Weekend Vacation

My Shedir hat is growing quickly, despite the fact I haven't had much time to work on it the last few nights. I am still finding the pattern a lot of fun to knit and (knock on wood!) I haven't had to rip out any incorrect stitches yet.





Even though this is a chemo cap pattern, I am actually making it for myself since I love it so much. There is an editors note in the pattern that reads "this hat should fit those with or without hair. It's very stretchy." So it should fit over my curls which are frizzed out from the humidity today!

I am spending the long holiday weekend (Memorial Day in the US) in Dallas, TX for my cousin's wedding. I've got my fingers crossed for her that it doesn't rain! Is it wrong that I spent more time agonzing over which knitting project to bring than which clothes to pack? (I ended up with a sock I started about a month ago. Nice and easy to pick up and work on in spare minutes.)

Calmer

After finishing Bob I caught a case of my typical post-project euphoria. You know, that feeling of I can knit anything I want. I finished something and now the possibilities are endless. Never mind that I already have enough going to keep me occupied; this is post-project freedom.

In a fit of confidence I decided to start Shedir, from the Knitty Breast Cancer Awareness special issue. I have looked at it many times but the pattern and chart seemed so complicated that I always put it away for later.





Well let me just say that I was wrong. It is a very well written pattern and no problem to follow once you are in the middle of it. The cable repeats are easy to memorize without even trying (and that's coming from a person who has a hard time remembering multiplication tables!). I think this is the most fun pattern I have knit in a long time.

I am using a ball of Rowan Calmer purchased at Stitches Midwest last year. According to the pattern and a few first-hand accounts I have heard it is possible to squeak out the hat with one ball. Just to be sure, I only did 7 rows of the initial ribbing instead of 9. And now I am going to try really hard not to pay attention to how much yarn is left since it will only make me nervous!

Bob made it.

Today is the first day I have turned my computer on since last week Saturday. Busy, busy - there was a time when I couldn't even imagine going one day without it! I just barely finished Bob in time for Mother's Day. I would've had time to spare except the second sleeve had to be knit twice since it ended up much larger than the first. That's what I get for knitting in the car without the pattern! Even though Bob is for my Mom, I just had to try it on:



Kindly ignore my spotty mirror.


Here he is all boxed up and ready to go:





We spent the day at the Chicago Botanic Gardens. It was a beautiful weather; warm in the sun and just a little cool in the shade. Of course hundreds of people had the same idea as us so many of the gardens were very crowded. Now I can't wait to go back when more plants are in bloom later this summer.



in the Japanese Garden, which is my favorite.



a rogue tulip.

Bob.

Still no photo of the completed Diamonique. Maybe next week it will be sunny and I won't be so lazy all at the same time.

Bob is progressing quickly, much to my surprise. I have managed to get in at least few rows a day. I actually fell asleep working on it one night after inventory. Too bad I haven’t learned how to knit in my sleep!





I am almost finished with the waist shaping and am making a few changes. I added one extra inch to the body before starting the shaping decreases and am planning on adding another few rows between the increases and the sleeve shaping, depending on how it fits me once I get to that point. Mom is almost as tall as I am (5’8” to my 5’10”) and a little extra length in the body of a shirt never hurt either one of us.

I’ve decided that I am going to need to make a Bob for myself when this one is complete. I think the Charcoal color would be nice and semi-dressy for work.

Besides Bob, I spent the rest of my weekend trying to sort through the mountains of paper that accumulate and seemingly multiply every day. Between junk mail, things printed off the computer, and lists I've made on every topic imaginable we are just buried over here. And I can't stand it. I think need a centralized location to keep it all instead of saving every scrap of paper I might need to look at again. Because even when I start with good intentions, almost everything ends up in the "keep" pile. I really should just chuck the whole mess into the garbage without looking through any of it...