Unravelled Wednesday

First the knitting: If you look closely, you can see that I've begun to knit the right front of the Einstein Coat. I'm enjoying all this garter stitch. VERY relaxing!

BTW, a skein of Cascade Ecological is very large:

I'm finally starting on a pair of mittens for Rachel. It's going to take me all year to knit the beautiful Songbird Mittens. The pattern isn't that difficult, but there are lots of long floats, and I'm very slow at catching those. 

I've been on an English mystery journey for the last four months. I fell in love with the BBC Shetland mystery series Shetland a year ago. The series is based on books by British writer Ann Cleeves. So I read her other series, the Vera Stanhope novels. Then I read all the Shetland books, and I just finished the last one:

So, I can tell you that the books are better than the TV shows. All the books are worth reading, though I am partial to the Shetland series.

 That said, the Shetland series is worth watching. Each book is an entire season, so you get an in-depth story. I personally do not like the Vera TV series. Each book gets 3 episodes, so the stories are stripped down. Also, there are a million seasons and only 6 books, so it's an entirely different animal.

Joining up with Kat for Unravelled Wednesday.

 

You'll Never Guess What This Is

 Well?

Believe it or not, it's a sweater! It's the Einstein Coat by Sally Melville. I've wanted to make it for ages, and I was able to nab the perfect yarn (Cascade Ecological) on sale when the Wisconsin Craft Market went out of business last month. I'm really focusing on embroidery, so I wanted a simple but useful knitting project.

Our old house had hot water heat, so our cats have been delighted to discover heating vents. Especially since we keep our house at 64 degrees. 

I'm off to lunch with my mother. I'm bringing food because the dining room in her retirement community is still closed. We are making great progress with getting help in for her, so I expect things to settle down soon.

Long Slog

Right now everything feels like a long slog. We close on our house next week, so we are sorting, tossing, and packing -- never fun stuff! My union is in prolonged negotiations with the district to figure out how to reopen our schools.

And it turns out my latest sweater project is going to be a long slog, too. This is Porto.

It is a very loose-fitting pull-over knit out of a gorgeous Berroco non-wool yarn. The yarn is listed as DK, but it feels more like fingering. And the rounds get really long before you separate for the sleeves -- like more than 500 stitches! I think it will be worth it in the long run, but it's going to take a while.

My mitered-square blanket is another big project. I'm trying to figure out where to put colors for the last row. Then comes the long slog: the border!

In six to eight weeks, at least some of these issues will be resolved, for now I just have to take things a day at a time.

All About Knitting

 I am not going to whine about my job in this post (though, I certainly have enough material to do so!). This week, I had a knitting victory: I finished a sweater that actually fits me! All my previous attempts were on the small side.

It's on the big side, but it works for this layering piece. I also think I'm going to add buttons so it hangs more evenly. It has i-cord edging, which was easy to do, but very hard to join in pattern. This is the first seamed sweater I've knit, and I have to admit that the first side I seamed is a bit wonky.

The yarn is buttery soft Shepherd's Wool. It is 100% wool and 0% itch. However, like most soft yarns, it pills. I'm OK with that, since I can't tolerate most wools. I only take it off to sleep because I am so in love with it!

The pattern is the Adult Modular Cardigan. I'm linking the pattern here because it's really hard to find on Ravelry: Adult Modular Cardigan Jacket.

I've already picked out my next sweater: Porto, made with Berroco Medina, which has no wool.

The stashing could get pretty bad around here. Sunset Yarn just opened its doors a half mile from my house. It is in the cutest building:

It is absolutely adorable inside, too, but it's not like I can really hang out in there at this point. It's Madison's only yarn shop at the moment, so I hope she makes it through the pandemic. Plus, the owner is super nice.

Fortunately, I needed yarn. My daughter wants a pair of gray mittens, and I didn't have anything appropriate in my stash, so I picked up some Rowan worsted

Moving from Miami to Denver is a big change. I know her hands get cold, so I'm making her stranded mittens. 

Sadly, I will be working much of the weekend. But I do need to find some time for those mittens!

It's All About Covid These Days

 Let's get the complaining out of the way first. This has to be the worst time in history to be a special ed teacher. Betsy DeVos waived requirements for regular ed, but not special ed. As a result, the federal and state bureaucrats have developed mountains of extra paperwork. It's truly overwhelming and accounts for my blogging lapse. At least I have company in the "office."

A sane person would cut back the time she spends with students, but I just can't do that. Half my caseload is freshmen this year, and they need support! I even worked this morning -- and I never work on the weekends.

Wisconsin is Ground Zero for Covid, so we are sheltering place, even though the state legislature and courts won't let the governor issue an order. That means lots of knitting time. The next time you see this, it will be a sweater:

I seamed the sides -- my first seaming project -- during a Zoom bat mitzvah yesterday. They are not perfect. I don't care. The sweater fits me and is cozy. It just needs an icord edging now.

We do go the grocery store. I've been going to a Mexican grocery that is owned by parents of one of my students. It's the only way we can communicate, given my Spanish and their English. Along the way, I've developed a passion for Mexican junk food:

Bubu Lubu may be a silly name, but they are addictive! And the Emperador cookies are pretty darn good, too!

I expect November to be my most challenging month for work because I have 5 IEP meetings (with all the paperwork that goes with them!), so I won't be checking in with all of you as much as I'd like. Oh, and then there's the A-bomb of paperwork which was dumped on us Wednesday. But this too will pass!

Sweater Weather

 I will admit to being a fan of the Upper Midwest. I've spent most of my life here, but I also lived in Pittsburgh and Annapolis. I did like both of those places -- especially Pittsburgh -- but I'm a Wisconsin girl. And if there is one time of year that this is a glorious place to live, it's early October, when the colors are changing, the temperature is mild, and the mosquitos are gone.

I've been biking a lot and just enjoying our lovely tree-line streets:

It's also the perfect time to start a sweater. I put a lot of thought into this one as I've knit a few that were too small. I avoided raglan-sleeves because they don't work well with my broad shoulders. I landed on the Adult Modular Cardigan and went up a size. It's a layering piece, so I'm OK with it being on the big side.

It starts with the back: a simple garter-stitch rectangle and a huge mitered square. So far, it's going well.

Something that's not going so well in Wisconsin is the virus:

That big dark blob encompasses Green Bay and Door County. Madison is in a less-terrible color -- but still pretty bad. I've heard that Door County became jammed with tourists who didn't believe in masks. So Vicki, please be careful!

The upside to lots of Covid is that I expect to be able to continue teaching virtually. I hate teaching virtually (who doesn't?) but it is far better than dying. However, things in Madison are quite discouraging. A few weeks after teachers signed their 2020-21-year contracts in June, which included small raises, the school board cut our raises. I'm pretty sure that's illegal and that we will eventually get our tiny raises, but it is quite disheartening to have our pay cut (and the amount we pay toward our health insurance doubled!) when teaching is harder than ever.

If you were able to retire before Covid, thank your lucky stars! 

Every Weekend Should Last Three Days

 It has been a quiet but lovely Labor Day weekend. Some socially distanced gatherings with friends, phone chats with those who are farther away. But a lot of it looked like this:

Just me and Kola hanging out. Yes, she often maintains the oddest positions. My pain levels were up and my sleep was scanty, so it was nice to relax. Students attend school for the first day tomorrow, so I need to be ready to go in the morning. 

I finished the handwork on my summer quilt, and I'm not 100% happy with it. All the fabric was hand dyed or painted by me. And I think it's pretty obvious that it is hand-quilted in the Kantha style.

But I do like the appliqued leaves, so for lack of a better name, I called it Leafing.

I picked up the Brennivin cardigan I started a year ago. I'll try to get a photo, but at this point it's just a big blue-gray blob. It's knit from the bottom up and then separated for the sleeves. I like this design, but you do end up with a big blob in the middle of the process.

I hope your holiday weekend turned out to be what you wanted.

When It Rains...

It's been a bit crazy here.  Between my dad's death and his funeral, I ended up being admitted to the hospital with Atrial Flutter. It's kind of like the more common A-Fib, but I'm way too queasy to explain the difference to you. What I can tell you is that when your heart isn't working right, you feel just awful!

The good news is that it can be fixed with a procedure call ablation. The bad news is that I am so queasy that I almost passed out when the cardiologist tried to explain the procedure to me. "I usually don't put patients out for this," he said, "but I think I'm going to have to in this case." I second that!

My dad as a boy. I think his openness and sweetness really shows itself.

I was out of the hospital in time for the funeral. For the first time, I really understood the Jewish tradition of family and friends placing the first shovelfuls of dirt on the coffin. There is something very comforting about being part of that process, although it was extremely emotional for my mom.

He hasn't been his "real" self for many years, but the finality of death is always difficult to grapple with.  He was a kind, smart, funny man who wanted to help others. One of our struggles after the dementia set in was that he wanted to donate insane amounts of money to public schools and other good causes. His goodness was appreciated in my hometown, so the funeral was well-attended. It was a fitting end to a life well-lived.

Because it was such a crazy week, I don't feel like the loss has hit me fully yet.

As you can imagine, I have not gotten much knitting done. It is taking me forever to finish the second sleeve on my Vodka Lemonade sweater ... but I'm almost there!

This weekend I've been reading blogs and enjoying catching up with you!

All About Sweaters

Life has been busy here. With my travels coming up soon, I've been working, seeing our parents, trying to finish a project for a show.  And, most importantly, trying to set up travel knitting projects! Even summer vacation is busy.

I have finished the cardigan for my daughter, Rachel, with just over a week until I fly to Florida. I'll give her the sweater then -- and hope that it fits!

It's the Windchill Cardigan by Melissa LaBarre. The pattern is easy and well-written. I used Valley Superwash DK, which was lovely to work with and is a good value for the price. I really like the waffle-weave edging.

With that done, I have tracked down my Vodka Lemonade sweater, which I'm knitting in Cascade Sport-Weight. 

I was able to slip it on today, and I think it's going to fit. I have broad shoulders, so I added some length to the raglan shaping. It's a very sweet little pattern, but I'm not sure it was smart to make it in wool. It's more of a summer sweater. 

Maybe I'll make a second? I don't know. That seed-stitch collar took forever!

Loving Summer

Even though I went into school yesterday and worked for a full day, I am just loving summer. Just being able to get up and savor coffee and craft in the morning is a luxury that I treasure. I hate having to be at work before 8 a.m.  I'd love a job that didn't start until 9, but that doesn't seem to be in the cards.

We've had some spectacular sunny days. Last Saturday, I took advantage of one by going sketching twice. In the morning I sketched with some friends at a park near my house, where I worked on a tree. I need some lessons in foliage!

In the afternoon, another sketcher and I drove out to a county park to paint the ruins of an old farmhouse. You can judge for yourself how well I did.

And here is my rendering:

It was both fun and hard to capture the stones and the angles. My friend gave me some advise on doing foliage, and I think it helped.

Also, I realized that I put up an old photo of my Fullerton Cardigan. Here is a more recent one.

Almost done!

A Good Friend and an Old Project

Thanks to the lovely Kathy B, there is a summer swap going on. My swapmate, Judy, really knows me. 

She sent a great skein of sock yarn in the cool colors that I love, and the perfect napkins for our Fourth of July cook-out. The card is quilled and just exquisite. I may just frame it!

And this little pewter  button is so cute -- and exactly the kind of thing I love to have at hand for mixed-media work! Thanks so much Judy. I'm working on your package!

I got quite a bit of knitting done last week on my Fullerton Cardigan.  As of this writing, both sleeves are done and I just need to knit the button band. This must be the fastest sweater out there.

I'm having quite a busy weekend, but that's another post!

About That Sweater

Way back on May 20, I went to a nearby coffee shop/yarn store, the Sow's Ear, with a friend. The point of the trip was to sketch, and we did indeed sketch:

Of course I had to wander through the store and check out the goods. I stumbled on the spring issue of Knitscene, which I hadn't looked at before.

I flipped through it and fell in love with the sweater, that looked both cute and easy.

The pattern, Fullerton Cardigan, is made with Brown Sheep Worsted, but I don't like mohair, so I bought an armful of the wonderfully affordable Berroco Vintage. Now I have this:

I think that someday it really will be a sweater!

And what is it about sleeves? They are so boring to knit!

What I've Learned in the Past Week

1. It is amazing how much more knitting I can get done when I'm not working full time! (See sweater below.)

Flowers from my sweet Mom.

2. Any surgery than involves anesthesia is exhausting.

3. You can't hurry healing. In fact, it's the opposite: You have to slow down to heal. This is a challenge for some of us.

This is the body of a cardigan. More in future posts.

4. Knitting is the absolute best thing to do when you're recuperating, especially mindless stockinette.

Another hat in my effort to stash-bust.

5. You should not check your email when you are sick leave. You just end up working for free. Ask me how I know!

Fretting about a Sweater

I've been working on the Windchill Cardigan that I'm knitting for my daughter. The whole issue of fit is what freaks me out about sweaters. My daughter is quite slender so I thought this would be easy: Just make the smallest size and then hope it's not too big.

But now that I'm working the arms, I'm worried that they are too small in circumference. I could email her to measure her biceps -- she works out -- but at this point, I'm just going to keep going.

I do like the waffle-weave border!

If it doesn't fit, I'll follow Elizabeth Zimmerman's advice and find someone who fits the sweater. That would be a bummer and I'd still need to knit a sweater for Rachel.

I've started embroidering my knitting doll. As you can see, I make up the color scheme as I go. It's more fun that way.

In other news, Seth got news this week that he passed his Veterinary boards! This one huge stressor off his plate. He'll continue on rounds through graduation in May. In mid-February we should know where he'll be for his internship year. So far, hospitals in Louisville and Miami have told him they are interested. His sister in in grad school in Miami, so that would be a great place for him.

And this is the boy who barely did enough work to graduate from high school. They surprise us, don't they?

Hugs to All of You

I am so blessed to have you all as friends. I actually cried -- in a good way! -- as I read your comments on my last post. Thanks you all so much for helping me chase away the blues. And for sharing your own struggles.

I have picked up my Vodka Lemonade sweater again, and it feels good to make progress on it. The actual color is much more yellow than this photo shows.

When I look at the large numbers of people taking anti-depressants and the long lists of titles of books to help people with depression and anxiety, I can't help but think that there is something terribly wrong with our society. For one thing, Americans work far more hours than people in any other industrialized country, and we take far less vacation. I know that this 13-week slog between breaks wore down not only me, but my colleagues and students, too.

My Year of Stitches project has been a source of joy and comfort these last few months.

Knitting -- along with our other creative ventures -- is one way to escape the high-pressure world we live in, don't you think? It's no accident that DIY and hand-made have become movements. Nor that a knit hat became the symbol of the women's march in Washington. Every stitch is a protest of the hyper-pressures of today's world.

They also bind us to other people. Another group of people who keep me afloat is the Jewish Artists Lab. You may remember that I painted a portrait of Judy Chicago as part of a project launched by my friend Pam, in which we are assembling a "dinner party" of Jewish artists. We got together last weekend for a painting round, and I did this one:

It's Diane Arbus, who is famous for photographing "outsiders." It doesn't look as much like her as I'd like, but it's close enough!

Again, my heart-felt thanks to all of you!

Knitting and Reading in Autumn Glory

The weather continues to be just glorious. I've been walking to and from work to take advantage of the mild temps and the scarlet leaves. It does mean I have to make sure I walk less at work -- but it's worth it.

Between work and the Jewish holidays, it's been hard to find time to knit or read. I did manage to finish the collar of my Vodka Lemonade sweater. I love seed stitch, but it makes for slow knitting

I've had to restart Where the Jews Aren't a few times because I usually read at bedtime, and I have been too tired to absorb everything. It's the interesting and quirky true story of how Russia set aside land near Mongolia in the 1920s to create a Jewish homeland. Obviously, it didn't work. I just started How It Went Down because I need to have a longer list of books to recommend to teen boys.

Last night my art group met at Tsela's house. I thought you'd enjoy seeing how her cat Cecil luxuriated in yarn.

I'll be joining up with Ginny to Yarn Along. See you there!

Happy New Year!

It's been a few weeks since I blogged.  I love my new school, but it's going to take a while before I figure out how to do this new job in less than 50 hours a week.  So it's nice that the Jewish New Year is giving me a three-day weekend to catch my breath and regain a bit of balance. I'll be attending services tomorrow and I'm looking forward to the peacefulness that brings me.

To mark the new year, I cast on for what I hope will be successful sweater number 2.

The pattern is Vodka Lemonade by Thea Coleman. Like my first successful sweater, it is a top-down design with an open front ...no buttons or button-holes! It is a little bit more challenging than my Harvest sweater, but not too much. I don't want to risk any more failed sweaters!

I've begun trying to catch up on my blog reading and I'm looking forward to seeing what each of you is up to.

FO Friday: Harvest Sweater

It took four attempts, but I finally have a sweater that I knit that fits!

I finished my Harvest Sweater at Knitting Camp and even Meg Swansen approves:

She liked the way it fits across the back:

Yep, I'm pretty proud!

This Tin Can Knits design is a great pattern. Not only is it free, but it is designed to be a first sweater so it comes with clear, detailed instructions. Even I could follow them! The yarn is Cascade 220 in a heathered pink. It took five skeins, meaning that the sweater only cost me about $45.

(The first three sweaters are in landfills somewhere.)

Have a great weekend. I'm headed to Chicago for an Urban Sketching workshop.