Where does the time go?

How the heck has it been four days since my last blog post already? Does it seem like time just keeps moving faster, and faster, and faster? Or is it just me?

I did manage to get some knitting done in all that time, and now I find myself in the slightly uncomfortable position of not having a gazillion WIPs going at once. I have a bit more edging to do on a shawl I'm designing for Hip Knits, and then I've got to start something new. I have about twelve projects I want to do for the Gardiner Yarn Works pattern line, but I can't seem to decide which one to do first. I'm about to branch out beyond socks to help fill out my pathetically small sweater and accessories offerings, but for some reason it's hard to take the leap. Socks are small and fast, and for some reason it's hard for me to buy all the yarn and do all the knitting for a sweater myself. It's easier to have someone else (Interweave, for example) buy the yarn, do the photography and editing, and pay me my little design fee, even if it's a one-shot deal as opposed to the recurring revenue of a self-published pattern. But now I am just prattling on...let's get on with the knitting pictures (since I know you're much more interested in that than in my blather)!

This little project has been my obsession for the past week:



A lump of lace. How exciting for you all. This is a little "shawlette" made from a single skein of Handmaiden Sea Silk. It needs some blocking love, and then I'm going to get the pattern written up. The Sea Silk is a dream to work with, especially in the hot weather we've been having lately. It's nice and cool (and unsticky) going through sweaty fingers. Stay tuned for the finished product...

I also finished my Sockapalooza 4 socks, and here is one modeled by my new plastic foot:



I need to figure out how to counterweight it so I can have it balancing on its toe instead of sticking up in the air like a corpse foot, but regardless, it's pretty darn cool (and boy do the kids love it). My sister-in-law will be quite delighted to no longer be pressed into service as my foot model...

The sock pattern is currently in testing phase and should be ready for public release sometime in late August/early September. The yarn is Zen Garden tencel/merino and is available anytime over in the shop. I'll also be knitting up a solid-colored sample of the sock so that the stitch pattern photographs more clearly.

Finally, here's a quick shot of our backyard ladies, since you haven't seen them in ages:



They are so big now! They've been clucking instead of peeping for awhile now, and should be ready to start squeezing out those first eggs in the next couple of months. Looks like I'm going to need to put down the needles and pick up the rake this afternoon...that coop is getting just a wee bit messy, wouldn't you say? I knew chickens pooped a lot but, just like before my first kid was born, I didn't really understand the ability of a small creature to poop what seems like their own body weight in a single day. I just keep telling myself "it's great for the compost pile, it's great for the compost pile..."