Suckety suck suck (and a lot of knitting!)

Yep, my stomach issues have come roaring back with a vengance this past week. I was home from work four days last week, and two days so far this week, as I can't go very far from the bathroom. My sister had her 25th birthday on Sunday, so on Saturday my parents came to town to visit, and we were all supposed to head out to an amazing spanish restaurant for the evening. I stayed at home instead, watching lots and lots of Angel episodes (I have a thing for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but haven't actually seen Angel until now. Silly me). Today I think I'm finally starting to feel like myself again, but so far it has gotten worse in the evenings, so I'll not count my eggs yet.

Anyhow, having stayed at home for so long, I've actually gotten lots and lots of knitting done. Last Monday I finished my lilac Tunic dress, and I couldn't be more happy with it!

It fits me very well, even though I did a LOT of tweaking to the pattern to be able to knit it in the round. It's supposed to be knit in two different parts and then sewn together, but I really hate sewing. I also opted for kitchenering the shoulder seams (which I think makes me an expert on kitchener stitch now, all in all about 180 stitches kitchenered together), and it worked out great. I wore it on Sunday when my sister and her boyfriend were here to play some board games on her birthday (she and her boyfriend and my husband had chinese food. I had water). 

I've also FINALLY managed to finish the India Stole! I started this one on June 4th, so it took me over four months to complete. I've done some other stuff in between, but it still feels like ages!

And do you know what: This is my tenth shawl this year! I've actually managed to knit 10 shawls in 2010, just like the challenge was! I'm very happy with that! And I love the stole too, it turned out great. It will be perfect to wear around the shoulders once the winter is over. The yarn (Chili Gredelin Simone) is a bliss to work with, and I actually have 2.2 more skeins of this same colourway, which will last me for at least another shawl. Possibly two!

Today I also cast on for the Evenstar shawl, which is going to be awesome too. I'm knitting it in my Wollmeise Lace yarn, in colourway Sabrina, and so far I love the yarn! It's great to work with and the colour is amazing! 

Although I have to admit that I probably love Chili Gredelin's yarns more, because they are even softer. And Kia who runs Chili Gredelin is also an amazingly talented dyer! I wish she would hold a course in dyeing, I would travel the 500 kilometers to her city for that :)

I'm also thinking of starting over on the Paper Dolls sweater. I really need a more or less mindless stockinette knit to bring with me to work, and the body of that sweater should be just perfect for that. I've decided to make a lot more decreases for the waist, as well as making a 2x2 rib at the hem instead of 1x1. I'm also going to knit the I-cord edges on after the thing is done, as I couldn't manage to get the I-cord cast-on to look good. I'll see if I pick it up tonight, or if I get too immersed in the Evenstar :)


Oh, and finally: Did you notice a new linky on the right side column of the blog? the NaNoWiMo? It stands for Nationla Novel Writing Month, and I signed up a couple of days ago. This means that I'm going to try to write a 50 000 word novel in just the month of November! I actually signed up before my stomach crashed, so I'm feeling a bit less motivated right now, but hopefully that will sort itself out before November comes around. I've wanted to be a fiction writer ever since I learned how to read at the age of 5, and I figured this might just be the kick in the but that I need to get me going. I've only written scientific papers for the last couple of years, but since I'm done with research I figured I would pick up my fiction writing again. Wish me luck!

Now I'll see if I can find something mild to eat. Hold your thumbs that I can go to work tomorrow again, I really miss it!

/ Jenny