Currently Knitting

I've become a little too into certain Instagram feeds where new projects are posted every few days. Socks fly off the needles in four days, new shawls appear weekly, and a sweater magically knits itself every month. While incredibly inspiring, this is not how I roll. I tend to plod along on a few things over a course of a few months (or even years, in the case of blankets and quilts), which makes my updates all very similar. Hey guess what, this sweater looks exactly the same but is actually an inch longer!

What I'm currently plodding away on:

• A Red Rock Canyon shawl in two maybe-a-little-too-similar shades of Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere. The striping is subtle, but I suspect it will show up more when the shawl is finished. I'm probably more likely to wear a purple tonal shawl than a crazy striped one anyway. Oh, and this yarn is amazing. It's like petting a kitten's belly.
• Acer Cardigan in Cascade 220. I don't knit many sweaters, but somehow I ended up with two sweater quantities of yarn in olive green. The fronts and back are knitted in one piece, which is why it's so wide; don't worry, I'm not bringing 80s sweaters back.

I finished up a Sockhead Hat in some handspun merino which has finally found its calling. This is the third iteration of this yarn (previously a bias-knit cowl, and then a crocheted cowl), and it works! The merino is crazy soft and warm, although I'm still not nuts about the colors. Also, this is a "slouchy" hat. I'm not sure how trendy people manage to achieve the perfect slouchy hat, because mine always sticks up like a conehead.

Last but not least, I am so close to finishing The Afghan of Death. I started a crochet blanket in April 2011 (yes, almost 4 years ago), and all it needs are about 8 more seams and a border. Remind me about this if I ever mention wanting to crochet another blanket.

Season of Life

I remember reading a blog post once about the seasons of life, in the context of home decorating. There is a time in your life when your walls are covered in band posters and your bookshelves stuffed with college textbooks. There is a time when 90% of your furniture is from Ikea, because that's what you can afford. There is a time when you can afford a real couch from a real furniture store, and you have moved from posters to actual art.

Then there is the season in which I am currently: the one where the living room floor is littered with plastic baby toys, the car seat box still sits in the corner because it is the best thing ever according to both baby and cat, and the coffee table has been completely cleared. The one where there is a giant hole in the living room ceiling because a pipe got lazy and decided not to contain water anymore.

This can be frustrating because I like everything in its place and just so; my knitting projects in plastic bins under the table aren't exactly aesthetically pleasing. But Mary lives here too, now, and I'm sure that not too far into the future I'll long for these days. So for now, the floor is cluttered, and that's ok.

Hygge

I love fall, as it seems most people do, but the minute it turned even the slightest bit chilly, I started dreading winter. For months I can never get warm, mainlining hot drinks and wearing a hat 24 hours a day. Last year was particularly awful, having to be up all night in the freezing dark with a newborn. In an effort to head off the depressing, cold days ahead, I started a Pinterest board of all of the tolerable (perhaps even enjoyable) things about winter. This mostly involved steaming beverages, blankets, knitting, and lights.

I can't remember where I first heard of it, but I'm intrigued by the Danish concept of Hygge. It seems that everyone has their own definition, which is something along the lines of coziness & warmth, spending time doing the things that make you happy with the people you want around you. I hope this winter will have more hygge, filled with knitting and baking and nesting under blankets. There isn't anything I can do about shoveling snow, or trying to wrangle holding a baby and an umbrella while unlocking the door, but at least I can put up some twinkle lights. They are my winter lights, not Christmas lights, and are definitely staying up until March.