Weekend Away

We took a break from our super busy schedules to run off to New York to meet family for two days. It did involve some very late nights for schedule readjustment and a fair amout of panic, but we made it. It's always nice to take a break from our routines, but it's equally nice to get back home.

They say you should pick simple projects for travel, so of course I decided to start a fingering weight Fair Isle hat on size 1 needles. To be fair, the Selbu Modern is a beautiful pattern. (If you're interested in making your own, join us at Circle of Stitches next month for a class on this hat)

Small Victories

On Tuesday, July 7th, I put my completed Level 1 Master Knitter submission in the mail. On Thursday, July 9th, it was delivered to the committee. It feels like such a relief to have sent it off! Now to wait up to 8 weeks to find out how I did. Not that I'm counting down or anything.

Nate's birthday socks are done, in plenty of time for his birthday on Thursday. The pattern was my Wintersmith Socks with a different heel, because why not. This was originally a sock blank I was undecided about, but I love how the colors worked up. I better figure out where I stashed my notes so I can replicate it!

And now, I get to go back to knitting socks for my much tinier feet. These are the Stitch Surfer Socks, with a modified heel to keep the instarsia pattern uninterrupted. The variegated yarn is Toil & Trouble Classic in Starry Starry Night, and the solid is Cascade Heritage in Sapphire from Circle of Stitches.

What the Birds Know

It's no secret how much I love living in Salem. We have so many amenities, and among them is the Peabody Essex Museum. A couple of months ago, a group of local volunteers started collecting saplings and working together to build what seemed like a giant bird's nest in the middle of downtown. What they were doing is collaborating with artist Patrick Dougherty to install the PEM's first outdoor sculptural commission. After watching the installation process, I finally got to visit What the Birds Know, also known as Stickwork.

What Birds Know was surprisingly beautiful. The installation will be up for a year, so it will be interesting to see how it responds to our New England winter. Sadly for me, one bird apparently knew the exact moment to poop so that it would land on me. I've been told this is supposed to bring good luck, but so far I'm unconvinced.