Stupid Things People Say

I think I'm going to stop saying things like "I can't believe July is over!" Well, it always happens, doesn't it? And it's no shorter than it was last year, is it? And "Summer seems to be just flying by!" Well, no, it really doesn't. It goes at the same speed every year. Let's pay attention, people. Time doesn't change, just the things that happen. So I'm going to make an effort to think about the stupid things I say.

On Knitting

Friday night, I cast on with beads for the Hanging Garden Stole. It took a couple of tries before I got it just right, and I'm really happy with the result. Here's my finished first repeat of the stole:

This yarn is my prize from the Diamond Fantasy KAL. The color is so much more beautiful irl, and my camera can't really capture how great this pattern is. I tried to give the shot as much light as I could. Maybe I need to try an outdoors shot and see if that shows the color better. Also, the beads are very pretty, and they don't show up here as well as they should. The pattern calls for drop beads, and these are quite a bit larger. But I love it.

Let's try a closer shot and see if it shows clearer:
the color is a bit better, but the beads aren't clearer. The whole pattern is 12 repeats, and this first repeat took me approximately 2 days. So if I can sustain my work on it, the stole could be completed in a month. We'll see. My official start date was July 27. I'll be very happy, and maybe surprised, if I can finish this by September 1.

I'm also still working on the tank top I began in Elann Esprit. It's pretty mindless stockinette on big needles, and I pick it up whenever I want a few minutes of no-thought knitting. It would be fun if I can wear it this year. I haven't taken any pictures of it - even the pictures would be boring.

And as for pictures, it looks like Blogger only wants to let me post two. I was trying to post pictures of the finished Romper, but it keeps giving me an error message. So those will still have to wait until another time.

Reading

I'm almost 500 pages into Until I Find You. Interesting, and now we're at a bit of a turning point, where everything Jack (the main character) knows seems to be changing. It could end up being a surprise.

This side of the US is knee-deep into a heat wave, and it's supposed to last a few more days. Try to keep cool, people.