Farewell to Yarn Along

I was sad this morning to read that Ginny has retired Yarn Along, a Wednesday link-up she has hosted since 2010. Of course, I totally understand her readiness to move on, and I'm sure many of us with continue with Tuesday's Keep Calm and Craft On with Nicole. Still, I will miss the reading element that Ginny brought into our world.

So, it is with bit of sorrow that I post my last Yarn Along, which includes both a new knit and a new book.

Summer Camp is a shallow and long shawl designed by Laura Aylor. The solid sections are Sun Fiber Valley yarn, and the speckled yarn is from Hedgehog Fibres. Both are yummy and fun to work with. It's designed to be a mindless knit, and it is quite easy.

Everyone Brave Is Forgiven follows three fictional Londoners through World War II. Chris Cleave, who wrote Little Bee, takes on a narrative voice that has the ring of history, but I'm not far enough into the book to say if it works. The dialogue sparkles with dry British wit, so I'm encouraged by the first few chapters.

Joining up with Ginny to Yarn Along.

Some Weeks Are Longer Than Others

This week was longer than five days. I can't explain how. Maybe there were more than 24 hours in each day this week. I don't know, but by this morning, our 8th-grade team felt the need to jolt ourselves out of the doldrums.

It worked. We got through the day. And now I have a couple hours at home before heading out for gallery night.

I'm going to spend a few of those moments apologizing for neither writing nor reading much in the blogosphere this week. It was a grueling week: long hours, IEP meetings, and challenging students. I spent time with both my parents and Keith's -- something I like's to do more. Doing all those things means less time for blogging.

And I really, really like blogging. The best part is meeting people from all over and forming friendships. The knitters I've met have taught me so much about knitting. They've encouraged me to try new techniques, helped me out of jams, and directed me to amazing patterns and yarns.

Having been a single mom for more than a decade, time management has dogged me for ages. Am I the only one who struggles to find time for other people and myself? I could hole up in my studio for weeks at a time -- but in the long run I'd regret not nourishing relationships. I'm always trying to set boundaries at work. There is so much I could do that teaching could take up every waking moment -- if I let it!

So, where does blogging fit in? Earlier this week, I emailed a former blogger.  She hadn't posted for a long time, but also hadn't said on the blog that she was quitting. I wondered if she was ill or dealing with a major problem. She replied that she stopped blogging because she often felt that she was knitting to "feed" the blog, a feeling I've struggled with, too. My monogamous knitting of the last few weeks has made blogging hard. And this isn't the first time I've felt like the blog was driving my knitting -- which does seem backward.

I really miss this blogger -- she was one of the best -- so we'll try to connect in other ways. Still, it won't be the same. I don't plan to quit blogging any time soon, but I am going to try to not feel pressure in the blogosphere. I know that none of us want that!

On Sweaters and Blogging

Being under doctor's orders to rest and elevate my leg, I have done a good amount of knitting. This morning I finished the last of the mitered squares -- I could add up the total number but I'm not sure I want to know. Now I just have to knit the sleeve gussets, and then I can start assembling the pieces.

Which brings me to the fact that there is no photo for today's post. If I had one, it wouldn't look much different than the photo in my last post. I could try for a more artsy photo, but the fact is that I am not mobile enough to get the camera, take a photo, etc. Keith is at work today (yep, on a Sunday), so I'm trying to stay put as much as I can.

My surgery is scheduled for Monday afternoon -- and I am terrified! I haven't had any kind of surgery since I had my tonsils out in 1964!

Over the past few years, I've wondered how I could knit sweaters and still maintain a knitting blog. There just isn't enough change for someone who knits at the slow pace I do to say from week to week! I think that concern has steered me toward smaller-scale project that show more progress in a short amount of time.

How do you sweater-knitters out there manage to keep your blogs so interesting?

Same Girl, New Home

Welcome to my new home!

I think this one's going to work. I've struggled for the last few years to maintain one blog for knitting and a second one for my polymer clay beads. Maybe I'm just lazy, but I can't do two. Besides, I've been experimenting with a number of other artistic pursuits and I didn't have a good place to share about them.

I do promise to keep knitting as a main attraction. I've found such a wonderful community of knitters, and I am looking forward to catching up with those friends.

So, where was I? My beloved Uncle Sheldon died; my father fell and managed to do some serious damage to both knees; and work has been unusually demanding. It didn't help that I came down with one of those killer colds shortly after school started. The fact that I wasn't happy about having two blogs slowed my blogging momentum, too.

My current project is featured in the photo. Can anyone guess what viral pattern it is? There's a stash-busting (for me) prize waiting to go into the mail!