Quite a Life

Phew. All I wanted to do this evening is put on comfy pants and some handknit socks. Good thing my watermelon socks were clean and waiting for me after our redeye flight from Portland, Ore.

What a fun time in Eugene and Florence!! I'm going to get some pictures up from the trip soon. Slim had such a good time playing with our friends' kids. I got pampered and the Cap'n got to pound around in the mostly demolished bathroom they were refinishing.

Meanwhile, there's a lot going on here...but all in good time.

I did get the second Child's First Sock in Shell Pattern started and I'm about done with the ribbing. I think this one will go pretty fast, since I have the pattern down now. I made one mitten for the boy out of leftover yarn from his Elf Swirl hat, but I think it's too small and tight. So it's to the frog pond for that one. It only took a day and a half, so I need to get it restarted and finished since it's cold back here in D.C.

Mom made a request for a pair of socks from Knitting Vintage Socks, so that's the next sock project on the needles. (Note: I said "sock" project. Not all projects.) She likes the Child's French Sock, and I'm thinking about using some Opal sock yarn (color 64 on the web site) that I found at Springwater a long time ago. I do want to swatch, however, so that I'm sure I'll get socks that fit Mom.

And you heard right: I'm using more stash yarn. Our trips to Florida and Oregon yielded NO opportunities for souvenir yarn SEX. NONE. When I was making notes of what to catch the blog up on, I somehow wrote that down twice. NONE. Of course, stash enhancement has been helped by significant gift yarns, so I have plenty to work on...

Of course, I mentioned the baby sweater with the Dalegarn Baby Ull. I need to swatch it and still find a pattern. I'm thinking I might try to go through some of the vintage pamphlets that my dad and grandma gave me to see if I can find something in there.

And I HAVE TO FINISH MY SWEATER. Y'all it has been almost a year since I started it. It's shameful. I am totally afraid of blocking and finishing. I'm not even sure if it will fit me and my 32-week belly right now, but it's the principle of the thing. And there might be some chilly days after March where I can trot it out.

The Cap'n has "laid down the law" on the sweater. I'm not supposed to pick up crochet, from the Happy Hooker or anyone else, until the sweater is finished. I've been psyched since getting the Big Box of Yarn from Dad about learning crochet and have been thinking about taking a class. KnittinSis gave me Deb Stoller's book, so I'm going to start there. But, yes, after the sweater. Heck, probably after BabyDos.

So I really meant to post pics, but I think I'll do a separate post on Florida and another on Oregon. By time I get those done, I'll have knitting progress and other news to post about. And hopefully those law school apps done....ooh, don't remind me.

Instead of working on them during our travels, I managed to finish two fiction books: "Restless" by William Boyd (a Hanukkah gift from the Cap'n) and "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd. I can highly recommend the first one, which is a fun read, but the second one was so-so. It was too reliant on stereotypes of the South.

So now I'm on to "Specimen Days" by Michael Cunningham, which I got just on the basis of "The Hours,"which haunted me for weeks after reading it. And knitting...I need the relaxation.