Friends, Foes, and Flowers

The Herd made some new friends this past weekend! They were excited to get some grain snacks. The girls are looking wistfully at Dark Star’s good fortune. 

Not to worry though, Cherise stepped right up for her turn at the bucket. Peggy-O did not partake, though it may be a bit hard to see with that mop on her head.

One thing they all agreed upon was that those dogs are under suspicion. The alpacas are standing guard and have a few choice scary clickety-clicks to share with the four-legged guests. 

But not to worry, those girls were tied up safely at the other end of the pasture, enjoying a snooze and the occasional wrestling! (And super adorable. I did not capture a still shot, sadly.)

Finally, here are some spring flowers to mark their dates of bloom. March 25

March 10

March 15

Enjoy the changing season!

Sock Repair Complete!

Turns out that sock repair has a long prep time before one actually gets to knit. Separating the part with the hole from the rest of the sock was fraught with partially felted wool and, of course, tiny stitches to pick up. 

But as you can see, the results are two perfectly serviceable pairs of socks. Not sure my sock knitting rate is as quick as the Yarn Harlot, because 14 rows on the striped sock and 28 decrease rows on the purple toe took a lot longer than I have time to knit in two days. Knitting 10 rows on two socks every day is a good starting point, but maybe I only need to do five  

It took very little time before China Cat Sunflower found these comfy knits to lay down on!

And create mayhem by playing with them during the photo shoot!

 I’m off to find some matching sock needle sets and select my first pattern and yarn…

Imminent Sock Repair

 Happy Valentines Day! I half-heartedly (pun intended) tried to knit all of my friends some Little Hearts, but alas, only two are half finished. I definitely have more friends, so that idea will be on hold for another year. 

Inspired by the Yarn Harlot’s 2024 resolution to knit 10 rows on two socks every day, I decided that maybe I’ll try the idea on a few socks that need repair. The striped ones need about 14 rows reknit where the washing machine chewed the top, and the purple ones have about 25 rows with decreases to repair a hole in the toe. 

It also turns out that my stash contains 9 brilliant skeins of sock yarn. If the Yarn Harlot can finish a pair of socks in 22 days with the aforementioned method, maybe I’ve found a way to become a sock knitter after all. 

It’s Monday. It’s Done.

Another Done by Monday blanket has emerged at precisely the moment where the temperatures dropped below zero (and will remain there for at least a week). Without weaving in the ends Saturday night, I put it between the top sheet and feather blanket, and sleep was ultra cozy. Who doesn’t love laying under an entire sheep’s worth of yarn!?

China Cat Sunflower also has a deep appreciation for the blanket. He kept climbing underneath as I was knitting it and was not bothered when I had to rearrange it at the ends of the rows. His perfect color match makes me think I might keep this blanket… and make the rest of my wardrobe in this shade of gray! 

I used 12.5 skeins of yarn, held double on this pattern, Afghan #11 by JoAnne Turcotte. I wanted a slightly longer blanket for tall people in the family. It will be interesting to see how much the garter ridges will grow when I block it. The yarn was hand processed and hand spun by a woman named Anne Cohee. She taught art in a public school out east and sold her hand spun goods at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. Judging by the labels in the box, it’s possible that the sheep lived three decades ago and this yarn was made in the 1990s. I acquired the yarn from a friend of my mom’s, who was friends with Anne. An heirloom to treasure, for sure! 

As this is still early-ish January, I wanted to share a great resolution thought with you. A friend of mine asked her grade school age son what his resolutions are, and he answered: I don’t have any. I like the person I am. The statement stopped me in my tracks! Adopting this mindset, I added for myself that I have the tools to competently complete any goals I choose to take on. 

With that deep thought, I will be publishing this post and work on a goal for today! 

Happy knitting, and stay warm and safe!