life with a chronic disease and a really big yarn stash
Hello Summer: Rainy Day Knits
Yesterday was the first day of summer. It was a cold and gloomy day. It rained, it hailed, it snowed in the mountains. The afternoon was filled with flashes of lightening and the booms of thunder. I kept the television on and watched the footage of a storm chaser stalking a supercell on the plains east of me while I knitted. (Here’s a supercell shot by Meteorologist Cory Reppenhagen last month.) Yep, just another crazy day in Colorado.
Hello summer. I thought you would never get here.
There has been so much water over the last two weeks it has been astonishing. I’m not complaining, really I’m not. The water is free, I don’t have to pay to put any on the lawn, and unlike many others in the United States, I haven’t sustained damage. Okay, the roses have taken a couple of hits and there was the matter of a destroyed tree, but I’m still grateful that we weren’t hit by a flash flood (even through the phone went off with a flash flood alert one day this week…) or baseball sized hail. Life is good.
I’ve been attacking the yard in the short rain-free openings in the weather, but mostly I have been knitting. There has been lots of knitting. Check it out:
I’ve made a lot of progress on a Suburban Wrap (Joji Locatelli) for my extremely knitworthy niece. This is such a fun knit: because of the color and pattern changes I just keep knitting and knitting so that I can get to the next fabulous section. My project notes are here.I’m also knitting on my new arm warmers that will match my No. 5 Union Street socks that I made a few weeks ago. I’m having so much fun knitting on these in the evenings while listening to The Clockmaker’s Daughter. The book is excellent, full of rich detail and compelling characters who are introduced as the story evolves; the story is centered around a remarkable old home. How fitting that I’m listening to this book as I knit arm warmers that are designed to reflect the architectural details of an old home located at No. 5 Union Street in Stonington, Connecticut. My project notes are here.I have another What the Fade?! shawl going too. I love brioche knitting (after surviving a rather traumatizing learning curve that left me dreaming nightmares that involved picking up dropped brioche stitches…), and this shawl is the one that I pick up in the evenings while binge watching Netflix. My project notes are here.Finally I have this little sock going as there always has to be a small project that can be stuffed into a bag that can head out on a trip with me at a moments notice. This is another of my ubiquitous 64 stitch vanilla socks based on the Dave pattern by Rachel Coopey.
Today is the second day of summer, and guess what is happening outside? Yep, you guessed it: it is raining!
As soon as I get this posted I will be settling down to knit. Again. June is going to be a pretty productive month when I total up all of the yarn that has been used up this month. The “Get 50 Skeins Out of the Stash” resolution project is looking pretty good at the moment.
I just have to get some of these projects done! Maybe I can just weigh them to figure out how much yarn has been used by the end of June? Must knit faster!
I weave, knit and read in Aurora, Colorado where my garden lives. I have 2 sons, a knitting daughter-in-law, a grandson and two exceptionally spoiled kittens. In 2014 I was diagnosed with a serious rare autoimmune disease called systemic sclerosis along with Sjogren's Disease and fibromyalgia.
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It sounds as if you have been having the same weather that I have been experiencing here in the Midwest. It has rained buckets! Knitting looks amazing as usual 🙂
I think that the Midwest has been getting slammed by the rain even more than us. At least fire season shouldn’t be too bad this year, but good grief, this is nuts!
I agree it is totally nuts! We are experiencing more storms as I type. I swear I am going to need to start building an ark! 🙂
Remember to take fiber animals!!
🙂
Yes, my daughter and I were laughing at our version of the first day of summer. Like you, we had severe thunderstorms. Pouring rain made it difficult for highway driving. Then once we had made it back to our home town, we had more severe weather with high winds and more pouring rain. I am grateful to not have to water the lawn and for the cooler temperatures but I have seen very high water and horrible flooding as I drove through Iowa. The Mississippi River in St Louis was flooding as well.
It has been crazy. I’m glad you were safe on your drive! This week should be less wet, but I kind of worry about all the water in our mountains. The runoff is late this year, and all that water is heading to the rivers!
My roses are thriving with all this moisture. I must grab some pictures before it starts raining again, and then it’s back to knitting. You can see sky I’m getting so much done.
Yarn, Books & Roses 
I love Joji Locatello’s patterns!
Me too! She is one of my go to designers who has never let me down. 🙂
Isabel kraemer is my absolute favorite for sweaters! Joji’s shawls are amazing!
Now you’re talking! Isabel Kraemer, Caitlin Hunter, and Joji Locatelli are the big three for me.
The knits look fantastic! Your niece will love the shawl. The colors are spectacular.
I hope you continue to stay safe from that nasty weather:)
I’ve been sending my niece updates as I knit and she always sends back gratifying responses… you know, she is the most knitworthy person ever.
Today the storms are more well behaved as it is cooler. I just went out to the store and it is 55 degrees! Strange summer!
It sounds as if you have been having the same weather that I have been experiencing here in the Midwest. It has rained buckets! Knitting looks amazing as usual 🙂
I think that the Midwest has been getting slammed by the rain even more than us. At least fire season shouldn’t be too bad this year, but good grief, this is nuts!
I agree it is totally nuts! We are experiencing more storms as I type. I swear I am going to need to start building an ark! 🙂
Remember to take fiber animals!!
🙂
Yes, my daughter and I were laughing at our version of the first day of summer. Like you, we had severe thunderstorms. Pouring rain made it difficult for highway driving. Then once we had made it back to our home town, we had more severe weather with high winds and more pouring rain. I am grateful to not have to water the lawn and for the cooler temperatures but I have seen very high water and horrible flooding as I drove through Iowa. The Mississippi River in St Louis was flooding as well.
Your shawl is looking great. Lucky niece!
It has been crazy. I’m glad you were safe on your drive! This week should be less wet, but I kind of worry about all the water in our mountains. The runoff is late this year, and all that water is heading to the rivers!
You are getting a lot of knitting done! All your projects are looking wonderful! Though I’m sorry you are getting so much rain.
My roses are thriving with all this moisture. I must grab some pictures before it starts raining again, and then it’s back to knitting. You can see sky I’m getting so much done.