Thoughts on the Move

Of all the things I will miss about my first apartment, I think I will miss my library the most. In nice weather, it's barely just across the street. And while I'll be the first to admit that I haven't done as much reading over the past year as I normally do, there's something about a library being close that gives me comfort.

There is still a library close by, but we're going to be more in the city and less in the suburbs, so no pretty gardens to sit in outside the library.

Also, moving results in living rooms that look like this:

Yes, before you ask, the chair in the foreground is tipped over. Still. You'd think with 5 able bodied guys around, furniture would get fixed. But I digress. 

Tomorrow I may bike to my new library, and assess the change. We shall see. 

Longer Rows

I've reached a point in my current WIP where each row feels like an eternity, and the prospect of frogging is extremely daunting.

Long rows  and short rows

The first row of the final section. If I had worked this pattern all the way through the first time, my mishap might have been avoided. But at the time, I was content with the size of my shawl. This time around, part of my goal is using up yarn and with several hundred yards left of yarn, I really need to go on and complete the final section. I've learned that charts are a wonderful addition to a written pattern, but only helpful if you actually look at them. In my haste to keep moving, I misread the pattern (forgetting to look at the charts) and will be spending my afternoon frogging the last row. 

And of course, I only think to take picture in the evening, so the colors are out of whack. As I've mentioned before, I'm using three yarns for this pattern. 

The little bit of blue at the top of my photo is my start on the Hexy shawl in Knit Picks CotLin. To combat the tedium of the long rows, I started this shawl which has been on my list for a few weeks. This shawl stuck out to me because it had an interesting stitch pattern while also not being triangular. 

My reading has been intermittent, as this week E and I have been focusing on moving. The final day is Saturday, with a number of his work buddies coming over to help with the larger furniture. I'm really anxious about it, but I'm trusting that everything will get done in good time. 

Joining with Tami & Ginny!

Summer Progress

With the school year finally over (I finalized my high school grades yesterday), I'm finding that I need to occupy myself in brain stretching ways. In order to avoid a huge pile of WIPs (which I nearly have already), I have been making a point to have near exclusivity with projects, particularly ones that have been in progress for quite a while.

Pulled out of hibernation

My second True Love, which was started back in February for the Ravellenic Games, is my current out-of-hibernation WIP. Habing only started back in February, the hibernation isn't as long as some of my other projects. I'm using 2 different colors of Knit Picks Palette, Mulberry and Fairytale, plus a coordinating shade of Classic Elite Alpaca Sox. My sister will again make fun of my constant use of pinks and purples, but they really are my favorite colors. My husband's family vacation starts at the end of July, so I'm hoping to have a couple of new shawls for the chilly nights on the lake. This may be one of them :)

lots of blues


My other out-of-hibernation project has been the "Wedding Ripple". Originally started about 3 months before my wedding last year, my husband thinks I should finish it up for the baby. I'm stubbornly refusing, saying that this is "our" blanket, and I need to finish it for us. It is nearly queen sized, so will fit on our current bed-- a bit too big for baby. On a whim, I purchased 2 more skeins of yarn for it the other week, and am hoping that all the yarn I have will make it to the end. Of the colors you can see above, the dark blue and the medium green are the easiest to find in craft stores and what I have the most of. After the blue light-to-dark repeat, I'm adding a row or two of beige, followed by a green dark-to-light repeat. There will be reassessment at that point, to see what yarn I have left and if it's big enough.

For both of these projects, I've been watching TV on DVD for a few hours at a time. I'm re-watching Joss Whedon's Firefly, which, if you haven't seen it, you totally should. On a whim, I also picked up the first season of Call the Midwife at my library last week. It took me two days to watch all of it, and I'm hooked. I now have the second season, and will probably get quite a bit more crocheted while watching that.

Books and more books

The major brain stretching of the first few weeks after school's done can be found in this giant stack of books. It's quite a stack of subjects, from faith to history to birthing. The two that you can't see the spine are Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way and The Fellowship of the Ring on audiobook. I've been reading quite closely the Bradley book, as I have absolutely no clue what to expect when it comes to the birth of my child. It's interesting and educational, and has given me a bit more knowledge, even if it hasn't quite made me totally confident in myself. Of course, of all my books, the other ones I am really into right now are personal copies. So while there's no rush to finish those, I'm still reading them before the stack of library books. Oops.

FABRIC PAINT

My last crafting project for the week is fabric painting some t-shirts for the summer camp I'm working at later this summer. I think the fabric painting is my favorite part :)

Check out Tami's & Ginny's 

The Progress Basket

In a corner of the bedroom is the project progress basket. I've had it for some time, and it's purpose has evolved over time. 

Right now it serves as my progress basket, holding the projects that just need the finishing touches, ends sewn in and that sort of thing. 

My photo gives just a glimpse of what I need to be finishing up. 

Another Unfinished Friday

Finishing projects is not something I've been able to do lately. The end of the school year has been massively busy, and a full time job was not something I previously had in my schedule. So I count little successes when I can.

Making sloooooow progress

Last night I finished another mitered square on my sock scrap blanket. As you can see, the progress is very small. Just the one green square. I have 4 more squares that need to be attached, but am torn between knitting and crocheting. If I can find a good movie, or a good audio book, I may try some more, as I'd really like to have all my starting row connected. I think the making of individual squares is harder than  making the squares that hold them together. This is probably due to the fact that I hate casting on, and joining eliminates that step. A ten-stitch blanket may be another possibility for me, simply for that reason.... Hmmm. More things to craft, just what I need!

Another Wednesday

If I posted a picture of what I was working on today, it would look really similar to last week's picture. I made a second light green baby hat, this time a bit shorter (no rolled brim) and with ear flaps. During craft night last night, I made two little green "ears" though they may morph into horns/fins/something. I'm still debating about the overall design, but I'm leaning toward dinosaur/dragon.

An acquaintance who does photography for a living did some maternity photos for us back at the beginning of May, and we're planning on having a newborn session as well. My sister, while being a talented photographer, is not good at people pictures. So at this time, I am content to hire a local photographer.

The whole point... LOL... I'm attempting to have some crochet pieces- hats, diaper covers, sweaters- made for this newborn photo shoot. The biggest problem is guessing the size of the baby. Hence multiple sizes of hats. I'm totally in love with the Leaping Crochet Baby Hoodie, have considered the Puerperium (which may be hindered by my poor knitting skills), and have downloaded several diaper cover patterns.

As my school year comes to a close, I'm hoping to have more time to work on all these ideas that I have. However, it's likely that between school moving and home moving, it will be a while...

Check out Tami's & Ginny's