So much yarn, so many projects, so little time

Curious, I checked this book out of the library, not understanding that "cafe" meant the projects were all of food. I'm not likely to crochet bacon and eggs or grilled cheese sandwiches, but I may make the container portion of the bento box, to see how it works. One can always use little boxes.

I stopped following Modern Daily Knitting (previously known as Mason-Dixon Knitting) when it seemed like all they did was flog their products. But this waffle sweater popped up in one of my feeds. I'm not interested in knitting a pullover, but I am interested in the waffle stitch used, as it is very waffly. Maybe I can find directions for the stitch without purchasing the "field guide" as I'm not interested in the other patterns therein.

This tin ceiling blanket pattern from Purl Soho showed up on a feed as well. The same stitch pattern is used on this hand towel and washcloth, which is more to my liking than a blanket. I think the stitch would look nice as a scarf as well. These patterns are free.

Knitting: I am approaching the cuffs of the pinkish socks.
Spinning: More progress on the Romney, but not 100g worth.

I was a little concerned about mixing up the white Romney and the white Wensleydale, but when placed side-by-side, the Wensleydale has more of a sheen plus it is not quite as white as the Romney. So no worries there.

Oops

I confess that I can be a bit rough with my handknits when it comes to washing them. The superwash items (think socks but also one sweater) hold up well, but I need to be more careful with the other wool items.

The funny thing is this sweater had so much positive ease that it felt too big on me, although I liked that it hid my fanny. Now it is more form fitting, and a bit felted so it will be warmer. However, it is also much shorter. Not sure what I will do with it going forward.

Knitting: The heels are turned on the pinkish socks.
Spinning: Trying to get back to my daily spinning practice, with the New Zealand Romney; 100g spun, 800g to go.

Pre-blog I attended a fiber festival in Corydon, IN. For some reason, I looked for it online and discovered it is now called the Southern Indiana Fiber and Arts Festival. Clicking on an old blog link about the Fiber Event at Greencastle revealed that it is now the Greencastle Wool Show. Not sure why the names changed, but it may have to do with targeting a particular audience. The Jay County Fiber Arts Festival may be adding "Crafts" to its name, but I know it is to attract more people. Times change.

An additional oddity is how the Corydon and Greencastle festivals have become conflated in my memory. It's hell getting old.

That old cat

Finn is around 14 years old. (He was a stray, found by a friend of a friend of my daughter, initial age a guestimate.) Lately, his mouth has been bothering him. He quit eating his prescription catfood in favor of the old standby my other cat eats, so I thought he was doing okay. However, a trip to the vet revealed a growth in his mouth that looks like it can be snipped out. He has lost weight, too. The procedure is still several weeks out, so I wanted to fatten him up a bit beforehand. But how to do that?

Kitty cheesecake

While looking online for a solution, I came across "toppings" and "soups" that are supplements for cats. Finn won't eat canned food, so I felt skeptic, but picked up a few samples at the local Pet Supply Plus store to try. He *loves* them! So now I am mixing them with his rx food, and he is feeling much better. (The antibiotic shot he received at the vet probably helped, too.) I had no idea these products existed, but we are both happy with them.

Knitting: I'm ready to start the heels on the pinkish socks.

You can tell by the randomish stripes why I was hesitant to try making these socks match. However, once I started them, it became obvious that they were close to matching anyway. I ripped one back to the toe and aligned the colors. Huzzah!

Spin for a project

At the last spinning guild meeting, I chatted up one of my fiber friends who moved here from Texas but is still involved with her weaving guild in Austin (all their meetings are on Zoom - Texas is a big state and traffic in Austin is bad). That group is involved in a project that led my friend to weave a l-o-n-g piece where some of the weft is rolags she made on her blending board. An interesting concept.

Then we started talking about spinning for a project. While I have spun for one project in the past, usually I just spin whatever I have on hand and however it turns out. Now that I have started on that 900g of Romney, I'm thinking that could be for a sweater, one where the yarn is dyed using a walnut hull dye bath and its exhausts, to create an ombre effect. So that is the plan, sort of.

Knitting: I started a new pair of socks; the yarn is shades of pinks, which is making me ridiculously happy.

Weaving: I spent the good part of a day working on the leno curtains, including an insane amount of fringe twisting; I'm still not done.

The yarn bowl in the photo above is the best yarn bowl I have encountered. A cake of yarn spins inside it perfectly, thereby not adding or subtracting twist as one knits. I bought it at a pottery fair, so can't tell you where to get your own. Too bad - it really is the bee's knees.

Ice dyed socks

Even though I have plenty of sock yarn, sometimes I buy more. After a weaving guild program on ice dyeing, I had to buy some ice dyed sock yarn I came across at Three Moon Fiberworks. I was afraid it might look "camo" but it turned out fine.

Pattern: Short-row toe and heel basic socks, by Wendy D. Johnson
Yarn: Happy Days Fiber Arts Sock Weight in 'End of Harvest' for foot and leg; Zwerger Garn Opal 4-Fach in 'Natural' for toes, heels, cuffs
Needles: US1
Modifications: None I can think of

Since these were for my SO, I cast on for a 72-stitch round. My go-to recipe is then to knit 72 rounds from toe to heel and 72 rounds from heel to cuff. This ratio seems to work well.

I'm not a fan of merino for sock yarn, as I think it doesn't hold up as well as other wools, but it is very soft. I think I'll enter these in the county fair.

Losing my mind

After the last panel of the buffalo plaid blanket rolled off the SampleIt loom, I thought it might be nice to try something new, something that required two heddles. Before purchasing another heddle, though, I checked to make sure I didn't already have an extra. Well, I do have an extra, two of them, in fact, but they are for my 24" loom. I even have a double heddle kit for that loom. That transaction completely slipped my mind.

While updating projects on Ravelry, I started checking to make sure I had added blog posts to other finished objects. I had not, not for a long time. Why not? I certainly updated the status of each of those projects and created a blog post about them - why not marry the two?

Oh, wait. There is no final post of the Lempi sweater, a project that was near and dear to my heart, one that I am supremely proud of. How did I miss trumpeting the completion of that sweater?

Knitting: Wove in the ends of the simple cowl, so now it is done; see previous post. Finished the ice dyed socks; separate post to follow (really!)
Spinning: I took a sample of the Wensleydale roving to a spin-in yesterday, to get some advice about how to handle it, and now I have a way forward: spritz the fiber with a weak solution of fiber rinse. For some reason, I have over 900g of Romney (why - and where - did I buy this stuff?!?), so I started spinning it (and it is *much* nicer than the Wensleydale).
Weaving: I checked out a book, Compendium of Finishing Techniques, from the library, plus I've done some online research regarding how to join the buffalo plaid blanket panels; I think I have a plan.

I don't have a knitting project on the needles, so I thought I would dig out an unfinished project: the leno curtains I wove so long ago (2022). What stymied me then was the two panels did not match - they still don't - but I've decided that will be an asymetric feature.

If Lenore Tawney can get away with it, why can't I?

Easy ribbed cowl

Lately I have been a little obsessed with using up yarn. Consequently, I was looking for a simple project to finish up the Jamieson and Smith Shetland I used on several other projects. Hence, this cowl.

Pattern: 2x2 Easy Ribbed Cowl, by Rachel Steinbock.
Yarn: Jamieson and Smith Shetland Aran Worsted, in 'Flugga White', 'Light Grey', and 'Shetland Black'; 94g total
Needles: US8 (cast on and bind off using US9)
Modifications: I used a 2x2 alternating long tail cast on and bound off in pattern; continued until I ran out of yarn, at 8.5"

This yarn is one of those "sheepy" smelling ones. I used some Eucalan Wool Wash when I soaked it before blocking, but not enough. I don't mind the smell, but it's not something everyone likes.