock pattern.

My next sock is already started.

The yarn is Regia sock yarn, I bought this eons ago to make socks for John. The blue is a little darker than true Tarheel Blue, but close enough.

I’m not sure what this blog will morph into now that I have more time to both knit and write. Stay tuned!

A boy and his hat

I started and finished a quick project this past week. After my spinning post recently, I rummaged around in the handspun yarn box and found this yarn:

I spun that ages ago. It is Targhee wool, the fiber was purchased from Spunky Eclectic. I think I spun it on my Schacht Matchless wheel. It’s a 2-ply, about Aran weight.

Someone decided he needed a hat. I found a pattern for a simple hat, but soon abandoned the pattern and just knit, trying it on the model as I did.

And the finished hat:

Yarn details are above.

I cast on 104 stitches, did 2 by 2 rib until it was “deep enough”, then knit plain stocking stitch until it was “tall enough”, then decreased around until I had 8 stitches left, pulled the yarn tail through, and it’s a hat. He wanted a “skull cap” kind of hat, and that’s what he got.

What I learned: Knitting hats doesn’t have to be complicated. And they are small enough that if you guess wrong on gauge or number of stitches, just rip it out and start over. Also, I don’t knit with my own handspun enough. This took about 300 yards of yarn, I have lots left.

There may be another hat on the way!

Vinum Mendacium

As promised, a finished project post. It came off the blocking board today.

Project Details:

Pattern: Larch, which is a free pattern available on Ravelry. I’ve renamed it Vinum Mendacium.
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy, color In Vinum Veritas
Needle: 3.25 mm
Started: February 27th 2020
Finished: January 5, 2021
For: ??
Modifications: None
Project/Yarn Rating: 5/5 (of 5). The pattern is very simple, I was initially annoyed by the non-paired decreases (instead of using SSK on one side and K2Tog on the other, it just uses K2Tog throughout), but it doesn’t look like it makes any difference in the finished shawl. The yarn is very soft and squishy. It is superwash, and not available any longer, except in my stash, where there lives several different colors of this.
What I Learned: I actually can finish things if I just sit down and do them instead of starting whatever catches my fancy. The dates would indicate that this took forever, but I started it, knit a few inches, then it hid in a bag until late December.

And another photo:

Comforting things

Well this has just been a hell of a week, hasn’t it? I’m not rehashing it here, you’ve all likely been stuck to the news as I have, and if you’ve been following me for more than a minute, you know my political leanings well. All I can say is that I’m blaming the flaming migraine I had for two days this week on trump.

So I’ve been looking for ways to calm my anxiety. Not getting sucked into social media helps. Meditation helps. Knitting definitely helps. Oddly, one of the books I’m reading is Nixonland, by Rick Perlstein, and that helps, as did reading Bagman, by Rachel Maddow. This insanity didn’t just start in the past year, or even the last century, which is weirdly reassuring.

And spinning! I haven’t used my wheel or my spindles much in the past year, who knows why. I suppose it’s related to too little free time and too many shiny knitting (and other) things that capture my attention. But I’ve dusted off the Watson wheel and started spinning. And my lovely little spindle collection has seen some use this past couple of weeks.

I was internet browsing late last night (insomnia is bad for the credit card balance!). I had a couple of shopping carts worth of spinning fiber loaded up, when the little angel on my right shoulder yelled loudly that I should check what’s in the fiber closet before I hit “pay now”. I’m glad I did. After a brief inventory today, I found FIVE of those big plastic tote boxes stuffed full of lovely spinning fiber. I have a huge yarn 401K saved up for retirement, and apparently I have enough spinning fiber to last several years as well.

Here is one of my favorite little spindles with some yarn-making in progress.

I’m not sure what the fiber is, or where I bought it, but it really is that eye-searingly pinky-orange. It feels like Polwarth or perhaps Targhee, it spins easily, and is nice and bouncy.

The spindle is a Golding Ringspindle, it is tiny, with a 2 inch whorl. I can’t fathom why these have been idle for so long.

In other news, I finished a little shawl. It’s still drying, so I’ll save it for another day, but it’s a good feeling to have a finished project for the new year.

Last but not least, I got my second Covid vaccine this morning. Hallelujah is all I can say. The next group to be vaccinated is the 70 and older, which means John will be vaccinated in the next few weeks. I’ve lived in utter terror this past year that I would bring it home to him. Most of my medical colleagues aren’t as much afraid of getting this as we are afraid of bringing it home to our loved ones.

Keep calm, and “Knit on, with confidence and hope, through all crises”*

*Elizabeth Zimmerman

Garter Rib Baby Blankie

And it’s a finished project! Actually it was finished a couple of weeks ago, I am just a lame blogger.

Pattern: Garter Rib Baby Blanket
Yarn: Cloudborn Superwash Merino DK
Needles: 4 mm
Started: November 21, 2020
Finished: December 19, 2020
For: A co-worker’s new grandson
Modifications: None
What I learned: I can indeed finish something in a timely fashion if I practice project monogamy.
Project/Yarn Rating: Very easy pattern, can be easily modified for size. I was surprised at how nice this yarn is. I bought it at WEBS on sale, the main criteria was that it needed to be washable, and it needed to be blue. I have enough left for a small project. It is the perfect Carolina Blue, so my Tarheel husband may get a hat out of this.

And a few more photos.

And just because I like to live dangerously:

Vinum mendacium

I finished a gift project yesterday, so it’s on to something else that’s been in time out. I’ll show the gift thing once it’s dry and gifted.
This is the something else:

That is Larch, which is one of those little neck things that I love to knit and wear.
The yarn is Dream in Color Smooshy. The color name is In Vino Veritas*, which I’m sure is why I bought it way back when.
I’m not sure I mentioned this on the blog, but I quit drinking earlier this year, in January. I suppose that if I had known what 2020 was going to look like, I’d have reconsidered that, but I’m glad I did.
In that light, Vinum mendacium* seems like a more appropriate project name. I will say that I don’t seem to have as many totally ridiculous knitting screwups since ditching the wine and vodka.
But that does look like a lovely cabernet in that photo. Or perhaps like I spilled a whole glass of wine on my knitting.

*In wine, truth

**Wine lies