yarn along:: february, 2024: project successes and failures

The snow has melted, and we've had several rounds of illness visit the house in the past few months.  Never sweeping through to lay us all flat at once, and not causing a slow domino cascade either, the germs have touched one here and one there.  Our most recent visitor was the flu, and we had just one child in bed with symptoms.  I have been making soups like it's my business and pushing fluids, vitamins, tea, oils, and whatever other tinctures my people will deign to try.  My current favorite is sage and ginger tisane, a spicy and soothing combination.  It's emphatically not my children's favorite.

All that to say, I have had several pockets of rest at home in the last month, and more than usual time to knit.  I set some goals for my making this year:

• Finish things (knitting and sewing) begun before 2024, with the exception of two blankets.  Make progress on those anyway!
• Use up as much stash yarn and fabric as possible.  Stash-free by 2026!
• Become a faster knitter.

I've ticked the box on the first two goals this past month.  Off the needles are two pairs of socks, a sweater, a hat, several blanket squares, and a felted mat, although the mat still needs a woolly tattoo.  

The finished hat was such a disaster I didn't even snap a photo.  I used Plötulopi, the last of the plates in my stash, held triple for the bulky Manhattan hat.  And even if I hadn't had gauge issues, and loved the resulting fabric, the hat style isn't flattering for me.  I felted the thing, hoping to use the resulting fabric, but even that was impossible!  With the remaining 34g, I followed the Granny's favorite dishcloth pattern to make a felted mat for catching tea drips.  The silver lining is that I used up all the Plötulopi in my stash, and my white counter no longer has tea ring stains!  

The two pairs of socks I finished were Harvest socks in Pirika Sock and some cuff-down vanilla socks in Opal KFS Circus 100.  Although I love the finished product, I didn't love knitting the Harvest sock pattern.  I'm going to try again, though.  

This month's knitting goals include finishing the Paul Klee I started in December 2023 and working on my Briogarter Split shawl, begun May 2022.  

I'm reading The Cloister Walk for a book club and Jayber Crow for myself, and while I like both of them tolerably, there's something missing in both.  For me, at any rate.  I need to read more of both to develop this thought.  Maybe I'll share what I conclude, or maybe that type of exploration requires tea and in-person discussion.  We'll see.

Happy reading and stitching!