It's back to better!*

My crazy class is over. It makes me breathe easier just to say it, so I'll say it again. My crazy class is over. It seems like a blur.

I slept a LOT this weekend, finished installing the trim in the downstairs bedrooms, and then slept some more. I feel like a human again. And a knitting human at that!

TWO little monkeys, finished just a couple of days late. (For The Lady's birthday)

OK, clearly this is not news, but this is a brilliant pattern. Possibly even more brilliant than the rest of Cookie's designs -- not just any pattern could make me feel good about variegation. I love this yarn (Artyarns Ultramerino 8), and it behaved with admirable consistency, but I am very very picky about things like striping and pooling. Just about every set of Monkeys that I've seen knitted up looks good. How often can you say that?

I've still got several longstanding WIPs going, including of course the house, which I will have more pictures of sometime this week. But there is one notable newcomer:

Apologies for the shitty light.
This was back when free time before dusk was a hot commodity.

I saw Margaux's Fifi and knew instantly I would knit it for my mother. After agonizing over the yarn choice for a bit, I found a deal on Calmer on eBay and hit the ground running. Although it's got some odd little quirks, I love this pattern. It's all I can do to leave it alone long enough to finish up my palooza socks. (I am an incorrigible procrastinator.)

*If Cadillac still isn't your favorite unicorn ever to be wished into existence by an 8-year-old gay boy named Shannon, you really need to go see this. Right now.

WIP report: Transformation

Isabella:


Living Room:


Monkey:



I'm tired and sore and ecstatic. I love my house more every day, and I can hardly concentrate on anything else, but I'm managing to do some scheming about xmas knitting. I promise a real post very soon!

Calm before the storm.

This house thing? It's a goddamned rollercoaster. From the furnace to the sewer to the easements to the insurance, I swear there has literally been a new wrinkle every day. Most of our belongings are packed up and we've given notice to our landlord, and I still couldn't tell you for sure if we'll get the keys to the new place on Friday or Monday. (Cross your fingers for Friday, k?)

Either way, I'm about to be a homeowner. (EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!)
And I'm about to tear up some shag, send some linoleum bits away for asbestos testing, pull down some "wood" paneling, paint over some horrid pepto-bismol pink... I promise, as soon as we are the legally deeded owners we will be taking lots of 'before' pictures.

So before the whirlwind begins, a little documentation of where the knitting stands. The three projects I had going two weeks ago are pretty much stalled. Here's the newcomer:

I'm planning to finish the pair by The Lady's birthday, near the end of this month. Beyond that, though, I'm sort of curious as to what my knitting life will do. Will our intrepid blogger abandon the needles entirely in favor of the paintbrush and prybar? Or turn to her knits more than ever, seeking relief from the overwhelming tackiness? Stay tuned to find out!