Farewell, for a while

So the last few weeks flew by so quickly that I didn't even have time to write up a post. I was knitting and crocheting along the way though.

I finished the January baby blanket, another pair of socks; I didn't do one last week, was asked to do some commission work for a family member, had a couple of snow days with the children and joined another KAL.

Here is the January baby blanket.

Based on the amount of yardage called for in the pattern and then the yarn I used, I used less yardage than was called for. I got away with using only one skein of each shade of blue, on the other hand it took almost two entire skeins of the white yarn. The yarn was to be cut at the end of each row to make fringe. The rows were still worked back and forth, not all from the same side as has been my experience in the past.

I finished two pairs that I haven't shared here yet. The white pair, actually has flecks of color here and there. I worked both of these socks at the same from each end of the center pull ball.

The green socks were worked one at a time because I had so much yarn wrapped around the outside of the ball that I couldn't find the other end. This up close picture shows the different colors in the yarn.

My brother in law and his wife, foster children, aged 4 years old and younger. They moved into a new house a couple of weeks ago. They have a 3 year old foster right now and have recently adopted one who is just over a year, as well as their 11 and 13 year old children. She asked if I could make some door knob covers as a safety feature. So I told her yes. She only needs two. I finished them quickly, but they are cute and get the job done.

One snow day with the children wasn't an official school snow day... We left and it was snowing rather hard, but not windy so visibility wasn't an issue. We were less than a mile from home and the van slid off the road. I was able to get it out and about 500 feet later we slid again, not off the road, but I decided that was enough fun for one day and we went home. The weather service had called for a trace, we received 18" of snow that day, before 2pm. Most of it has since melted off and we have been dealing with mud on the neighborhood roads, but thankfully the main road is dry. For our snow day we watched 7th Heaven, played Magic the Gathering and watched the lambs try to play in the snow.

We do have two lambs currently, as well as my eldest son's puppy. The lambs are outside with their mothers who are doing a decent job.  Chandler and Margret. Chandler is a week older than Margret, to the day. He was born on my youngest son's birthday, so that was special for him.

The parents; Lana, Chandler's mom, Chloe, Margret's mom and Whitney, dad to both.

Lana is a Navajo, Shetland X; Chloe is a Rambouillet, Shetland X; and Whitney is a Leicester Longwool. Lana and Chloe are half sisters a year apart, Chloe is older. Whitney is part of the rare, heritage breed club. His descends from the sheep in Williamsburg. I was lucky to get him at the Arapahoe County Fair almost two years ago.

I have been hard at work on my mom's shawl and it is going well. I have to stop here and there to add some to the chart, but I'm mostly staying ahead on the charting.

Ps 85:6 is still moving along.

On my Archa shawl I have now moved on to Chart 3 and it has cables. As far as the charting and basic instructions, this is a well written pattern. I didn't follow the line by line pattern so I can't speak for that. The only mistake I found, I will email June Cashmere about, is in Chart 3, they forgot the repeat lines. This for the most part isn't detrimental as the basic pattern is following what was set up in Chart 2 and the line by line is there with the repeats marked with * .

I have jumped full into my Brioche shawl by Stephen West.  I have almost finished the first ball of the main color. I will then measures and decide how many of the four balls I will use. The main yarn is from MJ yarns here in Sophistisock base in the Lafayette color way. The other colors are all left overs from socks I have made. Many of these little balls still have enough to make a pair of baby socks too!

With all the Magic games I have been playing with the children as of late I have almost finished my socks in the Hummingbird Moon yarn. I really like this yarn. It is a superwash BFL not the usual Merino. I needed something a bit sturdier as these are going to be for when I go walking. The memory of the BFL compared to the merino might be enough that I switch over to it all together. I have another hank of BFL from Leadingmen Fiber Arts in the Upside down color way, we'll see how that works up and then I'll decide. 

The new KAL I joined was totally spur of the moment. I had an email in my inbox from Maker's Mercantile the day the KAL started. I downloaded the pattern, didn't want to wait to order the recommended yarn and decided if I had something in stash that's what I would use. Maker's Mercantile suggested Zitron Infinito Yarn and at some point I will order some, but I came back from my stash with Road to China, Lace, silken jewels in verdite. This yarn is an alpaca, silk, camel, cashmere blend that is absolutely amazing. One person on the Ravelry group for this KAL called it luscious. I would completely agree. It is a bit lighter weight than what is called for. I also used a needle one size smaller than what is called for and cast on more stitches. It is going to be big and squishy!

So about the KAL. Maker's Mercantile is sponsoring it. It is over on their Ravelry group here. Franklin Habit is the one who did the work from a 19th Century lace pattern. It caught my interest because of the time period and because it has new decreases in it. I have already worked them out as a lefty and shared that with the Ravelry group. The pattern is free and can be found here in the Friday's with Franklin blog posts. Follow it on IG at #19centurykal .

Also in my inbox that sunny afternoon was the congratulations email from Leading men Fiber Arts! I was one of 75 selected to go on the retreat with them in September! I am so excited about this. It is going to be many firsts for me. First time on an air plane. First knitting retreat. First time away from home without any family, not helping someone in the hospital. First time in Illinois. So excited! I have met Steve and Andy before. Last year at the Estes Park Wool market and will see them there again this year, then again in September!

Then early last week I received an email that there is going to be another Yarn Fest, in Bend, Oregon in August! It was to let me know that I can send in class submissions, so that's been done. Another possible state! So that might be my first time on a plane...

In July I will be able to cross Wyoming and Montana off my list as well. I'm going on a missions trip to Lame Deer, Montana to minister to the Cheyenne people there. We are driving and will be gone for a week. My first missions trip!  This is going to be a year of firsts for me. I'm so excited about this too. My daughter might be going with me, if she can raise the money. The church ladies are getting together and knitting and crocheting hats and blankets for the people to have next winter. So much fun!

Here is a picture of the start of the February blanket.

I took this opportunity to do the work and take some pictures of what a difference hook size can make.  I used a larger hook than called for to work the foundation chain for this blanket.  It makes it easier to work into the chains and will actually make that first row lay better.

 

This post's title contains the word "farewell" for a reason.  I'm going to be gone for a while.  Surgrey is in 2 weeks and I'm not sure how often I'm going to make it to the library to post.  So farewell until April.  You can keep up with me on IG at Azariahs1982.

See you in the Spring!