All Knitting, All The Time

I finished my fall-inspired chevron blanket.

It was not what I exactly envisioned, but the graphic is eye-catching.  It looks great in person and is lightweight enough for Florida.  I used Lion Brand Vanna's Choice yarn, an acrylic yarn but it feels pretty soft after a few washes.

For my next project, I want to make a Missoni-inspired chevron blanket.  I found (and bought) this great pattern.  KnitPicks is having a great sale on yarn and I found all the colors I wanted in their popular Wool of the Andes line.  After I picked out all of my colors (and was so excited about the project), I realized that Wool of the Andes is not a superwash wool so it will felt if machine washed (agitated).  Bummer.  KnitPick's superwash merino wool is at least $1 to $1.50 more per skein.  And now I'm venturing into a very expensive blanket.  Whatever I decide on, I will need to buy online because I need so many different colors.  I think I might be making a trip to Hobby Lobby soon.  They are the only yarn store in my area with a large selection of yarn.

I recently bought some Lion Brand Heartland yarn (yes, it's 100% acrylic).  I saw it at JoAnn's and I loved the colors and the feel is so soft and supple.  I have decided to use it for a super-secret project.  I can say that it will be a blanket, because that's all I'm knitting these days, and it will be a gift.  I am super excited to get started on it.

Already on my needles is a stash-buster chevron blanket.  The girls in my knitting group tell me it reminds them of Charlie Brown.  

I have been so focused on knitting because my job has become so stressful during this month of July.  I had to cover for several people on vacation and I am now behind on my regular work.  I have developed a sever case of stiff neck along my right side.  I feel broken down.

God Told Me To Quit My Job

I have been nagging Mr. Grumpbump for weeks - we need to flip our mattress.  He ignored me for a long time but we finally did it over the July Fourth weekend.  I pulled all the sheets off and was in the process of washing them.

The sheets puddled on the bedroom floor and to my amazement, Macy curled up in the sheets and made herself comfortable.  This is significant only because Macy never comes in our bedroom; it's just the one room that she doesn't feel comfortable.  She only traverses the room in order to use the cat door to escape outside.  Generally, she avoids it because it's always been the domain of Delilah.

So, I helped Macy out by doing all the other laundry and saving the sheets until the very end.  I didn't like the idea of disturbing Macy's new hangout.

After all the laundry was done, the mattress flipped and the sheets back on the bed, Mr. Grumpbump and I went to sleep.

And to our amazement, this happened.  It has never happened the entire time we have cared for Macy.

Macy on our bed

Macy jumped up on our bed.  And stayed.  This is astounding because Macy has always considered this area to be Delilah's and she would hiss and squirm if you got her anywhere near our bedroom.

And then it got even better.

Macy and Monkey

Macy didn't scatter when Monkey jumped up and the two of them rested as cats do on the bed.  Macy ended up sleeping on the bed with us for the entire night. (Monkey runs around at night and doesn't usually sleep with us.)

We are trying to determine what happened.  It's almost as if a switch in Macy's brain has been flipped and she's got confidence and is self-assured enough to take ownership of a new space in the house.  I'm guessing that it helps that Delilah has abandoned the room too (she did so because of the Monkey).  Whatever the reason, Macy has spent the last several nights in our bedroom.   And when Mr. Grumpbump comes home from work, he finds Macy resting on the bed.  

As far as my knitting goes, I'm nearly finished with my latest chevron blanket.  I'm planning the next one before this one is even off the needles.  

I bought a few books on ripple stitches in order to get some ideas on new stitch patterns.   I'm only relaxed when I'm knitting.  I am convinced this is God's way of telling me to quit my job and just stay home and knit.