Has it really been that long???

What a few weeks it has been. I worked on a grant for work and had to have it ready to submit the last day before our spring break. Of course I had to work almost to the deadline, just a little pressure.

My husband does not believe in vacations. He just doesn't like to leave home. We have the same work schedule as we work for the same school district. So when I have spring break, he is home and so are the kids. Not much relaxation going on!!! We rented a trencher and moved the dog pen among some other tasks. It really felt good to get things done. However, I was exhausted and not much knitting done.

I do have one Monkey sock finished and I finished the cuff on the second today. The pattern breaks up the striping nicely. The only pooling is in the gusset which is to be expected. The tencel/wool combination is a little splitty as the yarn is not tightly spun. However, I do like the feel. I can't wait to wear it to see how it feels.

The shawl is coming along. I am on tier 13.Don't you love the odd numbered tiers? Having one less motif makes the row seem so much shorter! Here is a picture of it's blobbiness. It has a nice weight to it so it feels like something as it sits in my lap. The first skein of yarn is finished. That makes it feel like I am moving along. I wound the second ball and found that the kitten had split the yarn in several places. When I first began the project, she kept slipping into my knitting bag and carrying of the skein. It breaks my heart that I am going to have so many joins in this project. To make the full size shawl, I would have needed 3 skeins, I chose to stop at two and am planning on making the smaller size which is not going to leave me with much left over yarn. Now with all the joins, I am going to need to use all of it, probably even the short pieces.

Even though I am not holding up my end by providing frequent photos, I am enjoying the KAL and viewing all the projects of others. I am envious of the yarn choices of others. The halo of the alpaca interfers with the stitch definition. I have received emails with reassurance that blocking will cure many ills. However, this close up of the blob should give you a better idea of my concerns. Anyway, I am trudging on.