A hit and two misses

I will be blunt (there's a surprise, since I am normally so enigmatic and hard to read) - I did not do particularly well with my April goals. Those goals were to exercise three times per week, not indulge in snacks and cut back on food portions. The good news is that I did walk three times a week, sometimes more; the bad news is that I fell off the "no snacking" band wagon and that I ate just as much as ever. I can blame my failure on spring break, a birthday, out of town guests, yada yada yada but the fact remains that I did not meet two of my three goals.

Enough self-loathing and on to May. I will keep the same three goals as those in April, although I will state "walk three times a week" because walking really is my preferred form of exercise. And I will do my utmost to meet the other two goals, so that the combination of good cardio and fewer calories will do my body, my health and my mental well being a whole lotta good.

I do have one knitting goal to add to the mix. Although school is not out for seven more weeks (or as I usually say "only seven more weeks of school?"), I want to be ahead of the game and have the end of year gift for Aidan's teacher complete by the end of May. I am knitting her an infinity scarf in a simple knit four rows, purl four rows pattern so it should not be difficult to finish it soon.

Although I am the only one really keeping score in regards to my monthly resolutions, stating them out loud on my blog and then reporting my results is the best way for me to monitor my progress and make real changes in my life.

Almost heaven

I made this:

 

It is a triangular kerchief or shawlette, and is worn with either the point in front or back. The pattern is 198 Yds. of Heaven by Christy Verity and I have long admired it. I tried to knit it over a year ago and could not get past the first four rows; while she designed a lovely kerchief, Ms. Verity does not write instructions as well as she could. When I started the pattern three times and failed each time, I set it aside. Who am I kidding? I probably threw the pattern across the room.

Last summer, several members of the Motherhood Later group on Ravelry worked on the pattern as a knit along (KAL). I was knee deep in other knitting projects at the time (like the dreaded vest I made for my mother) and did not participate, but realized that if I chose to try again, their discussion of the pattern would be helpful.

About a month ago when James and Aidan were on a Cub Scout camping trip, I decided to try the pattern. I read through the posts on the Motherhood Later discussion board, asked one of the members, Karina, a few clarifying questions, and set to work. I did end up restarting once or twice but soon I found myself past the first four rows and almost to the end of the first lace repeat. And I loved what I saw on the needles.

I finished the kerchief on Wednesday and blocked it yesterday, using the handy dandy blocking mats from Knit Picks that Aidan and James gave me for my birthday. The pattern instructions say to block "aggressively", which led my friend Jennifer to say that I should grit my teeth and snarl while blocking it. I think I oohed and ahhed more than I snarled, because this was the first time that I really saw the difference between an unblocked project and a blocked project. Here is a before blocking photo:

And here is the after:

Blocking made the lace really pop:

The yarn is Malabrigo Merino Worsted and the color is Rhodesian. When I was admiring the completed projects from the Motherhood Later KAL, I noticed that Andrea had used a lovely shade of orange; she is one of the few people I know who likes orange about as much as I do. Her choice made quite an impact on me because I realized on Wednesday that I inadvertently chose the exact same Malabrigo yarn and color as Andrea!

I can't stop looking at the kerchief - it may be the prettiest item I have ever knit. Sometimes I amaze myself.