Knitting, Grill, and Garden

Well, the throw is finished!  Actually, it grew pretty fast and I was happy about that. I think it looks great.

So now, I am on to socks.  Socks are nice because they are portable and finish fairly quickly. I like that you have the easy rib and leg and foot and also a few brief focus points like the heel and gusset.
This pair is the Rye Light pattern from TinCanKnits. I really enjoyed doing the regular beginners pattern on double points, but I just could not get my yarn to stay on the needles for the 'light' pattern. So, I am doing these by magic loop.

For now, these seem kind of largish and floppy compared to other socks I have made. Admittedly, I did not do a gauge swatch (for shame!), and the yarn has some alpaca in it, so it is--as usual--an adventure. I'm enjoying making socks at the moment and have plans for a cardigan sometime soon too.
My husband has been grilling a lot lately and got this idea from somewhere to grill romaine lettuce. It is fantastic! Who would have thought!

He saw a recipe for grilled watermelon as well. Of course, I dismissed that--until I tried the romaine!

Many days I find myself slow to start anything--slow to begin knitting or reading or weeding. I seem to spend a lot of time watching birds visit the pond or just wandering around in the garden.
It is a pretty amazing place.  I feel so lucky to be here in this little oasis.

Knitting a Throw

I am not a blanket knitter. Knitting or crocheting a blanket takes a long time. Often it is repetitive. If I am going to spend a long time making something, I want it to be a sweater, something with a little challenge to it now and then, some variation in the task. In my life, I have crocheted two baby blankets and one throw.

However, when I moved, I had the back of my sofa in view instead of against a wall, and I knew what it needed was a knitted blanket draped over the back to break up and soften the lines. I found the perfect kit from Skeino and ordered it.

Well, then I decided to move the sofa, so the back is no longer visible. The kit had arrived and was sitting on top of my yarn boxes. I had told myself I would not buy yarn on impulse until I had finished all my project designated yarn and full skeins. I had finished my Lush sweater--using all but about 24 inches of the designated yarn (eek!), and used an old, old skein of Cascade to make some socks. The only thing I had left was the throw.

So.

I got it out and cast on 180 stitches.

As you can see, it is a three balls of yarn thing, with one of the yarns being a lace weight thread of alpaca. It gives the project a soft halo which I love. It is a simple back and forth all knit no purl piece which is finished when all the yarn is used up. It takes a little thought because you have to slide the needle sometimes instead of turning the work, and it is a little hard to do in chair. The yarn is gorgeous!

However, it is a blanket of a sort, and I am not a blanket making person.

I am hoping to have it done by the end of March.