Monday, June 20, 2016

WWKIP Day 2016

What a wonderful and perfect day for knitting in public!! 

We started off early and seeing Mr Peanut ready to set sail was an auspicious start to the day!! 
 We breakfasted (though in hindsight the sausages may have been a bit dodgy), stopped by Serano's for their famous honey balls, then on to Leslieville Park. We arrived early and set to knitting in public, like we do! 
I got Helen started on her Bottoms Up bag. To be fair, starting on 8 sts in the round, on 15mm needles, with two colours AND in a knit one below pattern is a fair challenge. 
 
Elise joined up a bit later and we were a fierce threesome, knitting and chatting just having fun!!

Craig also came along. He doesn't knit but he came along to meet some of my friends who knit, he chatted up and amused us, helped carry things and even went on a coffee run!! He was a perfect companion and made the day that much more memorable. 
 
Then we went to meet up with Ramona. I have known Ramona online for time beyond memory. She has been a steadfast and true friend through my challenges and triumphs. Meeting her in person was so good though, and man, can that woman hug!!! I love how the Internet has allowed me so many friends that, though I haven't and may never meet them in person, we know each other. 
 

The weather is doing me head in though ... 4th day in a row with a migraine. This may be a long summer!

I took a ball that bounced off of home plate to the ankle on Friday night. Yup, it left a shiner. Garlic and ice are doing their best. 
 It's tender, but not affecting me otherwise. 

OITNB marathon underway!! I am working on the Bernat Sweet Spot afghan, and am very pleased with how it's progressing.  
 

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Plus ça change

I'm still knitting. I kind of lost my knitting mojo there for a bit, and I've been trying to sort out why. I have come to some conclusions and hopefully the realizations will help me keep my voice. 

Today, I am playing with the Sweet Spot again! I am stepping out of my go to fingering weight and indie dyers and am using <a target="_blank" href="http://www.yarnspirations.com/yarn/super-value.html">Bernat Super Value</a>. <i>I know, but I'm going for dog-friendly. I haven't broken out in hives, and the colours are making up for the yarn composition. </i> 

I started with a strip just wide enough to hit the sweet spot. 
It didn't quite resonate with me, so I went double, and went up a needle size.  I am pleased.
I can't wait to get into the other colours. 

The temperature afghan is coming along nicely. The two yellow stripes represent those hot days at the end of May! 
I don't remember if I mentioned it, but I am going with the daily lows for the colder months (Oct - March) and the daily highs for the warmer months (April - Sept). This provides the best use of the extreme temperature colours; otherwise it would be rather mid-range and less interesting. 

The puppies are wonderful, though Chica 
 is quite the handful - always wanting to have someone throw her ball (she's relentless about it) and is still quite guardy with her favorite things. I'm exploring a few options on training her out of it, but it's as bad as advice on parenting!! 
Petey is still my steadfast champion, making sure I'm never short on love and attention. 

My leg has healed well; I play ball and have no noticeable weakness. I usually wear the brace for ball, but not day-to-day. The ankle still swells to icky proportions, but apparently that's normal, so I try to not judge it. <i>between you & me, it's not my fave appendage and likely won't be the model foot for sock pics</i>