Ouch

So my headache went away after sticking around for about two days (and heartfelt thank yous to Carrie K, Wannietta and kelpkim for your sympathies and well-wishes). I just get headaches sometimes. There doesn't seem to be a single trigger. Usually I take something (Ibuprofen works best, especially the new gelcaps) to make them go away. However, this time drugs were not an option, unfortunately, so I had to suck it up and endure. Fortunately, one night cosying up to an icy gelpack (maybe I should buy stock in gel technologies?) knocked out the worst of it and by the next evening I was okay.

But wait...there's more.

Monday evening, DD tripped and whacked her eyebrow ridge on the coffee table. A huge goose-egg immediately ensued, followed by a spectacular shiner. You can clearly see the point of impact - about a centimetre away from her eyeball. It makes me feel all horrible inside every time I think of how close she came to hitting her actual eye. Fortunately, there doesn't seem to be any damage other than the usual swelling and black eye that comes with this kind of injury. But for the next few weeks she's not going be too photogenic, I tell ya.

And then, to cap it all off, last night I noticed a little break in the nail on my left pinky, far down, right at the quick. Ooh, I hate those. I tried so hard to cut back the nail without hurting myself, but instead the damn thing ripped right into the quick and it hurt All. Freakin'. Night. Long. Explain to me how one wimpy little surface injury can sting SO DAMN BAD?!?

Hey, Universe? Can I please get off the Pain Train now? I'd appreciate it every so much, thanks.

So anyway, back to what you presumably want to read about...knitting!

Marina mentioned jokingly in the comments that she switched to Fair Isle to avoid the crazy-making hazards of trying to get your self-striping socks to match. If Fair Isle intimidates you, take note! This could be the motivation you need to get into it! :)

Fafner blanket for baby Whyte

They loved it.

And there really is such a difference between someone saying a happy thank you and someone saying a really grateful, heartfelt thank you. Of course, both are nice, but the latter is golden.

The mum-to-be - a terrifically driven individual - had the thank-you card delivered into my hands about two workdays later. It sez:

Thank you again for the beautiful hand-knit blanket! You must have spent a lot of time making it for us - it is truly appreciated! I'm sure it will get a lot of use.

I am very, very happy about the whole thing. As far as I'm concerned, the baby should now feel free to show up at any time. :)

Arabesque blanket for baby Mendez

Anyone who is being particularly observant about The Schedule will have noticed that I was supposed to have completed about three-quarters of this project by the beginning of July. Instead, I procrastinated for over a month on completing the design of the pattern, let alone starting the project itself.

This was not so great, because now that the baby shower party for my co-worker expecting in August is finished, this means that the gift for my co-worker expecting in September should be finished about a month from now.

Eep.

(And yes, despite my concern that giving something with a hispano-araby motif to someone from South America may be offensive, I've decided that I'm probably overthinking things and that I just need to get over myself and not worry about it.)

So this past weekend I got serious about this project. I did some swatching for the motif I had in mind, which helped me make the final decision on how the chart should be laid out. I also made a decision on what yarn and needles to use, so I did a swatch with that, too. I measured, did some math, cast on a bunch of stitches and have been going great guns ever since. I'm not even close to being completely caught up, but I'm getting there.

Sadly, this project makes for awkward commute knitting because I'm using straights. This is because all my circulars of the same size are currently in use. One of these days I'm going to figure out which projects are using the circulars I need and cannibalize a needle for this blanket, so I can stop being paranoid that I might poke my fellow subway riders.

The pattern, incidentally, uses lace to outline the motif. I think the effect will be extremely interesting when it's all done. Unfortunately there will be no pictures of this project posted here, because I'd like to submit it to Knitty when I'm done. If I'm lucky, you'll see the design for the first time there at some point in the future.

Stornaway sweater for DH

Today on my lunch break, I cast on with some scrap yarn and started up the shoulder strap. I have done a pathetically small amount of work on it so far, but at least it is started.

(P.S. - Pictures will return to the blog soon, I swear. :)