Bellatrix is done!

DSC00304, originally uploaded by minervanicole.

Bellatrix is done! I love them, don't you?

Knitting 004

Knitting 004, originally uploaded by minervanicole.

Here's a picture from the company photo shoot. The theme was "On the Ball" and I informed them that knitting was my sport. These pictures were the outcome.

I need a project on bigger needles

I made a conscious decision to test my knitting skills by moving on to more complex patterns, but I failed to take the boredom and monotony factor into account. Bellatrix socks on size 2 - okay they go fast but still take a toll on the eyes. Lanaknits Lace Tank Top - size 3 to get gauge and 200+ stitches each round. Both of these follow on the heels of the Lanaknits Lacey Little T - size 4 and the Lace Tank Top from No Sheep For You also on size 4. I need some serious instant gratification on some bulky yarn and I need it now!

Bellatrix

Bellatrix, originally uploaded by minervanicole.

Here's my current passion and chief distraction. I love these Bellatrix socks in the Death Eater colorway I bought from shelbyB on Etsy. The way that the dropped stitches makes the stripes undulate it so cool! One sock down, another to go!

Lace Tank from Lanaknits Designs

Lace Tank from Lanaknits Designs, originally uploaded by minervanicole.

This is my second hemp project from Lanaknits. I made the Little Lacy Top earlier this summer and I love it. I had to go down to size 3 needles in order to get gauge, so it's a slow moving project. Not to mention I have been totally distracted by my Bellatrix socks in the Deatheater colorway I bought off of Etsy.

Counting My Blessings

It's been a busy time. School is out and the boys are in summer camp.

I have eight year old twins, one of whom is autistic. We have always been so blessed by the people who make accommodations for Nathan. The Eugene Parks and Recreation Department has one again assembled an awesome staff for Wayne Morse Ranch Summer Camp and three wonderful one-on-ones for Nathan. We're in the second week and they've already been to Wildlife Safari and rafting, not to mention swimming twice. The boys can't wait to get to camp each day and are happily exhausted when I pick them up. It's wonderful.

I finished Coachella last night from the summer Knitty. What an awesome pattern. I had my doubts as I went along, but it makes such a sexy garment. I'm already planning to wear it to the Diana Krall/Chris Botti concert at the Cuthbert this summer. It seems like the perfect thing to wear to an outdoor jazz concert in August - sophisticated, sexy and comfortable. What more can you ask!

I've also joined the Sexy Knitter KAL. I think it will be a blast! I'm going to try to knit both garments. I guess that I'm just feeling sexy this summer!

Cast On

A whole new world has opened. I've discovered knitting podcasts. Well, perhaps I should rephrase that and say that I've discovered Cast On. If nothing else, I get a charge out of the opening sequence - knit like the wind. I wish. I couldn't stay awake for more than a half an hour after we got the boys to bed last night. Perhaps I will make more progress on my lace camisole from Knitting Lingerie Style this weekend, then again, perhaps not. My knitting time is fragmented to say the least, but I can at least knit vicariously through Cast On. Thank you Brenda Dayne!

Sunshine

Wow, it's amazing what a bit of sunshine can do for your mood. I can't even get myself to think about knitting with wool - give me bamboo, cotton, hemp or linen. It has to speak of the warm summer days to come. There will be time enough for heavy wool sweaters.....

Why Inner Minerva?

I guess the name represents the classic struggle I experience everyday when it comes to being a working mom. There is a huge part of me that feels like I should stay home and tend the hearth and home and yet I like to go out and fight the working woman's battles too. I know that I can't win either war and that success is a stalemate between the two, but that doesn't mean that I can't think it sucks.