theraineysisters knitting and so much more

Sometimes knitting can feel like a chore, especially if you’re no longer enthused about a project, it’s not turning out the way you’d like, or it’s simply boring to knit. So imagine being forced to knit sweaters for strangers.

Criminal gran gets knitting punishment

An 89-year-old grandmother who went on a tyre-wrecking spree in her street has been ordered to knit jumpers for her victims.

Heidi Kohl, from western Germany, was arrested after one neighbour spotted her slashing the tyres on a car. She later confessed that she had resorted to drastic measures after becoming “fed up” with so many drivers parking in her neighbourhood.

Kohl was initially told that she would be fined for her behaviour, but authorities came up with the more unusual punishment after the woman claimed she would be unable to pay.

A spokeswoman confirmed: “When she’s knitted the sweaters, then the matter will be over for us.”

Kohl is believed to have wrecked 50 tyres in total. Prosecutors have said that she will not offend again as she has since been moved to a retirement home.

At her age, that could be a life sentence!

My own knitting isn’t going along quite that poorly. I’m almost finished with the first sleeve of Butterfly. No photos because it just wasn’t photographing well today for whatever reason. I must confess, though, that I’m a little bit bored with it. (Warden! Let me outta here!) So, I’m also working on some small projects — the fall just seems like a good time to knit socks and gloves.

My hand model husband is out of town on business, so my sleeve board is filling in. (I have a secret passion. I love to iron. I love all of the accoutrements of ironing.)

But I digress.

Here is the first of a pair of fingerless gloves for men I’m working on. I’ve knit it out of Jaeger’s Extra Fine Merino in charcoal grey. That yarn usually knits to 5.5 stitches to the inch on a 3.75 or 4.0 millimeter (U.S. 5 or 6). I knit it down to 7 stitches to the inch on a 2.5 millimeter. That’s one of my favorite yarns; I have lots of it in my stash. Sadly, Jaeger decided to get out of the hand knitting yarn business, so I won’t be able to continue to buy it.

Just a simple little project so I have something portable to work on.

Red is my favorite color. I’m drawn to it always. A pair of shoes. A dress. A shock of hair.

Perhaps even a few skeins of yarn.

I love to knit red socks.

Red gloves:

I could knit with nothing but the red yarn in my stash and be busy for a very long time.

Right now I’m working on Hanne Falkenberg’s Butterfly. In red. You knit with three shades of reddish yarn to produce one deep color. I had started this sweater a long time ago, but had stopped because the yarns were not labeled as to color and I wasn’t sure I was using them in the right order. I decided it didn’t matter what the directions said, but it did matter what I liked. So I started it over about two weeks ago to see if I preferred a different way of using the yarn. These were my two “swatches”:

Although it’s a bit difficult to see in that photograph, one is brighter with a more poppy-like color dominating. The other is darker, and that is the one I decided to keep knitting.

I’ve now finished the back, one front, and part of the other front. Here it is in progress: