After my uncle’s death I tried really hard to keep knitting and doing the things I normally do, but for a while all that I seemed capable of doing was messing up every project I picked up. Once I got past the blues it was very close to Natalie’s first birthday so I focused on that. Plus I couldn’t seem to get back into the writing mood. I kept thinking of all the things I wanted to say, but like several others have mentioned the longer you go without blogging the harder it is to get back into the swing of it.
I have been working on many projects - including losing weight. Brandon’s death made me think about the fact that I will be 28 this fall and I still don’t have my life together. I want to get it together so that if something happened tomorrow I could at least leave this world knowing that I had finally started to get it together. Okay, enough of the depressing.
I have been working on my Christmas projects - not sure how many I will get done. My sister’s shawl (Sunset Seraphim) is about maybe 40% done and I haven’t touched it in several weeks. Mom’s Cozy has been frogged several times due to being unable to work from the written directions. I have since charted it out and am planning on restarting it next weekend. My brother-in-law’s scarf is about 25% done and I should really work on it as it is just a plain garter stitch scarf, but I know I am going to run out of yarn and just haven’t managed to get back to my LYS to purchase more. Also, I have been carrying the yarn up the side (twisting it together as I go) so I need to make sure that a single crochet around the edge will hide it. Natalie’s sweater is sitting in time out until I can frog back to before the start of the stranding as I was stranding too loose on it. It is only about 2 or3 rows that I have to frog, but I have not managed to do it. Dad’s socks are the worst though - plain 2×2 ribbing all the way which is even more mind numbing than garter stitch to me - with garter stitch I can watch movies, but 2×2 ribbing requires me to think about the knitting too much. Plus since I am using University of Michigan colors to knit them I have to make sure that he doesn’t see them or he will know that they are for him.
In addition to all of that I have been working on a Blackwork piece for my room (I think it might turn into a pillow since it will match my new quilt), sewing some dresses for Natalie and also working on my first quilt (which will be a queen size Triple Irish Chain). I have also been working on Mystic Light and my first Booga Bag, along with making plans for many other shawls.
Mystic Light is about 1/3 of the way through the 3rd chart and I am loving it. It has some areas where I fudged some stitches, but I made sure that when spread out that you cannot really see the mistakes. The only mistake that I am going to fix is in the central cable, but I am going to wait until it is done and then go back and duplicate stitch over it to fix it - I read somewhere about this method. I just love the color I chose - it is in Pagewood Farms Denali Hand Dyed Sock Yarnin Really Red.
The Booga Bag is in Benat’s Felting Natural Wool in Storm Cloud. I found the pattern through Ravelry and also am making some modifications to the pattern per someone’s notes on Ravelry. I increased the number of cast on stitches to 40 and knitted 40 rows before picking up stitches to make it 120 stitches in diameter. I am not sure if I am going to go to 75 rounds in height or not. I am also planning on adding a flap to the bag as I like bags that can be closed at least part of the way.
I have plans for at least 3 other shawls (not that I only have yarn for 3 more) due to Ravelry. I fell in love with the Mystic Light Shawl and have since signed up for Mystic Meadows which I am doing in Schaffer Anne in what The Loopy Ewe called Plum Pudding - it is a bunch of different, deep purples - not normally a color that I fall in love with, but this I did. I also purchased Mystic Waters and have some Dream In Color Baby in Some Summer Sky for it. Then there is the Goddess Knits Anniversary Mystery Shawl which has a mandala theme. As the designer states
My inspiration for this shawl pattern is the Mandala.
The sanskrit word “Mandala” has many definitions: circle, completion, labyrinth, halo, the center, a collection, a community, a connection. A Mandala is a spiritual tool used for discovery, in meditation and to establish a sacred space. Each Mandala is unique and different, reflecting the essence of it’s creator.
Mandalas can be used to serve as a way to focus your mind and see more clearly, to unblock negative energy and as a means of internal healing and self-reflection.
Since she doesn’t recommend any specific colors I searched for something that called to me and found it at KnitPicks. Their Shimmer in Spice just spoke to me. Since I was born on the first day of fall autumn colors are some of my favorites and the Spice colorway just seems like all the colors of autumn leaves and since a mandala is a personal thing I thought this was appropriate. I cannot seem to stop petting the skeins - they are so soft and I am so pleased with this yarn - only $6.49 a skein for 440 yards of 70% Alpaca and 30% Silk.
I also have more yarn for socks, shawls, sweaters, afghans and etc than I know what to do with. I did end up frogging my MS3 - I just was not thrilled with the asymmetrical look. I may go back and make one of the other options - like one with two pointed ends or one with two wings, but if I do I think I would want something other than the KnitPicks Bare yarn. I do have plans for that yarn - I have also signed up for the Slow-Bee KAL 1 and 2 and think the Bare would be perfect for the 1st one, but I would need more yardage and more beads. So since I would have to order more yarn and beads I am just holding the yarn for that and will order enough to get the yardage needed once I finish up some of my other projects.
Well this post is getting pretty wordy with no photos to liven it up so I will go for now. Once I get my camera working again - I somehow messed up the card - I will post some photos of the yarns and projects mentioned here.
