What I Did on my Summer Vacation

Nonnahs spoke a couple posts ago about 're-entry' following a vacation. I generally like to give myself a day or two to settle before going back to work after a break or a trip, but I don't feel like I have true re-entry issues...that is, not until this last vacation. Maybe it was the level of work and productivity we had been running at all summer. Maybe it was the fact that we no longer have an imminent deadline we are working towards at the office...just the next day. I don't know. What I do know is that I have felt weird and I've had trouble doing normal stuff like emailing and blogging. Consequently, I have a thousand things to post about and have needed to post about for weeks. In order to save you all, I figured, once again, photos are the best option...

First, I've finally begun to put into practice 'my plan' to supplement my t-shirt wardrobe with some skirts. So far, I'm pleased with the results. They are fun and quick to make, have fit in well with things I already have (except shoes, I really do need a new pair of brown shoes), and are actually serving to inspire my future knit projects (a side-effect I wasn't expecting). It's even more fun when you get he opportunity to sew with someone else...

This is a skirt that makes me happy. It is certainly not "cute" in the fashion sense.

But this makes me happy:

Here is an example of one that came out fairly well, even if I had to attach the elastic 3 times. It goes with 4 of my t-shirts, so it's doing it's job. (btw - see what I mean about the shoes?) (And what is with that dude behind me? Sheesh, you can't even take an FO photo in the office without getting harassed anymore.) Both of these skirts are basic A-lines using Sew What? Skirts as an inspiration.


I also finally managed to take a photo of the Amy Butler wide-leg pants I made from In Stitches. I wear these all the time and have fabric for another pair...that I may even work on this weekend...

I also finally finished a dish/wash cloth I had on the needles for a ridiculous amount of time. I actually put this away as part of my UFO roundup at the beginning of the year and decided to take it out and finish it for August's UFO Resurrection Challenge contribution.

It got stalled out because I had planned to make it more of a towel than a dishrag, but it had been one of the things that led to the trouble I had with my hands last year (cotton on straight needles). When I pulled it back out, I realized that it was pretty much a prefect size...especially once it was washed. So I knit a couple more finishing rows, bound off and ended up with a nice little addition to my grandma's 92nd birthday haul:

Now one of the things I am most excited about is that I finally organized my stash! I was dreading seeing it all in one place. But when I needed to locate the last two balls of yarn I needed for my Seraphim shawl and I had NO idea where they were, I knew it was finally time to take on this project. So, a couple Saturday's ago (blogless) Dr. Nyl came over, we took it all out, photographed everything, and re-packaged it by project type. Honestly? It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be and I feel really good about my stash. It was nice to see what I have, be reminded about what I plan to make with some of these, and consolidate out some of the things I know I will never use.

Finally, as hinted in our retreat wrap-up post, I finished Seraphim.

And I blocked it...

Now, I just need to take a couple more photos (preferably where I don't look like I've recently been run over by a tractor) and I will have a FO post to share!