What's on my Needles - Update #2

It’s taken me so long to write this update because I really haven’t been knitting much for personal projects. Mostly designing and other content I’m creating that’s outside of hand knitting. And then life stuff, grief, my grandmother passing away (I’ll share more below), house buying, time just really got away from me. And at the same time, also realizing that my time is not based on doing all the things. My time deserves rest, it deserves fun, it deserves just existing. Life is very, very short and it doesn’t have to be spent being the must productive person on the planet. So here is me finally getting around to Update #2!

I started this segment of my blog “What’s on my Needles” to share more of my makes! Since I am no longer on Ravelry, I want to show off some personal projects, to share more of my favorite pattern designers, support my favorite yarn dyers, and showcase more makers in the industry. If you want to know what’s on my needles for pattern designs and my designing process, support me over on Patreon! This blog will have occasional round up of WIPs and FOs with more details on the yarn and the pattern beyond what I post on Instagram.

Artists Garden socks on my feet.

Artists Garden socks on the wooden floor at my grandma’s house.

First up, my only personal project FO (finished object) in the last 6 months!

I finished a pair of Artists Garden socks by Tif Neilan, @tifneilan_handknits on Instagram. It’s a DK weight sock pattern with two or three strands of fingering weight yarn held double. I used a bunch of leftover yarn from older projects. The pattern is written for DK weight or Worsted weight depending on if you hold two or three yarns together. I chose the DK weight version and with closed toes. The pattern also has an open-toe option as foot warmers if you prefer. I initially wrote this following part of this blog at the end of January when my grandmother was still alive. I want to still share it as it’s a glimpse of my thoughts at that point in time I’ll like to keep around.

End of January: I made these socks for my grandma. I talked about it in my previous update that my grandma has myeloma, which is a cancer of the plasma cells in her bones. She has been in and out of hospitals frequently in the past three months. I really hope that I will be able to give her these socks in person very soon. To say that me and my family has been holding onto hope for dear life is an understatement. She’s finally home and managing best she can with help. I only wish she is not in pain and can be comfortable at home for as long as she can. I haven’t seen my grandma and parents in almost a year. To be able to be in the same room, a physical space, and laugh and play Mahjong or eat home cooked meals sounds like a huge blessing that I can only hope for right now.

In the middle of February, I was able to visit my family for Lunar New Year and my sister’s wedding. I gave these socks to my grandmother. This was the last time I got to see my grandmother in person before she passed away on March 18th. She passed away at home, surrounded by family. She left the physical world, no longer in pain. Grief comes in waves, people say, and it’s really the only way I can describe it too. I know she’ll always be in my heart and her ancestral guidance will always be there when I need her. She taught me how to knit and with every single stitch for the rest of my life, it’ll always be dedicated to her.

Boxcar sweater.

Jili socks.

Lisse Jacket from Issue 36 of Pom Pom Mag.

Next, WIPs!

In my first update, my Boxcar sweater was only in yarn form, not yet casted on. Now it just needs a second sleeve and a re-do on the sleeve cuffs on sleeve #1 to finish! Sweater pattern is by Soprano Knits, @sopranoknits on Instagram. I’m knitting with Knitcraft and Knittery in their experiment/one-of-a-kind colorways. In the time since I’ve been knitting on the sweater, Knitcraft and Knittery is closing. Very, very sad indeed. I really liked the community programs they implemented and their non-superwash bases. Their colors were also AMAZING. It’s so sad to see small businesses close when they try to do things outside the box that support community access and advocating for all things and not just yarn. Knitcraft and Knittery was one of the first yarn dyers I collaborated with and they will be missed.

Next up is my half finished pair of Jili Socks by Mama’s Teddy Bear, @mamasteddybear on Instagram. I have only finished one sock since I have severe second sock syndrome. I casted on the first sock the morning I found out my grandmother passed away. I wound up the yarn, a very pretty green by Valkyrie Fibers (@valkyrie_fibers on Instagram), right before I got on the flight to NYC to be with my family. I casted on while waiting at the airport for my flight to be with my family. I was there for a little over a week as we waited to bury my grandmother. I spent a lot of time with my parents during this time and also knitting on this sock. I finished my first sock the day I got back to Michigan, continuing to grieve, and still grieving. I’ll cast on the second sock soon I hope because they are gorgeous! I love the texture and the green yarn, and I usually do not like green. It was the last of their Wayward Sons Series of colorways and I just had to have it because I am a Supernatural fan. Colorway is called, “Family don’t end with blood”.

Last on my needles rghit now is Lisse Jacket! Boy was I excited to get this issue 36 of Pom Pom Mag. Patchwork/quilt is exactly the thing I love. Lisse Jacket is designed by Amalia of Kindred Red, @kindred.red on Instagram. I had a stash of DK weight yarn and some cones of boucle fluffy yarn from yarn cones meant for machine knitting for the lining. It’s been a slow go with double knitting but it is definitely a fun knit, especially when I get to play with different color combos. I hope I can finish it by winter so I can wear it out in the snow!

Fiberstory yarn and a grey unknown yarn cake.

Lastly, what I can’t wait to cast-on!

I still haven’t started my cropped version of Eleven Twelve since the last blog I posted. I am still going to use fiberstory, who is a yarn dyer based in Michigan, that I purchased at my “local” yarn store, Spun in Ann Arbor in colorway “Mythic”, a dark, almost grape and cranberry jam like color. I’ll be pairing it with a light grey with tiny black speckles cake of yarn I wound up and don’t have the yarn label for. I believe I got it in one of my Fibre Share packages a while back too. I really, really want to knit this version of 11/12 for myself but I also am terrible at re-knitting the same design because I also want to knit new things! The internal battle of someone who wants to knit all the things but also do not have enough time or arms to knit it all.