Why I Haven't Been Knitting

Oh, I just want what we all want: a comfortable couch, a nice beverage, a weekend of no distractions and a book that will stop time, lift me out of my quotidian existence and alter my thinking forever. --Elizabeth Gilbert

So, here's where I am with my current project. I really should be further along with it, but there have been a lot of things lately to distrct me from my knitting. It's a shame, because it really is working up nicely. It's a skein gifted to me by my talented dyer-friend, Tara - a colourway called "The Experiment," dyed in a superwash fingering spun in a single. I'd declare a success, especially with this pattern. I'm using RobinLynn's Sideways Wrap, which is designed to make the most out of variegated yarns:

I think one of the things working against me is my choice to go along with the suggestion to use 3.0mm needles. Seriously, why did I do that? I didn't even think I would even own such a ludicrous size of needle, and was truly shocked when I unearthed a set in my stash. They're a little awkward in my big, clumsy hands, especially because they're a set of Knitter's Pride Novas, which are shorter in length than I am accustomed to. Still, they seem to be working out ok. I'd forgotten how much I love the roundness of a single-ply yarn, and the colours seem to glow with the sheen from the fibre (which I think is merino, but I lost the tag). The striping in the short row section is so lovely that I hardly notice awkward hands:

We've had some beautiful weather over the past couple of weeks, which is also a distraction from settling down to my projects. I wandered home from meeting someone for coffee yesterday and had to stop to take a photo of one of my favourite houses framed by some blooming lilacs:

I've also been out in the yard pottering about. I've been pleased that some of the plants I put in last year are spreading to cover an area that seems to refuse to grow anything else. It was such a pleasant surprise to find them flowering this week:

This morning, I skipped the gym and we decided to wander down to the water to enjoy some morning sunshine:

We stopped for a while by the playground, but poor Mr. Seymour wasn't allowed to join in:

So we found a seat with a nicer view for him to relax on:

And then we stopped for crepes on the way home. He was a little miffed that no one asked him what he wanted:

So I let him take my spot on the couch when we got home:

I think another reason I'm so distracted is because I have an idea for another project involving crochet flowers and a picture frame and I'm slowly building it in my head. I sure hope it works out because I've been daydreaming about it for a while. It seems like such a long time since I've felt inspired like this, so I'm just going to enjoy it while it lasts, even if it does distract me from progress:

And... probably the biggest distraction at the moment is the fact that we put an offer on a house and it was accepted. After years of dithering and waiting for "the right moment" and "the right house," our landlords provided us with the necessary motivation by announcing that they'd like to put our current house on the market. We told ourselves that, in the current housing market, we'd have to be patient and expect to put a lot of offers down before it was accepted. We looked at the first house on a Tuesday, fell in love with it, put an offer in the next morning and it was accepted an hour later.

Um, yes. Patience. Right.

So now, I guess my biggest distraction is getting a mortgage in order and thinking about moving all our stuff to a new neighbourhood. I keep walking into rooms and coming out with things I want to throw out, and I keep looking at our furniture and wondering how much of it I really want to move. And, of course, I'm looking at my yarn stash and wondering where I'm going to keep it all... because you know... priorities...

Off to daydream. Have a great week.