When you are knitting socks and sweaters and scarves, you aren’t just knitting. You are assigning a value to human effort. You are holding back time. You are preserving the simple unchanging act of handwork. ~ Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

My vacation week is coming to an end. Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful to still be employed. That said, I would much rather listen to audio books, knit, cook, bake, tramp around my yard, snuggle the kitties and take care of the British Hubby. Unfortunately, we can’t pay bills with Ernie snuggles or knitted items. (What a shame, right?) I’ve been trying to convince the British Hubby we actually could live on love, but he’s skeptical.

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So this week, I went a little wild crafting. I know, after Malabrigo March how could I possibly get wild with my knitting? In an effort to help support local small businesses, I joined the Rowan Elder Throw Kal with WildFibers. What’s even more exciting, I met some new knitters during our Zoom meet-ups. Who would have thought, I’m making new knitting friends during social distancing? Here’s the start of my COVID Comfort blanket. This is my first time making my own color cards. That was pretty cool. I couldn’t find a hole punch so I improvised with some sharp needles.

What attracted me to this pattern was how much it looks like a pieced together quilt. As you know, I’m not one that likes to seam an entire blanket together at the end. This has one pick up stitches and builds the blanket as you go. I’m not far enough to understand exactly how this will work, but I’m excited to see it grow. I’m on mitered square number 2 of 25.

And why stop there? Jimmy Beans 2020 Blanket Club was one that doesn’t require seaming together at the end! How could I resist? Knitted blankets are so comforting. I know that means I have four rather large blankets on my needles right now. Maybe I’ll keep them or maybe I’ll give them all away. Either way, I’m enjoying the process. Here’s the start of my Gone Fishin’. It uses German Short Rows to create a fun diagonal stripe. This is my first time using this technique. It’s pretty neat and much easier than wrap and turns. With Malabrigo March, I’m a little behind on this one, but with all the social distancing I just might be able to catch up.

Instead of a Friday theme song, I thought I would share Some Good News. If you haven’t seen this, grab a tissue and be prepared to laugh, cry and get some new ideas for helping humanity.

This week we made some of my all time favorites, mushroom caps. Bacon, boursin and mushrooms cooked together. Yum! Okay, the red wine isn’t low-carb, but some times one just has to indulge. And yes, I’m still raving about that strawberry breakfast skillet. It was fantastic. Now, I’m on the hunt for rhubarb to try a rhubarb strawberry skillet.

Ernie hung out with me some this week. Okay, he mostly slept, but I enjoyed his company just the same.