Thursday, November 12, 2009

Notes on sanity

It has been an incredibly busy couple months, semester, year, etc. The last two weeks have been particularly insane at school, with state assessments, standardized tests, arranging student teaching placements, and big projects due left and right. When I get this busy I tend to pull in, be more introspective, and sadly, I stop doing things that keep me sane! So here I am, tests looming, writing on the blog again, looking for my sanity. If you find it, do let me know.

There has been some knitting. Not much knitting, but some. I am almost done with my on-the-bus socks, a gift for my MIL. I am on the second repeat of the second chart on my Aestlight Shawl, in DIC Starry. I must echo the Yarn Harlot's thoughts on the Starry, its lovely, but not quite as silvery as one would hope. Yet, I love it, and want more of it! Kristina recently introduced me to the Dizzy Sheep, which features one yarn for sale per day at bargain basement pricing, and I have since been checking every day, hoping for more Starry.

Knitting is one of those things that keeps me sane, but the time in which to do it evaporates in the face of other tasks. I can see why doctors prescribed knitting as a cure to anxiety to housewives in the old days. As I knit each stitch, I can feel my mind sifting, processing, and clicking things into place. I am always glad when I sneak some time to knit a few rows. Most of my knitting is 6:30 am bus knitting at the moment, and I won't lie-- I have nodded off once or twice!

In good news, Thanksgiving and Christmas are nearly upon us, which for me means vacation and knitting time! In preparation, I ordered some yarn for my first sweater! I bought Valley Yarns on Webs, my first time buying their in-house brand, in a chunky weight, dark blue heather. They were offering a sale for knitting daily subscribers, so I hopped on it. I got enough yarn for a sweater plus a free pattern for 25 bucks. I am planning to knit the sweater featured in the latest Berroco newsletter, Nimbus. Its more of a sweater coat, which comforts me since I won't have to be too worried about a precise, tailored fit.

Some photo documentation of my last few busy months:


Married!


Central CA Mini-Honeymoon aka Mini Moon: Hearst Castle

Mini-Moon: Castoro Cellars Vineyard

Mini-Moon: Castoro Cellars Vineyard

Mini-Moon: Sculpture Garden at Clautiere Winery

1 comment:

Stacy Kraus McDonald said...

Yay, you're back! Congrats on a wonderfully busy couple of months.