Summer Time and the Knitting is Easy

Ahhhhh, Spring 🌞🌷🌻🌱

Spring is here, summer is not far behind and you may be wondering what to knit.  Who wants a lap full of hot wool when the temperature is 90 degrees?  Here in Tennessee 90 can feel like 120. What do knitters do? 

Hot Knitting  😈    (Not that kind of hot)

Well, some of us don't knit in the summer.  After all spring and summer bring favorite past times and extra work with them.  Sunshine, camping, soccer, fishing, cookouts, picnics, gardening.  Mowing, pulling weeds, spraying, and trimming.  All come with spring and summer, and take up a lot of our time. So some knitters let Knitting fall by the way side until the first cool, crisp day of fall. 

But some savvy knitters know that Knitting is waiting for us all the time and that knitting in summer can be a stress relieving, sit outside and enjoy the warm weather change of pace. Changing when you knit can be as freeing as where and what  you knit.

What to Knit? 😎   (What the cool kids knit)

The first thing that comes to mind is, of course, socks.  Socks are a very portable project, easy to take along to your kid's soccer game, and don't make you any hotter than you already are.  

Dish/wash cloths are also a great project that is portable, mindless knitting that you can take anywhere, don't require too much attention, and won't make you hot - unless you already are.

Knitting Gifts   😍  (Love a hand-knit-just-for-you gift)

Socks and dish cloths make great gifts, and if you are knitting them in the warmer months you can bang out quite a few gifts and be ready for birthdays and Christmas before the last minute.

Coffee Maker Mat  ☕ (That cuppa joe says it all)

Here is a recent spring knit I finished:

Looks pretty doesn't it?  Red Bug Coffee, favorite cup, bowl just waiting for cereal.  I love it!  Really makes me want to drink coffee and have some Cheerios.

What ❓❓❓

Here's how we really use it:

Yeah, not so pretty, but VERY functional.  This pattern came about because our coffee maker is under the cabinet and we have to slide it out to fill it with water and ground coffee.  Counter scratches? Yes 😠  

Now, with the mat in place, the whole things scoots out, no scratches, AND it catches drips when you pour.  Husband loves it.  A definite plus. 😘

So Knitters, knit on!!!! Don't let the temps or the troubles dissuade you. You can do that summer stuff and still pick up those two sticks and a string.  🧶

📌📌📌📌📌📌📌📌📌📌📌📌

On seperate blog page I've written the Coffee Maker Mat pattern if you want to make one for yourself or as a gift.  I am the only tester, so I can't say it is free from error.  If you knit it and have a problem, let me know in the comments.  I'll try to make it right.

What Has Knitting Done for You Lately?

Dear Knitters,

I got the sweetest note and the best text a few days ago and I just have to share. Here's a little background on the note:

I designed a simple little cowl pattern several weeks ago and sent it out to 2 test knitters.  I plan to share the pattern for the Tiny Dot Cowl here at Southern Chicks with Pointy Sticks for free, but I want it to be accurate so that you, sweet knitters, have only joy in your FO, and my hope is the test knitters will find any mistakes first.  

The Sweetest Note

"Actually made it for my friend who's sister had just been told to contact a cancer doctor regarding her breast.  It was a bit of a prayer knitting project.  Well, as the grace of God; her sister's doctor shared with her that it was not anything to be concerned [with].  And my friend absolutely loves her wonderful warm and special cowl."

                                                    

Val and her Tiny Dot Cowl

 The Best Text

I've given away tons of knitted stuff: washcloths, socks, scarves, hats, pumpkins.  So much so that I can't remember every one I've gifted with knitting or what I gave them.  

"I don't know if you recognize it, but you gave me this scarf years ago.  It helped keep me toasty warm through Texas Snowmageddon 2021.  I've had that thing wrapped around my neck, shoulders, head and used it as a mask when the fire department came to help turn off the water.  Very versatile and super warm.  Thank you so much for my scarf!!!

I actually don't recognize the scarf, but I do vaguely remember knitting a scarf for my niece Christie (who lives in Texas, said I could use her name, show her picture, and that she loves me very much!) Well that just made my day! 

How can something as simple as two sticks and a string bring compassion, kindness, warmth, togetherness, love?  .  

Knitting does a lot for us.  It gives us a creative outlet that satisfies us and brings happiness to others. Knitting gives us a sense of community, whether it's with a group of other makers or the community we share with all those who have knitted down through the ages. It brings us a sense of accomplishment, a goal to achieve, a peaceful pastime.  Knitting does all of this for us.  All we have to do is pick up those two sticks and a string.

💗A special thanks to Val and Christie:

Val, thanks for your generosity in sharing your time and knitting the Tiny Dot Cowl, and for sending me pictures and feedback. 

Christie, thank you for wearing something I knit for you and for sharing your picture and story.  I'm so glad your scarf is useful and warm, and I'm so glad you survived Snowmageddon 2021.  

Since We've Been Gone

 Our last blog post was May, 2020 (when we all had perfect vision, as Husband said).  And the thing he said would happen, happened.  Summer came and with it came mowing, gardening, home improving, etc, and the blog took a back seat and sort of fell asleep. 

So here is the first post of 2021 (we are all old enough to drink, as Husband says, and after the year we've had, a drink might be just the thing).  

Knitting and I started on the first day of summer knitting pumpkins, because I like to be prepared and I wanted a bunch of them. I found the perfect free pattern on ravelry and away we knitted.  Using Plymouth Yarn Hot Cakes Yarn at WEBS | Yarn.com in the Autumn Mix colorway we made a bunch of them in sooooo many colors: orange, gold, blue, purple......... and then I made some for friends with fall birthdays.  So cute.

That lasted from summer through fall (Knitting was slow because  of mowing, gardening, etc) until Thanksgiving when Knitting and I ramped up for Christmas. Four Santa hats, a Candy Cane scarf, a sheep cowl (here's the link to the free ravelry pattern: Ravelry: I'll Pack A Cowl for Rhinebeck pattern by Deb Jacullo  and a KAL with Elizabeth Smith Knits and our year was officially over!

Tiny pumpkins were quick to knit up and they stayed out from first of fall till after Thanksgiving. I made different sizes by using different size DPN's.  Here's a link to the free ravelry pattern:  

 Ravelry: Harvest Moon Pumpkins pattern by Kiki Geiger

Grandpuppy Kilo's hat is a premie hat with some modifications to make it a little more of a Santa hat.  His ears stayed warm 😀

Joe Lope came out ahead (ahem) when Knitting and I made him a Santa hat AND a Candy Cane scarf.  

We made this just because I like sheep.

Audrey's Cardigan from Elizabeth Smith.  This was THE BEST!  More info coming on this KAL in the next blog post.

And there you have it.  Our knitting year came to an end and finished on what we like to think was a high note.  Sadly, we can't say the same for Covid; it's still here and we're still dealing with it, but it is my prayer that it will end soon. I have turned to Knitting for many reasons, but I never thought Knitting would help me cope with a pandemic.  

Here's a Shout Out to a few other helpers:

Red Bug Yarn and Gifts in Murray, KY        https://www.redbugyarnandgifts.com/

    They weren't open for in-person shopping, but they were just a phone call             away for practically anything I wanted to order.

Berroco Yarn Company                https://berroco.com/

    Genius drop ship plan so that you could order from your LYS and Berocco              would send it to you. LYS and Berocco made a profit and Knitting and I had          yarn.  Win -Win!

USPS

    They delivered.

When It Doesn't Look Like the Picture

Hello all!  Knitting here!  I’m filling in for Pam on this blog post today.  She has gotten herself into such a tizzy that she is almost unable to function.  Well, maybe it’s not quite to that extent, but she is in a bad way. 

What, you may be wondering could have brought her to her knees weeping (at least in the knitting world)?  

A chart.

You see, it all started when LYS Red Bug Yarn and Gifts had a deal with a free pattern when you purchase Berrocco’s Modern Cotton, and naturally she wanted to support Red Bug (especially during this shutdown), so she ordered Modern Cotton, but instead of using the free pattern they gave her, she found a beautiful shawl pattern on Berroco’s website and she fell in love with it. Do you ever do that?  Find a pattern and decide that you must make it?  Anyway, the chart seemed straight forward enough with only a few symbols, so she thought, “How hard can it be?”  She has a great stitch counter and a nice line board to keep her place, and she felt confident that she and I together could do it.

Well, her package came from Red Bug and she opened it excitedly, 

Nice!  Just one call and she got it all.

printed out the free pattern from the Berroco website..... and immediately had to watch a Youtube video to make the garter stitch tab that began the shawl. 

Then, after knitting the tab about 3 times, she liked it well enough and started knitting the chart.  And then she started tearing out stitches and knitting it again.  Then the piece started forming a ‘cup’ so she tugged on it to straighten it out.  The it began to curl.  Then she started it all over.  Then the yarn had been knitted so many times that it began to fray, so she cut the knitted piece off and started again. By this time Pam and I weren’t having fun.

The next day was a beautiful sunny Saturday and she spent almost the entire day knitting on that shawl, puzzling out the chart, thinking of how she could make it work, knitting all along, and finally – finally – knitted to the last round before the repeat.  And there she still is.

She emailed Susan at Red Bug Yarn and Gifts and Susan gave her some advice, but by the time she started knitting again that little spark of understanding had gone out. She had emailed Berroco’s pattern support the night before and they very promptly answered, and again, it made sense in the email, but not when she started knitting.  Later that day she found the pattern and several who had successfully knitted it on ravelry.com.  She emailed two of them, one of them answered, and again, no joy.

Because this is becoming quite a long and dreary post, let me just say that she thought of giving up and letting it go, but that girl is like a dog with a bone and she is simply not giving up.  She joined Team Tear Out and thought she might make something else with the Modern Cotton yarn, but no.  Tonight she has started again and she has a brand new plan. 

I’ll let you know how it goes.

The Knit Goes On

A while back (in the winter) Knitting threw down a gauntlet: knit sweaters and become a better sweater knitter.

Yes, I have knit sweaters in the past, and with one exception I no longer own any of them because......well because

• They didn't turn out like the picture in the book 
• They looked awful on me
•  I felt like I was wearing a tube 
• They didn't hold up to laundering

Just pick a reason.

 The only sweater I have knitted and still own (and sometimes wear) is so stinking old and out of date.  But it's still the best sweater I have ever knitted.

So along comes a KAL courtesy of Red Bug Yarn and Gifts and Knitting nudged me and said, "Do it.  You'll be knitting a sweater and doing a KAL, two things you want to do." Never one to ignore Knitting I took the plunge, purchased the book, bought the sticks and string, and fell flat on my face.

The sweater is 'Emma' from the CocoKnits Sweater Workshop by Julie Weisenberger.  Ms. Weisenberger has designed a process to knit sweaters from the top down that fit and flatter nicely.  Her process involves filling out a worksheet with information from her book that will guide you as you begin the sweater.  Here's a link to her website https://cocoknits.com/ where you can find the Sweater Workshop book and lots of other nice stuff.  The book may be sold by your LYS, so I recommend checking there first.

Back to my story.  The worksheet was KILLING me!  I could not figure out where the numbers for the worksheet were coming from.  I could not figure out if this is row 1 or this is row 1. I could not get the way I had knitted sweaters in the past out of my head. To use a very well worn phrase, I realized I had to think outside the box. (Or as Husband likes to say, I had to get a new pair a dig 'em, aka paradigm).

Beginning yoke for Emma version B.

Yarn is Berroco's Evista

Again, thanks to the ladies at Red Bug Yarn and Gifts I have made a start on 'Emma.' With their help I got my worksheet filled in and they sent me a copy of the techniques page that was very helpful. The yarn is lovely, but a bit slippery on the needles. Knitted in Berroco's Evista on size 11 needles, almost everything about this process has been a challenge. "But that's what the gauntlet was for," whispered Knitting.  "To challenge you, to try you, to teach you."

Well, 'Emma' is coming along, and it looks like the picture.  I've tried it on and so far it fits.
So there, Knitting!  I'll take up your gauntlet and raise you a sweater!

Best Friends Forever

Knitting and I had occasion to visit Red Bug Yarn and Gifts, aka Local Yarn Shop, aka LYS a couple of weeks ago and we have decided that your LYS is possibly your best friend in the knitting world.  My own personal bestest friend was with me.  She is as good as Husband when it comes to the yarn shop: she's not a knitter but she lets me spend as much time as I want with nary a complaint.

Anyway, while visiting Red Bug, I was asked about the KAL (see previous post ARRRRGGGHHHH!) and I explained how the Knit Along was quickly becoming the Knit Alone as I was having no joy filling out the worksheet that is necessary to knit the sweater.  Red Bug ladies to the rescue! They offered to help me with the worksheet and get started knitting Emma from the CocoKnits Method book. In fact one of them is doing her sweater in the same yarn I am using, Evista.






This photo does not do Evista justice.  It is a soft, light, tape kind of yarn, with gradient color change.  I chose this color which changes from a gray-blue to a darker navy. Lots of yardage per cake (336 yds), 100% cotton, machine wash on delicate. 









If you are lucky enough to have a LYS that is really local, good for you!  Red Bug is about an hour and a half drive for Knitting and me - which is probably good for our pocket book but hard when we need a yarn fix.

So Knitting and I planned to return the next week for some much needed in-person help when - well, how to say this in a nice way?  All hell broke loose?  SHTF? Rona showed up?  Yes, the COVID-19 virus spread and Red Bug Yarn and Gifts made the decision to only offer curbside or pickup (from the front porch) service.  Knitting and I feel that Red Bug made a wise decision, and we, in no way, find fault with them.  But we were a little disappointed - not in our LYS, but just that we might be even later in the KAL (like 'finishing the sweater at this time next year' later).

Meanwhile, we started knitting a pair of socks for Husband.  Socks seldom let us down, and we hadn't knitted anything for Husband in a while. We are knitting them with Luxury Diamond Tradition yarn we bought at (yes) Red Bug Yarn and Gifts. It's a good, substantial yarn and we think they will serve husband well.

We are a good bit farther along on them than this picture, but you get the idea.  It's a nice, heathery gray color and we plan to do the toe in a coordinating variegated yarn from my stash.  Husband was pretty excited.  He likes it when the toe/heel are knitted in a different yarn.  Makes him feel snazzy!








Meanwhile Knitting and I have decided to soldier on with the KAL sweater.  Stay tuned for further developments.  And visit Red Bug Yarn and Gifts if you are near Murray, Kentucky or check them out on the web here:  https://www.redbugyarnandgifts.com

ARRRRGHGHGHG!!!!!!

Knitting and I have been spending some unhappy time together lately.  Oh, there have been some good times among the bad, but we've stressed out about a project we haven't really started yet.  It's a sweater.

Yep, the holy grail that proves you are a worthy knitter has got us feeling anxious and questioning my ability (I would never question Knitting's ability) to knit at all.  How did we get here, you ask?  Let me tell you:

It started with a KAL.  I've never done a KAL so I thought it would be fun. I was at the nearest LYS and talked to the encouraging ladies there and I decided to jump in, since I was only a week or so behind the start date.  I ordered the book.  A week later it arrived.  I spent a week wringing my hands over yarn choice.  Then I ordered the yarn. A week and a half later it arrived.  Now another week has passed during which I knitted four swatches, wet blocked one, abandoned the KAL pattern, decided on another pattern, abandoned that pattern, decided I would not let this defeat me ---- you see where this is going? I am all tensed up and feeling a little defeated just thinking about it.

The KAL ends in a couple of weeks and I feel so behind it's not even funny.  According to my latest email I should be in the home stretch, instead of at home staring at the yarn, thinking about the pattern, and wondering "how did I get here?"

Does anybody else out there have this kind of time with Knitting?

I sound a little whiney so I'm going to let that go for now.

 Meanwhile I knitted a lovely pair of socks for de feet (I know it's corny, but it made Knitting smile).  I used Malabrigo sock yarn.  Knitting and I love this yarn.  We've knitted about four pairs of socks with it and we just can't think about knitting socks with any other yarn.  And don't hand knit socks feel good on your feet?  Yes they do!

Yes, those are my feet, my socks, and my front door.  My jeans, too.

My husband says I can knit socks in my sleep, and I NEEDED to feel that Knitting and I could accomplish something, so we turned to socks, because they have seldom let us down.