COVID & Crafting

Time and tide wait for no man…or woman. In this instance, it was my time to deal with covid. *sigh* I truly believe that every human being will ultimately contract covid if they live long enough. Vaccinations, boosters, and isolation are all helpful, but not too many of us want to be hermits. Therein lies the rub; if we all become hermits, airborne diseases would become dormant or disappear. I’m no epidemiologist, in fact, I’m barely literate, so this is just talking hyperbole here, but it’s a thought.

As the disease coursed its way through my body, I was wracked with a mild headache and a slightly sore throat. Oh, and some sinus congestion. Ok – “wracked” is not the most appropriate verb there. “Annoyed” would be better. My husband, from whom I contracted this, had a really tough 24-hour period of severe cold symptoms. I’ve never seen so much mucous. I tried the isolation route, making sure he had everything he needed and using the phone for communications. I slept on the guest bed in another room. (Note: I deeply apologize for all the guests I’ve subjected to this torture device! A bed-topper is now a huge priority for me.)

Casa de Covid room service

After some rest, he was better, which was great, because by then it was my turn. I do have to admit the onset of the disease started alarmingly. I had an hour or so of convulsive shivering; I felt so cold. My teeth were chattering and clacking and my whole body was bent over. When I became aware of that, I would straighten up for a moment and that seemed to help….until the shivering started again. I took a hot shower and then went to bed. When I woke up the next morning, I felt like I had a cold, so I checked, and there were the two lines.

Awww nertz!

At least I got to sleep in my comfortable bed again!

With some downtime in my immediate future, I used it to finish the Blue Jean Baby Poncho that I had started several months ago, but it was pushed to the side as the Bierwagens Pumpkin Patch month-long event was approaching. I was a bit optimistic in that post, as I thought it could be whipped out in no time. Well, it probably could have, however, I put it aside, and now it’s finished. Ta-da!

I sewed up the front a little higher than was suggested in the pattern. It felt more comfortable for
me that way.

And another little project that I’d so callously ignored made its way back to my attention and was finished. I love this pattern, but I need to work on my fair isle skills, in particular, hiding the floats and stretchability of the finished product. Not happy with this, but I’m keeping it anyway.

The Unbearable Hat by Les Garcons. I’ve got to figure out a better way to do my fair isle!

So even though I finally contracted the dreaded COVID-19, the variant I had must have been a mild one, or perhaps the vaccination and boosters helped. I didn’t lose my sense of smell or taste, I was just tired, but not too tired to get some crocheting and knitting in!

Have you got covid? How was it for you? Did you get vaccinated and/or boosted? If so, do you think it made a difference? Or do you think the subsequent variants are losing the “oomph”? Do you think that everyone will eventually get covid?

Until next time, dear readers, stay healthy.

Yarn Thoughts

Hey, hey my crafty readers! I’m going to rile the feathers of some of you out there today with this post. Not with malice aforethought, but with careful consideration and preference.

Over the years I have discovered something truly tragic and erroneous about our yarn crafts. With cooler weather staring us in the face – (well, for some of us, it’s down the street, peeking around the corner) – many of you will be lining up your knit and/or crochet projects for the season ahead. As you pore through the plethora of patterns you purchased over the summer or saved on your Pinterest boards, the culling will begin. Some patterns will have you scratching your head as you ponder what you were thinking when you bought it, others will make your fingers tingle to feel needles clacking in your hands. Once you have decided on the projects, the search for the perfect yarn will commence. For most of us, there will be a compromise. Not having an unlimited budget for the yarn, we still opt for wool, usually larger company wool so it is somewhat more affordable. The atelier shops online with their lovely, squishy skeins of yarn are usually reserved for the smaller projects such as socks, mitts, or hats. Usually. Every so often we’ll splurge on an especially pretty sweater, cardigan, duster, what have you, but by and large, we’re looking for a bargain.

I can almost see you, dear reader, nodding your head in agreement and thinking, “Yes, we’re with you. What’s your point?” Well…….I truly hesitate to say this, but IthinkI’mgoingtoswitchovertoacrylics. There! I said it. I have spoken yarn heresy! But before you press the comment button to tell me how wrong I am, hear me out. I shall start with the projects that made me change my mind.

It began with my first top-down sweater project, Zweig, a lovely knit lace and fair isle sweater created by Boyland Knits. It took me a year of on-again/off-again knitting. I loved it. I finished it in May, and by sweater weather season, this beauty had been ravaged by moths. I had to throw it away.

My first major heartbreak!

Next is the maintenance of it all. Handwashing and laying your work flat to dry in the winter (when you’ll be wearing these beauties) means taking up a lot of real estate on my kitchen counter or table for days. I don’t know about you, but that’s not a viable option, especially if you’ve got more than one item drying. That makes it untenable. Then there’s the storage issue. After the moth incident, I am careful now to pack away all my wool sweaters in the only appropriate bag I’ve got.

Really?

Granted, these reasons alone may not have been compelling enough for me to switch out as I plan to do unless I hadn’t used acrylic as a last-ditch effort. While making my very favorite sweater of all time, Halibut, another Boyland Knits creation, I was truly strapped for funds. As it happened, I found some compatible acrylic yarn buried away in some sad neglected corner of my closet. It had been gifted to me by a friend when she moved and had to do some serious stash reduction. I went ahead with the project and have been seriously pleased with the results. But the best part of all for me is when it comes time to wash it and store it. I throw it in the washer and then the dryer and smush it all up on a shelf, just like the rest of my clothes. I am more inclined to wear it not only because I love the design, but because it’s just so easy to care for…or not care for, however you want to look at it. It’s not an heirloom that I fret over when I’m wearing it because it cost so much to make, it’s a living, wearable piece of art.

Crammed in the corner by the high-maintenance yarn sweaters!

So smack me down if you must in the comments, but know that after I use up my pretty, squishy, and expensive wool yarn that I did buy already, it’s going to be acrylics for practicality. At least for a while.

In the meantime, here is a freebie pattern for mittens that you may use whatever type of worsted yarn you want!

Click here for the pattern

Enjoy!

Gearing Up and Another Freebie

Hello, once again, dear readers. As summer draws to a close, many of us here in Northern California are waiting with great anticipation for the first rain that always comes with the cooler weather. So far, the fires in the general area have all been stopped with no building damage or loss of life – thank God. There has been only one smoke-filled day this season; otherwise, it’s been wonderful. That’s a change from the last two years when we experienced months of choking smoke during the fire season. Meanwhile, we still have to finish out August and most of September for a relaxation of fire vigilance. Only when Placer County allows fire days are we assured that it would be highly unlikely for a raging inferno to start. Fingers crossed that our luck holds this year.

As many of you who read my posts consistently throughout the year may remember in October and November I find local crafts fairs to sell my goodies and enter those that I can afford. Some are worth the money, and some aren’t. As always, I will be at Bierwagen’s Pumpkin Patch in Chicago Park every weekend in October.

Opening weekend 2021

Delicata and acorn squash, among others

Pleasant fall scenery for my lunch walks

Getting the inventory nice and plump throughout the year was my goal, and I believe I have accomplished this. I absolutely hate knitting and crocheting while I’m under the gun; it’s no fun. I now have enough for my opening weekend and perhaps the next, depending on the crowd’s mood. With historically high inflation rates hitting most of us hard in the pocket, I may have enough inventory for the whole month. In any case, I am looking forward to it. As you can see by the pics, it’s a country thing.

Part of the fun of selling your wares in an open market comes from getting ideas about what to make. There are perennial favorites, such as the Fringed Palindrome Cowl that will always sell, but you want to mix it up. With that in mind, I whipped up this fun and tremendously easy beanie with the beginner in mind. Presenting (drum roll) the Chutes and Ladders Beanie. As with most of my patterns, this is an adult size. To modify for size, go up or down by sets of 4 stitches.

Whips up fast and made with super bulky yarn so it will keep you warm

Hope you use this pattern for your next mini-project.

Finished Project and a Freebie

Can you tell I’m glad it’s done?!

And just like that, it’s done. I’m proud that I finished the sweater in (for me) a relatively short time, and as the pictures attest, it was the perfect weather for it. I’m especially pleased with this because I used Patons Astra DK acrylic yarn in a color that isn’t available anymore because it had been given to me about seven years ago, and the contrast color is Bernat Baby Sport Yarn, Baby Taupe. So, yea, this beautiful sweater was an acrylic yarn stash buster for me and cost me a net total of $15. I don’t normally use acrylic when I’m working on a project like this, but there you have it. Truly, I would have liked to use the recommended yarn, but it was a bit too dear for me, and damn it!- I wanted to make this sweater!! The pattern info is here.

The snow is falling and creating a beautiful Currier & Ives backdrop, but it’s wreaking havoc on the roads. I’ll be using this time as a springboard to start my next project, another Caitlin Hunter creation.

Tecumseh

Yarn, place marker, and sizing numbers circled

This is another sweater knit in DK weight yarn – and it is wool!! -so I suspect it will be finished in about a month. Hopefully. Wish me luck!

In the meantime, I wanted a crocheted planned pooling project that wasn’t a cowl or a scarf, so I made a sweater for one of my doggies. He’s a Chiweenie with very thin fur, so he must be covered pretty much 24/7. I wrote the pattern to be customizable, just as your doggie needs, and it whips up fairly quickly. Here it is!

So Christmas is over and I’m experiencing a little melancholy as I look at the bare spaces that were festive and bright just yesterday. And because of the snow I mentioned earlier, the lights will remain up until it’s safe to bring them down.

That’s just sad

So, dear readers, I hope this post amused you, and may you continue to carry on being awesome!

Meat, Yarn and a Downed Tree; or, life in the California foothills

Living in a small mountain town has its quirks, drawbacks, and bonuses. Take shopping, for instance. We have a fairly comprehensive shop in town where you can get most of your groceries – but at a cost. It’s hard to compete with Wal-Mart, even when it’s 30+ miles from home. Seriously. And going anywhere with amenities is at least 10 miles. But I live here…

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Not everyone’s cup of tea, but I love it!

So when your local shop has an annual meat sale, you go, you stand in lines, chat with everyone else who’s waiting, and walk out with a full grocery cart and an empty bank account. Thank goodness for the stimulus checks!

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The butchers were good-natured about my camera happy zeal! However, this being a small town, many of the locals who are social media savvy know who I am and what I post. 😇

And the excitement doesn’t stop there!😆 Even though I have enough yarn stashed away to open a small shop, there’s always room for more, especially when it’s a fun, thick yarn, such as Lion Brand Go For Faux Thick And Quick yarn. I purchased four skeins and was able to half double crochet my daughter a scarf in about one hour. It was much appreciated.

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The colors and project were inspired by my daughter’s presence. She liked the colors and i hadn’t made her anything for quite some time.

Of course, I have a more long-term knit project going on. With Christmas sales on hold until October, I am working on another fingering weight pullover. Presenting Purl Soho’s Ribbed Raglan Pullover in Sweetgrass Beech Bark colorway. I started this about two weeks ago and I’m still on the yoke!

On my lunch break.

I’ll be updating on the progress of this sucker for about a year! Seriously, I’m shooting for about two more months. We shall see…

On a final note, there’s nothing like getting up at 5 A.M. to drive your friend 50 miles for an early surgical procedure, and one of the little roads you take has a big tree lying across it. We still made it on time because she caught a ride from her husband before he went to work (he doesn’t have paid time off; ergo, my timely intervention) where she was dropped off on the other side of the blockage! One person just muscled their way around the limbs (see pic), but I didn’t want to chance scratching up my paint.

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The image on the left shows how one person just bulldozed their way around it – and how I was missing my Jeep at this point!

As it went, when we were leaving, one of the stranded motorists just happened to have a freaking chainsaw in their car and was gassing it up as we walked by. Imagine that!

As I’m sitting here in my car, waiting for the procedure to be over for my friend, I’m thinking this post feels more like a diary entry than compelling reading, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway.

Until next time, dear readers!

Temp Blanket Finished or: Happy New Year!

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  The bag couldn’t make it through the year – torn. And of course, my ubiquitous doggos investigating everything I put on the floor!

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  I should have taken a better pic, but when the husband is involved, it’s catch as catch can!

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  The simple design of moss stitch ensured that I finished the project!

I finished the temperature blanket!!!! For those of you suffering from insomnia, browsing the internet late at night and have stumbled, accidentally, I’m sure, on this entry, a temperature blanket is a project that takes a year to make. The designs can be inventive, quirky, or in my case, as simple as possible, and each row represents the temperature of the day you worked it. For me, the pics represent 365 days of temperature readings. Once again, here are the colors for the temps I used so you can see what kind of year we had climate-wise here in the Sierra Nevadas in 2020. Way cooler to see this chart and have a finished blanket to view and nod, “Oh!”

Which brings me to the new year. I hope to God, Allah, Hare Krishna, Buddha, WHOEVER, that we have a better year. Unfortunately, nipping on the heels of hope after vaccinations are becoming more widely available, there is now a new variant of this fucking virus that is especially contagious. Just as we’re all rounding third base and getting ready to slide into home, it appears the catcher has the ball and we may have to do some fancy footwork. The current thinking among the experts is that the vaccine will work even on the mutation. We need prayers, healing vibes – hell, even crossed fingers, to help with the juju on this one.

2020 FUCK YOU!

In the meantime, keep wearing that mask and social distance when possible. Happy New Year and, God willing, I’ll see on the other side of this!

Houston and Hurricane Delta

And disaster continues. I’m starting to feel like a Jonah here, people! My last mini-staycay involved the death of my cousin’s friend (no funnies there, really), wildfires, evacuations, and nearby riots. In March, while on the beautiful island of Oahu, in the North Shore area, we watched in disbelief as the world got hit in the face with the coronavirus and everything changed.

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  On the way there

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  On the way back…

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  Pretty sunset pics

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  The next day – there’s no filter here, guys.

So in retrospect, Houston was easy, but it sure didn’t feel like it at the time. I spent way too much time on my phone, watching the projected track of Hurricane Delta. When Southwest Airlines sent me a message that I may want to modify my flight due to weather, I nearly went into a state of apoplexy. With my niece’s young children to keep my behavior in check, I managed to maintain a relatively calm demeanor going, but that is tiring. Ultimately, I did change my departure time to beat the landfall of the storm, and after all that, the most we got were some showers. Not complaining! I had resolved myself to a bumpy departure and the first 20 – 30 minutes of moderate turbulence. Turned out to be the smoothest flight I’ve had in a decade!

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  Out walking in the storm before leaving. Guest dog, Chico.

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  Plenty of room.

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  Waiting for takeoff.

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  Bands of clouds from the hurricane.

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  Goofing with “Hurricane” hair!

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  Friendly flight attendants.

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  The beauty of a sock project is that you can work on it anywhere.

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  Smoke over my beloved California. <:(

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  Seeing familiar landscape decreased my anxiety levels.

But my time there wasn’t spent in a total tissy. I lived in Del Rio, TX from 1988 – 1992, and I realized that Texans still aren’t as concerned with their diets as Californians. LOL! Don’t misunderstand me here – I’m sure there are plenty of health-conscious Texans, I just didn’t run into any of them, and the amount steak houses and BBQ joints I saw (and patronized) seemed a bit on the heavy side.

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  Brisket with macaroni and cheese, green beans and bacon, with side of jalapeno, pickled onions and pickles, and of course, I had to have pecan pie!

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I also went to the NASA Space Center in Houston – whee! – and the Houston Museum of Natural Science. There were so many other things to do, but we had limited time. Here are some more images to peruse.

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  Hobby Lobby finds

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  Lunar soil. Doesn’t look like my idea of “soil”.

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  I never realized these capsules were sooo tiny! Look real careful to find the figure inside.

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  Now this was bad ass! Huge.

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  Different angle.

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  Empty boardwalk.

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  Downtown Houston

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  Kinda explains itself.

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  At The Museum of Natural Science.

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  Orange garnet and diamonds

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  Amethyst and diamond

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  Sweet Chico who kept me company on my walks.

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  And guess who got stuck in the back with the kids?

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  And yes, I did ride that loop thing. It’s been so long since I’ve ridden any kind of ride!

On a separate note, the temperature blanket is moving along nicely. It’s getting so large I’m finding it hard to shove back into my gigantic project bag! I can’t wait for this year to be done for so many reasons, but this one is in the top 10!

And I was worried it wouldn’t be long enough!

See you in the funnies!

Oahu, Snowmageddon, And The Apocalypse – Frig Off!

 

 

Hey, everybody. I hope this belated post finds you healthy and, if not exactly happy, at least not panicked. It’s been almost two weeks since my husband and I have returned stateside, and I have been seriously struggling with how to write this entry. I’m tired of grim; I’m tired of fear; I’m tired and extremely saddened to hear about people dying. I can’t even imagine what those families are going through.

 So…how does one write a light-hearted vignette while ignoring the elephant in the middle of the room? Lets start with crafting – the blog is called Nittin’ Ninja, after all. I did have a few days where I totally ignored anything even remotely crafty, like when I was in Oahu. Understandable there. It’s just when I came back from the island a day early to fight a snowstorm to get home and discover we were without power for three days and all the media shitstorm about COVID-19 had people panic shopping so there wasn’t anything on the shelves. You would think that would be perfect for crafting, but it wasn’t. I couldn’t wrap my mind around anything wonderful or artistic. I felt totally numb.

 

We hadn’t even gone home yet from disembarking the plane…

 

 

Before shoveling the snow…

 

But…I realized I needed to catch up on my temperature blanket- I was already 8 days behind. I had to keep making my blanket. So I picked it up, and three days at a time, I caught it up – tada! While playing catch-up, I also started work once again on this cute crochet top I had started while in Oahu.

 

The temperature blanket that may well have saved my sanity!

 

 

The cute shirt as of 03/27 in the morning.

 

And then, to make things feel almost a little more normal – but not really – I received a skein of ooey, gooey, squishy fingering weight yarn I’d ordered before Hawai’i. Yay!!!

 

I’d pre-ordered this wonderful skein and totally forgotten about it when I got it in the mail

 

So, still not normal, but definitely better. I do need to mention that while in Oahu I made some new yarn friends.

 

OMG – I just remember that I forgot their names!

 

 

What – you didn’t think I was going to go into a yarn shop and not buy some yarn?

 

You may notice that there are Christmas decorations interspersed with all the wonderful yarn? The owner, Sylvia Kruse, has merged two concepts here, and strangely enough, it works. Check out her FB page Yarn & Needlecraft Strictly Christmas!I think for the rest of the post, I’m going to do like I did last time and throw some pics out there for you to enjoy and call it quits for today! Aloha!

 

On the way to the plane with my hubby!

 

 

First-class bathroom! We were able to upgrade both ways! ;-D

 

 

I absolutely loved these two attendants, and I told them as much…

 

 

…so they very specifically gave me a plumeria to tuck behind my ear when I disembarked! ❤

 

 

Started on the plane.

 

 

What a spread! (yea, newbie to First Class flying – shut up!)

 

 

Whale watching!

 

 

I mean…look at that! And the locals are probably so tired of this view!

 

 

More Christmas-ey yarn!

 

 

Beach…

 

 

Drenched after a walk on a trail!

 

 

 

 

Again with the Hawai’i hair! LOL!

 

 

Haleiwa Harbor

 

 

Crazy Canadian, Angie! She was wearing a sweater and cowboy boots! Hey, girl!

 

 

Mandatory moco loco!

 

 

At Dole Pineapple Plantation. Just had to get a picture of the sky, so blue, and the flora, sooo green!

 

 

The maze map – we found all the secret stations!

 

 

 

 

Pearls for my daughter, a June baby.

 

 

Fantastic tree in a parking lot – !

 

 

And these brilliantly colored feral chickens were everywhere on the North Shore.

 

Mahalo for reading, and stay healthy – please!

A Month In And A Month Away

I am really enjoying this temperature blanket I’m making. It’s a little over a month in, since I started it on January 1st. As it shapes up underneath the hook every day, I really want to push it forward. I think the discipline and waiting for every day to do one row at a time is actually a good idea! Unlike other projects that I start hotter than an asteroid entering our atmosphere then burn out midway through, this is a metered attempt. I hope I’m able to finish it!

🏝And we’re about a month away from Hawaii – again! This time we’re going to Oahu and stay in a converted garage on the North Beach. It won’t be the same experience as far as being in a jungle and having all the amenities but I figured we hardly spent any time in that wonderful little cabin. I would have liked to spend just one day enjoying the scenery there, but we had so much to do that we spent most of it on the damn road!

I also need to get started on the design for a scarf. Last year I went to the Bahamas about this time and I was able to go because of one person. I mentioned her last year and I’m going to mention her again. Her name is Danielle Cotton and I want to make her a scarf design that means something to her. Kind of hard. I worry that by the time I finally get around to making this scarf she’s going to be in her eighties and I’m gonna be dead!

In the meantime, we’re going to go see Randy Bo-bandy at a Cheeseburger Picnic in Reno! Yes, you may have guessed this is a trailer park boys related production. I saw him on the cruise last year and he was hilarious! I hope it’s as funny this year.🤩😍

So be on the look out for Hawaii pictures again! I have heard that Oahu is a totally different experience and we’re gonna find out!

A Cute Knit Freebie and a Change of Plans

In my last entry I said January was going to be a month for knitting socks.

That hasn’t happened.

A friend of mine owns Homie Joe’s, a diner right off I-80 that serves tacos, rice, beans, burritos, quesedillas, etc., and they are busy. What’s happening right now is the ski crowd coming up from the Bay area are stopping here to eat. And, according to my friend, they’re always complaining that they forgot their hats.

Of course, no one wanted their pic taken.

You see where this is going, right? My short selling season has been extended! I’m making ok sales, but what I like, is that I’m not tending a stall for 6 hours or longer! I just go in (which I’m planning to do in about an hour), check to see if I have any cashey-money, stock new items, and we’re done!

Love my clever friends!

I am also working on a website for a new client, and working on content for an existing client. I think my little biz may be growing? As for the graphic designs sales, that’s fallen a little flat. May be my designs aren’t that great, or my market is too niche? We’ll keep trying different angles. In the meantime, here is link to my Etsy shop (!!) if you would kindly share it. ❤

Ah, nothing like a plug.

The upside, at least for those of you who follow my occasional posts, is that I have a freebie beanie pattern – woo-hoo!

Super cute, easy, and just in time for Valentin’s Day.

What’s happening in your neck of the woods?

See you in the funny pages!