Thursday, June 26, 2008

I am sitting here, ripping out at least a foot (if not two) of Homespun yarn that I had managed to knit into a ribbed prayer shawl (you may remember it from this blog post). Frogging this sucks, by the way, but I'm doing it all in the name of a cause.

A post in the Livejournal Knitting Community today let people out there in knitter-land know that an organization in Connecticut is collecting prayer shawls to be handed out to cancer patients in CT and Massachusetts. Since I used to live in Connecticut, and I have the recommended three skeins of Homespun, I am frogging the darn shawl.

Hopefully when I finish, I'll still have the desire to cast on again for the correct shawl. They're not due until October, so I should be okay. I'll miss it (the yarn was striping in a rainbow pattern that was really pretty), but I think I should start giving back.

For more information on this project (like how you don't have to use Homespun), go to The Comfort Shawl Project page and take a look around.

Sorry for no pictures today, but I thought that a shot of the rainbow monster that's currently eating my lap might not be something I want captured for all eternity.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!

Hey look, I'm alive! I know the two of you who stumbled on this blog accidentally probably didn't even miss me. I've been pretty busy for the past few months -- receiving both a B.A. and B.F.A. from my college, moving, the works.

Unfortunately, the week after I graduated my older brother died. I've been in a funk for the past month, but lately I've been opening the windows, finding the camera cord, and trying to get my life started again. The day my brother died, I received the most wonderful birthday package from a college friend. She had no way of knowing what was going to happen, or how much her package would mean to me, but I was so appreciative.

She sent me the most gorgeous wool yarn ever. I have no idea what to do with it. I don't want to ruin it.
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It is Storm Moon Knits Celestial Worsted.

She also sent me two skeins of Plymouth Yarn Baby Alpaca Grande. I'm thinking of making an amazing, fluffy hat. (One skein is blue and one is white.)
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For no good reason, last week I dug out one of the crochet hooks I happened to have but had no idea how to use, and learned how to make a foundation chain and the chain that goes on top of that. Then I was lost. Because it had given me a challenge, I went on amazon.com and ordered Kutz's Learn to Crochet book. It arrived today. While I haven't opened the accompanying items or tried anything in the book yet, I am pleased. Maaaaaaaaybe one of the reasons I ordered it in the first place is because it came with a tapestry needle, and I can't find one of the four I know I own.

Just maybe.