Spring is NOT Springing... But at Least I'm Knitting

*tap* *tap* *tap*

Is thing on?

Whew that was a little hiatus there. This "spring" (and let's use that term VERY LOOSELY since it's April 15th and it's planning to act a whole lot like WINTER tomorrow) has been busy.  And with busy... well... you know the story by now.

What have we been up to?  Skiing mostly.  And when we're skiing... well... my eyes barely stay open for Paker's bedtime routine... let alone mine.

And then we went to Oahu, where I did pack knitting... and it stayed in it's neat little package that I packed it in the whole time.  Guys I didn't even knit on the plane...  WHO AM I?  But the sun was out and air was warm and it has been so long since I've felt or seen either of those things that I just wanted to be outside... (And I am comforted by the fact that MiL barely knit also- so I'm not alone!)

(It's safe to say that MiL and I DOMINATED the sand castle competition this year.)

BUT all hope is not lost.  Do not despair.  I got home and guess what I wanted to do?

I picked up the sock that I had intended to start in Hawaii and cast on.  Meet the "Love Bugs" and I'm hoping they are going to help me reignite with knitting again.  In fact I've been moving things around in my schedule trying to get a few rows here and there because I WANT to be knitting... and even that feeling has been missing for awhile.

AND if ACTUAL PROGRESS on something wasn't enough to get you excited... I've been swatching.  There is still a baby (NOT MINE) due in July that needs a blanket and I've got an idea and some swatches and watch this space for (hopefully) some interesting moves and more blog posts!

So hi.... spring is refusing to "spring" around here but at least my brain wants to knit and I'm hoping that means this space is going to get a lot more busy around these parts.  Thanks for sticking it out with me!

It's A Baby Blanket!

Let's cut to the chase...

Pattern: Little Boy Blue by Marlaine DesChamps

Yarn: Diamond Luxury Collection Pure Wool Superwash in "939"

Needles: US 7

Notes: It's perfect.  Do not be intimidated by this pattern... it's perfect.  You memorize the repeats quickly and VIOLA... you are on your way.  It's really an excellent pattern.

And the results... OH MY the results are stunning.  (Even Tigger thinks so... because he wouldn't stay out of the picture and off the blanket!)

As you may recall... I mentioned earlier that I wanted to get this done in time to send with my mom when she went to visit the baby this weekend.  And so... in keeping with me and deadlines lately, I got this off the blocking board a day AFTER she left.  *Sigh*  Oh well...who doesn't like getting parcels in the mail... amiright?

So now what?  You'd think having this albatross off my back I'd be chomping at the bit to knit everything all once.  But... you'd be wrong.  The first day this was done I found myself aimlessly going through my stash and finding that inspiration was lacking.  (And no- I'm not really ready to jump in the unfinished object pile just yet.)  I had a fun chunky hat ready to entertain me when my brain suddenly had a flash of inspiration on not one by TWO Stampede projects I feel like I might be able to design this year.  (Don't worry, I'll bookmark this blog post so we can come back and laugh at me later when I'm languishing in design hell ready to give up.)

And so... I grabbed the stitch dictionaries....

... and might even start swatching.  Truthfully a design could potentially provide more blog fodder so this isn't a death nell at the moment...  let's see what happens.

Winter Mode

Let's cut to the chase today- since you've waited patiently for an update...

The blanket is progressing!  It's currently at 23 inches in length.  The knitting part is still engaging to me and overall I'm happy with the progress.  It is doing the "cable suckage" thing a fair bit... meaning the cables are pulling it in considerably.  BUT I think that should sort itself out with some blocking.  HARD deadline on this is early March... since my mother could save me $$$ in shipping and deliver it in person with her planned visit.  Plus I'm gonna be ready for something new by then.  But this is a great pattern to knit and look at how everything just POPS off the blanket.

You've probably noticed I've been quiet.  We've been in full blown winter mode- trying to make the most of colder temps and the good snow.  The weekends are for skiing right now- it usually means I'm so tired at the end of the day I can't eek out any progress.  Weekdays are busy and rows don't collect as quickly as they used to.

I'm still gonna blog.  I'm still going to drop by here and tell you what I'm up to and what I'm working on... BUT I'm putting less stress on the update and more on the actual progress.  So instead of coming up with blog posts where there isn't much to say other than "still working on it"- I'm just gonna work on it.  I hope that's okay.

I'm not participating in the Olympic knitting this year... although I'm hoping that I will get a lot of knitting done while we watch.  I'm looking forward to watching the Olympics with my son and cheering for team Canada.  I also hope it motivates his skiing even further (he is doing so great!)- and he's excited to cheer for his country.

So there's where I'm at right now.  Maybe something new soon... a little girl is on her way (NOT ME) and I have an idea...

New Year... Same Delays

GAH.  It is January 14th!  I had every intention on getting a blog out in the first week... but life... life is busy.

The big news is I hit a round number birthday... hello 40. 

We decided that 40 needed to be celebrated, which meant a party.  That in itself isn't the problem... it's that we also felt that we needed to tackle about 900 procrastinated household chores in order to prepare the house for said party.  Needless to say- the house has never been so clean!  (Honestly that is almost like the gift there... so happy to have so much done!)  BUT- the knitting progress obviously has suffered.

Good news- this week there are no parties or really outstanding "time suck" plans and I'm hoping to get in a lot of knitting.  I really need to.

Why?

It is a long story - but the simplified version is that my cousin had a baby... a surprise to everyone.  Including her.  I know.  We're all still processing that one.  At least I can process AND knit!  Yarn was very quickly procured and say hello to "Little Boy Blue"- which is quite enjoyable so far.

The cables on this are delightfully puffy.  The lack of notice on this forced me to decide quickly and right now I'm actually really enjoying this knit... when I can actually do it.  I would love to have it done and out the door by mid Feb.

This unexpected baby announcement has forced everything else into the background for the most part.  I bought some yarn and a fluffly pom pom over Christmas in order to make a big chunky puffy hat....

.... but who knows when that's going to happen?

I've also cast on a "travel sock" and have been getting a few rows in as I wait for school to be finished.  (YAY back to school!!)  [Pattern is "Vanilla Latte Socks" for you Rav searchers.]

Also added to the "to knit" list for this year was another baby blanket... thanks to a friend's announcement.  Thankfully I still have until the end of July to make this one.  I have some ideas floating around in my brain but that will need to marinate for awhile.  I also want to revisit last year's goals (and stash) and re-evaluate where I'm at and set some new goals... so hopefully that will be up here soon.

But- in the mean time.  HAPPY NEW YEAR.  There is a lot to come and right now I'm feeling that knitting mojo- hope it meas a more productive year on the needles with some exciting projects to show you here.  Thanks for sticking with me and waiting out the brief hiatus.  I'm BACK and I have BIG plans!  Stay tuned!