Yup, I’m doing this again! If you were following me last year at this time, you might recall that I participated in this fundraiser for the first time.
This year’s fundraiser started a couple of weeks ago, and it has already raised over $87,000, and we still have a few weeks to go.
Last year we raised OVER $500,000, and 100% of the donations will be shared equally among Feeding America, World Central Kitchen, No Kid Hungry, and Meals on Wheels.
The “rules” are very simple: I will knit for about 12 hours on April 11, 2026, buoyed by the support of people like you.
Of course, any cheerleading you can offer will also be greatly appreciated.
I have not yet decided on what I’ll be knitting on April 11, but I’m considering one of Laura Nelkin’s designs. It might well be another one of these:
Me modeling a hooded scarf (designed by Laura Nelkin), knitted during one of Laura’s mystery knit-a-longs.
Or some such variation … Or maybe one or two Red Resistance Hats aka Melt the Ice hats. (The history and pattern for these hats is available here at Needle and Skein.)
A red resistance hat knitted by me.
I’ve knitted three so far, although I made a mistake in the first one so I’m keeping that for myself.
I will pop up now and then as we get closer to April 11, and I will definitely let you all know what I’ll be knitting as soon as I know.
In the meantime, stay safe, find joy where you can, and be a helper if you can.
Per the folks at Needle and Skein, a full service yarn shop in Minnesota from whom I got the pattern, this hat has a history:
In the 1940’s, Norwegians made and wore red pointed hats with a tassel as a form of visual protest against Nazi occupation of their country. Within two years, the Nazis made these protest hats illegal and punishable by law to wear, make, or distribute. As purveyors of traditional craft, we felt it appropriate to revisit this design.
I came across the pattern a couple of weeks ago. Since then, Needle and Skein has raked in over $250,000 for this $5 pattern; all proceeds go to immigrant aid agencies to help those impacted by ICE. You can read more about resistance art here.
While I have plenty of red yarn, it’s all dedicated to other projects. So I took an old but beloved knitted shawl of red wool and silk yarn and ripped out the crocheted trim. I thought this would be a nice way to decide if I want to make more.
Since the yarn is a blend of wool and silk, it doesn’t have the elasticity of 100% wool and it’s not “pointy” at the top. I probably should have used a smaller sized needle but it fits nicely as is. Very light, almost like I’m not wearing anything on my head. We have several more cold days ahead for my part of the country so I look forward to wearing it.
And I DO want to make more! But, guess what? Red wool yarn is suddenly hard to come by … LOL. I did find some and ordered a couple of skeins and then we’ll see. Because …
That
I am knitting A LOT. I finally finished a shawl that seemed to take FOREVER but I haven’t blocked it yet so no photos. I’ve enrolled in a workshop to make a sweater in a month (I did this last year so I know it’s doable), and I’m knitting an alpaca watch cap for my hubby. I have LOTS of projects to work on, including spinning and weaving now.
The Other: Writing
So I’m not writing, except for the odd comment. I guess I want to write because my comments can be lengthy unless I rein myself in. But I haven’t worked out a schedule. That also means I haven’t been reading or commenting much because I’ve been … knitting or doing housework which seems to take up more time than one would guess when there’s only two humans and two cats living here. I could do with a housekeeper, ideally someone like Mrs. Hall from All Creatures Great and Small. She’d be good with the cats, too.
I also do get overwhelmed at times by all the subscriptions I have to read, here on WP and now also on Substack. I have unsubscribed to a few which wasn’t easy but my priority is to stay with the writers I’ve been reading the longest. I’ve been following some of you for over ten years, and it troubles me to not keep up.
The Other: Fatigue
There are times when the energy to get through the day, to go about my life as if all was well, is in short supply. I have to constantly remind myself of what I am doing–those things I consider civic duties like calling and writing to my members of Congress, writing postcards encouraging people to vote, supporting aid agencies–and not feel put out because I don’t have the social capital or the economic capital to bring about the change we need now.
Interestingly, my husband and I have thrown ourselves into our projects–me with my crafty stuff, Greg with his astronomy and photography–in the attempt to minimize our exposure to the tsunami of daily bad news. And yet, we are often tired.
The Other: Cats
Cats all day, every day.
Raji being Greg’s lap kitty.
This time of year, when it’s chilly and we like a little extra warmth, Greg has been missing Maxine and Junior who were great, if at times demanding, lap kitties.
Back in the day when Junior and Max owned land rights to Greg.
Raji is an equal opportunity lap sitter. In the evening, when we are enjoying “happy hour” on the loveseat, he prefers Greg’s lap. Later, when we are on the couch watching TV, he prefers my lap. Wendy, at this time, will only deign to get close but not too close.
Wendy on a cushion, snoozing while we watch the telly.
Thank you for reading! Live in hope, be kind, and do no more than what you can.
It’s been awhile. I’ve been busy, but not busy. It just depends on how you look at it. My days fly by, sometimes in a (for me) whirlwind of activity. But when someone asks, “What have you been up to,” I shrug. My usual response, “I’ve been busy but I can’t remember what I did.” Or, I remember but I fear putting my friend to sleep if I share. But if I put you to sleep with this post, at least I won’t see your eyes closing.
Organizing
It was just yesterday that I had a spurt of energy and pulled out my poorly kept daily journal and my monthly calendars for 2025 and 2026 and updated all of them. The 2025 calendar will go into a drawer with other calendars. My memory is bad enough that occasionally I’ll pull out a previous year just to remind myself of when we did this or did that.
And I bought a few things that I had been planning to buy for a long time (like extra bowls for our cats’ automatic feeder … exciting things like that). I emailed friends, sent electronic holiday cards, and even went to the gym.
After all that, I still had to prep for dinner but I was so tired.
Aging
I start my days with ice on my wrist and heat on my shoulder … both on the right side because, of course, I’m right-handed. I did have a steroid shot in my wrist a couple of weeks ago (and, yup, it hurt more than the pain I was there for), but it does feel so much better.
When you positioning yourself for Downward Dog, you don’t want to have pain shooting across the top of your wrists. Arthritis is the culprit, swollen tissues are the exacerbation. Hence the ice. Even though my wrist is so much better, I’m still icing it twice a day.
Same with my shoulder. Same problem but heat feels better so … .
My left knee is still a problem but that will be discussed with my doc later.
All of this is to say that, to my dismay, I’m experiencing chronic physical limitations. I haven’t taken a walk in my neighborhood in months, in part because I dread navigating the hills and broken sidewalks with my bum knee and unsteady gait. Oh, did I mention that my right ankle is also a problem now? The tendons are tired.
Surely I have something positive to say on this first day of the new year. Surely I’m not turning into one of those “complain, complain, complain” people.
Shifting (topic)
I’m still knitting. Recently I participated in a mystery knit-a-long and produced this very warm and toasty hooded scarf.
Me wearing a knitted hooded scarf in black and blue stripes.
I’m also working on a shawl that seems more like a scarf and is taking FOREVER to get through. It’ll be lovely once it’s done. It’ll be a light, airy fabric of silk and mohair. But it’s taking FOREVER.
I picked up my weaving again. My focus is still on functional items, like these dish towels.
Two 100% cotton dish towels in stripes of natural, yellow, and orange.
Next up will be one or two hand towels. I know, I know. Not exciting! Not a blanket or an arty wall hanging. Small steps, people. It’s challenging to set up my loom and I’ve relied too much on muscle memory to get through the weaving (hence, one dish towel is almost twice as long as the other). But I’m learning.
And soon I’ll buy a spinning wheel because I’ve taken up spinning too! Right now I only have a couple of drop spindles. If you want to delay gratification, try spinning with drop spindles.
The act of spinning takes me back to when I was a student at Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY. I was an unhappy student until I took a spinning workshop during winter session and then a weaving course. I fell in love with both. I would spend hours in the weaving studio, sitting on a stool, my fingers twirling the spindle, while I watched the fibers catch and twist into yarn.
Writing
That’s what I’m doing here.
Cats
Lately it’s been on the chilly side, temperature-wise, and Raji exhibits his snugglebunny nature. Even Wendy is gets up close and personal at times.
Raji on my lap, half covered with my knitting project as I knit.Wendy stretching herself out on a pillow between me and Greg.
I also babysat for our neighbors’ two cats for a few days in December.
Kitty Meow Meow (aka KM2).
We all suspect that Kitty Meow Meow (aka KM2) is either Raji’s mom or grandmother. She was originally “owned” by a family up the road who claimed that they could not keep her indoors and who finally had her spayed after her second litter. Then our neighbors took her in. Well, she was at their house all the time so you can say she adopted them.
Frankie, a “snowshoe” breed of Siamese
Similar story with Frankie. He was originally from another household that allowed cats to roam and reproduce freely. I lost count of how many other cats our neighbors claim that Frankie has sired, but at least he can’t spread his seed any more and his current staff give him shelter and lots of love.
Ending my posts with cats–mine or someone else’s–always leaves me feeling happy. I hope they make you happy too.
Happy New Year, everyone! Good riddance to 2025, and welcome to 2026, a year that I hope will bring a lot of “good trouble.”
I often joke that now that I’m retired (since April 2021), I feel I have less time to do all that I want to do, not more. I don’t have the surplus of time I thought I would get by giving up my “day job.”
On the upside, I’ve been busy with living, which for me means knitting a lot and working on our gardens when the weather allows. Lately, the weather has accomodated outdoor work here in northern Florida. Also, I’ve started bicycling again, about once a week. And I still go to yoga classes twice a week and the gym twice a week.
Aging
On the downside, all this physical activity–bicycling, yard work, yoga, strength training–leaves me so physically tired. And achy. I take Gabapentin, I put menthol patches on my aching joints. I drink wine to either dull the aches or make me care less about them.
I don’t complain to my doctors because they will simply say it’s an aging thing. My body is breaking down, more or less. Ironically, the resumption of bicycling has resulted in the reemergence of bursitis in my left hip and left knee. (Ironically because bicycling is supposed to be easy on the joints.)
Does that stop me? No. I get too much joy from the ride.
Last week, an older man (well, he was probably around my age) passed me going the other way and called out, “Hi, young lady!”
I waved but was too slow to respond as I wanted: “Hah! I’m 68 years old!” At that moment, I felt like a kid.
Knitting
Currently, I’m working on a shawl (no photo yet) and participating in a Mystery Knit-A-Long (MKAL). The MKAL is hosted by Laura Nelkin, the same woman who organizes the Knit for Food Knit-A-Thon.
This is my first MKAL. We have a choice of six hoods to knit in either one color or two colors. Sight unseen and pattern unknown, I chose the two-color hooded scarf. For four weeks, once a week, Laura provides a clue to the project’s pattern. I don’t know what I’m knitting until Laura provides that part of the pattern. That’s the mystery. It really messes with my comfort zone, and I think that’s a good thing.
This is clue 1:
Knitted black and blue rectangle. Work in progress.
I presume this is the top of the hood. As always, I made a couple of boo-boos. Since this is my first MKAL, I’m giving myself the grace to just continue knitting and, worst-case scenario, I’ll keep the hood for myself.
Thanks to Laura, I’ve learned two techniques that are simply life-changing. How could I have been knitting for over 50 years without learning these tricks? It’s only recently that I’ve been participating in knitting workshops, hanging out with other knitters. Knitting, like writing, is a solitary act; but also like writing, we learn so much from each other when we come together.
Before I forget, I also knitted my husband a pair of socks.
Handknitted socks in colors of brown, green and purple.
Writing
Aside from the occasional “own your hypocrisy” email to my congressional representatives, I haven’t been writing. And as I write here, I realize I miss it.
But I often ask myself, Why? Sure, there’s the fiction I’ve played around with, but that’s not what this blog is about. I really don’t know what this blog is about anymore.
When I started writing this blog, I thought to use it as a vehicle to build a career as a freelance editor. But I didn’t really want to work on someone else’s writing. I wanted to work on my own.
So then this blog became more about building a community, a writing community for the most part, but a community of like-minded spirits overall.
And that was all well and good until I felt a “shift.” When my sister Shirley died on July 1, 2022, my worldview shifted. Imagine an earthquake, tectonic plates shifting, creating fissures, cracks in my complacency. A few more earthquakes, and my current world is unrecognizable from before July 1, 2022.
And yet … .
Maybe I just needed a break.
Cats
Wendy is doing very well. No issues with her eating for the past few months.
Wendy during the early days of her recovery.
Wendy doesn’t “pose” for the camera as much as Raji does.
Raji in his happy place.
Thank you for reading, for being here. I’m curious as to why people write blogs.
Questions: What do you get out of blogging? What do you want to get out of it? Are you getting what you want?
P.S.
My paid account with WordPress (WP) will run out in about a year, and I’m thinking about transitioning to Substack rather than renew my WP account. To that end, I’ll be crossposting, testing the waters with Substack. While I would prefer not to change platforms, WP is becoming more complicated and buggy. Life is too short for that nonsense.
Between poison ivy, mosquitoes and gnats, working in our gardens is not for the recklessly unprotected. This summer I suffered through a few run-ins with poison ivy and poured rubbing alcohol on as many mosquito bites before I threw vanity to the wind and accepted my fate: If I want to work outdoors, I better dress appropriately.
Ready for weeding duty!
Genius
Genius is not something I often (if ever) associate with myself, but in this case …
I have a fetish for Baggalini. I have several Baggalini items, from a fanny pack to a backpack and a few bags in-between. I don’t use these bags everywhere, all at once, but I admire their construction, durability, and numerous zippered pockets so much that I can easily rationalize buying another. To wit, the toiletry bag which I did not need. The one I bought from REI about 30 years ago is still my go-to toiletry bag … and it’s purple.
But this toiletry bag was on sale through eBay.
I couldn’t resist. But what will I do with it, since I don’t need a second toiletry bag?
Voila! Behold, my knitting tool bag:
Another Fashion Statement
It’s a wonder I spend any time outside at all given what I have to do to protect myself. When it comes to bicycling, I need to protect my skin from the sun, from other cyclists who might want to claim they didn’t see me coming, and potential road rash.
No surprise that hummingbirds and butterflies have found me to be an object of interest.
Jane Goodall
Jane Goodall photographed in London in 2017. Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian
I was sad to hear of her death. “She was only 91!” Ever since my mom died just 5 weeks shy of turning 100, I’ve set the bar pretty high for when anyone can die from natural causes. This morning I read a brief article in The Guardian about Goodall. It concluded with this:
In 2021, Goodall published The Book of Hope, in which she admitted she sometimes felt she was fighting a losing battle, but explained how she kept going.
Speaking to the Guardian at the time, she said: “You have to feel depressed, but then there’s something that says: ‘There is still an awful lot left and that’s what we’ve got to fight to save.’
“So then you get extra energy. I have days when I feel like not getting up, but it doesn’t last long. I guess because I’m obstinate.
“I’m not going to give in. I’ll die fighting, that’s for sure.”
Cats
Do I need to say anything about this photo?
Raji in deep slumber.
Thank you for reading! Tell me if you will:
Do you have to suit up before spending any time outdoors? Do mosquitoes and other biting insects find you especially tasty?
Have you ever repurposed one thing for another, like my toiletry bag for a knitting bag? Do tell because I can always use another excuse to buy another Baggalini bag.
What gets you up in the morning? Are you “obstinate” like Goodall or just naturally optimistic?
Some of you might have noticed that I’ve been absent from the blogosphere for a while. I am (again) attempting to resume blogging, or at least reading and commenting. Right now I’m using my iPad to write. That is important because for some reason, I loathe using my usual setup which is my laptop hooked up to a large monitor. You’d think that would be a more ideal situation; the large monitor makes reading and writing easier. But. After spending nearly a year during the COVID pandemic working from home, my once-ideal writing space triggers a mild form of PTSD whenever I consider sitting down at that space to write.
I’m trying to get past that with baby steps. The first step was to move my fancy, ergonomic office chair (a necessity when my butt had to be parked in place for 8+ hours a day) to the garage and move my old but preferred minimalist office chair back into my room. (This also benefits my husband since he has computers set up in the garage for his astrophotography and my fancy office chair is more comfortable for him.)
I don’t know what the second step will be.
Writing
I haven’t been writing except for almost daily emails to my so-called Congressional representatives. Creative energy goes into those emails although I know they are not read. They are not verbose, but, as any writer knows, short pieces of writing take longer to write. Such writing might be exercises in futility, but I am exercising my First Amendment right so … there.
Despite that daily exercise, I’m struggling with my vocabulary. With the spoken word. I’ve been struggling to find the right word or phrase while in conversation. I have to describe the word I want (if I can) and my husband guesses the word or phrase. Recently it was the word eliminate, but that really wasn’t what I wanted. It came to me some time later: rule out. I was trying to describe a process of elimination, but in a way more commonly used by, say, medical professionals. “We want to rule out cancer,” for example, when your cat is being examined for anorexia.
Cats
Our cat Wendy stopped eating on May 8. Well, her last meal was the night before, and she threw that up. Pretty much undigested. We watched her for a day, having seen similar behavior when she had a hairball forming. When she still refused food on Friday, I called the clinic and got an appointment for that afternoon.
We went in prepared to pull out all the stops. No guesswork, please. Rule out the worst-case scenarios first. If she has cancer, we want to know sooner rather than later.
No cancer, but an x-ray suggested she might have a GI problem, some inflammation. We were sent home with antibiotics and appetite stimulants. Unfortunately, the antibiotics were liquid, and Wendy doesn’t take to liquid medicine. She struggles, fights back, and then doesn’t want to eat because the meds taste so bad.
So the next day we called the clinic and agreed to bring her in so they could feed her through a tube.
Three nights. Wendy spent three nights at the animal hospital. During this time, the vets changed out. The first vet, Dr. S was good, but she wasn’t Wendy’s “primary” vet. The second vet, Dr. C, is her primary, and one of the first things Dr. C did was an ultrasound.
Still no cancer, but now we had a diagnosis: Inflammatory Bowel Disease. It’s not really a disease but a syndrome (and I don’t know why they don’t just call it Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome). It’s indicative of a possible underlying issue. In any case, Dr. C wanted to treat the IBD aggressively. Steroids, two antibiotics, and three types of appetite stimulants. And Dr. C wanted her to eat on her own before releasing her.
The third night we visited Wendy. It broke our hearts to see a thin tube curling up through her nose, a small cone around her head. We brought food but she wasn’t interested. She was pissed. She growled and stumbled around but eventually started focusing on our laps, first moving to Greg’s lap, then mine, then settling down between us while we petted her and scratched her head. She purred.
She was calm by the time we left, and even the technician said that such visits really help the animals. I didn’t know.
The next morning, we got the happy news that Wendy had eaten a bit on her own, and Dr. C wanted her to go home where (hopefully) she would recover more quickly.
We brought a pharmacy’s worth of drugs home, thankfully only one of the medications being liquid this time. (Still was a supreme and messy struggle to dose her.)
The appetite stimulants really work. We’ve had to lock up our Brazil nuts and raisins because Wendy was breaking into the bags if we left them out.
Wendy’s been home for almost a week now, and she’s finished with the more difficult to administer drugs. The rest can be given to her in Pill Pockets which she gobbles up like treats. We have to isolate her when we’re having dinner otherwise she’ll walk all over us, trying to get at our food. That behavior should diminish as she finishes her remaining meds.
Wendy leaning in a piece of my breakfast sausage which she did not get.
We’ll take her to Dr. C on Thursday for a recheck. It’s possible Wendy will have to be on the steroid indefinitely, a small price to pay to keep our girl with us for another several years. Wendy is at least 14. We had to euthanize Maxine in December 2021 and Junior in September 2023. It’s much too soon to let go of another kitty.
Our two kitties—Raji and Wendy. May we have many more years with them.
Knitting
When I haven’t been writing emails to my reps or administrating drugs to Wendy, I’ve been knitting. Recently I finished a pair of socks that I had started at the outset of the Knit-A-Thon. I randomly selected one of my generous Knit-A-Thon donors and sent them on their way.
I do love knitting with this kind of self-striping yarn, and they are fun to wear. I always get compliments when I wear my hand-knitted socks.
More Writing
Before I go (this post is longer than I usually write, but I have some pent-up thoughts to share), another thing about writing.
Earlier I complained that I’m having difficulty coming up with words or phrases that I believe I should have no trouble conjuring. One theory is that I’m not writing enough, that my lack of blogging, my lack of creative writing has dulled part of my brain and so I need to write more. Here. On my blog. Writing might well stimulate my brain and open up my vocabulary.
Meanwhile …
I’m also inspired by what other people are writing. Here’s a post from Summer Brennan’s Substack newsletter, A Writer’s Notebook: The List.
I love what Summer does with this post, this listing of all the loves across her life. She urges the reader to make a similar list and think of it as a kind of self-portrait.
While I think that would be a lovely exercise for some, for me it would be painful. And yet, in thinking about my past loves, I can see how I matured through those experiences. Before my husband, my longest relationship lasted roughly three years. Now my longest relationship is over 35 years.
Digging up the past is fodder for a writer, but perhaps that’s why I veer toward fiction. I can look back and find a story, but rather than write the truth as I remember it, I want to make a few corrections. I’ve done things that I’m ashamed of, that I will never forgive myself for, but I can reimagine those abuses through the lens of many decades. I can be honest, but spare the whip.
Thank you for reading! Tell me:
Do you struggle with finding the right word or phrase? I’m wondering if there are any exercises out there that can help with retaining vocabulary. Please share if you know of any.
What do you think about making a list of your past loves? Would it painful or fun or both?
The day was successful but exhausting. It started with me picking up the beginnings of the watch I was knitting for the Knit for Food Knit-a-Thon ….
… and taking it with me to a Hands Off protest at the state capitol.
And I knitted while standing …
The protest was great. They estimated that over 1,000 people showed up, a huge number for Tallahassee. It was actually FUN. Most of the signs were angry, but the people themselves were good-natured and friendly. Here’s a couple of my favorite signs.
We had lunch with a friend afterward, and I continued to knit.
I kept knitting while my husband drove us home. I kept knitting while he made dinner. I kept knitting while we watched TV. At a few minutes before 10 PM (EDT), I finished.
I still need to block (handwash and air dry) the hat. And I still need to randomly select a winner from my donors.
I will complete the other projects (socks and a scarf) that I’ve written about (Knit for Food Knit-a-Thon 2025). They will take a lot more than a day to complete.
Thank you all for your support. This was my first fundraiser, and I am so glad I participated. We raised over $500,000 for Meals on Wheels, World Central Kitchen, Feeding America, and No Kid Hungry.
At a time when I often feel helpless, this experience showed me what good can be done when people come together.
The Knit-a-Thon has officially started. And two hours from now, I’ll be at a protest at my state capitol. Here’s more from me:
So my video might be kinda long (about 4 minutes) for WordPress so if you can’t view it … I’m just saying hello and thank you to everyone who has donated to my team of one for the Knit-a-Thon. Here’s more info if you missed it: https://givebutter.com/knitforfood25/marie-bailey/mariebailey
I show my progress on the three projects I’ll be knitting throughout the day. To be honest, not a lot of progress from my last WordPress post so if you can’t view the video, you’re not missing anything really.
You can also find me on Instagram (@marieannbailey57) and Facebook (https://facebook.com/marieannbailey). I HOPE to post pics during the day.
Again, many thanks to everyone who donated. I am planning on having a giveaway of one or all of my projects for those who donated. [The finished project has to pass my standards first.]
As I mentioned in my last post, I’m participating in a Knit for Food Knit-a-Thon on Saturday, April 5. The fundraiser will divide donations equally among four organizations: Feeding America, World Central Kitchen, No Kid Hungry, and Meals on Wheels. If you’re interested in donating, here’s the link: Knit for Food Knit-a-Thon 2025.
I’m a bit nervous since this will be my first time participating. I’m supposed to knit for 12 hours, generally 10 AM to 10 PM. It’s a honor system but, trust me, knitting for 12 hours is nothing to a lifelong knitter.
BUT.
April 5 is also the day when rallies are planned across the nation. You can learn more about that here. My husband wants to go. Two of our friends want to go. I should go. But I also committed myself to knit for charity.
So I’ve come up with three knitting projects so I can knit according to my environment. (Apologies for the poor quality of the photos. I have a learning curve when it comes other photographing indoors.)
The beginning of a watch cap in light olive.
The simplest project will be a watch cap in an overall knit 2, purl 2 rib. I’m using a design by Sandi Rosner, a knitter who also writes on Substack at A Good Yarn. [If you’re a knitter and a lover of books including audiobooks, I highly recommend Sandi’s newsletter. All her posts are free but I have a paid subscription because she offers detailed yarn reviews.] This is the kind of project I can easily do while distracted … like at a rally. Yes, I can knit standing up and no doubt I’ll probably squeeze in a few stitches while walking.
Multi-colored yarn that will be knit into a pair of socks.
The fabric in the photo above is what knitters call a swatch: usually a 6″x 6″ square knitted in either stockinette or a specific pattern with your preferred yarn and needles. The point of the swatch is to measure the number of stitches and rows per inch, or the gauge, and see if the results match the gauge of the pattern. I am the sort of knitter who tries to get around swatching, but in cases where fit is very important–for example, a sweater or a pair of socks–swatching is necessary. I haven’t measured the gauge of this piece yet, but I suspect it will tell me that I will need to use size 1 needles to knit the socks I have in mind.
The sock pattern is a simple rib stitch pattern, but with #1 needles and multicolored yarn, I need to pay attention to what I’m doing. I can watch TV more or less but I wouldn’t be comfortable taking this project to the rally. I have to be alert to any possible dropped stitches which, for me, are easy to miss when I’m knitting on such small needles.
Just the tip of the iceberg that might become a shawl … or a scarf
My third project is a Pines and Needles Shawl. You can see some versions of the shawl here: Pines and Needles Shawl by Sweaterfreak. Now I didn’t knit a swatch for the shawl, but I did experiment with three different needle sizes before I decided on one that seemed to suit the yarn best. The thing, I’m not using yarn recommended by the designer. The yarn I’m using is finger-weight yarn, or yarn usually used for knitting socks, which is finer than the recommended yarn. So … I’m using a finer yarn and smallish needles (#3) which means I’ll likely wind up with a Pines and Needles scarf. I think I can live with that.
This project requires me to pay close attention. I’ve already had to rip out (or frog in knitters’ parlance) and start that little triangle over several times. Not the kind of project that I’d want to take to a rally.
So, there we are … or here I am. I am excited about knitting all day on April 5 and for a good cause, not just my own selfish pleasure in knitting. Meanwhile, evenings are getting warmer here in north Florida so Raji’s snuggling might soon come to an end, at least for the summer.
Friends, I thought long and hard about this. This morning, I decided that it’s something I simply have to do. I’ve signed up to knit for 12 hours on April 5, 2025, to raise funds for Feeding America, World Central Kitchen, No Kid Hungry, and Meals on Wheels.
Many of you know that knitting is my “happy place.” I can do other things like weave or write, but my deepest intrinsic satisfaction always comes with knitting. And that’s one reason why I haven’t been blogging very much. I’ve been knitting. Recently I completed the Elvan shawl that I wrote about here.
The first photo of the Elvan Shawl is from the designer, Florence Spurling. The others are my own photos showing more detail of the intarsia patterns. Generally, it was fun to knit, and the yarn was wonderful to work with.
After these photos were taken, I sent the shawl to a friend. This particular friend was someone I knew from high school, someone I had lost touch with until a few years ago when I heard that her mother had died from Covid. And then a couple of years later, she was diagnosed with cancer. Thankfully, she’s gone through her treatments and (so far, so good) has been doing well. I thought of her often while I was knitting the shawl, thinking of how sweet the soft wool yarn would feel against her skin.
She wrote to me when she received the shawl. She wrote all the words that makes a knitter’s heart sing.
And so I keep knitting.
For the Knit-a-Thon, I’m planning to knit socks. I have quite a stash of sock yarn, and socks can be done quickly. Plus, who doesn’t need socks?!
Marie at 1 Write Way 