Blocked Up

Well, a slow couple of weeks was definitely what I needed. I'm not quite back up to speed yet, but I feel so much better than I did last month. The creative juices are flowing, ideas are percolating, and I am definitely ready to start easing back into my full schedule.

Which is perfect, since this is what my blocking basket looks like. I normally like blocking quite a bit-it's the first chance to see what the project will really look like, to watch the yarn bloom and fall into place, and the last chance to wrestle the project into submission. I love working with my hands, and blocking is all hands (well, I suppose all of knitting is technically all hands, but blocking feels a bit more physical), and it's thrilling and fulfilling, and one of my favorite parts of a project.

There's some good stuff in the blocking basket, but I probably ought to get started soon-I only have the one futon to block stuff out on, and depending on how long it takes things to dry, there's probably close to a week's worth of blocking here. Hopefully I'll be able to start tackling some of this before the weekend, but if not, it's waited this long, so what's a few more days? 

Joy and Things

Well, just as I hoped, the weekend was almost miraculously relaxing. I watched movies with my mum, I finished a shawl, I got through several chart repeats of another shawl, and I made absolutely no decisions other than how to cook the asparagus for Easter dinner (roasted with garlic and black pepper-yum).

State employees had Friday afternoon off work, so Anemone and I trekked out to the thrift store to see if there were any good treasures to be found. There were a few things I might have been tempted by, but the only thing I ended up getting was this cross stitch sampler someone made and framed years ago.

I think a lot about the talismanic nature of things, and this sampler really spoke to me. I like the message, and I like that someone put time and effort into stitching that message out and making it beautiful, and then securing it in a frame to be protected and treasured for a long time. The idea of someone putting so much love and joy into something makes me smile a little bit every time I see it, so this will get hung up above my door for a little daily reminder.

Slowness

I've been struggling a bit with today's post. I've mentioned this week that I've been doing some thinking and re-evaluating, which means right now in the aftermath of all that, I'm doing some settling. Not settling in terms of accepting something I find less than fulfilling, but settling in terms of allowing myself to be comfortable with things the way they are. I'm happy with my life now, but for whatever reason, I feel a bit unsettled, if that makes sense, so I'm working on that.

I know I've mentioned feeling rushed the past few weeks, and I'm finally getting over that. I need to take some time to slow down a bit, and I think that will help. This week has been very productive, but it also feels really relaxed. I finished two of my WIPs this week, and instead of feeling like I've just checked two huge things off my to-do list, I feel like things are just progressing as they should. Things get knit, and things get done, and we move on, and everything is as it should be.

Part of it may be the change of season. I always feel off-kilter when things start heating up-I'm a cold weather girl through and through, and warm temperatures unsettle me. But I've been taking things slow, and finding the good. I got my hair cut this week, which I needed dreadfully. It's so much lighter, and that's a lot of less physical and psychological weight to carry around going into spring and summer (hey, hair gets heavy!).

I don't know how long this "slow mood" is going to end up lasting, but I definitely need it. I sometimes get so wrapped up in the doing of things that I don't listen to my own internal cycles and rhythms, but everyone needs to slow down once in a while.  March ended up being a pretty busy and intense month for me, so it makes sense that April needs to be more scaled-back. However things work out, I'm planning on a slow and restful weekend.

Clearing Out Some WIPs

I finished binding off the green shawl last night, and it's waiting for its chance to get blocked. I'm definitely relieved to get it done-there were some false finishes along the way, but I finally got it sorted and it's going to be a nice little shoulder warmer. And that's one WIP off the needles. I honestly have no idea when it will get blocked, and the pattern won't be ready for a while, so this might be the last I talk about it for a few weeks. It's okay, though, it will be back eventually.

Anemone's Shrowl is up next. There's about 20g of yarn left right there, so I think I'm in a pretty good place to get it done this week. That will be another thing off the needles, and Anemone will be home this weekend to get it. So it should work out perfectly. I'm actually a bit surprised by how much I've enjoyed knitting this-it's knit pretty much as a scarf, and then you throw in a couple of seams. Normally I hate scarves, but I really like the garter rib here. It's just some good, plain old knitting, that takes just enough counting to be interesting, but doesn't really require any attention. I do have to figure out where I'm going to block it-I'm afraid it might end up being too long for the futon.

I'm not feeling like I need to cast on something new right now, so I'm definitely taking advantage of that while it lasts. I have a couple of big things I want to start work on, but I want to feel like the old WIPs are at least under control. My vintage medallion shawl has been sitting around for ages, so I really want to get it finished this year, and my garter squish cuddle blanket is a huge stash eater, and I feel like a blanket takes up less space than a couple dozen balls of yarn. (I know that they technically do occupy the same area, but a blanket can be squished at the end of a bed or folded in a trunk. Yarn takes up stash space.)

More Thinking, Less Doing

As I hinted at on Friday, I needed to take some time this weekend to think through some stuff. I'm sure everyone deals with personal inertia to some extent, and I know I struggle with it a lot. So it's healthy to take time every so often to take stock of things.  Figure out goals, re-establish priorities, you know. So it was a good weekend in that respect, and I got psychologically caught up with myself, but I really didn't get much else done. I almost thought about trying to squeeze in a photoshoot yesterday, but the wind was really intense, and it was nice to not really do any work this weekend.

The green shawl's still not finished, but it should get done this week. I only managed a couple of rows this weekend. I did spend about 2 hours in a coffee shop with my current socks and In the Woods, and I just had such a good time that I forgot to take any pictures. But it was the best way to spend an afternoon-I really ought to do that sort of thing more often. Also, In the Woods is really good so far-I'm 2/3rds of the way through now and hope to finish it this week.

I'm still in a battle with my WIP baskets-I'm down to nine projects right now, which is pretty good. With any luck, I'll get two done this week and I'll be in an even better spot. I'm toying around with my idea for my summer pullover design project, and I pretty much have my big summer knitting projects figured out (because it's been hot enough to think about summer knitting). I have enough of the crochet thread that I used for my Ella cardigan last summer to make an almost-hip length Featherweight, and I'm ready to give Mottled Daydream another go-I have the perfect yarn picked out, if only I can find it in my stash. Hopefully having some fun stuff lined up will motivate me to get some of the current WIPs out for good.

Frazzled Friday

I feel like I've been trying to play catch-up for the last few days. The replacement needles for the green shawl arrived earlier this week, so I should (fingers crossed) be able to finish the border on that this weekend. I have a pile of stuff that needs to be photographed, I have emails that need to be sent, I have emails that I need to respond to, and I'm really starting to wonder where the week went.

After last weekend, I'm not too concerned that this weekend is not going to be as productive. If I'm lucky, I'll get the green shawl done, but I have a ton of non-knitting personal stuff to take care of this weekend, and it just feels like I've been rushing everything the last few days. I'm hoping that next week I'll be able to breathe some more and refocus on some things.

Sorry that this post is kind of all over the place, but that's what my mind's been like the past couple of days. But I've already decided that next week is going to be good, and that I'm going to take the time I need to this weekend to get some important background things done so I can face next week with a bit more of a restful attitude.

Pattern: Josey

I have a really fun pattern today. Josey is a quick knit, made from bulky-weight alpaca, and while winter is technically over, I know the cold is still sticking around most places.

Josey features a picot cast-on edge that transitions into 2x1 ribbing, and the rest of the hat is worked in one-row horizontal stripes with four vertical stripes running up one side. The vertical stripes are worked with slipped stitches, so you're only ever working with one color at a time.

The pattern includes written instructions for a traditional fitted beanie and a slouchy hat (pictured), with complete instructions on how to do the picot cast-on. Enjoy!

Pretty Darn Productive

I hope everyone else had as productive a weekend as I did (or, if not very productive, then very restful). I have a new hat pattern ready to go out sometime this week, and just a couple of tiny things for the revamped vest pattern before it's ready for its re-release. I also got a quick swatch worked up for a summer pullover that I'm planning, and I'm very pleased with it,

As might be predicted from my monogamous knitting last week, the yellow shawl is currently blocking on the futon, and the pattern is right on schedule for an April release. I'm really pleased with how it came out, and I can't wait to do the photoshoot (so many pretty dresses will go with this-how to choose??).

The replacement needles for the green shawl haven't arrived, so I'm taking a break from work stuff to get some more of Anemone's Shrowl knit. I'm a third of the way through the final ball of yarn, so with any luck this should be done pretty soon. My WIP basket has gotten a little out of hand lately, and I want to reign it back in a little.

A Shawl, a Pattern, Some Books, and a Page

So it turns out that when you focus on knitting one thing for a few days, it gets knit! This is the sunny yellow shawl (and it really needs a better name than Sunny Yellow), already a couple of rows into the border and looking pretty good for completion this weekend. As soon as the needles for the green shawl get here, that's up for completion too, and I'll have two more things off the needles.

I also have a bit of computer work to catch up on. I have a hat pattern to finish writing up, and I don't think I've mentioned it here yet, but I deactivated my Epidemic pattern to update the formatting and add more sizes. Like, six more sizes. It bothered me that I personally feel so strongly about diversity and body positivity and self-love but I'd only written that pattern for three sizes. It had felt wrong for a while, and I decided that now was the time to fix it before I get too deep in other projects. It's almost ready to go off for editing, and I'm already so much more pleased with it.

Book-wise, I finished Beauty by Sheri S. Tepper earlier this week, and I really enjoyed it. I'm surprised that I'd never heard of it before, since it has pretty much everything I love. I'm finally getting into In the Woods now-I'd read the introduction back when I bought it way back in December, but then I'd let it languish. I'm really enjoying it now, though, and I'm hoping to make quick work of it since I'm seven books behind my way-too-ambitious reading goal for this year so far. But I also have Neil Gaiman's new collection that I'm working through, and there's a new Fairyland book as well, so I think I may re-read that whole series.

Last, but (hopefully) not least, I've made a Facebook page for The Wayward Knitter. It's still a baby page right now, but I'll be adding photos and things to it over the next few days.

FO: Salt Creek Hat & Cowl

Well, it's probably about time that I show you all Anemone's birthday present. I gave it to her while we were in the cities for her birthday weekend, and we grabbed pictures outside of a Caribou Coffee just before heading back home.

I made Salt Creek and Salt Creek Cowl as a matched set. I just love the little cables and garter stitch, and Anemone likes well-matched, put together ensembles, so it seemed like a perfect idea. The yarn is once again the sadly discontinued Reynolds Soft Sea Wool, grabbed from the back room at Athena Fibers, and I'm pretty sure this is the last batch I'll ever get my hands on, unless Reynolds brings it back. Anemone was with me to pick out the color, but she knew nothing else about her present until I actually gave it to her.

The only hiccup was my own failure to read the pattern correctly, and I threw in an extra cable repeat at the first edge of the cowl. I thought it would be fine and carried on, but ultimately it would have thrown off the proportions too much-the cowl would have needed to be two or three inches longer to make up for it aesthetically, and that would have made the cowl almost too long to be really useful for this sort of middle weather we're in now.

I am very pleased with how these came out, and Anemone loves them as well.

Ravelry Pages: Anemone Bday Hat & Anemone Bday Cowl

Patterns: Salt Creek & Salt Creek Cowl, by Cory Ellen Boberg

Yarn: Reynolds Soft Sea Wool, "Light Blue"