Another Checkmark in the FO Column

Sorry this is a day late.  I've got the Norovirus and well, it was impossible to accomplish anything yesterday.  I don't remember ever being that sick before, but, the vomiting has stopped at least and I'm weighing 8 pounds less today than yesterday.  

Anyway...

I moved another project from the  WIP column to the FO column.

Actually, I'd finished the knitting weeks ago but the socks were still lounging around waiting to have the toes kitchnered.  I used Paton KroySocks in the Brownies colorway.  And no, they don't match perfectly but I don't care.  Thankfully, I've never needed my socks to be matchy-matchy.  It's a good thing because my feet are so big I have to use the whole skein.  I can't be wasting yardage trying to get the starting point to match.

I'm really enjoying this 'get everything finished' goal.  I thought I'd finish an old project, knit a new one, finish an old one, knit a new one... but it feels so good to get things finished and scratched off the list I just keep finishing things. Yay me!

Do you Sashiko?

I found a new craft to obsess over.  Sashiko.

Do you Sashiko?  Okay, I'm not sure if the proper way of writing it is 'sashiko' or 'Sashiko.'  Whatever.  It's a Japanese form of stitching and honestly, I haven't done much research on its history.  Facebook kept telling me I should join a Sashiko group and there was an interesting photo of someone's work and well, the rest is history.  I'm hooked and totally obsessed. 

Sashiko is basically a running stitch and the purists in the Facebook group get a little bent if you don't use the historically correct thread and fabric type, but there are plenty of folks in the group doing it their own way.  Can you guess which group I'm in?

Yep!  I'm a non-conformist Sashikoer.  

I only discovered Sashiko in October or November and I've already finished 3 pieces.  The first was a totebag kit I got from Amazon.  It was fun to stitch and went quickly.  The second project was much bigger.  Tumbling Blocks from KimonoMomo is partially pictured above.  I had SO much fun stitching it and both the fabric and thread were SO much nicer to work with than the Amazon kit.  KimonoMomo also had fantastic customer service.  And no, I'm not affiliated with KimonoMomo other than being a very happy customer.  So happy I ordered more pieces to stitch.  ... And have about 6 more in my shopping cart.

I may enjoy Sashikoing even more than knitting!

But let's focus on Tumbling Blocks. That's only a tiny portion of the piece in the photo.  I plan to turn it into a table runner and I've bought the fabric backing... from Michaels because I had a coupon.  Of course, the fabric person at Michaels had no sewing knowledge and well, neither do I.  I had planned to put a layer of felt/batting/something between the front and back so that it's not just floppy fabric laying on the table but the sales clerk suggested I not do that, specially since the inner piece/lining/whatever you want to call it won't be quilted.  It will only be attached on the outside seams.  So, assuming some of you are sew-ers (not sewers ha ha)/quilters, what would you reccomend?  

I can't wait to have Tumbling Blocks finished and on the table.

Happy stitching!

I'm back???

I'm back!  I think.  Maybe.  I don't know.  I don't want to pin myself down to feeling like I have to post X number of times a week but I have missed talking to myself about yarn.  It's been almost a full year since I last posted.  Hard to believe!

I hope you've been well.  I'm ashamed to say I haven't kept up with anyone else's blog or even any form of social media. When I stopped blogging, I pretty much stopped internetting altogether.

So what have I been doing with my time?  I'm still working at the grocery store.  We are still living in my in-laws' house but it should be our house next week.  Fingers crossed.  They've been saying we'll close on the morgtage "next week" since two weeks before Christmas.  We moved all the in-laws' stuff we didn't want to keep out and we moved all our stuff in from storage.  Boy, was it nice to see my stuff again!  Our stuff had been in storage for four years!  Hayden, my granddaughter, is in pre-school and loving it.  And of course, I've been crafting.  I bought a loom and plan to be comfortable using it by the end of 2024.  I've been doing a lot of diamond painting.  It's delightfully tacky.  Ha ha.  Diamond painted things tend to be sparkley and I'm not really into sparkely artwork but I find the act of doing it to be very meditative and a little sparkle in my life won't kill me.  And of course, I've been knitting.  In 2023, I completed:

5 hats, 

4 sweaters,
2 pair of mittens, 
2 shawls, 
8 pairs of socks,
5 blankets and
2 Christmas ornaments.

The sad thing about all that knitting is that it didn't even make a dent in my stash pile. 

One of my 2023 goals was to go 90 days without buying any new yarn.  I didn't succeed with that goal.  But, I made my last yarn purchase on October 7th and today marks 105 days without buying yarn!  I am SO proud of myself!  I've been feeling overwhelmed by the stash pile for quite a while. Years, really.  

I finally cleaned out my closet (which is really a mini attic) the other day (on day 87) and tossed the old projects I  had no intention of finishing and organized all the remaining yarn.  All the bins won't even fit in the photo.  I have 16 of them.  And that's not counting the large cedar chest full that I can't even access because the chest has so much junk piled up on it.  Actually, I'd forgotten about the cedar chest yarn until just now.

Anyway, to make a long story a little longer, my plan is to go 120 days without buying yarn.  And then 150 days, then 180 days, and so on until I go a year without buying yarn.  Unless of course I run out first, but the likelihood of that happening is about the same as me winning the lottery.  The Big lottery.

Another goal for 2024 is to finish all the WIPs I have.  The 'rule' is I have to finish one WIP then I can knit anyting I want, then finish a WIP, and knit what I want.... rinse and repeat untill all the WIPs are finished.  They may not all get finished in 2024 but there's hope.  I was pretty ruthless when I was frogging/tossing old projects I knew I didn't like anymore.

Currently, I'm knitting a simple triangular shawl from the WIP pile.  I'm using Obsidian City Tweed from Knit Picks and a US 8 needle.  I'm currently at that stage where the shawl is eating up yarn but not growing.  Or at least it feels like it's not growing.  I only have a few skeins left so it will soon go from WIP to FO status.  Yay!

And now, I'm going to go curl back up under my blanket and knit some more.  Until next time, stay warm!

Sunday Supper - Creamed Eggs on Toast

Happy Easter!

Today's Sunday Supper recipe is a great way to use up all those hard boiled eggs you found on your Easter egg hunt.

photo courtesy of CopyKat Recpies

This recipe for creamed eggs on toast from copykat.com sounds easy enough and like a great way to use up those extra hard boiled eggs.

Enjoy!

Yikes!

Yikes!

I think I've made a decision.  And I am both excited and terrified.

As of today, my Etsy shop is closed and I no longer plan to blog on any kind of a routine schedule.  For that matter, I don't really even intend to blog anymore.  But you know me, I like to blather on about what I'm knitting so I may be back here sooner than expected.

And just in case I am making a HUGE mistake and instantly regret my decision, I'm going to put my Etsy shop on vacation rather than actually closing it.  I'll still be on Facebook (my personal page) and maybe I'll even post more on Instagram.  Maybe I'll even learn to TikTok, but I doubt it.  

Maybe I'll be back here sooner than expected.  But I'll no longer be thinking of Jeannie Gray Knits as a business.  Rather than a thing, Jeannie Gray Knits will simply be me knitting what I want, when I want, with the yarn I want.  I won't be worrying about what customers want and what they are willing to pay for.  

I've been thinking about this for a couple of months now.  Actually, that's not true.  I've been trying Not to think about it for a couple of months.  You see, back in January, I signed up for a class to help me take Jeannie Gray Knits to a level that fully finanically supports me.  And the class did what no other has done for me.  It finally made me face the fact that Jeannie Gray Knits is not profitable, nor sustainable.  At least not the way I've been doing it.  

So, I'm retiring.  I'm not quiting, I'm retiring.  I'm going to go knit what I want, when I want and with what yarns I want.  Instead of knitting for my Etsy shop, I'm going to knit for me, for my friends and family, and for the mutlitude of causes I've always wanted to knit for but never had time.  I'm going to learn to garden, maybe learn a new craft, and maybe, just maybe, even clean the house!  

I'm pretty excited about the idea.  I'm also terrified I'm making a huge mistake.  What on earth will I do with all the time I was spending on my business?  I may actually have to clean the house just to fill the hours.

But if I am making a huge mistake, it's fixable.  I'm not burning any bridges.  I'm just going on (semi ??) permanent vacation.  Thank you for sticking with me all these years.  I'm sure I'll see you around the web... and maybe at a fiber festival or two.  And maybe even back here in a few days when I panic because I suddenly have nothing to do but clean the house.  Yikes!

Sunday Supper - Slow Cooker Mississippi Pork Roast

I hope you're a pork eater because we're going to be eating a LOT of pork over the next 800 years.  LOL  My grocery store keeps having Boston Butts on sale for half price and I keep buying them in multiples and tossing them in the freezer.  Then because they are frozen, we never cook them.  And this past week, they had pork roasts on sale.  It was a big sale so I bought a ton of those too.  Our freezer is now overflowing with pork.  So...

Slow Cooker Mississippi Pork Roast.  This recipe, from therecipecritic.com sounds really good and is super simple.  It doesn't get much easier than dumping a few things into the slow cooker.  The only difficult part is waiting for dinner time.

Now, if I can just remember to take one of those pork roasts out of the freezer...

Enjoy!

Hue Shift

 I couldn't help myself.

I had to start the Hue Shift afghan.  I just couldn't stand to wait any longer.

Hue Shift is a mitered square blanket knit with Brava from Knit Picks.  Or at least, mine is.  The pattern also includes instructions for using Mighty Stitch yarn.  Knit Picks sells kits with several different color combinations and there's even a crochet kit.  

The blanket is knit in four sections that you can arrange in different ways before sewing them together to get completely different looks.  I'm a little concerned about my ability to power through this blanket without putting it aside to knit something else but, the frequent color changes will keep it interesting and as luck would have it, the last section contains my favorite colors.  I'm hoping that motivates me to keep knitting.

Meanwhile, Hayden keeps me in stitches by making funny faces.

Happy knitting!

Sunday Supper - Moroccan Carrots

 

photo courtesy of goodhousekeeping.com

Today's Sunday Supper recipe is for Good Housekeeping's Moroccan Carrots.  Easter is right around the corner and what with the diabetes diagnosis and all, I'm trying to focus on carrots, not candy.  

This recipe not only sounds delicious but also quick and simple.

Enjoy!

Northern Lights

I probably should have titled this post Everything But Knitting.  Oh well.

I spent most of my time off from work this past week doing yard work.  Last summer we thought we were moving and so we didn't exactly keep the flower beds in tip top shape. But since we've decided to stay  here (Have I mentioned that?  Yes, we decided to buy out my brother-in-law's half of my MIL's house and stay put.  I'm very happy not to have to move.)... Anyway... Since we've decided to stay and take ownership, Sarah and I are doing our best to take back control of the yard.  It's going to take us 100 years I fear.

The point of that story was, I haven't gotten much knitting done.  I haven't even touched the Winterfest sweater but the first Northern Lights Patons Kroy Sock sock is almost finished.  I've knit a little more than pictured and have started the toe decreases.  I'm 99.99999% sure I will run out of  yarn before the toe is long enough but I have some coordinating yarn and it will just have to have a weird looking toe.  I'm okay with weird toes.

Yesterday was GORGEOUS and a perfect day to spend parked on the deck with my knititng and a book.  Books actually.  I'm also reading Stephen King's Fairytail but that one's on my Kindle and I read until the battery died.  The day was so beautiful my bee friend stopped by for a visit.  I was surprised how interested in my non-sweetened black coffee he was.

I can't wait until the danger of frost has past.  I bought this weeping pussy willow tree from the grocery store and expected to kill it the first week I owned it, but it's producing leaves like crazy.  I think it just might survive.  I'm pretty excited about this little tree.  It's supposed to grow to seven feet tall and eight feet in diameter.  I've always loved weeping willows and my mom loved pussy willows so...  And since we live on the edge of a swamp, it shouldn't be a problem that this plant's roots search out water sources.  It should be very happy here.

The poor dog has taken up a bit of time this week too.  He hurt his paw and he's been having some tummy problems so he's stuck wearing the cone of shame and he's enjoying a diet of nothing but chicken and rice.  The problem comes in that he struggles to eat with the cone on and gets rice EVERYWHERE!  He's one of those dogs who likes to take their food  out of the bowl, put it on the floor, then eat it.  Except now, the cone knocks the rice every which way and if we take the cone off, he eats his foot instead of his food.  We are now having to sweep the entire downstairs about 8 times a day.  

And most exciting, Hayden turned three recently.  My husband and I weren't able to attend her actual birthday party so we threw her a simple dinner and cake party.  She was pretty excited about the cake.

And now, I'm off to finish that sock before I have to go to work this afternoon.

Happy Knitting!

Sunday Supper - Pear Halloumi Skewers in Chili Sauce

Today's Sunday Supper is for the vegetarians.

photo courtesy of fruitsandveggies.org

While I'm not ready to go full vegetarian, I have been making a huge effort to eat many, many more vegetables than I used to.  And so, I bring you Pear Halloumi Skewers in Chili Sauce.  The recipe comes from fruitsandveggies.org and sounds delicious.

I'll admit, I had to Google Halloumi.  I'd never heard of it and according to Google, my American friends probably know it as "grilling cheese."   I'm glad the recipe didn't call it by the American name because I would have assumed they meant Kraft American cheese.  I obviously don't have exotic tastes.

Enjoy!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Thank you for all the picot sympathy and support.  Day four was the magic number.  I pretty much did nothing but picot bindoff all day long and got the shawl finished.  I still haven't blocked it, but I will - soon.  And then I'll show it off.

The Winterfest sweater sleeve-fest continues.  And continues and continues. I'm still on the first half of the first sleeve. It's a bit of a slog.  My sized sleeves in fingering weight, on US 1 needles, in dark gray makes for some mighty slow knitting.  But I am making progress. I imagine my need for a wool sweater is probably over for the season so I'm not stressing over it.

When I get too bored with the Winterfest sleeve knitting, I switch to Northern Lights socks.  The yarn is Patons Kroy Socks, which, as cheap sock yarn goes, I love.  The color in the photo is fairly accurate except that the really dark stripe that looks black on my screen is actually a deep purply maroon.  I'm totally in love with it.

But what I'm in love with most is my new light-up birdfeeder.  It's solar powered and lights up in the dark.  I absolutely love it!  If you love it too and want one of your own, you can find it here on Amazon. (And no, I'm not affiliated.  Just really, really happy with mine.)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Sunday Supper - Spicey Beef Stew

Did I ever mention that I got a new Instant Pot for Christmas to replace the one that got cooked in the oven?  Yeah, I know.  If you are new here and didn't hear that original story.... my first Instant Pot suffered a horrible, horrible death and I'm still, three years later, a little angry about it.  But I finally have a replacement and I'm over the moon happy about it.

So...  That was a long way of saying today's Sunday Supper recipe is geared towards using the Instant Pot.

photo courtesy of tasteofhome.com

Spicey Beef Stew from Taste of Home, cooked in the Instant Pot. It's fast, it's easy, it uses simple ingredients and best of all, it falls well within my diabetic low-carb guidelines.  Yum!

Enjoy!

Picot

Why did I ever think a picot bindoff on this shawl was a good idea?

I'm on day four of binding off this shawl and I have just gotten to the midpoint.  Good grief!  Granted, I've had work and our washing machine broke so I spent yesterday doing my laundry at a friend's house instead of knitting but still.... Four days to reach the halfway point!  

Despite my poor choice of bindoff...  I'm loving this shawl.  I love the color combo and the yarn...  The yarn is Knit Pick's Capretta which is a merino and cashmere blend.  It's incredibly soft and wonderful to knit with.  I can't say enough good things about this yarn.  I'm totally smitten with it.  As much as I want to be done with that picot bindoff, I will be sad to stop knitting with this yarn.

And as much as I'm complaining about the picot bindoff, I really do like the look of it.  I can't wait to finish the shawl and get it blocked.  

...And then you can hear me complain about pinning all those little picot points. 😊

Meanwhile,  my granddaughter likes to help me feed the birds.

While I fill the hanging feeders, she feeds the big birds on the ground.

I can't belive Hayden is about to turn three.  Where does the time go?

Sunday Supper - Spaghetti Squash Meatball Casserole

So, we're on a diet.  I don't think I've mentioned it before but my A1C levels hit full blown diabetes in early February.  And my doctor, being the meany that he is, is making me 'fix' it with diet rather than pills.  And yes, I know that that's best.  I know if he gave me pills, I'd continue to eat the cake and cookies and just keep taking more and more pills.  

I know this way is best.  In fact, it's already working.  I'm sticking to the diabetic diet and have already lost 7 pounds in 15 days.  But I'm also still seriously jonesing for cookies and cake and I'm mean.  I mean, I am MEAN!  Sugar/carb withdrawl is not for the faint of heart and it doesn't help that I'm working at a grocery store and surrounded by carts full of cookies, cakes and Little Debbie products.  So yeah, I'm a little mean at the moment.  And I'm blaming my poor doctor instead of blaming myself for allowing myself to get to this point.

The point is, Sunday Suppers are about to get slightly more healthy.

photo courtesy of tasteofhome.com

Today's Sunday Supper recipe is for a spaghetti squash meatball casserole from Taste of Home.  The photo makes it look like yummy comfort food.  We will see.

And yes, I realize I'm struggling with a bit of an attitude.  I really don't know why.  I've eaten within my carb limits every day since I started the diabetic diet (15 days ago) and I have enjoyed every single thing I've eaten so far.  I like zucchini 'noodles' and I'm enjoying all the vegetables I've been eating.  I'm actually a little bit proud of myself and the way I've been eating for the last 15 days.  Heck, the diet is even helping my finances.  According to my credit card statement, my grocery bill for February was $190 less than normal.  My body feels better.  I already have more energy and just feel better in general.  Or at least my physical body does.   But mentally, I really do miss plates full of mounded up mashed potatoes and mac and cheese, not to mention all those cookies and cakes.

If any of you are on diabetic diets and have cookbooks or websites you recommend, please send them my way.

As Promised

As promised, I present...

The Pumpkin Sweater.

The pattern was great.  Well written and fun to knit.

The problems came in with my knitting.  Or more like, my decision not to fix the knitting problems as they occurred.

Whoever invented the saying, "That'll block right out." should be shot.  Botched increase rows and major gauge issues rarely block out.

I ended up with a slight 'ruffle' running down the back due to the botched increase rows.  I kept being a stitch short when I got to the end of the increase rows so I'd just throw an extra one in... and it caused a ruffle effect.  My solution is to never cut my hair and always wear it down whenever I wear the sweater.  Problem solved.

The other issue is the sleeves.  They feel like I'm wearing compression sleeves.  Very, very tight compression sleeves.  

I used the same size dpn on the sleeves as the circular needle I used for the body.  Same manufacturer, needles made from the same material.  But for some reason, the sleeve gauge is WAY tighter than the body's gauge.  I noticed the gauge difference after only knitting an inch or two of the first sleeve but rather than do something about it, I decided it would block right out.

Yeah.

But that's okay because I get to try again.  This sweater was for my daughter but after this one had so many problems, I promised I'd knit her another one and keep this one for myself.  So lucky you!  You get to watch Pumpkin Sweater #2 being knit sometime in the (hopefully) not too distant future.