Busy busy bee...

Okay, so you know how I said we'd be back to our regularly scheduled (sporadic?) posting? I may have fibbed just a little. I had high hopes of photographing my WIP's; seriously organizing my knitting, and having grand stories to share of frogging, FO's, and perhaps even casting on something NEW. But no. Although 1 out of 3 ain't bad, right? I did organize the stash into three clear bins under my bed, two small baskets on a bookshelf, and my knitting bag on wheels. Of course part of the organization was supposed to entail photographing what I have yet to add to Ravelry, but at least what I did get done made my room much neater.

As far as any progress on my WIP's... I haven't knit a stitch since last Wednesday when I needed to unwind from that day's testing. No wait, I forgot. I knit a row on the Corner-to-Corner afghan that I had planned to knit for Project Linus. Remember that? I believe I started that one back in April... sigh...

My excuse this time? Well Friday morning I had an interview and later that day they called to offer me the job. The rest of that day was spent running around to get all the pre-employment screenings that had to be done. Saturday my parents took my brother, his girlfriend, my fiance, and I to a baseball game (where I absent-mindedly got sunburn...oops). Then Sunday was the great organization day, followed by Monday, the great organization day part II. This morning work called to give me my official starting date, so I spent the day shopping for new clothes and getting things in order so I could start. I also made phone calls to a few places to get this wedding planning off the ground now that I have a job and am done with the bar exam. In other words, I've been a very busy girl.

But, I have made a promise to myself that I will get better. Especially since I will most likely be taking the train into work a few days a week, so I should have plenty of time to knit. I have so many ideas floating around and have to force myself to refrain from casting on before I finish what is OTN.....

Since I lack any new knitting photos, I leave you with a picture from my South Bend trip two weeks ago in honor of the 2007 Notre Dame football season's kicking off in just over a month on September 1 against Georgia Tech. Go Irish!

And we're back!

Shortly you will return to your regularly scheduled Legal Needles reading!! Thank you everyone for the well wishes on the bar exam. I survived. The right hand is a little sore from the 12 essay questions we had today and holding the knitting needles is a little difficult right now (no lie!!), but rest assured that I will be back in the knitting and blogging saddles soon. For now it is time for some much needed rest. Just wanted to let you know that I made it. Good night!

T minus one week...

...and counting until the Big Test. But let us keep our minds on happier less stressful things for the moment. Tomorrow morning (EARLY morning) I leave for South Bend to attend my dear friends' wedding. I know, I am crazy for going out there so close to the bar, but let's be honest -- if I haven't learned it by now, I am sure as heck not going to learn it in the next week. Just in case, I do have hours and hours of Evidence, Torts, and Constitutional Law lectures loaded onto my iPod for my enjoyment on the plane and during my layovers. And I have a stack of index cards about a foot high (no joke). But like I said before -- let us talk about happier things.

I am very excited to go out to South Bend. I will get to see friends I haven't seen in years as well as spend some time visiting Notre Dame's campus. This will be my first time back there since Fall 2004 when I went with my parents' to the Purdue game. Sure, the campus will be different without the hustle and bustle of the students, but it will be a nice relaxing getaway, even if it only lasts less than 48 hours.

As far as my knitting is concerned, it hasn't made much progress since we spoke last Sunday. I know. No new knitting to report in TEN days. Part of it has to do with my studying. Part has to do with my sheer lack of concentration on any one project. Part has to do with the many other distractions. Namely Ravelry. Casey and Jess launched a groups feature that is eating up what free time I allot myself to use the computer. Not in a bad way though. It is great to talk with new people and connect with people who have common interests (other than needlework) or who live in the same area.

To make up for the lack of knitting time in the last 10 days, I thought about bringing my knitting with me tomorrow so I'll have something to do on the plane (and so I can make progress on my socks!!). I know that technically knitting needles are allowed in carry-on luggage according to the TSA's list of prohibited/permitted items, but I have heard on various message boards that people have had trouble getting them through security because the TSA has discretion to allow or disallow the knitting needles, even if they are on the permitted list. So I am still undecided about what to do. This is such a short trip and I hope to make the travel as smooth as possible, but at the same time I do not want to be bored during the flight....Worse thing that could happen is that they tell me I can't bring them and they get confiscated, right?

I will go ponder that while I finish packing and get some more studying done. Remember, I will be back into full blogging/knitting/socializing mode on Friday July 27th. Until then, happy knitting!!

Just a Quick Update

I know, I must sound like a broken record, but yet again it has been another busy week for me. And the next few won't be letting up either. The bar exam looms in the future and now it is a mere 17 days away. My blogging might be even more sparse than it has been since graduation; and who knows what this means for my knitting. As it is, I do not have much to update this week. I did not stick to my plan of finishing the Clementine Socks. Instead, when I did pick up the needles, it was to work on the Giotto Sock from the yarn4socks.com June Sock Club shipment. I moved past the picot cuff and the first lace pattern. Now I am into the main part of the leg, which includes a rather intricate pattern with cables and lace. I am not sure why, but as I knit this, I tend to grip the needles rather tightly, causing my left hand to cramp up. Usually I can only do a few rounds or so before having to take a break. Right now I am through 2 and 1/2 repeats, which does not translate to much as each repeat consists of 4 rows. Hey - a little progress is better than none, right? And I really did make 10 rounds of progress since the picture a few posts ago... it's just hard to tell from the picture.

Where to begin...

This week, again, has been a little busy. My dad left for his trip to Alaska to climb Mt. McKinley Tuesday. They flew onto the mountain on Thursday and last we heard, they were somewhere around 8000'. My little brother and I began reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone together in anticipation of the new book and movie coming out soon. And as usual, I have had my bar review class.

As for knitting, I finally finished Carlos's Bear. It is the Bertie & Bruce pattern from Sandra Polley's Knitted Teddy Bear. I used Plymouth's Dreambaby DK yarn and US 2 needles. The green and white are the team colors for Sporting Clube de Portugal, Carlos's favorite soccer team. Eventually I will knit a striped sweater for the bear.




I also knit up 3 more preemie hats to send to a local hospital here in Connecticut once I have a whole bunch finished. These are knit with Caron Simply Soft with US 6 DPN's from the patterns at Newborns in Need that I modified to knit in the round with shaping. I previously blogged the modifications here.



Now, as for the socks... I must confess, I have not picked up the sock needles since the beginning of last week. Since I am closest to finishing the Clementine Socks, those will be my priority this week. Also, I am ready to turn the heel on my first toe up socks - the June Sockamania Pattern, River Valley - so that will be next up. After that, the Giotto, which I cast on for the start of the Summer of Socks. Five socks on the needles... at least I have a plan of attack, right?? Let's see how well I stick to it.