I rather like where the trail cam currently resides for the close ups of skunks and woodcocks, but it is too close for deer. We get pictures of deer parts. Oh deer.
Oh deer
Author: Caryn
Cabled swatch
Before I delve into finishing my Grandma’s blanket, I needed to test knit the pattern to make sure I understood all the notations and how it goes together. It took me a couple goes to get the stitch count correct (take the pattern repeat and add the edge stitches, so I remember for next time), but once the number was right, it came together well.
Swatching seems to be a hated or loved knitting activity. I fall on the love side. I would rather see how the pattern or yarn behaves on a small scale before delving into a large project. I used a stocking weight wool yarn, and size 6 circular needle, which is a far cry from the bulky yarn and size 11 needles used for the blanket, but it was the pattern I was investigating.
I see why my Grandma liked this pattern, and why she made it so many times. It looks complicated, but it flows well, and it is easy to “read” the prior row of stitches to figure out where you are. Then the back row just follows the previous row’s stitches, and goes in twos or fours predominately, which makes checking for errors easy. The swatch came out OK, and I feel comfortable with the pattern. I do think I will finish off this small piece with a suitable edging, and it can join the doll house blanket army.
Another new appearance
Here is another new appearance on the trail cam footage: a skunk!
We have certainly smelled when one of these guys has gone off in the neighborhood, and have occasionally seen one trundling about, but haven’t had the trail cam capture an image until now. Neat.
Ancestral UFOs
Boy, is that title going to be misinterpreted. UFO in this case is “Unfinished Object”, and refers to my Grandma’s knitting projects. I finished one in 2018 (which was before this blog started). Rather than try to match Grandma’s knitting (or rip out to the point the pattern needed, which was probably why she abandoned the project), I made it a patchwork of knitting and crochet, even using the same brand but different colors of yarn. It came out nice and long and finished!
I have another project, which does not appear to need any ripping. It is the start of a beautiful cabled blanket. Grandma laminated the pattern and took notes each time she made a version. It appears that she used this pattern 10 times before this cream one, the first being made in 1974. If I am reading her notes correctly, it seems that she started this cream version in 2006, but then restarted in April of 2013. She passed in November of that year. She marked each row of the pattern with a minus when she started working on the row, then made it a plus when she finished the row, so she could tell exactly where she was (I know because she stopped mid-row, and it corresponds with the markings).
Yes, I am going to attempt to finish her project, but there are some preparatory steps I need to take first. I need to make a swatch to get the feel of the pattern under my fingers (and make sure I can), and I need to wrap my head around a project that will take me months to finish. Grandma wrote on her pattern that it took her “35 minutes to do two rows, 10 min back row, 25 min front row”. So only the center section of one of these blankets took her 63 hours to complete. And I am not the knitter she was.
I am glad she left notes on her pattern, not only for her own memory, but so she could share that information with me. It would have been better to sit with her to receive instruction, but I am happy that I am still able to learn from her experience.
American Woodcock
Well here is something new on the trail cam: an American Woodcock. We were quite shocked when we saw the long beak of a shore bird in the camera footage. The camera is situated along a mostly dry creek bed on the edge of our property, but we’ve been here four years without an identifiable picture of one of these (also called timberdoodles). We are on the western edge of their territory. I rather hope it likes it here and we get more sightings. It is such a curious looking little beastie.
