Ab-Fab

Pattern: "Spring Forward," by Linda Welch, available free on Knitty here
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy - 100% plied superwash merino wool
Colorway: Petal Shower


Plus: Um, I'm utterly nutzoid crazy bonkers in love with this pattern! The lace looks complicated but is SO simple and intuitive and soothing. I relished working on this project more than any other project I've done in a long time. Can't recommend it enough. Go knit some right now! And the colorway? Quite ladylike (rather than babyish, as feared) when paired with this elegant lace.


Delta: Well, I'm in love with wool socks. And it's summer. In Texas. I'm picturing myself this fall, reclining in a wooden chair on a balcony in Virginia, looking down on the fiery burst of colors tumbling across the Shenandoah Valley. I've got some silky, meditative knitting in the lap and a hazelnut latte in an over-sized mug on the table next to me. As I tend to do when feeling totally relaxed, my legs are stretched out and up, so that my heels, wrapped in woolly clouds of strawberry and cream lace, rest on the guardrail edge. Yeah. You want hand knit socks now, too.

We visited my husband's Grandad in the hospital today. He just had open-heart surgery due to a recently discovered 90% blockage! That poor, sweet man has had the worst luck. Only 70, he's already fought back cancer four times and already manages arrhythmia, severe tremors, chronic pain, and diabetes. When we were preparing to drive back to Dallas from Breckenridge, Jake got a call saying that Grandad was in the hospital, and we should brace ourselves for the worst: his heart was barely functioning and the lymphoma was probably back as well. Jake and I drove all through the night to get there as quickly as possible, but by then, things were already looking up. Lymphoma was a negative and the surgeon thought him strong enough to recover from open-heart. That man never ceases to amaze me with his strength and grace. I keep wanting to grab his hand and whisper, "Now, you just hold on! I really want you to meet your great-grandchild, so just hold on."

Watts' family afghan square #25:

More Baby Crap

Pattern: "Baby Sweater on Two Needles," by Elizabeth Zimmerman, available in the Knitter's Almanac
Yarn: Rowan Calmer - light worsted weight, 75% cotton/25% microfiber
Colorways: Vintage and Drift

Plus: Since I still had the Gull Lace stitch memorized from the big girl version of this sweater, and because my friends are procreating like mad, I figured it was a good time to make this classic Zimmerman design. I was also pleased for the opportunity to completely use up every last inch of this boring pastel stuff. When I went to drop the sweater off at the recipient's house, I was greeted by a perfectly matching lavender tinted nursery. Sweet.

Delta: Zimmerman's "pithy" directions, while no doubt revolutionary and liberating at the time, lack a modern girl's demand for clarity now and then. I was a little confused if the length of the hem should be measured from the neck or the armpit. In the end, I stopped when I ran out of yarn, a time which conveniently overlapped with the moment it looked about right. I'm ambivalent about the fact that the neckline gapes open; Z's instructions have you putting the button hole after the first inch or so, but I noticed many people adapted that to put it earlier, thereby avoiding that gap. I don't know. Babies have big heads and often need some leeway in the neck area. In the same way, I dutifully followed Z's directions to knit the sleeves flat, even though most people now have avoided the seam-up by working those in the round. I guess I wanted the authentic Zimmerman experience, wild and flawed though it be.

The weight loss journey has continued to be a positive one. I have lost a total of 23.6 pounds, and I'm currently in training to (mostly) jog a 5k on July 18. Woot! I have a lot more that I still want to accomplish, but the momentum is building. I'm discovering the athlete within. I even just rewarded myself with a fantastic new toy, a Polar FT4.

Still no job in Virginia, but I finally nabbed a real interview over Skype! Who knows if anything will come of it, but it's a relief that SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE has picked up my resume and thought, "Hmmm...let's call this one." Send positive thoughts, dudes.

Watts Family Afghan Square #24:

This square kinda makes me hungry....