Fantasy World

It’s fantasy all the time these days. I’ve got about six rows and two repeats left if I’m going to stick with the 10 repeats for the shawl. I haven’t even broken into the second hank of Twinkletoes yarn, so we’ll see. Depends on if and when and how much I have to use of that second hank. The pattern is really a dream to knit. I almost think it’s easier than the Flower Basket Shawl – if only because I’m using stitch markers at every 12 stitch repeat. Of course, yesterday evening, (my goal was to finish the 8th repeat before the night was through) I messed up the border stitches before the first bind off in the repeat (every 10 rows you bind off five stitches for two rows to create the points on the border) and it was KILLING me. So I ended up ripping back a few rows to reknit it. In the end, I think the stitches might have been just loose, but I couldn’t have it. I feel much better now even though my goal wasn’t met. I’m hoping to at least get through 9 today – I want this finished before the week’s out. I’m in that end of project frenzy mode where I can taste the FO and I want to be there YESTERDAY! You all know what I mean. I should just sit here all day and finish it, but there’s work to be done. I need to run today before it gets too hot and I need to do laundry and some work and then I can knit for the rest of the day.

It was a pretty full weekend. I had a birthday party to shoot on Saturday about an hour away – my wonderful husband came with me for the ride (I hate to drive on highways alone) and lucky for me there was a beach close by. So he played tennis in the morning and sat on the beach in the afternoon. Perfect day for him – and perfect for me, because I didn’t have to feel too much like a loser wanting a companion for the drive. And he drove back, so I could knit a bit in the car.

I’m always amazed after a job at how PHYSICAL a shoot is. My whole body hurt after the party. First, the camera’s heavy – really heavy (at least 13 pounds with the big lens on – add the flash and bracket and we may be up to 15) – and I’m carrying it for two hours straight. Then we’ve got the fact that I hold it like a spaz – actually backwards when shooting vertically (so that the shutter button is under the camera not on top) – so that my left elbow sticks out – and finally, when you’re photographing children, you NEED TO BE ON THEIR LEVEL. Parents out there – if you hire a professional photographer and they don’t get on the ground with your kid, well, I’m not saying you won’t like the pictures, but…. I come home from a job and I’ve got grass stains on my knees, my ass, dirt in my hair. So it’s up and down and up and down and I’m not a kid anymore.

Saturday night I was asleep by 10:30. That’s about two hours early for me.

Also, I was asked this weekend to do a really, really, really important shoot for some really, really, really special girls! I’m super excited about it – but for now I can’t talk about it. I promise though, as soon as it’s all kosher, you’ll hear me shouting about it! It’s just SO SUPER COOL! (What a geek I am!) I’m completely thrilled I can help out the cause.

This weekend, while knitting away, I thought about my upcoming projects and listed them out in my head. I thought I might list them here, too, so I can look back and see all the things I didn’t accomplish. 😉

Dad’s Aran Sweater
Manos Everyday Cardigan
Cardigans for the WH girls
Bohemia Aran Cardigan
SOCKS (especially socks for Jolie)
Knits for the kids (cardigan for Charlotte with yarn from MDSW – and especially ELI! He’s never had a handknit from me.)
Elizabeth Bag in Donegal Tweed
Manos My So Called Scarf
Orange Spice Mittens
My own shawl design

Ambitious no? Ugh. So many knits. So little time.