Week of April 23rd-29th

I started my new job this week and I'm utterly exhausted, so it'll be a short post tonight. I worked some more on my Pink Zebra jacket this week: both front panels and about half of the back are finished. Yesterday I got an email from Afghans for Afghans giving details on their new campaign (not up on the website last I checked), so I indulged a bit and started a hat this evening. I dug out some designer wool oddballs and I'm putting them to good use in a couple of hats. Then I have some multicolored worsted wool that should make at least one nice pair of socks. Pics when I have them.

Week of April 16th-22nd

Finished the Mossy Jacket today! I probably could have gotten it done yesterday or Friday, except we were on overnight dog-sitting duty at my in-laws', which always seems to put me into vacation mode. Instead of working, I spent a good chunk of yesterday afternoon finishing Mockingjay, the third and final book of the Hunger Games trilogy. It's really a brilliant piece of work. At any rate, here's the photo of the finished jacket in the lovely Starry Night colorway, plus one of my hubby modeling the men's vest, which I still need to finish writing up. My only excuse for not getting to that pattern sooner is that it's not sweater vest season and won't be for a while yet, so I have time to devote to other things. But what shall I work on next? I started my Pink Zebra jacket, but I also have a crocheted dragon on the hook (is that a pun?), and both are vying for my attention.

Week of April 9th-15th

I had a very nice lunch with my husband and his lovely grandmother today; however, I had too much coffee over too short a time span and I'm still quite visibly shaking. Oy. Still, I need to blog.

My pattern for this week was my Crocheted Napping Cat. It was inspired by a toy cat I had when I was a kid; the toy was fabric and more floppy, but the style is similar. I started a crocheted toy dragon earlier in the week, but I've made a detour to knit a custom Mossy Jacket for a family member. I ordered enough Trendsetter Tonalita yarn to make myself one too, which I've been wanting to do for a long time. I've knit this jacket in Mossy Tree and Ocean and Sky Blues; the one I'm making now is in Starry Night. And because subdued colors aren't really my thing, mine will be in Pink Zebra.

Finished The Hunger Games last week; now onto Catching Fire, book 2 of the trilogy. So good!

Week of April 2nd-8th

This weekend finds me in a good place. We've had family in town for Passover, so lots of socializing. Also, I've gotten a seasonal job at the excellent Joann Fabrics, which I think will be a good fit for me. I've never worked there before, but it's where I source a lot of my yarn and I'm certainly a fan of the store.

And here's the project I mentioned last week - a crocheted toy bunny. I suppose you can call it amigurumi (I think it simply means "knitted or crocheted toy," which this is), though it's not really in the amigurumi style. I wanted something non-clothing that's appropriate for babies and small children, and I've been long meaning to expand my catalog of crochet patterns. I'm in the midst of another toy design right now - it's always exciting to take off on a new creative track!

Week of March26th - April 1st

It was a nice and productive week. I made and listed a new sari silk necklace, plus some sari silk bracelets. Three very fine bears have been completed, as you can see here; I might still do some more before I send these off. I'm in the middle of a significant crochet design project at the moment, which is why I put off blogging till this late and why I'm going to quit now and go work some more. We'll see if it's presentable by next week, and if so, I'll write about it then. Design time now.

Week of March 19th-25th

It was kind of a rough week; I realized that if I want to make it through the summer, I'm going to have to get a second part-time job. (Or give it my best try, at least.) It's funny how even a slight alteration of your future plans can throw you so off-balance. Job searching is such a mess; I can't remember what it was like before the recession, but it sure isn't fun now! Still, I've had good luck in the past.

I photographed and listed a bunch of new items - some men's gloves and mittens for next winter, a handspun infinity scarf, and some new sari silk jewelry. I've been wanting to get into textile jewelry for a while now, and spring is the time to do it! The infinity scarf was a test run for one of my favorite handspun yarns, and it was so lovely I decided I'd try listing it. It was a lot of fun to make, and I love the finished look.

Otherwise, I'm back on my Mother Bear Project bears - knit two this week, no pictures yet. I finished reading The Overlord Rising: Dragon Touched and loved it; you can see my Amazon.com review here. (I'm Anne, obviously.) Started The Novice: A Story of True Love by Thich Nhat Hanh, one of my favorite Dharma teachers.

Busy week ahead of me. Let's hope that by the end of it, I'll have gotten some results from my job search. Fingers crossed.

Week of March 12th-18th

What have I done this week? A fair amount, I guess, but not a whole lot to show for it right now. My grad student husband is busy paper-writing, and he has so much to do I haven't wanted to interrupt him so he could model gloves for me. This week I've knitted two pairs of fingerless gloves and two pairs of trigger mittens, finished a pair of socks, crocheted some Irish roses, and done assorted other things. Read some more, took some walks in the beautiful Lakeview Cemetery, which conveniently runs alongside Little Italy. (I can see the top of Garfield's monument from my apartment, in fact.) Spring has come early this year, though everyone's praying there won't be another freeze, because here you never know! The balmy weather, combined with the fact that my Etsy sales have slowed to a halt (why?? it's not even summer yet!), has left me highly unmotivated. I just want to lounge in the sun like a cat.