Three things

#1

I recently read an article about a family who started eating dinner by candlelight. The kids were calmer, less distracted, and more open to talking and sharing thoughts and feelings. Being calm and less distracted sounds like a good idea for meals.

#2 

Thou art dust and to dust thou shall return

Today is also Ash Wednesday, the first day of the Lenten season.

#3 I couldn’t wait to begin something new as my knitting mojo went on vacation with Pepper’s sweater so I started a new sock! It’s the Easy Mosaic Sock by Winwick Mum. It looks complicated but only one color of yarn is used for each row except one. To get the two-color look, a stitch is slipped from the previous row onto the right needle without knitting it and continues with the row pattern. 

Easy Mosaic Socks, Regia Tweed, Knit Picks Chroma Twist

I’m using Regia 4-ply tweed yarn in charcoal and Knit Picks Chroma Twist in Surf’s Up (discontinued yarn). 

Easy Mosaic Socks, Regia Tweed, Knit Picks Chroma Twist
Easy Mosaic Socks

The pattern is free and Winwick Mum explains the process much better than me.

Are you doing anything special for Valentine’s Day?

How do you observe Lent or is it just another usual time?

Have you started any new projects this year?

Patti

But I don’t play tennis anymore

My knitting has been sidelined for a while. The Curaçao Diamonds did number on my left arm. I really love those socks but the fingering weight cotton blend yarn and US #1 knitting needles were too much for those muscles especially since I hurried through the second one.

I looked up my symptoms and self-diagnosed tennis elbow. Rest and a combination of heat and ice are the only things that will help.

Once my arm feels better, my knitting queue will include seamless slippers (requested by my other sister-in-law), some baby hats (from super soft stash yarn), and a new sweater for Pepper. The slippers will likely be Frankensteined while using up odds and ends of worsted weight yarns. Pepper’s sweater will be from my yarn stash, too.

And speaking of Pepper, she is the star* of our training sessions! We’ve gone to two so far and she and I are learning how to communicate better.

*Never mind that our sessions are one-on-one with the trainer!

Happy knitting!

Curaçau Diamonds

My S-I-L received her socks. I like to include a little card with all the pertantent information.

I asked her for her honest opinion regarding color, size, length, fit, feel, and whatever else she opined about. Here is her response:

Happy feet!! The color is very pretty, bright & wonderfully rich, and I can tell already the socks will keep my feet toasty on cool days. 😃 They are warming my always cold feet quickly!  They stay in place perfectly when I put my shoes on, no bunching!!

Comfy they are, though not as comfy as the last 2 pairs you made me which are the most comfy ever. They feel a bit short and I worry my foot will wear out the toe quickly. I will wear them judiciously. If I had to choose between one or the other in terms of softness, I would choose the last pair.

These are wonderful and I thank you!!  💕 


I told her that she can block them while wet, stretch the foot area and then dry flat. I’m new to cotton blend yarns so tell me if that will work or not.

The last two pairs I gave her were a nylon/acrylic blend.

Time flies

Between several doctor’s appointments, bloodwork, and my two favorite medical tests*, I managed to find time to knit and photograph my finished project!!

Well, I decided to rip back the second sock and start it over with the other dye lot. As my grandmother used to say: If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.

The socks are finished and I love how they turned out. I’ll get these socks to my sister-in-law asap. I will use the leftover 24 grams (out of 100) of yarn for something else where it won’t matter that the dye lots are different.

One might call these mullet socks as it’s all business in the front and a party in the back kind of like that 1980’s hairstyle. (I was going to grab a photo of a mullet but I just couldn’t do it.) I like the secret design running down the back of the leg.

The Curaçao blue is such an intense color that just draws you in like a deep pool of water.

The CoBaSi (cotton, bamboo, silk) yarn was a bit splitty but that’s just how cotton and cotton blend yarns are. I’m curious how these will hold up and hope they aren’t too thick or uncomfortable to wear.

Happy knitting!

*The squishing test and the “cleansing/probing” test. All is well!