And Then I Zig Zagged Again!

Here's another scarf. This one is Zig Zag Chunky Scarf  by Zoe Bartley. I used Caron Tea Cakes again, this time in Lady Grey, which is also basically blue.

This pattern works up very quickly, due to the chunky guage and the easy to memorize pattern. The zigzags give it a lot of texture and interest, so it's pretty gratifying to knit. It's also a pretty quick knit, so there's that.




I've been having some type of knitter attention disorder, where I need very quick projects. I really should be working on joining afghan blocks for my friend's afghan (I traded this work for some chainmail work from her.) but I do a couple and then I just... have to do something else.

Anyway, I love this yarn. Love this pattern. I put the pompons on the end, just like Zoe does in her pattern. But my pompons don't look as good.

They never do, do they? I just suck at pompons, I guess.

I Zigged, Then I Zagged

This is a recent scarf I finished. It's the Lace Zig Zag Scarf by Barbara Breiter.

I used Caron Tea Cakes in Oolong flavor. Very nice shades of blue and muted blues. It's a chunky yarn, so it works very nicely with this lace pattern.

The pattern is also very easy to remember, very easy to do. But it also has a nice impact, by switching directions of lace to give it that zigzag pattern. I like patterns like that.

I made this one pretty quickly, and mostly while watching TV, so that should encourage you to try it. It looks great, I think. And this one will become a Christmas Gift 2018.

Game Of Thrones 2019

Yeah. Like another year before it returns. I'm kind of angry and kind of ambivalent about it now. I mean, do we still even care about Game of Thrones?

Sure, I've already said that it's the best show on TV. And I still think the writing is exceptional. As a writer, it's rare that a story can surprise me. And GoT tends to surprise me sometimes. Not all the time, mind you. But sometimes, at least. And I like that.

That's why I get so bent out of shape when people spoil things for me. Because I like the surprise. And I think it's extremely rude to tell someone what's going to happen when they've already told you they like the way the show can surprise them.

But lately, I've been frustrated with GoT. It's mainly the production schedule. I just feel betrayed by waiting a year and a half in between seasons. I don't care if you're waiting on snow (there's fake snow, there's CG...) or sets to be built (there are plenty of union-certified workers who are ready and willing to take on the job) or scripts to be written (18-24 months is a ridiculously long time to write 6 or 7 or however few episodes they have left.) I think there is an unspoken contract between a show and its fandom that the show won't take advantage of the fans' loyalty by making them wait a year and a half or two years in between seasons.

Frankly, I've forgotten so much about what happened last season that I have very little motivations to watch next season. There's no tension. There's no "What's going to happen?"  No "How will this turn out?"  No "Who is behind this?" Nothing.

Maybe that makes me a disloyal fan, because I find myself not caring a whole lot about characters I had cared about previously. But I also think it makes the production company disloyal to the show's fans. It's like they're drug dealers and the show is the drug. They hooked you on the show at the beginning and now they just want you to beg for it at the end. And you're going to beg a long time for it, too. 

But here's the thing... I and all the other fans have had to go cold turkey without that drug. Some of us have passed through the withdrawal phase and now won't get hooked again.

If I'm being honest, I'm probably going to watch this last season anyway. I feel like I've invested so much time into this show that I have to. And I will probably enjoy it. But I will also not make a big deal about watching it on Sunday nights. It will just go into the DVR and I will watch it when I get time.

And I'll probably not be getting bent out of shape about spoilers, either. I just can't get that interested in it again.

Knit Or Not

It's actually crochet, but that didn't fit my clever little title. 

This is a finger crochet scarf that I did as a class a while back. I used two different colors of yarn so the students would see the two strands as I demonstrated. Many of them had never worked with two strands of yarn before, so it was a good way to show them how to hold them together.

Plus, I think sometimes it looks pretty cool to get that marbled effect with two colors, don't you? 

Anyway, it's been sitting in my bag for a while, so I pulled it out and thought about whether I wanted to finish it or frog it. I decided to frog.

Actually, that's not true. I decided to finish it, but I didn't have enough yarn left. (I apparently used some leftover yarn for this demo, so there is not a whole skein of either here.) So I ended up frogging it. Now I have these two grapefruit sized balls of bulky yarn.

What should I do with them?

Happy Groundhogs Day?

Stupid groundhog. 

And by the way, I don't get this whole Groundhog Day thing. He comes out and the day is nice and clear, and that somehow means more winter? Wouldn't it make more sense if he came out and saw the sky was cloudy and there was no shadow and that means more winter? That says to me the weather is pretty shitty. How does nice weather = more winter?

Whatever. I didn't make this stuff up. I did do some research on groundhogs day, however. And apparently it's carried over from Candlemas from Germany. So that makes sense. Or maybe it doesn't. If it were a German legend, it would be something in the Black Forest that would eat you. Like a giant evil groundhog. (If Grimm's Fairy Tales have taught us anything.)

But I digress. 

Turns out, groundhogs typically come out of hibernation about six weeks after Groundhog Day anyway. So, it makes perfect sense, no matter if he sees his shadow or not, that spring won't be for another six weeks.

Don't let the empty suet cage fool you.
Look at all the birds. That's why it's empty.

Still, I think he's wrong. For one things, the geese never left here. They stayed here in Indiana. It didn't get supercold here, though. (Well, it did for a very short period of time, but it was mostly mild.) And there was not much snow. So they did okay here.

Plus, I am seeing birds at my birdfeeder. Grackles, finches, and robins. Well, not robins. I see them in the yard. They don't like to eat at my feeder. (Snobby robins.) But, I'm seeing them, at least.

Even the geese paid me a visit the other day, much to Achilles' delight. They don't usually hang out until they start thinking about mating season. (Hm. Well, it is almost Valentine's Day.)

So all those things say to me that it will be an early spring. We'll see who's right, me or the groundhog.

Of course, I'm not a licensed meteorologist like he is.

Fabulous Winter Ensemble

I knitted this winter ensemble for The Fabulous Miss A. Didn't get it finished in time for Christmas, but I did mail it to her as soon as I could. She's 9 now, so I didn't want to do something super kiddy for her. But I wanted something fun.

So this is a basic 1X1 ribbed and fringed scarf, with matching mittens. These are Quick Bulky Mittens by Aimee Pelletier. The yarn is Loops and Threads Charisma, but I can't remember the colorway. And somehow that label got tossed.

The colors kind of remind me of ice cream. (Or maybe that's just me?) But what really impresses me is the way these mittens matched up in colors. Like perfectly. I was going to just force them to match, but cutting the yarn in the appropriate spot. But I didn't have to. When I finished the first one, I was in the perfect spot to start number two.

Look at them! That's impressive. Or lucky. Whatever.

I also threw in a DaBomb Bling Bomb bath fizzy with a jewelry surprise inside, because I thought it was cool. I also thought the whole DaBomb story is cool, so if you get a chance, go read that. Two teenage entrepreneurs. It's a great story.

More Knitting

So, just to catch you up, here are some of the other things I did for Christmas 2017:

Celtic Knot Scarf for M. The pattern is Celtic Looped Knot Scarf by Patricia Everett. I used Lion Brand Heartland in King's Canyon. Love the colors of Heartland yarn. They're very rich. The pattern turned out great. Although, once you braid it, it's really more of a cowl than a scarf.

The matching hat is Messy Bun Knit Hat by Laura Bain. That knit up super quickly. It's a cute hat, and works really well for M, because she has long, beautiful, blonde hair. My hair is cut in a million layers, so there's never going to be any pony tails or buns for me, sadly.










Plus, you know, when you pull it up, you can see all the grey. And nobody wants that.









I also made these for my friends at work:

 Definitely Diagonal Scarf by Kris Basta for Sarah. This is Lion Brand Shawl In A Ball Metallic in Om Opal. Very pretty, with just a hint of sparkle.

This was a nice, fun pattern. I think it would translate well to many different kinds of yarn, too. I recommend it.







Another Lion Brand Shawl In A Ball project. This is Lotus Blossom colorway. The pattern is Feather and Fan Shawl by Elana Malo. Feather and fan is one of my very favorite lace patterns, so naturally, it's what I used for a shawl for Amanda.

I haven't gotten to see Amanda very much since she moved to a different store. But, hopefully, once the weather gets warmer, we'll be able to schedule some lunches or something.








This is Frosted Leaves Scarf. The pattern is actually a cowl (by Louisa Harding), but I left it long and loose because I thought it was prettier that way. This is for my friend Dawne. I used Caron Cakes in Turkish Delight. This doesn't show up very well against my tan couch, but it's shades of purple and violet, with a tea green thrown in there. I think it fits the leaf pattern really nicely. And it's nice and warm for those days when she has car duty at school.











This one is crochet. It's called Neptune's Ocean by SassaFrass Crochet. I used Caron Cakes in Lilac Frosting and Red Heart Soft in Lavender.

It was a lot of fun to crochet. The waves are accomplished with different sized stitches, mirrored against each other and separated by the contrasting yarn. It's just a lot of fun to do and very quick. I would definitely do this pattern again.

This one was a present for my friend, April.








This cowl is Beginner Friendly Scarf or Cowl by Shaina Bilow. It's done in my very favorite Loops and Threads Charisma colorway, Northern Lights. I made this for Rebecca.

This is a two-needle cowl, so it knits fast. But it's got a ton of texture, so it keeps your interest. Plus, Charisma is super soft. So, it's a great choice for yarn that goes right up against the neck.

I know, some of you yarn snobs will say "wool is warmer," but you never know with wool, whether someone will find it itchy or not. Doesn't bother me, but many, many people can't wear wool. I always use synthetic for gifts.









This is also Charisma, in Mulberry Bush, for Jeanne. It's Vaduz Cowl, by Gretchen Tracy.

I like the bold colors in this. It's very pretty. And the cables add a lot of interest to it. Not to mention, warmth. It's Indiana. It gets freakin' cold.

 I also knitted a really pretty blanket for my MIL out of Caron Big Cakes. I really loved it (and she did too!) but I forgot to take a photo of it before I gifted it.

I can't believe I did that!

Anyway, I will have to take a pic of it next time I'm over there so that I have it. It was really lovely, trust me.