Apparently my creativity is in textiles.

Although this time around I don’t have a whole lot for you. The shawl looks pretty much the same as it did last week, with just a few stitches bound off, so I’ll just show this picture again:

Most of the knitting on the vest is finished, but it needs to be washed and blocked before I’ll start sewing it together and finishing the neck- and button-bands. However, I’ve been meaning to wash my handknit socks for ages, so they were the first to get a bath, and now I have to wait until they’re dry. Which takes foreeeeever. Bah!

I did make this while watching a movie the other day (Wings of Desire—pretty good movie, except for one monologue at the end!):

Mom’s been going on about how she loves the one dishcloth I made and left home, and how she needs new dishcloths, so when we went to RiteAid one day I picked up a ball of Sugar ‘n Cream to tide me over before this:

Yesterday I got out all of my yarn and tried to organize it a bit, so I know what’s where and where to look for interesting things. On the left is leftovers of yarns, and on the right is full skeins (and partials, if there are matching partials). There’s a little more yarn than that, but not much. I try not to keep a lot of yarn or I’d get confused. The only thing is that right now I’m between projects, and I don’t know what I have and what I could make with it! So I might be knitting dishcloths for the next week and a half, then get myself to a yarn store once I’m back at school. Or maybe I’ll do something more exciting with the worsted-weight leftover yarns. Not really sure yet.

Today was such a better day than yesterday. I haven’t been doing as much knitting as I’d like because I’ve been soooo busy with schoolwork (which really, I’m surprised at), but today for some reason I feel MUCH calmer/more at peace with everything than I was yesterday and especially yesterday evening. I guess it really is like I was telling a friend of mine: Tomorrow is always a new day. I really feel great today. My skin feels more alive than it has (which has to do with some experimentation with soap, I think), my hair felt soft and cute and flirty all day, and I learned how to layer my clothes so that I was warm AND cute all day. Though it would have worked out better if my cardigan was a little more close fitting. Ah well. The fact that I’m learning proper layering is a good thing.

Of course, I really need to go shopping for more clothes. I simply don’t have enough to really vary what I wear day-to-day. Hate shopping.

Oh, that reminds me of something I want to talk about at the end of the entry. (I must be the most spastic blogger out there, always jumping from one topic to another. Sorry!!!)

First off, though:

I got REALLY antsy over the weekend, and though I didn’t have the right size needles (US8 straights instead of US7), at least I had the yarn and I had wanted to try the Ballband Dishcloth pattern. I used 27 stitches each and with the exception of switching the colors and methods of cast-on on the second, everything was the same.

So why is the second one longer than the first??

Yeah, I have no idea either. I might re-knit the second on size 7 needles now that I have them, as I really dislike how loose the fabric is. The first one I already wove in the ends on because I had to use it though, so it will stay as it is.

Umm. Details on Ravelry.

So, one last ramble. I’ve started drinking a lot of tea lately: a cup in the morning at least and an herbal tea later in the afternoon/just before bed. However, my “stash” of tea is diminishing by a lot, and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on teas to replenish it with. Since I need to go to the store to get more Celestial Seasonings Echinacea Complete Care, and I’m getting low on both green and Earl Grey too, I was hoping people might have ideas for new things for me to try. I LOVE trying new teas. A friend of mine suggested Brown Rice Green Tea once, and it’s my new favorite, even if it’s only stocked in Asian markets. What are your favorites? I want to try everything.

As for chai: I am extremely inexperienced in this area. Em sent me a lot of info one time about chai, but I haven’t really utilized it as well as I should. Anyway, I am okay leaving chai-making to coffee shops, but if you have a favorite type of chai or something, I’d love to hear about it!