Harry Potter, some knitting, and a new spinning project!

Lots and lots has been going on, but not a lot of picture have been taken, as it's hard to take pictures when your hands are as full as mine have been for the last few days! When I got back to the States I found some delightful swag awaiting me-my Harry Potter Chickenboots bag! This picture shows the cute owl lining of my magical artifacts notions bag. I LOVE it, and when you realize how much you need a bag with clear vinyl involved, please consider Chickenboots. Great quality, and OUTSTANDING customer service.

Speaking of Harry Potter, I also got my custom wand that I won from Euphoric Alley. I know the gifted carver behind this Etsy shop, and I LOVE my wand. From the packaging, to all the details in the crafting of the wand, it's a work of art that I will cherish!

Because it was July there was a visit to my LYS (one of their two sale months). I didn't buy a lot, but I'm particularly excited about the pom pom. I think it will go well with the red hat I'm working on.

There hasn't been a lot of time for knitting, but between wedding stuff I've managed to finish the pair of baby booties,

and while watching Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom today I got this far on a dishcloth for my sister that I finished this evening.

After an emergency run to Atlanta, TX yesterday to bring my sister some things she forgot, I got a spinning project started. How I love being back with my wheel! I'm still trying to decide whether to make this a two or three ply; I know I'm going to be plying it on my drop spindle as my wheel struggles to ply for some reason.

Parting shot: The delightful 1920's farmhouse we stayed the night in for my sister's bachelorette party. I loved the decor, and the great job they did restoring it.

I escaped!

After four long days of travel, I'm safely back home again for a few weeks! I enjoyed this lovey coffee shop at a new mall in Lusaka,

chased the sunrise over the Arabian peninsula,

slept and enjoyed a swim and sunbath around this lovely pool, and enjoyed my first chai latte of civilization.

On the way home from the airport we stopped at Bucee's and at the Hungarian restaurant for a delicious pork paprikash.

I've been working on pulling out the highest priority items from the eve space where I have them stored, getting a few necessities for my time at home, opening all my packages and mail that came while I was away (so much fun, and more surprises than is probably a good reflection on my state of mind!), and on pitching in with wedding planning. Mary and I went shopping today to make a start, and I'm sure there will be several other trips and much more coffee. Y'all, it's so good to be home...

Packing, Sports Day, very little knitting

This last week has been full of mostly A) packing, b) marking, c) teaching, and D) report card comments. Half-term was Monday and Tuesday, so I had actually watched TWO movies over the weekend, and got to knit. Wednesday I took about an hour out of my evening to celebrate the 4th with Ruthie and Anna; here was our little American second supper/dessert-

Saturday was sports day, so as usual I worked on a sock (the second Coraline) in between handing out ribbons, answer questions, and keeping track of the scores.

I only have three and a half more days at Sakeji, so it's going to be pretty wild with tying up loose ends, handing over my class and duties (have fun with *that* sub!), and finishing my packing which is more than packing, it's stage 3 of 4 in my move back to the States. So, don't expect to hear too much from me till I've slept off the worst of the jet leg next week! I'm so excited about traveling, being home, seeing my family, and welcoming a new brother to the clan. I'm excited about being in Dubai for a day, the first Starbucks, having time to knit and breath, and going to some movies. This year is 2/3 done--I'm in the home stretch!

A little knitting thanks to a weekend off and half-term

I have been uber busy these last days weeks years, okay, my life here is pretty much out of control, but I only have to not die for a week and a half longer before I get to BLOW THIS JOINT and head home for the relaxing business of helping with and being in a family wedding. I almost have my report cards finished (as much as possible), I started packing and will continue to do so for the massive endorphin rush it gives me as well as the fact that it needs to get done. Moving overseas in stages while working full-tilt would not be my choice again…

I finished the Beloved bonnet for a friend who is expecting this fall and have started some booties to use up the last of the yarn. I enjoyed this pattern; it was written for DK, but I just made a bigger size with fingering as that is what I had in baby appropriate yarn. I don’t see making the adult size, but it was a fun baby knit.

I’ve also been working on the Barristan Beanie with the reclaimed Gloss Fingering from a shawl I frogged. I like the cable, but I really dislike not having a chart to work from. I find reading the directions fiddly (i.e. bad TV knitting), and I don’t like not having a clue what the pattern is supposed to look like. I might keep this for myself to use when I hopefully visit my family in Germany in December, of it might end up a gift. Either way, it’s fun to be cabling again!

And that's pretty much my knitting. I need to get a sock toe finished and the second sock cast on to be ready for Sports day on Saturday, but other than that my main project is PACKING because I only have 3 MORE MONTHS AND A WEEK OR SO in Zambia total, so there is a lot of keep sorting through. Burning things continues to be cathartic, as is the knowledge that I can leave a lot more behind easily than I had once thought. Onwards and upwards I must press, yes, yes!

It's nice to have several big projects to start Stash Dash with...

Note: This accidentally never got finished and sat in my drafts folder. So, here is an entry from early June. Enjoy!

I have been rather madly scrambling these last two weeks to recover from spending 5 days without doing any marking while I was chaperoning a school trip to the Copper Belt. Very little was accomplished other than lots of pictures taken, lots of good conversations, and lots of picking up and keeping tabs on kids items. It was a bit of a stretching experience for me, but I'm glad I went. I had a lot of wrong ideas about the school we visited; if I had known how seriously it took itself as a school, despite the heavy sports bent, I might have been tempted a few years back...

Right before my birthday, Stash Dash 2018 kicked off, and I cast off a several items. Hitofude--done! Rainbow chevron cowl--done! Chevron blanket--done! Rainbow hats--done! Sockhead hat--done!

Since that glorious start, I have basically only got any work done on the Baristan hat I've had my eye on for awhile now. It has a folded brim, so I decided to do a provisional cast on instead of sewing it down (I hate that kind of tedious process more than the tedious process of knitting the two edges together). I had to re-start it as I am a boob and miscounted by two; I thought I could fudge it, but the more I knit, the clearer it became that I was not going to be able to live with the results. So...take two! This is Knitpicks Gloss being re-knit for the second time; it's holding up nicely. Knitter, know theyself. I realized that I really didn't want a red shawl--not this almost orangey red anyway, so as I am getting desperately low on yarn to knit, it seemed like a good re-purpose.