The first month of 2015 is already over! It went fast! I can’t say I’m completely satisfied with what I’ve accomplished on the knitting side. I sure did a few nice things but I’m constantly postponing my own deadlines as work (and life) are taking all my time. I’m quite proud of myself on the work side though. I’ve been working like crazy since last November, I completed a few very nice websites, started new promising and fullfilling relationships with lovely clients, and I even had to refuse a few offers as I’m fully booked for the next three months. I also started using tools to help me scheduling my time and releasing some stress. I read somewhere a comportement takes three weeks to become a habit so I tend to stick to good ideas for at least three weeks and see how it can take a room in my life. Five weeks later, I can say my scheduling method easily became a habit and I feel like it’s a new root to managing both my careers. On the knitting side, I made a stuffed dog for friends of mine who are expecting a baby girl in May. I’ll be testing the pattern as soon as I can finalize it. I plan to knit another one with the testers so I’ll enjoy the knit-a-long too! That will be fun! Pictures coming soon!
A shawl with no name
I’m finally quite done with the shawl I started last October! I asked my Facebook fans to help me with different steps of the design – they chose the color and one of the lace stitch. Now that most testers are done and the pattern is very close to be released, I asked them to help me find the name. Great ideas came out! So many great ideas that I find it very hard to chose just one… So I mix and match ideas, and I got this:
The simple elegance of a cowboy wearing blue jeans in his rusty chevy, riding along the shoreline and blowing away the February blues under the blue sunset
Someone cleverly told me it would mess up search engines so I’m back to the start! I especially like two of the ideas so I’ll make my mind and release the pattern as soon as possible. I really liked the experience of brainstorming over the name. I’m not good at finding names and some people out there are. I think I’ll do it again, maybe even do a habit out of it!
Now on my needles
At the moment I’m working on a cardigan. I really like it, it’s perfect for the chilly winter days we’re having at the moment. I can’t wait to finish it. I’m running low on yarn and I’m crossing fingers I won’t come to the end of my ball before I’m done with both button bands and collar. Next on my needles? I’m not sure yet… How scary it is!!! I can’t stand not having a project ready but I don’t like starting a project before finishing what I’m currently working on. I have a good idea for a two color shawl but I like to alternate between big and small projects and I’m still unhappy with my hat collection…
Zora, my new kitten
On a completely different note, following the death of my good old cat, we thought the house was quite empty with only one cat and one dog. So we went just looking for kittens on the Internet… I don’t know how I manage to fool myself again and again with the just looking thing but my yarn stash can swear it barely never works! So what should have happened happened. We really liked a cat foster. We really liked the pictures of the kittens. We went visiting a foster family just to look at the kittens. We fell in love and came back with a lovely girl the very same day. So let me introduce to you Zora, my new knitting helper! Mio really was my best helper, he would bring balls of yarn to me, lay on my knits, play with loose ends. We have Zora here since two weeks now and she’s already following his trails very nicely. She climbs on my leg to reach the knit I’m holding, she runs through the house with a ball of yarn in her mouth, she even cutted the live strand of my current project! She’s a monster but she’s the cutest monster ever!
She’s already playing with a ball of yarn (at least it’s acrylic!)
By the way, the cat foster is called Animadoption and I totally recommend it. The ladies are real animal lovers. They get sick kittens that are about to be euthanized. They heal, vaccinate, and neuter them, and keep them in foster families until they find someone to adopt them. They are in Montreal’s north shore region but I know the same concept exists in all regions. I think it’s a very nice way to get an animal without encouraging an industry that is sometimes very unethic. It’s also a nice way to give a chance to an animal that would be dead otherwise.