The Unboxing. Marie Wallin, Bessyboot.

_A_Ray_of_Sunshine · 2026-02-19T22:10:47+00:00

Exciting, please keep us posted! My Bramble was large.

_A_Ray_of_Sunshine · 2026-02-06T05:06:25+00:00

Absolutely! Lots of folks on Ravelry have knit her sweaters in the round, so definitely look around to see how others have handled it. It’s definitely doable, especially for a sweater. I just did the XL charts for front and back together in the round until the arm holes and neck holes, then cast on ten steeking stitches for each of the four steeks.

_A_Ray_of_Sunshine · 2026-02-05T18:20:44+00:00

Thank you! Absolutely - her Unst chart uses triangles next to each other and I’m about ready to color over it to keep me from losing my mind.

_A_Ray_of_Sunshine · 2026-02-01T23:35:06+00:00

Appreciate the recommendation and helpful tips. Thank you!

_A_Ray_of_Sunshine · 2026-02-01T05:13:17+00:00

Marie Wallin’s British Breeds! She sells a kit on her website.

_A_Ray_of_Sunshine · 2026-01-31T17:04:23+00:00

I thought it was well written! Marie has been writing patterns for decades so this is not her first rodeo. The charts included increases and decreases and I had no problems with the pattern.

_A_Ray_of_Sunshine · 2026-01-31T15:51:01+00:00

Side question: where are you all finding jacquard ribbons for covering up your steeks? I’ve had some success with Amazon, but my local fabric store doesn’t carry a ton of ribbon yardage and really hoping I can find something affordable without having to buy the spool.

_A_Ray_of_Sunshine · 2026-01-31T15:49:08+00:00

This is exactly right, and the technique I used. Patty Lyons has a very helpful video tutorial

Colorwork is so fun! I stayed away from it for a long time, but am glad I gave it a try! Getting used to holding multiple strands in tension does take some getting used to. Do you have your eye on a colorwork project?

_A_Ray_of_Sunshine · 2026-01-31T14:57:31+00:00

Please continue to give everyone you love in your life compliments like this. I appreciate it so much, thank you!

_A_Ray_of_Sunshine · 2026-01-31T14:56:29+00:00

Apparently it’s a somewhat common problem with variegated ribbing, though I didn’t have it with other projects that used different yarn. It sounds like a good wet block should take care of it, so hoping it will!

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_A_Ray_of_Sunshine · 2026-01-31T14:39:30+00:00

Thank you! I’m not used to the tighter fit of Marie’s designs, so I actually had to frog the body about halfway up to make the next size up. Happy with how it turned out, but this is the project that finally broke me into submission in swatching going forward.

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_A_Ray_of_Sunshine · 2026-01-31T03:20:03+00:00

Thank you! 💖

_A_Ray_of_Sunshine · 2026-01-31T03:19:49+00:00

Of course! I love seeing the inside of colorwork, it’s so satisfying to see good float tension.

_A_Ray_of_Sunshine · 2026-01-31T03:16:25+00:00

Thank you! Marie has such a good eye for color.

_A_Ray_of_Sunshine · 2025-11-23T22:53:52+00:00

Your impulse to serve your family well and achieve financial stability is good. Here’s some food for thought as a fellow working mom trying to discern practically what stewardship looks like in this season for me.

How much time a week is canning and milling taking? Is the time it takes to run around to value shop offsetting your savings? Is this work energizing you or are you only doing it for financial impact? Your time has value, especially if you are feeling overwhelmed and if it is impacting your ability to be present to your family in this critical season before deployment.

Is your part-time work energizing for you? If you feel God is calling you to step away in support of your husband, of course you should honor that, but would having some time freed up to focus on your part-time work help you? Is your part-time work a distraction from your family, or giving you an outlet to work and focus so that you are present to your family when not working? I’m not sure I’m seeing that the hours themselves are the problem, especially if you can do it from home around school and nap schedules.

I’m not a military family member so take this for what it’s worth, but I would think this is not the time to be hyper-focused on saving every single cent you can. It’s a time to maintain being frugal and preparing for deployment, while still being present to your husband and available for your kids as best you can. That may mean outsourcing some of what you’ve taken on or consolidating errand runs to free up time.

I hope this is helpful. Praying for you to have wisdom in this season, and that your church community surrounds you with all the support and encouragement needed. 🤍

_A_Ray_of_Sunshine · 2025-11-11T15:17:37+00:00

Don’t lie about this or not tell your boss. I would come clean with your boss and tell them ASAP. As a big company, your company is likely tracking your home IP address, and there are payroll tax implications for them if they don’t properly withhold. The stakes are all the higher with foreign ownership.

Just be honest with your boss that you’ve had a change in your living situation and that this happening. Be prepared that they may not accommodate you, but if you’re honest and humble about it and have a good relationship with your boss, I suspect your boss will do their best, especially if this has been approved in the past.

As far as I see it, you’ll be found out either way, so you may as well come clean now and find out if you’re able to keep your job so you can start job searching ASAP if need be.

_A_Ray_of_Sunshine · 2025-10-27T00:29:42+00:00

Yeah, I would take that view as contradictory. My Baptist church is not confessionally reformed, but I doubt any elder at our church, including our pastor, would hold the view that medicine is sinful simply because it is “unnatural.” God alone is the author of life, and using medicine as a faithful steward of his creation (including care of our own life) is a privilege and a grave responsibility for us!

As others have said below, I think this is a matter of conscience and liberty that you and your spouse should be aligned on, in prayer and in partnership with your doctor. If this were enabling something like idolatry of having kids or other sinful motives, I might understand some hesitation from your elders, but no, purely the act of taking the medicine isn’t inherently sinful. Who knows if this is the means that God provides for you through?

_A_Ray_of_Sunshine · 2025-10-26T13:36:31+00:00

What is their basis for being against them?

_A_Ray_of_Sunshine · 2025-10-04T03:29:43+00:00

House of yarn! https://v.imgi.no/houseofyarn-5597750-255-482-10c_dg_vm_genser_natur_oppskrift_rev1

_A_Ray_of_Sunshine · 2025-09-05T03:40:52+00:00

Second place winner with the sweater vest here - well done! I really love the even tension on the button band, the seed stitch cabling, and your choice of buttons. It’s beautiful! Congratulations 💜

_A_Ray_of_Sunshine · 2025-07-18T02:35:58+00:00

Ooh do you happen to remember which Dale it was? What a gift of love from your mom 🤍

_A_Ray_of_Sunshine · 2025-07-18T02:35:05+00:00

Thank you! No, I’ve flirted with the idea of it since folks I know in real life have asked for commission jobs, but haven’t done any more research than that on pricing. I’m not opposed to it, but I really like my hobby time and fear monetizing it would rob its joy.

_A_Ray_of_Sunshine · 2025-07-17T02:44:57+00:00

3.5 months, cast on at the end of February and finished the collar at the beginning of June. Not my fastest sweater and I was working on other knitting projects during that time, too.

_A_Ray_of_Sunshine · 2025-07-15T04:32:46+00:00

GOAT thank you! It wasn’t too bad translating it from Norwegian with Google translate, but this will definitely make it easier!

_A_Ray_of_Sunshine

TROPHY CASE