Columbus Day Catch Up

Busy week! Last week was a short week. The elementary school was out Thursday and Friday for conferences (Jr. Jr. gets rave reviews), and the middle school was out Friday. On Tuesday, I acted as an interviewer for the 8th grade resume project. The kids made up resumes, dressed up (somewhat), and sat through "job interviews." It was really fun. The kids are so cute. I mostly really liked the kids I got to interview.

All that was lots of fun, but it meant less knitting and spinning, of course. Mostly less spinning. I haven't even started a new spinning project since that last skein I showed you. There's always knitting, even if it's just plain stockinette socks.

Speaking of which... I'm knitting up stripey socks for the Ravelry group's contest/challenge. I finished the first of my Yarn Chef Plum Waves socks:


The yarn is very soft. I'm going to like these socks. I need to cast on the second sock. I'm working on another pair of stripeys, as well. This pair is in Twisted Fiber Art's Playful yarn. I love this yarn. I knit another pair in this yarn recently (my Lagoon socks) and I wore them the other day when the weather got cool. They felt so warm and cushy. I'm also in her sock club, impatiently awaiting the first shipment, which should get here tomorrow (stupid Monday no-mail holidays). Anyway, here's where I am in the first sock of that pair:


I finished Hallett's Ledge! It's blocking now, plus it's 90 degrees. Not heavy sweater-modeling weather. My first stop for buttons was at Fibre Space, but I wasn't thrilled with their selection. They sent me down the street to an antique store that has a ton of vintage buttons. They had a beautiful selection, but I needed 7 buttons for the sweater, and they didn't have 7 matching buttons. Finally I went to G St. Fabrics, which has a huge button assortment. The buttons I ended up getting aren't fancy, but they are the perfect brownish-grey shade to complement the sweater.



I tried the sweater on before the final block, when it measured about 2 inches smaller than the finished dimensions. Even though it was a little bit snugger than I needed, it still looked good. I can't wait for it to dry to try it on. Now, of course, I'm a little concerned that it will be too big, but if that turns out to be true, then I can just re-block it.

I recommend the pattern highly. It was not hard to knit, but interesting enough to keep from being boring. Plus I think it looks great!

And yes, true to my word, I did cast on for the Paper Crane sleeves, so back to the teeny tiny yarn on the teeny tiny needles.


In the non-knitting part of my life (yes, there is one), I'm back on the treadmill and starting to run again. It feels great. I'm doing lots of incline (walking, not running) to strengthen the ankle and slowly adding in a running component. So far no pain at all. It's such a relief.

Last but not least: today's horoscope. No kidding, this is really what my horoscope was today:

"Sometimes you feel guilty about taking off for 'me time,' and yet you really needn't. You're a creative being, and you need time to explore your ideas in your own way."

I think I'll frame that.