It's that time of year again, without a doubt the most wonderful time when the students leave school and I am left sitting at my desk for a long expanse of days, with hardly any responsibility to tie me down but reading blogs and getting back into the routine of updating my own. I know a lot of people that dread these long days with not a job in sight, but I must be very good at scheduling my free time because I always find these days are gone too quickly!

I never knit at work, but you can't stop me from thinking about it! Planning projects, making lists, dreaming of that elusive weekend when all I have to do is lay around at home and knit. At the moment I'm thinking about this delicious yarn that came in the mail from my good friend Becky in Canada. She was the first friend that I turned onto knitting who turned out to be a real knitting freak just like me! Imagine my excitement when this popped out of a surprise package from her, along with decaf coffee (wheee!) and all sorts of other treats! 450 meters of Blue Face Leicester DK Wool... I might have to turn this into a bright lace shawl to get me through the dark winter months, don't you think?

And remember that baby sweater? It fits well (with room to stretch) and the parents couldn't have been happier to finally receive it. I take back all the bad stuff I ever said about knitting this. It was totally worth it--look at that chubby face!

Posted by Molly at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Project Specs: Christmas Birthday Mistake rib scarf
Yarn: Malabrigo kettle dyed merino wool (2 skeins, 215 yards each) in olive
Needles: Size 8 circs that I stole from my mom (sorry about that!)
Time: Less than a month, a big accomplishment!

Take a look at it, because this is something you might never see again. It's a Christmas present that was finished on the 14th of December! I chose only to knit one Christmas gift this year, as the baby sweater saga dragged out much longer than I had planned and stressed me out to the point that I was hardly knitting at all and certainly not feeling any joy from it. But I managed to finish this baby so early that I jumped the gun and gave it as a birthday gift last week.

It was hard to part with--this yarn is so soft and the color, I think it suited me! The only thing that softened the blow was how thrilled its recipient was with the gift. No one has seen him without it since his birthday, so that's a relief. The only thing better than putting the time and effort into a super soft scarf for someone special is knowing how much it is appreciated.

Now that all my obligation knitting is done (except for that one birthday hat that I promised... ), I can get back to the good old days of watching TV and knitting along at my own pace on the couch. Reinforcements of Project Runway, ER and Survivor came in the mail today with some Polish Tea Cakes (my mom and her tricky post timing!!) so I am ready to settle in for the holidays. I had nearly forgotten that Christmas is this weekend!

Posted by Molly at 07:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Trellis #2 is finally done and will be delivered at a family wedding this weekend. It feels so good! And no, the baby won't have totally outgrown this yet (fingers crossed).

Look at these adorable Peter Rabbit buttons! It's quite blurry because I am still getting to know my camera. Seriously, when have I had a chance to sit down and do that? I have nothing left to say about this project. Not meant to be a reflection on the pattern or designer--it was lovely to knit and well-written--but next time I want to knit two of the same thing straight in a row and on a deadline, someone remind me that it's a bad idea!

I'm half-unpacked back in my apartment now, and things are feeling pretty cluttered, as usual. But I'm finishing projects and posting to the blog like the good old days, so I'd venture to say things are back to normal. It's good to be back! If my lucky finishing streak continues, my one hand-knit Christmas gift might just turn into a birthday present this week instead (those Sagittarians and their Christmas birthdays!). It would definitely feel good to finish early for once.

Posted by Molly at 08:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

It feels good to finally open up the old blog for something OTHER than deleting a hundred million spam comments. One of these days I'm going to get around to adding some kind of authentication scheme, so please don't let it discourage you from commenting!

It's been a while since I posted because I have been traveling like crazy around the states, visiting family and old friends. It's been a great visit! I've still had a little time for knitting but not enough to document any of my progress--maybe before I leave. One thing we did document was my first (successful!) try at making gravy last night, since my mom made a big turkey feast.

I'm at home until Thursday, when it's back to my busy life on the other side of the world. You can count on seeing a finished Trellis (#2) post soon because if I don't get this baby sweater done before I go back to Japan I am going to be steamed!

Posted by Molly at 07:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)