Time flies...

It has been almost a year since I wrote. A lot has happened, not all great. Part of the reason I haven't written is because I didn't want to be a "Debbie Downer" about all the pain and suffering that has happened since September 27, 2011. The other part is because, for most of the past 11 months, I had little to no knitting mojo. In the past 11 months, I have completed 8 projects (for some perspective, I have a total of 99 finished projects since November 2008). The last one I bound off was in April. I'll show what I've done in a sec.

But first, here's what's happened over the past 11 months, in a nutshell:
The day after my last post, my Aunt Bev succumbed to cancer after a 2.5 year battle. I left my USCIS project of 2+ years for a project at ICE. I turned 30 (and freaked out about it quite a bit). A dear friend passed away on Thanksgiving. I had a 2cm kidney stone resulting in 2 hospital procedures and 11 days off work (therefore ruining any chance of a vacation this winter). I scaled back on ICE and ramped up on a FEMA project, on which I've been working ridiculous hours. I went to all three Yankees v. Nationals games and watched the Pinstripes SWEEP!

I'm getting my mojo back, but it's still hard because I'm so incredibly exhausted all the time. I can only really focus on one project at a time, which is probably for the best. Meanwhile, my stash has continued to grow, although with greatly decreased velocity. I've been avoiding yarn stores like the plague, except for when I absolutely need something, or when there's an irresistible draw (like an Anne Hanson or Miss Babs workshop). Even though my wallet is happy about it, my motivation has suffered. I've got a project "to do" list that is growing as people keep having offspring, but at least baby clothes are quick.

Speaking of baby clothes, I've made a bunch of them this year. Of those 8 finished projects, 3 of them were for little girls. The one I'm currently working on is for a 5 year old, but more about that later.

When I wrote the last time, I mentioned the Lovey Dovey dresses. Well, those are the three little girl things I made.

For Catherine Watson

For Genevieve Rizzo

For Vanessa Rasmussen

They all came out really cute, if I do say so myself. I've got at least 4 more on my to-do list (Eleanor Freeburt, Eleanor Pomerance, Ruby Bradford and Katie Greiling). Thankfully, once I get past the hem, they go fairly quickly.

Jayne Hat, quite cunning.

I also made three hats since last October. One was a "Jayne" hat for my brother-in-law for Christmas. It's SO awesome. My landlord liked it so much, I made one for her, too!!! I also made a beanie for me out of sparkly alpaca. It's pretty, but like every other beanie in the world, I didn't make it deep enough. I might go back and try to add ear flaps to it. it's too pretty to go unworn.

As for the other things I made, I made a headband for my neighbor, Janene; a shrug for my friend, Stacey, and then a really pretty scarf for me. The scarf is cool, because it's made from a hank of absolutely GORGEOUS sock yarn I got as part of the Cookie A Sock Club. And why didn't I make socks? Because the yarn is RED. And not just a little red, it's cherry, fire engine, piss off a bull red. And, if you haven't guessed, I flat out refuse to make red socks. So I found a beautiful pattern with a cockleshell edge that shows off the beautiful color and stitch definition.

Janene's headband

Stacey's shrug

And what am I working on now? It's a commission for my high-school bestie, Greer. He has two boys, Derrick and Michael. He asked me to make these absolutely adorable hoodies for his kids. They've got stegosaurus "plates" down the arms and on the hood. SO CUTE! I made the mistake of showing the pattern to my cousin's 5 year old twins, and was immediately met with "Will you make one for me?" *sigh* We'll see, sweet boy. But I want to finish these four little girl dresses, first!

I'm also working on a pair of Cookie A socks from last year's sock club. They're very intricate and take a lot of concentration, so I haven't gotten very far. This might be my first-ever bout with second-sock syndrome, which is bad because I can't even get through the first one!!!

So, hopefully this will reignite my writing. I'm looking forward to finishing these hoodies soon and can't wait to see how they turn out.