First off, I subletted my place for the summer so that I could stay with my parents in the 'burbs without distraction so that I could finish my novel. Check. Sort of. I have a very rough draft that is all kinds of messy and it's not even ready to send to friends for feedback, but there are 380 pages of something written down on the page.
I also wanted to finish my final revision of my screenplay. Check. No more adjustments will be made to it in the immediate future.
I wanted to get healthy. Check. Lost five pounds and cut sugar substitutes and soda out of my diet. Sort of. I cheat with Diet Coke. I'm sorry, nutrition gods, but Diet Coke is my crack. Mostly I now try to limit my intake to a gargantuan cup of it when I go to the movies.
Wanted to get my mother to enjoy knitting. Check. She made two pairs of socks, a scarf for my dad, and a garter stitch shawl for herself. Now she wants to make a Clapotis. I think I created a monster...especially b/c she just wants to steal my yarn.
Wanted to post about my continued love affair with knitting. Um, not check. I did plenty of knitting, but I forgot (?) to update my blog with my goings-on. But it's always better late than never, no?
Here's the first round of a veritable FO parade:
Fireworks SocksPattern: Waving Lace Socks by Evelyn Clark
Yarn: Jojoland Melody, 2 balls
Needles: US 1.5 circular
I. Love. This. Pattern. This pair went by so quickly. I had one and a half socks finished when 4th of July came around. My family and I went up to Tanglewood to see Diana Krall sing (and to drink wine on lawn chairs, of course) and it got very, very chilly as the night went on. I forgot about those pesky Berkshires.
Anyway, my mother put on one of the socks and begged me to hurry up with the other one so that her feet could be warm. I ended up letting her wear a 90% completed sock with a stitch holder around the toe. It was too dark to knit by then anyway.
And this, my friends, is Marlene:
And this, my friends, is Marlene:
Sea Blue Marlene Socks
Pattern: Marlene Socks by Cookie A.
Yarn: Shibui Sock Yarn, 2 skeins
Needles: US 1.5 circular
Mods: Did one less repeat of pattern on leg
Another lovely, lovely pattern that creates a really elegant sock. I want to make another pair in something richer. Maybe red. Like femme fatale lipstick. But for my feet.
And finally, this is Ishbel:
And finally, this is Ishbel:
My cousin is sick in the hospital in Korea. He's lived here since he was little and he was about to head into grad school in New York this fall. Unfortunately, his limbs suddenly swelled and went numb and tingly a few months ago and his parents packed him off to our uncle's clinic in Korea. (A swell example of what lengths people have to go through without universal health care.) Since then, he's been confined to bed and dealing with the unbelievable diagnosis of dermatomyositis, an autoimmune disorder I had never heard of that affects the joints and connective tissue of the body. It's treatable, but incurable. So as my cousin goes through his healing process, my aunt is at his bedside while my uncle runs their restaurant by himself. She needed a shawl. Ishbel was just the ticket.
...and the FO parade shall continue in the next installment.
