Progress report

I just thought I'd take a moment and address all of the Works in Progress that are listed in the sidebar. I especially feel like I need to explain the ones that have been there a very long time with very little change in progress. So here goes:

Tartan Jacket: I would like to be farther on this than I am, but I haven't worked on it in over a month. This is because most of my knitting time has been taken up by the secret project I am working on for my sister's baby, due in June. I have now come to terms with the fact that I will finish the jacket eventually, but I will probably have to wait until next fall to wear it, as I am sure it will be unbearably hot by the time it is done.

Very Tall Socks: I have also abandoned these because of the aforementioned secret project. However, unlike the Tartan Jacket, I am not feeling a strong desire to ever finish this project. I think these seemed like a really cool, unique project when I started them, but I am now realizing that it is unlikely that I would ever actually wear them. I am seriously considering dropping out of the knitalong, ripping out the two inches that I have completed, and using the yarn for something else.

Winecozy: I just recently cast on for this one. My former boss is getting married at the end of May and I will be giving this as a wedding present along with a bottle of wine from our local winery (with a label personalized with the couple's names and wedding date). I am very pleased with how quickly this project is progressing, and I can see myself making more of them for gifts in the future.

Corral Belt: This is my current Not Yarn Along project, although I think I will be making other projects for this knitalong as well. It is progressing fairly quickly, since I'm using size 13 needles, but the leather cord is kind of hard to work with, so I'm not overly motivated to work on it.

Turtleneck Shrug: I started this project recently because I have been wanting to make it for a while, and because it allows me to participate in both the Scarf Style Knitalong and the Shrug Knitalong. Out of all my projects, this is the one that I am most motivated to work on, but I keep trying to make myself work on my gift projects first.

The Elephant Show

Well, everything covered in this post is kind of old news, but I thought I'd post about it anyway. In case you are wondering, the title of the post is a reference to a TV show of the same name that I used to watch on Nickelodeon when I was a kid (we're talking mid-1980s). It's one of those shows that I'm never sure that anyone remembers besides my sister and me (another one of those obscure shows is The Get Along Gang). But anyway, rambling aside, the title is relevant to one of my somewhat-recently finished projects, the Garter Stitch Elephant. He can be seen here, getting the inspection that Franklin deems necessary for all handknit items:



And here is an unobstructed view:



He was a present for my nephew-to-be, and here he is being received by my sister and brother-in-law at the baby shower, which took place over Easter weekend.



Since I'm on the topic of the shower, I also feel compelled to show off the gorgeous quilt that my mom made for the baby.



And just for good measure, here is a picture of my two sisters and me at the shower.



Just to bring the subject back to knitting, I'll point out that the shower was the public debut of one of my recently finished projects, Candy.

Oh, yeah, there were quilts, too!

I thought I'd take a minute and show off some of the great quilts I saw at the exhibits at the International Quilt Festival this past weekend. I took a bunch of photos, but I'll just start with a few for now. This is a quilt called "Mother Nature's Son" by Amy Winsor.



Yes, that is a zipper pocket in the center. I absolutely loved this next quilt, called "Mind Glass," by Keiko Takahashi.



I also took a photo of the fashion display put on by Bernina, the sewing machine company. I'm not sure what I think of the whole wearable art phenomenon, but there were definitely some distinctive outfits.

I didn't know there would be yarn there!

Leave it to me to go to a quilt show and come home with yarn. During one of my breaks, I actually got to do a little shopping. I came across a booth where a woman named Diane Bartels was selling handpainted fabric and handpainted yarn. I couldn't resist. Here are a couple of pictures of my purchases (being properly inspected by Franklin).





The two hanks on the top are alpaca, and the two bottom hanks are handpainted mohair. They came with a pattern for a shawl, but I'm not really a shawl person, so I will probably end up making something else. I'm open to suggestions, so if you have any ideas about what to do with 400 yards of alpaca and/or 400 yards of mohair, please let me know.
By the way, I did take some photos of quilts, and I will post those soon.

A new knitalong

For anyone who is interested, I am hosting another knitalong (actually, I am co-hosting it with Sarah). It is the Not Yarn Along, and it is exactly what it sounds like - the only requirement is that you must be knitting with something that is not yarn. The official start date is April 15. I have two projects in mind - the belt knit out of leather cord from Knit Wit, and placemats made out of strips of cloth.

A quick note

I realize that I don't post often enough for people to miss me when I'm gone, but I just thought I'd quickly explain that I'm going to be in Chicago for work until next Monday. I also realize that I don't talk much about what I do for a living, so I thought I'd get people up to speed about that. I'm the member services coordinator at the American Quilt Study Group. We're a non-profit organization that promotes quilt history research. Since there are only two of us that work there, my job description is basically a little bit of everything. This week, I'm going to Chicago to attend the International Quilt Festival. I will be working a booth at the quilt expo, selling memberships and volumes of our research journal. I am especially excited about the trip because I get to see my family members who live in Chicago. I also have a feeling that I will come back from the trip even more inspired than I already am to fit quilting into my life, along with knitting.