Off on an Adventure

Life has been very, very busy for me lately, and this may be my last post for quite some time.
I've been preparing for a very big adventure.

Before I tell you all about it, I want to share what I've been working on lately.

This is my little sewing corner a week or two ago, preparing to make a bag. My poor plant has died already (I try, but I am just not good at plants), but I still love that corner. After my last apartment where I didn't have a table and had to sew on the coffee table, an area where I can lay out my cutting mat and sewing machine and have all my shelves of stuff behind is just so lovely.

This is my sewing project that day- a yarn bag! It's lovely, a bit bigger than planned but it holds a lot of stuff. I need to use a bit more yarn and get everything onto my shelves, then this will be turned into my wip basket.

I still had a scrap of leather from my purse, so I made a leather handle for it.

Here is the second ARG plushie for Andrew's second book kickstarter. He's hanging out with the first ARG since the guy who got ARG number one took a long, long time to decide on some of his rewards.
They aren't my favorite thing to make, but I do love how silly they are. It's fun to pose them!

This is a pair of socks I've been working on. They're awesome! They go all the way up to my calves. I like a good long pair of socks.

And here's the newest pair- started before finishing the old one, because last night at my knit night the three of us who bought Fluormania on the knit along started our crazy socks together. They are delightfully retina-searing.

This is just my luscious treat project. The yarn is a vivid tropical ocean blue, and it's 100% silk. I loved two stitch patterns I found on Pinterest- this one and this one. The first has a chart, but the second seems to have vanished off the internet. So I set about drawing out a chart combining the two.

I'm quite happy with the result. I can't wait 'til it's finished and blocked. It's going to be lovely.


Alright, now you're caught up on most of what I'm working on.
My big adventure starts next Tuesday, when I'll be flying off for 7 weeks in China! I'll be staying in Shanghai with my big brother, my sister in law and my two adorable nephews. I'll be visiting and helping look after the boys and who knows what else while I'm there.
I can't wait. I've gotten my ticket, my travel insurance, my visa, my vaccinations, a whole drug store worth of stuff I might need, my packing list is started, I've got a new sketchbook and even a list of what projects I should probably bring.
That is definitely tricky- I need to pack 7 weeks of crochet. I'm packing a lot of light weight stuff. Fingering and lace weight projects, for the most part. I'm also worrying a bit about books. My plan right now is to pack enough for the plane rides, and then just try checking out ebooks from the library on my laptop if I need something to read while I'm there. I thought about getting an ereader, but I don't really want one for every day so it seems a bit silly.

I can't wait. I'm excited and very nervous. I've been trying to learn a bit of Mandarin, so hopefully I will at least pick up a few more sentences while I'm there. I'm so excited to see my family again, especially the boys. I haven't seen them since January, and they are both under 4. They change so quickly! It will be so wonderful to get to know them so well while they're still very little. I can't wait for bedtime stories and snuggles and playing.
I hope you all have a wonderful rest of the summer, and perhaps I'll be able to make a post or two while I'm away. Now I'm going to enjoy a quiet day, my nice cup of tea and some Netflix and crochet.