Sump'm Sump'm Saturday - 5/26/2018

In continuing my tradition of making only thoughtful purchases of yarn this year, I bought yarn for the fifth month in a row.

Sorry, not sorry.

MK out.

Book Chat - 5/24/2018

(Blinking and rubbing her eyes from the glare of the sun.)

I've read some good books lately and would like to tell you about them.

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy is set in India, mostly around the turn of this century.  It is full of interesting characters, but it was a little hard for me to keep them straight sometimes. Overall, it was good and I enjoyed reading it.

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal is full of Indian characters, but it's set in England. It's setting is more present day. A young woman answers an ad to teach creative writing in the heart of London's Punjabi community to a group of older women who think that they are enrolled in a literacy class. It was very good.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng is a present day story set in Shaker Heights, Ohio, the author's home town. The lives of two families becomes intertwined when the children become acquainted. It was light, yet complex. I really enjoyed it. I hear this book is going to be made into a movie or mini-series. I am looking forward to it.

That's all for now.

MK out.

FO Friday - 5/4/2018

The dash has been keeping me busy. I finished the first project I'll show you last week. I meant to write about it before now, but again, dash.

Pattern: Just a plain vanilla sock; so, no pattern, except for the Fish Lips Kiss Heel
Yarn: Must Stash Yarn Perfect Self Striping Sock in I Am Fearless, from The Affirmations Collection    and a white Perfect Mini
Comments: I really love Stacie's yarn. The colorways are fabulous. I want to knit all of them. Her base is so squishy! Stripeys shine the best in plain vanilla, in my opinion, and this yarn was no exception.

Pattern: Hiraeth by Rae Gronmark
Yarn: Spirited Fibers Fingering Weight in Malbec, Coffee and a speckled
Comments: I made the small version of this pattern. It was a fun knit. I like the yarn and the pattern.

However, beware. The darker colors have a lot of excess dye that made the cream speckled less cream.

I'm not too torn up about it because I was thinking that there was too stark a contrast between the cream and the other two colors.

In other news, I'm not happy about the excess dye from Tart turning the Antler in my Derecho a pink color...

...despite the cold water soak with the three color catchers.

I've heard of ways to prevent this sort of thing from happening and I need to research it. I want to make a Fading Point Shawl using these skeins:

The two Madelinetosh yarns on the left end are supersaturated colors and I'm worried. I want the gray in the two skeins on the right to stay gray.

MK out.

WIP Wednesday - 4/18/2018

Because I'm about halfway finished with this shawl:

I started this shawl:

And because I'm more than halfway finished with these socks:

I started these socks:

MK out.

FO Friday - 4/13/2018

Sorry...very late with this post.

Pattern: Tracie by Joji Locatelli
Yarn: Suburban Stitcher Single Sock in Tandoori and Sweet Pea
Comments: I actually finished this shawl last week and wore it to Fiber Fest. The pattern is very well written. It was my first time to use Suburban Stitcher yarn and it's very nice. I liked it so much that you may have noticed that I bought more at Fiber Fest.

I used one size smaller needle than suggested to make sure I didn't run out of yarn. The shawl came out kinda small, but I knew it would grow after blocking. I was right, but it's still not as big as Joji's. I'm totally fine with it, because I'm not a very tall person.

For comparison, I took an  unblocked picture

and then a picture after blocking. 

I think the size is perfect for me.

Pattern: Wisp by Cheryl Niamath
Yarn: Malabrigo Lace in Amaroso
Comments:  I like the pattern, and the yarn is nice, but I've decided that I don't really like knitting with lace-weight yarn. The only modifications I made was to knit one more repeat to make the yardage requirement and I skipped the buttonholes. If I make it again, I will use a provisional cast-on and graft the ends together. This time, I will seam the ends together. This project fulfills the "use lace-weight" requirement for Loopy Academy. 

MK out.

DFW Fiber Fest - The Aftermath

I helped my friend in her booth on Friday. 

It kept me from going too crazy.

Well, I really could have gone crazier. The sock blockers are from Perfectly Catchy Designs. The cute bag is from Whimzee Stitches Designs.

I found the best skein to go with my Plucky skein at the West 7th Wool booth that was right across the hallway from where I was hanging. It's Conference Call by Madelinetosh on TML.

The Suburban Stitcher booth was right around the corner from Must Stash. I'm using the exact colorway that Dianne used to make her Suburban Wrap. I really love this combo.

Of course, I had to buy some Must Stash Yarn. It was really hard to pick. 

I bought I Am Fearless and a blank mini for cuffs, heels and toes. I really like her new Affirmation Series. 

And I bought some yarn to make a Sock Arms Sweater for a special someone.

All, in all, not bad. 

In other news, I ordered the yarn for Loopy Academy Extra Credit today; so, hopefully, I can just sit back and knit now.

MK out.

Movie Monday - 4/9/2018

Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning and Colin Farrell star in The Beguiled. Set during the Civil War, only two women and a handful of students remain at a girls school in Virginia. One day, one of the girls comes upon a wounded Union soldier. She gets him to the school, where the headmistress decides she'll delay deciding what to do with him until he heals. Soon, all the girls develop a shine for him and he takes advantage of the situation. It was good.

In 2010, the Argentine film, The Secret in Their Eyes, won Best Foreign Picture and I remember seeing it in the theater. It was very good. In 2015, the film was remade with Julia Roberts, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Nicole Kidman. Roberts plays an investigator with the LA district attorney's office whose daughter had been brutally murdered thirteen years prior and the killer had gotten away. Her friend and former FBI counterterrorism agent (Ejiofor) now thinks he's found the guy and goes after him. It was just as good as the original.

MK out.