I’m a day late for this week’s check-in but whew! It’s been a week! Happy to say that I finally have landed with a new job that should start mid-May. I’m working for the same company but no longer as an independent contractor which will make taxes SO much easier. Friday into Saturday was wild here with a major wind/dust storm and then a wildfire kicked up about 10 miles from us and was in the exact same trajectory as the massive Cerro Grande fire in 2010. We were happy we did not have 4 horses to try to evacuate on short notice this time around, but we did pack all the essentials for us and the dog and cat and stashed everything by the back door and nervously watched the fire updates. We were really fortunate – the wind turned a bit and the temperature dropped (we had freeze warnings overnight on Saturday) – and by Sunday, the winds were calm enough that they could get the planes/helicopters up to drop retardant on it. I’m ready for a calmer week at this end.
On to projects! You may have seen I finished up the Beanstalk Cowl test knit in my FO Friday post. Really pleased with how that came out, and it was a great match for a single skein of handdyed merino/silk that had been in stash for eons.
A bit more progress on my Misurina Tee. I’m just working my way around and around the body right now. I’d love to have that finished up by the end of the month, so I’ll focus on that one next. It’s an easy knit at this point….just slow with fingering-weight yarn and small needles.
I also finished up all the granny squares for the Beach Walk Blanket center section and joined everything together. Next up will be the mini granny squares round, but I’ll save those to work on in May on a short weekend trip we’ve planned.
No progress on any other crochet or knit projects this week, and no progress on my spinning projects. I did finally manage to get the center medallion border on my Desert Mandala cross-stitch project done, however!
And while it was unrolled and I was moving the scroll rods, I thought I’d grab a picture of the entire thing for you.
The entire upper third is done and I’ve finished the left side down to the midpoint. Next up, I’ll bring the outermost borders down to the midpoint, and work the landscape vignette, and the motif that’s in the right side triangle. While the level of detail in all of these sections is what makes this beautiful (IMHO), it also means they all take quite a while to work through. Lots of thread color switches and beading. That little butterfly under the jackrabbit in the upper right corner is my favorite – it’s done all in beads and metallic threads!
That’s it for me this week, YOP’ers. Have a great one!
Knit One, Spin Too 
Congratulations on your new job Anne, that’s exciting! I’m so happy to hear that you haven’t been affected by the wildfire. The winds have been bad here in our area… I’m tired of the wind! All of your projects are lovely and your cross stitch project is beautiful.
Thank you! It is exciting. I’ve worked with this company since 2017 but since I’m no longer dyeing or heading out to teach, it’ll be nice to be settled into something with people I already know. 🙂 Ditto with the wind. It’s very smoky here this morning but hopeful it will clear out some today.
You’re so very welcome Anne! I didn’t realize you no longer dye, but that makes sense to me now (I seem to have missed a few things over the last few years).
So glad you landed your job. Anything that makes taxes easier is a plus. We have already had 2 major wildfire here also. Lots of evacuations and many hones destroyed. Looks like most of the southwest is in for a bad fire season. Hopefully you will be safe again. Your cross stitch piece is exquisite! The colors are so rich and quite a bit of detail in each section. The butterfly is very pretty. It will be even more gorgeous when finished. I can see where it will take time but well worth it.
Thank you – me too! It’s always a thing here in the SW, but the wind feels worse to me this year than it has been, which is always a risk. Things are quieter today and the cool weather is definitely a help! I’m just trying to take my time and enjoy all the stitches 🙂
Great news on the job, very good luck with it! That crochet blanket is beautiful, I love your colour choices. I hope the winds and fires die down. Keep safe!
Thank you on all counts! Cooler and just breezy here today, so it’s an improvement. We had some smoke this morning but it’s cleared out a bit, which is a good thing!
Great news to have the security and ease of a permanent role. Your wildfire risk sounds terrifying and I’m glad all was well in the end but I can’t imagine how scary that must be. One of the children I au paired for in Michigan has been living in California but she and her husband and child are moving back to Michigan this year, the wild fires just keep creeping closer and they’ve had enough. I hope you’ll get your Desert Mandala professionally framed when it’s finished, it really is a masterpiece.
I don’t blame them. The fires are scary and unpredictable. California is tough too in that there is so much population density, if a fire starts, it’s pretty much guaranteed there will be some real estate affected. In the Cerro Grande fire here, there were sometimes sections that had no population base at all they just let burn (decreases the fire risk in later years) which at least is a sort of “natural” approach. March through mid-May is always the worst for us. We don’t usually get any moisture until the monsoons start around July 4th (assuming we have a monsoon season, which we don’t always).
Definitely planning to get the Mandala framed when it’s done. I have a spot on the wall already picked out for it too!
The Mandala and the Granny Squares look great! I’m fascinated by the body pattern on the sweater, too. It looks really intricate, but I suspect there’s just some knitting magic there to make it look more complicated than it really is.
Congrats on the job! And I’m glad you’re all safe out there. I’m in California, so I understand the worry of wildfire season.
You are spot-on. It’s just 2 rounds with a set of staggered purl bumps but it looks like a LOT more work. Just the kind of detail I like. 🙂 Yeah…. the fires out in the west here are no joke. Nothing I ever thought about growing up on the east coast where the humidity levels alone really decrease the risk.
Congratulations on getting a permanent position!! I feel so sorry for young folks today with this temporary work world. I’m very thankful I’m not needing to work anymore. Everything you are working on just looks beautiful!! Your stitching work always amazes me. I love your tee and the colors you chose. Your granny squares are so even!! My mind boggles.
Congrats on the new job! Good luck with it. I’m glad to hear to you didn’t have to leave due to the fires. That must have been scary. The granny blanket is so pretty. The colors are great.
Thank you! I’m looking forward to starting it in a couple of weeks. Stay tuned on the fire… wind shifted again yesterday and they closed the road west of us again…. We just keep the bags packed, just in case. 😦
Oh no! I hope they are able to get it under control soon!
Less windy forecast today, which is good. We just take it as it comes. At 17K acres and growing, they just do the best they can and try to divert it from structures and hope for it to back up into areas with less fuel. The joys of the southwest springtime.