The Skies Are Cloudy All Day

Yesterday the region roundabout Exit 151 was awash in heavy rain and flash flooding, with some locations receiving what is ordinarily a month's worth of rain in a few hours from a storm characterized as smaller-scale. Welcome to the Anthropocene, when formerly 100-year weather events become both more common and harder to forecast. I stayed home (because I can) and worked on my Bonfire Crescent Shawl by Annie Lupton for the Yarnia Knit Collage MAL. Apologies for the bad-light photo, the sky today remains overcast.



So far both the MC and the CC are thick-and-thin Spun Cloud which as its name suggests is light and soft. I'm not much liking knitting with it. I used the backwards-E cast on to reduce bulk and will carry the MC through the color changes without breaking it, also to reduce bulk. Theoretically it should be possible to spit-splice the MC and CCs together (except for Wildflower, of course), but I plan to splice the CC ends together instead to avoid weaving in. To be continued....

Trying It

In this strange time, both post-covid yet also still not over it, I've become convinced we've collectively lost our damn minds. For a personal example, I'm ignoring my Excavated Object. For another, I tried Y3000 Coke, purportedly co-created using artificial intelligence. It tastes sweet n' fruity and the label is strangely soft-focus fuzzy. I don't plan to drink any more of it. I'm not sure why I drank it at all. Well, except to give it a try.



Through the end of October Yarnia is sponsoring a Knit Collage make-along. Despite misgivings, I decided to give it a try. I bought a US size 13 (9 mm) circular needle, shown here with a pen for scale. It's really big. It's what's specified in the pattern, Bonfire Crescent Shawl



I bought the requisite yarn, main color Knit Collage Spun Cloud in colorway High Vibes. It's a fluffy bulky-weight thick-and-thin yarn plied with two strands of lurex.



And I bought the contrast colors (and textures) in the Knit Collage Yarn Sampler Mini Kit, colorway Bouquet, which is comprised of 17 yd (15.5 m) lengths of Spun Cloud, colorway French Vanilla; Dreamland, colorway Circle Game; Wildflower, colorway Beatnik; Daisy Chain, colorway Grand Prismatic; Cast Away, colorway Chasing Rainbows.



It must be admitted I am a lover of strange yarns. This bundle is passing strange. Some of the yarn is badly overspun. Dreamland and Daisy Chain are plied with random bits of lace flowers and whatnot. Wildflower is knotted strips of thin cotton fabric. I've hand-wound the yarns into balls. Y'know, for the sake of trying it. To be continued....

Excavated Object

For the SKA August challenge, finishing WIPs, I excavated a gray version of Embossed Leaves by Mona Schmidt that was cast on in November 2007. Needless to add, it's been a UFO for a long time. The most recent photo of it was taken in January 2008. Here's what the sock looked like then.



It's well-preserved, in the August 25 (2023) proof of sock photo it looks like it scarcely aged a day.



Er, or put another way, there hasn't been much progress on this work in progress in 16 years. Can I finish the pair before the end of the month? To be continued....

Friendship Bracelet Swap

One of this summer's many pleasures has been watching the excitement surrounding the two Taylor Swift Memorial Day weekend concerts at the Meadowlands. Somehow I'd never made friendship bracelets when I was a jeune fille, and I was particularly agog at the Swifties and their multitudinous bracelets and culture of gifting and swapping. So of course I signed up for the LSG Friendship Bracelet Swap.

Swifties seem to favor bracelets made of beads with in-group messages strung on elastic cord, but I went with old school knotting and embroidery floss, and later switched to tapestry cotton. It took watching several Masha Knots tutorials and a couple false starts, but I finally knotted a basic chevron bracelet out of DMC Soft Cotton aka Cotton Retors No. 4 and sent it on its way to my downstream secret pal. The Slytherin-ish colors and 100% cotton are per specs. Be it ever so humble, it's another FO.



My upstream secret pal, revealed to be Andy aka CheerfulOtter's spouse, sent this distillation of summer. I love it – the bright colors, the fancy knotting, the summery vibe – everything.



I'm going to wear it everywhere during the last, luscious weeks of summer.

Hawai'i Wildfires

I had intended to blog cheerily about my newest FO, but instead have been riveted by the devastating wildfires on the island of Maui and the island of Hawaii. After some research I've added the donate button to the right in support of a local fund addressing immediate needs on both islands through a network of churches, the Hawai'i 2023 Wildfires Relief Fund. Or you may prefer the Maui Strong Fund, also local, which funds other nonprofits and focuses on the island of Maui.

And here's the FO, a water bottle cozy. I'm quite pleased with this one. I use 'em to protect the finish on my water bottle when it's in my tote bag.



Although the irony of finishing a water bottle cozy while watching a conflagration just guts me.