Looking Around

I haven't had time to post this week, due to a new job that featured no Internet access until today, and things to do in the evenings this week. I am faithfully knitting along on the Ripples and Waves socks, and they should be done by the end of the weekend. And don't laugh, but when they are done, I once AGAIN vow to work on some of my unfinished projects, the ones that seem so sad and deserted in my Ravelry queue.

All the ladies in my Texas email list are signing up for a Ravelympics (I have no clue how that is actually spelled), but I'm going to decline that. I am just no good at these mass hysteria knitting things. I'll enjoy watching the others, like I have on Sock Wars, numerous mystery shawls and such. I still think of myself as not much of a joiner. Even if I occasionally do join things...like Ravelry (note that I resisted that bandwagon oh, for at least a month or two).

Mostly these days I have been looking at patterns. I see so many things I want to knit in magazines and online. Sometimes nothing really grabs my attention, but right now LOTS does. The Hey Teach! in the new Knitty Surprise, for example. I know it looks like stuff I have been making, but those items are so flattering! And the mitered square vest on the cover of the new Creative Knitting (that's today's illustration). That looks so nice and there are so many yarns it would be fun to make in...and I love modular.

I even want to make some crochet items! The Interweave Crochet magazine has two items I would LOVE to make. The Ocean of Pearls cardigan uses yarn I didn't like knitting with, but I think would be more fun to crochet with. Of course, the only color the LYS has enough of is pink. But, I need something pink. It is such an elegant looking cardigan! And then there's this Gladiolus Square vest. It says it is "granny squares" but it does NOT look like the vests my grandmother made for me as a child! It is sophisticated and plain old pretty. Both of these are enough to make me grab a hook and see how long my wrists hold out. So...sure...I will work on finishing some unfinished projects, or starting the ones in my queue. Maybe I can hold on and make these lovely items later, now that I have bookmarked them all.

And don't get me started on the next Interweave Knits. Thankfully a lot of those items look too hot for Texas. Whew. An excuse to not make stuff.

I have one more topic stored up that I wanted to mention, and that is how much I enjoyed reading the book I just finished. It was Shear Spirit, the one that takes you on visits to a number of places around the US where sheep, alpacas, goats, and such are grown for their fiber. It was fun to learn about the variety of settings, the different people and the variety of passions that led them all to make fiber and do stuff with it. Most of the people seemed to be weavers more than knitters, but that didn't stop the author from putting together knitted projects from each place. This type of book is probably read by more spinners/knitters/dyers than weavers. I liked looking at the looms and their output, anyway, even if I think I'll probably not end up a weaver. I especially liked weaving from all sorts of different natural wool colors. It's obviously a hard life raising all the animals, but there are many advantages to being out in all that nature, no matter whether you're in Maine, Texas or the northwest!

OK, I'll be back to more regular posting in the future. I just needed a break to transition into yet another new job. I hope to stick here for 9 months, fingers crossed.