Happy Halloween!

Monday Mail Call

Look at all the goodies I got from Stunning String in a kit.

It is the Paris in the Springtime kit!  This kit combines two of my faves Caribe Blue and Paris!

Little known fact, about PJKnits.  I spent 6 weeks when I was in high school as part of a French speaking trip through England, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco (where I met Princess Grace Kelly) and France where we drank wine at an outdoor cafe (and we were under 16).  I was on tract as a college student to become a French high school teacher, but gave college up for love.

I love all things French and want to work towards buffing up my speaking and translating skills again.

The shawl, itself, will wait til Spring for cast on, but when my friend, Anita told me about it, well I just had to have it...

30 Days of Knits in November

Every November, I like to go through my knits and see what I will wear, what I should wear and what  needs to be donated (will never ever wear again).  I am lucky that I have someone I work with that loves my knit cast offs.  After  November she will be retiring and so I need to go through my knits and get some to her before she goes.

I thought it would be fun this November to do 30 days of knits at Chez PJKnits.  Every day in November, I am going to be pulling out and wearing a hand knit item from my wardrobe and maybe do a bit of instagramming and blogging about them.  And definitely talking about them in the PJKnits ravelry group and maybe there will be a prize or two.

Are you in? 

Finally Finished Friday

Its not much, but it is finished.  The Hot Cakes Wrap for Hospice was finished and delivered yesterday!

I had enough left on the second skein that I am working it up into a simple garter scarf for 2019's Girls Holiday Bash Farewell Tour!

Happy Friday Knitters!

The Great Pumpkin

Have I told you how much I like the Great Pumpkin and the surprises that come each year?!

I have some of the best knitting friends a knitter could ever have!  Thanks Great Pumpkin!

Rhinebeck, Schminebeck

 All the instagram feeds I follow have been posting about Rhinebeck, making me feel so left out this weekend.  This is the early morning, Central Illinois Rhinebeck yesterday to the West of us.  A bit of Fall out there, but not much.

This was to the East, which just so happens to look very much like the colors of a new yarn that the mailman brought this weekend.

Golden Harvest color way from Knit Style Yarns, which is going to be a Hipster for me when other projects are completed.

Yesterday, was quite the blustery day.  When I got home from knitting, our neighbors had been driven out of their house by a fierce wind that cracked their power pole towards their house.  Rightly so, they were worried about possible fire, so they called the fire department.  We were quite pleased that our power had not been affected, but an hour later, the power company arrived and promptly cut our power off along with about 90 others.

After all the hoopla of getting all the companies out to mark their lines, the power company returned around 9:30 p.m and worked until 3:30 a.m to restore power and heat!  It was a bit chilly but not as cold as it could have been.

The Tall Guy questioned my many light collection, but I was glad I had it.

They  came in very handy last night to knit by and maneuver around to the house.

And granddog, Kane has been keeping us company this week and next and has been a bit of a pill, but he wasn't real crazy last night to go out in the very dark neighborhood.  Today, he is settling in just fine.

And that is how the weekend goes here at Chez PJKnits.  Hope you are having a great weekend, Knit On!

Happy 3rd Birthday Poppy

75/42

Episode 16 of pjknits is up on you tube.  When I uploaded it, there were 75 days until Christmas and 42 days until Thanksgiving!  And I have a whole lot of knitting to do before Thanksgiving!

Podcast can be found  Here

The show notes can be found  Here

What's New

Wool Week magazine came.  I love this cover sweater and several color work hats in this issue.

Laine magazine has some great articles again and some great knits!

Be sure and check these out!

The Peoria Knit Wits

The Sisters I never had.

And always wanted.

Thanks Brenda!

We Are Having a Contest!

Just watch the Episode 15 of pjknits on You Tube and then comment in the pjknits Ravelry group.

I'll draw and announce the name on Episode 16 coming soon.

What's On The Needles This Week

or what is receiving some knitting love.

I could not resist casting on The Rainey Sisters Pickpocket sweater.  I finally decided on and bought Kenzie by Hikoo from The Fiber Universe for it.

And I am loving these colors!  Yes, the green is apple green and very bright, but I am so loving it.  If you remember, initially, I had Brooklyn Tweed Shelter for it, but the Shelter was really slated for The Weekender.  I had such a time trying to decide what the contrast would be for my Shelter and I kept coming back to wanting to still knit The Weekender and use the Shelter. These yarns just kind of jumped out at me last week when I was sitting at The Fiber Universe and I knew I just had to have them for my Pickpocket.

Ravelry says that Kenzie is a worsted weight, but Erin at the Fiber U thought it was more of a dk/light worsted.  Given my issues with Veronika, I did a swatch and blocked it and looked at it very honestly.  Let me just insert here, I almost always swatch and usually block said swatch.   I used both a size 6 and a size 8 for the swatch.  After blocking and measuring, the size 8 needle is spot on for the gauge for my Pickpocket.

I am super excited to be knitting on this, even though, it will get minimal amount of knitting time on it right now, as I have a couple of stockings and baby blanket that I absolutely have to devote my knitting time on right now.

When A Sweater Goes Wrong

What to do, what to do?  This is what started it all!  A definite shift in color in a yarn that does not have dye lots, but still recommends alternating skeins.  Which I did not.  I tried to ignore it.

Then I kind of sort of tried it on.  What?!  Not long enough in the front.

Even when I put my arm down.

And really need to be at least 4 or 5 inches longer from the back view.

 No matter how you take the pic.

Or pull it, it just was not the fit I wanted.

And then I measured it for gauge.  What seemed to be on gauge, really was a tad off and totally off on the row gauge.  After knitting this the first time, blocking and then seeing how it should be put together, I, even though, am a experienced knitter learned some things.  And so, there was nothing more to do, but to re-cast on, which I did.

The first one was knitted in about four weeks, this one I will not knit that quickly as I really have to be knitting on a couple of Christmas stockings and a baby blanket with deadlines of Thanksgiving.

And in the meantime, I'm gonna Knit on with confidence and hope!

Episode 15 Sense of Style

The latest episode of pjknits is up on you tube and can be found here!

And the show notes, can be found on the pjknits Ravelry group here!

Finally Finished Friday

It is a small finished object, but finished all the same.  It is finished for my 40 Months 40 Cowls project.

So many more to knit...better get a move on it!