It sometimes surprises me how my blogging has ebbed and flowed — at times it has been a daily obsession and then there are times — like the recent past for example — when it’s felt more like a chore. What do I really have to say? I am simply reciting lists of projects and progress and it all seems pretty boring, not something anyone would really like to read.
Then I remind myself that sometimes just going through the motions is ok, is necessary even. I know there will be times in the future when I will be desperate to write, desperate to share, and it is for those times that I try and force myself to go through the motions now.
So . . . here goes:
– Tonight the Literati Knitters are going to Stitch & Pitch at the Dodger game. I loathe baseball but have been trying to organize a field trip for our group for a while now. I am quite excited that this first outing actually seems to have come together. Also . . . gift bags. Need I say more?
– A few weeks ago I joined my friend Mrs. Jones in a full on dying extravaganza. It was educational, very fun, and I can see how playing with dyes could become a MAJOR addiction.
Some highlights (all photo credit to Mrs. Jones of course):
Here is a good representation of some of the blues we got. I dyed a pale yellow skein of a laceweight yarn that I bought thinking of a wedding shawl (what was I thinking? I loathe yellow . . .) and also overdyed a blue and green skein of Knit Picks Shimmer in the colorway Turquoise Splendor, also a possibility for a wedding shawl, but discarded when I began to feel it looked too “tie-dyed.”
Here are a few early skeins drying in the sun. I loved the three red and black skeins pictured here — they all came from the same pot, which was especially cool I thought:
And finally, our fave pink yarn, still in the pot:
– In other exciting project news, I finished the sweater, bear and socks (good luck birthing socks for Mom) for Baby G. Please join me in thinking good thoughts for him and his parents, who are expecting his arrival any day now. The sweater and bear really deserve their own finished-project posts, but here are the green Monkey socks:
I can’t help myself, I just love love LOVE the richness of this green color. Yummy. The yarn is Knit Picks Essential (now Stroll) in the Ivy colorway. Since the one giant ball produced both socks, I was able to avoid the odd color change that I had to deal with on my last Monkey sock adventure (please see photos of purple Monkeys from my last post). Also, I am starting to worry about my inability to ever post photos of blocked socks . . . I guess I just don’t see the point since feet are such great blockers 🙂
– I am working on some custom coasters, a request from a co-worker that I like enough to knit for. I’m using the new Knit Picks yarn, Comfy Bulky — a blend of acrylic (yuck!) and cotton that so far is not too horrible to work with — to make a set of coasters. I’m double knitting with three colors and so far the experiment is working out just fine. Hopefully I will post pattern and photos when I’m done.
– Now that all the pressing baby gifts are done, I’m back to that betwixt and between state where I don’t really have any meaty projects on the needles or in the hopper. I am tempted to start a lace piece, something really big and juicy, but I just can’t quite seem to find anything that sings to me. I keep coming back to Madli’s Shawl, but I have neither the issue of Knits nor the new book (Knitted Lace of Estonia) where the pattern appears. Even the library doesn’t have the book . . . so that leaves me stuck since I’m trying to hold off on spending for the moment. What I do have on the needles are some socks for a friend’s 4 year old daughter, the beginnings of a baby blanket for baby M, expected in January of 2010, and a project to plan for baby O, expected in November 2009.
– And then, of course, there is my own new “baby” Zoey. Could she be any cuter? For reals, having a pup is so much more wonderful than I could have imagined. I love watching her pounce on The Baron each morning and seeing how happy they make each other. She is also incredibly sweet, greeting me at the end of each day with the most plaintive, elated little squeals and whines of delight. We are taking her to obedience classes and she’s learning to be a good girl, but we are sorely remiss in teaching her not to lick people’s faces, ears, noses, mouths . . . it is just so precious that I can’t bear to break her of the habit. She is not quite seven months old and weighs just over seven pounds, so she’s still easy to pick up in one hand for a cuddle. Each new day with her is more fun than the last. I will not be torturing her with handknits quite yet — but I do want to make her a sweater for the chilly winter mornings ahead — she is quite sensitive to the cold. I am holding myself back from being a total freakshow and posting a zillion photos of her, but here are just two of my latest faves:
Little Zoey hiding her nose in the covers:
Posing for the camera:
And of course, my very fave . . . SNOUT!
– Finally, a word about Levi’s Baby Blanket . . . I am so excited to see that a few people are actually knitting it! I wish I had the time to translate the charts into written instructions, but unfortunately at the moment I have neither the time nor the energy. I will do anything else I can do to help and encourage knitters who are tackling the blanket — please PM me via Ravelry if I don’t get back to you right away via my blog e-mails.
There now, that wasn’t so bad. Happy knitting, and to anyone who has slogged with me down this far, thank you for reading 🙂
Type-K 