Not the holiday I had planned

Well, it's been a little bit of a roller coaster over here.  However, I did finish all the knitting I intended too.  I didn't get to get all the baking in I wanted, nor did I get in the cleaning or organizing or decorating.  We always travel to our families for the holidays, and so I feel like I have more time than I really do.  All of a sudden we'll be leaving for Wisconsin in the morning.  This year was no different.  Well, a little different.  I lost an aunt over the holidays, my mom's side of the family.  It was a bittersweet holiday, she hung on through Christmas (which she loved).

Our plans changed a lot, popping back home (300 miles) for the dentist and to complete everything we had intended to do while on vacation that week, then coming back for funeral activities (300 miles).  Then back home (300 miles).  And on to New Year's activities...  Far too much packed in to a small amount of time.  Going back to work was a vacation from this vacation.

When life was getting away from me I was knitting balls.  BALLS!!! (I also made candies ... all in BALL form ... sorry)  I made a few for a knitting friend who lost her Christmas decor in a flood this summer.  Our knitting group pooled together to start rebuilding her collection.  I also made a few more for me.

I also finished (but not blocked) a Spectra (by Stephen West).  It was made with Dream in Color Starry in Deep Sea Flower and Jawoll Magic, a one ply color changing fingering weight yarn by Lang.  So pretty, stunning really.

The Christmas gifts went over well - the flower headband for my boyfriend's sister got a delightful reaction.  My brother's Packer scarf was great, he even said "It'll match my hat!"  Yup, that was the intent :-D.  Grandma loved her slippers, one of my aunts said I should take orders.  Oh, no these are for Grandma only.

And over Christmas I was knitting with handspun... a RhombusCowl out of Beyounce the llama's fur.  I have loved her so much, my mom bought me a TON of her roving for Christmas - there will be a Beyounce sweater - but not yet.  I think I would like a class on plying first.

Meeting Goals and Deadlines

Have you made your September goals?  I completed 2 projects at work, one over 3 weeks and one with 2 weeks of work crammed into one.  I feel I might be bored at work next week....

While balancing that - I have been doing Single Skein September done by Stash N Burn.  Idea is to look at your stash and use up that yarn that you bought one of to try and never really touched.  So I had some Peruvia from a random stash swap a while ago - ruby in color.  I made a Filipi scarf with a matching hat.  Someone's Christmas will be made!

Check out that SAS book!  I started the scarf to KAL with a work friend who wanted to knit again.  She learned as a child in China, but had since put it down.  It is funny to work with translations, for example she knows how to do a purl stitch, but not that it is called a purl stitch :-D  It's great fun, because she's on my work team too.  I'm delighted.  She did beat me (it's not a race) finishing her scarf in about a week.  Working every night while watching TV with her family.  I would work on it at work, while on lunch or while programs were running.  I had some report writing that took priority....

I also completed a pair of socks - amazing simple color work pattern:

The pattern is Shenandoah Socks by Cailyn Meyer, there were a few errors in the numbers of the pattern.  Mostly every time the row started with a slip stitch.  It's easy to forget to count that first one as a stitch.  I messaged her and she will correct them.  But more interestingly, she said these were her first sock pattern published!  It made me feel special.  It's an odd construction, the instep and sole were knit flat and then there's a heel flap too!  I did about 14 repeats on the leg - but still had a smidge of blue/black sparkles left.  Yet it's better to have a smidge more than be a smidge short.

Lastly 2 head pieces from the yarn crawl.  A headband with a flower from Closeknit and a Sweetie Pie Hat from Knitche.

So, what can you do in a month?  Knit over 1000 yards for sure!