Knit n natter

Ugh the heat! You cannot work with heavy textiles in the heat. Not a big blanket, and not a mohair blend sock either. 

This one's up to the chompy stage and can't manage so much as a nip. Just limpness and a plea for water. 

So instead (after cooling and watering that poor blue sock), I've done work on a stripy, having been reminded by last week's photoshoot how much I love Vesper sock yarn.

Still haven't found a new sock yarn source. Really need to work on that. But it's so easy to distract myself from that problem by binge-watching some new series, or one I missed when it first came out. After I finished almost all of The X-Files, which wasn't quite the way I remembered it, I started in on The Mentalist. I hadn't seen a single episode of that and I wasn't especially interested to start, but whoa: loved it! Loved every season. Loved the series finale too, when I finally got to see it last night. 

And now I need something else to watch while I finish this sock. I'm thinking about the new season of Enola Holmes, or a re-watch of the last few episodes of Person of Interest, or a good sit-down with The Boroughs, from the Duffer Brothers. 

There's something about creepy crimey shows that's always appealed to me. Surely not as an outcropping of my childhood love of Nancy Drew mysteries... but maybe.

Oh, and by the way: did I ever give my black handknit cat her closeup?

She has a fish purse! (We're in my air-conditioned office for these pix, which I've renamed The Treehouse for the summer.  I love working at my desk here, with my fish-purse cat for company.)

Speaking of Nancy Drew, I reread The Secret of the Old Clock not too long ago and it held up so much better than expected. It was a 1950s tweed cover edition, so I got the whole tactile appeal of holding a real book that opens up easily to each page.

Sorry, just had to interrupt myself with a closeup of my beloved coaster from the gift shop at the (truly excellent) London Transport Museum. The 'm' uses the actual typeface from the Tube!

Usually when I'm reading these days, it's ebooks on my new Kobo Libra Colour. This week I finished Mary Stewart's Touch Not The Cat, from 1976, which now that I think of it is another creepy crimey story. She wrote so lyrically, I just sink into her work. I think only John Berendt, writing Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil, affects me the same way. 

That book, I read in a trade paperback I deeply regret loaning out or else packing into a box in the garage when we renovated, only to be lost to raccoons. The new editions either don't appeal to me or have a huge sticker over the otherwise fabulous cover. Ugh, amiright?

 

Anyhoo.... I've been knitting again, while watching things, and it's been really nice, and I didn't appreciate how much I've missed it. Do you find you have ebbs and flows with your knitting?

Either way: hope you have a fabulous weekend! Thanks for spending this bit of it with me and I look forward to seeing you again next Saturday. In the meantime, I'll no doubt be dipping into this second sock, and trying to grow it to the chompy stage. It'd be fun to have one of the pair face off with Mr. Mohair, don't you think? 

 

 

 

Just like the old days

Finishing up those handknit socks on the porch a couple of weeks ago, I remembered how I used to take all my Hugs photos out there, twisting around to get a good pic on our shabby steps. So that's what this week's Hug is gonna be.

Boy did I love wearing these merino wool socks with a pair of Blundstone boots, just a bit of stripe showing at the top.

Taking pictures on the porch steps was fun too. Seems to me I was doing that every week or two, because I was knitting socks so fast! Inevitably a neighbour would walk past and I'd feel like an idjit, but it was worth it... felt like a whole lifestyle thing. And then I put on shoes to protect the socks from holes.

I've been on a real Birkenstock jag lately, trying to fix an orthotic issue, dagnabbit. But they *do* fix it, and they last a long time, so I can't complain. Especially since I have blue suede shoes now.

I'm also deeply in love with these clunky white ones. The back strap means they don't fall off on a long walk, and the straps are so soft I haven't had any issues on the breaking-in front either. 

In these pix I'm wearing a pair of wide-leg jeans folded up to into crop mode, which is a bold choice for the shoe/sock combo. Probably works better from a distance, with the whole ensemble showing, but around here we work with what we have! And what we have is not Mary Jane shoes, which I used to buy on purpose to show off the stripes. Those were good days.

Still, it could be worse, right? 

Hope you have fun plans for the day, and the week that's coming! We're expecting a big heatwave in Toronto so mine mostly involve doing a lot of cleaning while it's still cool enough to face it, and then drinking lots of ice water on our breezy shady porch. I cannot imagine knitting being involved, but stranger things have happened when I've got time on my hands... you probably live that storyline, yourself.

Thanks again for stopping by and I'll see you next Saturday!

 

Quiet Time

I might gift myself a quiet day today. It's delicious-looking outside... not hot, with a gentle breeze... and nobody wants to do any deep cleaning on a day like that, or work to a deadline, or even fuss over supper, amiright?

Much nicer to sit and do some gentle work on a blanket so it's ready for the cool winds of autumn.  

Surprisingly (to me) I did make progress on this blanket over the course of the week, with two new stripes done!

 

There are ten stripes in each repeat, each made from three repeats of the same pattern I used in single repeats for the last, very very busy-looking, blanket. And I plan to do six repeats in total before I start the border, because I am a glutton for excess hot-weather crochet apparently. 

So far, I have two full repeats plus the two new stripes, which I have decided is pretty good going into July, even though there is much evidence to the contrary. Sometimes it's important to look at the positives, or else manufacture some. 

For example: it only takes me about two hours to do three repeats of the base pattern, which means it's quite plausible I can get through an entire 10-stripe repeat in two weeks, just watching a movie every day, something I definitely deserve to be allowed to do. And really, I only have three more 10-stripe repeats outstanding, which adds up to six weeks, which has me finished before we even hit September.

I barely have to try to make that make sense. All I have to do is ignore all the heatwaves coming in those particular six weeks, ha! And focus on how gorgeous it's going to look with our drapes, when it's done.

Today, though... I think I will focus on all the trailing ends I need to take care of before it's any fun to go on. 

 

And that means taking some quiet time with the blanket on my lap and a darning needle in my hand, out in the shade of the porch, listening to the birds and the insects and any passers-by enjoying the day a little more actively than that.

Hope your day is lovely however you spend it, and thanks so much for spending this bit with me. See you next Saturday! 

 

Unfinished business

Today is the first quiet one after a busy few weeks, and I thought I'd grab the chance to wrestle with some scattered knitting projects, starting with this random basket of mystery items.

Only when I looked more closely, I saw that all they need is to be wet blocked and tucked away for cold weather. YEESH.

So I nosed around some more and quickly found a pair of socks with yet-to-be-grafted toes.

Also these socks, same.

I mean really, what was I thinking?? To get so close and then just stop. 

Not unlike how I finally got the cushions out for the "new" (7+ years ago) porch furniture so we can actually use that summery crafty space again. Mind you we also have actual garden space for summery crafting, thanks to Pete and his ongoing efforts in the garden.

 

But I like the porch, with its solid flooring. No gaps, like the deck, and no dirt as on the flagstones. Or at least, not as much. If you've ever dropped a darning needle outside you'll know what I mean!

 

I usually need to concentrate hard on grafting so I get the needle movement right, but today it felt totally natural. 

 

Maybe I'm getting used to the process, or maybe it's just the peacefulness of sitting outside, where the sun is beyond the shady shelter of our roof and the breeze is soft enough to cool without blowing anything away. Either way, I grafted this toe without any stress at all.

Yesterday we ran into a neighbour on the street and stopped to chat a while, and then we remembered the porch and invited him to come sit with us for a bit. We had the BEST catchup and all noticed how sitting out there chatting, none of us looking at screens but enjoying the long leafy views, was relaxing and just plain nice. This is a discovery most people don't have to make - it's too obvious! - but after neglecting this space for so many years it was a delight to have the reminder.

The second toe grafted as easily as the first, even if it does have a blue stripe its partner does not.

Such a gorgeous day here. I've come inside to type up this hug, and through the open windows I'm hearing birds and insects, and young children playing and laughing. Hope it's as lovely where you are and that you have some restful time coming your way soon. I know I do, because I have some ends to run in...

... and another pair of socks to graft shut.

As always, thank you so much for stopping in and I'll see you next Saturday!

 

 

Cardigan conversion and hot weather readiness

Okay there was NO craftiness here at Hugs this week, where all my time was weighted toward house cleanup and long walks. Plus shopping for summer.

This lightweight floral cardi was an earlier purchase, but it needed some help if I was going to wear it to an event this coming week amid both heat and humidity. My favourite combo! Not. 

It's super cute on and will top my coolest linen floaty pants with some much-needed colour. It's also designed for airy gaps between the crocheted buttons. And there is no. way. I am wearing a T underneath. No extra layers in a hot humid scenario!

So last night, unconvinced it was worth dragging the sewing machine out of its cupboard for an interrupted line of tacking, I curled up under a good light and hand stitched this baby shut between the buttons. 

I did a blanket stitch for the closure seam...

SO RESTFUL. 

...and then for good measure, went over the topstitching using a running stitch with back stitch thrown in. I don't know the name of that one but is also very pleasant to do.

Do either of the runs of stitches show? Yes. 

Do I expect anybody to approach me with a magnifying glass? No.

 

Meanwhile, the hot weather has well and truly arrived here in Toronto. Some people love summer but for me it is the Time of Dread. I am a sweater weather person, ya know? Though I do appreciate the fact that most of our food exists because heat does. 

As I write this our windows are open to let in all the remaining scents of blossoms and greenery released by an overnight rain. I say 'let in' but really I mean 'give in to' because it is gusty out there! But sunny and so much less miserable than yesterday. 

To supplement our a/c this summer we bought a new table fan which is excellent (it's a Lasko Whirlwind, if you too need a compact but powerful fan that will oscillate or not per your whim.)

And to make our long ravine walks less uncomfortable than they've been with my heavier trail shoes, I bought a pair of really airy ones that got me home cool and pain free the first time I tried 'em! (Merrell Maipo 3 Aerosports, if you are looking for similar.) 

Oh! and here's a tip I got from Tom Bihn, after the urethane lining of my beloved and much-used Daylight Backpack started disintegrating into dandruff that coated everything I packed into it, owing to my not realizing I needed to waterproof the outside again periodically: that kind of lining melts off if you use rubbing alcohol on it! No pix of that project because it's a boring black backpack, but whew. So glad to have this thing cleaned up and back in circulation. Now to buy the waterproofer.

 

Yesterday I overhauled our front hall, putting boots into the back of the closet, pairing up the water shoes and putting them in grabbable locations, and weeding out the running shoes whose soles are officially past their best-by date. The results: amazing! but also a little sad because man that is a lot of shoes we go through. Almost feels like justification for more Birkenstocks, which can be resoled indefinitely, and the cork sides resealed. Ahem.  

(I kid. Even I am prepared to admit I have too many Birkenstocks.)

But I don't regret buying the pale pink suede Tulums that match my new cardi-top! 

They look a little frumpy in this pic maybe, but with long floaty pants they are really quite elegant. And so, so comfy. If I can't have sweaters, I can be consoled with the comfy.

Hope you're having a lovely day with a good weekend lined up, and thank you as always for spending some time here with me. See you next Saturday when... let's face it, you're not gonna see blanket progress, that's for sure!!

 

Back in fashion or... not

This week I got out of town to see a friend, who presented me with this gem from her local thrift shop:

She knows me so well. And she was even willing to pay the cover price...

...which made the actual checkout price of 44 cents a lovely surprise!

Seriously, though these old 1970s knitting brochures are usually good for a laugh and not much else, this one has some intriguing designs.

Here's the centre spread. See anything you like?

The scarf on the right, perhaps? or the mittens along the bottom?

This helmet and mitten combo was super common in the 1940s but I kinda love seeing it on a 1970s kid who's cool enough to carry it off. (ish.)

That gathering at the wrist is super practical for snow festings, too.

Okay... let's be honest. This looks like a boy who's loved by his gramma, and is willing to humour her all the way out of her sight, till her gifts are lodged in a hedge for later pickup. Still like these pieces though.

 

Also, colour me intrigued with these gloves, which are knit on two needles and have a fetching wrist strap: 

 

In case you're wondering, as I did, how this magic is worked... there's a handy illustration:

Start from the pinkie, work your way across to the thumb, stay there long enough to cover the other side of the thumb, and work back to the pinkie. Now I'm wondering if they're comfortable and I can think of a good way to find out!

 

Okay let's get to my top faves: a turtleneck sweater, and the bootie slippers from the back cover:

Here's a closeup of the sweater that shows what struck me most: the garter stitch upper bodice and matching turtleneck!

That'd be kind comfy in soft yarn, don't you think? And warm, like having a shawl already wrapped around your sweater. I'm not sure how it would look on, but I'm really tempted to give it a go.

The bootie slippers, however, speak for themselves. I love the coarse stitch on them.

 

On the flip side, I'm bewildered by the idea of a tassel on the back of a shawl, just low enough to be a lump to sit on (or maybe it's meant to draw attention?) and alternative bootie slippers that lace up like a hot girl girdle. Seems deliberate, since the slip in element of slippers are the whole point of them, though when they're shown in colour, in bright yellow and orange, I guess they're meant to evoke high cut sneakers?

 

These cushions on the other hand are right in style. Everybody likes a nice textured pillow nearby when curling up for a nice long binge-watch.

That's it for me today - gotta get outside and pitch in on garden duty! Hope your weekend's lovely, either super peaceful or super fun according to your needs. Thanks for spending this bit of it with me and I'll see you next Saturday!

 

(oh... and I did do some in-car knitting around that visit with my friend, and made a lil progress with my summer stripe socks!) 

 

 

 

Busy bee

A real busy bee is actually accomplishing things, so I'm more of a faux version, but I'm okay with that. Spring is so fleeting, after all! Put on your smell-o-vision and imagine a blend of honey and vanilla, and you can appreciate these blossoms with me:

Come July with its leaf-withering heat I'll forget how gorgeous this flowering treeshrub can be, but right now it's the best ever.

I forgot to share my amazing score at the recent local rummage sale. No vintage linens this year but with luck you'll share my love for Susan Cooper and feel the wait was worthwhile:

 

Yep, Greenwitch AND The Dark Is Rising, in the paperback version of the same hardcover edition I read as a kid at our library! Same cover art, anyway. I personally prefer the updated paperback artwork for this newer edition (on the left) over the originals above and the ones in our local shops currently (on the right)

Still, the spine flop and print size on the new-to-me vintage ones are excellent so I might have to chase the rest of that set too!

 

Meanwhile, my sewing efforts continue, now in the form of stitched up sleeve rolls. I've been doing a cheat and running them through the sewing machine, but I've been stymied by this particular T, which I soooo want to wear, because I don't have any thread in its shade of green. 

I'm wondering about hand stitching the sleeve roll-ups with more of a tacking situation from behind, in my more plentiful off-white, so it doesn't show. Anything's better than constantly having to roll them up manually, as their natural length is exactly right to look maximum weird on my arms, but it would be nice if the whole thing didn't come off looking too haphazard. 

Technically, for a T, haphazard is the point. But my personal fashion goal is 100% 'pyjamas that pass for office wear' and sloppy sleeves don't really fit the bill.

Just this brief Hug today I'm afraid, as we have a busy Saturday schedule not exclusively involving Plants In Ground! Hopefully your weekend is equally exciting and I'll see you next Saturday. Thanks as always, so much, for stopping by to see me.