Recuperating

The recuperation from my surgery is not as painful as the doctor had predicted, so of course I'm relieved about that. I am housebound and not really up for visitors, but I can manage knitting. 

I pulled out these three colors for my Free Your Fade shawl. 

I'm not sure if I'll use all three or just the gradient and the blue. I'm going to see how it looks when I get to the first "fade." So far, the gradient is just gorgeous! And it matches the project bag -- one of the many that my sweet MIL has made for me.

I set up another Tchaikovsky Hat before my surgery. It's such an easy pattern and I had the perfect yarn: a skein of Casual Fashion Queen in Bohemia. 

This might be my favorite colorway of all time.

While I'm not up to visitors, I do appreciate it when Nagi and Kola keep me company.

It's actually been cool here so I've enjoyed having them on my lap.

At the rate I'm recovering, I'm going to have to start doing useful things soon, but I'm trying to enjoy this "vacation" while I can.

Very Quiet Weekend

It's been an extra-quiet weekend here. A few inches of snow plus sub-zero temperatures have made it a lovely weekend to hunker down.

Few things are cozier than knitting on such a weekend. As part of my stash-busting efforts, I've been working on a second Tchaikovsky Hat. The yarn is a merino-silk blend so the hat will be super soft and comfortable. This skein languished in my stash for at least a decade.

The hat design is from my current knitting crush -- Helen Stewart of Curious Handmade -- and I'm excited to say that I finished my Vintage Fairy Lights socks on time! A number of you have asked what this yummy yarn is. The dyer is Casual Fashion Queen and the colorway is Bohemia. 

I'm awaiting tomorrow's release of the first pattern in the Secret Sock Society, a Curious Handmade project. Helen will be releasing a new sock pattern every two months. As she points out, this means knitting just one sock a month. I should be able to keep up with that! Today is the last chance to join at the early bird price. You can join up at this link.

Yesterday, before the snow and plunging temperatures, I did get to Barnes & Noble to pick up a gift and do a quick sketch. Not my best, but then, the whole point is to practice.

I'm sure I'll get more knitting done tonight while Keith watches the Super Bowl. I will never understand why anyone likes to watch sports! I'll be snuggled up in my craft room, listening to an audiobook and sipping on yet another cup of tea.

Unraveled Wednesday

 Another Knitvent project is gracing my needles. This is Helen Stewart's Tchaikovsky Hat in Sun Valley Fibers' DK. 

A touch of insomnia has given me plenty of time to read The Paris Architect by Charles Belfoure. It's a fictional tale of a non-Jewish architect who finds himself hiding Jews during the occupation of Paris. I don't read much Holocaust fiction. Some of it is too depressing; some is too poorly written to do justice to its subject. This is a pretty reasonable book and quite readable.

Speaking of books, I have to admit that I hit the library book sale this past weekend. I left with a modest stack of books for a tiny price. It's a good thing I have winter break to make a dent in this pile!

Don't forget to check out Unraveled Wednesday!

It's Thursday Already?

How did that happen? This week is just flying by. Work has been busy, but mostly enjoyable. High school students are generally a lot of fun to work with.

I do try to get in a little knitting before and after work, and this has allowed me to finish one of my Knitvent projects and start another. Here is my completed Land of Sweets cowl, made from left-over sock yarn and a ball of KnitPicks Hawthorne:

 I have to admit that I am very pleased with it. I will try to get Keith to take picture of me wearing it this weekend.

I immediately cast on another Knitvent project, the Tchaikovsky Hat in a skein of Sun Valley Fibers DK that I've had for a couple years. 

It seems like it is going to go fast, and will go in the gift bin. I rarely wear green, even though I like it. I mean, who doesn't like green? 

At any rate, I am so glad that I joined Knitvent, and I won't be surprised if I end up knitting all six projects in the next year.

For now, I'm looking forward to the weekend, but also kind of dreading it. Two holiday parties! This requires more energy than I usually have during the school year. I'm determined to make them both. After that, things will calm down and I'm hoping for a restful break over the holidays.