Looking Back | May.

Today I'm looking back at May ... one last time ... through the lens of my daily photos.

I expected the blanket to dominate, so I was surprised to see a lot more than knitting! ...and a lot more blues skies than I remember (but surely my photos don't lie). I also realize I completely forgot to share an FO with y'all - Sunday the 6th, I debuted Bateaux Mouches.

The finished piece is just what I hoped it would be - a light, airy cloud. The girls in my knitting group are divided about what a great knit this is ... I love the endless rows of garter stitch and that it's one ball of yarn. It's perfect for traveling and for all those times your brain needs to work on something besides knitting, but your hands need something to do, too. I know I'll be knitting another one!

Happy Tuesday!

FO Friday | Edie.

Happy Friday, y'all! It feels like it's been the longest week, and I still have things left to-do on my list, but one thing I do get to cross off is five days of blog posts ... and finished Edie photos!

I'm really pleased with the length now (and so happy I spent the eight-ish hours to fix it).

Ravelry details here 

Isabell Kraemer is one of my favorite designers - great shapes, fun details and well-written patterns - and Edie delivers all of these. Isabell wrote the pattern to use a 100% linen yarn (the lovely Quince & Co. Sparrow). She says she added the slip-stitch stripe detail - barely visible in this photo - to combat linen's tendency to bias. I used a 90% merino/10% linen blend (Madelinetosh Dandelion); and while my swatch biased like crazy, the finished piece looks ... fine! Go figure.

The only modifications I made to Isabell's instructions were to work Sunday Short Rows (this is my go-to short row method and while Carol says she doesn't recommend them when the short rows are worked just one stitch apart, I did it anyway and it worked fine) and to bind off with a size up needle. If I'd paid closer attention to my row gauge, which was a lot bigger than the pattern suggested, I would've known to knit a lot fewer rounds the first time around. (you'd think I'd know better!)

When I chose this spot for the photos, I had hoped you'd be able to see the beautiful irises blooming behind me. Sorry about that! Here's a photo I took yesterday afternoon and there are even more blooms today.

I'm so glad it's #blueskybloom season again!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend ... that's not nearly as stormy as the weather folks are predicting 😀.

FO Friday | Quick Sand.

Sunday afternoon - in addition to coloring (and showing off my spring pedicure) - we took finished photos of Quick Sand.

I'm not sure holding a toddler really shows off the sweater details, but this is the fourth time I've knit the pattern. Y'all know what it looks like, right?

My gauge was a little tighter than what the pattern called for, so I knit the next up size. It worked perfectly. I followed Heidi's excellent instructions as written except for the hems. On the body, I worked two rows of garter before binding off; and on the sleeves, I went down a needle size to work those two rows of garter and bind off. I'm really happy with how it turned out! (project on Ravelry here)

...and yay for Friday - have a wonderful weekend!

FO Friday | Comfort Fade Cardi.

When I cast on (way back on March 4), I thought this might be just the project to convince Spring to come ... and stay. Turns out she wasn't that easily tempted. I bound off the stitches while we were in North Carolina and finished it up late last week. I've already had two chances to wear it - and thankfully, Sara was around for one of them take photos.

Raveled here 

I'm a newbie to the whole "fade" thing, and it was only when Tanis (from my favorite indie dyer TanisFiberArts) released kits that I succumbed. The pattern itself is a very (very) basic topdown seamless raglan - easy to knit ... and easy to fit. The fade works because the body of the piece is reverse stockinette - the purl bumps really blend the colors.

The cuffs and collar are knit in garter stitch ... time-consuming, but effective. The bulk of the tight row gauge helps the edges lay flat - way more than reverse stockinette would.

I think the dark to light fade on the collar is my favorite design detail.

Not that Holly appreciates it!

and in keeping with tradition - a favorite outtake - it was really windy!

Wishing all of you a wonderful weekend - and a Happy Easter or Passover if you're celebrating.

FO Friday | Parallelogram Scarf.

Yes, indeed, it's finished!

Ravelry details here

...and it's a beauty. 

It's also a bit of a beast - my finished piece is about 30 (thirty!) inches longer than the pattern suggests ... but it's another cold windy day here and a double wrapped scarf around my neck (on top of a turtleneck) feels nice. even inside.

Those last few inches went fast - I had about 10g (from a 100 g ball) of each color left when I set it aside for our trip. I picked it up again Thursday evening and by Saturday evening the knitting was done. So done, in fact that I had to rip back the last two rows because I didn't have enough yarn to bind off. Sunday morning, I finished the bind off, wove in the four (gotta love it!) ends, gave it a soak, laid it flat and let it dry. 

This was my first foray into sequence knitting and I look forward to trying more. It's a really cool technique ... even when I can't count to two!

Today also marks the end of Michelle's self-portrait challenge; the prompt is ritual. I don't really have any rituals aside from a hot cup of coffee with steamed milk first thing in the morning. Since First Thing happens before I check email, I didn't see the prompt in time to capture that moment. I do, however, have a deeply rooted daily habit to take a photo.

...which given my long-standing love of self-portraits in black and white, I'll be sharing on Instagram like this.

(clearly the sign of a great piece when it's just as pretty without the color!)

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Unraveled Wednesday.

As of this morning, I have not one, not two, but three new sweaters for our trip.

First, the black cardigan. Thankfully, there wasn't any more unraveling after the story I shared two weeks ago.

Then, the blue tank, which also works great as a layering piece.

And last, All the Love. I finished the body in early January and set it aside to finish Bodie (then Footprints and the two sweaters above). Adding the two sleeves and a neckband was quick! I've got the fan blowing full speed; hopefully it will be dry to wear on the plane Friday morning. The fiber is a wool/silk/yak blend in a DK weight; I think it might even work with white jeans for a casual evening. We'll see.

After all those sweaters, it feels kind of weird to have just one project on the needles. I'm sure it won't mind a bit of monogamous attention for two days 😊. 

On the reading front, I'm slogging through Before We Were Yours. A few of y'all read and loved it but I'm finding it bleak and cruel. It turns into a pumpkin tomorrow and I still have 40% to go. If it weren't a bookclub pick, I'd just give it up. If you have any encouragement for me, please share!

Hop on over to Kat's to see what others are knitting and reading!

FO Friday | Footprints.

The amaryllis is still going strong, but I think we're all ready for a different Friday view. So I'm delighted that Heidi has published Footprints in the Snow and I can share my finished project with y'all!

I finished the knitting on Sunday and finished the rest Monday morning. With the help of a small fan, it was dry to wear out Tuesday. Of course it was nice to have a "new" sweater, but it was even nicer to have Katie take photos.

It's wonderful to have her behind the camera (she does such a nice job!) and this neutral brick wall on her deck is a near-perfect setting.

The design is a very classic pullover, knit seamlessly from the top down in a versatile DK weight gauge (22 stitches and 30 rows to 4"). I mixed Shibui Linen and Silk Cloud on a size 6 needle; the linen/silk/mohair blend will be a nice transition piece for spring and fall here in Atlanta.

The mock turtleneck is 5" of 1x1 ribbing (honestly, the most tedious part of the whole project), folded in half and sewn down on the inside. I left a long tail so I didn't even have any extra ends to weave in - and the seam was really easy.

The only modification I made to Heidi's design was to shorten the sleeves by about 2". If I make this again - which I plan to! - for warmer weather, I might shorten them even more. For winter, though, I think her length as written would be perfect.

Heidi is definitely one of my desert island designers. I hope I get the opportunity to test for her again.

The process that Katie and I use for these photos is simple - I give her a memory card, tell her what knitting details I want to highlight and she does the rest. Without fail, there is always something fun waiting for me when I import the photos.

and on this smiling note, Happy Friday, Happy Weekend (and GO EAGLES)!!

Weekending.

At first glance, this past weekend might look a lot like the one before it. Netflix, snacks (with wine) in front of the TV, knitting, walks in the park

rewatching the end of Grace & Frankie season 3, ice on the pond, Saturday snacks
blocked lace, #parallelogramKAL (mine is the one at the bottom)
bright blue skies, Sunday snacks and today's sunrise over the pond

...but then there's this!

Bodie is now an FO! Holly snuck a quick snuggle with it Friday evening once it was dry and I got to wear it Saturday! I am in love with this one (in case you can't tell!) ... it fits beautifully and it's the perfect light coat for the typical Atlanta weather this time of year. 

I hope your weekend included a smile-inducing moment or two ... and not only related to the outcomes of yesterday's games!

Happy Monday!

Selfie Sunday | Three-fer.

On any typical NaBloPoMo Sunday, I'd be reaching for just one photo ... but today I have three. and since I have plenty of weekending story to tell without them, I figured I'd share them all today. 

First - the tree is up and the twinkle lights are on! I had considered skipping church this morning to hang the ornaments, but this view convinced me that wasn't necessary. I'm thinking next Sunday's view will be full decorated, but maybe not ...

6 am

Second - Shades of Sandy debuted today. It was a perfect layer this morning when the temperatures were in in the 40's and 50's.

11 am

Third - By the time I got home this afternoon it was warm enough for bare toes. I can't imagine we'll have many more flip flop days, and I intend to enjoy every one of them!

4 pm

I hope your November is coming to a bright, warm close as well - xo, M.

Weekending | Hello November.

This weekend provided multiple examples of why November is such an easy month for me to love.

A Friday afternoon walk with Holly, especially with flip flops and crunching leaves.

A run to the lake on Saturday morning.

An opportunity to wish Sara "Happy Birthday, with something to cheer about" on Instagram. (I still don't know what the soundtrack is, but she said it was great one!)

Knitting with family who are friends on Saturday afternoon. on the porch!

spiced pear liqueur with prosecco and plenty of yummy food

An opportunity to wear my newest sweater ... and a most-patient sister to photograph it.

and these are just a few of the outtakes!

Taproot - on Ravelry here

(I'm wearing the sweater again today, but with capri length leggings ... it's supposed to be 74 degrees this afternoon!)

A Sunday morning walk on the greenway with Lauren.

In between all that, Marc and I enjoyed three quiet evenings at home with snacks and TV. We watched the latest Jack Reacher movie (I fell asleep at about the 30 minute mark), another Georgia Tech loss and the first two episodes of Bosch (on Amazon Prime). The Bosch was my favorite (and there are three seasons!), but Marc says "it's not Grantchester or Poirot". True. I think I'm going to investigate Acorn TV. Do you have it?

I hope you had a lovely weekend - and here's to a great week! (and 6 down, 24 more to go!)

FO Friday Two-fer.

First up, here's 2nd Avenue ... in the 2nd Avenue subway station (yep, Sara did acquiesce).

It was still hot the day we left the city, but I had the scarf with me on the train and it was a perfect layer with the sleeveless dress. It cooled off in New Haven, and I actually got to wear the scarf for the first time last Friday. with a chambray shirt (just like I envisioned when I bought those five crazy skeins). How cool that its first "in action" photo was with New Haven pizza!

I repeated that outfit yesterday (yay for October weather!) and know the scarf is going to be on heavy rotation for the next few months!

As is the Tapered Cowl, aka "Moving to NYC". This is today's outfit. Perfect for cool mornings/evenings (and grocery stores) when you need a little something around your neck (and shoulders) but not too much - and very easy to take off when the afternoon warms up.

I missed blogging about this piece in progress, but it was the stupid-simple-stockinette (in the round no less) project I planned for Sara's move. The pattern is part of Churchmouse's latest collection - perfectly written and very wearable. I used an alpaca/silk blend that was pretty close to what the pattern suggested, but major on sale at Webs (maybe it's been discontinued?) - the whole project cost me less than $30. 

I cast on the 200+ stitches on the way to the airport (way back on September 14), knitted a few rounds on the flight and then didn't pick it up again until well into the U-Haul drive (and then only for short bits). I made a little more progress once the apartment was setup. That's the piece on the floor (under the table) - a week after I started ... and still on the first ball! 

I joined the second ball on the train to New Haven and knit a little more late last week and on the plane ride home (since Marc sat next to Charlie and I sat in the row in front of them).

Then it was still a few more days to finish (I didn't join the third ball until Monday). and block. and oh boy, was the blocking key! Here's the before (left) and after (right). The "raw" knitting was not at all pretty but wow, I don't think it shows!

These two projects have a lot of memories tied into the making. Alaska, Sara's move, the 2nd Avenue subway, train rides and airplane flights, pizza and lots of sitting with family and friends. When I started writing this post I kept thinking about how little progress I had to show for almost two months. but now that I've written the story, I see. it wasn't really about the knitting....

Happy Friday my friends.

xo - M.