Long Time No Post...

so I have lots to discuss, I guess. The best news is that the bar exam is over. Whether I passed or not is a completely different issue. I have a sinking feeling, but I try not to indulge it too much. The scores don't come out until mid-November, so I have a lot of time to sweat it out. (And we are doing major sweating during this ridiculous heat wave, but I'm not ready to segue to that yet). Here are the bar review books and cd's being packed away into the darkest, deepest, dustiest recess of our closet, where only dry cleaner trash and the stuffed monkey dare to tread. I am SO hoping that I will not need to use them again--but they are there, just in case. Don't ask about the monkey--it's too hard to explain.

While I was in lovely Somerset NJ taking the bar, the Home Depot men finally arrived to install the new cabinets and rip out the sink and the counter. We are currently in granite counter limbo: that in-between time, after they take out your old counter and before they replace it with something beautiful. This is not the fun time of kitchen remodelling. I must admit, that washing dishes in my tiny powder room sink is getting quite tiresome already, and we probably have another 2-3 weeks to go. Sigh.

Meanwhile, the knitting frenzy began as soon as the bar was over, in spite of the cramps in my hands from all the writing. Hey--I write with my left hand but knit with my right, it wasn't that bad, really. Here are my first Mason-Dixon "warshrags," hanging where my sink ought to be.
Here is the potholder loop rug, about half done. The foot model is C., my enthusiastic apprentice looper/helper. Knitting on these huge needles is cracking us both up. It's like knitting with fence posts or something. But the rug itself is wonderfully squishy, and both kids are enjoying making the string out of the loops. Doesn't it remind you of an old fashioned braided rag rug? It is intended for the powder room, and should brighten that little cave--I mean, room--up considerably.

And here is the almost-complete cropped cardigan with the feather and fan along the lower edge. I also tried to squeeze a picture of the pattern in here as well. In case you are wondering, I do not plan on wearing this sweater over the top of a goofy striped sailor shirt. And I did not make it too small for me, so that it would stretch across my chest and upper arms. Why do they do that, anyway? Well. Mine may be a little too big, as everything seems to be, even though I did swatch and get gauge. I am still working on getting it assembled, and I have one more sleeve and the band to do as well.
The Bamboo yarn is incredibly soft to the touch, but I don't think I will use it again. The strands separate very easily, so you have to go slowly and carefully. It's also very "drapey"--I know that's not a word, but I don't know how else to describe the way that this yarn acts when knitted up. It behaves very much like silk: it kinda just hangs there, if you know what I mean. In retrospect, I wish I had gone even smaller on the needle size; I think I would like it better if the stitches were even tighter. Of course, that probably would have messed up the feather and fan pattern. Anyway. I am satisfied with the results--so far, at least--but I'm not ecstatic.

The next projects are going to be house-oriented. Inspired by Mason-Dixon, I am going to knit placemats out of the oh-so-affordable dishcloth cotton. I'm thinking log-cabin knitting. It should be a fun, cheap, and easily portable project. I also love the M-D idea of knitted curtains. I'm planning a new curtain for my kitchen window, to go over my new sink! However, I don't like the linen yarn they recommend for this project. I understand why they chose it, but, honestly, it's like knitting with butcher's string. I want to see how my swatch washes up.

I will let you all know when the kitchen and my cardigan are done. I will confess that I am a lot more excited about the kitchen, though!