"MOOOOMMMMM! Could you COME IN HERE!!!"

I suppose I should mention the time that this conversation was initiated:

2 am.

When one no longer has an infant in their home, being woken in the middle of the night by something other than your own bladder is rather unexpected. But, you know, it's just one of those things. I dragged myself out of bed, and stumbled down our short upstairs hallway to Anne's room. I open the door. Anne is sitting up in bed:

*hands me colored drawing of a rainbow*

"I made this for you, Mom. You were supposed to come get it when you got home."

*stern look*

Apparently I was in trouble, hence the late night wakeup call. I was at a photoshoot for my dance studio when she was put to bed by Mike earlier.

"I did come in here, darling, after I got home, but I did not see this drawing. Is that why you called me in here?"

"I need fuzzy socks, my feet are cold."

*long suffering sigh*

Is it any wonder why I feel like I'm dragging my way through this week? If I'm being honest, I'm struggling with a few things right now, and that feeling of overwhelment (is that a word? If not...I don't care :0) and spiritual dryness is threatening to consume me. I'm going to talk about this a bit on the next Tea Time.

Until then, the kids do make me smile:

Christmas in July train set up and running

...AND, I finished my summer knit-along shawl!

*drum roll*

I bought blocking wires that are designed to stretch out lace fabric in a pleasing way, and I have to say that I'm quite happy with the results. I'm also very happy to have this shawl off of my needles, and to have moved onto something else! I'm in manic finish-it-up mode, trying to complete in-progress items so that I can feel good about myself and deny my own lack of commitment to craft projects prior to the onset of fall. Hey, I can try, right? ;-)

How was YOUR weekend? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!

Who's in the mood for a summer knit-along?!

You all know me by now. Prior traumatizing cast-on experiences, anxiety-inducing episodes brought on by glacial pace, results with faces only a mother could love... none of these things deter your Catholic Librarian when she gets her mind set to a knit-along!

*confetti!*

I LOVE knit-alongs. I love the community spirit, the camaraderie, the feeling of having a timed mission, the support as we work together, the excitement. Love. Everything about it.

And so the Downton Abbey mystery shawl memories are behind me, and I am all Full Steam Ahead on this latest endeavor. Want to join me? :0

Our mission is the Expression Fiber Arts Summer KAL (fancy acronym for knit-along). Expression Fiber Arts is pretty much my weakness when it comes to yarn. I mean it, go look, you'll see what I mean. The inspiration photos for each yarn, showing the color palette in question?

*swoons*

It's magnificent. I love her work. Indeed, I'm working on a project right now with her Resilient Sock yarn in the Appletini colorway:

Pattern is Merridy by Taiga Hilliard Designs

This is a summer lace dress for Anne. All of her colors are limited edition, so things aren't around for very long. She'll have something, and then when it sells out it's gone. Unless she decides to dye another batch of it, which she may or may not do. The thrill of the chase, I tell you. ;-)

So, let's get down to the nitty gritty on the Summer KAL (to access this link, you may need to sign up for a Ravelry account, which is free). It's not a mystery, but the pattern will not be released until June 1st. For now all we know is that it will be a small summer shawl. On June 1st, however, the entire pattern will be released.

We'll all work on it together through June and July, and those who officially sign up and finish their project by August 1st will be entered to win a prize. Which is, of course, free yarn. ;-) Not a knitter? There is also a Summer CAL (crochet-along). I thought about doing both. But then I remembered the Great Downton Abbey Debacle of 2016 and restrained myself. :0 I just signed up for the KAL. Both projects will be small shawls.

You'll need 400-550 yards of sport weight yarn for the project. You can of course use any sport weight you'd like, and likely could substitute fingering weight pretty easily. The official yarn (for which you'll receive 4 extra entries into the prize drawing at the end, if you use it) is Expression Fiber Arts Luster Merino Tencel sport. Naturally, I could not resist, and ordered some. There is a coupon code that is good right now for a few more days (Destiny15) for 15% off all Luster Merino Tencel and Resilient Sock. I used that to procure 2 skeins of the sport weight in a mint green color that has now sold out, called Spearmint. But there are still other lovely options available if you want to take advantage of the code. I also bought a skein of the Boston at Night colorway to knit Mike a cabled hat.

That sound you just heard is that of a happy yarn-aholic whose appetite has been totally satisfied.

I'm really looking forward to working on this. In the meantime, I'm working on other spring projects. The dress pictured above for Anne. A blue silk lace scarf for myself. Going to cast on for some self-striping Fourth of July themed socks for Henry. The knitting life is grand.

Anybody else interested in either the KAL or the CAL? Do write in and let me know!