More Pumpkin Spice

 I was weak.  I bought the Pumpkin Spice bread.  And some Pumpkin Spice cream cheese.  They are delicious together -- I had toasted bread with the cream cheese for breakfast twice this week.  Tomorrow I'm planning on stuffed French toast.  Yummy!  

And lots of baking.  Tomorrow is Dave's birthday.  I'm making two of his favorite desserts.  Cheesecake and pumpkin pie.  Why two?  Well, the man just won't commit.  

In knitting news, there is no news.  I'm still working on my hat and the Boring Big Blue Blanket.  I need to break out of the ennui and get moving on things.  

A Little Bit

 I went back to work today, so there was lots of work to catch up on.  I had to work late.  Also I cooked a big dinner (Pork BBQ, scalloped potatoes, and cornbread -- my man wanted cornbread).  And I got a new Netflix DVD (we're watching Joan of Arcadia).  With all of that I just got a little bit of knitting done.  A row on the hat, and while I'm watching tv some Big Blue Blanket knitting. I also got a little bit of untangling done last night as well.  

The Webs catalog came and when I was looking through it I saw the Dassin Cardigan.  I liked it at first, at least a little bit.  But then when I was looking at it I noticed the garter stitch patch.  

Right there on the butt.  Who would need something to call attention to their butt?  How is that a design feature?  I think I'll pass.

Halfway There

 Today is the last day of my vacation.  We didn't really do much -- there was nowhere to go.  I didn't feel comfortable going to the movies, so we just watched some movies here at home (I Am Not Your Negro and Molly's Game) and some TV (Firefly).  I made a cake, and I knit some:

I'm not quite halfway through the chart.  So far so good a few problems with dropped stitches and a weird knit two together that I have no idea .  It needs blocking.  But at this point I'm pretty sure I will get it done for Christmas.  Now I need to find a knitting while reading pattern for the other house (to knit while I'm in bed).  I think I'm going to take the yarn for DJ's vest.  We'll see.  I DID do some untangling of my tangled skein last night.  It took me about 10 minutes to find the end, but after a bit I'm about halfway done with that.  I finished a book and started another.  Now I'm reading Son of the Shadows by Juliet Marillier.  I like the first in this series (The Sevenwaters Series), Daughter of the Forest.  It was a retelling of the Seven Swans fairy tale.  I like the retelling of fairy tales as fantasy novels, and this tale was one of my favorites.  The retelling was ok, a strong female protagonist, but that was the original story too.  

My Hat

 I went home last night thinking that I would download the How Cold Is It patttern and start working.  I was wrong.  There was no internet at the other house, so I ended up just reading.  I finished my book (Shatterglass by Tamora Pierce - I was just a little too old for her books when they first came out, and I've been catching up on her body of work recently).  But I got up bright and early and got started.  I reviewed a couple of hats knit in fingering weight yarn, Barley Light and Sockhead Slouch to get an idea of what kind of stitch counts and sizing I needed.  I smooshed them together with the mitten pattern and came up with a plan.  I would do my ribbing on my size 2 needle and then switch to a size 3 (literally chosen because I could find a 16" needle and a [mismatched] set of dpns in that size) and increase a bit for the pattern.  So I cast on 132 stitches, worked 1 1/2 inches of 1X1 ribbing, then switched to a size 3 needle and increased 12 stitches to 144 stitches.  This gave me 4 repeats of a 36 st pattern (the front of the mitten is 36 sts.)  I charted a 36 st repeat of just some "snow" that kind of matched the front of the mitten and will repeat that in 3 quadrants with the mitten pattern in the 4th.  The base of the mitten is a 12 st pattern that I could repeat all the way around.  So here I am, just starting the text/snow part of the pattern.

The only problem is that this requires all my concentration, so no watching tv, no reading while knitting.  Which means that I have to come up with another project to knit while I'm reading in bed before going to sleep (when I usually knit socks).  I'll have to think about it.  I just don't think I'm up to it today.  I would take the Big Blue Blanket but it's like, huge.  Too big to haul the 3 blocks to the other house.  There's a tangled skein I have next to the bed right now.  Maybe I'll work on getting that untangled.

Race to the Finish

 I was knitting away on the second of Dave's Socks.  I was concerned that maybe I wouldn't have enough yarn to finish the second sock.  What would I do?  I didn't think I had another skein in the stash, but I was contemplating a stash dive nonetheless.  I could have weighed the socks and remaining yarn to be sure, but what's the fun in that?  So I kept knitting away, trying to outrun the yarn. 

Here's the sock at 1:00 PM.  The yarn skein is looking pretty deflated.

Here we are at 4:00 PM (after a slightly depressing movie) and I'm starting the toe decreases.  It's looking promising, but we're not completely out of the woods yet.  

Finally, at 5:30 PM.  Success!  There was plenty of yarn, I needn't have worried.  Finished with a week to spare for washing and gift wrapping for Dave's birthday.  For those of you keeping track this is Sock Pair 2 of 13 (it's like I'm the knitting Borg).  Now that I have that done I'm back to working on the Big Blue Blanket.  All is not completely trouble-free though.  I was planning on starting my How Cold is It? hat as soon as I finished these, but I'm awaiting the delivery of my size 2 dpns from Amazon.  But I got the 16" circ so I will be caking up the yarn and casting on tonight when I get to the other house.  Pictures tomorrow.

We Went For a Walk

 A walk in the woods, to be precise.  Dave and I spent the afternoon walking along the GAP Trail in Ohiopyle.

Most of the leaves were down, and it was overcast and cool.  But there was still a little color here

and there

as well as the murmur of the river flowing nearby.

Very relaxing and soothing.  A great start to our mini-vacation.  I knit of course, on the drive and while we were walking.  In fact, the first picture above was taken just after I asked Dave to pull over for a knitting emergency (a dropped stitch).  He was very patient about it.  

And the knitting time paid off.  I've completed the first of Dave's Socks and am almost at the heel flap on the second.

I know.  Dave thought that the first sock looked really long too, but he tried it on and it fits.  (Size 10.5, 9.5 inches long).

Labyrinth

 I'm officially on vacation, until Wednesday morning.  To kick off my vacation right Dave and I went to the Homestead Labyrinth:

I love this place.  I read an article about labyrinths years ago, which said that you should meditate on your troubles on your way to the center, and leave all your cares and troubles there then focus on your blessings on the way out.  So this is what I do, and did today.  One of my blessings was that Dave was patient enough to wait for me to walk through the whole thing twice.  But seriously, it was gorgeous.  I think we're going to go to the mountains tomorrow.  Other plans for our wild four day weekend involve possibly going to see a movie.  I'm not sure if I'm up for that yet, though.  

In knitting news I'm still slogging away on the blanket, and am just about finished with the first of Dave's Socks.  It occurs to me that it would be nice to finish this pair to gift him for his birthday next weekend.  So I think I will pivot my focus there. 

  

You Have To Write It 3 Times

 At Dave's suggestion Chris wrote Graple (sic) on the grocery list 3 times in the hope that it would appear (like Beetlejuice) at the grocery store, and it worked!  However, he did not write molasses cookies 3 times and they appeared too.  So the results are mixed.  Maybe the molasses cookies were jammed up behind the Grape-ple.  Or maybe Thursday is the day to get to the grocery store for all the hard to source items.  There are still complaints about the amount of Pumpkin Spice creamer I've purchased.  And, I saw Pumpkin Spice bread and it was all I could do not to buy it so I could make Pumpkin Spice french toast.  That would be so delicious.  But I realized I would be the only person eating it, so I passed.  But maybe I could freeze it... 

I just counted and I've completed 19 of 22 pattern repeats on the Big Blue Blanket.  I have 3 more to go.  Sigh.  I thought I was closer.  But I will probably get to the toe decreases on the first of Dave's Socks tonight.   

The amorphous blob that is the Big Blue Blanket

And finally, you'll all be pleased to see that I managed to dress myself in matching clothes today.

Even my shoes match!

I Need Better Lighting

 I'm wearing mismatched clothes.  Good thing I never leave the house.

Can you see it?  My shirt is pink and my skirt is red.  Last night when I picked these out I checked.  I have this same shirt in both pink and red.  Sometimes I can't see the difference, especially in poor lighting.  I know this.  So I held them together and I swear that this shirt looked red.  I get dressed in the dark every morning (I get up before Dave and just put on the clothes I've laid out without turning on the light).  So there was no chance to check until after daybreak today.  I blame the poor lighting in my house.  I'm both choosing clothes after dark and getting dressed in the dark.  Like I said, I need better lighting.

Knitting update - still plugging away at the Big Blue Blanket and Dave's socks.  I'm getting close on the blanket though.  Just 2 and a half (or so) more pattern repeats until I'm done.  I can't wait.

How Do You Spell That?

How do you spell a made up word?  My husband made up this word, Grape-ple to describe his favorite beverage (a grape flavored sports drink).  It's grape and purple squished together.  I used to spell it graple, but everyone thought it was just grapple misspelled.  With a - over the a so it's noted as a long a (ā)? So Grāple.  But the guys don't like it.  Maybe Grape-ple is the way to go.  This has come up for discussion because it's been on the grocery list board for a couple of weeks (they've been out) but I have more of a vested interest in it since I had a colorway back in the day named after it:

Which is how I knew that graple just wasn't cutting it.  It's supposed to be the colors of light shining through a grape soda (or sports drink, whatever floats your boat).

Nothing new in my knitting world.  Still knitting the Big Blue Blanket and Dave's socks.  They're not even worth a picture.

Hot Chocolate

 I've taken to having a cup of no sugar added hot chocolate in the afternoons.  It's the perfect thing between lunch and dinner.  A little decadent, but not too much.

Pictured here in the Gaudi mug I bought when we were living in Spain. 

Nothing new, still plugging away at the Big Blue Blanket (well past where I was when I had my big rip), and I've turned the heel and am working down the foot on the first of the wool/cotton socks for Dave.  Ho Hum.  

I've finished all the Murderbot books so far and have pre-ordered the next book, but I'll have to wait six months for that.  I'm reading the 3rd (maybe final?) book in a YA series by Rae Carson, The Bitter Kingdom.  It's ok.  A little angsty, but I'm on hold for a bunch of stuff and it was available now.  In fact I think this was how I got into this series in the first place.  I also got a Spanish cookbook.  Maybe I can recreate some of the stuff we had in Spain.  (Ham and melon?  No wait, I can't get that ham here.  And I'd kill for a good sidra. Whatever.)

My Yarn is Here

 I got my yarn from Webs today.  So to recap, this yarn:

Will be Little Worsted Sock Arms for Gracie.  And this yarn:

Will be (warning - link shows a bad word) How Cold Is It? as a hat for my boss' boss.  And this yarn:

Will be Retrofit for Chris.  Those are the first three up.  I got yarn to make another zip front jacket (Neighborly Cardigan) for Dave and a vest (#289 Men's Bulky Vest) for DJ.  I'll post pictures of that yarn when I'm ready to start the projects.  

And for the record -- this is the knot I (thought I) used that failed for me twice.

I reviewed so I could get it right this time.

My Lost Day

 I was moving along at a good clip knitting on the Big Blue Blanket, and then...

Ack!  A knot I'd tied at the yarn change came undone.  I tried to retie and ladder up, but it was too messed up.  So I ripped back and picked up all the stitches.  The only bad thing was that I would have to redo an interminable cabling row.  But whatever, I was ok with that.  Then I was working across the stitches, getting them all lined up.  I looked down at my work and...

Another knot that came undone!  So I ripped back again, and picked up.  But it was right at the cable crossing, and when I picked up, it was just a mess.  After messing around for a bit I gave up and ripped back past the cable crossing and picked up all those stitches AGAIN.  I'm working through the cable row.  I figure it's a whole day of work ripped out.  And yes, I had tried both of those knots and they were solid.  So I need to revisit my knot technique.  Or go back to knitting in my ends.  Whatever.

Vacations

 Dave is talking about a vacation.  I've been thinking longingly of going somewhere other than this house.  (Also of seeing people other than Dave and the boys).  Dave wants to go to Giethoorn in the Netherlands.  I would like to go to bike the Confederation Trail on Prince Edward Island.  But of course we can't go anywhere until 2022 at least.  

I'm working the heel flap on the Cotton Socks now, and I'm almost done with the Big Blue Blanket.  So much so that I stuck some point protectors on the needle and curled up under it for a little nap this afternoon.  It was very comfy.

What I'm Reading

I'll be honest, I just lost track of time and forgot to post yesterday.  Nothing exciting is going on here, I'm still knitting those cotton/wool blend socks for Dave, and working on the Big Blue Blanket.  I'm currently working on another interminable cabling row.  I've completed 18 out of 22-25 pattern repeats, so at least another 4 repeats.  More if I have enough yarn (I'm pretty sure I will).  The sock is approaching the heel which I will probably start tonight.  Maybe tomorrow.  I think I might measure Dave to determine a good pre-heel length (I'm thinking 5", but that's just on my leg.)  

I'm totally into this sweater:  Mini Unbearable Hoodie though.  I want to order the yarn to make it for Gracie.  Really, though, I have to just cool my jets.  I have a bunch of stuff in the hopper already.  The yarn's not going anywhere.  But she would be so unbearably(!) cute in this thing!  

Anyway, I'm a reader.  I read a lot.  Every day (hours a day).  Between 75 - 100 books a year.  Interesting tidbit, I was watching a news story that was a bio of some political person (I don't remember who) and they showed his home with his library of "over 7,000 books, and he's read all of them."  And I thought, the numbers don't add up.  Let's say he reads at the top end of my range, 100 books a year.  That's 70 years of reading.  He could have been 70, but he wasn't reading these books as a newborn.  

I digress.  What I'm reading currently are the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells.  I'm on the second book now.  Dave got them on Kindle, but they're available as e-books from my library (I use Overdrive/Libby).  I'm reading the Kindle version because I didn't want to wait for the hold.  Really good.  The first installment All Systems Red won just about every award out there - Hugo, Nebula, Locus, Alex.  I found it in a Nebula winners anthology (it's a novella) and told Dave about it.  He said that he'd gotten it and read it, and bought the next one in the series.  He claims he told me about it, but I don't believe him.  Our tastes rarely align in books, so if we both agree on something it's generally good.  I like fantasy, and I read a lot of YA stuff because I don't like things that are too dark (I read to escape, not be depressed) and YA stuff is what's out there.  That's not really Dave's style.  And even for me sometimes the teenage angst gets to be too much (seriously, how many times must a 16 year old save the world?).  

Thinking Ahead

 Now that I have the Halloween knitting out of the way, I am focused on Holiday knitting.  I admit to ordering a bunch of Yarn from Webs today for sweaters for Gracie and the Guys.  Here are the plans thus far (remember that I may change my mind any minute, I'm fickle that way).

For my boss' boss, a hat in navy (MC) and sky blue (CC) with this pattern on it (warning before you click, there's a bad word) How Cold is It? Yeah, I know the pattern is for mittens.  I'll adapt. It's perfect for him, though, he can't say anything without throwing an f-bomb every other sentence.  I don't know how he speaks to clients.

For Gracie, Little Worsted Sock Arms, I got some Plymouth Jelli Beenz (now on closeout) for the arms and a solid in Encore (Aquamarine) for the body.

Those are the only two that have to be done by Christmas.  The guys have lived with a knitter for all their lives (the boys) and over 35 years (Dave) so they know the drill about belated gifts (see the Decade Socks previously here).  Nonetheless, I'd like to get them done by Christmas, but I'm not going to kill myself.

For Dave, the Neighborly Cardigan in a nice murky blue-grey (the color is called Stormy Sky) that is murky enough for a guy and still light enough to show off the cables.  I also like the Mr. Rogers reference, since he really was our "neighbor".  A 100% wool (so no safety issues) also on closeout.

For Chris, Retrofit in Plymouth Coffee Beenz (again, on closeout) in a beautiful saffron-like color with flecks of khaki and black so he can wear it with both his khakis and black pants.  It will go great with his coloring.  

And finally, my baby.  For DJ, #289 Men's Bulky Vest (what a great name).  He wears a ratty old vest everywhere, I'm hoping to replace it.  I got a bulky 100% wool (I figure I can wash it) that was again on closeout, in a dark grey.  Murky man colors.

You'll notice a trend here, zipper front cardis for the guys.  This is because they all wear zip front fleeces/jackets everywhere.  Ev. ery. Where. All. The. Time.

Tentative gifts are the Mawata Mittens (previously shown mawatas) for my friend Michelle and a hat and pair of fingerless mitts for my employees (no patterns chosen for those) but I'll use stash yarn if I make them. 

Still working on the Big Blue Blanket.  Also Dave's socks (if I get them done in time they can be a birthday gift [the end of the month]).  They'll be ribbed all the way to the foot (then still ribbed on the instep and stockinette for the sole) and I find I'm having more difficulty reading and knitting in the evening than I expected and it's slowing me down a little.  Also the yarn is a little splitty and that doesn't help either.  You can compare to yesterday and see I've gotten a little farther, though.  

What I Did This Morning

 I had to wait for some stuff this morning.  Last night as I was planning my morning, I was thinking to myself, "I should spend that time cleaning the bathroom."  Then this morning I was like "Well, I could spend the time knitting instead."  What do you think won out?

Yeah.  I'm nothing if not predictable.  I did a burn test on the yarn and it's a clean burn (only ashes or self-extinguished yarn [wool will self extinguish]).  This is good because the safety regs for Dave's work prohibit clothes with man-made fibers.  elements.  I wasn't 100% sure about it, hence the burn test.  Only ashes remain, so Dave should be good with these socks.  Also, I'm really hoping that he won't be setting himself on fire at work (although the possibility remains).  

Socks Done

 The Halloween III Socks are done. I will wash and block them tomorrow. 

I'm hoping they'll be dried and ready to mail to their final destination tomorrow.  These are the first of my 13 pairs for those of us keeping track. I spent some quality time with the Big Blue Blanket today, which will count towards sweaters 1 and 2 when it's completed.

Oddly, since I was pretty sure I would be finishing the Halloween socks today I had no next pair ready to go. I spent a bit of time rooting around in a bin in my basement and came up with this:

I picked it primarily because it doesn't need wound. I'll make a pair of socks for Dave. I used this yarn to make socks for the boys back in the day (when they wore hand knit socks). Based on the stash strata I'm still working on vintage yarn circa 2008. 

A Minor Setback

 Last night I was knitting along on Halloween Socks III when I noticed that I had switched to the alternate Hocus Pocus colorway in the wrong spot.  So I ripped back and picked up stitches to start again.  But I was missing one stitch.  Where was it?  Then I remembered I had looked at the ribbing way back and the beginning and it was weird looking.  Kind of loose.  Yeah.  Dropped a stitch waaaay down there.  So I laddered it back up.  Can you tell?  Yeah, a little.  I really didn't want to rip back that far, and it was a stitch at the end of a needle where there was a little more slack between the stitches.  

You can see the slight ridge where the column of stitches is pulling too tightly.  The laddered column ended just after that third black stripe.  I'm fairly certain that this will even out with use and washings. Knitting is a continuous strand, after all.  But this is why even when I can ladder up a dropped stitch, if it's more than a couple of rows I usually don't.  Obviously in this case I've worked past it and I'm decreasing away the gusset stitches.  I hope to be finished tomorrow.

Like an Onion, no a PARFAIT

 Yep, it's got layers.  The stash that is.  I visited with my niece (she's CelticQueen on Ravelry) this evening when I went over to drop off her birthday present.  I got her some fiber I found that was totally her colors I saw in the same shop I got my mawata from. (The Fiber Imp -- I got her the combed top in "The 13th Floor "-- see, I told you 13 was on my mind!)   Anyway my niece and I were discussing my Halloween III Socks and I told her I had been digging around in the stash and found the yarn that I bought in 2008 and she said she had just knit her son a pair of socks from Vesper yarn of the same vintage.  I mentioned I'd knit socks from the Essential Autumn colorway and that was a club colorway from 2008 and she laughed and said she had just pulled that skein as well.  Apparently we were both diving at the same level.

The first sock of the Halloween III socks is done and I'm past the ribbing on the second one.  I'd like to get this pair finished by Saturday at the latest.  (It's my first of 13 pairs for the year!  Woot!)

13

 I've been thinking about the number 13.  Do you remember the Hands video I posted a while ago?  I will sum up.  There was an older Irish lady spinning and knitting wool socks (she gives a pair to her husband to put on).  Anyway, the narrator says that she spun and knit "all the socks and jumpers" for her 13 children.  And that got me thinking.  If everyone got a pair of socks and a jumper once a year that was a pair of socks and a sweater knit every 4 weeks!  Now, granted some of them would have been sized for children, but I also didn't count in Mom and Dad (which would really make the number 15, not 13).  But 13 fits nicely into the year.  And I've been wondering...Could I do it?  Just the knitting, not the spinning.  Could I knit a pair of socks and a sweater every 4 weeks?  I do have a full time job, but surely the work of a farm wife is more than equivalent to that.  Anyway, I think I'm going to try.  I'll make some kind of (completely arbitrary and at my own discretion) trade offs for the knitting at hand (the remainder of the Big Blue Blanket would probably be two sweater's worth of knitting, for example).  We'll see how I go. 

I ordered and received these silk hankies with the idea of making some mittens for my friend Michelle as a Christmas gift.

 It's just coincidental that I'm reading the Silk issue of PLY right now.  I knit Michelle Bella's mittens (she's a big Twilight fan) several years ago and it's time to replace them.  I think silk mittens will do the trick, and I've been wanting to make a pair ever since the Yarn Harlot knit a pair (Gosh, I can't believe it's been almost 10 years).  I even have some mawatas at the big house...somewhere.  But although they were earmarked for mittens, they're not in Michelle's color.  And I didn't want to search.  Hmm. Wondering how the stash got so out of control?  (These will count as a pair of socks, if you're keeping score.)

The Halloween III socks are slowly progressing.  I want to get this sock done tonight:

But also I got this today:

That's a black coloring book and my metallic pens to color in it.  What can I say?  I've been stressed.  I'm pretty sure I have to find a new job (my boss sent me an email threatening me last week and then today explained to me that taking a low blow like that was ok because "you need to hear something like that because that's what makes the lesson really sink in."  Yeah. Right.)  I'm freaking out about interviewing during the pandemic.  I just need to take a deep breath and relax.  Disney+ has Zenimation, which is actually nice and calming, too.

More Halloween Socks

 Well, Gracie liked her socks, and I think they fit. Maybe she'll wear them.  You can never tell with kids.

Here is the first of the new Halloween socks. So far so good. I threw in a couple of repeats of Hocus Pocus just to shake things up a bit. 

We had Gracie and her parents over for another porch visit. I made stew and apple crisp for lunch. It was a good day. 

Done

 The Frankenstein Socks are done.  Washed and ready to gift to Gracie tomorrow.  Older Son thinks they won't fit, but I made them to the measurements her mom gave me.  We'll see tomorrow.

I spent some time today coloring.  I haven't colored anything in 4 years or so, but it's a great way to try out colors together.  Most of the drawings aren't easily translated to knitting patterns, but want to try out orange next to pink or purple next to blue?  Yeah, quick and easy.  Relaxing too. 

I also spent time knitting Halloween III socks (they're really my second Halloween socks, but I prefer Halloween III since Tom Atkins  stars in it.  He's an acquaintance of mine (really I know his sister.)  He lives here in Pittsburgh and used to go to our church.  His son and Older Son were in Sunday school together when they were little.  He's one of the reasons Older Son had trouble with the TV vs. Real Life distinction.

Thinking About Making a Sweater

 I'm thinking about making a sweater.  Today I am wearing this top:

Clearly I wasn't wearing it in the picture.  (As an aside note on the changeableness of the weather here in Pittsburgh it went from brilliantly sunny to this overcast in the time it took me to go upstairs, grab a hanger and throw on a t-shirt then come back down to the porch.  Literally about 3 minutes.)  

Anyway, about this top.  There are things I like about it, things I'm not sure about, and things I don't like.  The things I like I will put in my sweater. 

I like:

• The high-low bottom edge
• The length - the back comes to just below my bum and the front hits me perfectly at about my crotch (is that low hip?)
• The sleeve length - 3/4 sleeves are my favorite
• The print detail at the bottom edge and the neckline
• The gathered detail at the front, it's hard to see here because it's a dark fabric; but trust me it's gathered in the center of the neckline, just under the print band

Things I'm not sure of:

• The color.  I have nothing against navy, but I'm not committed to it.  I do want something dark, though.  
• The neckline insert.  Not sure I care for the contrasting color.  I've always felt it was too much with the print band.
• The shaping.  It's slightly A-Line, I wonder if it would be better with a shaped waist.

Things I don't like:

• The size.  It's too big for me currently, I'd make a sweater a size smaller.
• The elastic at the bottom of the sleeve.  This is the thing I dislike the most.  A narrowing cuff/sleeve edge, but no ribbing.
• The neckline depth.   I want it a bit higher.  Just a tad.

As a sweater I see this in a darker solid with a coordinating variegated trim at the bottom and neck edge.  I'd drop the neck insert, but keep the gather.  Keep the length, and the A-Line shaping too. I can't decide how to knit the contrast trim.  That's definitely something I'd have to research/swatch.  Hmmm.  This was very helpful. 

No Reason Why

Not my Rooster, just a Random Rooster from the internet

Dave went out on the porch at lunch today and called me to come see the chicken strutting around. We watched him for a few minutes and then he wandered out across the road. We couldn't figure out why. 

I'm almost, almost done with the Frankenstein Socks. I was dreading the second short row heel. But I got it done and I'm decreasing for the toe now.  This is not my favorite heel.