Still Here

Barely. Between the summer semester (which is almost over) and my car dying this week (I will miss you, Betty), and busy weekends (including a trip to northern NH for the holiday weekend) there's been a lot going on.


Here's the only finished knitting I currently have to show you:

My (late) May/June charity project. Just a garter stitch rectangle pet blanket for a local animal shelter (pattern in Knitting for Peace, but you could just knit an animal-sized rectangle) in some acrylic left over from my beginning knitting/briefly-unemployed-desperate-for-yarn days.



Last weekend I was looking forward to a mostly free, craft-filled weekend, along with some room-cleaning. I was pumped to finish a project and get going on some Christmas/birthday presents. Until I tried on the project Friday night and discovered it was too small and that I didn't even do a gauge swatch because I forgot. I nearly lost my craft mojo for the weekend. (Although at least I had a chance to lay in the hammock and read, and clean up my room.)


Luckily, I got it back on Sunday:

(I apologize for the blurry pictures. I've apparently lost the ability to hold a camera steady).


All-Day Tote from Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing (Love. This. Book.)


Fabric: Dark stretch denim and white cotton with turquoise stars and dots, both from the remnant table at Martin's House of Cloth (not sure about the amounts, since the fabric has been cut out since last September, but I don't think it's more than a yard each).



A peek at the lining and one of the pockets:

I am very happy with this bag. It's survived the commute to Boston all week, and there's a great front pocket that holds a book perfectly. It just seems strange to me that I had an easy time making this bag, and yet I had knitting issues all weekend. Usually it's the opposite.


I've been working on some other things, but since I'm trying to do Christmas in July again, and I've shown some family members the blog, I won't be able to post most of them for awhile. But, since school is ending soon, I'm hoping for some more crafting time. Yeah, right.




In other news, I'm currently obsessed with the book Knitalong. This book has also helped me get my craft mojo back. It's everything I like my knitting books to be: great stories; excellent, unique patterns; beautiful photography; and just generally inspiring. I realize that this is kind of a tall order, and that there are different books with different purposes, but I'm always thrilled when I find one can pull me out of a knitting slump.