The return of Knitting Mojo and Life Down the Rabbit Hole

It was great to be released from those socks.  I did put them in a few KALs anyway (thank you Dramatic Knits!).  I have gotten Instagram compliments on them too, and that's gratifying.

I also made a few baby shoes and a hat since my niece is pregnant and one of my few local friends is too (although she might have delivered by now).  I need to photograph them for my Ravelry projects at least.

Joji Locatelli put all her patterns up for a discount so I purchased some and made a hat.  It's called "A Girl Thing."  It was really easy to make, but slouches a little more than I want.  I plan to unravel from the crown and make it less deep.  I could use the leftover yarn for a cute cowl.  Hmmm...  Mojo is back?

Diana picked out some yarn for fingerless gloves at the shop by her physical therapist (All Wound Up).  I picked out a relatively easy set of mitts with a cable to make and got on it.  The first one was knit loosely and had some inconsistencies.  The second one seemed nicer.  I'm going to unravel the first one and reknit it.  It's funny how it takes me at least one dud to figure out what I'm doing.

I have expanded my list of podcasts that I have tuned in.  Here is a summary of some that stand out.

A lot of the latest flock of podcasters love The Grocery Girls out of Canada.  They are okay, in my humble opinion.  They must be an indie dyer's dream team because so much of their program is devoted to parading yarn skeins for them to exclaim how each is "stunning".  Their knitting projects don't seem to venture far from the basics though:  lotsa socks and "Sock Tawk" is their most-celebrated segment.  One of them makes project bags.  They do have pleasing personalities though and fun KALs, so I'll likely continue to watch them.

There are a lot of newer podcasts and one that comes to mind is Hey Sister.  It features a pair of sisters from West Virginia.  One is a seasoned knitter and the other is more of a beginner.  Nevertheless, they both turn out some nice finished objects.  Because of them, I purchased a Puntilla pattern when Joji had her discount in effect.  They make you feel that if they can do it, so can you.  They are squeaky clean and very attractive and their kids are just out of the frame (you can often hear them).  They have taken a page from the Grocery Girls in that they exclaim ecstatically about every skein of yarn they hold.  After a while at least from my perspective, it seems disingenious.  It's like they feel like if they proclaim all this indy yarn to be the greatest, they'll get sponsorships, and maybe they will.  There is nothing wrong with making one's avocation pay for itself.

I also recently discovered Tea House Knits.  It's just one woman of Chinese extraction broadcasting out of her Seattle area livingroom.  She is more cerebral than the previous two, and when she talks about yarn, it's less like a PR department and seems more honest.  Her projects are nice too, and then she talks in great depth about esoteric kinds of tea (for the average non-Chinese viewer) and it's all very intriguing.  I hope to eventually watch all of her episodes.

I am very fond of The Charm of It.  The host, Eva, is a single woman living alone with her cat, dog, and snake in a small apartment in upstate New York.  She makes beautiful projects and enjoys talking in great detail about their construction and all the choices she made to turn out each gem.  She is worth watching because she is very knowledgeable and honest.  She is a bit blunt and has a feminist point of view that I enjoy.

There are so many other podcasts.  I will talk about others I have viewed some other time.  I spend quite a lot of time down this rabbit hole!  I find that they can expand your knitting horizons and give you the knowledge and confidence to knit successfully whatever it is you wish to make.  I probably would never have made socks if I had not seen so many people on podcasts turning out pair after pair of all kinds.  If youi are a beginner knitter or even a seasoned knitter, you would probably enjoy all these podcasts.

No KAL Achievement Awards

Summer isn't quite over, but I did not achieve KAL participation greatness.  Ah well, it seemed so rosy at the beginning.  I had some snafus with my very first Tour de Sock (TDS) submission.  I started later than most and really got off track at the gusset.  I thought I'd get it fixed when in Georgia, but my knitting mojo completely abandoned me and I just couldn't face fixing that sock!  I eventually fixed it and got it off the needles.  Now I'm working on the second one and it's going so much better than the first in that I really really know how to knit this pattern.  I'm not at the gusset yet, but since I virtually knit the first one twice, I feel pretty positive about it.  I will pursue KALs again though, because if I don't encounter to many complicated problems, I can achieve KAL greatness one of these days.

I don't think I'll knit all the TDS socks even though I have the patterns in my library.  For now, I will stick to simpler patterns and dabble in self-striping vanilla socks and maybe slippers and felting. I like making baby things because they are small and easy to finish.  I might try a shawl.  I also need to give actual blocking a whirl.
.
One thing about knitting is that I feel I learn something with every project.