Old Bag

Thanks to Julie Kroeyr of @fiberspectives, I am no longer QUITE as terrified of Magic Loop, or knitting two-at-a-time mitts! ❣️Bird approved. 😜 #takeaclass #knitlife #learnsomethingnew #fingerlessgloves #fingerlessmitts #magicloop #fiberspectives #dukecitymitts #emmasyarn #chiagoo #chiagooneedles #interchangeableneedles #birdsofinstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp_u6HRNzsp/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Off the needles but not yet blocked to her full glory: Eun, by Ane Fiskum Sunde, the designer behind NovemberKnits. The yarn is an absolutely delicious confection of Rowan Alpaca Soft DK held with a strand of the glorious Isager Silk Mohair. ❣️ Yes, it feels like the best hug! Who cares about the cold weather when you can wear this coziness? 😜 #eunsweater #eun #novemberknits #Rowan #rowanyarns #alpacawool #silkmohair #Mohair #sweater #sweaterknitting #sweatersofinstagram #knittersofinstagram #knittersofinsta #knittersofig #fvkguild #knitlife #knittingforsanity #knittingislife https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp2sPsUrOGC/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Morning moon. #moon #morning #geneva #genevail #bluesky #crescentmoon #march2023 https://www.instagram.com/p/CpxiZ9_LwmY/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Robin in the snow. ❣️ (Okay, you can't really see the snow, but it was falling gently, I promise. I wouldn't lie to you. 😜) #bird #birdsofinstagram #robin #outsidemywindow #whatisee #inatree (at Mill Creek) https://www.instagram.com/p/CprFsHvI8yk/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Magpie Fiber Society No. 29 has arrived!! I don't know why, but it makes me think of the amazing strawberry ice cream concoction I used to swoon over at Coldstone Creamery: the Strawberry Blonde. ❣️ This time the colorway is on the Swanky DK base of 80% SW Merino, 10% cashmere, 10% nylon, which feels like a dream. And look at the fun bonus inclusion this time! Magpie Fibers knitting cord! How did they know to send my favorite color? 😜 #magpiefibersociety #magpiefibers #yarnlove #yarnlovers #yarncollector #knitlife #knittersofinsta #knittersofinstagram #knittersofig #yarnsubscription https://www.instagram.com/p/Cpfr4glrDAO/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Making its way toward full...#moon #moonlight #magic #mysterious #lookup #nightsky #march #march2023 https://www.instagram.com/p/Cpdp4zfJP_8/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

It's so crazy that in the 365 days that make up a year, Payton and Stella missed sharing a birthday by one day (nine years apart). And we have several more "close calls" and even actual "birthday twins": Kate was born the day after my father's birthday, Tom was born on his great grandma Stella's birthday (93 years later), and my nephew Tom shares the same birthday as my late father-in-law. Then there's the fact that Julie's birthday comes two days after mine, and Tom's is two days after Julie's. Whew! I feel as though I am forgetting something....hopefully I am not! 😜 #birthday #happybirthday #cousinsquad #cousins #family #love #birthdaycandles https://www.instagram.com/p/CpbwCgQNAcA/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

It's the start of the Eun Sweater from November Knits! ❣️ Saw it on a fellow knitter on Friday, had a lovely chat with her about the sheer gorgeousness of her sweater, and couldn't leave Wool and Company without purchasing the yarn to make one of my own. The yarn is a strand of Isager Silk Mohair held with a strand of Rowan Alpaca Soft DK. So good! #knitlife #sweater #sweaterknitting #isager #isageryarn #rowanyarns #Rowan #novemberknits #eunsweater #mohair #Alpaca #merino #woolblend #knittingforsanity #knittersofig #knittersofinstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/Cpah2FkLeHt/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

So glad I tore my gaze away from my knitting to behold this gorgeous display of color in the western sky tonight! Also happy that we are having a few more minutes of daylight every week now. ❣️ #sunset #sunsetsofig #sunsetsofinstagram #color #colorsofinstagram #lookup #colorsofsunset #lookwest https://www.instagram.com/p/CpWbG6Aokoq/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Another yarny Friday afternoon in my happy place with @janeknitted and @k2togmjm. ❣️ #knitlife #lys #woolandco #happyfriday #happyplace #yarnshop #yarnshopping https://www.instagram.com/p/CpWElPZJIwL/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Not really a "hat person" (except for the years I was a Red Hatter!), but this puppy took too long to knit to not show it off! 😜 It's an ingenious design and is reversible/double and therefore very warm - a great way to use up scraps and do a stripy version- but I needed to knit it using US 2 needles, and it's fingering yarn, so it's not a quick weekend project! It's the Musselburgh (and I think it's pronounced like Edinburgh - not "-burrow", or "-berg", but more like "-bruh", and I welcome any native Scots to pipe in here to verify/correct me! 😜) by Ysolda Teague, and knit in the gorgeous Legacy Fiber Artz Steel Toes base, colorway Hocus Pocus, and Sweet Georgia Tough Love Sock in the colorway Mink. Finished just in time for our fifty degree weather today! 😂🤣😂 #knitlife #hat #hatknitting #hatsofinstagram #musselburghhat #legacyfiberartz #sweetgeorgiayarns #knittingforsanity #knittersofig #knittersofinstagram #knittersofinsta https://www.instagram.com/p/CpQYubQJ7QJ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#fiberuarychallenge Day 28 - Gratitude: I am acutely aware every single day of the fact that I have lived a very blessed life, and have tried for most of my life to understand why some of us must endure the unimaginable, and some of us remain relatively unscathed. Unfortunately, I have yet to be enlightened. Instead, I am grateful every day for my wonderful family and the life I have been given. And the yarn. 😜 And the amazing people knitting has brought into my life. I can never say thank you enough. But I try. ❣️ Today ends the monthlong challenge created by @creativececi. It has been wonderful to hear from knitters and crocheters worldwide. I'm already looking forward to next year's responses! 😀 #grateful #gratitude #family #love #knitlife #blessed https://www.instagram.com/p/CpOsSyMIlLv/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#fiberuarychallenge Day 27 - Completion: Finishing a project is an occasion to snap a photo. And I LOVE snapping photos! 😜 So here are some Rose City Rollers. Love them! ❣️ Gave them away to my daughter Kelly for Christmas. 🌲 Pattern by Mara Catherine Bryner. Yarn from Gauge Dyeworks. I resisted knitting socks for about nine years, but now that I have succumbed, I confess they are pretty fun! However, I must also confess that 98% of the time, my feet are not sporting socks. So when I knit them, they will always be with someone else in mind, and they will not be residing in any of my drawers. 😜 But that's okay. More room for the shawls! 😂🤣😂 #knitlife #socksofig #socksofinstagram #knittersofig #knittersofinstagram #knittingforsanity #sockknitting https://www.instagram.com/p/CpMBXyiITQu/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#fiberuarychallenge Day 26 - Inside my Project Bag: It's a nearly completed Musselburgh Hat from Ysolda Teague. The speckled side is from Legacy Fiber Artz in the Steel Toes base, and the colorway is Hocus Pocus. I love the yarn so much I wanted to make sure I had enough for some fingerless mitts, so I paired it with a tonal from Sweet Georgia in Tough Love Sock, colorway: Mink. Looking forward to finishing it and getting to the fingerless mitts. ❣️#knitlife #knittersofig #knittersofinstagram #hat #musselburgh #musselburghhat #ysoldateague #legacyfiberartz #sweetgeorgiayarns https://www.instagram.com/p/CpJH8gwJi3P/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#fiberuarychallenge Day 25 - Relaxing: For me, there is nothing more relaxing than gazing out over a body of water, be it a river, lake, or ocean. As a lifelong Midwesterner who loves such views, I am lucky enough to live five minutes from the beautiful Fox River, and only about an hour's drive from Lake Michigan, so I get to indulge my yearning for water views somewhat often. Of course, there is nothing quite like the sound of the ocean waves crashing on the shore, and I think I am VERY overdue for that sound. ❣️#foxriver #Geneva #genevail #riversofinstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/CpG6rc5omWB/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#fiberuarychallenge Day 24 - Community: More than even the act of knitting itself, the fantastic friends I have found along the way on my knitting journey are simply priceless. I am not employing hyperbole when I say that I cannot imagine life without the friends I have met through the shared passion of knitting, especially after becoming a widow nine years ago. Yes, I have children and grandchildren. ❣️ Yes, I love them dearly, and I am pretty sure they love me back. But they have their own busy lives, and I would never expect them to listen to me expound upon the joys of finding just the right yarn for my next project. And they couldn't possibly keep me company for all the long hours I have to fill in a day. But my knitting friends!!! ❣️They love nothing better than to search for THE perfect match of yarn and pattern, and are happy to assist me and I them in these endeavors. If our conversation happens to stray into other matters such as current events or grandchildren or what we are having for dinner, even better. And then there is the knitting community at large, which, through the wizardry of the internet, spans the entire earth. The online forums on Ravelry have sparked many a conversation between knitters who have never and most likely will never meet in person but are nonetheless so enriching and supportive. Yarny events and festivals such as Stitches, Vogue Knitting Live, YarnCon, and Rhinebeck are more examples of the vibrant knitting community in action, and I will be forever grateful for the amazing knitting podcasters who keep me company when I am knitting at home. ❣️ #iloveknitting #knitlife #friends #friendsforever #knittingfriendsarethebestfriends #knittingforsanity #knitlove #justknit #knitlifechoseme https://www.instagram.com/p/CpDe1MbpkpY/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Night ice. #shimmer #outsidemywindow #icy #winterinchicago #winter2023 #Geneva #genevaillinois #genevail https://www.instagram.com/p/Co_ZWORNKWg/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=