Fall In!

Well, back from our seaside vacation and back into the fray. After a raucous 12-year old boy pool party/birthday in the backyard we are getting into the fall-wise swing of things here at chez YawnOver. School starts tomorrow! for my kids.

It's been a great summer...much more fun than I expected to be temporarily unemployed. But like my pal ADD and others of you out there I find my fall semester coming up faster than expected. Glad as I am to be getting back to work I am already a wee bit nostalgic for those lazy days at home with the kids. And the knitting...oh, the knitting :)

So, like my kids who are hiding downstairs frantically cramming in as many last minute video games as possible (no, they aren't allowed to play on school days/nights, yes I am mean), I am upstairs frantically photographing and Raveling all my hastily begun knitting projects, organizing them into neat little bags, clickety-clicking some last-minute favorites and queue-able stuff on Rav, and putting all of the above (well, not the kids) on the back burner for awhile.

Now, I'm off to do some clickety-clicking on my syllabi and BlackBoard pages and return a few emails...and fill in my snazzy new academic year planner with my snazzy new mechanical pencils heh heh. (This part of back-to-school I never outgrew.)

Here are some parting shots. Note that most are at about 55% completion...I wonder what that says about me?

Unfinished ravelympics project:


Hastily begun Birthday Cowl:


Lingering Top-down Raglan Cardi:


Floundering Breath of Fresh Air Vest:


Goodbye my dahlinks. I will try to knit on you occasionally on the sidelines at the kids' games...but...don't expect too much. I just need...a little space...

Happy back to school to you, whatever that means in your world :)

Summers' End...

My summer is ending faster than I could have expected. The kids go back to school (middle school for Boy #1, ook) and I go back to teaching quite soon after we return from our vacation in Maine. Despite the rain it's been a lovely summer and I give thanks every day that my boys actually still like me and each other.

Not sure yet of the outcome of my Knitting Olympics project. On the one hand,I'm past the sleeve separation, which is a good thing:


On the other hand, the lace is a little tedious. As usual, I feel my attention drifting...


Fortunately the yarn itself is so freaking beautiful, it provides a good impetus to stay on track. But finishing by August 25? Not so sure...

I did do just a wee speck o' cheating this week...but for the good, I think. I don't know about you, but I can't seem to bring myself to throw away the yarn left over after projects. As a consequence I have about 1,000,000 tiny balls of yarn in my stash, mocking me as I pass. Most of it is worsted wool, and I've mulled over a variety of possibilities (Bobby's blanket, granny squares, etc.) but when I saw the vintage stripes blankets that are popping up on Ravelry I knew I had found my project:


Ch 125, one row of single crochet per color, totally random color placement, knot the ends for fringe. I love it. It will likely take forever to turn out an actual blanket but that's fine by me. It's in a basket in my office and I'm sure we will get together often :)

Chihuahua Update

When Frisky was a pup I bought him several beds, each of which met a tragic end. One was uncovered to expose the foam which was then torn to shreds; one had its cover torn from incessant digging; and one was, erm, "inappropriately loved" and had to be removed for the sake of decorum.

The whole thunder trauma thing got me thinking that maybe Frisky had outgrown his wicked ways and was now ready for his own bed. It would be nice for him to have a place to burrow when the weather gets wild.

So, what do you think?


When I came down this morning he was all curled up in it - an excellent sign. We are all glad to see him enjoy it; he is part of the family, after all...


Enjoy the last bits of summer - I know I will :)

Dog Days of Summer...

Lately it's getting harder and harder for Frisky to find his place in the sun...

"mmm...sunpatch..."

There just hasn't been much of it :(

Thunderstorms are especially troublesome for the very small:


{{shudder}}

Sometimes the best thing to do is just find a safe place and wait till it's all over.


Luckily for Frisk, the Olympics has led to lots of family together time in front of the tv (not something we normally do a lot of) hence, lots of opportunities for snuggling with various family members. Luckily for me, the Olympics means a good excuse for doing lots and lots of knitting on the February Lady Sweater (I laugh every time I say that lol!). The pics below are a little outdated - I'm past the sleeve separation and working the body now - but will give you an idea of the tone variations in this yarn (Dream in Color Blue Lagoon):



Yum! Hope your knitting, Olympic or otherwise, is going well too :)