Three things

First things first. I can now finally blog about this project:





Two knitting friends are both pregnant (and are due pretty close to one another), and the various knitting circles all banded together to make them collective baby blankets. We threw them a lovely BBQ lunch baby shower this past weekend, where they got to have all the fun of arranging the blanket squares and none of the stress of seaming. Two of the more motivated knitters (myself not included) made adorable matching cardigans out of the blanket leftovers.



I got put unofficially in charge of the seaming, since I wrote up the pattern we used for the squares. It's not difficult to figure out, just garter stitch mitered squares. The only difference is that most of the patterns out there are written so that you start by casting on a small number of stitches and increasing out, while the pattern we used starts with a large circular cast on and then decreases as you go in. I'll be writing up the pattern and posting it for free on Ravelry later in June.

I'd like to say that I haven't been posting because I've been working on this secret project, but it wouldn't be true. I have been working on the secret project, but that's not really why I haven't been posting. I haven't been posting because the end of this semester has been utterly brutal. Brutal hours, brutal workload, brutal anticipation over the fall schedule, brutal on my coworkers, brutal on me. Things have mostly settled down (and I still have a job come August), but I've had what feels like about 48 hours to catch my breath. I managed to have one lazy weekend morning:



and then it was finals week, and second finals week (I know. I had two finals weeks this spring. Like I said, brutal), and then Memorial Day weekend and far-flung friends in from out of town, and then we had to drop the cat off at the in-laws' place. In the meantime I somehow managed to spin some yarn (Polwarth dyed by Dicentra Designs):



and knit a pair of socks (Toe-up Jaywalkers in Sheepaints Sock'n Go in the Wunsch Brunnen colorway.



I'm very glad to use up this yarn, because it is from truly deep in the stash (circa 2008 I think?). Plus, I'll be able to wear the socks this week while we're camping in Yellowstone. It's supposed to be cold there... so I'll be knitting hats on the car trip out there.