a couple of projects for me!

I finished the Woodland Trails Cowl! It's a bit late in the season (we've had a few days in the 70s and 80s recently...), but I'm sure I will enjoy it come autumn and winter.

I went a little camera-happy with this one, trying to capture the color(s) and the details of the pattern (the faux-cabling and little purl-bumps). So lots of photos!

I did bind-off a bit too tightly, but not too tightly, fortunately. There is definitely a difference between the cast-on edge and bind-off edge though. Still fits.

I didn't twist a cord yet to make it into a hat. Well, I tried, but it wasn't working out. I'd like to try it using the drill to speed up the twisting process. Anyway, I'm not sure if I will wear this one as a hat, but maybe.

I'm really happy with how this came out - I think it will be soft and warm for cooler days. And, I love the pattern and colorway. It also matches my Valentine Mitts. This pattern might go on the list of possible gift ideas - it is so lovely, fun to make and relatively easy. It also went quickly, though I did stretch out the process longer than it needed to be. I actually had a few days last week where I was too stressed out to knit. Weird.

I think I'm over that now. No post-doc for me right now, and actually in some ways that's a relief. I'm going to focus on finishing my dissertation so that I can graduate at the end of the Fall semester. I'm also revising my proposal slightly so that I can do phone interviews since the face-to-face ones aren't happening (quickly enough or at all). I revised my methodology, informed consent forms and my HRRC application and submitted those to my chair on Saturday, so hopefully all my ducks are in a row, I can submit the changes, get approved and start collecting data! I've got a number of people from far geographic places who have volunteered, so I think the process may go quickly once I am able to start. I do need to finish basically before Fall semester even starts, so that means August. Ugh. So many deadlines for my school just to get the dissertation submitted.

I'm not sure what else the future may hold. We're looking at either Missoula, MT or Greensboro, NC for graduate school for DB. Either may be a difficult move, but they've got to better than where we are currently living. He and I still want to take a road trip this summer, so I've got to figure out how to finish the dissertation either before or while traveling. Speaking of DB - no further progress on the neverending hat. Until I start the baby blanket, another forever long project in my eyes, it may have to remain in hibernation.

For now, I'm working on another new project for me: The Christine Bag. I've got the super bulky Wool-Ease in "Linen" - very neutral and pretty. I bought a pair of black wooden bag handles and some pretty fabric to line the bag. I originally was going to use 17s because I know I knit tightly. I bought a pair of circulars to use, cast on and started to knit with them, and it just wasn't going well. Messy, uncomfortable and no way was the cabling going to be visible. So I switched to 15s as suggested even though I was concerned my gauge would be way off. It's hard to tell so far and there isn't an actual gauge given for this pattern, aside from the final measurements. So I'll go by those and add rows if I need to. I can't wait to finish - and it is going quickly. I'm a bit tired of the purses I have now....my current one is too small....and I don't want to go through the process of shopping for one and settling. I'm excited to have something I really like and can customize. Off to knit some more...then warm restorative yoga tonight, yay!