UFOs and Reading..what is that?

I did as promised and picked up a LONG neglected knitting UFO and was working tirelessly on it. That is until I got my hands on my book clubs current selection; Oryx and Crake by Canadian authoress Margaret Atwood.

I picked it up at the library on Sunday afternoon and finished Tuesday night. I am not an especially fast reader but was thoroughly engrossed by this one.

I have made much progress on the Gyrid tank though and only have a couple inches of boring knitting, some armhole shaping and finishing to go before completion.

My goal is to be able to wear it on my upcoming vacation in August. I am taking 2, that's right 2! consecutive weeks off. I read a study a while back that suggested if a person did not take at least 2 weeks away from their normal routine per annum, the health benefits of vacation; true relaxation in the physiological and psychological senses were essentially non-existent.

Wanting the stress of my daily life to NOT be the death of me I have decided to heed this advice.

I realized that the last time I was away from work for 2 weeks or longer was when I was briefly unemployed in 2001, a vacation..NOT!

Mixing new and old

I have been tirelessly working to complete some very old UFOs. I almost completed the back of the Gyrid tank and am now blocking the cabled red Ksar scarf that I started when I first learned to cable and wanted to design a cabled scarf of my own. It is going to be very warm and soft to wear but needless to say the stitch pattern I chose almost two years ago to challenge myself was very boring to finish now. There are also some errors and design flaws that will bug me but at least it is a warm wearable item rather than an unfinished pile of yarn sitting in my livingroom taking up space on the needles. I also have a hat to match that I have been wearing for almost two years!

I finished my Monkey socks in STR mediumweight in the Fluorite colorway. They are absolutely gorgeous and as tempting as it is to wear them and keep them for myself I am going to stash them away for my best friend for Christmas. I am starting early this year folks as last December I was knitting too much for comfort or sanity.


I may make another pair for myself.

I also made a baby hat for some friends having a girl in May,it is DB Baby Cashmerino and the Drooping Elm Leaf lace stitch from Barbara Walker's first treasury of knitted stitches. I don't think I quite translated it correctly from the directions for flat knitting into the round. It is still pretty and very girly... It has small flower appliques on it.





On the new end of the spectrum, I just had to cast on some Twisted Flower Socks, in green, for my mom, this pattern is just so beautiful. It is also kinda slow moving at first with lots of twists and turns. I'm sure it will be worth it. I am making them in Shibui sock yarn in Seaweed.
Here is my progress photo.