WIPS & WHimsy #3
I've talked before about how much I love routines.
What I haven't talked about is how bad I am at transitions.
School ended last week, and while most people were celebrating summer break, I was staring at my calendar wondering what exactly I was supposed to do with myself now.
I don't like change.
I don't like uncertainty.
And I really don't like losing the routines that keep my days feeling predictable.
Unfortunately, life seems to have decided that this week was going to be entirely about transitions.
So let's get into it.
Current WIPs
The Great Pinky Betrayal
I have absolutely no idea how it happened, but somehow I ended up with a tiny cut on the inside of my pinky finger.
When I say tiny, I mean tiny. Maybe two millimeters. The size of a hangnail.
Unfortunately, it was located in the exact spot where my crochet hook rests.
Suddenly, every crochet project I owned was off-limits.
The cut itself wasn't painful.
The crochet hook pressing on it, however lightly, felt like I had sliced my finger open with a machete.
I knew it would heal quickly if I left it alone, but I was still annoyed.
Since crochet was temporarily unavailable, I switched to my current knitting project: a Sockhead Slouch Hat.
The problem?
It's being knit on 3 mm needles.
And for reasons I cannot fully explain, I was simply not in the mood for tiny needles.
I wanted big needles.
Comfort needles.
Chunky-project needles.
So after reviewing my current WIP list and realizing I had somehow reduced it from somewhere in the 30s to only six active projects, I gave myself permission to cast on something new.
Enter the Cozy Comfort Throw by A Homespun House.
A few months ago I purchased the Legally Blonde Countdown yarn set from Little Wolf Knits and spent several unsuccessful attempts trying to figure out what it wanted to become.
After several false starts, I finally settled on the Cozy Comfort Throw and ordered a neutral yarn to hold alongside the minis.
My goal is to complete one mini-skein stripe per week.
There are twenty-eight colors.
Which means this project will take roughly seven months.
For once, I'm okay with that.
It's simple garter stitch. It's cozy. It's mindless. It's exactly the kind of project I need right now.
Finished! (Mostly)
Before the Great Pinky Incident, I finished the Mocha Ripple Afghan.
And by finished, I mean crochet-finished.
The ends have not been woven in.
Obviously.
The Dinosaur Blanket for my nephew Roman's first birthday is finally making real progress.
I'm almost finished with the center panel, and after the Great Brontosaurus Frogging Incident of 2026, I'm very happy to be moving forward instead of backward.
The Gerhard Sweater has also re-entered active status because Rosa leaves for Wisconsin tomorrow, and apparently "I'll weave in the ends later" is no longer a viable strategy.
Who could have predicted this?
Books
I've read four and a half books since the last update.
First, I finished This Inevitable Ruin and A Parade of Horribles by Matt Dinniman.
At this point I feel comfortable saying that the Dungeon Crawler Carl series has fundamentally altered my personality.
These books are absurd, hilarious, emotional, and somehow continue to get better with every installment.
I don't know how Matt Dinniman keeps pulling this off, but I am fully invested.
Next, I read You Shouldn't Have Come Here by Jeneva Rose.
Not my favorite thriller, but it had a few twists I genuinely didn't see coming, which automatically earns it some points.
Then I read One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
If you're looking for a lighthearted beach read, this is not it.
This book emotionally destroyed me from beginning to end.
Do not read it unless you are prepared to spend several hundred pages feeling conflicted and sad.
Currently, I'm rereading Pride and Prejudice.
Yes, I've read it before.
Many times.
But sometimes you need a comfort read, and for reasons I cannot fully explain, Regency England is one of my safe places.
Maybe it's finally time to try the Bridgerton books.
Games & Goodbyes
Yesterday was Rosa's birthday.
Tomorrow she moves to Wisconsin.
Those two facts feel entirely unrelated to me emotionally, and by that I mean I spent most of the evening insisting that:
"We aren't crying today."
Reader, we were absolutely crying today.
We played Dutch Blitz, Sorry What?, Taboo Uncensored, Hues & Cues, and Really Loud Librarians.
It was a fantastic game night.
It was also one of those evenings where you're trying very hard to enjoy the moment while also knowing the moment is ending.
Transitions.
I told you this post had a theme.
Side Quest
School ended on Wednesday.
I spent teacher workdays packing up my classroom and working on a mural across the hall from my room.
Technically, I started this mural last summer.
Back then I only managed to complete the Earth in the center.
This week I've been adding line drawings of children's faces around it, and I'm finally nearing the finish line.
There's about a quarter left to complete.
Not bad for a project that spent a year waiting for me to come back.
Fossil Party Success
Lainey's fossil-themed birthday party was a huge success.
The kids dug in the dirt.
The adults survived.
Everyone had fun.
One parent told me I needed to stop going all-out on birthday parties because I was making the rest of them look bad.
I looked him dead in the face and said:
"Dude. They are digging in the dirt in the backyard."
I stand by that statement.
Acquisitions
Now we arrive at the section that absolutely nobody is surprised to see.
School ended.
My routine disappeared.
Rosa is moving away.
Life feels hard.
And then Hobbii had a sale.
The rest is history.
I may have spent roughly $800 on yarn.
In my defense, every purchase had a project attached to it.
I am not the kind of fiber artist who buys yarn and figures out a project later.
I buy projects and the yarn simply comes along for the ride.
This is a completely different hobby.
The order arrived in six separate packages.
Three showed up all at once.
The remaining three arrived over several days like a slow drip of yarn directly into my veins.
I now have sweaters planned.
Cardigans planned.
Tops planned.
Blankets planned.
Future Papillon shawls planned.
Honestly, I think my actual hobby may be project planning.
The knitting and crochet are just supporting activities.
Looking Ahead
As summer begins, I'm trying to give myself permission to settle into the new routine instead of immediately mastering it.
The pinky is healing.
The blanket is growing.
The mural is nearly finished.
The yarn has arrived.
The friend is moving.
The season is changing.
And whether I like it or not, transitions keep happening.
Maybe the best I can do is take them one row at a time.
May your yarn never tangle and your side quests be rewarding,
— Ally
