I've got blanket fever!

Sometimes, for reasons that I can not explain to save my life, I get gripped by these strong knitting urges that just won't leave me be until I've either cast on or been gripped by another one. For some reason lately (perhaps looking through Mason-Dixon Knitting is responsible...) I've been gripped by a powerful desire to knit blankets. Yes, me. Miss Sockista. So, after I finished this sweet little bonnet for a baby girl who will be arriving tomorrow,

and my second Wurm hat,

I rewarded myself by casting on a blanket for the same little girl. I'm doing the Baby Chalice Blanket. I only started on Friday night, so I have only done one pattern row so far. Hopefully it will actually look like something next week!

While I really wanted to start the baby blanket, the other thing that has been giving me a knitting itch is the Curve of Pursuit blanket that I saw at the start of the dangerous Log Cabin section in Mason-Dixon Knitting. Something about it just screamed my name, and what with my new furniture,

I just had to start a cozy lap blanket for dry season. So, here goes! So far I'm loving the simplicity of the garter stitch and the order of the pattern. It truly is the simple things in life...

The other thing I've really been working on this week is trying to get the rest of that green roving spun and plied. I should probably practice a bit more before diving into some of my 'nice' stuff, but I am getting better at this, and I'm loving the results. Now I just need to find something special to show off all my hard work!

Well, that about does it for this week. Here is the overall shot of my efforts,

and this week's parting shot:

January Picks

I’ve decided that in order to keep things under control, each month I get to choose a new Kindle book and a MP3 album. So, to catch up, here were January’s picks.

Guardians of the Galaxy Awesome Mix Vol. 1 was my January choice; I watched the movie on the plane, and then with my family once it was out on DVD, and I have to say that while the movie is a totally fun guilty pleasure, I loved the oldies in the soundtrack. So when I saw that they had actually published it all in one place I was thrilled! This album is also a guilty pleasure; I have a had a lot of fun singing along to this as I processed mangos and relaxed after school. Totally worth it!

Unbroken
I have to admit that I haven’t started this one yet; I am waiting for the term break so I can gobble it up and be an emotional wreck if I need to. The first thing I heard about this was that it was a movie directed by Angelina J. that was coming out in December—not terribly interested. But when I saw that the book was written by Laura Hillenbrand, then I was VERY interested. Her book Seabiscuit was so superbly written, that I decided it was worth trying out. I’ll let you know what I think once I’ve actually read it!

Spinning, a FO, and Valentines!

I’ve decided to play with my new collage app by making a collage of what’s on my needles (and in this case spindle as well!) every week to a) motivate myself, and b) record my progress. So, here an overview of what I’ve worked on this week:

Here is a closer look at something I just finished today—this adorable little bonnet from Jane Austin Knits 2014. I feel in love with this as soon as I saw it, and knew that it would have to be made for a certain little girl I love to knit for. I think I might have to make another one…

Something new I’ve tried this week is plying on the fly. Normally when you spin, you make something called a single which you then have to wind off your spindle, and ply together with another single or in a chain with itself to make yarn. Well, I’m learning to spin a length of single and then ply it up right then and there. It took me awhile to get my fingers around it, and yesterday I discovered a lump that didn’t ply properly, but overall I’m petty tickled with my efforts! I have some lovely rovings that I hope I feel confident enough to tackle this holiday…

Finally, after having to rip the pattern part out and a spectacular error with the heel that I don’t even want to discuss, here is a closer look at my finally working for me Smaug sock:

I’ve got another sock pattern from Jane Austin Knits 2014 that I’m itching to cast on, but I told myself I couldn’t cast on until I had finished one of my other pairs of socks. It so hard to be good sometimes…

Yesterday was the best Valentine's Day I've ever had at Sakeji. Not only was my 'rotic' and treat binge with Beth a lot of fun, but it was really neat to see the kids get really into making and giving valentines. I didn't do anything special for it this year; I cheated and bought a box of Pixar valentines before coming back, but I really enjoyed feeling like we were a) celebrating something and b) enjoying it! Here's a look at my 'loot'-

Parting shot: Just cause, and because I wish I could call this man...

Some knitting, lots of mangoes, and a busy week.

I've been so busy over the last week that I have not had the time I would like to knit (though honestly, when can I ever say that I have?), but I did managed to finish something. I have totally fallen in love with this hat pattern-Wurm.

I love how the colors work together, I love how it fits, and I love how it looks. I love how it will keep my head warmer than the 'cute' hate I took up north with me, and I love how simple it was to knit. Full of win!

I may have already cast another one on as a gift...

I also wanted to post pictures of the tiny little baby sweater I made for a friend's little girl. I love knitting this, but it turned out pretty small. I want to make it again, but I'll have to think through how to make that work.

My other big project for this week was making mango butter from the 9 cups of mangoes I picked up and processed from under the trees here at the school. Totally worth all the effort!

Parting shot: