Twilight Time

Finished my Twilight scarf! This was yarn I purchased from Yarn Lust a while back, superwash wool, and it made a lovely neck wrap.




I finished Bonnie and Clyde some time ago but forgot to post it--one half is Bonnie and the other Clyde (Louet, same colorway--"Sleepy Hollow"), and the combo works nicely. I adorned DD#3's "womakin" with DD#1's pea coat so the blazer could show off the scarf.

(DD#1 used to call mannequins "womakins" if they were in the women's dept.)

And here is the blanket I've begun as the backing of a blanket, a washable lap blanket for ?? that I'm going to back with a fabric that is SO COOL but it's a secret for now. (Thanks, Kathy, for encouraging me to try a larger needle size--instead of 8 it was 9 that I needed. It's going great!)



And I'm getting stuff together to back the Baby Moderne Log Cabin in brown polar fleece, when I have time!

From the Cellar Came an Unearthly Howl . . .

Well, OK it was coming from my study . . . and actually it wasn't totally unearthly since I knew it was emanating from one of the feline fluffbutts at our house, Cleo. Seems my yarn stash is bringing out the primal instincts in her. Every night after most or all of us have gone to bed, she apparently heads for my yarn cubbies and chooses something tasty, howling as if she's in heat, and then drags the skein out into the hallway, sometimes farther. And leaves it there. I guess I can be glad she doesn't chew it or pull it apart and tangle it!

I've been doing finish work on several projects that were essentially done but now are actually completed. That means two scarves, a hat, and potentially the lining for a purse I made a while ago, if I don't lose my enthusiasm for finishing up things.

I'm also taking a go at a new "The Same, But Different," the shell from Yarn Girls' Guide to Beyond the Basics, a pattern I started two years ago and messed up so much that I abandoned it for a looooong time. But so far so good! I only wonder if the Katrina will turn out to be too heavy--the problems before weren't in that vicinity but it does seem dense to me now. But if all goes well, I'll be able to wear it to school in the fall, and someone will ask me the question I can finally answer YES to--"Did you knit that yourself?"

I've also begun a child's blanket to be backed with some gorgeous fabric I found on eBay but that will have to be top secret for now. Or visit me on ravelry for more pictures.

Decompression Nearly Complete

After the past month, even with the road trip and the beginning of my tutoring schedule, I have finally reached the point of ahhhhhhhh. Summer is an odd mix of relaxing and getting organized for next fall. And "getting organized" is usually not much of an academic/school endeavor, more a life/routines thing. But I'm getting there. I tutor 8 students, some twice a week, and that is going swimmingly. Great kids with the willingness to do what I ask even if they would rather be off playing on their Sony Playstation or Wii.

I've been watching a series of lectures on the history of London, quite interesting, which has led me to Daniel Defoe's A Journal of the Plague Year. Written from a fictional point of view but with a great deal of material that he heard from those who lived through it (he himself was only 5 at the time). So much is what I would expect today if something similar happened.

Facebook has become a time sink that I'm weaning myself away from except for a short while once or twice a day. One starts to notice who has a life and who's living through others' lives. ;^)

And I am knitting, even in the hottest weather (it's the A/C that makes that possible). Finished the Percy scarf and just need to tuck in the loose threads.

I'm this close to being done with the Baby Moderne Log Cabin (after which it will be backed and edged), but I'm not feeling it and will probably only try another one if I can get the same yarn--it wasn't a great success with Bazic, probably not because of that yarn itself but because it wasn't quite the same weight.

I have finished a short scarf in Berroco Ultra Alpaca, chambray-ish blue. I love this one, and the pattern, which is becoming a standard for me, a sort of mistaken rib.






I started another scarf in Blue Moon Fibers heavyweight superwash sock wool, in a great colorway ("Jabberwocky") that looks quite autumnal.

And I've been knitting a 3x3 rib scarf in Yarn Lust's washable wool, worsted weight. Notice how the second and fifth ribs are much more variegated than the others? I think that sort of thing is so cool about this type of yarn--the way it tends to pool.

I'm thinking of some sort of fund raising method that will help me sell my knitted items and give the proceeds to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (with which DH's Team in Training is affiliated). Don't know if it's worth it to set up on etsy or find a holiday craft fair in the area, or ?? Accepting all ideas about ways to make it work, given that I have to charge at least for the cost of the yarn for each item. But I have now made about 15 items that are selling-quality, and which I think could raise enough to make it worthwhile to try.

I'm also working on a second blog this summer that my tutoring students use. If you're interested, it's here.