Live and Learn

Happy March 1. The sky is blue and the sun shines this morning. The high today is predicted to be 53 degrees. March comes in like a lamb. What about you? I do see a pesky snowflake in the forecast later next week but I'm ignoring it. Snow during the Nebraska High School State Basketball Tournaments (girls and boys) is often a given.  

Today is Unraveled Wednesday with Kat and friends. The infamous gray sweater is finished. Even though it's a generic top-down raglan sweater, I learned new things about sweater knitting. Blocking did fix the ribbing-flip but the edges flared. It was too loose. Since I thought that might be the case, I knit the neckband and cuff ribbing with a size smaller needle. That worked well but the sleeves came out longer than I expected. Reminder: I need to check the row gauge before AND after washing. I will also block the next sweater before I finish the sleeves. This is the second time I've shortened sweater sleeves. I am also going to finish the neckline early in the project. As Kym reminded me, it affects the fit of a sweater. 

Anyway, I reknit the ribbing on the body. I shortened the sleeves and reknit that ribbing. The new-to-me Hiya Hiya Grandma's Stretchy Bind-off suggested by Mary and Kym worked well all seven times that I knit it. Ha! There is nothing like repetition to cement new learning in an old brain. After twice through with the video, I had the bind-off memorized. I don't know how much wear I'll get from the sweater this month but I do like it and will wear it next year. Sweater knitting is a process. 

I cast on this Hitchhiker from a skein of stash yarn. The tonal blush colorway is named Little Lamb. It looks like Spring to me. Pink always reminds me of my Grandmother, Grama Grama as my kids called her. This yarn is definitely Grama Grama pink. I plan to knit three rows of eyelets every ten teeth. They will mark progress and keep me going. 

Last night I worked on the shawl below. I cast it on in early January and set it aside to focus on the sweater. The mohair silk lace yarn was purchased with a birthday gift card from my sister so it has happy thoughts associated with it. I have long wanted to knit this design (Ravelry link) with this yarn. Although you can't see it in the photo, the garter stitch sections alternate with eyelet sections in stockinette. The shawl ends with a lace border that looks like leaves or trees. 

And for the record, I frogged the scrappy socks. The lime green color wasn't for me and I wasn't enjoying them. Why, when I have five perfectly good skeins of stash sock yarn, would I fuss around cutting and measuring that lime green yarn? I'm not ruling out scrappy socks as I knit a pair with autumn colors several years ago. They were fun to knit and are still nice to wear. 

Chapter's Book and Gift Shop in Seward was delightful. The owner carries a large selection of children's books, local authors, and some poetry. The fiction section was small with some recent releases and paperback novels about books, bookstores, librarians, and libraries. That's an interesting choice but having been in business since 2004, the owner knows her customers. I came home with a signed copy of Ted Kooser's Splitting an Order as it is one volume I've always wanted on my shelf. I also purchased Ada Limon's, The Hurting Kind and a paperback copy of Curious George Goes to the Bookstore.  

Jonah and Norah enjoy the three Curious George books I own. We have read them a million times and I'll keep reading as long as they want to listen. In this new story, George tries to help the bookstore owner by using new books to build a book tower display. What little one can't identify with that? I have a basket of picture books as well as a few on the coffee table. When they call "to read," I flip the camera to "show the choices." They choose and I read. They often fill in phrases for me. It's great fun.

I am reading The Lions of Fifth Avenue with my local book group this month and enjoying the history of this New York City public library. I have just begun the last book of the Erdrich read-along, The Bingo Palace. After several more contemporary stories, this older novel is a return to the characters in the Love Medicine series. Perhaps I've just grown up, but Erdrich's writing strikes me differently than it has in the past. Discussing the books with a group of readers has deepened my understanding of her work. 

Have you learned anything new this week?

Here's to March and the arrival of Spring - soon. 

Ravelry Links

Striped Pullover

Spring Hitchhiker

Birthday Shawl