Unraveled: Knitting & Reading

June 17, 2020 By Carole

Today I’m joining with Kat and friends today to talk about what I’m knitting and reading right now. If I was being completely honest I would just say that all I’m doing in my spare time (which isn’t much these days anyway) is playing Animal Crossings . . . but you’d think less of me for admitting to that so let’s go ahead and talk about knitting and reading and pretend that I’m spending more time on it than I actually am.

The knitting: still working on NightShift and loving it now that I have yarn that provides more contrast. The rows are loooooong and seem to take forever, particularly the wrong side when you purl and slip stitches, bringing the yarn from back to front between each one. It’s pretty meditative, though, and that’s not a bad thing. I’d like to say I’m close to finishing but I’m not and I’m okay with that.

Also, socks.

The reading: I am currently reading We Ride Upon Sticks bu Quan Barry. Here’s the description from GoodReads:

In this tour de female force, the 1989 Danvers Falcons are on an unaccountable winning streak. In chapters dense with ’80s iconography–from Heathers to Big Hair–Quan Barry expertly weaves together the individual and collective journeys of this enchanted team as they storm their way to the state championship. Helmed by good-girl captain Abby Putnam (a descendant of the infamous Salem accuser Ann Putnam) and her co-captain Jen Fiorenza, whose bleached blond “Claw” sees and knows all, the DHS Falcons prove to be as wily and original as their North of Boston ancestors, flaunting society’s stale notions of femininity in order to find their glorious true selves through the crucible of team sport.

It’s as fun as it sounds and I’m certainly enjoying it.

Okay, back to ~~Animal Crossings~~. I mean, knitting. Yep. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Unraveling

May 6, 2020 By Carole

I’m happy to say that I am making forward progress on my NightShift shawl. And I’m loving it.

I’m enjoying the hell out of the pattern and now that I’ve got some better color choices to work with I think it’s looking good. I’m still preferring frequent color changes but I want to make sure it’s not toooooo stripe-y so I’m going to not change colors quite as frequently going forward. I’m trying to go-with-the-flow but that’s so not my mentality that it can feel like a struggle. Yes, I recognize that means it’s good for me.

I set up my Stay At Home Bingo pages in my journal. I’ve read 6 books since April 1st and I don’t anticipate a bingo any time soon but that’s okay since I’m going for my usual cover-all.

What are you knitting and reading this week? Tell me in the comments and then (if you’re a blogger) head on over to Kat’s and let everyone else know, too.

Unraveling

April 29, 2020 By Carole

Today, an update on what I did with my NightShift shawl.

First I want to say how much I appreciated your feedback on the photo I shared last week. I ultimately decided I needed to rip back to that large yellow section as it wast just too much. Not too much yellow (or mustard, as I prefer to call it) because I love the yellow, but too much all in one spot.

I then consulted with several color experts (Sean . . . Kym . . . and others) and I decided I needed more Malabrigo Rios in colors that would provide more contrast and settled on a skein of Living Coral, a skein of Reflecting Pool, and a second skein of Frank Ochre (told you I loved the mustard). WEBS was out of the colors I needed. Loopy Ewe was as well. Simply Socks Yarn Company had just what I wanted, though.

I ordered on Thursday and had it on Monday which is damn good in these days of delayed and slow shipping.

And now I’m moving forward and loving it again. I learned two things after really studying the project last week and analyzing my feelings about it: one, contrast is key and two, I prefer frequent color changes. Let’s hope I have no more unraveling on this one now that I’ve identified this.

I’m reading Murder On Cape Cod. It’s a cozy mystery and complete fluff but that makes it a great escape. Plus, it’s set on Cape Cod (duh) and even though the town in the story is fiction, the surrounding towns and businesses mentioned are real and that makes it extra fun for me.

I’m joining with Kat this week to talk about knitting and reading. I hope you’re knitting something you love and reading something you find entertaining.

Unraveling

April 22, 2020 By Carole

This is the current state of my NightShift shawl. I love knitting this thing – the pattern is pretty simple and the ability to play with color is great.

But.

And yet. I haven’t been working on it much at all for the last two weeks. I think it’s because, even though I love to work on it, the look I’m creating . . . I don’t have much love for that.

For one, I think I used too much of that mustard color all together.

For two, I don’t think the colors I’m using have enough contrast.

So. How do I fix it? Do I rip back to the mustard section and use less of it there and work that yellow in more frequently but in shorter sections? Do I order more Malabrigo Rios from WEBS and get colors that will provide more contrast? And if I do that what colors do I choose?

Help a knitter out, friends, because I’m floundering with this one.

On the reading front, thank goodness, I’m not floundering at all. I finished I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter yesterday and I really enjoyed it. I’m looking forward to our Read With Us discussion next month, Kym and Bonny have both shared details of what our process will be. I also recently finished The Stationery Shop and I enjoyed that one, too. And, I finally printed out my Stay At Home Bingo card yesterday so I’ll be adding the books I’ve read since April 1st to that and creating a plan for a coverall.

Joining with Kat today to talk about knitting (and potentially unraveling) and reading today.

Wednesdays Are For Knitting: Coins Cowl

March 25, 2020 By Carole

I finished my first Coins Cowl recently and now that it’s blocked I can share photos of it with you.

The pattern comes from Kaffe Fassett and is available from the Mason Dixon Field Guide No. 13.

It is, as declared in the book, a choose-your-own-adventure sort of pattern and that’s generally something that makes me . . . nervous when it comes to my knitting. As in, my go-to is a pattern that spells it all out.

I let that go this time, though, and chose colors willy nilly. I’m really happy with the result.

And I know I’ll be making more of these. I have colors of the Rowan Felted Tweed I didn’t use in this one plus each row only uses a bit of yarn so . . . yeah . . . this could be my new potato chip knitting pattern.

This one, though, is for me!