I owe you quite a bit of catching up. I did not intend such a long break between posts. The larger the gap got, the harder it became to start. There’s knitting, business, life, and reading to update you about, so let’s begin with knitting.
KNITTING
I have one project on the needles that I am currently working on. That is a sweater for my youngest son. He picked it as one of his Christmas presents.
He wanted a light-blue sweater. I had to purchase the yarn because, if you can believe it, I was lacking that in my stash. I ordered some Cascade 220 from Webs in mid- December and cast on around Christmas week.
The pattern is a basic pieced raglan pullover knit with a waffle-weave stitch pattern. I have completed and blocked both of the body pieces. I am almost finished knitting the first sleeve. I have most of two skeins left from the six that I ordered, so I should have plenty to complete the project.
I also finished knitting the Mystery Musikal Shawl by Stephen West. I am quite happy with it. There was only a tiny bit of the yarns I used left. I used all of the Heather( the darker purple). More details can be found at the Ravelry link to my project page.
I have one other project still partially completed and on hold since October, when I began knitting the Mystery Musikal Shawl. That is my Summershine Top. I plan to pick that back up, I think, when I finish my son’s sweater.
BUSINESS UPDATES
In December and January we finished working on two big batches of Cherry Yarn Swifts.
In mid-December we added a new polishing wheel to our shop. After seeing what a lovely job that did on our new batch of Darning Eggs, I couldn’t resist pulling out all the rest of the inventory, including all the Nostepinnes, and upgrading them. It took a couple of days, but it was worth the effort. They look even more amazing than they were before. I apologize that I neglected to get any pictures. Maybe next time.
We have some new Nostepinnes currently in production. During January, we received 17 boxes of yarn to dye. I am working on dye preparations right now. Dyeing will probably happen sometime in the next week, weather permitting.
LIFE UPDATES
Speaking of weather, the second half of January has certainly been interesting.
As you may have heard, Nashville got hit especially hard by Fern. At first, we were supposed to be getting all snow, maybe as much as one foot. The storm shifted and what began as 5- 6 inches of snow, turned to sleet, and then freezing rain for a whole day. That happened on Sunday, January 25th.
We lost power around 9 am that day. The temperatures plummeted and we didn’t get our electricity restored until Tuesday afternoon, around 2:30 pm. Many were without power for a lot longer.
My birthday was on Monday, so not a fun one, but it’s fine I got over it. We survived using our propane for heating a couple rooms and doing some rudimentary cooking. I made myself a carrot cake later that week and did a little books hopping the following Sunday.
We have also dealt with a couple rounds of minor illnesses in January and early February, but we are better now and will hopefully remain so.
READING
Since I mentioned books, let me update you on what I have been or am currently reading.
December/January Reads:
- These Silent Woods – Kimi Cunningham Grant ****
- The Haunting Season – Various Authors***
- The House Next Door – Anne Rivers Siddons****
- The Final Girl Support Group – Grady Hendrix***
- The Dept. of Rare Books and Special Collections – Eva Juczyk****
- A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens (read this every December)*****
- A tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens****
- The Winter Spirits:-Ghostly Tales for Frosty Nights – Various Authors****
- The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle – Stuart Turton****
- Lessons – Ian McEwan***
- Black Woods, Blue Sky – Eowyn Ivey****
- The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro*****
- Mornings on Horseback – David McCulloch ( read with Elijah for school)***
Currently Reading:
After Midnight – Daphne Du Maurier
The Last House on Needless Street – Catriona Ward
The Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge – Calvin Coolidge ( reading with Elijah for school)
CLOSING
That seems like enough for now. I hope that this breaking of the ice will help to get me back to a more normal posting interval. Take care until next time and as always, thank you for reading.
