An Unwilling Model

We are now less than three weeks away from my first carpal tunnel surgery, and prep is going well. I made two big batches of burrito bowl fillings for the freezer, and I currently have one reserve loaf of freezer challah (though I do hope to make at least two more). I also finished my one xmas knit this week, as well as the first knit for my friend's impending baby.

Coleslaw absolutely hates modeling baby booties, but the concept was just too cute to leave untried.

(Yes, those are duck feet baby booties, and yes, they are too cute for words.)

I'm also officially into my busiest two weeks of work, but if I make it through the next nine days then I get the whole week of Thanksgiving off as a reward. I'm hoping to use that week to finish up a few more baby knits as well as my current vest project (which hasn't progressed since the last time you saw it, but it really doesn't need too much more work). 

This week I also attended a bookbinding workshop at my local library. We did two types of non-sewn bindings and made mini journals. Both techniques were new to me, and I'm really excited with the possibilities they offer in terms of my own projects as I get more into bookbinding as a hobby. 

one day at a time

So. Here we go again. 

It was not foolish to feel hopeful.

I cast on two baby knits this week for a baby one of my best friends is currently working on. Partly because I needed a distraction, and partly because I'm less than a month from surgery and I don't know how much knitting time I'll have between the end of my recovery and the baby's arrival.

It's a good reminder that we do still have a future, and we do need to care for it.

This baby won't arrive for months, and it is already so deeply loved by so many people.

Even when the world feels terrible, good things still happen.

No matter what, life goes on. 

One day at a time.

Halloweening

Happy November! I hope you all had a great Halloween! I don't get any trick-or-treaters (I live in a secure building with only eleven units and not many kids), but I did buy candy for myself to munch on! I won Halloween Trivia at work yesterday, and I watched Bram Stoker's Dracula last night (a bit of a tradition here). I didn't have a proper costume for myself, but I wore my Vincent Price dancing with a skeleton costume, and for my work Halloween party I had a hockey mask, at least. 

Yesterday morning I had my first round of trigger point injections, and I was very sore the rest of the day and ended up logging off work early and resting for most of the afternoon. I'm much less sore today, thankfully, and I should feel the effects of the injections next week. 

Coleslaw and I tried the cute viral ghost photoshoot with...extremely limited success.

She hated having the cloth over her head, and it was impossible to get her to hold still long enough to accurately place the holes. Fortunately, she tolerates her wings very well, so she spent the day dressed as a demon.

(It is perhaps less of a costume than a self-actualization.)

I still have not sewed buttons on my brioche vest. Yes, it has been almost five weeks since I finished knitting it. 

I did make some great progress on my stockinette vest! The back is done and I have passed the underarm bindoff and am halfway through the armhole decreases on the front now. I should have just enough yarn to finish—fingers crossed!

Last weekend I went to the art museum on campus—I live right by campus, so it was really easy to get to (except for a band competition going on that closed a major street, whoops!). I didn't sketch as much as I'd hoped to, but I did spend lots of quality time with a Rothko from 1949. I love Rothko, and this was my first time getting so see one in person, so it was very emotional and meaningful for me. Someday I definitely need to get up to the Art Institute, which has two of my favorite Rothkos in their collection, as well as the Chagall windows, which I've been aching to see for years.

(The photo really doesn't do it justice, I sat with this painting for well over an hour, taking it all in, and I'm already planning to go back for another visit.)

I made a challah and a batch of tomato confit this week, so I'm back to challah toast with tomatoes and melty cheese for lunch. What can I say, it's a comfort food. I also picked up some turkey so I can make breakfast sandwiches and use up the remaining english muffins in my freezer to make room for my challah stash before surgery.