Hank – The Knitting Doctor

Dumb corgi tricks

I got back from my trip safe and sound, but missing my earbuds. They could be in this house somewhere, but I suspect they are in the seat back pocket of an airplane. They were just cheap, barely useable things, didn’t stay in my ears, and with lousy sound. So I’m not all that sad that they’ve gone AWOL.
I decided to treat myself to a decent set, since I do use them a lot. They came this morning. I was playing around with them, and got up to refill my tea. A short while later, it registered that Hank was being awfully quiet, and went to check.

He had absconded with the little card with all the spare silicone tips. He ate one, and trashed the rest. Little shithead. Fortunately the replacements aren’t expensive, and another set is on the way. There goes his allowance for this week.

Sweater progress

This one has been on the back burner since summer, and warmer weather, arrived. I have had the main pieces done for a while, and have one sleeve to finish.
Since we had a bit of cooler weather today (and rain!), I decided to get the front and back blocked. Once I get to the sleeve cap*, I’ll block that first sleeve so I can start sewing it up without having to wait for the whole thing to dry.

This is the Father/Son Pullover, by Cheryl Hevey. The yarn is Peace Fleece, in the color Gonna Be Alright. I might have Peace Fleece in a dozen other colors to make more sweaters, too. I do love a basic crew neck jumper for our chilly winter/rainy months.

Those books are my summer reading. I’m taking two classes with the Graham School, one on the Count of Monte Cristo, the other on Master and Margarita. The Gulag Archipelago sort of dovetails in with the Bulgakov novel. It’s not light reading, but it is oddly compelling. We’ll see if I have the fortitude to read the other two volumes of it. I might be in the mood by that point for some lighter fiction.
Of course, Hank is my knitting and reading sidekick. He sticks to me like glue most of the time.

*I use the first sleeve as a template for the second sleeve, so I’ll wait to block it until I get all the sleeve increases done on the second one.

Still life

Our peonies have been taking a bit of a beating with the windy days we’ve had, but I rescued these for the mantle.

Note the little Corgis. The little felted guy was made by one of our grandsons, using a photo of our previous corgi, Lewey. The other piece is a lovely Tasha Tudor corgi, sent to me by a fellow knitter, Robin.

Also note that both are safely out of reach of the Hankster.

“Who me??!!”

Four Months later…

Holy moly. I’ve never taken such a long blog vacation previously. I have been knitting, though very slowly. Hank (remember him??) loves to steal yarn balls and run around the house like a demon with them. So there are only two kinds of knitting around here: One kind, where Hank is sleeping, and the other kind, which involves a lot of yelling and dog spit-soaked yarn.

Here’s a recent photo of the yarn destroyer.

I HAVE finally finished something though! It’s PINK and it’s PRETTY!

Project Details:

Pattern: Quatrefoil, by Janina Kallio
Yarn: Cream Silk, from DyeForYarn, in the color Baby Unicorn. This is fingering weight, I used two skeins, 800 meters worth.
Needle: 3.00 mm Chiaogoo bamboo interchangeable
Started: Dec 22, 2022
Finished: May 31, 2023
What I learned: I like PINK! I don’t think I have much of anything PINK in my wardrobe, certainly not in my shawl collection. I bought it for the color name, because who doesn’t love baby unicorns?? I also learned that knitting silk on metal needles is guaranteed to result in tears. Once I switched to the bamboo, I was one happy camper.
Yarn/Pattern rating: *****/****. This CreamSilk stuff is like crack. The colors are gorgeous, and it knits up beautifully, other than being slippery. The pattern is a simple triangle shawl, started at the bottom point with just a few stitches and increasing on each side. It makes a weird, really pointy triangle shape that isn’t my favorite, but I tend to wear shawls wrapped around my neck anyway, so it doesn’t matter. The pattern itself is well-written.

Those are my peonies in the background. I moved them to this location two years ago, and they apparently love it, and are blooming like crazy.

That’s all for now, I’ll try not to take such a long break next time!

Pink!

New socks!

The pattern is the usual cobbled together one in my head. The yarn is Ty-Dye sock yarn from Knit One Crochet Too. Knit on double point needles, 2.00 mm. I started these back in October, before I got the bright idea to get a puppy.
Here’s the puppy!

He is growing up fast! John and I both are having a blast watching him grow up. He’s right in the middle of the terrible twos, but is cute enough that we forget the willfulness, and laugh a LOT.
That’s it for now. I’m off to pick up more dog poop, and to referee the impending Hank/Arlo wrestling match.

Bandwagon

I think I’m the last person on Ravelry to finish one of these hats. There are over 10,000 projects for the Musselburgh hat pattern, by Ysolda Teague.

That is just the best hat pattern on earth. Here are the details:

Project Details:

Pattern: Musselburgh, by Ysolda Teague
Yarn: Beaverslide 2-ply Sport/Sock weight, 80% merino, 20% kid mohair, color Mink Heather.
Needles: 3.25 mm Chiaogoo bamboo double points
Started: Sometime in the past year?
Finished: December 22, 2022
What I Learned: This is an interesting pattern construction, starting at the top of the head with a few stitches, casting on until it’s big enough around, then knitting straight for a really long time, then decrease. See below, the photo explains this better than I can. It leaves you with a double-layer hat that is very cozy.
Yarn/Pattern rating: *****/*****. Clearly written pattern, can be used for a wide range of yarn weights and hat sizes. This yarn is just divine. It is soft and lofty, but also durable. The kid mohair gives it a nice sheen.

Here’s a photo of the whole hat:

I do have a few more colors of this yarn in the stash. This hat is for me, but John tried it on, and he’s picked out his color.

Last but not least is Hank! He’s growing, learning, and in general being a whole lot of fun.