The weather has been just crazy here. In the mornings the air is cool, the sky is bright blue, bees rule in the garden, and birdsong echoes through the backyard. The cats and I head outside to the catio where I enjoy my current book and morning latte while the cats chase the occasional miller moth and stalk bunnies from their side of the wire. When my latte is finished, I get a little gardening done while the flowerbeds are in the shade and the cats doze on the deck.
See how cool it is out in the yard? That huge mushroom just appeared under one of my trees. Several plantings are now starting to bloom, and the roses are covered with buds. Mornings outdoors are really cool!! By noon clouds are gathering, gloom begins to gather in the house, and ominous rumbles start to sound to the west. The afternoon thunderstorms are piling up and moving east; sometime soon there will be rain, lightening, thunder, hail and hopefully no tornado alert…
Trapped indoors, I spend the gloomy afternoons tinking back on my current knitting project, the Soldotna Crop.
What is going on? Well, there have been an endless run of knitting misadventures with the sweater. First of all, I started knitting this sweater while wearing braces on both wrists. Yeah. The tension was a little funky. I frogged the sweater after a couple of days and started over. I transitioned to compression wrist braces and managed to get a couple of inches into the sweater. Um… the short row turns left holes in the fabric of the sweater, so I frogged back and reknitted that evening using German short rows. Great. I finally got to the colors and started knitting the chart.
Yeah. I didn’t like the way the third color, the turquoise multi, looked. I wanted the gold next to the dark plum. I tinked back and dug around in the yarn stash.
I really liked the gold yarn in the #3 slot, but the light silver was too light, literally. The weight of the yarn made it seem flimsy in the knitting, so… I tinked it back out. Back to the stash.
There was more tinking. I don’t want to talk about it. Two days ago, I knit back with the newest color order and this what I got.
I think that I’m done tinking for now; the plan is to just keep knitting and let the color chips fall where they may. My hands are feeling so much better that I can knit pain-free again, but I am still wearing the compression wrist braces for now. I’m almost halfway through the color chart and my gauge is spot on. I’m feeling pretty good about the knitting and there is only one last concern hanging over me… I sure hope that this thing fits!!
Have you wondered how the Scrunch socks that I started while struggling with tendonitis are doing?
So, that was the week. Beautiful mornings, lots of rain, and adventures in knitting every afternoon and evening.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Yarn, Books & Roses 
Your blog title made me laugh before I opened up the post .. and then I read it and didn’t feel a lot like laughing – but I understood all. I reckpn (sorry to offend) that the whole colour problem lies in the variegation of the blue; that a solid colour would’ve solved it all much quicker.
Very interesting to read of your weird weather, Marilyn; it sure does seem as if you lot up there in USA-land are reaping what you sowed, with a vengeance ! I don’t know why we aren’t, down here: but I fear it’s coming. Only fair, seeing as how we’re possibly the worst emissions-releasers there are, per head ..
Your point about a solid color is exactly why I started digging in the yarn stash to see if I could find a nice semi-solid color to use. Then I decided to try the variegated again, but in a different location. I’m already thinking to myself, “if this doesn’t work, you can just make another one…”
About the weather; it looks like there is a big change taking place in the Pacific as there is a strong El Nino setting up. I suspect that the weather we are having is connected to that. They had unprecedented hot weather in the northwest that kind of set up the fires that Canada is dealing with now. You’re heading into winter right, so maybe you will be spared the craziness for another season. I’m a little nervous about the hurricane season up here.
It isn’t so many years since they discovered how weather patterns over the oceans affect parts of countries that are in the middle or on the other sides of continents. There are probably more things for them to find out about meteorology !!
i really like the colour combination you chose in the end 🙂 knit on Marilyn
Thanks. I’m hoping to be done with the tinking and ripping!!
“Wait,” I thought, “she doesn’t live in Alaska!” I admire anyone who can deal with a pattern that intricate. (Say “catio” very quietly, please, because my boy doesn’t know what they are and he’d probably kill for one.) I had to look up “tink.” Knit spelled backwards. 🙂
Naw, I’m out in eastern Aurora. It has been so cool and wet here that I haven’t even taken the winter Styrofoam insulator off the faucet yet in the backyard. THE CATIO IS JUST AMAZING AND I WISH I HAD DONE IT SOONER!!! I did mean to explain “tink” and I’m glad that I didn’t use the other term “frog” for the portion that I just ripped off the needles. (It is called “frogging” because you rip it, rip it…) Tinking is so slow, but better when working with colorwork.
Well, I already have a covered deck. Just need chicken wire … I’m up in Thornton. Have yet to turn on my sprinklers.
I had a pergola over my deck. I took down the top timbers but kept the upright timbers at the corners and the rails at the outer edges so that I could easily put up the chicken wire. I’m slowly working out how to put in a screen door. I especially love the umbrella that I have over the table on the deck and envy you the covered deck.
Love, love, love the last colorway! Good job! Keep knitting! Love the socks, too!
Thanks!! I think that I finally have a winner here. I love that the tendonitis has finally calmed down.
At least the morning was very peaceful
Your yard and gardens look wonderful! Mine is still a jungle. Happily, I will start with the front yard tomorrow. I am glad your wrists are feeling better! Your final color choice for the Soldotna is perfect. I never hesitate to frog or tink. In the end, I want something I am going to love.
Ha! The back flowerbed is referred to as the “Weedy Wilderness” in my mind, and I have a patch of grass that needs to be hand cut since it is about 2 feet tall. I left it for “no mow May” and I’m glad that I did, but now it waves in the wind like a personal reproach every time I glimpse it. I finally pulled out two garbage bags of weeds this week and it is starting to look a little better. I have really focused on the front flowerbeds and they are looking great. All this rain has been huge in turning things around; my lawn is even recovering even though it is being assaulted by hungry bunnies on a daily basis.
I’m in your camp about frogging and tinking. I think that it is more important to produce something that I will want to wear instead of pouring work into something that will make me unhappy and never worn. I’m definitely a process knitter and not focused on getting something done quickly. In fact, it is kind of a problem when I’m between projects as I hunt for something to do with my hands…
Wow crazy weather, it’s been abnormally dry here and 2 of my waterbutts are empty already. It was also very warm for here today. I’m glad you finally came to a good choice of colours, worth the tweaking and tinking.
Your garden and the catio look like such a magical place! I’m so glad your hands are doing better and that everything is growing well in spite of the wild weather! Your Soldotna Crop is just beautiful – love your final color choices 🙂
Thank you!
That’s a lot of sorting out, but it looks like you are finally happy with your choices. I’m always impressed when I look at your work. Kitties look happy on the Catio. That’s a nice way to spend the mornings. That hail is really something else. The strangeness of the summer weather continues around the world. Are you dealing with any of the smoke from the Canada fires? They’re brutal.
The smoke from Canadian fires hit us here in Colorado about three weeks ago. It was really bad for several days and then the wind patterns changed. Luckily we have lots of experience with this; I have a mask that absorbs smoke particles, a great air purifier, and I used the air recycler in the car.
You are prepared! That makes sounds amazing.
I’m sorry for your jumper woes, but also glad it’s not just me having to undo a jumper a bunch of times.
I loved all of the possible colour combinations, but especially the one with turquoise so fingers crossed it turns out beautiful for you.
I made the soldotna a couple of years ago as KAL but we all found the neckline was very different to that in the picture. I never wore mine. I think the pictures make it look very pretty but the end result is a bit disappointing
I worried about the neckline and reknitted it once to firm up the fabric. I finally did a steam block to smooth the neckline to make sure it would fit right. I noticed that it was tighter than the picture in the pattern on several knitter’s project pages so I went up a size. I’m happy with the end product, but I wish it was a little looser.