healing and planning

it has been a difficult past week or two. most of my family was in Maine at the funeral of my twenty-something year old cousin who was found dead in bed by his college roommate only two days after returning from spring break with his family. i was not there because i was supposedly too caught up in my writing to travel. the funeral took place on the same day as the Virginia Tech shootings. when my mom returned home and we had a chance to speak at length on the phone, my heart absolutely ripped to shreds - not only at the grief my family is feeling for the lost of someone so young, but at the collected sorrow that still permeates the air. i have not been very productive work-wise since then, preferring to spend most of my time in bed, asleep, not thinking, not feeling.

this is supposed to be a craft blog, so i will share what little crafting i have done of lately. i have been knitting!!! mostly making swatches as i plan out future projects. so, in no particular order...


i bought this on ebay years ago. the label is in Russian, so all i know is that it's a mohair blend. i want to make a pretty sweater with it. definitely outside of my usual color range, but it would be nice to embrace a bit of girly glam.
this is from an old, shapeless sweater i recycled last week instead of setting it on fire in the backyard (which was my first choice). the original was a reverse stockinette stitch (pretty much like the back side of this swatch, but i think i prefer it....
...on the flip side (in this case, the front of the stockinette) it's rather bulky: about 4 stitches to the inch on #10's. should be fun, once i decide what to do with it.

this is a very light yarn i bought last summer. it is a silk cotton blend and has beautiful sheen. this is the front of the stockinette. nice, but not the sexiest application of the material.

i very much like the reverse stockinette instead...or maybe something light and lacey. hmm...!!!

and, certainly not least of all, the yarn that will become my "boo pillows". not a frightful-boo, but a sweetie-boo...as in, this will be toss pillow covers for my sweetie-boo. almost makes you think i have a heart, eh?