The blanket is done and so is the baby! I liked knitting this a lot. It was fun. I never experienced any of the problems that others did with waviness or anything. That may be because I used a cotton instead of a wool. It’s much weightier.
Here’s an embarrassingly crappy shot of the blanket from my phone:
Maleah's Blanket
Doesn’t it look like a starfish?!
My middle sister is having a baby in March. I am sooooo very excited for this. My niece and nephew are far past their baby years, so I believe it’s time for a new family member! (Please don’t read that as me loving my older niece and nephew less than a baby.) I’ve been knitting away on the lace tablecloth for a while now, and believe it’s time for a break. Though the lace tablecloth is for the same sister, I *think* she would understand if I took a break from my lace slaving and made this for her daughter-to-be.
The reason I chose to do this blanket was because of pictures like this:
I’ll be using Piper, which is a 100% mercerized egyptian cotton discontinued yarn from Dale of Norway. I chose coral for the flower/star, tide (sea green) and aegean (bright sky blue) for the background colors. I cast on last night, and…..it’s LOVELY! I like this pattern a lot so far. I’m going to try to continue working slowly but surely. I don’t really have as much time as I’d like!
I told myself I wouldn’t do this. I told myself I would start a website with a blog, and I wouldn’t fall into the patterns of blogs of christmas past where I start strong and end weak. Well, life just gets in the way. Blogs don’t write themselves, right? But time doesn’t free up itself, and I am stuck in a VERY hard and VERY busy Master’s program right now.
I’ve thought about dropping out, and I’ve thought about transferring. Neither of these options are viable. I have to be strong and tough this out. I’d much rather have some kind of regular income from a full time job that only takes up approximately 40 hours a week of my life, but alas, I have to get this Master’s degree in order to successfully attain that job.
There are some things I have realized about myself along the way, though:
1. My writing is not bad, but I am a terrible writer. As my friend Sam would say, “By the end of a paper, Rose has written a negative number of sentences.”
2. I am doing this to make my family proud, namely, to make my Grandmother proud. She took to calling me “Dr. Bloom” when I started the program.
3. I love to learn at my own pace.
4. I love to teach material I am interested in.
5. I hate love the rain, but I hate how dark it is up North.
6. I am terrible at keeping up relationships over long distance.
7. Fiber arts are VERY important to my sanity.
8. Reading a book before bed makes me capable of sleeping without having those panicking dreams all night where I missed the test, failed the homework, forgot my writing utensil, etc.
9. I am a terrible multi-tasker. It’s all or nothing. Either I am doing 14 things poorly, or I can only do ONE thing.
10. Colorado is the best state in all of the U.S. I miss the sun! I miss the lack of vegetation. I miss my family, my friends, the snow, and, strangely enough, the Denver Broncos.
Here’s the plan. I am going to “toughen up.” I am going to make it through this. I am going to come out well for the wear, and life will be good. Anyone (including the voices in my head) who says otherwise deserves a swift kick in the pants.
I’ve been too busy to really exist lately. This is my first 100% field trip free weekend since school started. I don’t know what to do with myself. I truthfully haven’t knit a stitch in a month, and it makes me sad. I have, however been able to post ONE yarn on etsy.
My in-laws came for a visit this weekend. They live in Colorado Springs. Officially, they are our first visitors! The husbeast and I furiously prepared for their arrival with cleaning, cooking, organizing, and planning. We had a blast this weekend. I took the Mother-In-Law to the Bellingham Farmers’ Market and Boulevard Park. We went to the Bagelry for lunch and then went to Larabee park for low tide. We saw a bunch of starfish and crabs. The next day it was rainy (surprise surprise!) so we drove around Lake Whatcom and then jumped on a ferry from Anacortes to Lopez Island and Friday Harbor. It was such a great visit!
Bees at the Farmers' Market!
Hen and Chicks Wreath with Moss
Boulevard Park
Larabee Park
Starfish at Larabee Park
Sillies at Larabee
My middle sister is pregnant! I am so excited to knit for this baby, but the only problem is, the baby will live in Houston, TX. What do you knit for a baby in Houston? I am not sure. Here are some items I would really like knit for him/her.
On Sunday, Bloom and I went to Whidbey Island to visit a couple of old friends of my parents’. This was one of the most amazing days I’ve had since I moved to the great NorthWest. Johanna and Dick are both accomplished artists, but more than anything, their lives are pieces of work. I don’t mean that in a negative sense. They are both some of the most inspirational, observant, creative, and intelligent people I’ve ever met.
When I was ten, my dad moved to Washington state for a few months to help Dick remodel his kitchen. My mom picked up the whole family in June when school was out, and we all flew to visit Dad. That was the first time I had ever been on a plane. My memories are still bright from that visit. We went to Seattle. We took the ferry to Whidbey Island. We visited the Olympic Peninsula. When I went back to visit Dick and Johanna this year, all of those memories flooded back.
Dick and Johanna have the most amazing house. It’s like the backroom at a museum. It’s what I would imagine the storage rooms of the Smithsonian would look like. Dick is a collector. He collects everything. He collects dead and expired film. He collects Old Crow Whiskey plastic crows. He collects old chemistry kits. He’s got a pyramid of bowling balls. He’s got storage sheds bigger than his house full. And all of it is amazing. He’s got the ultimate curiosity shop, and Johanna is not far behind. She’s got beautiful hummingbird and jay’s nests. She’s got framed collections of small related objects like salt and pepper shakers and lichen. (Believe me, they can be related.)
Bloom and I just got to spend the day there, but our whole week has been enriched by those few hours. Now Bloom is inspired to build his own (little) curiosity collection, and I just want to create, create, create. I hope to go back and visit as often as I’m invited. That place is where inspiration was born.
