Things are wearing a little thin, here.
This is the cuff of my favorite sweater, Sky Lights. I knit it in 1993, right after the Teen was born. It was a kit from North Island Designs; I don’t think they exist under that name any more. I made it big and oversized, to wear over leggings (yes, we really did that back then). I’ve worn it a lot. The yarn is either BartlettYarns or Harrisville Tweed; I can’t remember. I’ve gotten a lot of wear from it. But this is what I saw when I last went to put it on.
Oh, dear. I have a little job to do. And while I’m doing that, I have another, too.
I made these socks last winter, when it looked like it would never stop snowing. It’s not really sock yarn; it’s KnitPicks Wool of the Andes Worsted that I had lying around. Every time I wash these, they shrink and felt a little bit more. But they’re still comfortable. My clogs must rub right here, though. There’s barely a thread holding it together.
I have more of this yarn, so I’m going to try darning it after dinner. Wish me luck!
Here’s what I made for dinner. I was quite happy with it, and so was the family. Perfect winter night supper!
Sausage/potato/kale soup
SERVES 6
Ingredients
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb turkey hot Italian sausage (if you can only find mild, add 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes while browning)
3 large russet potatoes, sliced in 1/4 inch slices
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp smoked paprika (optional)
3 14 ounce cans chicken broth
2 cups water
1 cup half and half
1 bunch kale (stems below leaf removed), cut in 1/2 inch ribbons crosswise
Directions
Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large pot (soup pot). Slit sausage casings, remove sausage. Brown sausage (and red pepper flakes, if desired) in oil. Remove sausage from pot. Add the other Tbsp olive oil to pot. Saute onions and garlic until onion is soft. Add chicken broth, water, sliced potatoes and smoked paprika. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer until potatoes are done, about 15 minutes. Add sausage , half and half, and kale; simmer for another 10 minutes. Enjoy!
PDXKnitterati 
Gosh that soup sounds lovely. My ideal kind of winter soup.
I’m glad you’re going to try and fix beloved knits. Sometimes it’s worth it, no matter how old they are!
Holes in the knitting! Oh no! I’ve been known to fix many oldies-but-goodies, too. Seems to be the only right thing to do!
That soups sounds delish. I think I’ve had it before, at knit night maybe?
Good luck with the darning! I’ve never done it before and not sure how I’d go about it, truthfully.
I think darning is a dying art. My grandma taught me when I was little but I don’t think my mom ever did it. I wouldn’t darn store bought but it’s so worth it on your hand made knits.
Mending hand knits…I suck at it! Good luck. I think there is a tutorial for darning socks on Judy’s blog (Persistent Illusion).
That recipe sounds great, thanks for posting it!
The leggings are back, ya know. Hurry and fix that sweater!
I’ve had worsted weight socks do that to me, too. Something about the wear in that spot, I think.
Yummy!
Happy Friday!
Yikes! I have bad luck with handknit socks developing holes unless they’re knit with fingering weight that has a significant percentage of nylon.
I remember the big sweater/leggings days. One of the ladies from my knitting group brought a 1993 issue of Vogue with her last night, and we eyed the sweaters and couldn’t believe we’d thought they were attractive. Then, somebody pointed out we didn’t really have that many body image issues back then. That was a really interesting point. Now that everything has to fit skin-tight or skimming, it does put pressure on a woman.
I hope you can easily fix the sweater. Socks… I’ve had good luck with, but mostly when they have a good deal of nylon in them. Just merino does wear out faster.
Hubby brought one of his felted clogs to me with a giant hole that needed repair desperately. It’s two years old so he sure had a lot of use so not a surprise that happened.
The soup sounds yummy delicious. I’ll give it a try this week 😀 Thanks for the recipe, Michelle.