While I don’t have much to share, enjoy the photos I took of Dan’s Frosty Penguin mitts.

I finished Dan’s lizard socks, and they look lovely! I still need to get some better product photos, and I need to finish writing up the pattern. This is part of my Warm Feet tier on Patreon, so patrons will get this pattern for free April 1 (and anyone will be able to purchase it on Ravelry).

I cast on the Frosty Penguin mittens for Dan. He went shopping at Marden’s about a month ago, and he found some Mirasol Reque yarn that he really liked. The purple skein is being made into fingerless mitts, and there is a red skein that will be made into the Frosty Penguin hat. I learned the Latvian braid for this project, which is really fun to make, although hard to learn when you’re sick.

Yesterday we journeyed to the local yarn shop. I purchased the Cat Doodle cowl pattern, and I had to get all the yarn for that! I’ve been winding up a ball at a time when I have the energy. Both the Frosty Penguin mittens and the Cat Doodle cowl use a size 5 needle, so I told myself I can only start the cats when I finish the penguins.

I’ve been low energy all week, and I missed a day of work. When you have a chronic illness, sometimes low weeks just happen for no reason at all, which is very frustrating. I’m trying to take care of myself the best I can, and I hope the feeling will pass soon. In the meantime, I’ve enjoyed my low-energy weekend by lounging in the living room with the windows open to enjoy the spring air.

Wishing you all a lovely week filled with warm weather and yarn!

Lots of mail went out this week - I sent a penpal letter to Cyprus and another to Italy. I also received my first penpal letter from Sweden! I received my order of postcards and I sent my first two Postcrossing postcards to Taiwan and Germany. It’s also the beginning of the month, which means I got to send my Warrior Card Swap card! The Warrior Card Swap is a card swap between those in the chronically ill community, and it has brought me so much joy every month. This month, my card is going to England!

Knitting-wise, I mostly worked on my Lizard Track socks. I did buy the Frosty Penguin collection by StitchyDragon, because Dan has requested the mittens and hat. I also bought the Cat Doodle pattern by Jamie Lomax, which I have been eagerly awaiting for over a month. I wanted to buy the yarn on Saturday, but our local yarn store was closed (the owner was ill), and, due to the open hours, I have to wait until next Saturday to visit. I’m trying not to be too sad about it.

I ended the weekend visiting a friend and working on an acrylic painting with her. With all the sickness going around, it was really nice to have a plan follow through because everyone was healthy.

We’re expecting warmer weather this week. Wishing everyone a smooth transition through the time change and a happy week!

This week I finished the Napuka skirt, and hopefully I’ll have pictures by next week. I had to do a little bit of blocking on it first. My knitting bag is now a lot lighter! I’m back to working on Dan’s Lizard Tracks socks, and I’m trying not to cast on any other project until I have finished those.

I finished my Geometry hat last night. This is the pattern that I hope to release to the world on Pi Day. I know triangles are not related to Pi, but all math is joyous, right?

A good chunk of the week was recovering from our mini vacation and then getting sick. As someone with POTS, I don’t necessarily have a damaged immune system, but my body doesn’t have the energy to regulate my autonomic nervous system and fight off a cold/flu/etc. at the same time. This means that, while I didn’t get the stuffy nose that Dan did, I did spend two days with heavy fatigue, nausea, and brain fog. I’m feeling better today, so fingers crossed for a better week ahead.

We’ve had a few days get in the 40s, so I’ve been cracking the windows, which my cats love. Spring is slowly on its way!

I finally finished knitting Dan’s Maine Island socks, and he was very excited to be able to wear them for the first time on a Maine Island. This pattern is by Mary O’Shea, and is perfect for your first sock color work project. The color work section is worked over a section of four stitches, so you never have a long float. I knit these using Cascade Heritage yarn, and Dan picked out the colors. He wanted these socks to be reminiscent of the colors of a rocky Maine beach in wintertime.

I also finished the first Lizard Track’s sock and cast on the second. I’ve made a couple more pattern modifications, and I feel like this pattern is on schedule to be published April 1, which is exciting.

Dan asked for a dice bag, and I tried making up a brioche knitting pattern for it, but I just didn’t like it, so I’m going to frog it and try to create something else. Not every inspiration for a knitting pattern works out, but it’s still disappointing when you have to take something apart.

This week, I read Syme’s Letter Writer which is a charming book about writing letters in the modern age. If you’ve ever had an interest in snail mail, this is a fabulous book. It has set off another pen palling phase in my life, and I’ve lined up four pen pals to start writing to. If you ever want to start pen palling, I recommend the website Global PenFriends, or you can go on Instagram and look through the hashtag #penpalswanted. I did find one of my pen pals on Bluesky, but the community is just not as large for snail mail on there.

Wishing you all a wonderful week.

This week, I was playing around with short row heels for the Lizard Tracks sock, but these simply do not fit my husband, so after five attempts at knitting a short row heel, I went back to the typical heel flap and gusset. Now I’m working on the foot, and I just have the toe portion to write for this pattern.

I also knit the heel for Dan’s second Maine Island sock. I love these socks, but the first one took a long time (I had to undo it twice), so I’m excited to finally have these finished. It will also open up the door to new projects for me. This is a stunning pattern by Mary O’Shea, if you’re looking for a colorwork sock, but definitely use caution if the recipient has a large foot (my husband is a size 13, and I had to add 16 stitches to the largest size in this pattern, and modify other parts accordingly).

This week, I read The Violin Conspiracy, and it was a five star. If you want to read a book with music, family conflict, and mystery, this is the book for you. As soon as I heard about it on a podcast, I knew I wanted to read it, and I was lucky to snag this on Libby with no hold time.

If you live in snowy areas, I hope you’re staying safe on the roads. I’m enjoying the beauty of winter, but I’m definitely looking forward to springtime when I can open my windows wide and enjoy the fresh air. Have a good week!

On Monday, I received an order from Michael’s, and it contained the yarn to make my husband’s new pair of Lizard Tracks socks. I’ve been revamping the pattern, updating the gauge, modifying the heel, etc. The yarn is Loops & Threads Luxe Merino Wool Blend in rhubarb, which is a lovely burgundy color. The mix is 55% superwash merino and 45% acrylic, and goodness gracious, the acrylic portion is stinky! It’s losing the scent as I work with it, and I’ll definitely give the socks a good wash before giving them over to Dan.

I also tried my hand at visible mending this week. Dan is really good at wearing down his clothes super fast. Seriously, I’m not sure how he does it. I got some embroidery thread, fabric, dissolvable tracing paper, and an embroidery hoop in my Michael’s order, and I’ve worked on patching one of his favorite sweatshirts and a pair of his jeans. It’s very fun but also super slow.

We were supposed to see two different friends this weekend, but both have gotten sick, so we stayed home instead. Remember to do your part to reduce the spread of illness. What might be just a cold to you can be extremely problematic for people with impaired immune systems and chronic illnesses. If you’re feeling ill, stay home. Wear a mask in public spaces, like the grocery store. People emphasize hand washing when they talk about illness, and while that is super important, remember that many illnesses, including covid, mainly travel by air, which makes masks and air filters important. Keep doing your part, and soon spring will be upon us, where we can relax a little and let open windows and natural air flow do their part.

I’ve gotten a lot of reading done this week as well. I finished The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf, and it was a five star read! A great pick if you like historical fiction and/or excellent portrayals of mental health in literature. I also decided to give audiobooks a try. In the past, I’ve avoided them because I didn’t think I could absorb all the information when played in audio format. However, I found that I do much better when I listen to them at x1.5 speed. I relistened to The Hate U Give, which is, of course, fabulous, and then listened to a new-to-me book (it was 2 stars, so I won’t share the title here), and I felt like I absorbed it as well as a physical book. I’m excited to get to listen to new stories during work (I do a lot of data cleaning, which is the perfect time to listen to podcasts and audiobooks) and while I do chores. I often knit before bed to tire myself out, so that might be another good time to listen to books.

If you’re not already subscribed to my Patreon, make sure to do so if you’re interested in a free sock pattern every 3 months and a 25% discount on all other patterns I publish. I have lots of ideas in the works!

https://patreon.com/Whitebeardesigns?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink

Returning to knitting has been a long journey for me. I used to knit everywhere and anytime until I got COVID and developed POTS. I spent two years barely able to knit a row because it gave me air hunger, tachycardia, and extreme fatigue. Finding medications that help has been such a relief, and it had gotten my creative juices flowing again.

I have two projects on my needles right now: The Napuka skirt by Berroco and the Maine Island Socks by Mary O’Shea. I’ve been jotting down ideas for patterns on sticky notes, and I finally decided to put them together in a notebook. I have yarn in the mail (hopefully coming tomorrow) for my first Warm Feet tier socks (to be published April 1). The pattern is half ready, but I have to gauge it and adjust it for other sizes. I also have soooo many other ideas in my notebook for socks, hats, cowls, infinity scarves, etc. If only I could knit as fast as I get inspired! If you’re a knitter, what type of patterns do you want more of in the world?

It’s definitely been hard to keep our spirits up here with all the stuff happening in the US. We continue to amplify diverse voices and vote with our dollars, and we continue to provide a safe place for our friends who are LGBTQIA+. I would love to hear about what steps others have taken, and how you continue to find joy and hope.

And lastly, here’s a cat picture to hopefully bring a smile to your face.

Sending love to you all.

Elise