I Did A Thing Or Two

 Check out episode 127 of the PJKnits podcast to find out what I did!  You can check it out by clicking

here

Who Needs Rhinebeck?

When you have yarny friends that will come to your area and spend the weekend knitting, laughing, eating, drinking, dyeing and just have the best time.

There was a charcuterie board to start the weekend off along with homemade truffles to die for!

I found a new Summer drink for the porch, the Bourbon Slush, yum!

On Friday, we went to Leading Men Fiber Arts for a dyeing afternoon.  

So much fun and I have such a new appreciation for dyers!  We went in threes and started with a sample skein,

We just chose three dyes and did a practice skein.

Then each of us, chose our colors for our skeins with the assistance of Andy.

After we were all done, we went to lunch and came back to our yarns ready to go home with for some more drying. 

Saturday brought knitting at our local yarn shop, The Fiber Universe, some went to lunch and a couple of us went back to the house to enjoy the beautiful Fall weather and colors and some knitting on the porch,

I popped my yarn out in the sun for a little bit more drying.

Saturday night, out for a delicious dinner at the Fish House and then back to the house for Bourbon Pecan Coffee and then good byes, but we are all in agreement that we will do it all again next year!  

So, who needs Rhinebeck, when you have Yarny Friends!

 

I've Been Wearing My Knits, Have You?

 Fall is definitely here, which means bringing out the knits and wearing them to knitting.

Sea Salt by Laura Ayler is first up, an unusual construction and one that kept my interest for sure.

One of my all time faves is Autumn League, a really fun sweater to wear and I get a lot of compliments on it.  They don't know how easy the pattern is and is just like your old sweatshirt to wear in the same yarn designed in.

The tree outside our LYS, The Fiber Universe is just dropped dead gorgeous every Fall and warrants a picture every year.

It's been too chilly to do early mornings on the porch the last couple of weeks, but, I could not resist heading out there this morning to catch these sunrise pictures.  And if you put the knits on, my Garter Marler Cardigan and my Half and Half Wrap over the legs, add a cuppa and it was nice to be back on the porch again.

And last, but not least, is today's pairing for heading out to knitting!  Probably one of the last times, I'll wear the sweater, Yume this year.  I paired it with the Fog Shawl to keep my arms warm in the shop.

Finally Finished Friday - Musselburgh Edition

 The Musselburgh Hat by Ysolda Teague is now what was once my go to socks.  I just love knitting these hats for no particular reason, other than to use up PYS single skeins of finger weight yarn.  

Which means there are a couple on the needles now, after finishing this one.

The yarn is from Les Garcons and was one of a three month club I did from them back in Spring of 2023.  I decided to use some of the mini for the stripes.  Next time, I will start those stripes right after the increase is finished.  I am dubbing the above finished as Musselburgh #4.

#2 was once in my car, but I have brought it in to work on it while on the porch or just when I have a spare minute.

And Musselburgh #5 is now my new project in the front seat, for just in case knitting, and on the go.

I am having so much fun with these hats, that is after that pesky pin hole cast on at the beginning, which definitely tests my good nature. LOL!

The Wooly Wools

 The latest episode of PJKnits is up on You Tube and it is all about the wooly wools, and wooly knits I'd like to do next year.  You can watch it by clicking here

Do you want to knit a long with us next year?

Another Choice For Shawl Knitting in October

 And it starts today...

Darcy from Chit Chat Knits designed a Mystery Knit-A-Long that all of the proceeds of the pattern will go to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library that supplies a book a month to children from ages birth to five, at no charge.  My local library, Pekin Public Library just became an affiliate for the program, as well.

Besides knitting, I love to read, and am so pleased that my older two grandchildren love to read as well, so naturally, this Mystery Knit A Long was one I could totally get behind.

It only takes three skeins of fingering weight yarn, which I could pull from PYS to knit it!  There are six clues, coming out once a week.

And so, if you aren't knitting on that other Mystery Shawl that is going on, we would love to have you join us!

Another Windy Day

 Day 2 of Beautiful Fall Weather on the porch.  But, also, quite windy.  There is still a lot of green on the trees and of course, you all know, another hurricane coming to Florida that is going to be serious.  It is so sad, and we are thinking about our friends down there, and hoping it calms down before it gets to them.

For today, here in Central Illinois, we could not ask for a better day to spend some time on the porch with our knitting!

I've got so many knits in my brain that I want to do, just wish my hands would catch up.

Have a great end to the weekend!!

Can I Be A Monogamous Knitter? Not Likely!

Catch the latest episode of PJKnits Podcast on You Tube and find out why thats not ever going to happen.

You can watch it by clicking here 

Finally Finished Friday

 Helmi is done.  A four month project. But, not quite.  I've got to go back and take a few inches off of the sleeves, they grew in blocking.  But, I am still ok with it almost being done.

It is going to be the perfect sweater for later this Fall, mainly because of the Jody Long Alba yarn I chose for the sweater.  It is a mixture of alpaca, wool and viscose, making it a bit warm for 70 degree weather.

But perfect for the cooler temps that soon will be upon us.

From Morning to Night

 It started out to be a day of rain today.

Beating a few rose petals off.

It was just a perfect day, to stay in with a pot of coffee, comfy clothes and the second sock of a pair of December socks.

Just as I finished the second sock, the sun came out for pictures on the porch.

And there we have a FO for #pjknitstheholidays2024

Real World Pig Problems

 So, over a year ago, I promised my youngest granddaughter a pig or two.  I started on a much smaller one from the Mouche book (it is still a WIP).  It is a small pig and come to find out, my granddaughter wanted a bit larger one (like her current, well worn, piggy)

So, I went on a hunt for a larger pig pattern.  Who would have known that it would be so hard to find a pattern, but finally I did.  What I did not realize until after I bought and cast on, was that this piggy has to be sewn up...and if you know me well, you know that I dislike intensely sewing up, but, hey, its for a grandchild and they asked for it and this knitter grandma always tries to accommodate when asked by grands.

This past weekend when over there, I thought perhaps I should take some pics of the well loved pig.  What I discovered is that it has darker pink feet/hooves and hands/hooves!   

And here is one of the pig problems...

I've already knit one leg and cast on for the second and not with darker pink.

Ok, so not a super big problem, I can rip the first leg out and the bit that I have cast on for the second leg, but, the darker pink is in limited supply~

Most importantly of all, the piggy has to have a darker pink tail!!

So, much as I dislike it, I am going to finish sewing up the body, stuff him really well, and do his tail, then tackle the dark pink situation and go on the hunt for something close at my local LYS tomorrow, just in case.

Real World 🐽 Problems for this Grandma!  Stay tuned!

Episode Number 124

 Making Deals With My Knitting Self is up on You Tube and you can find it by clicking here

Long Weekends and Chillin Out

 Had a long weekend with my kids in Iowa.

Started with Grandparents Day for the youngest two.

And then a day of baseball and softball games for the oldest two.  I didn't get any pictures, too busy watching the games, but lets just say, it was so much fun!  And Summer has returned to Illinois.

Hope you are having a great Sunday!  I'm chillin out!

This Is Why I Don't Garden

And Why I Stick To Knitting~I'm the worst to when it comes to taking care of flowers and bushes!  This is one that is just not bouncing back!

This is one that is directly across the sidewalk from it!  Both of them have had the same amount of attention from me (almost none)

And that is why I'm sticking to knitting!

These Musselburgh Hats

 I'm infatuated with these Musselburgh hats!  This one has had my attention on the front porch a lot this week.

I wanted to see what adding the stripes to the hat would look like a couple of days ago, also playing with helical knitting with stripes.  Lets just say, I am still trying to find the perfect technique.

It's a bit hot out this afternoon on the porch which required a tall glass of water.  I loved adding just a few stripes on the first half of the hat.

But, I have made the decision to limit them to the first half of the hat.  That way the recipient can make the decision as to whether they want a strip hat or a solid had and can choose to tuck either of them into the hat.

Staying with tucking for a moment, check this out!  My yarn can be contained inside the hat for knitting!  Its going with me on a small weekend trip for grandparents day and watch some grands play baseball/softball!

The perfect project!  Can't wait to cast on another one soon!