Weeks of January 9th - February 11th

Has it really been a whole month? It's lucky that weekly blogging wasn't one of my resolutions. Joann Fabrics has had me working a lot of 6 a.m.-2 p.m. shifts, which I like just fine but they usually leave me too tired to blog. I suppose I could blog on weekends, but I'd prefer to spend the time with my husband. Priorities.

I've been busy on the design front. Last month I wrote two patterns for a local customer, both for children's clothes. Over the past week I designed and knit a superwash wool cape with Fair Isle designs; still need to type up the pattern, then photograph and list it. Right now I have a baby blanket on the needles.

As for reading, I've been working my way through the Ender's Game quartet; I'm on Xenocide at the moment. Most of my reading time comes during breaks at work, so I'm a little behind on my book-a-week quota, but the Orson Scott Card books are rather long. I finished Speaker for the Dead rather quickly, partly because it's a great book, but mostly because I got a 24-hour stomach bug a couple of weeks ago and didn't have the energy to do anything but lie down and read! I felt so icky I couldn't even knit.

And I'm pleased to be able to share some more Mother Bear Project photos featuring my bears! I found a bunch of last summer's bears with children in Botswana. Here are a few of them:



Now I'm yearning to knit more bears...

Weeks of October 3rd - 16th

I've put in a lot of hours at Joann Fabrics lately, mostly at the cutting counter - it has been so busy there! At home I've done a couple of custom orders, most notably this cute toddler sweater:

It's made with my new favorite non-wool yarn, Lion Brand Cotton Ease; it's for a two-year-old living in the deep South, so wool wasn't really an option! I borrowed the basic shape and added the wildflower knot design to the body to keep things interesting and to add a feminine touch. The adorable pink buttons are from my workplace.

Otherwise I've been stocking up on shop staples - gloves and such. I'm giving myself a refresher course in Spanish, since I'll be going to Guatemala for a week in December and I want to be somewhat functional! I know it's just a week, but I want to make the most of it. And it's good manners.

Weeks of August 21st - September 3rd

We made it through the move and are now in our lovely new apartment, though it's still cluttered with boxes. Joann Fabrics has given me a ton of hours over the last couple of weeks - a bit ironic that it's now, but I'm not complaining.

I bought some pretty calicos from my workplace and I've been making half-window curtains with them. I started out on my Singer sewing machine, but we got into a fight pretty quickly and so I've been hand-sewing them instead. It kept jamming and breaking needles, and I need to get it serviced, but we're not currently on speaking terms. I don't mind hand-sewing; it takes longer, but my hands never jam and seldom break needles, and the finished effect is just as good.

Going to go unpack clothes and maybe put together a bookshelf.

Weeks of May 28th - June 10th

A few weeks ago I had our friend Rene start me a custom Doctor Who TARDIS-themed My Little Pony. I got it yesterday, and I feel like a little kid with a new toy. TARDIS Pony is just so beautiful! Rene did an AMAZING job; the coloring and designs are just perfect. Here we have the front and back view:





I chose the Pegasus body, partly because it fits with a flying time machine, and partly because the only other Pegasus pony I had was stolen by a girl in my preschool class. (I don't even remember her name, but I'm still kind of mad about that. Childhood grudges die hard.) It's a first-generation pony circa 1984, which incidentally makes it older than both my husband and me. How about that.

Anyway, knitting stuff. I'm back onto the bears, since I feel like it and since it's hard to knit wool hats when you have sweat pouring down your back because your apartment is too hot. (We really should get that AC unit.) So here's my latest batch:



Today's project is assembling and finishing two other bears I have on hand. Last week I quit my dog walking job (with a month's prior notice, I should add, so "my" dogs have the proper care with a new walker), so now I have some more room to breathe and to get things done. I really like my Joann Fabrics job, but I usually work evenings and get very tired, so the extra work-at-home time is helpful.