Continue the Tradition
The yard work wasn't nearly as disturbing as the painting (nor did it go on for weeks and weeks). But I'd set a precedent with the cuffs and the painters last time, so I wanted to continue it. I started this little cuff on Monday (since that's when I thought the yard folks were coming) and worked on it on and off while they were here on Tuesday. I finished it up Wednesday. Yesterday was blocking and button hunting (I'm not sure this is the right button, but it works for now). Today, I show it off. It's cute and [...]
How to Fix a Yard…in 8 Hours
I'm now officially a fan of the 'hire a professional' approach to lawn care. I am not brave enough to show you any 'before' shots. It's too embarrassing. Just imagine the worst yard on your block. It was worse than that. Far, far worse. Instead of bringing shame on my household, I'll show you some 'during' shots. It all started with a backhoe. It carried on with the backhoe for quite some time. It was oddly fascinating to watch. Alas, they would not let me drive it. After all the old stuff was gone, there as a long period of [...]
More Lies
So that Thursday thing turned out to be a lie. It's the weather's fault, not the lawn company's. It's April, it's Cleveland, the weather is fickle under the best of circumstances. But, yesterday's predicted rain didn't show up, the forecast for today was good, and Thursday got declared likely to be rainy. So the guys are here today. Much as predicted, it is a bit noisy. It's also unreasonably engrossing to watch. It's kind of amazing what two guys with bulldozers can do. They're much faster than I'd be out there with a shovel. There's hope for this place yet. [...]
Any Minute Now
The nice men from the lawn place will be here any minute (hence my unusual state of being awake, upright, clean, and dressed at such an early hour). They came a week or so ago and killed off all the stuff that was destined to go away. Today they rip out the corpses, put in shiny new plants, and spray weird proto-grass paste (which we must dutifully water). They think they can do it all in one day. Should be fun. It will likely also be noisy, but I think it will be worth it. Of course the last time [...]
You See, What Happened Was
So, um, I accidentally sort of wrote another book. Well most of another book. I don't mean Book the Third. Book the Third is (or rather will be) a full on proper book. The big kind. The kind that takes a year to put together and involves enlisting the help of photographers and stylists and models and editors and print coordinators and distributors and yarn companies and librarians and likely a competent bartender towards the end there. This is more of a mini book. Something quite a bit heftier than an individual pattern, but not nearly the all-consuming undertaking of [...]
Today’s Lesson
You know how all the instructions in every knitting book ever strongly encourage you to block your swatches? Yeah. I'm here to remind you of the same thing. This time with a demonstration. You see, I'm working on a little cowl. It's a lovely fabric, open without being lacy, structured without being stiff. I'm rather taken with it. The yarn was new to me (Handmaiden's Silk Twist), so of course I swatched. And because I'm lazy and only want to knit it once, I blocked my swatch. It's a good thing I did, because the swatch grew by about 50% [...]
Why Knitters Have Kittens
It may, at first, seem an unlikely pairing. Kittens are not known for their restraint. They have been found to have an unholy love for yarn, which doesn't end well for either of the parties involved. They are often convinced that laps are meant for them, not for pesky bits of knitting. But they do have some advantages. If you come up the stairs and see this: You can be pretty sure there's some sort of flying critter somewhere up there. Kittens are excellent moth detection systems. Vigilant, diligent, and very very dedicated. The moth has now been snuffed out [...]
Gentlemen
As part of my ongoing efforts to increase knitting awareness in my community, I took the knitting on a little excursion Sunday evening. The Boy, the knitting (a new project, I'll show it to you later this week), and I went to one of our local musical establishments, The Beachland Ballroom. Sunday evening's performance was provided by The Two Man Gentlemen Band. I'd first heard about them on our local NPR station and was immediately smitten. When we learned they were playing here, we made plans to attend. It was an absolutely delightful show. Difficult to describe mind you, but [...]
After the Rip
The rip fest mentioned the other day has been accomplished and the yarn put to much better use. See? It's ever so much happier now. Of course there is the small issue of Rosamund's wrist being slimmer than mine (freaky man hands, that's me). When it's on me, it opens up a bit more and shows off the fancy stitch work. I've got the second one on the needles and should have it banged out with a few more hours of knitting. The yarn is Nichole by Schaefer in Dian Fossey. There's a lovely gray bit hidden in among all [...]
Mailing List
Want to hear when a new pattern comes out or something fun is going on? Sign up below!
Patreon
Want to support the content I create, get nifty bonus material for some of my favorite patterns, or get every new release delivered right to your inbox? Head over to patreon and sign up!
