It has been a week here for sure. The fire that is about 10 miles to the west of us is now over 37,000 acres and the county moved us to the middle phase of evacuation prep. We are in a small suburb south of town proper and if the winds yesterday continue as they are today, the fire will likely threaten town more than us. Last time (10 years ago) they evacuated town but not our little area, but with the winds forecast with red flag warnings again today, it’s anyone’s guess where things will go. The smoke has been very bad so we’ve got the house closed up, and of course, we have as much stuff prepped to go as we can. They’ve been monitoring this one really closely so I think we’ll have time to load the vehicles but it’s not easy to make decisions about what goes or stays other than making sure we and the animals get out safely.
Enough about that! I’ve been stress-crafting because that’s what I do so lots of things to talk about. First up, I did make some progress on my Desert Mandala project again this week. The thunderbird and feather motif section is done. I brought the outside border down to the center point, and I started the landscape vignette. Will continue to work on this as I can.
Next up, I also did some spinning and I’m about 2/3rds of the way through this second bobbin of singles. Hoping to get those all done this week and then I could get this languishing batch plied up.
The new term for the Harry Potter group I’m in started last Sunday, so I have cast on for a whole bunch of things for classes and Quidditch. First up, I have a colorwork cowl on the needles. This is Static by Kacey Herlihy and I’m using two DK-weight natural sheepy colors to knit mine as I wanted a really graphic version. Before the smoke picked up Saturday, my faithful companion assisted me with some porch knitting (and stick guarding). I expect to have this one finished up this week.
I also worked on the second of the By Naughty Design socks I started in (gasp…) January. I actually finished these up last night but it’s still early enough I don’t have good light for photos of the finished pair, but they are looking something like this:
I also cast on for a colorwork hat using two half-skeins of fingering weight. This is the Timberland hat which I’ve had in my queue for a while. The yarn was originally a sock kit for a pair of stranded colorwork socks. It’s a heavier fingering weight and I hadn’t knit the pattern because I felt like the socks were going to be bulkier than I like with the stranding. I’m sorry I waited so long to use the yarn because it is wonderful (a merino/bamboo blend from The Unique Sheep) but I think it’s going to have a better life as a hat than it would have as socks.
Finally, I also dug deep into stash and pulled out 3 balls of Spud and Chloe Fine that have been waiting for a while to be made into something. I cast on for the 3-Color Cashmere Cowl from Joji Locatelli. This is a simple knit, with bands of stockinette, easy eyelets and stripes. I have a bright turquoise blue for a bit of contrast that will make up the third color of the set.
That’s it for me this week other than a handful of crochet squares for a blanket, but no pictures of those at this point. Hope everyone has a great week!
Knit One, Spin Too 
Two cowls, a hat, socks, spinning and cross stitching. When do you sleep? The hat colors really drew my eyes. It looks so warm and should brighten up a dreary winter day. You do such beautiful colorwork. Static is a prime example of it. Such an intricate looking pattern. Hoping the fires stay away from you and the town. We have already had great property loss here from our fires.
I am a bit of an insomniac, I’ll admit, especially when stressed out. But at least it’s productive non-sleep time! We are hoping the same but at least the county is being very pro-active about information for this one so if nothing else, we will hopefully have enough time to load more than a bag of clothing and the pets!
So sad about the fires in your area Anne and as Marsha mentioned we too had loss. The winds are still up and I keep hoping they will stop. Such fun projects and all so beautiful! I saw your finished cowl photo on Instagram… gorgeous!
The wind has been absolutely brutal this spring season. Wish we were closer to at least a bit of hope from the monsoons but they are far far out.
I agree Anne and praying the monsoons come early this year … we all need the rain ☔️
These are all fabulous projects! I hope you and the town stay safe! It’s always scary being near a fire that’s not fully contained.
Thank you on all counts! Yes… the uncertainty and waiting is hard. I think the resources are monitoring it really well and very closely but with 35+ mph winds you just never know what it’s going to do next.
Oooo. you are in the Harry Potter Group too!. I am in Hufflepuff. You? I just submitted my Quidditch yesterday, and my Muggles class today. I am loving being a part of the fun.
I pray that the winds die down and you and your home stay safe. I can’t imagine the stress you are feeling but I am glad your crafting helps ease it a little bit.
I am! Gryffindor because I am Hermoine at heart. It is so much fun 🙂 Thank you for your kind prayers and wishes. I think we’re going to be in a holding pattern for a while since we are probably 6+ weeks away from any likely rain, assuming we get any this year.
I’ll be praying for you and your home. I can’t image trying to pack in preparation to losing everything left behind. We don’t get fires in Ohio. It was weird to me this past winter to have to watch out for fires in Florida where they get them too. You certainly have lots of beautiful projects for trying to manage stress.
Thank you! I am in a good place, I suppose, in that I am not particularly sentimental about things so if we had to replace anything, so it goes. As long as we and the animals get out safely, that’s all that’s really important to me. (That said, I would really rather NOT but almost anything could be replaced if it had to be….)
Wow! You have been busy crafting this week. You have some lovely projects going. I hope you/your town remains safe from the fires!
I somehow missed this post. I love the black and white pattern, reminds me a little of Art Deco
It does! I really like the graphic aspect of it.