Friday, nearly seven weeks after the order was processed, my spring issue arrived. Finally! I do like the paisley shawl a lot, the vintage pink cardigan (though I'd probably make it in a grey or fawn color), and I've already played with the grand plan capelet pattern to make a couple Amira sized patterns. I like the idea of the Chanel looking jacket, but to recreate it in yarns that are more affordable (and colors I like better) is too much for me to figure out right now. You can see pictures of the patterns here. I liked the idea of the fitted dolman, but it cuts you off at the widest part of your body, then has that weird hem which makes even the skinny model look fat. I like the idea of it, but not how it was made. Someday, I may fiddle with the pattern and shorten it and have a normal hem.

Lara is moving so fast! I am almost finished with the left front, am about half way through the back, and it's using up yarn at a rate that makes sense based on the amount listed in the pattern. I am still finishing up Cross Your Heart, though I'm a little closer to finished. I put aside the Flower Basket Shawl for a little while, but picked it up again this past week. I'm about halfway through the lace pattern, and could arguably have this finished in a week or two. Still slogging though the 576 stitch section of my Pi. I'm going to do the last section a little differently than the pattern, I've decided. Rather than four repeats of the small diamond pattern (the original was two, but I wanted it to be doubled the way the other sections were), I'm doing a small diamond, then a large diamond, then back to the small diamond.

A lady from our Ultreya passed on a large box of crochet and knitting magazines. I sorted through them and have saved a bunch and will bring the rest to our church's St. Patrick's day feast for the rest to decide if they like anything. The rest will be donated. There are some scary things that people have made with crochet. Some examples: A crocheted mime, I'm not kidding, I may have to post a picture of this, and a crocheted campfire. Not a blanket or wall hanging with a campfire picture, mind you, but actually the logs and flames crocheted and stuffed. Rich suggested that we could have a burning of the mime on the campfire, or make the mime to punt and work out our aggressions on it.

Maybe it is because I like knitting a bit more, but it seems to me that there are fewer hideously useless knitted items. Oh, there's plenty of ugly knitting, just like crocheting, but fewer designs that seem to have no purpose. I think crochet is best for lacy things and baby clothes, and I really like Irish crochet, crocheted flowers and such. But how many toilet paper cozies does anyone need? Oh, and toilet seat covers! There was a whole bathroom ensemble in one, you can dress the toilet seat, the tank, the lid, the trash and make a matching rug! This seems to me like the knitted/crocheted dog sweaters. I'm sure I will offend someone now, but if you need to make sweaters for your dog to keep it warm, then it is a flawed dog. They have fur for crying out loud!

As for our government and unemployment status, I could be mixing up the state of Washington with federal stuff, but I could have sworn I had to fill in unemployed on the expanded census form we got (lucky us!) instead of homemaker/housewife/mother. They also confused race and ethnicity, like so many other people. That's a whole different post, though. Even still, I know people who are always looking for work and can't find a job, not because there aren't jobs, but because they aren't willing to work in things that they see as beneath them. I understand the desire to pad a resume with relevant work, but when you're struggling to pay for your home and groceries, you take what you can get. I wouldn't count those people toward unemployment, since they are choosing to be unemployed. When we first moved here and Rich was struggling to support us on his flight school paycheck, he took an evening maintenance job at McDonald's to make ends meet. That job was far "beneath" his education, training, abilities, and so on, but it allowed us to survive and pay our bills. He didn't see it as beneath him, he saw it as a way to provide for his family.

Anyway, this weekend, I went to the baby shower for our friend's daughter and gave her the newborn hat along with a store bought airplane sweater. She seemed to like it, and I was able to encourage her about both labor and delivery and babies in general. She seems to be like I was and has really been enjoying pregnancy. I meet with her mom once a week for group reunion and I'm sure I'll be seeing lots of cute baby pictures soon!