Ordinary time

What a lovely day yesterday.  Maybe a bit warm, but it was great 9verall.

Plenty of interesting knitting.

A new cast on!  I am so excited.  This is Lunan by Rebecca Clow, The Creabea.  I noted it a couple years ago as she was knitting first sample.  I had to wait till she took it to testers and through the process till it's release date.  And since the release date, I have been waiting to knit it.  

I knew exactly which yarn I wanted to knit it with.  The yarn is Elle Elite, a long discontinued cotton and wool blend out of South Africa.  The lovely soft yellow is a perfect colour for spring and fall.  I have knit with the griegey green I have in this yarn several times.   My first Tolsta was made using leftovers from a greigy green sweater I made years ago when I lived in my wee house on the west side of the city.  I still have both and wear them often.  It's just a good sound fabric.  I think I have a brick red colour of this as well.  I will knit that up sometime soon.  Ish.  There are lots of other yarns to knit through.  

I am really enjoying the Lunan pattern.  It's more than stockinette with the tiniest bit of a rib but my most wanted thing on this top is the Polo collar.  I have always wanted to knit a Polo collar top and here it was.  I do have Elisabeth Zimmermann's books and have read many times through her patterns and advice on Polo collars.  I have a Vogue Knitting book that has a Polo collar design.  I have several other patterns that have Polo collars like  Sari Nordlund's North Wind sweater.  I want to try her version of European shoulder construction.  

For now, Lunan.  Interesting knitting.  

Today is going to be busy.  The last preps are happening for the floor guys.  Doing flooring really is best done in an empty house.  With a bit of luck all the mess and stress will be done soon and my little world will be back to normal.  Or what passes for normal here.  What is  normal really?  Life is about flux and change and adaptation and then a couple of ordinary days before it all starts again.  I am lucky that I have knitting to get me through whatever flux there may be to get back to ordinary time.  

Happy Happy

Yesterday was a very good day.  I experimented with mostly hanging out in my room.  That went okay.  Mostly that's about sorting out the issues and what I need in here while the floors are curing out there.    

It was a good day knitting too because

It's done!  I am so pleased.  Are there things I would do differently if I was to make it again?  Sure, but that is experience.  It's could use a good blocking but otherwise I am very happy with it.  If I was to change anything, it would be that at the bottom hem I would have done 7 rows of the colour, not five.  I also would have gone straight into the rib rather than do the few rows of stockinette.  But that's it.  I love how it looks and fits, and that is what matters.

I also started something new.  I know I have things to work on that I can't wait to wear.  The Hiraeth sweater 

It's gorgeous and I have only a few rows of coulourwork to go.  I'm not fond of the fit of circular yokes on me.  I am very hopeful for this because it is a combination of styles.  After the round colourwork, there are additional raglan increases to help you get a great fit for your body.  There is more colourwork at the hem and at the sleeve ends.  So lots of gorgeous colour offset by my beloved brilliant sunshine yellow.

And my Kauni sweater.  

 

I love this.  It's in one of my all time favourite yarns, Tove, sadly long discontinued.  I adore the way the Kauni is changing.  It starts very subtly a few rows before the Tove bands.  And that grey?  Blue.  Just this wonderfully dusty blue.  That brown?  A rich dusty purple.  It's wonderful.

Now the new top?  That will wait for another day.  

Not Quite

Not quite there yet, but I have to say, I am thrilled at what I did get done.  

I'm really pleased with how it looks and fits.  I debated doing a long hem ribbing but I kept measuring and it was there already.  It's exactly right and that is not always how it works.  Yay me.  

All that remains is sleeve ribbing.  And guess what!  I found another ball of teal yarn in the bag.  I thought all that was in there was two more balls of the STR but down at the bottom hiding beneath swatches and wee tail ends of balls was another ball.  I will easily be able to complete this top without waiting to get at the stash after the flooring is done. 

This week, one day or other is flooring week.  The day is maybe Wednesday but more likely Thursday or Friday.  Keith and I decided that after Wednesday, we are in flooring mode come what may.  Everything is emptied and cleaned and we are ready to go even if the flooring people are not.  

We also had a bit of lovely company on Saturday.  One of my sisters and my brother came up as they played car games in the city.  My sister bought a car and my brother did too.  I am laughing at him because he did not mean too.  It was just a good deal.  Lol.  I understand it though, because yarn.  They have to come back this week to pick up my brothers car.  

 The day feels odd with all my stuff mashed into my bedroom but it's not that bad.  Just crowded a bit.  Never the less I should finish the Geddy Tee today and then maybe, just maybe get started on the next good thing. 

Picking up and knitting the neck ribbing went great too.  I knit it with the larger needles too and I am so happy that it worked well.  I switched to smaller needles for the last round and the bind off so it would hold its shape as well as to prevent the neck from growing.