Progress

Watching anything develop and grow is a remarkable phenomenon.

I have personally gone from this:



To this:



All grown up, though not much bigger. It's almost a shame I'm not wearing my Wonder Woman t-shirt for a better comparison.

Finished project
Deep V-Neck by Stefanie Japel, from Fitted Knits, second and FINAL attempt.
Knit Picks Shamrock in Kelley, 8.5 balls.

I think it looks pretty good, even if it is still a wee bit too large in the bust. I guess I'll take what I can get, because I ain't knitting it for a third time.

And here's the progress on the Ms. Darcy cardigan:



Six inches in, she's coming along nicely.

I've decided to experiment with the sleeves. Instead of knitting them separately and seaming later, I will be picking up stitches, starting close to the top of the shoulder, and working in short rows to the armpit before joining the sleeves in the round. It seems like a BRILLIANT idea, and while I'm sure it's been done, I'm surprised that I haven't seen things like this done more often. So many knitters hate seaming, and I hope this attempt is successful. We'll see.

Speaking of developing, my days in NYC the week before last were probably some of the most incredible times I've ever had in my life. I saw so many amazing things--modernist art pieces at the Met, the MoMA, and the Guggenheim; Central Park both with and without snow; early silent cinema at the Museum of the Moving Image; more random acts of kindness than I've seen since leaving the South (lemme tell you, Chicagoans are RUDE...I now do NOT understand how New Yorkers have that reputation because it's completely undeserved). I ate delicious vegan food, got sick in Chinatown, bought "I (Heart) NY" shirts for my nieces (who are progressing beautifully themselves), started and completed reading James Agee's A Death in the Family, and tried to sleep while hot Irish guys got smashed and puked at my hostel. I didn't get any knitting done on the trip, which only served to make me want to knit more once I returned to Chicago. I also lost my job while I was gone (over something I wasn't responsible for in the least, I might add), but I've already got a far better gig starting Tuesday.

I still haven't absorbed everything, but I'm getting there.

I've spent the last six months slowly figuring out my limitations and strengths. I feel like I know myself better than I ever have before--I can now say, for the most part, with confidence that I know what I want from life, and I know what I want to give to the world. I've made large leaps in some directions (diet, turning off my consumerist impulses, charity work) and baby steps in others (artistically, education-wise). I've made many new friends and an equal number of missteps. Yet I still have a long way to go.

I do want to thank you here, Noelle, publicly, for your kind words, your friendship, and your support. We should meet up again SOON to knit and chat--I miss our little lunchtime knitting and griping sessions.