Hi, everyone. We are 7 days into our Stay Home, Stay Safe, Save Lives in Michigan. Southeastern Michigan (where I live) seems to be the next hot bed for the Coronavirus. I thought books, yarn, Netflix and wine would keep me satisfied, but I was wrong. Early on, I decided I needed to feel more accomplished than that every day. So, I brought out my “Things I need to do but I really don’t want to do them” list. That helps. Early on, I also felt the need to finish something so I got out my Issey Scarf I started when I went to Linda’s for our Rose City Yarn Crawl. HERE IT IS!

I do love it. I have previously mentioned this is my all-time favorite pattern. I usually have one on my needles for traveling. I think this color is amazing and it definitely needs to go to someone with red hair. Can’t you just see this beautiful green wrapped around a neck with red hair above. And once again it always looks better on Lydia.

When I finished Issey, I suddenly had the craving for the soothing rhythm of double knit. I love double knit. Many think I am crazy but there is just something about the counting and the rhythm that calms my anxious spirit. And then there is color. I desperately needed to use a colorful evolution type of yarn.

This is Wendescal “Neue Galaxies” by Daniela Jutzi. I saw it on Pinterest sometime ago, fell in love and bought the pattern. I’ve never found the perfect yarn. The fun part of this pattern is that it is written in German. I panicked at first, but then I remembered, I know how to double knit and don’t need direction for that. All I need is the chart. So I went shopping in the Stash Studio and found this.

This is Freia Ombre’ in Dirty Hippie and my Ultra Alpaca Lite. As soon as I found Dirty Hippie, I knew I was on m way to a soothing yet invigorating experience. This is what it looked like shortly after I started.

An this is what it looks like now.

I can’t wait until the color changes. I hope you are all Staying home, staying staying and staying knitting. We’ll talk again real soon.

Who would have ever thought a month ago we would be where we are now?!?! The Coronavirus and Covid-19 have changed the way we live for a while. I have joked that I have books, yarn, Netflix and wine so I am set, but this is no joke. I have been watching the world of yarn and LYS and it’s scary for these small businesses who often operate on a shoestring. Large shows across the country have closed. Many small businesses rely on these events to stay in business. All have made a huge investment in anticipation of yarn show sales. All LYS have invested in inventory in anticipation of spring and summer yarn needs. All LYS I am familiar with have made accommodation for customers be it curb side pick up, home delivery or call in sales. Pleases help them through this tough time.

I have made a couple of changes in the way I approach my knitting. I’m going to set aside fearless knitting for a while. I am going to focus on soothing. What I learned from 9-11 is my brain doesn’t always fire as quickly when I’m anxious. I am going to focus on the zen of knitting rather than the adrenaline. I am bringing out my favorite patterns to comfort me.

Remember Olgajazzy’s Issey scarf? I have made enough to fill the fingers of two hands. It is usually my travel knitting, I started this one when I went to Linda’s in the summer of 2018.

This is the yummy Scheeples Whirligig I’m using. I should be done today. Rather than being sad and bored, I am structuring my time. For me that structuring starts with a list. I pondered what I have wanted to do in the realm of yarn and knitting but didn’t think I had time. I have been wanting to organize the Stash Studio for some time now, probably a couple of years. Now I have the time. I have wanted to become The Closer again and finish things in my tubs. Now I have the time. I have wanted to get into my “In The Queue” knitting. Now I have the time. I have wanted to write more for Knitting: A Love Story. Now I have the time. What do you say!?!? Let’s make that list together and support each other at this difficult time. My posts probably will be shorter but more frequent. Let’s lift each other up.

What a shocker! I looked at my last post on KALS and discovered it has been exactly a month. That made me think, what exactly have I been doing to be so neglectful? Let me share a couple things with you.

I started Verdigreen when I was at the Coastal Condo. The more I thought about it, the more I realized this could be a class at Ann’s By Design. It is knit in Whirligig which is a Cascade yarn. It looks difficult but it isn’t. So I started knitting the sample for the shop once we got home. I don’t think a class should be offered without a sample that people can touch, scrutinize and criticize. It’s what sells them on a class or convinces them it’s not for them.

This is what Verdigreen looks like.

And this is what Whirligig looks like. Is it coming back to you? Well, this is how much I’ve gotten done.

I think it is a great demonstration of how different colors enhance each other. I also want to do an introduction to the class on substituting yarns. I have always been a rather adventurous knitter. I’ve made substitutions that were magic and I have made substitutions that were disaterous. I must admit that I learned much from each. Do you remember JimmyBuffet’s “Son of a Son of a Sailor?” “I’ve read dozens of books about heroes and crooks and I learned much from both of their styles.” That’s exactly how my forays into yarn substitution have been. Maybe I will use this wrap when Linda Schwam and I teach our color theory class. So, that is a part of what I’ve been doing. But I still seem like pretty much a Knitting: A Love Story Slacker. Let’s go on to the next big thing.

In the fall, Carol Lane (one of my favorite regulars at Ann’s By Design) brought this pattern in. She discovered it in Ireland, hence the Celtic knot. She asked if I would teach her to do it. Of course, I said, “Of, course.” But it had to wait until March. Between fall and March we were to knit the easy part and be ready to start the diabolical Celtic cables. I did get my homework done.

These are my yummy yarns; Reserve Sport ad Merino Dreams. I already had the perfect yarn AND it came from Ann’s. Since this was going to be a quasi-class at Ann’s, I really thought the yarn needed to be from Ann’s. It is just my rule but when I social knit in a LYS, I always use yarn from the shop. So Sunday March 8 (last Sunday), we started our class.

From left to right there is Carol Lane, Sue Nelson and Linda Schwam. Oh, by the way, that knitted jacket hanging over the chair is my Crayon Box jacket I knit years ago. I love it. I talked about it early in Knitting: A Love Story. It has a wonderful story behind it or as they say in literature and the theater, it has a back story. We all came together thinking we could conquer this demon together. I had worked row 1 of the pattern 7 times by the time I got to class and I definitely was mastering that. It calls for a 1 t 5 increase and I thought, “Piece of cake!” After all I mastered the 1 to 5 increase in Jacaranda.

See the little hole in the pattern? That is a 1 to 5 increase so I was on my way.

Except do you see any hole in the Celtic cables? No! So I Googled 1 to 5 increase and watched videos for several hours. The one recommended had no audio, just two hands doing something with subtitles underneath. I never have been good with subtitles. I finally found one that gave me what I needed to proceed. I did Row 1 and went on to Row 2. Row 2 is a wrong side row but you do cable on the right side AND my 1 to 5 increases were so tight that I had a difficult time finding the stitches I needed to make the cable. We came to class ready to help each other.

The two hours we were together were a blast. But nobody left having mastered row 2. Susie got through 10 rows and didn’t like the way the elongated cable stitches worked. She frogged her’s and decided to write her own pattern. Brave lady. I pledged to Carol that I was in this for the long haul. We are going to finish this if we only get one row a week done! I had an eye doctor appointment on Wednesday and my reading prescription changed immensely. I really think that had something to do with my struggle with row 2. If you check out the picture above, my yarn is the same color as my needles. One more reason I have been struggling. I changed my needles and when I get my glasses, I think I will be flying high.

In addition to these two projects, I have been trying t get the Stash Studio into something akin to order. Have I redeemed myself? I hope so. I am really going to try to be better.