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Maybe people will make a bigger deal out of Groundhog Day next year, eh? I sure wish I had been able to celebrate it more, but a small celebration can be good, too. The weather shutting things down for a few days can be good, too. It reminded me to watch out for being ruled by busyness and to look for the difference between the urgent and the important.
Today, I am remembering to take a moment to take joy in the little things in life. Things remain rather rough around here, but life is like that sometimes. I think the stress of it all is reflected in a flurry of little online purchases I have made over the past week. I have a couple of sewing machine feet, some knitting needles, and about 1500 beads on their way to me. As far as stress-shopping goes, that really is not too bad, and I have some plans for most of what I bought. I even intend to use most of it soon. Well, soon-ish, and the sewing bits might be more telling on where I am on the lunacy end of things, but it is not as bad as it could be.
One of the things I plan to make soon from the recent purchases is either Celestarium or Southern Skies. They are the reason for the bead purchases, and yes, I did order enough beads to make them both, but I do not know that I will. I still have not bought either pattern, and have not decided whether to knit with or without the YOs. I ordered a set of faceted ab beads, and a set of clear silver lined seed beads, and am not sure which I will use. If I wait for both sets of beads to arrive, I should have plenty of time to decide, as one set is projected to be delivered some time in March. Then again, the tracking for one package showed it out for delivery yesterday, 100 miles away ten hours later, and then showed up today, so whatever happens could be a mega-mystery. While we wait, I am entertaining thoughts, opinions, and advice on which shawl to knit, which beads to use, and the YO/noYO issue.
In the meantime, I am knitting. This time it is a baby blanket, and I am making nice progress with it. Garter stitch is good, and the size of the squares is just right for me. They do not get too big as to be in the way, but they are large enough that each block completed means substantial progress on the overall piece. I have a plan that could put completion within a week, but this is a no-pressure, no-stress, and no deadline project, so if it takes a bit longer than that, it is fine.
A few years, ago the Mitered Square Sock Yarn Blankets swept across the kingdom of knitters. I saw them, admired them, and moved on with my life. While I think they are wonderful, I am not likely to knit one, but I probably have the yarn with which to make one happen someday. Somewhere in my mind, I do have an idea of knitting one of those blankets for myself one day, but not anytime soon.
Now I see the HexiPuff Pandemic infecting one knitter after another, and I am just sitting back and watching the little hexagons form from the needles of other knitters. My risk of catching this one is very low, but I will enjoy watching what happens with others. Generally speaking, knitting blankets drains my already dwindling will to live.
Although it is probably quite some time before I am likely to knit my own Mitered Square Sock Yarn Blanket, that does not mean I want to just let all of that yarn sit and wait. However, not having a project in mind meant waiting for a need to help me find one.
I got a Kindle, and it needed a protective cover. I searched on Ravelry and decided to make this one. My sister also has a Kindle, and hers needed a case, so I made one for her. I added i-cord to the top and as a button-closure. I also lined them with some fabric I had lying around.
I adore these little covers, and absolutely love my Kindle! I think I might need to make more.
I am at something of a standstill with my second Emily2, as I need a much smaller steel crochet hook to add the beads. My current method using the dental floss thingy has become more than a little trying, and greatly detracts from the joy of knitting this shawl, and there is much enjoyment to be had in its creation. My lys does not carry any as small as I need, nor do any of the chain, craft stores. It does trouble me somewhat to double or triple the price of an item through shipping, so I am looking at one other option before I order online. Well, there is another, but that involves undoing all of my progress and getting different beads, and I really do not want to do that, but I will if I must.
While working through the various solutions to the Emily2 problem, I have kept quite busy. I had a bit of mohair madness and wove a wrap for my nephew's teacher. I started it late Wednesday night, and needed to have it in gifting condition by Thursday morning. I used Moonlight Mohair in the Rain Forest colorway. I stayed up all night, and had it dried just barely in time. I think Opal crossing her fingers was just the extra boost I needed to make the deadline. I did not even have time to take a photo, but it was lovely, and I was pleased to have been able to give the gift.
With one project on hold, and a gift on a tight deadline complete, I decided to play around a bit. I have not done much mitered-square knitting, but occasionally have been interested in the construction. I do have in my mind the idea to one day make the mitered square sock yarn blanket, but it is only a fleeting thought. With my hiatus from socknitting, as well as my aversion to knitting blankets, it has been quite some time since I last considered the project. Ah, but an opportunity to just play with leftover sock yarn and mitered square knitting, well, that has been fun. It is the opposite of much of the hurry and pressure of late, and I think I am making something good. It will just take a little longer to see if I have chosen well.
