Well, that's a bust...

Meaning not a heck of a lot of knitting going on right now. I'm not feeling 100%, so instead of knitting at night, I've been sleeping. I've also been attending to life outside of knitting (is there such a thing??). I've got a few things going on right now, and I actually made some progress. I've almost finished Module Two (out of 7) of my Childbirth Educator Program, which is exciting. I think this is the least interesting module to me: prenatal testing, physiology, that sort of thing. Not where my interests lie. I'm much more interested in the psychological transformation of pregnancy and becoming a parent. Which makes sense, what with my having spent, you know, 7 YEARS getting a Masters and Ph.D. in psychology!!

I did knit about 6 rows on one of my simple stockinette socks. I'm hoping to get the leg done tonight, and maybe even get the heel stitches picked up (afterthought heel), so I can get it done. Then I'll have an actual pair of socks to wear!! I hope to have pictures for you by the end of the week. :)

What would you do, O knitters?

While I was at Webs, I saw this absolutely GORGEOUS shawl. I cannot stop thinking about it! Now, I don't own any shawls (save a fancy dress one from a black tie wedding). I never wear shawls...but something about this yarn and this pattern captured me. The yarn is Berrocco's Boho (and Colors), and the shawl has this amazing lacy pattern. It was GORGEOUS, and I am obsessed. I would have bought the yarn but they didn't have enough in the colors I really liked (you did half of it in a plain Boho and half with Colors, so you need coordinating colors). It looks like the color I like is being discontinued. Ah well. Anyway, would you buy the yarn ($$) and make the pattern (I am sure that Webs would let me buy it), or let it go? You can also do a scarf version, which I would wear, I am sure. If you couldn't get the Colors yarn, would you do it all in one color?

I am also contemplating the Poncho again. I'm pondering one of the top-down ponchos with Artyarn. Again, pricey, but so pretty! I am thinking that if I'm going to be ordering, I might as well get one of the Modular Scarf patterns (triangles? diamonds? squares?) and the Flat top hat pattern too. *sigh* I am going to be so broke, but have SO many things to knit!!!!

I'm about to gear up for another round of baby hat knitting too. I got some Tahki colors that I'll do a simple roll-brimmed hat to start, I think. I just got my yarn all sorted and organized. I think I may try and make some dishcloths to sell also. And oh yeah, that whole professional development thing too! It's going to be a busy year!

Time sure flies!

I've been meaning to post an update all week, but just haven't had a chance to gather my thoughts. It was my birthday last week (30-mumble) and I received, from my lovely husband, the gift of these which I am LOVING. They are really great, MUCH better than my Denise kit for the kind of knitting I'm doing these days! The join with the tips and the cable is super-smooth, and feels much more secure than the Denise needles. These are nice, solid needles, and the cord is narrow and has very little memory, so it makes the Magic Loop technique much easier. I just with they came in the small sizes, or that Knit Picks regular needles came in a longer cord, but ah well, I guess I can manage with Addis! Since I also received a gift from my parents that "has" to be spent on yarn and yarn-accessories, I think I can get my needle library complete.

Let's see. I talked to the NICU folks, and it turns out they had a slightly different vision of the hat project than I did. I was assuming that each hat would be given to a specific baby, and sent home with that baby, while they seem to be thinking of these as the NICU's. She explained to me that "sometimes the patients take them home" which is what I wanted! Oh well, they can do whatever they think is best. She said they were very appreciative and would take anything else I had to offer. I'm going to try and send a batch off on Monday. The sizes were all great, and I think they really like the whimsical hats. I was just glad to (finally) have someone call me back and give me some feedback on what worked!

I'm having great fun with my dishcloths/washcloths as well! I love the cotton, and I'm really enjoying all the different patterns. I don't quite have the energy to take and post pictures right now, but soon.

My new obsession is knitting socks! I'm not sure why this is, as knitting with fine yarn doesn't appeal to me all that much, but a friend turned me on to this yarn and I must, MUST I TELL YOU, must have some. I actually have some sock yarn, so I pulled it out and taught myself the figure 8 cast on today, in anticipation of figuring out how to knit two socks (toe up) on one needle at the same time. I think this will be a good thing for me, so I don't end up with one sock for many months, which is what happened with the last socks I did. If this works, I'll take pictures! I think the sock thing is generated by the fact that all my socks are old and getting worn out, and I can't find anything I like at any of my usual stores (err, Target mainly 'cuz I'm classy like that) in colors that I wear. Come to think of it, I couldn't find any shirts in colors that I like this year, so I guess the colors I like are just out. I am crushed, as being a fashion icon is really, really important to me. :)

In non-knitting news, I've completed all the reading for Module 1 of the CBE program, and now just need to complete the written work and experiential pieces for it. That shouldn't be too hard. The reading was really interesting, and I can feel the rusty cogs of my brain slowly starting to reengage and perhaps even turn. I am excited about this. One of the books is called "Birth as An American Rite of Passage", and it's a feminist, anthropological analysis of birth rituals in the US. Some of it seems a bit out of date to me, but much of it is spot-on, and *really* interesting and thought-provoking. She's more radical than I am, but has an interesting way of framing different belief systems. It was very interesting to see where I agreed with her, and then where I disagreed - which showed me some of my own blind spots, which is always a useful thing. I'll need to go back and reread this, as it's fairly academic. I really enjoyed it!