Update

I've been sick. I took two days off last week and on top of all that I got an infection from my wisdom tooth. Apparently, that's kind of common six weeks after the fact. I've also been studying for the LSATS (again). I have been working on a certain UFO though - my sock! I had ample time to do this when I was sick, and it lasted me quite a few episodes of Law and Order. Much of this time (I'd say at least four hours) was spent untangling. Who knew sock yarn was so tangly?!!

My challenge isn't going great, but there is still a long time in October to finish those UFOs.

Today is October 1st

and I'm getting sick. I had a tiny sore throat this weekend, and it got a lot worse today.

However, I still got to finish my first October UFO. This should have taken about 10 minutes, but in true Adina fashion, I messed it up first. I had already knit the last row of k2tog, but for some strange reason (I'm blaming it on my sore throat), I knit an extra and then a row of k2tog again. Luckily, it was still easily fixable. I have a habit of making every hat I make for myself a little bit too small, and this one is no exception. However, I think it is still wearable, and I have a nice blue fall!
In other news, the knitting night at Kathleen's was lots of fun. Kathleen always seems to outdo herself, and I never cease to be amazed at her knitting progress. She finished her first mitten, and now has one mitten and one sock (a true knitter - good thing it's UFO month!)
I took a picture of the baby blanket she is knitting, before remembering that the mother-to-be hasn't seen the blanket yet, so I won't put the picture up until the baby is born.

Meanwhile, Joanna taught herself to cable,Kathleen taught Amna how to knit continental,
Sara reunited with a pair of knitting needles and learned how to cast on,

and I worked on my first sock (which is now, technically, another UFO while I finish my other UFOs).
We ate a delicious gourmet meal cooked by Kathleen's boyfriend, Justin, and had yummy cookies that Kathleen had baked. The next time we knit together will be in New Orleans when we visit Jen. Or, more likely, on the plane.

more central park knitting (and adina gets philosophical)

My great-aunt Dora loved to crochet. Every member of my family has some item crocheted specially by Aunt Dora. Doll clothes, countless afghans, pillow, the list goes on. I have some pillows she crocheted specially for me decorating my room at my parents' house. I keep two warm afghans in my tiny apartment - two of the few items I took home with me after my grandparents died. My grandmother, her kid sister, was never really into needle crafts. I don't think she learned to knit or crochet when she was growing up in the 1930s and '40s. But when she was much older, and in the hospital, someone there taught her to crochet. She crocheted a large blanket, using mostly single crochet, with stripes and texture. It sat on my grandmother's couch for years, the oranges and yellows blending in with the 1970's decor that to this day still furnishes the house, warming anyone who sat on the couch or cozy armchairs or slept in the living room when all the bedrooms were full. My grandmother promptly forgot how to crochet, but she was always humbly proud of that blanket that she made when she was so sick.

Needle crafts really are comforting and healing, which is why I've been doing so much of it lately. I know that almost everyone gets their wisdom teeth out and that people deal with it, but mine were pretty badly impacted and are still very painful. I would love to one day teach crafts to hospital patients (unfortunately, my current work hours keep me from doing that right now). Knitting has been calming me, keeping me occupied and happy. When yesterday afternoon I finally got out to soak up some sun, I went to a knitting store that I went to with my mom when I first moved here. I had been looking for it for months but I finally found it on the internet. (The problem had been that I had no idea what it was called and couldn't quite remember where it was either.) When I got there, it was closed for Labor Day (who closes for Labor Day on Tuesday???) so I went back to The Yarn Co., which has a nice selection but is kind of small (so nothing really out of the ordinary) and doesn't stock Lamb's Pride. (Still I buy a lot of stuff there and what they do have is really nice.) I got some black Torino bulky for the bottom of my purse (if I use the silk I've been using for the rest of it, it will probably tear after a day or two) and some in black so that I can finally make a hat for Sam that isn't huge. Later, Amna came over and we got soup from a place on my block and went to Central Park for a picnic soup dinner and to knit. (Her scarf is getting so long - it looks awesome!) This cheered me up immensely, it even helped take away the pain (as the frozen yogurt we had afterwards!) I hadn't brought my camera - but Amna had hers! Unfortunately, I still have my chipmunk cheeks from getting my wisdom teeth out. (So I'm vain enough to disclose that but not enough to not put a picture of myself looking not-my-best up)