Where have I been?!

Goodness, gracious, where have I been/what have I been doing? Apologies for the blog silence. I've been busy/sick/blah/what-you-will. All last month I worked three mornings a week at the preschool, which doesn't *seem* like that much more than one morning a week. But it was. And all that extra time with the small fry (which was super fun - don't get me wrong) led to my getting really sick ten days before Christmas.

Now, my doctor said that if I got sick after getting my flu shot that it had nothing to do with the flu shot, but I'm not sure I believe her. Anyway, I spent the weekend in my pajamas moving from the couch to the bed and back again being absolutely miserable. Just goes to show that I am not a good sick person, since I may have been a bit whiny.

Thank goodness I hadn't planned to make many Christmas gifts this year, since I knew I would be working at the preschool. But I did knit up some cozy hats for my BFF's boys, another hat (beanie version of Night Watch Cap) for my Dad (since last year's ended up simultaneously too big and too small), and a My, Dear for my Mom, who is quite the deer lover. Ooh, there was a Captain Austen's Scarf, too, for Nick (with no fringe), but I finished that early in the month. And I had test knit my Castaway in a lovely green wool-silk blend for my sister back in early November. Hmm, I did knit more gifts than I thought I had! But I didn't have last-minute knits, which saved me from stress and last-minute-ness.

Last thing was a specific request from my youngest: a sweater for her beloved doll Victoria in the style of my to-be-plublished Bloc sweater but cardiganised and done in pink and purple:

Victoria with her Bloc cardi

 How could I resist such a request? And it helps that such things are small :)

Have you seen Bloc?

Bloc by Kathleen Dames

I love this sweater! In fact, I made a second one. This one is also my Superstorm Sandy sweater, since I finished the bulk of it around the time Sandy hit New York. I couldn't do much of anything besides watch the news coverage and knit round and round. I sort of test-knit my size on the second Bloc and will be working on grading the pattern this week.

In the meantime I've submitted some ideas to magazines and have finished up the pattern editing for a couple of sweaters (thanks, Ruth, for your mad editing skillz!). If you're interested in joining the test knits for these, check out the threads on Ravelry: Mermaid's Cardigan and Sailor's Valentine.

More posting to come - promise!