Quick Traveling

Hello everyone! Once again, it's been the better part of a month with no post. I swear, this app is going to help. At some point. The problem is, actually, that I really have nothing to show off at the moment. I finished the Mara, but have not blocked her (or the Ishbel from a while back-I was trying to hold out for more blocking mats...it's not looking good.) However, Ben and I took a quick trip to Chicago to apply for this apartment that we really love, and in the 38 hours we spent on the train getting there and back, I started work on a large Traveling Woman as a farewell gift to a dear friend who has helped me through some very difficult travels this year. That is still very much in progress, but it needs to be done by Thursday, so I should have some pictures very soon. In the meantime, just imagine a giant pile of unblocked FOs. That's my bedroom.

Oh, and I've also been very badly bitten by a new project. Fellow blogger Kate has just finished up a stunning Veil of Isis, and I seriously need one of my own. I've looked at this pattern countless times before, but hers pushed me over the edge. I was contemplating this morning knitting some lace in a dark, dramatic color. I'm not sure yet whether this is the project for it or not. I really love Kate's version in the grey. But, what I love most about this pattern us that it incorporates many of my favorite shapes and motifs, and it just has so many of the elements that make me love lace. Now, I just have to find the right yarn--and considering the condition of the yarn funds, that may be a challenge.

From the land of fiction

I decided that I would experiment with the Blogger app on my new iPod. So, here I am, posting from backstage during act two of the play I'm currently in. Here is a (bad quality) picture of my massive, seemingly never-ending Mara, who is doing double duty as a prop. Since I have a good bit of downtime in act two, I get to do at least a little bit of knitting every night. I am really looking forward to finding but how big this baby is off the needles. Also, my costumer for the production, who is also a friend and fellow needle worker, told me that I could wear it in the show if I finished it before the end of the run. So, I have renewed motivation to finish it soon! Be back soon with pictures of my finish-it-upitis.

The Long Road Home

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen of the Blog, It's been quite a long time since I've been here. In that time, I've gone through a lot of really difficult developments and changes. Ultimately, I've come out more or less on top, and I know what I need to do to keep things that way. The first of these things is to learn not to bite off more than I can chew, and the next is to take more time to do what I want. So, hopefully there will be a bit more blogging, since there will be a bit more knitting. Also, I got an iPod Touch as a graduation gift from two of my best friends, and I have a blogging app that I hope to implement in the very near future. I have been tackling much of my WIP basket, with one item finished and three very near completion. I haven't taken pictures of any of them yet, mostly because I've been too busy to go outside. Did you know that a human being can paint an entire set in one night, then spend the next night learning an entire role as an emergency replacement, then spend the next night onstage performing that role on opening night? I didn't either until I did it. As proud as I am of myself, I hope to never take on that kind of workload again. Anyway, although I don't have any pictures of my knitting, I do have some pictures of someone else's:

(please excuse the badly lighted iPod picture)

That's my ten-year-old brother, a few minutes after I taught him to knit. We were sitting on the couch watching Food Network together while I knitted, when I leaned over to him and said "hey, did you ever consider learning to knit?" He immediately turned to me and said "YES." So, we commenced. He learned so quickly, and before long he was trucking along on his own. He had a couple of setbacks when I left him to his own devices while I did some chores, but overall he's really doing well. I'm so proud of him, and I'm so glad that we have knitting to bond over, now. I hope that he sticks with it. He seems really excited about it, and he doesn't get excited about much. I will return soon with some of my recently finished and almost-finished WIPS. Happy Tuesday, everyone.