Same Old ...

The summer doldrums. I has 'em. As is usually the case in July and August, I'm finding it hard to be really excited about wooly things when it's 90 degrees with high humidity. So I'm plodding along on all my projects without making any significant progress on any one.

Take my spinning projects, for instance. The Tour de Fleece has been over for a week and a half, and I'm still working on this Polwarth in Koi Pond. Thankfully, the bobbin is almost full and I can see the end of the fiber in my basket.

I know this is going to be gorgeous when it's done, but it's going sooooo slowly. I'm anxious not only to see this yarn finished but also to get started on two new fiber acquisitions that turned up on my doorstep in the past couple of weeks.

I've been kind of on a self-imposed fiber diet, but when Kristin of All Spun Up announced another spinalong with a BFL/silk blend, I had to indulge. This particular colorway has been dubbed "Miss Crabtree" (of the Little Rascals).

The last time I had my hands on this blend, I spun it on the thicker side, but this braid is definitely going to become laceweight.

Then there's the July fiber from the Crown Mountain Farms fiber club. It's merino, so I know it will be delightful to spin. I'm planning on spinning this one up on the thicker side, aiming for a bouncy two ply. I think this'll be great for a hat for Rainbow for this coming winter.

I am still working on my Merope and am through about 3 1/2 of the called-for 4 repeats of the main body chart, though I may do an extra repeat or two because I have plenty of yarn. This shawl has been my lunchtime knitting at work, so that means only about 40 minutes a day and, now that the rows are getting long, that only translates to about five or six rows a day.

Meanwhile, a couple of weeks ago, my mother and I flew to Chicago for the day for my cousin's bridal shower, and I needed a mindless project, so I pulled out some deep-stash yarn and needles and cast on for Multnomah.

This particular skein of yarn may very well be the first skein of Malabrigo Sock I ever bought, right when it came out. I'd been saving it for something special, so I'm hoping this shawl fits the bill. I'm probably halfway through the garter stitch section, so there's a while to go before I get to the fun part.

I'd be making much faster progress if only I didn't have a much more fun way to spend my evenings -- playing with this cutie:

The Mister took this photo last week when he discovered we were wearing almost matching outfits -- gray shirts and black pants (although Mickey Mouse isn't exactly business attire for me). Rainbow keeps getting bigger and more fun to play with. She's now able to stand up for a long time (while holding on to something), and she sprouted her first tooth yesterday!