Power

So much of the work I've been doing with my therapist has been about owning and realizing my own power.  Understanding my worth and realizing the rightness of being treated...well...right. (morally, ethically, honestly..., you know, right!)

Valuing yourself, owning your worth, expecting others to respect that...it's amazing how much that carries over into every single thing that you do...all aspects of your life.

It's been amazing to me how it's affected relationships as well as my ability to be alone.  I'm starkly reminded how different my life is than it was just a few months ago and how ridiculously happy I am about that.

Seriously, folks, sometimes I run around grinning and being all goofy...and it's just amazing.

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I read the first couple of bits from my "in the beginning" book...stuff I wrote just in the past couple of weeks. It's powerful.  Seriously, amazingly powerful.

And it scares me to death.  I could share this with people--in fact I need to share this with people--but in doing so I rip myself open.

Talk about being vulnerable.  I don't know where or when I'll find the courage, but I know that I will find the courage.

I know that in finding the courage, I will be a light that others can use to see the way out of whatever darkness they're experiencing.  and that makes me feel good...to know that my experiences can help others, that in finding my own strength I can help others find theirs.

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Today's picture is of the hexagons stacked up for the crochet blanket.  I'm still having to redo the outer ring on the ones I'd done incorrectly...but they're coming along...

I got this...

I woke up and checked my e-mail first thing this morning and had such a wonderful, sweet pep talk from my friend, Stacey.  Thanks Stacey.  You don't know how badly I needed it just then.

The theme of her e-mail was that I'm going to do great and if I don't, so what?  It's just me and the kitties and I pick up and move again and get myself to another place that might work out.

So, I know I've got this.  It's in the bag (or boxes depending on how you look at it!).  I'll be fine, I'll be happy and I'll be doing this for ME.

But, you know what?  I think it's going to work out and it's going to be positive and it's going to be wonderful.  I am in charge of my attitude, after all, and I can let negative thoughts overwhelm me or I can put them aside for more positive thoughts and do what I need to do to get settled into my new job and community.

And I will do that because I'm strong, and even though each little thing I have to do before I start this new job feels huge, I will just be that much stronger when I'm done and finished with it.  I'll reach deep, draw on the beauty that's within me and make it happen because I can.

Because...when I decided to jump off that platform and see what I could do in the textile industry...this job, this move...this was it...this is what I wanted but couldn't have because I was tied to Mississippi...and now that I'm not...well...who knows what I'm capable of.

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Imperfect Beauty is complete.  I've created art and I'm so proud of it.  It is for sale, so if you're interested e-mail me a lesliestbutler at gmail dot com and we'll talk price.  Eventually I'm going to open up an Etsy shop, but I've got to get moved first.

The past few days

Things have been a whirlwind this week.  My uncle passed away on Friday morning so we drove out to Texas for his Celebration of Life service.  It's been hard dealing with this death only 6 weeks after my father's.  I found today on my drive in to work that I'm rather emotional about everything.  It's going to be a difficult couple of months as I process all of this.  I certainly hope that nothing else happens because honestly I think I'm completely wrung out.

What did I do, you may ask, over these few days...well, lots actually.

I finished the basket and gave it to mom.  Pattern is here.

I also decided that it was time to finish Elizabeth's bath mat.

(this design is all my own, yarn is Lily's Sugar and Cream).

Then for the road, I knew I wanted something cheerful so I picked out this rainbow self-striping yarn from Twisted Fiber Arts.  Oh my...it's got cashmere in it and may be the softest sock yarn I've used.  LOVE.  Pattern is my favorite, Hermione's Everyday Socks.

(Don't you love the "rainbow" in front of the storm clouds?  We saw several rainbows on our drive out Monday morning...and not just on my knitting needles!)

And finally...yesterday when I was recuperating from 20 hours in the car in 2 days, I started putting some of my crochet squares together.  It was such fun and I was just cruising along and having a great time of it when I realized that I was really tired and should bathe and go to bed.  Really not fair how this sleep thing gets in the way.  I'm using a book of "99 Granny Squares" and my random mini skeins as well as the "magic ball" I'm making from my sock yarn scraps.  My blocks are all piled up and I'm picking out random squares to put together based on a random number generator.  I started with the horizontal bright yellow one in the bottom(ish) center and putting it together log-cabin style.  I have to add rows and borders and such to get everything to join up at the same size, but it's cool...more fun taking some of those Granny ideas and making them rows instead of rounds...interesting thought experiment.  I'm joining with a reddish brown Malabrigo Sock yarn which is divine.  It's SO fun putting these together and I love how it's turning out.   I gotta get to crocheting more squares...this afghan wants to be a big one, I think.

I'll have more daddy stories next week.  Right this very minute I have to report for academic advising (I'm the advisor, though I really wonder about the logic of that! ha!)

Granny Squares

I love the homey feel of the name "Granny Square"...and I LOVE that you can pretty much not mess up on a granny square.  As long as you're consistent and keep making the appropriate increases, pretty much anything goes.

And in my new-found interest (love, passion, obsession?) with crochet, I've gone a little wacky making granny squares.

David calls it my gypsy blanket because I'm using up my random bits of sock yarn in addition to the mini skeins I've sort of become obsessed with (can one be sort of obsessed?) and just letting the yarn run out, tying on the new color and starting...so the rounds are getting muddled and I really like the effect.

This is one of the squares I finished yesterday.

From the center:  Spring Hill cashmere sock (she's quit dying yarn which made me extremely sad), Lorna's Laces DK weight in color ? and Lorna's Laces Solemate in color ?  And I RAN OUT of the outside color just as I was tying off...which doesn't happen often...

Anyway, it's been fun working on these and I'll continue to do so as long as I'm interested.  I do find that I LOVE crocheting with sock-weight yarn....just like I love knitting with it.

And speaking of...I haven't worked on a sock in over a month. I'm feeling the pull again, which is nice.

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Daddy's Story:  Daddy wore these "green jeans" around the house most of my life.  They were some awful polyester stretchy kind of pants that were apparently the most comfortable things he ever owned...and they grew and shrunk with him magically as he gained and lost weight.  I know I saw him in them for the better part of 20 years.  They got "lost" in the move when he and mom moved out of the farm-house and into town. I don't think he ever had the love of the knit sweat pants or pajama pants that mom bought for him to replace those green jeans.

Happenings

Things are happening all the time...sometimes we like it, sometimes we don't.  Sometimes we notice it and sometimes we're completely oblivious.

Sometimes we love it and sometimes we're super-sad.

And sometimes there are things that we have no control over and sitting back and watching things unfold is the only thing we can do.

I'm in the latter position and it's one that I hate.  Being helpless to your fate...it's frustrating and sad and unbelievably stressful.

My response when I get in a situation like this is to want to run and hide...or to play as much as I possibly can.  Unfortunately David is still on his 3 weeks of traveling, so running and hiding has pretty much been my mode...sorry for the absence from the blog.  It if makes you feel any better I also had to take 2 days off of work, and I'm sorry to report that they didn't do much to improve my outlook.

However, they did a TON to improve my knitting production.  Finished projects and new ones started...and an old craft revisited and totally loving it.

Welted Toque Hat in Dragonfly Fibers's Damsel Yarn, colorway Love Your Mother (Earth)

Elm Socks in Lorna Lace's Solemate, colorway Circus

Sampler afghan of my own design using mini skeins and leftover sock yarn

3S Shawl in Vesper Sock Yarn, colorway Woodlands.

A needlepoint canvas revisited with sleeping cat behind.

What I STARTED over spring break

Yesterday I showed you what I finished over spring break.  Today I want to show you what I started.

A pair of Hermione's Everday Socks in Gnome Acre's Hermione colorway.  The second sock is past the heel turn so will be finished this week.

A new sock yarn blanket that I do not have a picture of.  I'm using the mini skeins I've started collecting and have assigned stitch patterns to the cards in a deck (A-K).  Each new mini skein gets a new stitch.  It will be done in long rows that I attach.  When I get enough to show you what's happening with that one I'll show you.

2 bathmats for David's bathroom--still no pictures of this because it's an experiment.  I'm using 2 strands of dish cloth yarn held doubled and knitting until I get approximately the right size. I'm going to see how these stand up to use, but I'm predicting some knitting rugs around my house in the near future.  The daughters have also requested mats for their new apartment.

A sweater for the skinny me.  This one is in Louisa Harding Albero yarn which is a wonderful combination of viscose and cotton.  It's extremely drapey and soft.  Not my typical color but for $3 a skein I shouldn't complain.  The pattern is Lazio from Berroco.  It's about to hit being in "rotation" with my sock after I finish the bath mat for David (tomorrow maybe?)  I'm anxious to be able to wear a new sweater I'm made in size MEDIUM!  I'm planning to do lots of sweaters for the skinny me

And that's it!  Yea for starting projects, for hopeful times, for wonderful yarn, for a restful break...now I just need to rekindle that restful feeling of being at home and relaxed so that I can make it through the workday...

I did bring up some socks to work on during lunch so hopefully that'll help.  They're neon and will be mis-matchy but oh-so cute.  Can't wait to show you my ideas...hopefully they'll work!

SO, what did you do over spring break?

If you had one?  I love having spring break.  I really truly needed it in more ways than one even if it wasn't perfect like I'd hoped.  I DID get lots of rest and some serious knitting time.  I got sick so couldn't go visit my dad--a stomach virus has no place NEAR a hospice room.  So, we stayed home, felt a little sorry for ourselves while we were feeling awful, and then got some much needed rest.

And while feeling sick and resting I knitted.  A lot.  Here's what I finished:

A pair of turkish bed socks for Elizabeth.

A hat for my friend Stacey.

A pair of Stepping Stones Socks (Knitter's Book of Socks, yarn Blue Moon Fiber Arts, Sock Club yarn September 2013 color Winter Jewel)

AND...a sock yarn blanket!

Tomorrow I'll show you what I started!

Color therapy

This weekend I went to see my parents.  It's a 9 hour drive each way.  While it doesn't seem like it should be, riding in a car is exhausting.  Even when the weather is gorgeous and you have your sweetheart driving you all the way.

I was trying to put a positive spin on things by acknowledging that I had 18 hours of knitting time.  I didn't think about my 6am departure as actually taking away from that knitting time...nor really the fact that on our return trip I would lose knitting time at the end of the day.  But it was a good 14 hours of knitting (or knitting related activity) time.

SO, my car knitting...therapy knitting...comfort knitting...whatever you'd like to call it is this blanket from the Berroco Comfort Afghans.  The pattern is called Autumn Haze, and while I'm not using Comfort yarns, I do find the knitting of this blanket to be very comforting indeed. You'll also notice that I'm not using autumn colors, but I've mentioned that before.

This photo shows the blanket 1/3 finished.  That's one full pattern repeat.  I've decided to reassign colors to the "letters" in the pattern to create a more random and overall colorful effect.  I'm now about 1/2 finished (expect to be tonight if I feel like working on it).

The yarns I'm using are a mix of things from my stash--some Malabrigo Worsted (the delicious purple on the end, pink and turquoise solids).  There's a fun alpaca tweed in a lighter turquoise--can't remember the yarn brand or company.  I'm using some Cascade 220 (light purple) and Knit Picks Swish worsted (the variegated purple and pink).  I love the colors in this afghan, I love the knitting of this afghan (even the slip-stitch color work is gorgeous and interesting) and I love the textural interplay between all the different yarns.  The plump Malabrigo next to the springy Knit-Picks and the slick Alpaca.  It's just gorgeous in so many ways.  And total color therapy.  It's very difficult to dwell on sad or depressing things with all that color and lovely yarn in my hands.

On the way out, though, I almost hit a road block though.  I ran out of the ball of turquoise I was using and needed to wind off a hank of yarn...I usually do this with my swift or David, but David was driving, so I had to improvise.  Thankfully I've lost a lot of weight and am more flexible so was able to get the hank of yarn around my legs and wound it off by going under my legs about 100 times.  See I got exercise too.  Need proof?

Lastly, yesterday I took the day off to recuperate.  I knitted on the Purple Blanket and rested and thoroughly enjoyed myself.  At some point I decided that it was time to examine the stash and see what I could get out of it to make Alyssa's afghan. (I'm sure this is the case when having 2 children, but it's more so when having twins...if I commit to making one thing for one, I MUST make something for the other immediately, sometimes simultaneously...)  In the interest of stash reduction, I wanted to make this happen as much as I could from the stash, but in conversation with David we decided that if I HAD to buy some yarn to flesh out a project that it wasn't a bad thing...as long as the net income of yarn was less that the outflow.

SO, I went into the studio, dug through my wool basket, my alpaca basket, my basket with yarns set aside for other projects long-since forgotten...and I even raided the sock yarn baskets.  (I had put a few skeins of worsted in their with the intention of making some thick socks for around the house).  I came up with the yarns below:

I had intended Alyssa's afghan to be much more green, but what happened is the rose colors really came through...and blues and greens...and some gold, oranges and browns.  And they all look perfectly lovely together.

And yes, that's a calico cat in there.  She totally loved all the yarn in the floor and I had to put everything away to keep her from "cleaning" the babies I'd left her.

Glamour Shot

I worked very hard to get this photo...I tried very hard to get sweet Pearl to open her gorgeous green eyes and look at me when I took it, but she's learned oh-so-well that the camera makes this awful flashy thing and she will not look at it anymore.

I still think it's pretty funny that after 3 years of having this cat I still try to take pictures of her, she's all but invisible except on very bright colors...and her gorgeous green eyes, of course!

I did want to show you that the Noro blanket which got such a good showing on the blog is used very often.  Both kitties love it, and if I want one to come sit in my lap all I usually need to do is put the blanket on me and someone furry will jump over to the ottoman, curl up, snuggle their head somewhere near my feet and start to purr.

And it's cold, folks.  A blanket and a kitty are definitely needed to keep MY feet warm!

The end of 2013

On this day where we both look forwards and backwards, I'm going to do my best to look forwards.  It's been a rough year.  First there was this:

And we got gallons of water in the house and had to move to an apartment for 3 months.

Then there was this:  Weight Loss

and a little over 9 months later we look like this:

My Daddy was diagnosed with two brain tumors in September, underwent radiation and surgery in October and is now on hospice.   I will treasure this photo forever:

I have two beautiful daughters (inside and out) and am profoundly proud of who they have become...and can't wait to see them on their life journey in 6 months.  I'll miss the devil out of them, but will be so excited to hear about the life they'll build for themselves.

 I have two of the sweetest and prettiest cats one can imagine:

I've knitted a whole bunch...and even started a new blanket to ease the travel time in the car.  Isn't it gorgeous.

Tonight David and I will go out and celebrate making it through all the tough times this year.  We will toast our weight-loss, the professional and crafting accomplishments we've made this year...

And we will ring in 2014 with a positive attitude.  I have decided to stash bust in 2014 (and following) as things have grown to embarrassing proportions.

It's finished

...and I have to admit I feel a little bereft...at sea...at a loss of which project to focus on next.

The long way around

There is joy in taking the long way around...I'm trying to convince myself that this is true.  The long way around will get you beautiful scenery.  You'll appreciate the effort it took to get there.  The long way around holds promise of great things to come and experiences to be had.

Because I know you've been missing it, here is a picture of the Noro afghan...

It's a nice big afghan...and very heavy.  I put it on my lap and let it all spread out and then I proceed to knit very long rows.

I find that my motions are very exaggerated when I'm knitting these long rows.  I find that it is very hard to hold up the weight of the portion of the blanket I'm working on.  My back and shoulders are definitely getting a work out.  For that reason, I'm only working on it 30 minutes per day.

And while I know I'm making progress, knitting the border of a blanket is definitely "the long way around."  I have 2 done, 1 about 1/3 finished and another side left.  I'm thinking maybe next weekend?  Then it'll get a nice soak and some warm sudsy water to soften everything up and it'll be a wonderful addition to my living room...

...and what this "long way around" is accomplishing is a framing of some other gorgeous work.  The blocks feel settled and all nestled together.  They feel complete.  It's definitely the right thing to do even if it feels like it will go on forever.

Last night I admitted my limitations...and I cried

I'm not sure that the admission and the crying are related...I'm not sure that they're not.  But here's how the evening basically went.

I got home from work weary, tired and a little defeated.  Financial news isn't great, but it isn't terrible, and I do keep reminding myself that I'm a very fortunate person with a decent job, a good car, a good house, and I'm living in a place where it's pretty cheap and doesn't get terribly cold in the winter.

The fact that the "big vacation" I'd been dreaming about for days was not going to happen...well, that made me feel a tad petulant.  As things like that typically do.

After calming down and then playing with Pearl--Pearl always needs attention when I get home, and I'm not sure how one denies this face the love and attention she needs.

Then I had leftovers for dinner and settled in to watch some knitting videos while working on the sock-yarn blanket (2 squares last night since I didn't knit on Tuesday).  Then I worked on the Noro afghan.  This is when I admitted my limitations.

I so desperately want this blanket finished.  It's so gorgeous and beautiful and meaningful to me.  And it's something that I'm making just for me.  It's something that has thoroughly captivated me for the past 3 months.  Plus, with cooler weather promising to get here in the next week, I need something to warm my toes and encourage kitties to sit in my lap.

Alas...my limitations are physical, not mental.  It is physically exhausting knitting on long rows of a large lap blanket that weighs approximately 5 pounds (or more...I should weigh it when it's finished and find out).  Thirty minutes and that's it.

So, I admitted my limitations and decided it was time I got back to working on Mom's Christmas socks, which I have to admit I'm not sure I'm crazy about, but that's another blog and a few days away from becoming a certainty.  I knitted until around 9:30 when I went to bed.

I laid down, put my head on the pillow and thought about my gratitude. Yesterday I was grateful that I had been fortunate enough to have such wonderful parents.  And then I cried.  I've needed to cry. I haven't since the Awful News came last week. Not really.  But last night I did.  I feared I was going to get myself into a fit, but I managed to cry it out and eventually fall asleep.  I woke again at 3 and cried some more.

Today I feel kind of "washed up."  When I think back on this year...since February it's been a string of awful news...I'm not sure how I'm keeping up...how I'm not depressed.  How I'm managing not to eat my miseries away I don't know.  But somehow I'm keeping on, head held high.  I'm losing weight and getting compliments almost every day. I'm still laughing at jokes and smiling at people and finding things each day to be grateful for.  I'm low-key today...fighting the urge to hole up in my office and hide for a while (I'll do that at lunch)...I'm finding that despite my limitations I'm an incredibly resilient person.  I've never really thought of myself that way, but I do now.

Row 5!

I finished the body of the afghan!  It's gorgeous and I love it.  And it's so incredibly cozy.

I've put on one border and have started the 2nd. I'll be at this border things for a while.  I hope I have the patience to see it through...I really want to finish by Friday so I can say I finished an afghan start to finish in 3 months.  That would be impressive, I think.

One day soon I'll have something else knitty to talk about...but until then.  It's black garter stitch borders...very long borders...very many stitches.

But I'll plug through it and the rewards will be so worth it.  I just know it.

Row 4

I'm chugging away...nothing like a lazy day of watching football to get some good knitting time in.

Row 4 is complete.  I've actually gotten the border knitted on and 3 of row 5's blocks put together.  Clearly I'll finish that part today...next week maybe I'll have a finished, lovely, gorgeous and very warm afghan finished.

Heartbreak and Gratitude

Yesterday I received some very heartbreaking news.  The kind of news that rocks your world.  The kind that you look at and think, "wow, even though I saw that coming, I didn't realize it would hurt so bad."

I don't want to share the details of it yet.  I want to let the involved parties adjust a little better before they let me know if it's something they are ok with me talking about in a public space.

But, it was the kind of news that rallies the family together, that requires lots of phone calls, hugs and quiet thinking time.  It was the kind of news that makes one really mad at the world and wonder "why things like this happen?"

It was the kind of news that I know once I'm on the other side of it, I'll have an even more difficult time coping.  It was the kind of news that made me realize I have no answers, nothing to say, and even less that I can actually do about it.

It makes me feel very small, sad...not necessarily alone because I know I'm not, but somehow I also am.

Talking with Auntie J yesterday afternoon, she said, "go home and knit tonight.  You'll feel better."  So, I did.  I'd intended to anyway, but with her explicit instructions, I knew I had to.  I knew I had to make it make me feel better.

And of course it did.  Sitting with my blanket it my lap working those stitches over and over helped relax me somewhat, focused my brain away from the things that were making me sad, and helped me realize that we will all somehow manage, cope and figure this mess out.

Here's a picture of the Noro blanket with row 3 attached and Zora sitting on top.  She is very happy that I've made this blanket for her.

As I was going to sleep last night, I realized how hard it is to be grateful in the midst of heartbreak.  (See my entry from June 2012 about my practice of expressing gratitude each night.)  Finding one thing when so many things are falling apart is really hard.  

And as I was fussing and feeling sorry for myself Pearl came and snuggled with me.  Then a few minutes later Zora appeared.  And I smiled at the sweet purring kitties cuddled to my tummy and back and realized that I am blessed.  Sometimes knowing bad things is a blessing even if we don't like to know what we know.  But knowing allows us the time to do the things we need to do, take advantage of the blessings we do have and glory in them.  Being grateful for knowing (even when the knowing hurts) helps alleviate that hurt somewhat. 

Last night I was grateful for:

• 2 purring kitties
• being able to knit and feel calmer
• creating beauty in the midst of chaos
• having a loving wonderful supportive husband
• seeing the deep love and caring that my daughters show so easily--and feeling proud that I've been able to help cultivate that beauty in their personality
• being part of a big family who care so deeply for one another
• having such wonderful parents 

Today I am grateful that I can express myself and hopefully touch and impact others to see the beauty in their lives as well.  We can create love and beauty in every thing we do if we're mindful about it.  And that is something that I will be eternally grateful for, especially in the midst of heartbreak.

...um...yeah...

Just to prove a point about that crazy optimist in me...you know, the one that was totally deluded yesterday morning into believing that she was going to finish attaching row 3 to the blanket and start knitting on the strips connecting the blocks of row 4.

I didn't even finish knitting the long sashing strip which will attach row 2 to row 3.    I only knitted for a total of about 45 minutes last night.

I did knit my square a day (the blanket, half finished, is pictured at the bottom of this entry).  But, I also went out to dinner with David (where I drank 2 glasses of wine: I don't have the tolerance I used to) and then I came home and talked to mom for a good long time.

So, that meant that I didn't have much time for knitting, unfortunately.  And the optimist in me was screaming "no...stay up late...you promised me on your blog today that you'd finish this row, get it attached...you know...make significant progress!"

And I had to look that optimist beast in the eye and say "you knit with black yarn at the end of a long day after drinking two glasses of wine and dealing with terrible allergies for about 3 months."  The optimist replied, "no problem...progress is progress...we NEED this thing finished."

At which point I told myself, "self, It's still 85 degrees outside, the forecast doesn't predict we'll be below 60 for the next 10 days, there are still almost 3 months until Christmas, and I'm tired.  Anything I do tonight will have to be undone because it won't look right...and undoing takes longer than doing...so no...I won't finish row 3 tonight.  I'll finish it tomorrow night...and still probably finish getting all these rows attached before the end of the weekend."

And my optimist self went off and sulked in the corner.  I'll pull her out tonight, dust her off, give her a big old hug and then knit until my hands hurt to prove that I'm serious.  I WILL get this blanket finished before moving on to other projects.  The motivation to work on it is too strong, the finish line too close...not to mention it looks more awesome in person that in does in pictures.

Pictured below is the square-a-day sock blanket at its half finished point.  It's made entirely of sock yarn--some heavier weight than others, but most at the fingering weight.  I LOVE this blanket so far.  It's terribly tempting to work on it more than one square per day, BUT I'm trying to make sure that the scrap effect remains true.  That as I finish one color that I'll have new colors to add.  I love how squishy the fabric is turning out and I can't wait to snuggle under it too.

The optimist in me...

...believes I'll be done with the blanket by next weekend.  I did the "figuring" on this this morning while I was waiting for time to leave to go to the dentist.  Here's how it worked:

I'll finish attaching row three tonight, then get started putting the blocks together for row 4.  I'll finish that easily and have row 4 attached by mid-day on Saturday.  Then it's just putting the last blocks together for row 5, attaching them, and then doing the borders.  I should have row 5 on by Sunday night, which means I can get each border done during the week nights.  Easily done by Sunday next week.

We'll see.  I crack myself up at how "easily" and "quickly" I knit in my "figurations."

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Exciting diet news.  I got on a pair of size 16 pants today--they fit perfectly.  I'm wearing them to work tomorrow.  SO excited.  I mean, really really excited.

Today's pictures is of me in the same dress.  The first pic is from July 1st, the 2nd pic is from yesterday.  I'm amazed.

Monogamy

I am not a monogamous knitter.  Not even kind-of-sort-of.  Not even when I'm super-excited about a project.  I can't be.  It's not in my nature (I've never been a monogamous crafter, always having several projects on the go at once).

I guess I have ADHD when it comes to crafting.

That, or I'm a project slut.

Either way, about the ONLY times I can/want to work on a single project at a time are
1) at the very beginning when I'm so excited about it or the yarn that I can't stand not working on it, or
2) when there's a particular skill I'm learning--then I'm very absorbed in the process, or
3)  when the end is in sight.

And the end is in sight on the Noro blanket.  I told myself on Friday that I'd work on it exclusively (other than my square-a-day) and see how far I got and how I felt about long black rows of garter stitch.

And I find that I'm insanely motivated to work on this project.  Not only are the long rows of garter stitch not really all that bad--mindless knitting at its best--BUT the impact is so amazing that it's worth any level of boredom that might come my way.

So far, no boredom has reared its ugly head.

I'll show you row 1 attached to row 2.  I started on row 3 and got 3 blocks attached last night.  I foresee having that finished by the end of the week and then maybe, just maybe, all 5 rows finished by the weekend.

Sometimes monogamy isn't a bad thing.

Quickly on Sunday

Too much knitting to do today to talk much :)

I finished Block 20 yesterday morning while drinking my coffee.  I'm calling it Tail Feathers because it reminded me of a parrot AND because it is the TAIL of the project.  Funny, I know.  I had barely anything left of this skein.  Interesting.

Then I got busy knitting the sashing strips on.  Working with the black yarn wasn't as difficult as I feared, which is good.  I knitted to the right side of the square, then sewed on the next block, knitted on its right side and so on.  After I finished attaching 4 squares I knitted the sashing row on top of that. The final result is below.

Based on this photo, the finished result is going to be stunning.

I am selecting the blocks at random, so the fact that all 4 have lots of pink in them is simply a random effect (which is something I always find interesting).  I'll continue to do so and see how the finished product turns out.  I can't wait for it to be cool enough to snuggle under this thing.