Knitting and Reading

I so love these breaks from school. They give me time to relax and enjoy some almost forgotten pastimes. Reading and knitting have been the order of the day. Of course there are still "work" type things to take care of. I ordered a book on how to form a non-profit so I can (finally) submit paperwork for the Eastern European and Russian Orphanages Project. And I'm still working on lining up/finalizing an internship for the fall. Side note: If you are the praying sort might I ask that you remember me? I spoke with an internship site that sounds very promising but I'm waiting on final confirmation that they can give me a large enough case load. I have been disappointed in the past (several times) by sites that have seemed like a good match but have fallen through. I'm trying not to vomit in my mouth when I think about it but instead to lift up prayers. Your spiritual contribution would be much appreciated as well :) And of course I'm working at my full time nanny job every day (which I'm very thankful to have right now). So, there is still work going on. But also some relaxing. Here's a glimpse of what that looks like:

The Poppy Hat

Part of the EEROP Yearlong KAL/CAL. A March pattern. This worked up quick in some Dark Horse Fantasy (an acrylic yarn that I love). A note: The entire pattern is worked flat/back and forth. I did not realize this on the brim so mine does not have the cute fold over that the ones in the picture do but I think it still turned out ok. I (very poorly) crocheted something that looks like a flower and stuck it on the side. Very 1920s.

ScWiNoNa

Finished this multicolored, simple scarf finally. It's even been washed and blocked! I like how the colors came out. Nice and manly but not too plain. This was a February KAL pattern for the EEROP Yearlong KAL.
Reading has been another relaxing activity for me and I'm almost done with the first book in the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. I actually read the first four books in this series about 6 years ago but life took over and I lost steam on finishing out the 15 book series (13 books plus a prequel have been published. The 14th and final book is expected to come out next January. Oh, and there is also a companion book available.). I really like the books so I decided to re-read the first four and finish out the series.

The books are really richly written and not for the fantasy faint of heart. There is a lot of mythological stuff that comes into play and it can be hard keeping all the characters straight (which is why I'm re-reading and not just picking up where I left off). While the rest of the world is reading the Hunger Games I'll be picking my way through these.

There is more about what's been going on but I feel this post is getting longer than I intended (further proof I should update regularly). I didn't even get to tell you about the progress on the wedding blanket, my SIL's socks, or my new language books but I'll save that for next time...

Project count up:
Charity: 6 completed
 Self: 0
Family and friends: 2 on the needles

Preparation

This week is a big exercise in mental, physical, and emotional preparation for change. I just completed my final residency program for graduate school. I have 3 weeks left of my current classes then I'll have two more classes to complete before I start my six month internship. During my internship I'll finish up two final classes and then graduate in December. I know that sounds like a lot but the end is finally in sight (at least for my masters anyways, still debating going for my doctorate...). So, I'm preparing to move from class taking mode into internship mode in just a few months. I'm also preparing to take on a new, full-time nanny job next week. That means that the time I've had during the day for the last 8 months to do laundry, schoolwork, pay bills, grocery shop, and keep up the charity is about to be gone. But I need the money and I'll be helping a friend out so I can make it work for a few months. I'm also preparing to go back to Romania. I've set a little reminder using the iPhone app "Commit" to help me stick to my language studies for the next few months. My friend Connie who lives in California and runs Project Hope is moving overseas and has very generously gifted me with some of her Romania language learning materials. I'd love to be fluent one day but for now I'll just be looking forward to understanding a little better and being able to ask something more than, "Where is the petrol station?" Another aspect of my nanny job is that it's an hour drive to and from my house each day. In order to save my sanity (and on gas and wear and tear on my car) I'll probably be staying 2-3 nights each week with my parents (who only live 30 minutes away from my new job). This may actually be good in preparing for a possible, more permanent move, to their home. It depends on if I have a roommate by May or not. Or I could be moving to my grandparent's house, depending on my internship. Either way, I'm preparing for a possible move. So, yeah, lots of preparing going on around here.

This morning I was able to open up a Cafe Press shop to help fund raise for my trip. I've had some friends and family who have graciously agreed to create some designs for me free of charge and the ones I have so far look awesome! All the proceeds from the shop will go towards my trip which is currently sitting at a $3000 price tag. Go check it out and buy some stuff :)

My favorite design (so far) that's up in the shop.

I've also been slowly working on some knitting projects. Sadly the wedding blanket has not been touched in a few weeks. I left it at home when I went to my residency program because it's getting to big to transport so I haven't done any new work on it. I completed the 5th block which means I'm officially half way done with the thing.

My sister in law's socks have been growing a bit too. I wanted these done by the end of the month but I'm thinking that might not happen now :(

I have about 2 inches to go before I can start the heels. I'm shooting for 2" of work on these each night. That should make fairly short order of these. If I can stay focused.

I finished the Citron shawl and washed and photographed it.

I love the white and dark purple at the bottom. The shawl ended up turning out really nice and not too terribly big at all.

I also washed, blocked, and photographed the Mossy Ridge socks (finally).

But they have been finished for awhile.

And then I did a bad thing. A very bad thing. I started another charity project. I wanted something portable that wasn't worked on size 2 needles (like my SIL's socks are). So I started an EEROP Year Long KAL project: the ScWiNoNa scarf.

It's made up of left over worsted weight yarn I had lying around, mostly Cascade 220 (or so it feels). The orange bit is Malabrigo and will be the last section. I've just joined and knit the new color until it runs out. I had two more partial skeins I could add but it's almost the end of the month and it will be plenty long as it is.

I hope you're preparing for March too!

Project count up:
Charity: 4 completed, 1 on the needles
Self: 0
Family and friends: 2 on the needles

While No One Was Watching

While no one was watching the Mossy Ridge socks were growing.

Actually, I was watching them grow. They are almost finished now, just lacking a few rounds for the toes. Just in time to wrap up the first month of knit alongs. But I lied to everyone. I did not complete these exactly as the pattern specified. I said in my last post the only change I was making was to hold the yarn doubled. Well, I read the directions wrong and instead of repeating the pattern as reads: Row 1 twice, Row 2 twice, I just alternated between row 1 and 2. Not that you or I or anyone else could really tell the difference. And of course with one project so close to being finished I'm ready to start another one. I'm thinking a shawl. In worsted weight of course. Nothing too tedious. I was thinking it might be a nice gift to some of the nurses at the special needs orphanages if they all got a nice shawl. February's knit along shawl is Citron (why did I choose a shawl in lace weight?) but I wonder if I could do it in worsted. I bet it would be out of control big. Let's find out, shall we?

Project count-up:
Charity: 2 completed, 1 almost off the needles
Self: 0
Family and Friends: 2 on the needles (wedding blanket and sister-in-law's socks)

Post Holiday Mash Up

I hope that your holiday season went off with a bang this year. Or maybe I don't, bangs might be bad things like a blown circuit or the tree catching on fire. Whether it went off with a bang or not I hope it was spectacular nonetheless!

I was rather glad to see Christmas day. That meant I had survived the holiday stress. I got a lot of really nice Christmas presents: new pots and pan set (since my old ones were flaking their non-stick coating into all my food, yay for chemical aftertaste!), clothes, Amazon gift cards, a skein of yarn I forgot I'd picked out for myself 2 months earlier (my mom gifted it to me), and plenty more. Festivities with the family were wonderful as always and I didn't come in last place in the Christmas Day game-a-thon.

The day after Christmas I boarded a plane and spent the next 2 weeks in Romania. I had an awesome time. The best part was getting to connect more deeply with some of the kids I met during the summer (I was also in Romania in July, remember?) and making new connections with some of the kids. I think there's something in their hearts that draws them to people who they have seen before, even if their brains don't remember you. One of the things we got to do was deliver Christmas presents. There were some handmade items from EEROP in there :)

New Years was a crazy celebration where the whole city shut down and everyone sets off fireworks. Nothing says, "Let's start the year off right!" like lighting questionable explosives in the middle of a street! This is one of the biggest events of the year for Romanians so it was really cool to get to experience that.

After arriving home I have been slowly recovering from jet lag (my sleeping and eating schedule is completely erratic) and trying to get motivated to do more than just sit on my couch in my pajamas all day. I do have grad school work that needs to be done but this does not require clothes or (much) movement so that doesn't really help things. The only thing I have been really motivated to do it knit. There's something about this time of year that's really inspiring: the holiday knitting is done so there's no deadlines to meet, the air is cold (and there might be snow), the slate is wiped clean from last year, and there's the feeling of hope for a better year than last. Anyways, all that sappy stuff to say that I've cast on at at least 3 projects in the last few days.

Item 1:
Scrunchable Scarf

This was actually started in the Atlanta airport the day that I left for Romania. I knit on it some while I was there and finished it up shortly after getting home. I used a bulky wool (Cascade 128, one of my favorite bulky wools) and a size 10.5 needle. I cast on less stitches (somewhere in the range of 25 or 28, can't remember). The pattern was easy to memorize and this was a great take along project (it's also part of EEROP's year of KALs). I used two full skeins and the finished (washed and blocked) scarf ended up about 6 feet long.

Item B:
Antonia's Fighter Bomber Helmet (a.k.a. the Thorpe Hat)

I started this Tuesday evening and finished it by Wednesday afternoon. Used a little over 1 ball of Revolution from Bollicine for the actual hat and some hand-dyed for the contrasting crochet trim and braids. US size 9 needles and crochet hook as recommended. Just a word of caution, this is the small size and it almost fits my huge noggin; the sizing runs big. To me this looks a little like a helmet and I immediately thought of a little girl who I met in Romania who would look perfect in this. She's a beautiful little girl of about four but there's a strength in her eyes that says, "I can conquer the world!" So this is named after her. Also an EEROP Year of the KAL pattern.

Item the third:
SIL's Christmas Socks (Show off Stranded Socks)

Hazel Knits sock yarn in Camo Chic. US size 1 needles. Two at a time using magic loop. Cuff down. Finally started these the other day. I read a good review of the pattern and it was one I was considering so I decided to go for it.

Item Lastly:
Mossy Ridge (Not So) Toddler Socks

Yet another EEROP Year of the KAL pattern (if I'm hosting can I still win something?). I'm really into this charity knitting thing...Making these in a not so toddler size by doubling the worsted weight yarn (Paton's classic wool, another good go-to yarn) and knitting on size 10 needles (or maybe they're 10.5, I didn't really check). Everything else is just as the pattern notes. I like how these are turning out but they do require me to read my knitting pretty closely which means I can't space out and read blog posts or watch new movies and tv shows that require me to actually follow the dialogue. Should be a quick knit though.

Also still on the needles is the wedding blanket that will never end. I did finish the fourth square and started the fifth so that's positive.

Totals for the year:
Charity: 2 completed, 1 OTN (on the needles)
Self: 0 and 0
Family and Friends: 2 OTN