We've Left the Doldrums

And now it's smooth sailing

Hooray! I met my goal of passing the armholes. Now the rows are much shorter as I knit my way through the upper back of my cardigan-in-progress. This cardigan will have sewn-on, set-in sleeves.

I know you’re going to be curious about that stitch holder seen in the photo above. I learned this trick from the lovely Laura Nelkin. It’s a rubbery tube, sold on spools. It comes in lots of colors, and in different sizes. I’ve used the 3mm size shown here with knitting needles size 4-8. For smaller than a size 4 needle, I use 2mm cord. I haven’t tried the larger sizes, but I imagine they would work just fine if bulkier knits are your thing. The cord cuts easily with scissors; you can make your stitch holder any length you please.

You can simply insert the tip of the knitting needle into the tube and slide the stitches onto the tube for holding, then slide them back again when you’re ready to knit them. Due to some sort of sorcery, the rubbery cord holds the stitches nicely without needing any sort of stopper on the ends, yet the stitches slide easily along the cord with a gentle nudge. I keep a couple of yards of cord coiled up in my notions pouch ready to go. Unlike with waste yarn, there is no need to dig out a tapestry needle to move stitches onto or off the holder.

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What has been occupying the rest of my brain while all this knitting is gong on?

I watched the new Netflix adaptation of One Day. It is terrific. The star of this 14-episode series is Ambika Mod as the female protagonist, Emma Morley. She is excellent in this role, embodying the emotions and frustrations of young adulthood.

This is the second adaptation of One Day, which I first enjoyed as a book by David Nicholls years ago.

That’s an affiliate link to Bookshop.org, which supports independent book stores. If you make a purchase through this link, I’ll earn a small commission.

This story follows two people, Emma and Dexter, from 1988, when they are just finishing university, through the mid 2000s. We see them on July 15th, year after year, as their lives converge and diverge and their relationship changes and matures.

The earlier adaption was a feature film in 2011 staring Anne Hathaway as Emma Morely.

Both the film and the series are remarkably faithful to the book, though the movie is a condensed version. In the series, each episode is a day. In the film, a day is often depicted in just a few minutes. But if you watch them both, it’s fun to pay attention to the spots where the dialog is exactly the same.

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With the Academy awards coming up in a couple of weeks, I decided to revisit The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece by Tom Hanks.

This is such a fun book. It recounts the making of a movie, from the birth of the idea, through writing the script, casting, and all the steps in the production through to the release. As you’d expect with Tom Hanks as the author, it feels like a very insider view of how the magic is made. I enjoyed the amount of attention given to those who labor behind the scenes: the producers, assistant directors, hair and makeup crew, and all the rest. Knitting is delightfully sprinkled throughout. The characters are beautifully written. And yes, it’s hard to resist trying to match each character with their real-life model.

I read this book in paper when it came out last year. This time around, I opted for audio, since I wanted to maximize my knitting time. I preferred the paper version. The audiobook is mostly read by Hanks, but a variety of actors provide the voices for many of the characters. The audiobook is embellished with lots of music, which I found distracting. I feel like they tried too hard to make the audiobook “like a movie”. But it was compelling and entertaining listening.

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I did take a break from my knitting last Friday to go to a sale in the studio of my friends at WoolTribe Yarn. They are in the process of re-branding their company, and are selling the remaining inventory of yarn labeled as Hand Dyed Diva at a healthy discount.

I bought 4 ounces of superwash Shaniko wool for spinning, plus two skeins of DK superwash Merino hand dyed in a gorgeous denim blue.

WoolTribe specializes in ethically sourced wool grown and processed in the US. Their colors are spectacular. If you need a sweater quantity, you can pre-order so all your yarn is dyed at the same time. Ladianne and Sheri, the owners, are some of my favorite people in the world. Check it out while there are still bargains to be had.

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As always, thanks for inviting me into your world. Be on the lookout for a special bonus edition of A Good Yarn to land in your mailbox on Saturday. It will have a yarn review and a new pattern release!