A Strawberry Handkerchief
One of my big knitting projects this year has been the Desdemona Shawl designed by the super talented Miriam Felton of MimKnits for Wooly Wonka Fiber's Shakespeare in Lace club. The square shawl was inspired by Desdemona's strawberry embroidered handkerchief in Othello. The yarn is a merino/tencel blend which blocks to a soft, drapey, wonderful fabric--although I didn't love knitting with it. The shawl is a gift for my friend Rachel and will be delivered to her at Rhinebeck come October (don't want to trust these 62,000+ stitches to the US Postal Service!)
This shawl is a gift, but it's also number 50 on my 101 in 1001 list. I submitted it for competition in the Lane County Fair (which opened yesterday) and I am super pleased to say that it won a blue ribbon! I am thrilled.
Unfortunately, whomever set up the display for the fair was clearly not a knitter as almost all of the lace knitting was displayed purl side up. So, this is the back side. A small issue in the grand scheme of things since most people won't know the difference. I'm looking forward to seeing the judges' comments when I get this back, to see what I can do to improve my knitting.
Smashed Chickpea Salad
One choice D and I have made this year is to try and cut back on our meat consumption. This means more mushrooms, more whole grains and hopefully, more beans and bean-like objects. I have a great aversion to the slightly gritty texture of beans though, so I'm searching hard to find ways to enjoy them. I like hummus, so that's one. And now I like this lemon-y, onion-y, olive-y salad. It's a great balance of crisp and soft and tangy and salty. I highly recommend it, especially on a piece of seeded whole grain toast. My next recipe to try? Crispy roasted chickpeas. Then maybe I'll move on to another member of the bean family!
NaBloPoMo
One of my 101 in 1001 goals was to blog for 28 consecutive days. Well, I've decided to tackle that goal and will be participating in NaBloPoMo. In order to come up with content, I think I'll be focusing some days into themes:
Monday Musings - in which I will reflect on something I've read or watched or heard
Work-in-progress Wednesday - in which I will share a project that I am currently in the middle of
Friday Fixation - in which I will highlight a product or item I just love to pieces.
Snapshot Sunday - in which I will share a photo or photos of something that interests me
Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday will be non-themed days, for whatever strikes my fancy.
101 in 1001
I am 994 days shy of turning 30. In order to celebrate that milestone, I decided to embark on 101 in 1001. For 1001 days I will attempt to accomplish 101 goals, ranging in size from small (visit the beach) to much larger scale (buy a house, launch my professional website). This blog post is a week behind my actual 1001 days schedule, because last weekend was exhausting and the list was harder to write than I thought it would be.
Why am I doing this? Because I work well with deadlines. By setting these goals and keeping the list where I can see it frequently, I'll be reminded of these things I want to do. I'm hoping it will also help me celebrate the time I have left in my twenties. It just seems like the right thing for me to do.
Accountability. I'll be marking things off the list as I accomplish them, and blogging those accomplishments. In the end though, my real hope is to create some inspiration for myself, and to reconnect with a part of me that frequently feels very far away these days.