A Knitting Post

For those not interested in my knitting adventures, I will say that I am feeling wonderful on this rainy Thursday. Very much like myself. In fact, I was feeling SO good yesterday that I when I was making dinner I thought, 'hey, these potatoes [that I was planning to mash] are the perfect size for scalloped potatoes,' and then proceeded to make a far-too-fancy potato side dish for a Wednesday. They were delicious. My appetite and energy continue to be good. Every day has included two good dog walks, even in the sleet and snow. I had my picc line dressing changed today (a new weekly 'chore') and picked up some new curtains and a duvet cover for the guest room.

The rest of this post is about knitting. You have been sufficiently warned.

I picked up some yarn supplies before my treatments started and have used some of the yarn make myself a couple of soft and light hats for spring. One was a copy of the hat I made for Fiona (because I LOVED it) and the other was a lighter colour and weight. Patterns are Stones on the Beach Hat by Jennifer Knight (darker blue) and Huatau Hat by Francoise Danoy. Both were quick to knit and I plan to make another Huatau because I have leftover yarn and noticed there is a basket with hats at RVH that I could leave it in. Having warm-but-not-too-warm hats to wear this spring is definitely important. 

I have had a couple of other knit hats passed along to me from Fiona and have also received two other hats as gifts - a lovely soft slouchy toque from my sister and a bucket hat from some friends at Rick's school. I think I can round off this collection with a ball cap and be very well prepared for being a bald human. :)

I decided that BEFORE I dipped further into my new yarn purchases I should finish up a couple of projects that have been lingering. The first (and more daunting) was a pair of grey cable-knit socks. These were a project I started MORE THAN 10 YEARS AGO during Christmas vacation. I know this because I kept dated progress notes on the pattern. Having had smaller kids at the time I figure I must have just put these aside in 2012 for lack of down time. Over the years I have opened the project bag many times and just could not bring myself to jump back into the middle of these socks, which do require some focus and attention to the pattern chart. About a week ago I finally picked them up again and finished the first sock which had been about 75% complete. This past weekend as I spent lots of time resting I hammered out the second sock, and it feels really great to have these finished once and for all. Pattern is Vilai by Cookie A.

My pattern notes...Dec 20 2011 was my start date.

I am currently finishing up another unfinished sock project started just one year ago. I have finally finished one sock and am about to get started on the second. When I picked these up yesterday morning, I could not remember what pattern I was using. I remembered vividly that I had searched for sock patterns that work for variegated yarn to try and avoid colour pooling. I had not saved the pattern in Ravelry but had faith I could figure it out. Having a vague memory that I had accessed this on a website and not a PDF, I tried Knitty and found it right away. The pattern is Yamadori by Ema Marinescu. The stitch pattern creates a gorgeous squishy fabric but requires more attention than usual as every other row has a cable stitch every 3 stitches. It doesn't require a cable needle as it is a 1/1 cable, but it is slower going than I would prefer. 

And here was the evidence that I MAY finish these within a year of starting. :)

The big reward for finishing up this unfinished knitting business is that I get to start a new project. I have a couple of sock projects planned, as well as another big, colourful shawl project. The shawl yarn shopping hasn't happened yet, but I plan to make very good use of a yarn shop gift certificate I received last week to get everything I need. Stay tuned.