WhimsyCraft

 I made this pretty much as directed, only changing the colors (although actually rather close to the overall color scheme), to learn the technique. It was fun, and may spark other ideas in the future. Video here. It's made of two triangles sewn together at the edges, and the way they interlock and twist is very satisfying.

 I don't think you've seen these socks before. The first one was finished, and the second one almost down to the heel, before I looked at them together like this: You may notice the problem here: the sock in progress has ribbing all the way around, and the completed sock has, as the pattern directs, a six stitch stockinette column on each side. Well, time to grab a crochet hook and get to work! There are four columns that need help. For each of them, I dropped the stitch off the needle, and all the way down to where the stockinette column should begin, at the end of the cuff ribbing. Then, the crochet hook will easily pull each thread bar through and make the desired knit column. If I had wanted a purl column, I would have done the same thing, but from the inside. Now it is all fixed, and ready to continue!  Socks are Lord, what fools and the yarn is Mountain Colors Bearfoot (which I've had for probably decades). You'll get a better photo when they're done.

 Since the last time you saw this sweater, the sleeves have been separated off from the body, and I've been working downwards. Another inch or so and it will be time to start the body ribbing, and then finish the sleeves. Since I intend to slightly felt this, I'm knitting it quite loosely for the yarn weight, because i expect the yarn to fluff up and fill in the gaps, and I'm going to knit it about 10% longer than I want it to be, to allow for shrinkage. We'll see if that works out.

The sweater is just getting longer, not more interesting, so I will leave you with a picture of a pretty Pi(e) Day pie.  I had wanted to try the apple roses for a while (I've seen them in a few different places), and they came out really well. Here is a recipe, as best as I can remember it.  Ingredients: 1  pie crust of your choice, in a greased 9" pie plate 1 quart sour cherries, frozen or fresh 3 apples 1 t vanilla 1/2 cup sugar 2 T cornstarch 1 t Penzeys cake spice 2T cinnamon sugar, or a little sugar with some more cake spice mixed in   Method: 1. Make apple roses out of 2 of the apples: Quarter and core them, and then, working with one quarter at a time, slice it very thinly, getting about 12-15 slices and reserving the end for later. Put the slices on a plate and microwave them for 30 seconds on High to soften them. Lay out 4 or 5 slices end to end, overlapping them by about half, and roll them up into a rose. Set it aside for later. The 2 apples should make 24 roses. Th

 Finished this one up a couple of weeks ago, but then it needed to be washed/blocked, and get its buttons sewn on, and then wait for a photo opportunity, which finally came yesterday. I am really pleased with it, and the buttons are ones that I made in a ceramics class in Fall 2019, so I feel a very strong sense of ownership for this one. The diamonds around the yoke were inspired by a recent leafing through of some old Kaffe Fassett books from the 80s, and I've given the pattern information in this post . The back is particularly fun. (Photo credit to David)

 This is progressing nicely - the cable section is finished and I'm about to divide off the sleeves from the body, which will make the row length much more manageable. Right now there are over 300 stitches per row.

 So, after knitting the cat bed , I was really enjoying the thick, multistranded fabric, and had some left over. The result was this improvised headband with flaps to keep the ears warm. I made it back when the bed was made but not yet felted, and just came across it again. It would have been handy to remember these last few days, because we were without heat, but we managed OK, and the plumber came today, and warmth is restored. I took some notes, so if you want to make one too, because it is very cozy, here is the pattern. Note that this is the first pattern I have ever made public, and no one has looked at it but me, which is generally bad practice, but also no one reads this blog, so if in the future someone else is reading this and decides to make one: (a) I''d love to know, and (b) please tell me nicely about any errors you find or things which are unclear. EARFLAP HEADBAND: To fit an average-to-large adult size head. It’s pretty stretchy, but you can modify