Tag Archives: knitting

wednesday, start to finish.

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Yesterday morning, I swatched for Buttercup with my coffee. I bought the yarn for this three summers ago, when I was back in the southwest the summer after my first year of grad school. It’s Queensland Cotolino, and I’ve got 8 balls of it. 8 balls x 105 meters = roughly the amount required for the XS size. Good thing I’m not working on a Ph.D. in math…

So I swatched on 5s, and got gauge. But then I went down a needle size, because I know that this is going to grow when I block it. I like the drape with 4s, and it isn’t so tight that I will hate knitting it. Decision made. So I unraveled what I had, because I’m going to need every last inch of this stuff. Normally I swatch — for real — and wash and block the swatch to make sure I’m happy. This project officially goes in the “by-the-seat-of-my-pants pile.” I don’t think I’m going to go as A-line flowy as the pattern suggests, though I do want some of the increases. Also, everything I read on ravelry suggests that I should go down a size so that the neck isn’t too low and open. I’m knitting the small, and we’ll see what happens. Worst case? Someone I know will get an adorable summer sweater.

Then I had radish toast for lunch. (Radish toast, in this iteration, is toast, butter, arugula, radish slices, and salt and pepper. It is even more delicious than you think it is. Trust me.)

My progress right after lunch, strawberry smoothie in hand. (Note: I picked a gallon of strawberries at the farm on Tuesday, and I’ve already managed to eat 3 quarts. I’ll probably polish off the last one today.)

No, I do not normally stand like this. But these are the jeans I bought to replace the ones I ripped. And they are straight — or even tapered — at the leg. And that wasn’t clear in the pictures I snapped where I was standing not awkwardly. So here you go. I think I like them.

Boh and I took an afternoon walk with our friend J. and the dog she is taking care of this week. It was lovely.

More buttercup. I’m really enjoying the feel of this yarn, at least right now. And the stitch definition makes me swoon!

So does this sunset — truly the golden hour.

all the bones.

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This is my neighbor’s dog, Tango. Tango loves Boh’s bones. He hung out with us yesterday because his person had an all day event. When his person came over to pick him up, Tango began to gather and chew on all the bones.

See? So very sweet. Boh didn’t seem to mind at all.

We’re working backward today, folks. This also happened yesterday. (My pinwheel is growing.)

Also, this. Boh is asleep on my leg. So much playtime!

And here’s a sunset from earlier in the week — maybe Wednesday?

Boh and his bone. (And nails in need of a trim.)

And just because, here’s a photo of my living room looking extra neat and clean. I snapped this picture before I headed to the wedding in Ohio last week. I rented the house to friends for graduation weekend, so I did some serious cleaning to get ready.

Time for dinner and some knitting while the dogs play. (Tango is here today, too!)

porch life.

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Reading. With chocolate peanut butter ice cream.

Watching a storm roll in from the porch.

A pinwheel blanket begun. A wedding lap blanket the color of the sea.

I did not take this picture on my porch. What kind of flowers are these? This is a snapshot from a walk I took last week in town.

I don’t know why I snapped this picture. But I did wear this outfit on Memorial Day too, so I’m sharing.

This one needs no explanation.

And now I’m all caught up on photos! (And I managed to sneak a little bit of knitting in there.) The wedding I attended last weekend was lovely, and some new friends I made there took me sailing — in a race! It was so much fun, and the perfect way to spend the Sunday morning after a Saturday spent celebrating a very dear friend.

I don’t have any pictures of this, but today I took my first swim in the lake this summer. I’m looking forward to a lot more of that. And now I should really get some work done today…

early morning fog.

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I don’t remember which morning I took these pictures — early last week, I think. I remember taking Boh out first thing in the morning, and going back for my camera. I love it when the fog rolls off the lake and hangs low.

Also last week: a claw! On a train! I was stopped for construction when I noticed that there is work happening on the train tracks. The claw was picking up new railroad ties from inside the car it was mounted on and slowly placing them along the tracks as the train chugged along very slowly. So cool.

Also cool? Prescription sunglasses! I cannot tell you how excited I am about these. Last week I went running without my contacts! I took long walks with Boh and didn’t squint! I even indulged in a bit of people-watching from behind my new shades. These are going to make it so much easier for me to work outside — at coffee shops and on the dock. Hooray!

And this? This is the cowl that will not end. (Also, the sweetest dog.) I really want to knit until I run out of yarn, but I am also ready to be done with this project. I’ll probably split the difference and spend a few more evenings on it and then just bind off.

Boh says hi. And that he loves belly rubs.

I love this mug. It’s filled with honey and a splash of apple cider vinegar dissolved in hot water — a remedy for a super sore throat, which is what I was dealing with on Friday. I thought I was massively allergic to something that just came into bloom, but I actually think I came down with an end-of-the-semester malady. It morphed into a full-on head cold yesterday, and I think I’m past the worst of it now. The good news? My grades are done, and I’m planning to drop them off on campus first thing this morning! (Which means that my summer starts today! Not vacation, exactly, but I’ve got a month before my summer TAing gig starts, and I’m looking forward to settling into a sustainable rhythm with my dissertation research and writing. More on that soon, I’m sure.)

Happy Monday!

spring blooms.

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I snapped these photos with my phone on my walk from the coffee shop to my car last week — before the snow, sleet, and coldness that blew through here over the weekend. I do love spring. (Also, I love that purple paint job in the first picture!)

And here’s my sweet dog, keeping me company as I knit around and around on my lilac wine cowl. I could probably bind off anytime, but I sort of want to use up all the yarn. We’ll see…

round and round.

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Apologies for the radio silence over here, folks. It’s been a crazy week or so — getting that draft of a chunk of the first chapter of my dissertation “ready” for a departmental colloquium happening later this week, teaching, and even a research trip (which, happily, meant not just super busy days at the archive, but also time spent hanging out with Mick of Much-Adored).

The only pictures I’ve been taking lately have been of documents, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been knitting — and I’ve got significant progress on my Lilac Wine cowl to prove it. I thought the 1×1 rib of this pattern would be annoying to knit, but instead I’m finding it incredibly soothing. It goes slower than stockinette, of course, but I don’t think I mind!

Here it is on a pile of books I should read. (For scale.) I can’t believe it is already almost mid-April. More soon!

daffodils, more dumplings, dessert…

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And some other things that don’t begin with D.

Daffodils coming up near my front steps.

More dumplings.

These delicious Brown Butter Toasted Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies from Joy the Baker. (Public service announcement: browning butter can be dangerous. Or at least mine was — my butter did a fair bit of sputtering and spitting as the water evaporated. It was worth it, though.)

Lovely sunset.

Sweet dog.

Cowl knitting and spinach.

And some spinning! This is BFL from the Hello Yarn Fiber Club in “Scorch.” I spun it as a 3-ply, and while I think I began this (long ago) with socks in mind, I’m not sure there’s quite enough yardage. That’s okay, though. I still love it. There were 183 yards, pre-bath. More photos after I’ve set the twist.

And then I just wanted to keep going. This is “Floating Down” from the Hello Yarn Fiber Club, and I’m spinning this luscious BFL/Tussah Silk blend as singles. So, so pretty.

Okay, back to work. On today’s list? Commenting on papers, finishing a conference paper, and writing another page or two of this diss-chapter-chunk. (Later, I plan to reward myself with a movie and a margarita.)

porch dinner season.

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These blossoms downtown can only mean one thing: porch dinner season has begun.

I asked D how he wanted to celebrate his birthday. The answer? Dumplings. So last night, he, T, and their charming child, W, came over with Coltrane to splash paws and hands in the lake, enjoy a beer on the dock, and eat dinner (and drink sake) on the porch.

A good time was had by all.

And after they headed home to put W to bed, I snapped this picture of the sunset. I know it is supposed to cool down a bit this week, but even so, I’m super thankful for this burst of sunshine and warmth. I think a lot of us needed it.

I finished the first sleeve of Kerrera, and I’m onto working the sleeve cap of the second. I shortened the sleeve length and ripped back a couple of rows of the double garter stitch cuff to get the right length.

And while I worked on that, Boh continued to refine his lounging skills. Nice work, sweet dog.

word count rewards.

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I managed to transcribe a bunch of research photos and write 500 words, so when I got home from the coffee shop, I gathered up my sweet dog and a tasty beverage and headed to the dock. (Oh, and the latte and the brownie I enjoyed at the coffee shop? Those weren’t rewards. I call those “motivation.”)

It was a beautiful afternoon, and it felt like summer: at least 75 and sunny, with just the faintest hint of a breeze off the lake.

Sorry, Boh. You have to actually do the writing to enjoy the reward. I’m realizing this week that it feels good to just focus on one big thing, rather than the pile of tasks on my to-do list. I will need to start easing myself back into grading and prepping for Monday’s class soon, but for now, this glorious weather and the chance to get some of my own work done is really nice.

I was slow to leave the house yesterday, in part because I wanted to make something tasty in my new pot. After flipping through several cookbooks on my shelf, I settled on a recipe for a curry root vegetable stew with dumplings from Amanda Hesser’s huge New York Times cookbook. This is actually the first thing from this cookbook I’ve made — and I can’t wait to go back.

This came together really quickly, and the dumplings were hearty without being heavy. Plus, I got to use up some of my root veggie stockpile. And all I needed to do was heat it up again for dinner after hanging out by the lake with Boh. Win/win.

I’ll definitely make this again. Oh! And I even did some knitting yesterday. Check out my sleeve progress on Kerrera:

I added more decreases, working my way down to the smallest sleeve circumference for a slightly narrower fit, and shortened the sleeves by about 15 rows, as I want to make sure they aren’t super long after blocking. This morning I began the fancy double garter st cuff. More of that if I get a good chunk of work done today…

swoon.

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Meet the newest addition to my kitchen: a beautiful turquoise-y blue 7 1/4 quart Le Creuset french oven. This arrived yesterday, an overwhelmingly kind birthday gift from my dearest friend, in celebration of my 30th birthday. I was so excited that I cooked my dinner in it, even though I didn’t really need quite so big a pot for this particular meal.

I made Deb’s garlic butter roasted mushrooms, and oh-my-goodness were they delicious. I can’t wait to make something else in my new pot today!

My WIP sorting a few days ago led me to pick up my Kerrera again, after months (maybe even a year?) away. I’d stopped after working the body and joining the shoulder seams. The next step was a short-row sleeve cap and the sleeves. I was a little nervous about the short rows, but the instructions for handling the W+T and the wraps on the following rows are very clear in this pattern, and that helped a lot. Now I’m working on the straight portion of the sleeve!

It feels fully like spring or early summer here, so even if I work diligently on this, I probably won’t get to wear it until fall, but that’s okay. It seems I’m always knitting out of season!

I’ve been enjoying my spring CSA greens every which way: on a sandwich with sprouts, under a fried egg, over rice — I can’t get enough.

And here’s a sweet shot of Boh, cuddling on the couch. He’s such a good boy. Alright, time to make a plan for the day. (I’m hoping I’ll get enough writing done that Boh and I can fit in a long walk.)