Monkeying Around

With the arms done for all the monkeys, It is time to do the tails and the tails have a problem.  This tail is 18 stitches around.  That scale seems to suit this small monkey, but 18 stitches means 6 stitches on each side of the needle and as many needle switches as there are stitches.  

It would take forever.  This.  Is.  Fiddly.

I debated about how else I could do it and I am opting for a seam.  

Eighteen stitches flat knits up in next to no time.  I did try knitting flat, because this is the perfect sort of thing to keep in practise with knitting backwards, but I just didn't want to invest the time right now.  Too many other things to do.  There is one other huge plus by knitting the tails flat.  By pulling firmly on the seam as I sew, I think I can give my monkey tails a wee bit of a curl.  I don't need much curl, but  a bit would be a very sweet thing.  

I have also been thinking about backpacks.  I mean to do a wee backpack for each monkey.  It is where I will tuck a special something for each of the kids.  I will do them all in leftover sock yarn and I think they will be crocheted.  Crochet especially for small fiddly things is going to be a lot faster than knitting.

By the end of the day, my wee pile of monkey tails was saying I am half done.  I spent very little time today knitting though so I am pretty sure that tomorrow should get the rest off the needles.

As I said though, I did not do a lot of knitting today.  I was deep into some more sewing for me.  It's going really well and I can't wait to show you tomorrow.

And done

Well done grandma.  Pat yourself on the back.  Seriously.

Two sleeves in.  Cuffs on.  All the facings tacked and sewn.  It is perfect.

The modern way of describing the yoke as a burrito roll technique will stick in my head way better than the way I was taught.  Simple and easy.

As worn, from the back, 

The thrilled and giggling model, 

and the very still front view.  She loves it and that is the best thing of all.

Lookin good.

I got up this morning determined to do stuff.  And I did.  I made my coffee and sat down to sew.  I cannot tell you how good it looked.  Everything was done but the hand sewing bits on collars, cuffs and hems, and I was going to take a photo and admire my work and...

I noticed the cuff opening was at the wrong place.  Sigh.  

It was at the inside wrist, not the back wrist or the underside wrist.  I had the sleeves on backwards.  Bugger.  The sleeve cap is the same both ways and the chalk marks were gone, so I didn't worry and pinned and sewed .  Never even occurred to me to look at that part.

It is more than 15 years since I did a sleeve with a cuff.  I usually made short sleeves when I was sewing for work because I always had a jacket or something on too. That is the last major sewing I did other than curtains and recently, pants and simple tops.  I guess it is good practise for the next batch of sewing I will do, some nice plaid shirts of my own.  

It meant that the rest of my evening was taking sleeves off and opening up the side seams on the shirt again.  I prefer to sew sleeves in flat. It is the cleanest quickest way.  Everything is ready for tomorrow morning and fresh eyes.  Sleeves in and seams resewn and away we go.  

Usually something like this makes me want to throw in the towel on everything and just knit socks but I can't do that.  First, I have monkeys to make with a deadline and next, because this:

Six pairs of arms, all approximately the same length, ready for stuffing and closing before being attached to monkey bodies. Legs?  Check.  Arms?  Check.

I know I meant to intersperse limbs and bodies to keep me interested, but somehow these all were done in little moments in the day, a few rows at a time.  It just magically happened, I guess.  So next up is the tails.  Tails are the last tubular thing and there is only one tail per monkey.  It will be a breeze.

What could have been awful was boosted by the monkey parts and because, I saw the shirt and it was glorious before I noticed the problem.  I know where I am going with it and am pretty sure it will turn out well.  I have a road map and how often does that happen in life.  

The day that was.

I had a good day yesterday.  

I went through my camera and discovered some photos from the week the kids were here.  We get so busy that I keep forgetting to take some.  

And with my first coffee, I put the sewing room back into order.  

As it is set up now, everything stays in it's right place, but a few things are moved around to expand the bed.  After that, it is about tidying up after the little boys.  If the bed is right by the table and the bed is large, two little boys will make every opportunity to use the table as a jumping off place for their play no matter what.  They don't get into things, but they sure do enjoy themselves.  And that is where the tidying comes in.

Besides all the things I want to sew right away (right away is six months late), there are these two things which have been cut out and are waiting for me.  These are first on the list.  The red polka dot is basically set up to be a dress but I think will end up being more of a tunic.  I think I will wear it more often that way.  After a summer with a dress, I find that unless it is deadly hot, I am not really a dress person.  I worry to much about the wind taking the skirt to flight to be really comfortable.  

And this sweet buffalo check is for Cassie who has waited so patiently.  

And then I had my breakfast, and got right down to sewing.  I did all the hard bits first.  The collars, the cuffs, everything that needed interfacing or was fussier to deal with.  It was unimaginably nice to have the ironing board right there just an arms reach away from the sewing desk. I had that at my house but since moving, it has not been possible to do no matter where I lived. Until this set up, ironing was in the hall or in the other room, so I tended to make a pile of bits and then iron the seams.  This way I could work so much more sensibly.  Sew.  Iron, Finish.  

All that remains that is a bit of a challenge is the back yoke or the shirt and the mystery burrito roll.  Like a lot of things, new sewers give things new names but the technique is the same as ever.  It's just that it is decades since I sewed a shirt designed for this.  I went and watched videos about doing it correctly and then did some knitting for the rest of the afternoon.  

And knitting I did.  After Monday's efforts and the late afternoon and evening knitting of yesterday, there are only two sets of arms left to go!

Today, I get to do it all over again! Only today I get to visit with some of my knitting peeps.  I am looking forward to that. 

Ebb and Flow

I did a lot of knitting this weekend.  I kept at it on the sweater and I had so hoped that I would have the magnificent yoke completed, but no.  It is not.  It is really close though, an inch to where the white welt is knit on both yoke and neck edge, before the body begins.  I am looking forward to that part because then the body begins and I can do my own thing.  Knitting is much easier if it is just plain knitting round and round and round.  In this pretty quoddy blue, that is going to be rewarding.And so I knit.

  

I know that in the morning though, I have some household chores needing doing and a shirt to sew for Cassie.  And monkeys.  It is body week on monkeys and the bodies need to be begun. Lots to do, and lots of time.  No need to stress, and yet my mind races. 

That is really where my mind is at right now.  My head is full of busy and I know that my world isn't actually that busy.  I am finding that I have to work really hard to keep my thoughts in healthy places and on healthy things.  It really isn't about healthy places and things I suppose. As I so often find, sitting here, writing brings some clarity, in exactly the same way that knitting brings calm.   It really isn't about keeping my mind in places that are healthy.  It is much more that I have to let my sorrow out, accept it, acknowledge it and then just get on with the rest of life.  

It is 42 years this week since I married my husband and even now, eight years after his passing, I find I am overwhelmed by how much I miss him.  His place in my life is so empty.  Someone once described grief as waves on a beach that constantly ebb and flow, sometimes calm, sometimes raging.  I know that next week the raging sorrow will be calmer and the waves of deep sorrow will be less.  But today?  Today, sweet heaven how it hurts.  

Wow

After the tiny part knitting was done for the day, I took this out, my Agate Cove Pullover.  I am just so enamoured of this set of colours and the way she has put together this yoke.  It's just so nice.

Sadly, as pretty as it is, I had to pull it back substantially.  My my calculations I was at an increase row and after it, I had way, way way too many stitches.  I think I measured wrong on the first increase round and did it too early.  What I am doing now ought to be the first set of increases, not the second with more than enough stitches for the third round of increases.  Oh well.  

It's a good thing I really enjoy knitting the pattern.  It won't take long to get back to the start.  I have the pattern rows more or less in my head and I am fully conversant with increase rows and how the pattern approaches them.  Ready to roll and ready for the weekend too,

Part 5 of 18,362.

Here I am writing in the morning again.  The last few evenings I have been a mite too tired to think of writing in the evening, and by the time I remember it, I have been snuggled under my covers and half asleep.  So today rather than not writing, I thought morning.  

There is Monkey parts progress, though I must say, it feels like I am still on part five of of thousands.  I am not into fiddly knitting but it is knitting and I just have to figure out a way to make it feel less fiddly or sort out how to make me think better of it.  I had hoped working in the various parts would make it so, but that has brought it's own issues. The little pieces are hard on my hands.  I can only knit a pair and a tiny bit in a day and then I have to stop lest I injure myself.  

I think I am going to knit a body next, and then arms for a couple, then a body, then arms or tails.  I can knit socks forever on any given day and the body is really just a sock. My hands will be able to relax and maybe I can make better progress before I have to stop.     I have changed to knitting on four needles rather than my usual five and that is making a difference.  Even with the whining, I am making progress.

At the top left of the photo, there are four completed sets of legs.  One more set to go and legs are done.

The other bits are the single sets of ears, mouth and tails and the set of arms plus one.  

After finishing with monkey business each day, I have been working on sweaters.  Not really knitting them so much as thinking them and looking at yarns.  I pulled out some yarn that I have had forever, in colours which I dearly love.  The soft blue and pure clear white were bought for colourwork

but I am not so sure there is enough contrast between my very soft heathered blue and the white.  

You can see one is the tiniest smidge darker, but I have a feeling that it would loose the look of snowflakes against that soft blue.  So.  Not quite sure where this is headed but I am looking at colour blocks with crisp lines or a top that starts with white and goes quickly to single row stripes and then at the bottom to a solid blue.  Or possibly  a garment with white crisp collars, button bands, cuffs and hems, and the body solid blue.  This is my favourite idea, though to do this the sleeves may be an issue.

It's something to think about to relieve the fussiness of  monkeying around.

Over the weekend, I gave myself a break and knitted on my Starting Point shawl.  Oh.  My.  Gosh.  The colours.  Sigh.

Up to now, everything has been according to pattern, but right here, as I was adding colour 4, I realized there was a problem.  Colour 4 was much too close to the colour preceding it to make things look right.  Contrary to the pattern, I decided to go for the mix of colours of colour 3.  

You can see the multi colour three followed by colour one, which divides in this chevron section.  

Next colour up is the dark blue Misti Alpaca Suri teal, perfectly just a shade darker, and looking very proper if I do say so myself.  You can't see it here because everything is sort of curled at the cable.   Next week perhaps.

First thing I did monday morning was to tuck this pretty bowl of blues and greens and purple into a bag

and tuck it over on the table, lest it lead me down the garden path.   I know where the pretties live, but it is much easier to behave if it is put firmly away. It's monkey time, and because I have left it so late, first things first.  Monkey me.

Random

Random things from last week.

We won coffee over this shot, submitted as cozy to Brittlestars Fridge Friday.  There was cheering and dancing!

I have no explanation for any of this at all.

2021

I will remember them.

I never got around to writing last night.  It didn't happen because I did not knit much yesterday.  Today, I am cleaning my silver.  That kind of week.

I have kids coming the next few days.  No school this week, so Carter phoned and begged but I couldn't til I knew what was up with Uncle Keith's thing.  And then I found out Cassie and Marcus were spending the week going to work with their dad and spending the day in his truck.  No babysitters are  available, make that no vaccinated sitters are available where they live.  My hands were still tied by Keith's thing.  And then magically, Keith's thing was complete yesterday.   

So I called up Carter and Cassie and Marcus' moms and dads and the kids are coming.  So, it will be busy around here and I may or may not write.  I will be in my happy place.  

A Quickie

Just when you thought there would be only monkeys for the next few weeks, these popped out from a skein of random Kureyon (231) that appeared from the bottom of the sock project bag.  I swear it was just sitting there and jumped onto the needles while I sipped my 10 a.m. coffee.

I go in streaks with my nighttime wrist warmers.  Sometimes I love the long ones that go half way down to my elbow and sometimes this kind of shortie wins.

No pattern for these, just cast on enough to go around your hand or wrist, add stitches for your thumb and cast off when appropriate.  Knit in a twisted stitch 1 x 1 rib.  It makes a nice firm fabric that holds its shape and keeps your pulse point warm.

It was a heavy housekeeping sort of day so that all my chores were done and I could sit and sew the rest of the week.  That is not going to be the way the week goes.  After Wednesday all bets are off.  It's a mystery.

A Tail of November. Or Six

It's November, isn't it.  You would think after sixty odd years that I would be ready for the fact that if it is November, Christmas is no longer creeping up, it is coming on like an overloaded freight train barreling down the tracks and there are only so many days to knit before the day arrives.  So, I pulled out that bag with the sock monkey project that I first spoke of in the spring and decided to get down to it so that they are ready in time.  It has been years since I first dreamed up the project and several, three or four now since i have had the yarn.  It is time.

I found the large bag of sock yarns for it.  I found the one that I started working on in the spring and all the parts that were done but not sewn together.  I found the needles.  I did not find the book.

That took longer.  I was starting to panic.  I remembered how long it took to find it last spring when it was tucked into another book on the bookshelves.  I knew it had to be by the rest of the WIPs.  And then I started to worry.  About the thrid time I dug through the sock projects bag, I found it tucked tightly underneath the large ball of teeny short bits of yarn.    

It was such a relief.

 

I pulled out the bag with the ongoing monkey and I started knitting.  There was an arm on the needles under construction.  So finished and knit the second arm.  I knit ears.  I knit a tail.  

And as I knit, I thought.  

I thought these little diameter things are going to drive me batty.  

I much prefer big things.  I thought there had to be a way to keep me engaged and interested.  I decided to knit all the pieces of the monkeys, the legs, arms, ears, mouths and tails in a batch now at the start.  They can stay unstuffed and ready for stuffing when all the bodies are ready.  I can knit the bodies easily while I am zooming on Wednesdays and the whole project shouldn't take long at all.  Crossing my fingers.  Holding off crossing my toes till needed.

I bought six skeins of Kroy sock yarn for this project. I bought an extra skein back then and I am so thankful that I did.  Who knew I would have six grandkids!  From where I am now, almost at the end of the first ball of the marled Kroy, I expect to break into the sixth ball. I will have lots of the red, but I can see me getting really close to needing a second ball of the cream Kroy. Good thing I have a healthy sock yarn stash that just happens to have a couple more balls of  the same colour.

And while I knit these little things I am going to think on what to start next.  I have a couple ideas, but I keep changing my mind.  They are all so interesting and they fight for attention and I am weak to resist a good idea on any given day.  There are just so many interesting combinations of yarn and pattern to knit.

That kind of blessing, the cup of yarn stash that overfloweth and the running rambling imagination dreaming of sweaters might drive some of you batty, but not me.  It energises.  It fills me up.  And it keeps my hands and head in the game.  

Starting Points

The Starting Point shawl consumes five colours of yarn.  Working from the bag, bouncing multiple balls of those five colours around was making me crazy so I emptied out the yarn bowl and used as it was meant to be used.  It's kind of a shame that the greens look so yellow here.  It really is a brilliant sea of colours at play.

I had a plan to cut out another shirt this morning but it didn't seem like a good idea.  I had a terrible sleep last night, waking almost every hour on the hour.  I did not see 3 a.m. but I saw all the rest.  I was tired and cutting fabric did not seem like a good idea.  You only get to cut once.  With knitting, you can knit and rip a few times before it is just too worn out for good use and even then, if you just give it a twist it is useable for mitts or hats. Knitting seemed like the best idea for the day.  

Even in the knitting, I lost a stitch on one side of the chevron.  Getting creative to add a single garter stitch is not a hard thing so it was no big loss of time at all.  Still it is easy to forget one of the places to add or decrease stitches.  I want to keep on top of though.  I have memories of a sweater that was an inch out on one side.  Sigh.  You couldn't tell on the final product when worn, but I knew.

I took this photo around lunch time.  It was going pretty slowly till I realized that it was the dark problem.  Even with my OTT light, the dark purple against the black background of my table top storage chest was a problem.  Each stitch had to be so deliberate.  It finally hit me that it might go better if I put a note pad of white paper just in front of me, things might go easier.  And it did!

I had a nap and still got to the beginning of the next chevron stripe before I set it aside for the day.

I still love knitting it and I can;'t wait to wear it.  The fabric is already telling me how cozy I will be.

On Socks

I tried to knit on the pretty Starting Point shawl.  It's in the place where it is just regular garter stitches and regular increases for the center and decreases for the sides.  Ought to be easy, right?  Not.  It felt like the kind of day when I would knit tight and this yarn I am working with right now needs loose to hide that it is a little lighter than the others.  

I pulled out socks.  I pulled out the Gridiron socks I wanted to start and finished up the toe.

Then I tried to get the pattern going.  Whatever I did wrong the first time I knit these socks I am doing again because nothing is working right.  I know that I sorted it our last time and I am certain that I will again.  For now, it needed to just go back to the drawing board.

I pulled out the other socks i have on the go in this bag, some monster socks using the end of a pretty yarn with grey as a principle colour spotted with blues and lavenders and golds.  I paired the yarn up with a bright yellow from the bin of leftovers and what is happening is simply amazing. 

I swear that sock yarn designers ought to check out the monster sock pages for ways to add punch to sock yarns.  I adore the way the yellow just punches everything up to a nine!

PS, these are going to get afterthought heels.  I have been wearing these a lot lately and it is so comfortable,  though it must be noted that all socks are so comfortable.

Starting Point

While waiting for those disappointing knits to dry, there was plenty of fun stuff to pick from.  Knitting happened.

I pulled out my Starting Point.  Those marvelous colors were just what my heart needed. 

This bag of glorious colour went a long way to lifting my mood.  Who coul stay sad with such green and teal and deep purple to play with?

Thoe more I knit on this, the happier I am with the colours and the way they work together.  

I am just a few rows past the width of the shawl.  It's a comfortable less than two hundred stitches to knit each row so it feels as if it is moving fast.  

The design was originally a MKAL on Joji Locatelli's Ravelry group.  I do sometimes wish that I enjoyed collective knitting more.  It can be fun to be working on the same time with a bunch of other people, but it also makes it feel like work. It feels like work sometimes if I am focusing on clothing.  To clothe myself is work but it is fun work more often than not.  But to have the fun things like shawls be work.  Why do that?

So, I knit alone.  Oh well.  My knitting my choice.