The 10 1/2 Hour Sweater

I needed a project. I was spending too much time in the evenings reading nonsense on my phone or watching nonsense on tv. It's been years since I knit a sweater, for myself or anyone else. I used to do a lot of knitting. I just sort of stopped. So, I decided it was time to knit a sweater for myself. I wanted something big and cozy and cheerful; something I couldn't just buy at the store or order online. 

I scrolled through Ravelry and wasn't inspired and then remembered that Lion Brand Yarn had free patterns. I found a pattern for a pullover with a simple cable twist on the front that seemed like a fun, quick knit. It called for super bulky yarn and used size 15(!) needles. (As a brief aside, I learned to knit on size 10 needles and they seemed huge to me then. Size 15s border on ridiculous in my mind.) The pattern called for Lion Brand's Homespun yarn, but I chose to use their Wool Ease Thick and Quick (80% acrylic, 20% wool) in a beautiful variegated color palette called Astroland. I did some comparison shopping and ended up ordering six skeins from Michael's. Four days later, a box of yarn appeared on my front step.

A box of potential.

I started knitting right away. After doing a test block, and confirming that I'm a tight knitter, I chose my size and started at it. I finished the back of the sweater the first evening.

Knit, knit, knit.

The back took nearly two full skeins. Logically, the front would take a similar amount. That would leave two skeins - one for each sleeve. I began worrying about what would happen if the sleeves needed more yarn. I didn't want to run short. So, the next day, I went to our local Michael's store to buy one more skein. The original six skeins had to be ordered because, while our local store did have some in stock, it didn't have enough. When knitting with solid color yarn, one must consider lot number so the color is consistent. With the variegated yarn, I didn't think that would be as much of a concern. As it turned out, of the two skeins of Astroland available to purchase in person, one was the same lot number as the yarn I had ordered. Confident in having enough yarn, I spent the weekend knitting. By mid-afternoon three days after receiving my order, I had all the pieces of my sweater knitted. 

All the parts.

I hate sewing pieces together, so the back and the front and the sleeves sat for an additional day before blocked them then sewed them together. All told, it took me 10 hours and 31 minutes to make my sweater. (I actually ran the stopwatch on my phone while I was working on it so I  could see how long it would take.)  

All done and so cozy!

As it turned out, I didn't actually need that extra skein of yarn I bought while in a bit of a panic. I even had some of two other skeins left over.

The remains of the project.

The label on the yarn showed how many skeins were needed for certain things -  2 for a scarf, 7 for a sweater (even though I only used 6), and 1 for a hat. So, I made a hat. I didn't time this one but I finished it in an afternoon. The claim that one skein made a hat was strikingly accurate. When I was finished, I only had about 6 feet of yarn left.

One skein, you say?

Yup, one skein!

And, because I had a little more of the sweater yarn left over, I added a big pompom to the top.

Cute and super warm too.

My new sweater was a great, quick knitting project and the bonus hat was a lot of fun too. The only problem is that now I want to knit something else! 

Trying Something Wild

Last fall, I looked into the getting some native wild plants for our yards. When I was out shopping for mums, I heard something about getting asters instead. Asters are native plants, perennials, and great for pollinators in the fall. I did a little research at that time trying to find where to buy asters but ended up just getting a pot of mums for my porch decor. 

Some naturalized plants at my former home.

In the new year, I decided it was time to look into native plants again. The New York State DEC has a nice guide to native plants. (check it out here) With that as a starting place, I began searching the interwebs for sources of seeds. I eventually came across the website of the Wild Seed Project in Maine. I like the organization's mission to equip "community members with the resources they need to collectively restore native plants that expand wildlife habitat, support biodiversity, and build climate resilience" and they had seeds for five of the plants I was looking for in their shop - smooth blue aster, blue lobelia, blue iris, foxglove beardtongue, and flowering raspberry. At $5 each, I was happy to make my purchase and add a small donation.

The seeds arrived quickly, which was good because a few of them need to be outside for the winter in order to germinate. I finally had time today to get the seeds planted. I'm a bit on the late side, but we'll see what we get. The seed packets came with good instructions for planting and it took me very little time to get them all set.

Seeds on the soil just waiting for the sand on top.

My biggest concern is the mob of squirrels that live in our neighborhood. These little pots with their precious seeds need to be outside, exposed to the weather. That means the dirty little tree rats will be all over them. I'm not just guessing. I know this for a fact. My husband put out a few pots of pawpaw seeds to overwinter and the squirrels have relentlessly harassed them.

Poor pawpaws. I'm not even sure if the seeds are still in there.

The instructions suggested a piece of window screen be placed over the pots to prevent molestation, but I had another idea. We have a couple humane animal traps that aren't being used at the moment. I figure if they could keep squirrels, woodchucks, and a sad little skunk we weren't even trying to trap inside once the door slammed shut, they would, likewise, keep the creatures out. So, I placed the newly-potted seeds inside the traps and then set them outside - one in the shade and one in the sun, as needed. And I even had enough space to add the pawpaw pots as well.

The big trap in the shade.

The little trap in the sun (if it ever comes out)

And now we wait. Patience will definitely be a virtue as wild plant seeds take more time to germinate than commercially-bred flower and vegetable seeds. I did set aside a few of the aster and flowering raspberry seeds. They don't need to be exposed to the winter in order to germinate so I thought I'd try them under the grow lights when I get my herbs started. I bought another pot for my herb collection today - it's beautifully orange - and I'm dreaming of spring.

Nothing is safe!