Yes, I know there is only one finger left to knit, but the light was fading fast (for a decent photo) and she was was finishing these up to deliver the next day—as a shop model. Pattern by Sarah Dallas from Vintage Knits, and yarn used was Rowan Pure Wool 4-ply.
After this post, I believe I will have caught up with posting all of Virginia’s scratchcrafty goodness that she’s made over the last couple of months. There are three sweaters, two from patterns, and one of her own design. The following sweater was designed by Kristeen Griffin-Grimes for the French Girl Knits book. Virginia knit this using Rowan Kid Classic.
Next, this original sweater was knit using Rowan Yorkshire Tweed yarn.
And, hot off the needles, this cardigan, called Muse by Martin Storey (from Rowan Classic Reminiscence), was knit using Classic Elite Soft Linen.
I think I’m all caught up, for now. Now that life is beginning to return to normal, the focus of this blog (thank goodness) will return to its original purpose. I hope to post less and less of illness and more and more of all the things we like to make… and, hopefully without cramming so many projects into one post.
In addition to the socks I posted, here are the mittens that Virginia made over the last couple of months. This first pair is a pattern called Meida’s Mittens, by Nancy Bush (from her book “Folk Knitting in Estonia”).
These next ones are Latvian Fingerless Mitts, a pattern by Veronik Avery. Virginia made this pattern about a year ago, and decided to try it again with different yarn and different colors.
There is still more catching up to do. Next up will be sweaters (three of ’em).
Over the next couple of days I will do my best to post some/most of Virginia’s finished projects that have failed to make it up here. Obviously, there has been a lack in scratchcrafty goodness on the blog, but that doesn’t mean that we weren’t making stuff (or, more accurately, it doesn’t mean that Virginia wasn’t making stuff, she definitely was. I, on the other hand, had plenty of time, but little energy, so not a whole lot to show from me).
Socks are good, portable projects, and there was plenty of sock knitting happening while I was laid up in the hospital. The following represent, I think, half of the socks knitted during the last few months. For those wanting to know more specific details on these projects, or see the rest, they have been Raveled here.
Next up, mittens.
Met with the oncologist on Friday, and even though my body is still taking its time to get the white blood count up, he thought I was ready to start my second round of consolidation on Monday. So, what do you do to prepare for another round of chemotherapy? You do whatever you can to enjoy the days leading up to it, because chances are it’s going to suck (I think that’s actual medical terminology) again.
So, we did what any normal couple would do on a beautiful summer Sunday. We prepared a picnic and headed for the park.
After a hearty lunch, a chapter or two and a leisure stroll back to the car, we stopped at the Birchwood for treats (key lime pie for me, carrot cake for Virginia) and iced coffee.
Back at home, the afternoon was still beckoning us to stay outdoors, so we sat out on the deck and created some scratchcrafty goodness (for those new to this blog, that’s typically spinning and knitting around here).
Note about the yarn: The spinning of this yarn was interrupted back in March, but I decided to take advantage of feeling energized and finish it up today. This is a skein of 3-ply superwash colonnial wool, spun from about 3 oz. of dyed top, totaling 330 yards. Surprisingly, I was able to keep it the same wpi’s as when I first started. Some skills don’t get rusty, even with cancer.
Speaking of which… nah, I’ll stop talking about that for now and just enjoy the rest of the evening. I think there’s probably some more spinning on tap and an episode or two of The Avengers.