Yarn Along

I’m happy to report that the top I made for my Summer 2013 magazine submission made it in the mail yesterday.  It turned out fabulous…even better than I had anticipated.  Whew!  Since I got the yarn delivered late, they were so sweet about me sending the sample in a tad late, which I was really stressed over.  They didn’t seem stressed at all.  So far with my publishing experience, there are 2 highlights of the process: having a design get accepted, and having a design get done and out of my hands!  I’m assuming that seeing my name in print will be quite exciting as well.

Speaking of which, you’ll see my first not-self-published design in this upcoming Knitscene Winter 2012 magazine (put out by Interweave Press) that should be coming out…

any day now.

To say that I’m super excited would be a gross understatement.  They release it sometime in October, and I’ve noticed usually the first half.  I may be compulsively checking that.

My work in progress is the third life of this Quince and Co. yarn.  I’m a little concerned that the yarn I’m reusing is a bit more “textured” than the yarn coming from a new skein.  I’m hoping that it will just block out, right?  Someone please say yes.  I’m also concerned that I may not have enough yarn to finish and they’re currently out of stock with this color.  I’ve decided to press on and see how far I get, which is pretty gutsy considering my history with this particular yarn.  I cling to hope.

I’ve decided that the cardigan should have hidden pockets with a contrasting color lining.  That’s where that sweet light blue “glacier” comes in.  I just ordered that, and since it seemed very, very wrong to order just one skein of yarn (I mean, what a waste of postage!) I ordered 2 shades of pink so I can make this new babe some Lovebug Booties, which is a pattern I’ve wanted to knit up for the longest time!  Will I get to it before she comes?  We’ll see…

The only things I’ve been reading lately is school books.  I’m honestly waiting for this book to really “wow” me, but the kids seem to enjoy it.  I suppose that’s what’s important.  I’ve also been re-reading a few of the Kitchen magazines I’ve gotten over the last few months.  When we moved in here, I joked that it would be 10 years before we ever got to redoing the kitchen.  Knut rolled his eyes and said he wouldn’t make me wait that long.  Well, it’s been 4 years, and very little serious discussion has happened.

However…

ever since I finished Silje’s bedroom, he’s been talking about it often.  That confuses me, because I’m pretty sure our beginning savings is tied up at the moment, but Knut said we should look into when the home show in the city is.  He’s been bringing it up a lot, and has commented that this project has been on the his mind a lot this harvest.  O, sweetie.  It’s about time.  It makes me so excited.

I’m now dreaming of things like a refrigerator with a working light, counter tops that aren’t cracked, cabinets that are straight with all of the shelves sturdy enough to actually hold things.  Now, don’t get me wrong…this house is my dream house.  I love it to pieces and then some and never ever want to move.  Houses with this much character and beauty just aren’t built anymore.  However, the kitchen is in bad need of repair.  It’s not a simple resurfacing/redecorating issue.  The looks actually are pretty good.  Well, I’ll probably bore you with all that when we get to the remodel in the future.  I won’t begin just now.

So although I doubt it will be another year or two at the very earliest, it will take us at least that long to plan it out anyway.  My hope in this actually happening is going up fast.  Hence, the re-reading of all of the kitchen magazines.  In my experience, Knut talks about things for a couple of years, and then one day he decides to rip a bunch of things up and things start happening really fast, and I better have paint colors and decisions made right then.

I remember one time he said not to get too excited about him painting a certain room in the house as he had no idea when it could get done.  Then one day he had free from the farm, announced he was picking up paint for the room in 15 minutes, and wondered which color he should pick up.  I was scrambling to not miss the opportunity but a little miffed that I didn’t have a paint swatch on hand to give him.  I will not be unprepared again.

I’m linking up with Ginny, at Small Things.  Head on over there, if you want to see what other bloggers are knitting and reading this week!