Well. My last blog post was in July, and somehow it is now the end of October. I don’t have a particularly convincing explanation for where those months went, but I do have a substantial pile of finished objects.
There have been books, Renaissance Faire accessories, a little spinning, and some deeply uncooperative fantasy football players. It’s been a hard few months, too. So let’s catch up.
Current WIPs
First up is the Holly Berry Cowl, which I started last night and am already moving through pretty quickly. This one should be a fast finish, and I’m happy to be working on holiday things. I’ve been fighting depression, and having something festive on my needles is bringing me a little cheer.
I’m also crocheting a Detroit Lions jersey, a project that has come with an education in Honolulu blue and just how important it is to get that color right. Especially when you live in North Carolina and need your finished jersey to read as Lions instead of Panthers.
The yarn has a lot of responsibility here.
Alongside those, I still have my two long-term blanket projects going. Four WIPs total—and we’ll get to why I’m particularly proud of that number.
Finished Objects
The blog has been quiet, but apparently my hands have not. Since my last post, I’ve finished:
That’s 11 finished objects, including a three-piece Renaissance Faire situation and a contribution to wacky hair day. Apparently my faire outfit needed its own accessories department.
Looking at everything together, I’m glad I wrote the list. It’s easy to forget how much you’ve made when you finish something and move straight on to the next project.
Books & Board Games
In preparation for the new ACOTAR book, I reread all of ACOTAR, Throne of Glass, and Crescent City. A perfectly reasonable amount of assigned homework that absolutely nobody assigned me.
The new ACOTAR came out yesterday. I have already finished it. So that’s where we are.
I also read John Green’s new book, Hollywood, Ending, and discovered that there were two new books in the Assistant to the Villain series. Naturally, I had to reread the first two books before moving on. I’m now reading the second as I work my way toward the new ones. Apparently my reading process involves a substantial amount of prerequisite reading.
At our last family game night, we played Catan Starfarers, which was alright, and Bristol 1350, which I loved. It’s a social deduction game about escaping the plague, because apparently that’s my idea of a fun family evening. It went straight onto my wishlist, along with its sister games.
Lainey has also convinced me to play Roblox with her occasionally, which sounds like a sweet mother-daughter bonding activity until you learn that I got a little too invested in Adopt Me.
There’s a spreadsheet.
I went in to spend time with my child and came out managing a virtual pet portfolio.
Life Lately
Honestly, I’ve mostly been fighting depression, and it’s been pretty bad. Most days, I’ve been home knitting, crocheting, and reading. Those things have been keeping me company, even when I haven’t felt up to much else.
There have been some bright spots with Sarah: we went to see Hilary Duff in concert, went to the Renaissance Faire, and had a Halloween movie marathon. I’m glad those moments have been part of the last few months, even alongside the hard stuff.
Lainey has started school and is doing well. She’s having a lot of fun in Girl Scouts this year, and her best friend from school joined too, which has made it even better.
And then there’s fantasy football, which has felt like the one thing I’ve had going for me lately. Unfortunately, my team has chosen a deeply inconvenient time to go on a losing streak. I’m currently 2–5 despite having a pretty good roster, and I would like to speak to management.
Apparently that’s me, which makes filing a complaint awkward.
Side Quest of the Week
We’re stretching the definition of “week” a little here.
My Renaissance Faire outfit had one more requirement: a full drop spindle. Naturally, this meant doing some actual spinning. I’m considering doing more of it, although I still prefer knitting. Making yarn is fun, but knitting remains my favorite part.
And I need to give myself a little credit here: I finished all 15 WIPs I started the year with. Every single one.
The four projects I have going now—my two long-term blankets, my crochet project, and my knitting project—were all started this year. There are no lingering projects from that original pile.
That deserves a small parade. I’ve already made enough things to outfit the participants.
A Look Ahead
Apparently, a little Christmas crafting has opened the floodgates. After the Holly Berry Cowl, I’d like to make another Christmas colorwork cowl. I also have a Mary Maxim kit for a corner-to-corner crochet Christmas blanket with an argyle-style design.
So there’s some festive making to look forward to. I’ve cleared out all 15 of my original WIPs, and the Christmas projects have politely formed a new queue.
For now, I’m happy to have something on my needles that’s bringing me a little cheer. And it feels good to finally catch up here, too.
What’s on your needles or hook right now? Are you starting holiday projects, or would you prefer that October calm down first?
May your yarn never tangle and your side quests be rewarding,
— Ally
