Babette bobbing along

My Babette Blanket is bobbing along ahead of schedule. I have finished, blocked and joined all of the squares and I'm about to start seaming them. Making a schedule for this project was definitely a good idea!  It isn't a huge blanket, but there are a lot of little squares to make and having a daily allotment kept me completely motivated.  I'll start seaming, sOee how fast that goes, and schedule that too. Me so organized! :-)

Oh, and one more bit of vaguely knit related news .... I've been washing my hair with Eucalan.  My ends are getting dry and my shampoo is suspect. My hairdressers have always tod me to use a very gentle shampoo, but I'm not sure they exist without having to take a bank loan. I was watching tv way too late one night and was mesmerized by the ads for WEN, a conditioner type of cleanser.  After doing my research I found out that WEN is a big rip-off and that you can do the same thing with regular condtitioner. So I tired it, and the first wash was great, but the second was gross so I gave it up. A few weeks later, after wrestling with my ends, I figured why not try the Eucalan? I figured that if the stuff is the ultimate gentle wash for cashmere that it should be ok for hair. Hair is a fibre, right? So far so good, I'm 3 washes in and still happy.The roots aren't greasy, the ends are a little bit better  and they don't seem to be getting drier. The Eucalan is not heavy (my hair is fine and easily weighed down) and the curl's & volume are both great. I don't expect miracles, I just want to stop the cycle of damage. I started with the eucaluptus and moved on to grapefruit this morning. At first I wondered if this was going to be an expensive enterprise, but I sell refills for $8/500ml and I don't use a lot of the stuff when I wash.  Anyway, I'll keep you updated as I go!

Hi, my name is Haley and I'm a neglig...

Hi, my name is Haley and I'm a negligent blogger. But in my defense, I have plenty of excuses. Everyone I know has a big But. :-)

So here is what I've been up to ....

Painting the store.

We had the exterior painted, but the new colour (minty green) did not turn out to match the old colour (aqua-ee turquoise), so we painted the interior.  I had to take all the stuff off the walls and stow them away safely in the overhead compartment. The blue things were painted green and then i had to put all the stuff back on the walls. While i was putting stuff back i figured I might as well do some re-organizing i had been meaning to get around to. The needles are all pretty and everything has a little tag on the hook identifying what lives there and lets me know that it needs to be re-ordered (the hooks are hot real estate and are always in demand). I also did some furniture moving, which i had also been yearning for.

I created a 'vignette' (that's what they call a strategically placed chair at Ethan Allen) in the front window, moved my desk against the back wall & cleaned it out (lots of stuff in the basement), moved the shelving around (I'm getting ready to make space for a sofa!) and cleaned behind everything i could move. The new colour turned out really nice on the inside of the store, but was a bit much on the exterior, so we painted the doors a matching grey. the sign still needs to be repaired, it is getting a new frame, and the walls still need a new coat of paint.

i also moved the birds in together, they're shacked up. i got tired of the second cage, including the extra cleaning, but also Belle was very territorial about it and got really nippy. i send the birds for a vacation to my parents house while the painting took place and by the time they got back i figured it was time for them to take things to the next level. They loving couple are getting along super swell and I suspect Belle is getting ready to produce an egg.

Boteh Scarf, handmaiden sea silk, pewter

As for my knitting, I've actually been up to some crochet. First off was a Boteh scarf made with Handmaiden Sea Silk. An easy,  quality project, but I had to develop a system to keep track of the rows. I'm teaching a class on how to make it. The Sea Silk looks amazing!


Babette Blanket in Noro Silk Garden Sock

Shhhhhhhh .... I am working on a Babette Blanket in Noro Silk Garden Sock for my brother for his wedding. At first he said the wedding was next March, then it was moved to September, now it is in July! I've made a schedule for myself to get it finished in good time and reduce the likelihood of burnout. I might have 1/2 of the squares finished, maybe a bit more. I thought it would be fine with 5 balls, but I was very wrong and suffered much yarn shortage anxiety. Luckily, I was able to re-order from the distributor and it came quickly. 

xox H

P.S. Eden & Hans (my neighbours at Scratch) are adopting a baby! I just met her, she's great, easy babysitting!  :-)