Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Wow...ok....

Hey, peeps! It's been a while. This has been an amazing, wonderful and busy summer. The afghan class is going really well, and there are more than 100 people on Ravelry who are knitting along too! This absolutely floors me. I am humbled by their enthusiasm for this thing that I designed.  I'm still working on the scarves to go with the afghan squares, but I'm taking a little break for some other fun stuff.

This is the Blooming Stitch Shawl. The yarn is Louet Cottolin. When Elizabeth (owner of River Knits) ordered this yarn, she was envisioning it being used for weaving. I saw a lovely, light summer shawl in my favorite color.

I'm also working on the Tibetan Clouds Shawl using Fiber Optic Yarns Footnotes Gradients. I love this so much! It's fun to knit and exciting to see what color comes next.The back of the stole is knit from the center out. Then, opposite edges are bound off. Finally, the live stitches are picked up and the ends of the stole are knit from there. I think this projects highlights this gradient yarn in a really unique way.

I'm also knitting this shawl. It's called Ashburn. The yarn is the brand new Classic Elite Villa. This might be my new favorite yarn. Well, second favorite. I don't think I could love anything more than Malabrigo Sock yarn....but this would be a really close second.
I have a couple of other shawls in my queue, but I want to finish at least the Ashburn and Tibetan Clouds before I start something new.

What's with all the shawls? I've put a moratorium on sweater knitting. I've lost 21.2 lbs so far, and, while I would LOVE to knit myself some sweaters to wear as soon as I hit my goal weight, I don't know what my measurements will be. So, there's no point spending good yarn and good time on a sweater that might be way too big by winter. So, for the foreseeable future, I'm knitting accessories. Shawls, socks, mittens, hats. And I'm happy with that. Here's the current progress pic. I probably should have taken some time to make myself look nice for the photo on the right, but I was just so excited when I discovered I had crossed the 20-lb mark, I jumped off the scale, got dressed and demanded my daughter take my pic. I promise to make more of an effort next time. :)
In other news, last night brought a completely unexpected event!  Back story: We got a minivan in 2003 or 2004.... it was a 2001 Pontiac Montana, affectionately referred to as Vannah Montana. She served us well for the past 10 years, but for the last 5 years or so, she's been slowly going down hill. First, it was little things: LEDs went out in the radio display, alternator needed replaced, back windshield washer stopped working, gas gauge stopped working (I have to use the trip odometer to know when it's time to get gas). Then, there were some really big things: some gasket I don't know anything about needed replacing and it required Tim to hoist the entire engine up to get to it; the head gasket started leaking, and lots of other stuff I don't remember. For 2 years or so, I've been cursing her and whining about wanting a "new" car. But, it was never the right time. I looked halfheartedly at lots of things. I even test drove a Kia Soul. It was kind of nice. Then, last fall, a colleague invited me to try her Nissan Cube. I instantly fell in love. I know it's definitely quirky and not for everyone. I spent all winter and spring talking about wanting a Cube. Every chance I got, I'd say, "Yep, Vanna Montana will be replaced by a Cube."

Then, a few weeks ago, another colleague informed me that Nissan has decided 2014 is the final model year for the Cube. They will no longer manufacture it. For a short while, that ramped up my search, but nothing seemed quite right. Yesterday, my wonderful hubby sent me a link to a Cube at a Subaru dealership in Indy. We went down last night after work and drove home with the newest addition to our family: Cindy Lou Cube.
I love her. We didn't get home until almost 11:30 last night, which is way past my bedtime. And, I have to be at work all day today because responsibilities. I can't wait to get home tonight and spend some quality time really getting to know her. Isn't she just the cutest thing?!