Off the needles!!

 

Finished. This is the fastest I have ever knit an adult size sweater but when I’m using #10 needles it does go fast. I washed it twice because the first time it didn’t shrink in length the way my swatch did which was a scant half inch of a 4 inch swatch. So I threw it in the dryer for 5 minutes then 5 more minutes. The sleeves are still too long but I can fold up the cuffs. Maybe next time it’s washed it will shrink a little more. Always guessing with what the yarn will do. —Ann—

Temporarily off the needles

 I purchased this yarn in Ireland last summer, a worsted weight called Soft Donegal by Studio Donegal. Hubby was off hunting last weekend what should I do??  Cozy up and knit of course….the same pattern as the pink sweater https://straythreads-straythreads.blogspot.com/2025/03/ also a Donegal tweed that I purchased in the south of Ireland the summer before that I knit 3 times before I loved it. I knit this on #10 needles in a 14 gauge that means big stitches so it knit fast. Hubby left on Friday and came home Monday and I was well into my 3rd ball of yarn. Don’t think I’ll have it done for Thanksgiving but will definitely finish it while we are still eating leftovers. Happy Thanksgiving.  —Ann—

Blissful sewing

A morning of blissful sewing! An appointment was changed to the afternoon I was as giddy as a schoolgirl hearing the announcement that it was a snow day.  There was snow on the ground but as I sewed I listened to the rhythm of the dripping snow melt from the roof. I thought this would be quick to sew, I did start it back in September and it would have been if I had cut all the strips the same size but I found leftover strips to use and then life happens with lots of distractions.

I’m calling this quilt Racoons in the sweet corn. The racoons are circling the patch a few have eaten their fill or are going to share the news with their friends and relatives.  —Ann—

Off the needles

These sweaters are finally finished a couple false starts on the sleeves because I’m numerically challenged. Why is it so hard to knit 4 sleeves the same? I have no idea but sometimes it’s hard to knit two sleeves the same circumference and length.  They are finished in time for birthdays. It is hard to believe my two little 4 pound peanut sized granddaughters are 5 years old.  —Ann—

Bigger slippers

 

I knit some bigger slippers for the little girls……so far so good they actually fit me before felting and then I over felted them and they were too small so knit another pair actually knit two pairs.  I had to order more yarn oh darn!! The weather has changed felted wool slippers feel pretty good.  —Ann—

Extra yarn

I packed extra yarn for the week at the river, I might have packed too much. The yellow bag had my projects to work on while hubby drives. It is a 4 hour drive to the river. And the brown and blue bag…..well I don’t want to run out of things to do.  I may have packed too much just in case I finish the 3 sweaters……I have yarn for stocking caps, I’ll let the girls pick which yarn they want for the pink pom poms, I’m going to use the white with the kid haze for the ribbing then one of the pink yarns in a mosaic pattern, more on that when I get to it. I brought a ball of the green yarn from Ireland so I could start swatching.  I plan on reading lots of books to the little girls too and a couple for me. —Ann—

Reading list #4 2025

A week without a bunch of activities………a week at the river.  Summertime temperatures, reading on the deck, knitting and coffee maybe some wine later.

1. The Girls of Ennismore by Patricia Falvey an Irish version of Downton Abbey the story begins in the early 1900’s Ireland’s fight for independence is also part of the story.  Good story. 
2. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir science fiction saving the earth from above normal temperatures from a star outside our solar system. I skipped over a lot of the technical stuff but the drama was good. 
3. Folded Corners by Jean Grainger #5 of the Knocknashee series 
4. Through Streets Broad and Narrow by Gemma Jackson Dublin Ireland 1925 about a young woman struggling after the death of her father her struggle to survive her poverty.
5. Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen about a young woman still reeling from the death of her husband finds a postcard from her great aunt and drives to Lost Lake hoping to find here aunt and remember her happy childhood there. Good story.
6. Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny three mysteries in one. The unfolding of the story of members of the investigating team being shot, unofficially reinvestigating the murder in the previous book ‘why would he move the body’ and the murder of a man obsessed with where was Samual Champlain was buried over a century ago.
7. Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller takes place in a small town in Georgia some residents ban books in the library. Lula Dean puts up a little library outside her house with the books she thinks people should be reading. Another resident puts the banned books inside the jackets of the acceptable books. The books change lives and the town. Very good and very funny at times.
8. Her Last Flight by Beatriz Williams takes place in 1920’s to 1940’s a woman pilot in the early years of aviation. For book club.
9. Camino Winds by John Grisham book 2 after Camino Island another thriller with a hurricane, a bookstore, some writers, a murder or two, nursing home fraud and lots more.
10. Heat Lightning by John Sandford —Virgil Flowers mystery takes place in Minnesota. Murder  and theft of heavy equipment going back to Vietnam 1975. He covered a lot of ground in Minnesota Mankato, Minneapolis, Bemidji, Red Lake, International Falls and back again. Those places are not close together.
11. no more tears the dark secrets of Johnson & Johnson by gardiner harris the good the bad and the ugly of drug manufacturing makes Camino Winds seem more fact than fiction but in that book it was the nursing home making fraudulent claims against medicare and medicaid. Not the drug manufacturers with fraudulent claims of what the drug will do and negligence with side effects. I’m going to walk and eat my veggies to avoid prescription meds. Two major law suits against J&J were won by the plaintiffs in South Dakota. 
12. Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah always a good story. About a little girl who has been living in the rain forest of the Pacific Northwest wonders into a town searching for food. A child psychologist is called in who is the sister of the local police chief to help the girl. Love and patience is the cure. Very good.
13. Camino Ghosts by John Grisham 3rd book of the series resort developer wants to build a resort on an abandoned island once occupied by escaped slaves, the last living descendant claims ownership of the island and will not accept any amount of cash.  Her ancestors are buried there. Very good story.
14. The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World by E.L. Konigsburg just for fun kids chapter book. Two middle school age boys who have spent more time with adults than kids, they are helping the mother of one of the boys ready the contents of an estate house for sale, a retired opera singer, a small sketch by a famous artist, an art exhibit of “forbidden art”, nazi plunder and more intrigue everything gets sorted in the end. I may read all of  E.L. Konigsburg’s books
15. Night Road by Kristen Hannah for book club good discussion it’s about family, grief, and forgiveness. 
16. The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place by E.L. Konigsburg a 12 year old girl has a miserable experience at summer camp, her great uncle rescues her from camp she learns that the towers her uncles constructed years ago were going to be demolished she comes up with a plan to save the towers. Some of the same characters that were in The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World only younger. Delightful story.