I'm back...

I'm still here. Really, I am. And I'm still knitting. I kind of gave up on my blog, at first because I didn't really have the time, but I also felt futile, letting my words out with no one to read them. But today, I checked into my flickr account, and there was a comment from crochetnhugs asking me to start blogging again. And well, okay. :D since I last posted, I have knit three hats, started a scarf, ripped out my Jaywalker and recast it on in the larger size, survived finals, and started my job! I knit two of the chunky knit beanies by a friend to knit with (a-friend-to-knit-with.blogspot.com), a Norwegian Totoro Mitten (minus the thumb) and the Amanda Hat by Gina House from Sleepy Eyes Knitting (sleepyeyesknitting.blogspot.com). Also, I'm going on a road trip this summer with my family, so I've started planning my knitting already. Yes, I have made lists and researched the items, and yes, I know I'm a dork. I'm very proud of that. I'm considering the Monk's Travel Satchel by Vicki Square, which I have fallen head over heels for. One of the points in the description is that it has lots of pockets, which just makes me very happy. I like having a pocket for my phone, my ipod, stitchmarkers and other notions, scissors, and I just generally like having pockets. :D Another thing!! I have completely fallen in love with just about everything that Ysolda Teague has designed. I think I may try one of her sweaters on the road trip too.... Yay my first sweater!!! I made a little cotton raglan shrug during last summer's car trip, but I want to make a real sweater this time. Maybe a February Lady Sweater... As you can tell, I'm having problems deciding. I think I'm also going to work on a scarf during this trip, and surprisingly, I can't decide what pattern to use for that either. I'm thinking the September Scarf by Karen Konop or the Traveler's Scarf by Kimberley Cunningham Varland. They're both really beautiful patterns, but I think I'm leaning more towards the Traveler's Scarf, considering I'm going to be knitting it on a road trip while we're travelling and all... Yes I'm a cheeseball like that. :D but it really is a beautiful pattern, and I think having a scarf that is slightly different won't hurt me... the September Scarf is definitely beautiful though, so I think I'll knit it sometime in the near future. The only problem is I have so many beautiful cabled scarves in my favorites!! Oh, woe is me, there are too many good patterns to choose from. :D
So, my life outside knitting. I know, it's shocking, but it does exist. :D I work as a secretary, answering phones and filing and such. Sadly, they don't have a lot of work for me to do while I answer the phones. Happily, that gives me time to read my blogs and get some knitting done. The Totoro Mittens are my first fair isle project, and I am very happy with how they are turning out. I used size 3 needles instead of size 4, but I also used thicker yarn. However, either my row guage was really off, or I have unusually long hands, or maybe both, but I ended up adding in an extra section of colorwork to make them long enough. I looked up the japanese characters for rain and dust, because one side had Totoro standing in the rain, and the other side had the dust balls. I charted them out and put it in right before the decreases. Thankfully, it worked, and the first mitten fits perfectly! However, after spending several hours trying to chart out the characters and messing with the spacing until it looked right, and pushing through until the end of the hand, apparently I've run out of steam to finish the thumb. Which is probably all of ten rounds. It's a little bit pathetic. So I'm ignoring it for a little while and working on my Jaywalker!! Actually, I started out not really wanting to work on my sock, but as I started kntting it, I realized I was having fun! So life is good. :D Wow, this has been a very long blog post.... well, I have been gone for a while. If I happen upon any other projects that I've forgotten to mention, I'll mention them in my next post! (Yes, that means there will be a next post!!) So, I'll be posting again soon! Maybe with actual pictures next time... :D