Fiberuary - Week 4

 

Day 22 - On The Road

My mother had surgery on Friday, and I went to pick her up on Thursday.  That's my current "car scarf", a simple item (sometimes a "car hat") that I can work on while waiting, or taking into a location in case there is a queue.  The one shown is now finished and I have started another.  I didn't notice until looking at the photo later that the house flag is nicely framed above my knitting.

Day 23 - Self Care

I wanted to have a photo of one of my favourite shawls, but didn't take one before going to my parents' house (I stayed through the weekend to help them while my mother recovered) so had to make do.  It's crocheting and knitting and a wee bottle of a really nicely scented hand lotion, which is the "self care" part, especially as the yarn I am knitting is a scratchy wool.

Day 24 - Memories

Top right is an afghan crocheted by the great-grandmother I never knew, and which I repaired many years ago.  It's very heavy, single-crocheted wool in panels with a lacy connecting stitch.  Bottom right is the aran-style blanket my grandmother knitted.  At left is the last gift I made for her, a lap blanket that I gave to my grandmother on her final birthday.

Day 25 - Handmade Gift

Technically, many gifts - I have a friend who loves to knit socks, and for many years she gave me a pair each year.  These are not all the ones she made for me, just the ones I could grab most quickly when I had a few minutes today to take the photo.

Day 26 - Where in the World

Some of my yarny souvenirs from travels - Argentina, Austria, France, Germany.  Possibly others, I would need to check notes from past trips.  I couldn't quickly locate yarn from New Zealand, and I didn't buy any in Thailand (although I did knit a scarf on that trip that I treasure as a memory), and there are some other yarns that became items I did not include.

Day 27 - Sip and Stitch

Too late I realized I should have taken a photo of my knitting with the drink (tonic water) I was sipping on my flight to Dallas.  Sip & Stitch at 37,000-ish feet up!  This was after I landed, and settled in "my" room at the friends' house where I usually stay when visiting.  They stock Diet Dr. Pepper® for me.

Day 28 - Gratitude

Two friends donated lots of yarn of all kinds to the Urchin Street area at North Texas Irish Festival, with the only requirement that none of it returns home.  The ladies in charge were delighted to receive it and to pose for a photo that I posted so my friends (who could not attend this year) could experience their gratitude.

That concludes my Fiberuary for 2025.  Will I do it next year?  Maybe.  It was a nice distraction this year.  But it's also a challenge - I know, that's the idea - to find a subject each day.

Fiberuary - Week 3

 

Day 15 - Cozy Corner

This is Judy's sunroom.  I thought it makes a perfect location for "cozy", with the addition of crocheted (not by me) afghans and a mug of tea, and my knitting.

 

Day 16 - Reading/Watching

I knit while watching the opening of the Maria C. Vallejo Lace Collection, and during class (but no photos), and then knitted and read on my flight home.

Day 17 - Monochromatic

I almost forgot to take a photo, then thought I might have to re-use something and I want these to be unique as much as possible.  As I was trying to find something else I noticed the piece of felted wool I'd purchased at last year's Carolina Fiber Fest, to use for shoe insoles and padding.

Day 18 - Twos Day

Photo shows the in-progress scarf to match a hat I knit last year.  I had two skeins of yarn in different colourways and decided to work them into a set.  First the wedge hat, and the rest for a scarf.  I tried to do a scarf in wedges also, but it was more of a challenge than I felt like managing.  So I changed to this pattern, in which I started with one colour, added the second, and when the first colourway ran out, finished with the second.  Bottom photo shows the finished set, which I didn't complete on Tuesday.

Day 19 - Wear It Wednesday

It was a cold and snowy day, so wearing a thick handknit sweater was perfect.  I've seen baby and toddler sweaters with the leaf pattern at the yoke and wanted one in a grownup size.  When I found one, I was very happy that some well-aged yarn in my stash would work nicely.  Lower photo is a better one of the sweater; in the selfie I am at the storm door but the glare prevents you from seeing the snow.

Day 20 - Fiber Friends

I have many photos of people I met through fiberarts, and groups and events I have attended.  Many are just of two of us; this is of the DFW Fiber Fest board and guest teachers from 2011.

Day 21 - Now & Then

The Sock Yarn mittens that were in one of my first blog posts also appear in the "Favourite Things" photo for Day 13.  One has a moth hole I need to repair.

She loves them.

My best friend and I used to see each other frequently - when we lived in adjoining towns, I could almost walk to her house.  After they moved to Florida, I'd visit when I dropped in to see my grandmother for a weekend, which my traveling job allowed about once a month or so.

Then they moved to New Jersey, and while there was one visit before I moved, none since.  This is a very long time to not see each other!  So we worked out a weekend for a visit.  It turned out that we were the only two people in the house, and the weather was drek, so it was just us for the weekend.

Thursday night her husband picked me up on the way home from work, and it was late so after brief visiting (mostly to show me where the guest room and bathroom are in the basement) everybody to bed.  He left early on Friday morning, and she went to work, and I worked from the guest area and sitting at the breakfast bar in the auxiliary kitchen so I didn't have to deal with the cat.

Then my bestie came home, picking up way too much vegan kosher Chinese food on the way, and after quickly prepping a slow cooker and the Shabbos hotpot for water, we lit candles and had a slow supper, and visited a bit, then to bed early.

Saturday was somewhat lazy.  My friend had baked a pumpkin cake - with fresh pumpkin she'd harvested - and we had slices for breakfast.  And fed the chickens, and talked and did a puzzle (we both love jigsaw puzzles) and had a nap, then the crockpot stuff for lunch, and finished the puzzle, celebrating with cake and tea, and petted the bunny.  Eventually it was sunset, and we did havdalah, then had leftover Chinese food for supper.

There was some reorganzing of spaces (she was impressed with my visual-spatial acuity) and we watched the films for my class on Sunday.  Since my bestie lived in Senegal and speaks several languages, she understood the film without the subtitles and told me when they didn't match.

Eventually, to bed - except that I stayed up for a bit watching videos and working on her surprise gifts.  On Sunday morning, after a trip to a local bagel bakery for much takeout, we had bagels with cream cheese and onion and cucumbers and avocado for breakfast.  Then talked more, while I finished the hat and ran in the ends on the hat and mittens.

She likes to fold back the mitten cuffs.

I had been worried because the items looked really big when I was knitting, but they fit perfectly and she is thrilled to have them.  Many years ago, on a trip back to Connecticut she'd visited the farm and brought the yarn to me - two hanks of white, two of brown, slightly different weights and no yardage or other information.  Except the names of the animals: Marshmallow and Charlie.  I decided that they should be a gift for her, but living in Florida there wasn't much need of heavy items.  When they moved to New Jersey, I saw the opportunity - and couldn't find a pattern that I really liked.  I wanted to do more than stripes, and considered a houndsooth as fallback, then saw a new pattern that I realized would be perfect for her.  And they are, plus there's a lot of the white and a bit of brown that I promised would become something for me.

As scheduled, we took the class (with bestie as a 'guest expert' giving information about the language and culture and comparing to how things were when she was there - thirty years or so after the films, and not much change!), then watched the Center for Knit and Crochet's launch of the Maria C. Vallejo Lace Collection.  And did another puzzle.  And had more cake, and Chinese food.

We kept watching the weather, and I was tracking both my flight (showing on time) and departures from the airport (dismal).  We left with some extra time to get to the airport, because I said that I'd rather spend the time at the gate than have to run.  And good thing, because first I couldn't find my driver's license (accidentally slipped into a pocket of my suitcase when I was packing), then TSA was a nightmare of closing and opening lines and just the number of people trying to get through.  And of course mine was one of the furthest gates.  So I was very glad to have the extra time!

After that, the trip was uneventful (I knitted and read), and I got home, unwound, and most of a night's sleep before my work week begins again.

Fiberuary - Week 2

I am traveling at the end of this week, so had to plan ahead a bit to meet the challenges while on the road.  At the beginning, I am home.

Day 8 - Flat Lay Fun

These are ten triangle pennants I knit for the Triangle Fiber Guild's display at Carolina Fiber Fest next month.  I created some in crochet; the original pattern is knit only.  Most of these are scraps of yarn and here they are pinned out to get the proper triangular form.  They should dry by Monday's meeting.

Day 9 - Sunday funday

Of course I was knitting as I did many things.  I watched the film for my cinema class and attended class.  I took a walk in the sunshine, and planned to sit and knit by a nearby pond, but I liked the view of their manmade waterfall.  I also knit during Franklin Habit's weekly Patreon chat, and during the SuperBowl but I forgot to take a picture of my knitting there.  It was the sweater again which is easier to do when paying attention to something else, than the mittens are.

Day 10 - Mood Board

I don't generally do mood boards; I don't understand how to put them together.  So I just collected a bunch of pictures I have of things that I enjoy, from other people's art to inspiring sayings to woodworking tools.

Day 11 - Texture

Close-up of a blanket my maternal grandmother knitted, a long time ago, and she gave to me.

Day 12 - Unfinished Business

This is my Thisaway Shawl from the DFW Fiber Fest 2024 Make-Alongs.  Obviously I didn't finish it in time, and I thought about finishing it today but for two things.  One, I want to finish the hat for my bestie whom I am visiting this weekend.  Two, I cannot find the pattern!  Yes, I can print it out again, but I was tracking where I was, and although I can figure it out again, I also had notes of where to add the yellow, which is helping to stretch the multicolour.  I will look for it when I return.

Day 13 - Favourite

I love to knit mittens for myself.  Also for other people, but these are the pairs I have that I have knitted over time, and I knitted at least one other pair that is somewhere I couldn't find it quickly this morning.  The mismatched multicoloured ones are the most recent, from handspun yarn by a vendor I like; they came from a single ball, and I had enough for a hat with some other of her yarn to complete it.  I am sad that the brown-striped ones were moth-munched some time ago, because I love how fraternal and almost mirroring they are.  I knit them of one ball of sock yarn.  I've had the orange-and-gold ones for a long time and no longer remember the yarn I used; the orange-multi ones are Morehouse Farm yarn that I bought at New York Sheep & Wool many years ago.

Day 14 - Love

This is a photo of the hat and mittens I have been knitting for my bestie of alpaca yarn from a farm where she used to work.  Currently the hat is still in-progress; I will have it finished before I leave on Sunday.  These are a secret from her until given.  😍

Butterfly Garden

Last weekend I saw a spectacular production of a rare opera in Spanish; of the romance languages, French and Italian are the ones where you find most opera.  Florencia en el Amazones has a minimal cast (one comment at the afterparty was that there are the same number as on The Minnow) and is more than a little fantastical which this production embraced.  I am sorry there were only two performances.

Seed packets were given out at the cast party.

I managed to finish the Science Fiction Book Club's assignment before Wednesday's meeting and definitely am enjoying this group.  A wide range of ages and viewpoints and the discussion is lively.

This also means I have completed seven books and according to the tracker I am six books ahead of schedule, and 39% finished with my challenge reading of eighteen books.  I already have the one for next month, and the month following, so should remain well ahead on this year's challenge.

I am rather proud of this week's cheese soufflé:

Fiberuary - Week 1

I learned of this challenge late in the day, but still on February 1st, so jumped into the swarm:

The creator addressed going forward with the event even though energy might best be directed elsewhere:

These are my first week responses:

Day 1 - Hi!

I realize it's funny that somebody who modeled as a child hates being photographed, but here I am.  Since I learned of this very late and hadn't planned, I decided I needed to show that I knit and crochet.  Hat is one of my basic hats that lives in a coat pocket and is worn often; sweater is the one I test-crocheted last year.  A bit itchy but very warm - handdyed yarn, of course.

Day 2 - Looking Forward

For me, this means project planning.  Top Row: A skein of Miss Babs Neon Tweed in "Franklin" for a carry-along project; Miss Babs Tarte in "Franklin" paired with Destination Yarns First Class Silk in "Sainte-Chappelle" for a shawl; and three assorted DK weight hanks from UP North Yarns with the remainder of a DK hank from Forbidden Fiber that will be either a really big shawl or a small cardigan, or a bigger one if I add some more hanks.  Bottom Row: Destination Yarns' "Paris" minis set for a Tour Eiffel inspired shawl, and a couple hanks from Fiberlady for another simple top.

Day 3 - Monday Morning

I finished the hat this morning.  Not as simple as most of my "Zoom hats" or mindless knitting projects because of the overall ribbing.  I used doubled sock yarn leftovers, 90 stitches on US#3 needles in a 3x3 ribbing, then changed to 9x9 ribbing and US#5 needles for the body.  I really like how the decreases came together at the top.  Other project is one of the current ones that seems to work colour-wise and which I also did a little bit of this morning.

Day 4 - Inspiration

These two men are inspiring for ways outside of knitting - for being good and kind, for encouraging children to read and to be compassionate and thoughtful.  Since they are wearing sweaters, and it is National Sweater Day, I thought I'd include a couple sweaters that are inspiration for ones I want to make someday: a heavily cabled one that Franklin Habit is knitting, and one of Mick Aston's:

Yes, someday I will collect lots of little bits of yarn, or just use a pile of miniskeins, and knit something like this one.

Day 5 - Work in Progress

No wonder I am feeling overwhelmed!  Left-to-right:  My "car scarf", garter stitch with Red Heart "Americana", to work on while waiting.  Corner-to-Corner blanket piece of Caron "Latte Cakes".  Garter stitch scarf knit of two colourways with transitional changes, to match a hat of same.  Below, that, my "pocket hat" or "Zoom hat", a basic beanie on a circular needle that takes no attention and can be worked anywhere, including audience, dentist, and book club.  All four of these are destined for charity.  Next is a mitten in progress, which I need to finish and get the second one finished, hopefully this weekend.  Next to that my DFW Fiber Fest 2024 shawl, maybe a UFO given how much time has passed, but it is almost done so I am bringing it out for Finishing February.  Finally, the cardigan I started out of some thick-thin wool I purchased in Argentina, and decided I may as well do something simple, plus I want a cardigan.  I may use some plain yarn for the border - or not.

Day 6 - A Pop of Colour

This yarn is a bright pop of colour and it's not even mine!  A friend asked me to pick up a couple things for her at DFW Fiber Fest last year.  She is just learning how to make granny squares, because crocheting is difficult for her, and really wanted the Whimzee Stitches bags.  She also wanted the neon yarn braid, which is blacklight reactive.  The last item is one I picked up at the Carolina Fiber Fest and it's electric purple with a splash of pink - very similar to her hair colour.

Day 7 - Mood Booster

A beautiful sunny and warm day, with clear skies, is enough of a mood booster especially in February!  Let's add some yarn - a "Rainbow Ambrosia" hank on an incredibly soft base from Always Be Kind Yarn.  The dyer supports LGBTQ+ and anti-suicide organizations, and is really supportive of the fiber community and the LGBTQ+ community and individuals.  The other is some handspun from Knitting Lagniappe, somebody I know in the DFW area who is an amazing person.  I've really enjoyed knitting her yarns in the past.  Unfortunately work didn't allow me time to sit in the sun and wind up yarn, or knit, but just looking at them and petting the yarn is a mood booster.

I missed it.

I found out after supper that the first Saturday in February is supposed to be Ice Cream for Breakfast Day.  I wonder if I can catch up tomorrow?  Sandra Boynton recommends using other Saturdays to practice.

As many people know, IT HAS BEEN A WEEK! and medicinal ice cream (or something) is probably what many people need right now.

Work was very busy, going to end of month stuff.  Today I did the usual Saturday of helping my father organize things, and my mother reorganizing things, and made a cheese soufflé which wasn't as tall as the last couple but tasted very good.  As my mother says, that's the important part.

I've done some knitting, but not much, and have too many partly-done things around so I am feeling a bit overwhelmed.  I need to focus and finish a couple, at least.

It is also Imbolc today.