Finally Finished Friday

I had to wait until my Knitmas partner received her box, before I could share this finished object with you all on the blog.

The pattern is Foolproof.

The red yarn is Poison Apple in the Callback base by Leading Men Fiber Arts and the gray is London Fog in the MCS base by Sun Valley Fibers.

It is a fantastic construction as there is no joining or sewing and all garter.

I loved knitting it and finally having it on its way!

Episode 37 January Thaw

Hi All!  I have been away all weekend in Madison for the annual Sun Valley Fibers January Thaw retreat with my roomie, Debbie.  While we were there, we did a podcast together and you can find it here

We scooted out a day early to get there and a day early to get home, since there was a forecast of snow on Thursday and wanting to get home on Saturday to have a nice day at home before work again on Monday.

It snowed every day we were there, but we were prepared with sweaters to wear.  We had a wonderful view of the roof out our window, but could still see the freeway to see how the cars were moving.

It was a great weekend, where we met up with lots of friends and met new friends.  I am so excited for my knitting right now, retreats can do that!

Have a great weekend!

Episode 36 -20.20.20

Click here to watch

the latest episode of PJKnits.  It is January 20, 2020 and 20 degrees outside at upload.  This is what behind the scenes looks like today.

Here is some of what I am podcasting about today.

Corralling your saves on Instagrams.

My Turtle Dove II and a finished project I cannot talk about yet, but it involves an empty bag.

Some projects to take to knit with at next weekend's January Thaw in Madison.

A possible 2020 Christmas present or two, or a 2019 Christmas present.

Winter has finally returned to Central Illinois, hope you are warm and toasty and knitting something fun this week!

Finally Finished Friday - Turtle Dove II

This Sweater!!

I love it!  I love the yarn, Drops Air which is so squishy and soft.  It is the second version of the same sweater from Espace Tricot.  I knit the first version a year ago out of Woolfolk, which is heavier yarn than the Drops Air.  This one is just a tad bit lighter weight but, still substantial enough for the return of Winter to Central Illinois this weekend.

As always, I made some modifications on my sweater dealing with heavier arms and needing to add extra stitches there, then modifying the decreases on the arm to get to my tiny wrists (oh why could my body not match my wrist size?)

Lately, I seem to be drawn to the split hems,  What is about the split hem that I love so?

And an inch longer on the back hem than in the front is just perfect to come over the bum a bit.  It is a winner for sure for me, and I am going to love wearing it!

Throwback Thursday - Yarn Stash

Last night, I was a bit bored and decided to look way back at the beginning of the blog and see if there wasn't a Thursday post that I could do a blog post on.

Oy, it was really sporadic in the beginning, but I came across this picture of what was my stash.

We had such a tiny house then, and with two growing boys in one bedroom and us in the second bedroom, the stash/computer had to go along a wall in the dining room and into the living room.

 Oh how the years have changed!  The stash size has definitely changed and now I have a whole room on the second floor for my personal yarn shop.

What hasn't changed since that time, is the need to knit from my stash!  So far for 2020, I have done pretty good, only buying two balls of yarn at my local yarn shop yesterday to make a lamb scarf for my oldest granddaughter!  It was a specialty yarn, so I could buy it!

Wednesday Website

Sorry I have been MIA from the Blog, I am not sure what happened or where all my time has been spent since the first of the year, but all of a sudden, I turned around and it is mid January!

Wednesdays this year I am hoping to continue something I started a few years back on the blog, Wednesday Websites or Wednesday WIPS.

This Wednesday I want to share with you Helene Magnusson's website
Icelandic Knitter

I am a fan of Icelandic sweaters. I know a lot  of my knitting friends would find Icelandic wools scratchy and itchy, preferring soft and cuddly yarns to those used in Helene's sweaters, but for those of us who worship at the knee of Elizabeth Zimmermann and Meg Swansen, you will get our fandom of Icelandic yarns and sweaters.

Helene's website has some gorgeous knits on it and if you scroll back her periodic posts you will know what I mean.

The tabs on her website intrigues me as she sells yarn and kits, has some great pictures, along with a tab for Knitting Tours that sound like a Knitter's dream trip, that is if you are a fan of Iceland and would love to put that on a bucket list of trips should I ever win the lotto.

Be sure and check out her bio Here  I think you will enjoy reading all about her.

New Year New Knitting

It is January 1st and cast on day for all kinds of new knits.

First up the Testing Menu Mystery KAL with Tellybean Knits.

 A clue a week and I chose this kit from lolodidit yarns in the Sour colors.  This ought to be one bright wrap/shawl for the bleak mid-Winter.

Dotted Rays by Stephen West and the yarns are from La Bien Aimee.

My Knitmas project that is an absolute secret, so you will just have to imagine what is in the bag.

There are so many more knits on my list, perhaps knitting will keep me from eating so much junk, LOL!

What are your New Year Knitting Plans?  I would love to know!