Treat

Today, I worked hard. So, I decided to treat myself to a little something special. 

        Cast on before starting dinner

      And finished in time for my shower. 

 To any and all of my knitting readers: take a few minutes and do something nice for yourself. We all deserve a treat once in a while. We knitters have a special ability to turn the mundane into the memorable, and I plan to use that skill more often in the future. 

Tomorrow: Stitches Midwest Recap!

Surprise

Betcha thought I was gone, huh? Yep, I did, too. But, I'm back. The last five months have been nothing but socks--the equivalent of tying a knot at the end of your rope and holding on. My life seems to finally be in order. Tomorrow, my best knitting pal and I are headed to Stitches Midwest! I really can't wait--I need to sing the song of my people. 

Oh, also? We got married in June. 

It was all we ever wanted it to be. We honeymooned in Disney, and have been back in Chicago for a while now, working our buns off to save for when I go back to school. I think I'm finally ready to come back to the blog, and the improvements Blogger has made to the app are extremely encouraging. I never could get the pictures set into the text before. I hope to get some good pictures of our adventure, tomorrow!

Blue Skies

It has been an embarrassingly long time since my last post. Life has been a blur of early mornings at work and late nights at rehearsal. However, all of my hard work is paying off and this weekend, I anticipate very successful performances. The snow is melting, the birds are singing, and the wild rabbits are reappearing. Spring is most certainly on its way, and I am so ready. I feel like the turn of the seasons will be bringing many good things with it, and that there will be a lot of blue sky in the months to come. I'll be back soon with details about Ysolda's online Squam class, and to talk about all the socks I've been knitting. I have a rare night off, the dark day preceding opening night, and I plan to use it well.

Inch by Inch

This is River.

Slowly but surely, she is growing.

A Fighting Chance

It has been so hard to knit, lately. That pair of red socks that I showed you in my last post? They're still not done. I could ordinarily finish them in something like three days, but it's been much longer than that. I started a new wrap that is gorgeous and promising, but it's only about three inches long. School and work and rehearsal are conspiring to leave me with no free time, and what precious minutes I can steal away from my responsibilities usually turn into an unexpected nap, because I'm using all of the energy I have.

However, today I have arranged a tiny, tiny vacation. I had an unusually empty Monday, with only one thing on my schedule, and I cancelled it. That means that I have a total day off for the first time since Christmas break. I have a few things to take care of, but it will mostly be a day of knitting. A day of knitting and movies and finally getting to call my family. A day of cooking what I want for lunch, and getting to eat it at home. A day of relaxing and enjoying the quiet of an empty house. I'm so thankful for this day. I hope very much that, despite the chaos of my schedule, I will manage to come back soon and share pictures of whatever my needles produce on this marvelous day. I've got a big pot of one of my favorite coffees, and a big pile of yarn waiting for me.

Three

Three years ago today, I cast on my first knitting project--a red scarf for my little brother. I had hopes of one day being able to produce some of the beautiful lace that I drooled over on Ravelry. I had no idea that this new endeavor would become such an enormous part of my life. I didn't know that, one day, I would never leave the house without a sock. I didn't know that there would be a day when movies and knitting were inseparable. I didn't know that knitting would keep me company through the happiest and saddest moments of life, and that it would keep me warm during my first frigid Chicago winter. I didn't know that it would be something I could share, both with strangers and with my dearest friends, and that it would bring us all so much closer together. It has changed me in so many ways, and I continue to see growth every day. I'm so blessed to have found something that has touched my life in so many ways, and will continue to accompany me in little and big moments, for as long as my hands obey me.

Stalled

I've been such a bad blogger lately. One could even go so far as to say I've been a bad knitter, lately. I started a new pair of socks for someone during my trip to New Orleans, and they still aren't done. I haven't even managed to get the heel turned on the second one. This is terrible. School started, and it's been a constant whirlwind of rehearsals and class and practicing that leaves me with barely any time for anything. The only reason that the first sock got done was because I knitted in a class that I usually don't knit in, and plowed through the foot since I didn't have to look down at it in class. I have a precious night off tonight, and I'm GOING to finish this sock, dammit. I don't have any other projects going besides my cabled bag.

Speaking of Celtic cables, Knit Picks just released a new pattern e-book, and I am dying. I need to make all of these. Right now. RIGHT. NOW.
Please, go look at the Illuminated Lines Collection. You will not regret it. I will be buying this very, very soon. I want every item in this e-book.

So, I'm going to go finish this sock. Seriously. It's happening tonight.

There and Back Again

Sorry for the huge lapse in posts! Ben, Spook and I went home to New Orleans for a week, and now school is starting and things are crazy! I've been knitting socks, so I'll probably do a sock post soon with lots of pictures. And I still need to share pictures of the mittens! I had such a nice time with my loved ones in New Orleans, and now it's time to get back to the work-school-rehearsal routine (and squeeze some knitting in.)

Here's a few pictures from my week at home: