#39 - THINGS ARE HAPPENING.

If you know me, you're well aware that I have all the ridiculousness, the inability to manage life, the lack of concern for my social status, and the affinity for food of one Liz Lemon. I run blindly into overwhelming situations with the outward appearance of someone without a care in the world, while inside my neuroses are usually getting the best of me. I'm pretty sure this is how I've turned summer, typically a season of relaxation and fun, into the most stressful month of my life. So bear with me as I rattle off a list of all this month's goings-on - and note that a lot of these things are of my own doing...

1. I joined the Fiona Twitalong (a little late) with some fabulous knitters - @CheekyTart @KillerLashes @knittyornice @Voolenvine. I'll be knitting up the Fiona All Grown-Up in KnitPicks Comfy Fingering in Whisker grey and Sea Foam blue... as soon as the yarn arrives on my doorstep. Oh, and this is my first KnitPicks yarn, so I'm looking forward to trying it out!

2. I'm still busy at work on my mom's Drops Jacket. Ravel it! This is fantastically relaxing knitting... swathes of stockinette in bulky weight. It's a breeze (so far).

3. I'm in the process of getting my knitty business plans off the ground. A few people in my life have urged me to start putting some of my own designs out into the ether, so I'm in the midst of designing new patterns, making up business cards, setting up an etsy shop, and applying for some craft fairs. It's incredibly exciting and scary all at once, but I'm looking forward to seeing where things go.

4. I'm joining in on the Creativity Boot Camp, a free e-course designed to get those creative juices flowing. Considering the big projects I have underway, I hope this will get me thinking in different and inspiring ways. I've never participated in a project like this, so I'm intrigued to see how it goes, but by the looks of things, this will be the kick in the pants I need to get my crafty ideas on the fast track.

5. Meanwhile, I'm auditing my last class that ends in July, my contract with my job ends in July so I'm on the hunt for something new, and my lease on my place ends in July too! Yikes.

Okay... deep breaths. Time to get some reading done on my balcony before I head to the office. And in the style of Liz Lemon, maybe a snack.

#38 - THE START OF SOMETHING

Midway through the week, I had high hopes of finishing a tiny little sweater for a tinier little baby. Then it all hit the figurative fan, when I made a sleeve that wasn't nearly wide enough, but happened to be about 6cm too long. It happens to the best of us, but I got cranky, nearly threw the needles at the wall, stomped my feet, pouted, poured some wine, and slowly frogged back about 10cm of stripey stockinette. Frogging usually leads me to heart palpitations, so I decided to hide the sweater away for a few days to regroup. First, I tried knitting a few rows here and there on my Damson, but for some reason I'm not quite making any progress despite its simplicity. My brain has simply been itching to cast on for something completely different, and I caved in to my urges.

So here it goes, my first real sweater pattern. I always thought of myself as only an accessories knitter, but the further you go into the rabbit hole, you eventually can't help yourself. I just swatched for a DROPS sweater jacket with 3/4 sleeves for my mom in DROPS Eskimo. It looks like I'm on gauge, which is a bit of a relief for now, but who knows what will happen. Wish me luck as I cast on this wooly beast! Here's hoping I make some decent progress over my long weekend.

From Knitting, etc.

#37 - THIS & THAT

Finally back! I've actually quite missed the blog over the last few weeks that were intense and sleep-deprived due to final papers and take-home exams and the like. I'm only a few credits away from my MLS, which is simultaneously exciting and relieving. Meanwhile, in the few weeks I have before the summer minimester begins, I'm packing in lots of yarny and crafty exploits!

From Knitting, etc.

First off, I finally finished knitting my Clapotis! It took much longer than I ever anticipated, thanks to my easily distracted brain, but the final product is really lovely, soft, and drapey in Art Yarns Regal Silk - one of my most self-indulgent yarn purchases. I love this colorway with neutrals, silver greys, greens, and bronze called Paris Rain. Considering that when I was last in Paris it was incredibly rainy for the first week, my Clapotis is a little bit of French nostalgia all around.

From Knitting, etc.

Although I'll probably never wear it like a shawl, I had to show off the drop stitch design. And many thanks to my fantastic mom, who photographed me quite a few times to get these shots! :)

From Knitting, etc.

Also, yesterday I came upon two yarny packages in the mail that I just have to share with you. The first one is my epic order from Nordic Mart, with 40ish skeins of Drops Eskimo for 2 sweaters (including the Sylvi!). This was my first order with Nordic Mart, and oh it was an absolute breeze. I ordered the yarn on Saturday afternoon and it arrived on Monday, zipping across country. How crazy is that? I'm a fan of all the Garn Studio yarns, but the yarn shops around here don't stock it, so I expect to be a return customer.

From Knitting, etc.

Then, my swap parcel arrived from Canada from one of my favorite Ravelers, Jenn! The parcel was MIA for a bit in the post, but landed on my doorstep and I was so eager to tear into it. She sent me a few reusable grocery bags - including one with lots of compartments, which will be a very handy project bag; lots of chocolates, including Aero Bubbles (not pictured... because I already tore into the bag and had to hide them from myself in the pantry); a sparkly beaded necklace and earrings set; an adorable notebook with a little sheep on the cover, perfect for writing down my modifications as I knit (which I too often forget to do); springtime stickers; and glorious, glorious yarn. 2 skeins of Cadenza Hand Paints, to be exact, in a beautiful springy green and yellow colorway, which I hear required her LYS owner to run off to the distributor just for me. Jenn, I can't thank you enough for being such a magnificent friend! You certainly spoiled me.

Now, I'm working on getting a few more lingering WIPs off the needles, so I'm turning on my Electric Sheep podcasts and audiobooks, and off I go!