January 2026

 2026 is off to a start.  Not a great start.  Will the “incinerate the year” idea work on a monthly basis?  I definitely hope so, because I already have slips of paper with writing on them.  In the world at large, I am heartsick at the happenings in the US.  As a white woman, I have always felt a tad safer than, for instance, my daughter-in-law.  She is a naturalized US citizen who was born in Hong Kong.  The murder of Renee Good has made that assumption of safety fly right out the window.  The unprovoked attack on the capital of Venezuela and the rendition of its president have shaken me tremendously.  Turns out I was relatively confident that the military would not blindly follow the regime’s orders; I was wrong.  And now listening to all the sabre rattling about Iceland, Cuba, Canada … I am genuinely fearful that my beloved grandchildren will not have the chance to grow up.  Period, never mind in peace.

In an attempt to change the subject and provide distraction, let me turn to fibre-related thoughts …

2026 has been declared The Year of Saltwater Knits.  This means that Barb and I will be starting (and hopefully completing) a project from one of the Saltwater books each month.  For January, we decided to knit the Star of Logy Bay Cap.  It is a stranded colour-work beanie representing the stars above the Logy Bay, Newfoundland.  I rifled through my stash and found three balls of the proper weight and cast on! 

I am about a quarter through the chart, making quite nice progress.  The wools being used are Haynes Creek Heathers (gold), Noro Viola (brown), and Estelle Worsted (tan), and a 4.5mm needle.  Delightful!

My next project is … unusual for me.  It is a crocheted cowl!  Crochet!   Me!  Last year a very cool idea for “Doodle Decks” occurred to some enterprising ladies, and a craze was born.

A doodle deck is a collection of cards (deck of cards) with charted motifs — collections of themed motifs.  Holidays, cats, dinosaurs, dogs, various hobbies, etc.  These were quickly adopted by knitters as a small card is easier to tote around than a large book.  Additionally, the cards stay put unlike a book which tries to close up at the worst times possible.  

Crocheters felt very left out.  The charts were perfect for knitters, but what about crocheters?  We went looking, and found a crochet stitch called “waistcoat” stitch.  For all the world, it looks like a knit stitch.  AND even better, it works like a knit stitch.  Barb figured out the numbers and we are now teaching a class using crochet and Doodle Decks.  It is very well received.

Going back to my project, though, I am not satisfied.  The grey and white work together just fine.  But, be honest — does that look like a candy cane?  I thought not.  I will frog back to the border and go find some geometric shapes and life will be good.  The wools are Wendy Wool Pure Wool (grey) and Croftland Aran (white) from my stash.  i am using a 6.00mm hook and so far very happy with the fabric.

We also have started a KAL for the Mountain Forest pullover from the new Knitty.com.  It uses a worsted/medium/#4 weight, so it asks for 4.5 or 5.00mm needles.  I happily opened up my Addi i/c needle kit … and noted the absence of a number of sets of needles, including the necessary sizes.  Not a problem because I have another Lykke i/c kit.  Except that kit was also missing a multitude of needles, including the sizes for which I was looking.

This necessitated a review of projects underway.  There are so many!  Ten, in fact.  For a girl who struggled with more than two projects underway, this is incredible!  So, in no particular order, we have:

1.  The hat shown above.

2.  The cowl shown above.

3.  A pair of socks for a grandchild.

4.  The Mountain Forest pullover.

5.  Central Park Hoodie

6.  A top-down raglan pullover for Doug.

7.  A lace jacket I am finishing for a friend.

8.  A brioche scarf which started life as a shawl, until I sold one of the necessary skeins of wool.

9.  The Nightshift shawl started with the Uxbridge Library class.

10.  The Berroco Mystery Blanket KAL.

Oops.  I just remembered another —

11.  Lace shawl made from some beautiful alpaca lace-weight given to me by my daughter.

I can be found in my craft room, on the futon, surrounded by my knitting.  Decision paralysis is a thing, but I will persevere.  Really.  Because there are more projects just waiting for my attention.