The Golden Iris

Okay, so this is actually old, but let's pretend it's not! Because I have very little other content to offer you. I finally mustered the nerve to crochet something marginally useful and pretty. Not that I can't crochet, but I don't have the pattern-reading fluency yet. And I can't make anything too complicated because I'm left-handed and if I'm not careful it all comes out backward. So I made the Mermaid Scarf , which is a free pattern from Interweave. The stats: 5 1/2 balls of Laines du Nord Cashsilk H hook Lots of safety pins, but not too much time! Once I got the hang of where to attach the motifs to each other, this thing was a breeze. It comes out something like this. I don't know what I did to the camera settings, I'm sorry. Here it is laying in a lump. Or you can roll it up, which makes for an interesting gifty package, if you need something gifty. I didn't have enough space to wet-block it, because we were in the process of packing to...

Sarah tagged me! Here are ten of my favorite things... although I can't make an awesome picture collage, I can make a good list. 1. My new apartment! I think I'm in love... except for the insects that have invaded a week after we moved in.... 2. Knitting! And yarn! Fuzzy! Fluffy!.... oh no, drowning in yarn! 3. Citrus fruits. All of them. (Especially when they come with gin. Or chocolate. Oh wait, did I say that out loud?) 4. Books! I am starting to love books again after escaping from graduate school. 5. Plants - indoors, outdoors, any kind. I love me some plants. 6. Cooking and baking. I think I'm happiest when I'm in the kitchen, especially when it's with someone I love. Oh, and eating, too. 7. Art nouveau. I can't get enough peacocks, or drawings with heavy black outlines, or heavily stylized flowers. 8. Being outside on a nice day. Okay, generally being outside. 9. Animals and insects and spiders, most of them. They fascinate me. ...

Well, it's been a hell of a couple of weeks. We had a lovely Thanksgiving and trip through upstate New York. Unfortunately the New Jersey turnpike was awful, but it's always awful - what can you do? After coming back to Virginia, we began to pack up and move. This is what life looked like for a few days... And this is what life looks like now: We live in a happy yellow house! We're not all the way unpacked yet but the kitchen is all set up and that's most of the battle. I'm still working, trying to keep up with the work vs. life thing, and get through all the issues surrounding moving. Hopefully soon I'll find more time to knit!