Looking ahead? Sure. Why not.

I got to work with the new hook as soon as I posted yesterday.  You know what?  It was awful.

I know!  Not what you expect from a brand new tool.  There was a ridge of rough plastic at the centerline of the hook.  Under the hook and over the tip were the worst.  It was catching on everything.  Luckily Keith had some very fine sandpaper and I could deal with the ridge.  It is about the same as if I had bought the wood hook.  Oh well.  It is what it is and the hook works well enough.  

I spent the afternoon baking.  It's high cherry season and I made a really nice cherry cobbler using an Allrecpies page recipe.  Very tasty and just perfect for these cherries.  I did not pit the cherries, just used them stone in.  They are small this year but plentiful.  It was not worth the hassle of dealing with pits.  When I was a kid, my mom canned the cherries stone in and they weren't a problem.  The cobbler was a winner.

More knitting and crocheting today to be sure, but I really want to get to the sewing room too.  It's time to get that in order so winter projects can begin. Failing that, it could be a good day for a stash dive.  It's chilly today and it makes me think of all the wonderful yarns I could work with for the fall and winter.  

Woe

Quelle disaster.

 

It just snapped.  I wasn't putting pressure on it.  It just snapped.  I stared at it for a few seconds longer than most people would have.  It was so unbelievable that the tool let me down.  It was inconceivable.  

I think I bought these in the 90s when I started making sweaters for myself.  So they are at least 30 years old.  Maybe more.  And old plastic does get brittle.  But I had only this one hook in this size.

Keith stopped at the giant big box in Vegreville to see what they had for replacement.  I am not a fan of hooks with a too thick shift.  My favourites are hooks that are slender and then get thicker.  I also don't like wood hooks.  No slip and I don't like things feeling as if the hook is grabby.  

  

I went with the green 6.5 mm hook and a blue 7 mm hook.   The one that broke was a 6.5 but I had wished for one just a bit larger when I started chair pads.  Next pad will be done with a 7.  The new hooks will be okay.  They feel oddly light in comparison but they are otherwise the shape I prefer.  

I knit most of the day on the Kauni sweater so today I need to get in some good time on the chair pad.  Let's see if I can run out of yarn and need a third colour.  

Knitting!

After a week and more of utter despair health wise, I am feeling a thousand times better today.  It was a much better weekend too so I am going to keep my fingers crossed that this keeps going.

I kept working on my chair pad crochet project.  

And you can see I am actively using my new progress keepers.  It really is keeping me focused forward rather than focusing on what is done and feeling it isn't enough.  Do I wish it was farther along or even finished?  Sure, but the marker is a reality check.  I did make progress and that is enough. 

As I was ready to change colours after the purple, I debated adding a third set of colours.  I would rather use up some balls completely than have a bunch more leftovers.  I really want this bin of yarn used up so I stayed with my wide browns and purples stripes.  I hope that two of each colour will be wide enough to make the size I want before I felt it.  I have a funny feeling though,  that it will be a bit shorter than I want and I will very likely need to add a third colour anyway.  

I didn't want to only work on a very workhorse type project.  I wanted something to raise my spirits.  I was searching for the Hiraeth sweater but found my Kauni sweater first.  

 

  It's stripes which are always fun and it easy on the hands knitting.  I have a couple rows of the Kauni left before I go back to the Tove garter band.  It's nice easy knitting in yarns I absolutely adore. 

The more I knit on this sweater, the happier I am with it.  I love how the colours are working out, though I admit, I took out some of the greyest blue.  There was just too much grey for the middle of the body and I am eager to get to the rich purple and green sections.  

Both of these are my work of the day, though I am also going to work on more pants.  Sewing is good.  Knitting is great and life is a lot better than last week.

Boy the photos on this page are dull.  I need to do something about that.