Wednesday's Yarns: My Camping Slouchy Hat

 

     We're off to camp in the Adirondacks this weekend.   I got a nice tent site in the only May 1st campground open near the High Peaks.  Two new cots and extra mattress should be a step up from our usual sleeping on the ground.  That should feel like deluxe camping.  My favorite part is when my husband gets the fire going and we curl up by the fire.  Hot tea for me, coffee for him.  Grilled Veggie burgers and S'mores at night. Going to get cold at night, I'm bringing lots of fleece blankets and my hubby got me a very soft LL Bean flannel sleeping bag.  

     The last week I picked up an old hat I started back for the Science Day March and I ran out of yarn.  It was an older color of yarn Preciosa that I loved but was discontinued.  So when looking at a different yarn at Knitpicks called Chroma Worsted I noticed the same color Lake Front.  It is almost a perfect match. The new colors just have more pop and are very soft and so nice to work with.  I did cut out a wide swatch of bright Pea yellow green, saving it for another time, and then matched up the stripes almost seamlessly.  Perfect, really looks like the same yarn.  Only difference is the Preciosa was %100 Wool and Chroma is %70 Superwash Wool, which is a total plus for donated hats.  Maybe these will be my go-to donated hats this year.  With a slightly bulky worsted yarn and size #9 needles even I, a slow knitter, got it done in less than a week. 

     The pattern is an old favorite of mine that is super comfortable and goes up quick.  They also make great hats to donate since they fit a lot of different people and Slouch is so in.   Simple Slouch Hat

     I started reading a very gripping series on my Kindle (Kindle Unlimited) while I waited for my Joe Pickett books to arrive.  They did, and in perfect new condition for $4 each from Book Outlet.  But in the meantime I got hooked on this other book series by an author that grew up reading CJ Box, Baldacci  and Lee Child (my husband's favorite) and patterned his books on them.  So these are a bit more ramped up but most of them are in Colorado with awesome descriptions of scenery.  Good fun reads by Jeff Carson; The David Wolf series.

Wednesday's Yarns: Knits to do While Reading

 

     I absolutely love to read.  I've been hooked since 9 when I started reading a series of biographies on the bottom shelf of the library.  Nice ones on Florence Nightengale, and George Washington Carver.  Easy reading, but memorable.   I graduated to Laura Ingalls Wilder next year, and Little Women the following.  At some point the following year I tried The Rise and Fall of The Third Reich (on my Mother's shelves).  I didn't get far.  Not that I blame myself, I tried the Audible of it last year and it was too dark to continue.   My school years were always dominated by the thickest books I could find. I breezed through Middle Earth and stories of talking Moles and Watership Down.  I rarely was without a book. 

     So I now I do love to knit.  A passion of mine that the very thought calms me in stress or warms my heart if I'm down.  But sit and just knit seems to now elude me.  I now know how to knit while reading.  Over time I found my fingers found the stitches for me while I'm reading.  My Mom gave me a Leather Book Weight by The Vermont Country Store decades ago and that can prop a hardback book open on my lap or table.  A paperback is easily subdued with a huge monster hair clip on top and now I have a Paperwhite Kindle that has a cover that props it open.  So knitting has to be arranged according to how easily I can knit it while reading.  Some projects getting more attention because they're easy to knit.  Bulky or Worsted wt is great for feeling the stitches.  My circular Shawl of finger weight is so simple because it has no end.  Hats, oh the ease of hats.  I once came out of surgery and before my eyes opened I asked for the hat I was knitting.  It calmed me down since the world was spinning.  Yup, a circular needle and a nice thick worsted and my fingers can see.

     My favorite knits right now are the Planispiral Shawl featured in the blog post: Wednesday'sYarns: Planispiral Shawl.  My nice worsted Shawl out of a Denim colored yarn called Jeans in the post: Wednesday'sYarns: Grab'n Go Triangular Shawl and my Fluff Shawl knits from 2 Yarns- Wednesday'sYarns: Fluff Shawl.  All really super to knit & read with.

     I'm still reading the Joe Pickett series by CJ Box.  I finished Out of Range, book 5 (another great book) yesterday and I read the sample to book 6 In Plain Sight today.  My husband suggested I get paperbacks to save money after I explained how frustrated I was with the price of downloading the books.  The new paperbacks were a buck cheaper.  Then I found a used bookstore online for overstocked books.  So not really used, and supposedly, according to the site in good shape.  Only $4 a book at Book Outlet.  But the key is to get a large enough amount of books to justify the $6 shipping.  So I've ordered my next books, enough to cover a month and a half at a book a week.  I have surgery in a month and we're also camping next week and I want my books.  The downside is I'm stuck without Joe Pickett for 24 hrs!  Fortunately, I found a really good series on my Kindle Unlimited called Foreign Deceit: A David Wolf Mystery Thriller by Jeff Carson.  Exciting, starts in Colorado (always a good thing since I miss Colorado), is action-packed,  yet has great little details about the beautiful scenery.  I mean the smells of Colorado, the smell of pines in the air.  The weather, how clouds form behind a mountain and you can see the storm approach.  I know exactly what he's describing - life in the high country.  And the author has a believable main character.  The writing is also good.  So I might have competition for Joe. 

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Wednesday's Yarns: Grab'n Go Triangular Shawl

     

      A favorite knit designer of mine is Brome Fields.  I love the simplicity of her designs and also that I feel she designs the things I would of wanted to design myself.  She's also prolific.  Having tons of hat, shrugs, shawls and other things designed.  A lot of those designs are in Lion's Thick & Quick yarn which is inexpensive and fairly nice for a department store yarn; containing a bit of wool, but not too much to make itchy for sensitive skin types like me.  I find you can always upscale a design by sourcing a pure Wool, or Wool and Alpaca blend.  So when I got an email about Spring & Summer designs I jumped to check it out.  I so love a tranquil, meditative knit for when I read; having learned to do both at the same time if simple (Hint: a Paperwhite Kindle is great for this in a cover that props up; but for hard back books check out Vermont Store's Leather Bookweight for a propped up book on your lap, or table while you knit). 

     The Shawl Grab'n Go, an asymmetrical shawl leapt out of her new Spring & Summer collection to me.  It's knit up on 2 DK wt Yarns or 1 Worsted and she suggests using your stash yarn.  I've been trying this past year to use up my stash yarn and to work to finish already started projects.  One worsted wt yarn I had but I was on the verge of donating when we moved was called Jeans by Lion Brand.  But I loved it, it was so pretty and soft, so I saved it and now I thought this would make a perfect light weight Summer shawl.  I'm so in love with the results so far.  Easy to memorize pattern and very light and soft and pretty.

What I'm Reading📚 

     I'm still reading the Joe Pickett series by CJ Box.  Wow, what an adventure! I love Joe.  Honest, to a fault yet friends with a guy who has some sort of secret operative background who obviously knows how to kill.  Joe defends him a previous book and they become buddies.  His friend Nat is also a Falconer that is teaching Joe's daughter the skill.  By the 4th book Tophy Hunt the books get a bit more gritty dealing with animal mutilation (a true life unexplained phenomenon that occurred in the 1970s among cattle in the West).  I'm nearing the end and the book is very good, some gruesome details not withstanding.  I'll be onto the 5th book Out of Range today.

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Wednesday's Yarns: Fluff Shawl

                                                                 

     I have several knitting projects going.  I like to swap them out depending on yarn size and ease of knitting, or simply how excited I am about a piece.  One knit I reach for daily is my Fluff Shawl.  It's an asymmetrical shawl and a very easy knit I've memorized.   The fun thing about it is its texture and looks.  I'm making it out of a super thin strand of yarn called cobweb that my oldest daughter gave me.  It's a wool, silk, and alpaca blend with marvelous colors that pop out.  I married it with a Lace Alpaca called Alpaca Cloud Lace from Knitpicks.  Together they formed a perfect blend of dark soft yarn with lovely bright colors peeking through.  The Shawl pattern itself makes a very lofty textured fabric that feels so soft and light and it's lovely to work with I'm excited to see its finished results.

What I'm Reading Now 📚 

     I'm totally hooked on the C J Box Joe Pickett series.  I'm nearly done with book 3 Winterkill and I'm fairly breathless from reading.  The action at the end is non-stop and I seem to hit these seriously exciting, riveting spots just when I'm supposed to go to bed.  What's a girl to do?  Leave Joe leaping over snow in his snowmobile to rescue his soon-to-be adopted daughter?  Sigh, getting enough sleep is seriously an issue with these books.  They are that good.  Thankfully Joe the Wyoming Forest Ranger has many adventures in many books.  I even got my husband to start reading them.  What fun, now we can even talk about Joe and his adventures together.  One discussion revolved around did CJ Box create the mysterious endangered weasel-like creature in the first book or is it real?  (Hint: The answer can be found in a web search in an author-inspired conversation. )

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Slow Going Sock

 

     I started a sock last year.  I have started a few and put away unfinished in with my stash yarn.  I find them slow going and usually get stalled somewhere in the project.  This time I did finish a whole sock; an accomplishment for me but not very useful since we need two.  Last year then Fall arrived and using the excuse of Christmas presents it joined the other socks.  So the other day I pulled it out to work on the other sock.  I do love working on it, it has very soft yarn.  But I wonder about its durability since I read that fancy soft yarn does not always make strong socks but I got it from a sock club that I joined.  I figured maybe I'd finally learn how to do socks and the first kit was free (after receiving another kit that was totally not to my taste, frilly plus, I realized I could do a lot better choosing my own yarn and pattern, and save money so I quit the club).

Simply Sweet Sock

     I think part of my problem with knitting on a sock is it requires more of my attention than most of my knits.  Most times I like to knit something mindlessly while I read.  The sock, especially in the ribbing stage requires all of me.  But it's such a peaceful fun knit I think I need to make a special time to just stop and knit on them.  I keep on hearing previous comments I've had on people's joy at knitting socks.  I believe them and I'm truly trying to find my sock-knitting Moyo.  Maybe this time I'll find it.

What I'm Reading

     I'm on to my second book in the Joe Picket series by CJ Box.  Oh, what a great wild ride it is!  The series is about a Wyoming Game Warden.  He's your perfect hero because he's not perfect; terribly human.  But he's got an unusual trait for modern days, he's honest and determined to route out a wrong;  even if coming against wealthy landowners or those in authority.  He's your good guy going against the grain.  A modern Western with modern issues.  Great stories and I'm excited that I think I have at least 20 more to go.

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A Mystery Yarn

      

     I discover a ball of forgotten Alpaca Lace, actually, the cat discovered it and thankfully didn't ruin it, after batting it around for a while.  I knew I'd gotten the yarn for a specific purpose, but I couldn't remember what for.  I also remembered it was Knitpicks.  That's all I knew.  And it was soft and by my standards tiny, tiny thin thread.  So with a bit of hunting, I found it was Knitpicks Alpaca Cloud Lace in a dark navy called Edgar.  

     So a new way for me to dream up appropriate projects is to look up the yarn on Ravelry and see what previous projects were done in that yarn.  In this instance, Alpaca Cloud Lace had over 10k projects, but I plowed on thinking it's such a lovely soft yarn but what in the world do you do with it?  I was quickly disabused of its supposed limitations and I found a so soft & simple asymmetrical scarf called Fluff.  I saw I could knit it singly into this lovely soft scarf but in the back of my mind, there was a certain purpose I had for this yarn.  What was it?  The next day as I looked for the right size knitting needles I came across the lovely yarn my oldest daughter gave to me a few years ago.  Now, this ball of something silk, Wool and perhaps Alpaca is in a size called "cobweb".  Yup, it's aptly named, and if I thought Lace was small, well this was something else.  I had carefully wrapped it into a ball, all 1,000 plus yards.  At the time I wondered what to do with this gorgeous, but super downsized tiny yarn?  I'm not into Lace knitting, preferring my knitting to be rhythmic and peaceful. (Apparently, my daughter who knits Colonial balls, a pincushion, in very fine lace silk yarn on 00 needles wanted to challenge me.)  So my thought was to find a coordinating Lace wt. yarn and do something knit together.  So hence the Alpaca Cloud. 

     So I started my Shawl called "Fluff" in both Yarns held together on a size #9 needle.  I'm really happy with the result.  The yarns together don't show off the beautiful cobweb yarn my daughter gave me but this project will take under 500 yds; so I have plenty of cobweb yarn left for a simple Shawl, almost a scarf done in a simple lace design that will show off that yarn called Spring Festival Scarf.

mewkittie's Another Fluff

perrineleblanc's Fluff !

bluelilystyle's Prune Fluff !

  I started a new book series: CJ Box's Joe Pickett series.  Totally a new genre; a cross between modern western and mystery set in Wyoming.  The main character Joe Picket is a Game Warden for Wyoming who has endearing qualities that make him real, as opposed to macho.  He has a family with a young precocious daughter also featured in the plot who finds a "secret" pet in the woodpile, vaguely described as a ferret.  A mysterious murder happens which many seem to want to declare solved while Joe sees the discrepancies and continues to investigate.  The landscape is such a fundamental part of the book and describing Wyoming issues are important plot detail.  Really interesting and riveting.  Lots of books to go and the upside is I can share with my husband and when done there's a TV series.

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Twists of Life: Wednesday's Yarns

    

Blue Hat found in post:

Hats for Ukrainians 

     Hey yesterday (really today as I write this) Life took it's sudden turn as it's want to do unexpectedly.   I started the same way, going through my morning ablutions struggling with stupid negative thoughts, as usual.  Not knowing something is coming down the pike that swiftly makes my dark memories as nothing.  My husband calls and says: "I'm in the hospital".  I reply, as the family's self-appointed person that feels I must be positive at all times: "Well, you're talking you must be O.K."  Well he sliced almost all the way through his pinky while fixing a intake valve or something on the roof of a Senior facility he manages.  His job is his hands.

     Thankfully my youngest daughter was home from college.  She's a steady one and together we spent the day in the ER.  His pinky is sewn on and we wait a few days to see if the surgeon thinks it's salvageable.   Thankfully the whole hand wasn't cut by this fan he was fixing.  Horribly understaffed he should of had help.  Sigh. Well now they need to hire  someone to help him.

The large Blue & Green knit is the

Planispiral Shawl

     So, a day in the ER is immeasurably better with knitting.  Getting ready to go I purposefully packed a bag with 3 knitting projects.  Have knitting have peace.  My daughter watches the stitching,  I knit not handling the sight of blood too well. It's been a long day.  I'm having a bath.  My daughter is watching old sitcoms with Dad.  I will be thankful for my knitting and to a God that knows.  

🙏 if you do that his pinky is saved.

P.S. A few days later the Dr says it's healing well, he's in lots of pain from dropping the opiod but he'll be O.K. with a whole finger. Such relief. Apparently fingers heal really well, we were told.  It's so hard to believe considering how detached it was.  Totally a miracle how the body is made. 

     So as for reading, I finished a really nice Rom-com the day before: "Say Yes" by Maxine Morrey.   But when life gets tough it just doesn't work to read a feel good book.  So I didn't want to read her next book right now.  My insides feel ripped apart and jagged.  So I scanned my downloaded Kindle Library.  It's rather big with books I either thought to read or started and didn't continue.  Also tons of samples.  I perused "Peril" by Woodward which starts after the attack on the Capital.  But I still am tired of reading about He-Who-Will-Not-be-Named. Maybe next year I'll attack the Woodward books on his presidency; very well written.

     So next I thought of a book I started and at some point I have to finish.  Again I just couldn't handle the topic any more; this time Covid.  The book "The Premonition "by Michael Lewis is about the medical and scientific community that tried to avert the Covid disaster.  In it is mentioned that President Bush was engrossed in a book one summer about the Spanish Flu called "The Great Influenza" by John M. Berry (also a great book to read I have heard, it's on my to be read shelf).  He then immediately ordered a team to create a pandemic response of protocols if something happened.  These were ignored at the time Covid happened, even though still in place. The book is about the missed opportunities and the lengths Dr's & Scientists went to fight the Pandemic.  

     Thinking of these books I remembered a new book I got which is Green Cli-Fi, as dubbed by the New York Times.  "Deluge" by Stephen Markley is a Sci-Fi like disaster book dealing with an apocalyptic ending because of Climate change.  Fiction but based on real science and today's issues and possibly tomorrow's problems.  Really tough material to read, and perhaps a bit too much right now; but I got it because it did sound like a gripping, eyeopening read. 

     So I moved on from those books, not exactly hitting the spot, to fiction.  I perused a Longmire book I have "Another Man's Moccasins" number 4 in the series.  If you've watch the series, which is great, the books are even better.  I read the first 3 books a few years ago collecting some of the books later in the series.  Book 4 opens with Longmire's daughter Katie obviously post some major accident and I'm thinking I can'tclearly remember the previous events so maybe I should just start over.  I have all the first books, so I'll do that.  So that left me with CJ Box.  I tried to order the first book "Open Season" used online from Better World Books, my favorite online Used store (they donate a book for each one you order, and do green things, and are very cheap).  But we moved and my address was not updated.  The book traveled the US and back again.  Sigh, they refunded me but no book.  I'll try again but meanwhile I'll try the first book online and see if I like it.  I wanted the books for my husband to read them too.  So tomorrow I'll see if that story hits the spot.  If it doesn't maybe I should go back and check out the Cli-fi book.  Certainly apocalypse and the World's end should make today's hardship seem small in comparison?

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