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| They look sweet when they’re not messing with your yarn |
I’ve been doing a lot of reading this week, surprisingly given that it’s our second week back in the classroom, which means grading is just beginning to kick in. I finished The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, by N.K. Jemisin, which was a very intriguing fantasy read. Then yesterday, Red Glove finally came in at my local library, the next book in the Curseworker Series by Holly Black. I used to watch more tv during the semester, because I just needed something that would allow my brain to completely stop functioning, but now I find a really compelling book does that for me. Or at least, approximates complete brain stoppage.
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| The garter stitch baby blanket |
This morning, we received delivery of the last pieces of some large storage units some friends built for us in our back room. These units were largely to solve my growing yarn storage problem. I started with just a bag in the back room. But somehow the yarn expanded beyond the bag. So then I started putting it in a storage box under the bed. But that became fuller and fuller as well, eventually to the point where the lid wouldn’t really close all the way, and so our cats, or specifically, one of the cats, would actually reach in the gap in the lid with her paws and pull out the yarn. And then we’d find her in a big, ecstatic pile of tangled yarn. No good. So by the time we decided to have some storage built, my husband had begun to comment on the fact that every drawer and cabinet he opened in the house seemed to contain balls of yarn. Well, now it all has one home, with heavy doors that the cats will hopefully be unable to open.
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| My first sweater, with Gilly in the background |
It’s funny that the two cats seem to have different yarn weaknesses. Kevin (yes, her name is Kevin) can’t resist alpaca, but Gilly goes for the plain wool. Kevin wrestles the yarn, while Gilly just kneads it a bit and then settles down. Kevin also has a thing for bamboo knitting needles. She will pull these out of my knitting bag and carry them around the house. Ah, life with animals.
So, in celebration of my new yarn storage system, I’m sharing some projects I’ve finished over the last few months. A garter stitch baby blanket for my brother and sister-in-law, who are due in the beginning of October. I started this project back in the fall, right when I first started knitting. At that point, little garter stitch squares were probably about all I could do. Sewing them all together at the end sucked, but I like the way the colors look together.
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| Wavy scarf |
I also finished my first ever sweater, a very simple top-down pattern. This is using Cascade 220 Heathers. It’s for my husband, and seems to fit okay. Here’s hoping it doesn’t unravel the first time he wears it.
I actually finished this scarf a while ago. It’s a wavy pattern of knits and purls using Misti Alpaca, which is just gorgeous. I’m planning on doing a little floppy beret in the same color and giving it to my stepdaughter for Christmas.
And I’ve started a cardigan for me, because sometimes it’s good to knit something for yourself. It’s a pattern from Hannah Fettig at knitbot called the Effortless Cardigan. Well, it is not, of course, effortless. It feels like it’s going to take forever, but it’s using Baby Alpaca from Alpaca with a Twist, a local yarn, which I bought at Sophie’s Fine Yarns in Louisville, a beautiful yarn shop a friend recently discovered. Is there anything so comforting as knitting a soft, warm sweater for yourself on a chilly fall day? I don’t think so.
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