I'm back! ..... (Life Happened)

Looking back I can't believe that it has been a whole 11 months since I let the blog lapse.  Time has been just flying by for me, but a lot has been going on in my life that has been sucking up all of my attention.

(This might be long, so if you just want to get to the knitting part, skip to the next paragraph.)

First some background.  Way back in December 2006 I made a major decision to quit my job of 16 years and go back to school.  At 45 years old this seemed just a touch crazy, but I was not happy and a major change seemed like the only way to "fix" things.  I promptly enrolled in the local community college and began taking the classes I needed to apply to nursing school.  My previous experience was in healthcare and I'd always enjoyed the patient care aspects of my job so nursing seemed like a logical step forward.  I should mention that DH is a nurse and has always gotten great satisfaction from caring for people and was enthusiastic in supporting me.  I graduated from nursing school in May of 2010, was licensed in June, and  .... COULD NOT FIND A JOB!  Over the next 6 months, while applying to every RN position in the city, I started to think that I might have made a major mistake (and I started the blog).  Now, I try hard to keep a positive outlook and sincerely believe that most things work out for the best in the end, and this proved to be no exception.  I finally landed a job in the same hospital as DH!  But wait, it gets better.  After just 5 months I scored a change to night shift and now DH and I work the same schedule.  It doesn't get any better than that...Life is good, I've never been happier, and I'm finally feeling settled enough to revive the blog.

I may have lapsed in blogging, but I have knit through this whole adventure.  I still have a pile of works in progress because I still can't control the urge to cast-on whenever I find a pattern that strikes my fancy, but I've also completed a lot.  (FYI ... I only wear hand knit socks to work.)  My most ambitious finished project, and the one I'm most proud of is the Daydreams in Lace jacket I made for DD Chrissy for her birthday.  It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be, but definitely not TV knitting, and I got through it fairly quickly.  Having a deadline seems to keep me more focused.

The yarn is Fyberspates Scrumptious 4 Ply Sport Superwash.  Isn't it lovely?  I picked it out, with the help of Leona, at my LYS The Stitch Niche in Diamondhead Mississippi.  The Tuesday night Knitters have been a constant source of stability, inspiration, and support over the last year.  I don't know what I'd have done without being able to look forward to our meeting each week.  Thank You!

Gifts!

I drove up to Atlanta to spend a week visiting with my Mom.  She is an amazing lady!  She just got back from a trip to organize pharmaceuticals for the University of Miami Hospital in Haiti.  Earlier in the summer she went on a mission trip to Peru and look what she brought me back!

 The dark blue and orange is fingering weight wool.  I wound one hank into a cake and it weighs about 60 grams.  The light blue on the cone is light-fingering weight alpaca.  The cone weighs at least 5 pounds.  I couldn't begin to even guess at the yardage.  It is so soft!

And this is what I brought for my Mom.  It's the Adamas Shawl, in Plymouth Ecco-Cashmere.

Organizing or Decorating?

As a child, I remember being fascinated by the secretary that occupied a corner of the hall in my grandparents home.  It was full of little compartments to explore, drawers, doors, and two columns that could be pulled out to reveal secret compartments.  It took me several years of visits before I finally found those!

Fast forward to August of 1997, and my last visit to this house.  I'd returned to attend my grandfather's funeral.  The house and it's contents were destined for sale, but before I made my way back home, my Dad asked if there were any pieces I'd like to have.  Of course, I choose the hall secretary!  It now sits in my "yarn room", and before several days ago it contained the same knick knacks that my grandmother had displayed behind its glass doors.
 
 It took me a long time to make the connection between "yarn room" and glass fronted storage, but I finally put two and two together.

Pretty!

Failing at everything!

The whole making a list of UFOs is not working out so good.  I did try, but by the time I'd filled my coffee table with ziplock bags full of half knitted yarn I started to realize that this was going to be a really big project.  This was something that was going to require some thought about how to organize and what info I really wanted to include.  Since I think best when I'm knitting, and having to find where I left off on any of the multitude of projects before me would take valuable knitting/thinking time, I cast on this:

Yes, I thought so long and hard that I actually finished it, except for the buttons.  It's Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket in Jitterbug's Dusk colorway that I got from The Stitch Niche in Diamondhead.  I realize this means that I've failed in keeping my resolution to not start anything new, but I rationalize it by claiming that I was overdue to start knitting for my newest grandchild that is due in February.  I chose this yarn as I wanted something that either a boy or girl could wear, and in the hank you could see much more of the purple than you can once knitted up.  Now, I'm thinking it is much more a boy jacket than a girl.  Of course I realize this on the day my son-in-law calls and says that the latest ultrasound is "80% girl, but don't buy clothes yet".  Such is life.  In any event, I had a grand time knitting this, and talk about an exercise in trusting a pattern!  I had no idea where this was going until it was done and properly folded up.

I have taken up with one of my UFO since I finished above, but I don't really want to talk about it now as last night during the Saints game I had a most unfortunate accident that is going to require tinking back approximately 200 stitches of lace to fix.  Add another failure!

(NOTE:  The above links point to the most amazing social network site for fiber enthusiast called Ravelry.  You must be a member to see the links, so if you can't, get yourself over there and sign up.  Warning:  Ravelry can be addictive!)

Beginnings are a very delicate time....know then....

.....that it is the year 2010 and I'm a middle aged women, living in the metro New Orleans area, and I knit too much (at least according to people who know me well enough to express an opinion about my "lifestyle".) In keeping with my "obsession" (again according to people who know me well) I have gotten it into my head that perhaps if I started a blog about my knitting I'd connect to like minded people that would not brandish words like "lifestyle" and "obsession" around in regards to my knitting, but would understand and perhaps even uplift and encourage me. To this end, I've decided to create this blog.

I'm also hoping that posting here will help me keep a record of projects and spur me to keep my current resolution to not start a new project until I've completed some of the things I have on the needles.  To this end I'm compiling a list of WIPs to post here and hopefully I can keep you updated on my progress (as if anyone is really interested) in working my way through them.