I've been pretty swamped with teaching stuff the last week, and the beginning of this week is shaping up to be similar. The problem with online teaching is that you are available *all the time*--blessing and a curse! And your students are sort of available all the time...if they check their emails and messages. Since Texas schools won't reopen this school year, there are a few more weeks of this stretch experience left. The nice parts? Bathroom breaks whenever! More flexibility. Getting to talk to my cat all day. Eating lunch in peace and quiet. Yet, I can't wait for life to go back to 'normal.'
My hand is slowly improving, and I was able to indulge in a lot more handwork this week than I have for the last month. One thing that has been giving me a great deal of pleasure is spinning. I love the rhythm of spinning—the hands and feet working together, the sound of the wheel, and the magic of watching your bobbin fill up. I had started spinning another chunk of this Easter colored pencil roving when Beth was visiting, and after some thought decided to Navajo ply it. I gave it quite a bit of twist, and I think it might be the best yarn I’ve made yet. At the very least, I think it’s the one that will knit up most like a commercial yarn. I plied it on my wheel, which I haven’t tried for quite some time, and was very pleasantly surprised by how it went. Maybe I’m just a better spinner!
Once I got that project finished, I returned to the big purple spin. A lovely friend gave me two bags of wool for my birthday last year, and I'm going to divide each bag into fourths, spin them up, and then ply one of each together. I love how this fiber spins, and I love that I'm getting better at this! I can't wait to see what the finished yarn looks like, and how much I end up with. No special plans for this yet, but it's sure fun to work on.
While I ave restarted my brioche cowl, I’m not quite ready to dive back into that just yet—the pain of FROGing (though needed) hasn’t quite faded enough yet.
I’ve been working on some gift socks that I had high hopes of finishing for Christmas (but didn't--Mother's Dayish?), and a new summer top, Vanora. I’m using Lion Brand Coboo—the same yarn I made my tank out of last year, but I’m going bold with the bright magenta colorway. This is essentially two rectangles seamed together, but I’m going to do mine in the round from the underarms down, and I’m planning on putting in just a little waist shaping while I’m at it. It’s a simple pattern, but I think I’ll really enjoy wearing it once it’s done. Plus, having more warm weather knits means I can enjoy my handiwork year round!
The other thing I worked on this week, was finishing up this brilliant little purse. I used some leftover Nomadic Yarn’s in the Ginny Weasley colorway, and was quite pleased with how it turned out. I love little bits of everyday wizardry like that—so clever! This is an excellent use of leftover sock yarn as it only took 9 grams, and it was fun to watch the magic take shape. I lined mine with some grosgrain ribbon I happened to have on hand, and have plans for at least one more.
Other than that, quarantine life continues on. I'm still walking almost every morning in the gardens near my house, making a weekly pilgrimage to Wal-Mart, and getting some good reading in. I'm enjoying delicious Silver Grizzly coffee in the afternoons, and the luxury of not having to worry about whether my pants and shirt match. Little things, always important, are even more so these days! Oh--I have added these delightful yarns to my stash. The red is a beautiful merino-silk blend from Expression Fiber Arts--a Christmas gift card cashed in finally. And the purple is the April Knitcrate yarn. I think I'm going to order some more so I can make a layering cardigan--I use them all the time!
Parting shot: My 'co-worker' is hard at work napping; he has had a bit of a struggle to get it all in with me being home, but he does his best.
No comments:
Post a Comment