1 shawl competed

In time to ship for my grandmother's birthday. This is the Eros shawl, and it turned out rather well. I think it is perfect for her at this time of year: H-O-T. It is a pretty thing that may cut the chill a bit in air-conditioned spaces, but probably isn't any warmer than that.

I'm still working on the Pi Shawl, but honestly, I just haven't had much time for knitting lately. Now that the girls are out of school, I've discovered the small amount of progress I'd made towards having a schedule is all shot. I'm pretty much just starting from scratch. Again.

My oldest is surprisingly attached to the idea that I will be "homeschooling" them this summer. I don't know where the idea came from, but she really seems to want that to happen. We'll see if that holds up to actual practice. We've talked a bit about all the kinds of things she wants to do, but I think it is too much to realistically take on. I could be wrong, but I just think they need a lot more time to do nothing. You know, it is summer vacation.

So, we're planning trips to the library, and lots of reading at home, some crafts, and we'll see what we can work out for "field trips". I think I will work in a good deal of reading on history, possibly biographies, and mythology. The oldest will be working on an online math program they were using at school. She seems to be struggling with math, which concerns me a great deal. I don't want her to get behind this early in the game (will be in 3rd grade) because math skill build on the previous skills and it is so easy to get behind and never catch up. Of course, I personally feel that what they call 'math' in our schools (in WA, I have no idea what other states are doing) is complete and utter rubbish. It is confusing, assignments are very poorly written and the concepts seem to be too complex for the younger grades (I'm talking developmentally too advanced for the children.)

Sorry, I had one foot on the soapbox and the other was coming up to join it. LOL Still, My only real goal this summer was to get us all through it in one piece, with some growth in math skills and time for reading together. All the rest is icing on the cake for me (and the girls).

What was I talking about? Oh yes, the Pi Shawl. I'm up to the second lace pattern and 288 sts. Each round takes 30 minutes (give or take a few). I was falsely confident because by the end of the first lace pattern I could even watch simple (non-action) TV or sit in the room with the kids and their TV shows (or HGTV or Food Network) and knit without error. Well, lace pattern 2 has 24 st repeats, instead of the 12 st repeats on the first pattern. My brain has not yet adjusted to that change, so I'm back to the near-total isolation knitting that I started out with. Hopefully, I'll improve again, but I think once I get through this lace pattern, and double the number of stitches on the needles, it is back to repeats of the first lace pattern again. Sigh. I think I'll need more stitch markers.

I'm still enjoying the knitting, I just wish it was a more sociable project. I am planning to establish some "mom time" next week, just to make sure I get time everyday to knit, read or spin (or watch a movie or something). I think that is a reasonable thing to go for. It won't happen every day, but if I can make it work a few days out of the week, we'll all be much more at peace around here. LOL

I've also got the sweater for Himself to break up the intensity of the shawl. I'm trying to decide if I will allow myself to CO anything else. I'm trying to turn my brain back towards some spinning, too. My ambition has no limits! hee! I'm sure I'll get it all sorted, just in time for September!

Both girls modeled the shawl, so here's the back of it on my youngest's, erm, back.