Ups ⬆️ and Downs ⬇️

This has been a week of ups and downs, but nothing too dramatic. I've finished up a pair of socks, a test for a friend ⬆️. They turned out really well, even if they aren't as snug as I like, but that's because I was a bad tester ⬇️ and ignored the instruction to use fewer stitches! Lol...

I received a lovely gerbera daisy plant the week before spring break, with pink flowers, and it was beautiful! ⬆️ But I forgot to ask anyone to water it while I was gone...and though I'm trying, I'm not sure I can bring it back. ⬇️

I'm starting to feel a little sad that I'll miss my 40th high school reunion this summer ⬇️, but I'm enjoying rifling through the memories as I chat with our Facebook group! The Muse was a literary publication produced each year that I was in high school. I even had a couple of poems published way back when. ⬆️

Finally, the weather here doesn't feel very spring-like today (except for the rain, which all the "experts" agree will bring flowers next month), it's quite chilly and gray. ⬇️ On the other hand,  there are only 14 days until Summer fun at Cedar Point starts! ⬆️

Whatever your ups and downs may have been this week, I hope you are dwelling on the ⬆️s, and making the best of the ⬇️s, because that's the best way to "just keep swimming" through this life...like my little friends at work.

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

The Agony of de-feet

Sometimes, when you're working on a project, everything turns out all hunky-dory! Like this "Happy Spring," crochet banner I've started for my office! FYI, I only have N and G left, so it's actually almost done! 

Also almost done is the third pair on a trip of stripey socks, using one of my favorite commercially produced self-striping yarns,  Felici (by Knitpicks.com).

Unfortunately, as you can see, there is something wrong with my second striping skein of pinks...and sometimes this happens with Felici. It usually starts with a knot (which is where the trouble started onion this one), then the yarn changes. 

I've seen Felici shorten stripes, skip a stripe, or even change the order of colors, after a knot...but this is the first time I've used a skein that appears to have been mishandled by the dyers (mechanical or otherwise) after the knot.

I was a little upset when I first noticed the mistake. Truthfully, I'm still in a little agony now, but I'm probably not worked up enough to reach out to Knit Picks about it. I do love it when my handknit socks match perfectly, but I have not stopped loving Felici...and as I said before, knots do happen with this yarn...so I'll probably just finish these socks before moving on to the next pair. These pink stripes are not a gift, and they will still be comfortable and pretty, so no harm, no foul. I've got bigger fish to fry. 

After all, I live in northeast Ohio. Have you seen the news about northeast Ohio lately? This is my favorite of all the info graphics I saw on FB this week...lol! (Not sure who the OP is, but shout out to my buddy Karen for sharing on her profile!)

Yeah, 4 seasons plus a meteor in one week...and I've also heard that Bigfoot may be on the loose, so I'm just gonna stay inside and play with yarn this weekend. I hope you also have solid plans for the weekend. If yes, drop a comment to let me know what they are! 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

I'll Get Right to the Point

Cedar Point, in Sandusky, that is...and this has been a good week! It started with a trip to "The Point" (aka roller coaste heaven) with my girl for Mother's Day,

That lovely, new coaster was not ready for business, but I was! Fountain drink at 10am? Coaster after that? Yes, please! 

Then there was a lovely gift from my son...lol! This blanket is great AND hilarious!

Even a gift from the Hubby (aka "Dad," when our daughter does the wrapping, and our grandson presents the gift)!

On top of a great start to the week on Sunday, I also finished the fish for my [fish]bowl at work on Monday morning,

and at Thursday knitting, I helped kitchener this glorious heap of golden cables!

"What's in the background?," you ask... Why, that's a nearly finished pair of socks with little dots that look a bit like sheep...

and by Friday night, they were finished

and on my feet! 

All of that, while plugging along toward my first Summer Vacation in a very long time, means that I have been super-busy and loving it! 

I wonder when I'll get to The Point again? I hope it's soon! Anyone wanna come with? 😁

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

Upside-Down and Inside-Out

Remember this fun project, started in Michigan with an 8-year-old? I worked on it with her in the beginning, 

but over time, she lost interest in the actual stitching...lol! She is young and full of energy! Who can sit still to hand stitch squares in 2024?...

Then hand quilt in 2025? Apparently, that's a job for Pretty, and here's the back of the quilt to prove it!

That little upside-down shot shows that the lines aren't perfectly straight, and I maybe should have taken the time to do one more row of stitches around the perimeter...but it was bound before the end of last weekend's visit, so that's a yay!

Still, I wanted to secure the binding with a little decorative stitching, so I brought it home to do that...

And this Pretty Knitty (and granddaughter) quilt will be reunited with that 10-year-old this summer, when they come to visit ME! 

How will I pass the time until that glorious day? Probably a little inside-out sock knitting! 

I've found it's the best way to control my tension on colorwork socks, and I'm looking forward to getting this pair on my feet soon! (Upside-down and inside-out can be good things, depending on your perspective, but I hope most of your days are more sunny-side up, in general.) I'm sure there will be a reveal in next week's post, so be sure to come back and check it out! 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

Snowy Spring Saturday

Happy Spring, Northeast Ohio! Isn't it lovely that we woke up to a delicate blanket of SNOW this morning? Lol...

It is actually quite beautiful, with the only real hitch being the annual Easter Egg Hunt at church! Despite the white, the egg hunt went on as planned (mostly) with kiddos clamoring for their eggs indoors, rather than in the grass...and everyone had fun. Super yay!

And knitters everywhere in Northeast Ohio are taking up their needles for some cozy stitching to pass the time without getting muddy and cold. Add in a lovely cup of tea, and this weekend will not turn out half bad!

For me, there is also an upcoming birthday, with some grand toy-knitting planned, which makes for a cozy, knitting weekend indeed! Can you guess what I've got up my knitting sleeve? 

Also, it's just one week until we celebrate Easter, so this week will be busy at work. therefore, I'm going to take whatever down-time I can get this weekend...still relishing in a recently-finished project that will make Taylor Swift fans everywhere smile.

This tiny, cabled, baby cardigan is based on my favorite sweater pattern (available as a pattern generator at knittingfool.com), with the cable and twist elements added in. It took about 4 days to knit in fingering-weight cotton, and it's taking about 2 days to dry after its spa treatment (soak and block). Oh, cotton. You love water so...

So, there are socks on the needles, and surprises for the soon-to-be Birthday Boy (our youngest grandson turns TWO next month), and the weekend has provided the perfect weather for knitting. Are the planets aligned, or what?!? 

Tell me something that is going RIGHT for you today! I hope there's more than one thing, but even if things don't seem to be going your way, I hope you can find one good thing to celebrate on this cozy Saturday.

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Three Musketeers

I feel like this picture tells a story...

...and so it does. It's the story of three boys, growing up together so that they will always be the best of friends (and maybe finding some mischief, too!). Wanna guess who the ringleader will be? 

If you guessed that the fearless, headstrong, third-born of the brood will be that brother, I would tell you that is a very solid guess! But who knows, really...

We have two of the three boys at our house this weekend, so I'm putting this post together  early. It will go live at the normal time, and I will hopefully be napping when it does, but I anticipate that I will not have time or energy to do much blogging on Saturday or Sunday! 

On Monday morning, there will be copious cups of coffee to help Pop Pop and I recover from the fun! Then I will try to catch up on some knitting...

I hope you have found something to enjoy this weekend, and thanks for stopping by!

Now, go Knit in Good Health (and share with me what you're knitting in the comments!)!

A Hand-y Post

As I was looking down at my knitting this morning, I noticed my hands. 

Oh, they're nothing special...no fancy manicure, and I'm a chronic nail-biter, so I'm easily embarrassed by my hands. So, when asked to take photos of a project I'm test knitting "on actual hands," I felt personally challenged. I started with this: 

These are, of course, not "actual" hands,  but Flat-Stanley-style hands I keep so my actual hands don't show up in photos. But then I got to thinking 🤔,  "Hey! I have friends with hands!"

And so I do! Though my friends were slightly dismayed when I asked them to don the mitts and display a silly mug, they did eventually agree...so yay! 

As I looked over the resulting photos from the 2023 hand sessions, I couldn't help but notice how beautiful these hands are. 

Their beauty is not the result of fancy polish or finger exercises...it comes from living and loving and learning, and their beauty grows as they keep going. 

Thank you, ladies, for letting me get silly and take pictures of you and your hands. And thanks for all the ways your hands have helped me through the years. 

Thanks also to Shana, who has helped me to see the beauty in my own hands. Maybe I won't balk so much next time! (By the way, if you like these gloves, Shana has a pattern coming out soon...seems like she always has another great pattern coming out! Check out Shanalines Designs to see all her designs and patterns!)

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

Full Hands, Full Heart

I have said that my hands are often full of knitting, and if youve been around the blog for any time at all, you know it's true! In fact, I've always had my hands full of something...and it's usually knitting...

Sometimes baking...

Sometimes blogging,  and sometimes something else. I simply love creating something from nothing...it is so satisfying!

My daughter has inherited this trait, and she makes things when she can... but usually her hands are full of BOYS!

Yes, three boys are a handful! She and her hubby are doing a great job, but they rarely sit still long enough to enjoy it quietly. They enjoy it at full speed and volume!

I have heard that there are quiet moments after bedtime, but if I recall the days of young motherhood at all, I'll bet those quiet moments in the evenings are replaced by soft snoring as mom and dad fall asleep on the couch! 

Still, she bakes and crafts (a bit) and generally has a good time watching their personalities come to the surface...and so do I.

Even though the girls recently relocated farther away, I'm glad to report that they are also crafty! 

I look forward to visiting them someday "on the Prairie," but until then, I'll just keep knitting. Filling my hands with holiday fun!

So, in short (too late, I know), my hands and my heart are full. I hope yours are as well! Leave me a comment to let me know what you've been working on!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

[Knitting] With the Fishes

Yeah, yeah, yeah...knitting with the fishes isn't really a thing...unless this is what's coming off the needles!

Lately my knitting is colorful and pastel, and these little fish make me think that little bunnies for Easter may be in my future! I'm sure I could sub in ears for that tail, and wouldn't little rabbits be cute? 

So, we'll see what happens...but this day has gotten away from me, so I'm signing out here. 😉 I hope the rest of your Saturday is good! 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!