My husband is in the process of gaining American citizenship, and to make it to his interview/test, we had to drive up to Atlanta on Monday (and back again on Tuesday), which amounts to, I don't know, ten (or so) hours of driving and/or riding. That's a lot of time, so I made sure to have plenty of knitting and crocheting projects with me-- the already-in-progress Chickadee Cowl, the barely-begun Strangling Vine Lace Scarf, and the pattern and ball of thread for my next doily.
So, what did I get done? Not much. Apparently I don't knit or crochet much when I'm riding in a car. Of course, it was dark for 2-3 hours of our drive home, but I think a bigger issue is that I feel guilty focusing too much on knitting/crocheting when poor Donald is driving for hours at a time. (For the record, I always offer to do some of the driving, but he never takes me up on it. What does that say about my driving ability? ;o) Seriously, I think he prefers driving to riding, since he's prone to motion sickness.)
I often like to put in some earbuds and listen to music while I knit/crochet, but I hated to "shut him out" like that when he was doing all that driving. Next time I'll put on a book-on-tape or something else that we can both listen to and enjoy... At least we made some progress in the book we're reading aloud together (Making Money, by Terry Pratchett).
One thing I did accomplish was nearly finishing the cowl. I loved knitting that pattern in that (soft, pretty, twinkly, rainbowy) yarn. Such a great, fast project! I still have to bind off, which I've been avoiding thinking about. I'll need to read and figure out what kind of bind-off to do. So far, I think I've only tried two types of bind-offs, ever. One was sewn, and the other, I guess, is just the traditional, plain-jane, knitted bind-off (whatever that's called). I need more experience to be a good judge of which one is most suitable for a given pattern.
I also started the doily. I began it in the hotel room Monday night in an effort to unwind and get comfortable in the new surroundings (without much success, as I still had trouble falling and staying asleep) and continued on Tuesday while I waited during the interview/test. It did a better job of distracting me, that time, though I still couldn't do many rows before I "had" to stop for a while. I'm fidgety, apparently. This hasn't been a favorite doily pattern, so far. It's not that difficult, but there has been a lot of chaining, which I don't love. (The chains may have had something to do with the fidgeting.)
The Strangling Vine Lace Scarf, I haven't touched since my last entry (and well before it). I want to get back into it, but maybe not until after I've finished this doily (PK's "Majestic" in dusty rose size 10 thread).
Speaking of the thread, it's some I bought in a very cheap bag of thread at a thrift store-- my stash of South Maid, and quite possibly the only South Maid thread I ever will buy. The stuff has such a weird texture. It's stiff, rough, and "crunchy", and it tends to split in this weird, crunchy way-- fortunately, not when I place the hook, but after I've made a stitch, sometimes. ...Anyway, I want to use some of it up, and it's actually perfectly useable, once you get started, but it's definitely not my favorite thread. At least the dusty rose should go well with the decor of the intended recipient.
...And... I hesitate to admit it, but I'm champing at the bit to start another large-scale project. I have yet to finish the Very Vintage V-Stitchghan, my most recent large-scale project, so I probably ought to hold off, but I don't know if I can resist... In any case, I guess the particulars of this next large project really ought to be kept a secret. (Oh, how I hate keeping crafty projects secret!!) Worse yet, it will have to be a secret until Christmas. So many months of keeping it secret! The agony!
(Sorry for the lack of photos. I'll try to come back with a snap or two, soon.)
So, what did I get done? Not much. Apparently I don't knit or crochet much when I'm riding in a car. Of course, it was dark for 2-3 hours of our drive home, but I think a bigger issue is that I feel guilty focusing too much on knitting/crocheting when poor Donald is driving for hours at a time. (For the record, I always offer to do some of the driving, but he never takes me up on it. What does that say about my driving ability? ;o) Seriously, I think he prefers driving to riding, since he's prone to motion sickness.)
I often like to put in some earbuds and listen to music while I knit/crochet, but I hated to "shut him out" like that when he was doing all that driving. Next time I'll put on a book-on-tape or something else that we can both listen to and enjoy... At least we made some progress in the book we're reading aloud together (Making Money, by Terry Pratchett).
One thing I did accomplish was nearly finishing the cowl. I loved knitting that pattern in that (soft, pretty, twinkly, rainbowy) yarn. Such a great, fast project! I still have to bind off, which I've been avoiding thinking about. I'll need to read and figure out what kind of bind-off to do. So far, I think I've only tried two types of bind-offs, ever. One was sewn, and the other, I guess, is just the traditional, plain-jane, knitted bind-off (whatever that's called). I need more experience to be a good judge of which one is most suitable for a given pattern.
I also started the doily. I began it in the hotel room Monday night in an effort to unwind and get comfortable in the new surroundings (without much success, as I still had trouble falling and staying asleep) and continued on Tuesday while I waited during the interview/test. It did a better job of distracting me, that time, though I still couldn't do many rows before I "had" to stop for a while. I'm fidgety, apparently. This hasn't been a favorite doily pattern, so far. It's not that difficult, but there has been a lot of chaining, which I don't love. (The chains may have had something to do with the fidgeting.)
The Strangling Vine Lace Scarf, I haven't touched since my last entry (and well before it). I want to get back into it, but maybe not until after I've finished this doily (PK's "Majestic" in dusty rose size 10 thread).
Speaking of the thread, it's some I bought in a very cheap bag of thread at a thrift store-- my stash of South Maid, and quite possibly the only South Maid thread I ever will buy. The stuff has such a weird texture. It's stiff, rough, and "crunchy", and it tends to split in this weird, crunchy way-- fortunately, not when I place the hook, but after I've made a stitch, sometimes. ...Anyway, I want to use some of it up, and it's actually perfectly useable, once you get started, but it's definitely not my favorite thread. At least the dusty rose should go well with the decor of the intended recipient.
...And... I hesitate to admit it, but I'm champing at the bit to start another large-scale project. I have yet to finish the Very Vintage V-Stitchghan, my most recent large-scale project, so I probably ought to hold off, but I don't know if I can resist... In any case, I guess the particulars of this next large project really ought to be kept a secret. (Oh, how I hate keeping crafty projects secret!!) Worse yet, it will have to be a secret until Christmas. So many months of keeping it secret! The agony!
(Sorry for the lack of photos. I'll try to come back with a snap or two, soon.)