Knitionary

Time 2021-11-14 09:23:58

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I cannot believe this sweater is finally done as it was a year in the making. First, I have to tell you that the yarn is divine, an organic blend of Manx Loaghtan, a rare breed close to extinction that is native to the Isle of Man, and Merino, a not rare breed at all. I was attracted to the idea of supporting a rare breed, and with the make up being 75% Merino, I knew it would be soft. It is soft with a lovely stitch definition and I have a hunch it will resist pilling. I wet blocked it and it behaved perfectly. The pattern, I loved it too, but wondered the entire time if it would fit. It's knit bottom up, so body and both sleeves are knit in the round up to the yoke, then all are gathered together on one long needle with decreases to shape the shoulder slope up to the neck, also making short rows to raise the back neck, all the while working on the chevron pattern. None of that is really extraordinary except for the fact you can't try it on as you go so I had no idea if this was going to fit. The decreases seemed to be going way too slowly and the short rows seemed to be not enough, so rather than deal with it at the time, I gave up and stuffed it in a basket out of sight and mind. That was last year. A week ago I picked it up and resolved to get it done. I wanted to wear it! I read all my notes that I had scribbled on the pattern from last year, but nothing made sense. My note taking skills are terrible. I then reacquainted myself with the chevron stitch repeat (which I love the look of and is fun to do) and jumped in. My modifications: I sped up the decreases, also adding about 20% more of them, plus added more short rows--making a silent prayer that it would work out. I finally got to a point where I could try it on and that's when I realized that with a good block, it might just fit! Phew! I was so excited I spent the next few hours finishing it up. So all's well that ends well, but I will remind myself that bottom up circular yoke patterns are not a favorite of mine, and if I hadn't made the modifications, this would have been very large. I wore this last night with a pencil skirt and boots and got a lot of compliments, mostly from my husband, he loves it and I'm very happy with it too. If this pattern intrigues you, I purchased the kit from Rosy Green Wool in Germany and felt they were a very nice company to work with. Shipping to the US is reasonable and they have a beautiful yarn selection and gorgeous colors. Perhaps their most popular yarn is Cheeky Merino Joy. I made a child's sweater with it and it's heaven. They have a passion for animal welfare and all their yarn is GOTS certified so I was happy to support them.
Betagen by Theresa Shingler, pattern or kitManx Merino Fine from Rosy Green WoolBetagen on RavelryMy Ravelry project page
There are more knitting posts to come. I've finished two test knits, one for me by Isabel Kraemer and one for Carter from Yankee Knitter. As soon as they are published I'll make a post. Have a good weekend!




If you'd like to make a comment,please click hereor scroll down. I reply to each comment and that response will appear directly below your comment. If you would like a personal reply, please know that I use the Blogger platform and they do not give me your contact information when you comment. If you would like a personal reply you can contact me using the contact form on the right side at the very end ofmy website.If you would like to receive Knitionary posts by email,please subscribe here.

November 13, 20218 Commentstips on how to spend less over the holidays (and any day)money talk

Hello there. This is not a knitting post, but a post about how I am learning to spend less money. If you would like to spend less this holiday season, I hope this post will help you, even if only in a small way. Every little bit counts!

I feel I'm a frugal person at heart, but I had gotten into the habit of being more careless than I like to be with money and it made me unhappy. There has to be a hundred reasons why we develop bad spending habits and I don't have the background to dig too deeply into this, but I didn't have to dig deeply at all to realize that my biggest problem was that I was being heavily influenced by what I saw. If I saw something pretty, I wanted it and didn't seem to have the tools to say no and ended up with purchases I regretted. But how on earth was I going to SEE less and how could I develop the tools to say no when I did see something I wanted?

First thing to do was figure out where and how I was being influenced. There's not only the TV/radio/print ads of old, but now we're bombarded online by ads in our inbox, ads in social media, ads every time we look at the computer or phone.So I wondered, if I actually saw fewer ads, would I could I spend less? The answer is yes, but I still had to develop a few skills.

Besides being highly motivated and sincere in my quest to spend less, I took the following steps to help me from buying unnecessary things. Maybe they can help you too.

1. I unsubscribed from the store emails. I get zero emails from Nordstrom, Pottery Barn and the like, and gulp, I've unsubscribed from knitting sites too with the exception of my local yarn store and a few designers I'm devoted to. This eliminates over half of my temptations. Every few months I take the time to unsubscribe again from whomever finds me. It's an ongoing battle but worth it.

2. I unsubscribed from influencers. This was a tough one because I love to follow pretty blogs, but if a blogger emails me daily or their main goal is to sell me stuff or ads are popping up all over the place, they have lost this reader. I understand that for many bloggers it is a full time job, often they have a team of contributors, and having ads and shopping links are how they make their money. I don't begrudge them that, but I need to take care of myself.

3. I'm no longer on any social media. This was a terrible place for me in many ways, but one of the surprise benefits is that I spend less. I find I make fewer impulse buys as I simply don't see the ads and influencer talk on FB and Instagram so I have no idea what is blowing up the internet and what I need to be buying or doing. It's been a year and a half since I left and I do not miss social medial one bit.

4. I ignore sales. This was not an easy one. I used to be highly influenced by a sale price; buying something I didn't need (more yarn is just one example) just because it was on sale. Now I know I actually save money by buying what I need at full price only when I need it and I waste money buying something on sale that I don't need, but think I will need one day. But that one day rarely comes and I'm usually stuck with something taking up space that I don't want/need. The exception is consumables we regularly use in our home.

5. When I shop, I have a plan and a budget and try to stick to it. But even with that in mind, it doesn't stop me from number 6:

6. Impulse Buying: When I shop online or in person, I still have an impulse to put things in my cart. Before checking out I ask myself these questions:

-Do I really need it?

-How often will I use it?

-Can I borrow it?

-Do I already own something similar?

-Is it worth the price?

-Is there an environmental impact that will make me crazy?

-This item will likely take managing; am I willing to give it the time and the space it needs to be managed?

-I have a strict one-in, one-out rule, so what will I remove from what I already own and is it worth the exchange?

After answering these questions, most often I remove the items from my cart and leave the site/store empty handed (except for what I went specifically for) and feeling pretty good about myself.

Lastly, I find outside encouragement by reading these inspirational blogs:

This Evergreen Home

Becoming Minimalist

Balance Through Simplicity

Be More With Less

I also love reading self help books. These two books were most helpful to me when I was new with the process of wanting to own and spend less:

The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson. Don't be put off by the title. It's a charming little book that makes sense.

The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. If you haven't read this yet, you should.

Both books are available at the library and both are in audiobook form. They still inspire me and make me smile and I have reread them a few times.

Now, zip to a new subject! I love the picture below; such concentration. We had our 4 year old grandson spend the night on the Saturday before Halloween. He was pretty sad to see Grammy and Papa's paltry Halloween decorations so we headed to the craft room to set that right. We created spiders, witches and jack o' lanterns and all were taped to the front windows to give our trick or treaters a good scare! We also made a play house!

BOOKS. I just finished thisgood murder mystery by the author of The Girl on the Train: A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins. Audiobook narrated by Rosamond Pike.

As always, I'd love to hear your tips and feedback, especially about this tricky subject.If you'd like to make a comment,please click hereor scroll down. I reply to each comment and that response will appear directly below your comment. If you would like a personal reply, please know that I use the Blogger platform and they do not give me your contact information when you comment. If you would like a personal reply you can contact me using the contact form on the right side at the very end ofmy website.If you would like to receive Knitionary posts by email,please subscribe here.

November 09, 20214 Commentscozy into fall with some thoughts on how a recovering overachiever plans to enjoy the holidays entertaining

Typically I don't go for overly fussy seasonal decor, but I do like each season to be represented. When I brought my fall box down from the attic and looked inside I had to admit it was pretty pitiful, only half full; I guess when I decluttered last year I really meant business! So, having only the white pumpkins I made last year, some silvery turkeys I like to put on my Thanksgiving table, and a few Halloween decorations I hold on to for my grandson to enjoy, I felt my fall holiday box and house needed a wee retail refresh. I went to Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel certain I'd find things I'd love, and I sure did, but when I saw the prices I almost choked. I think most seasonal decor is faddish and I hate to spend a lot of money, not to mention the actual storing of it, on something that will look dated in a few years. I then headed to Target, and honestly, they rarely disappoint. Good old Target. I paid $30 for three graduated sizes of ceramic pumpkins in a pretty muted orange and also found a matching pumpkin scented candle. Next I looked for some foliage but everything I saw at the local craft and hobby stores looked garish so my next stop was Amazon. Jackpot! I bought a few stems ofartificial pomegranate branches in orange. I worried what they would actually look like in real life but I was so happy when they arrived. They are gorgeous. They add just the right amount of fall color I wanted in my home. And because I follow a strict rule of one in, one out, (a handy minimalist trick to make sure the clutter does not creep back) I had to find a half dozen things to remove from my home. I try to remove like for like, but since my fall box was already decluttered, I headed to my closet and went for my skirts instead!

The big holiday season is around the corner and we have already begun to make plans for get-togethers. As much as I love Christmas and love to gather together with friends, I don't like to over-do. Been there, done that, and I know all too well the feelings of anxiety when faced with a busy calendar and not enough hours in the day to do it all. Taking on too much was stealing the beauty from my favorite season. So, about a decade ago and without even knowing what I was doing, I slowly started down that wobbly road of simplification. For the first years I focused on the holiday season, but eventually I carried it throughout the entire year. I only later found out that I was practicing a form of minimalism, but at the time, all I knew is that I simply had to remove things, but what to remove I didn't know. I started to look at how I spent my time and my money, and in both cases I was spending too much time and money on things that just didn't make me happy, and actually made me unhappy. In my heart I'm actually an introvert and frugal, but I wasn't living my life that way.

First, I gave myself more down time. I started removing things from my calendar. I was still working part-time at the time, and even took on less hours there too. I started to say no to volunteer opportunities and invitations, things that I loved doing, but knew I didn't have the hours to spare. Saying no was awkward at first but that became easier with practice. Somewhere on this journey I started to read about minimalism. Right away I knew that it was right for me. I didn't want to organize my stuff anymore, I wanted to have less of it. Over time (I'm rather slow at getting the point) I learned that decluttering is not only for physical household clutter, but emotional clutter, calendar clutter, and digital clutter. My journey has been slow but steady and I'm still working it out.

How then does the hustle and bustle of the holidays fit in with my new style? I actually love the hustle, but need smaller doses of it, so for me, the first thing to do is keep my calendar manageable. My husband and I prioritize spending time with our grandson (while he still loves to be with us) and our family. How I'm managing to spend less money is probably best left to another post.

We still host gatherings because we both love to have guests over, but ourstyle has changed over the years; it's more casual, simpler, most always on the small side, but still pretty, yummy and welcoming. We recently hosted two small dinner parties for six. In both cases I set pretty tables, one with my new pumpkins and another with some faux magnolia and candles as the centerpiece. For the first dinner I made Italian Wedding Meatball Soup and the second I made individual chicken pot pies. Along with both I served a green salad and served cookies for dessert. We enjoyed both our little parties very much and we could tell our guests did too. I will never go back to the complicated and grand scale of entertaining I used to do. It poops me out, costs too much, and is no more enjoyable than a simple dinner.

Every month or so I seem to have a filled-to-the-brim box to hand over to the charity shop. Simplifying my life is a work in progress and while I doubt many people would call me a minimalist, in my mind I am. Minimalism looks different on everyone. In a future post I'd like to share more detailed ways in which I've been able to make my life more manageable, and where I find inspiration. If you are on this journey, I'd love to know your progress and any tips you can share.

This particular sedum turns from green to lavender in the fall and attracts bees all summer.




drying hydrangeas







The late summer green sedum florets turn lavender in the fall, along with their leaves, below.



Our downtown streets and downtown parking lots, in fact most of the entire town, is lined with Chinese Pistache trees. They turn flame red in fall and are breathtaking. I imagine most homes in town have at least one of these beautiful trees. There is a reason, and it's a good one. During WWII, when this town had a tiny fraction of the population we have now, a beloved Japanese family who owned the garden nursery, were sent to an internment camp. The neighbors said they would watch over the nursery and keep it safe until they came back. They did, and to thank the town for keeping their nursery and home safe, the family donated Chinese Pistache trees to the downtown association and offered every citizen a tree at a very low price. Our house was built in 1942 and I'm proud to have one of those original trees in our backyard, now 80 years old and massive. Since then, the Chinese Pistache has become a very popular tree in our town and is still being planted.
Yesterday, downtown had trick or treating for the kids. We took our own little Spidey, and then stayed on to watch the Homecoming Parade. As the different floats passed by (each class makes a float that looks like it will topple over at any moment) I explained to him about the different teams and clubs and told him his daddy used to be in the parade too. He wanted to know if he could be in the parade, and I said, "it's just for teenagers". He asked me if he was a teenager and I said, "not yet, but will you be one day." And then I thought to myself, "Oh my, in the blink of an eye you will be a teenager!"
Happy Halloween!






If you'd like to make a comment,please click hereor scroll down. I reply to each comment and that response will appear directly below your comment. If you would like a personal reply, please know that I use the Blogger platform and they do not give me your contact information when you comment. If you would like a personal reply you can contact me using the contact form on the right side at the very end ofmy website.If you would like to receive Knitionary posts by email,please subscribe here.

October 30, 20219 CommentsGrace Alpaca Classic Cardiganknitting

I love my new cardigan! This was a throughly delightful test from German designer Astrid Tueting from KnitForPassion. The pattern is knit top down and begins with a lovely leaf lace pattern. While I felt the lace was intuitive, the lace is best for someone with a bit of lace experience. The smallest size is 36" and to make a 34" I simply eliminated the cast on stitches to the body and arms when separating the sleeves from the body. The hems and buttonbands are finished with i-cords that look nice and neat. The buttonhole method is very tidy. I did not crochet the pick up stitches for the i-cord per pattern but instead picked up stitches in the more typical way. I used Rowan Alpaca Classic which is a blend of cotton and alpaca. In the past I felt this was an itchy yarn, but for some reason, this cardigan is not itchy on me. After a wet block I was able to wear it next to my skin. I love the color, Sun Valley. It's not a color I wear often but I'm happy to have it in my wardrobe. I've worn it out to dinner a few times with black pants and boots and I felt it looked very pretty.
Purchase Grace Cardigan hereMy Ravelry project pageRowan Alpaca Classic








If you'd like to make a comment,please click hereor scroll down. I reply to each comment and that response will appear directly below your comment. If you would like a personal reply, please know that I use the Blogger platform and they do not give me your contact information when you comment. If you would like a personal reply you can contact me using the contact form on the right side at the very end ofmy website.If you would like to receive Knitionary posts by email,please subscribe here.

October 17, 20216 CommentsMy Grandpa Cardigansknitting

I just finished two grandpa cardigans, one for me and one for my college age granddaughter. I'll see her next week and let her choose which one she loves the most because I love them both. I guess I'm assuming she will even want one, but I'm hoping so! Her school is in Southern California near the coast and it can get quite chilly. I see her grabbing this as she heads out the door to class. Knit in worsted weight wool with leftover skeins from previous projects (except for a purchase of one single skein), each one took one week to complete. They were really fun knits and I've been wearing one or the other since finishing. I'm now knitting a third one in a solid color with puffy sleeves in Rowan Kid Classic; I'm going for a dressy, going-out-to-dinner look. The pattern is the Douglas Cardigan from Andrea Mowry. Here's my Ravelry page for the orange/gold cardigan and click here for the gray/green cardigan. My pages have the yarn details for both so you'll know how much I used of each color. I just love love love it to bits. It is my most practical and cozy sweater. Leave it to Andrea to design the best grandpa cardigan pattern ever.

My one modification for both is this: in the pattern the button band is knitted separately and then sewn on, but I really prefer not to sew if I can help it. Instead I picked up stitches and did a k2p2 rib all around. More details one this are on my Ravelry project pages.

If you'd like to make a comment,please click hereor scroll down. I reply to each comment and that response will appear directly below your comment. If you would like a personal reply, please know that I use the Blogger platform and they do not give me your contact information when you comment. If you would like a personal reply you can contact me using the contact form on the right side at the very end ofmy website.If you would like to receive Knitionary posts by email,please subscribe here.

October 10, 20212 CommentsOlder
Stories

Hello, I am Kristen, the writer, photographer, knitter and gardener of the Knitionary blog. Thank you so much for stopping by to visit. To learn more about me click here.

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