Accomplish-Knit

Clear back at the end of May, I finally worked up the courage to try my very first sweater after seeing Jacqueline Cieslak's Ursa Minor pattern.

Bulky weight yarn? V-neck? Size inclusive?

I was sold.

I even had yarn in my stash I could use.

So, I dove right in and got to work.

And promptly realized that I could only work on it for short bursts of time because size 10.5 needles apparently make my hands angry.

So it took me a *little* longer than I meant to finish it.

But I DID finish it.

On my birthday, no less.

Alas, we had to wait until it wasn't 90 BLOODY DEGREES outside before we could take pictures.

But guess what?

We managed to do that, too.

But as you're admiring my lovely new addition to my wardrobe, I need to bring up an important point dealing with taking pictures of sweaters...

WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO DO WITH YOUR HANDS?!?!?!?!!

We tried out a few different prop options...

Before ultimately deciding to go with a copy of The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes from my library.

So, let's talk about the sweater itself.

I used KnitPick's Wool of the Andes bulky weight in spruce. I think I used just under 6 skeins? I haven't weighed my leftovers yet.

Because it's me, I decided to add lace to the bottom hem and sleeves. 

I also picked up extra stitches under the arm (12 as opposed to the 3 I think the pattern called for) and didn't decrease at all. I'm not a fan of fitted sleeves and wanted a bit of a flare at the end.

The lace pattern is an adaptation of the fern lace pattern from 750 Knitting Stitches.

I went with 3/4 length sleeves because I couldn't decide between short sleeve and full length. 

I think I went with the right option.

I was so worried that it'd grow too much since I tend to knit loosely. But this sweater fits like an absolute dream. 

Now, if only we could get some ACTUAL FALL WEATHER for me to be able to wear it.

BONUS!

Enjoy a couple extra pictures of my second favorite prop.

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Sweet Rewards

You know what makes bee keeping worth it?

Besides, y'know, getting to hang out with a few hundred thousand cute friends?

This, my friends. This.

Yep, we finally got to actually take some honey out of the hives.

As you can see by my face here, I'm pretty dang excited.

And even though I got my first sting while working in the hives, I had so much dang fun doing this.

Processing the honey after was just as fun, too. Seriously. It doesn't look like it, but I was just ecstatic.

So, to release the honey from the frames, first you cut it out.

Kevin did that while I took the chunks of honey comb and started crushing them up into a filter on top of a bucket.

Which filled up quickly.

The honey all drains down to the bottom, all ready for bottling.

It was fascinating seeing the difference between older comb and newer.

This was older, tougher comb. It was harder to crush and left larger chunks in the filter. And as you can see it's darker than the new comb.

The newer comb broke as soon as you picked it up, spilling honey just everywhere.

The honey was also so warm! It's not something you really think about, right?

That warmth meant that it flowed easier, too, making our job easier. It also meant that the smell of honey was super pungent. It was incredible.

I snagged this bit of comb for myself to tide me over until I can secure some bottles of liquid gold.

And I don't care what anyone tells you.

I DEFINITELY haven't been taking the lid off just to give it a good huff every once in a while...

Nope. Not at all...

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One Person's Trash

It seems like I'm flying through finished pieces here recently and as such it's created a backlog of blog posts that need to be written.

But before we get into the latest project, first a bit of business.

My birthday is coming up next week. And I *may or may not* have accidentally stumbled upon John's plans for that. And since I have, I figured I might as well tell y'all about it.

He's set up a fundraiser to get me a new tattoo, something I've wanted for a very long time. And with how stressful things have been over the last year and a half, some personal body modification sounds absolutely heavenly.

And this is so much better than my friends and loved ones feeling obligated to buy me a gift, because I know how much we're all struggling financially.

If you have any interest in contributing (but please don't feel obligated to!) you can check out the fundraiser here: https://www.facebook.com/donate/495305627915181/

You can also contribute by using my Kofi or PayPal links located at the bottom of this post.

Now, on to the knitting.

This project was born out of desperation. A need to do something, ANYTHING, other than working on Caim.

So one night, after tossing Caim aside angrily, I simply grabbed some needles, the leftover undyed yarn from Rainbomb, and my scrap basket. And this is what was born from that venture.

And since this is an Ashtan Original, it needs a fitting name.

I'm torn between Trash and Minnie and Trash Buster.

Because that's what this thing is made of: scraps of pieces that normally would have just been tossed out and minis that I didn't know quite what to do with, as well as leftovers from other projects.

There are some pieces of yarn in there that were only maybe a yard long. But if I could tie a knot in it, it got added to the piece.

I lost track of the actual number of colors I ended up using, but it had to be close to twenty.

It doesn't exactly scream "Ashtan" does it? But I absolutely adore it. It works great as a shawl...

Or as a scarf.

The spouse was a fan, too.

And can we just talk about the tassels for a moment?

In some scraps that Mikayla had given me, there was a sample of mohair lace. I used it in the tassels and it made them absolutely magical. The slight fuzziness just makes them feel so whimsical.

And if my ramblings weren't enough to convince you how much I love this thing, how about the fact that I, Miss Never-Repeats-A-Pattern have started TWO MORE of these, one of which is actually already done and off to its new owner.

This is the best picture I have of that one at the moment.

I'm actually considering writing up a quick pattern for it so you, too, can have fun and play with all those scraps laying around.

For now, though...

I'm just gonna go snuggle up with my own.

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List Up Catch Post

It's been a hot minute, hasn't it? This time of year always gets so ridiculously busy between Trails, birthdays, the start of school...

Soooo.... let's catch up!

1. First and foremost, I want to say a tremendous thank you to Debbie for the incredible gift she gave me at the last pj party.

I've already waxed poetic about it on instagram, so I won't subject you to my emotional overload again. (I may also be avoiding making myself cry again...)

2. I ALSO want to thank my aunt Jeaninne for the gorgeous pitcher from a potter local to her.

I also cried when I got this, too.

Apparently, I'm just a crying mess lately.

3. I made another journal!

This one is just for me for more traditional journaling.

It's a little rough because I was trying to remember how to make the dang things as I was going.

4. I've also started on my new bullet journal! And to start it off, I'm doing a Harry Potter themed month!

5. Em and I found a new, fun store to spend all the moneys in.

6. We went to the beach! At Lake Erie!

It was actually the first time in my life that I'd been to the beach. And I fell in love. As did Alex. And now we want to go every dang weekend.

7. We went to a couple other places in Cleveland, too. I managed to get this adorable picture of my darling spoose.

And I found a yarn bomb.

8. I've gotten two more shawls done, but haven't had a chance to write them up yet. But here's a teaser of one.

9. I FINALLY STARTED MY DANG WEDDING SHAWL SO Y'ALL CAN STOP YELLING AT ME NOW!

11. My mantle looks really pretty right now.

12. I don't know if you noticed, but I've kind of given up on the whole "get a project done every month" thing. It was just too much to try and do with everything else going on this year. 

13. And to round this out, I just want to say a huge thank you for being here and reading and supporting and loving and laughing with me. It's been 4 years now since I started this blog and your support has been incredible.

Here's to the next four years.

PS. This post marks my 200th post on here!

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Like my writing? You can help support me and future writing projects directly by donating through the links below!

Ko-fi link: ko-fi.com/blackgoatknitting

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