Holiday knitting projects

I am counting the days until my vacation starts. It will not be for real until the beginning of August, as my deadline is on July 16th (very close and I'm still not done!), so I guess it will be a forced holiday, but still... 

My Color Affection is moving along very slowly and it is a bit frustrating. I am too tired at night to knit more than a couple of rows at a time and, as I have reached the end of Section 2, these rows are getting longer and longer! I never thought I would be awaiting short rows as much as I am! But I am very pleased with how it is going. The yarn I chose initially, Holst garn 100% Supersoft Uid is much nicer than I thought at first. I found it very thin and not soft at all but it does become fluffier and rounder gradually, which is lovely. I have chosen two different shades of grey (!), a light grey and a dark one. I had also chosen a pink color, called Peony, but I did not like it at all. So instead I changed drastically and selected, for my second color, a ball of sock yarn from French shop La Droguerie in a wonderful dark and bright Raspberry shade. It is lovely! Slightly bigger than Holst garn, but I do not think it will be a problem... 

Not proud to say that I have already ordered yarn for my second Color Affection, even though my first is far from finished! I have ordered Abuelita Yarn Merino 3 ply in two beautiful purple colors and a natural/undyed one. Can't wait to start! 

But... wait! I also cast on my own Still Light dress! I had bought some Drops Alpaca in order to knit the Vitamin D sweater by Heidi Kirmaier and then... I changed my mind! I kept changing my mind about this pattern, and then I realised that maybe I didn't love as much as I thought... So, when in doubt, stick with what you know and love, I say! Another pattern by Veera was exactly what I needed in the end! It will be a long project, I'm sure, all those rows of stockinette will take me ages to complete, but what a great holiday project! Everyone says it is easy and incredibly clear to follow. Of course, I still have my Abalone to finish, and my second and bigger Henslowe, but hey! What are holidays for? 

Inspiring images

I have been so, so busy with work lately that I haven't been knitting as much as I would like to. I usually knit a couple of rows in the evening before collapsing onto the bed... So my Color Affection is going very slowly indeed, and all my other projects have been put on hold for the moment (some of my WIPs are: a bigger Henslowe to wear as a shawl using 2 skeins of Malabrigo Arroyo and an Abalone sweater in Cascade 220). I did finish a Crisp and gray vest, pattern by Veera, and it's great, but I always have the same problem! Whenever I wash my FO for the first time, it seems to grow so much! My gray vest is at least 10cm longer than I wanted it to be... I will definitely have to take it into consideration for next time...
So lately, the only thing I've had time to do was surf on the net and find some ideas for future projects. I'm also super excited about starting sewing classes in September, and have been finding inspiration for future sewn clothes too!

Like this dress by APC! isn't it the perfect combination of crochet and sewing? Can't you just see yourself making and wearing it? I certainly can! (even though I can't crochet! Each time I've tried, it's turned out to be a disaster!) But you could just as easily knit a nice lacy collar for a simple dress. 

Photo credit: Amy Butler

I also totally fantasize about being able to sew wonderful things very soon, and absolutely thought I should try these lounge pants, I think they look fantastic! Pattern from Amy Butler's In Stitches. Think I might have to buy that one. Lounge pants is basically all I wear since I work from home and can't often be bothered to dress up if I'm going to spend the day at home anyway... 

In a few days, my deadline will be past and I will be able to breathe a little better again, maybe even start my holidays early, who knows? Spending all those summer afternoons knitting, reading and watching movies is all I dream about right now, but still many pages to translate before then...