Monday was a very busy day for me so I missed sharing my #MarkItMonday post here. But the previous week had a few bright spots, particularly after the struggles I faced the prior week. Read on!
Stitched or Still-in-Progress
The month of July came to a close as did both the Down Cellar Studio’s Splash Pad Party and the second month of Camp Loopy, hosted by The Loopy Ewe. I managed one final finished object for the former which also satisfied the requirements of the latter. The shawl I knit for July used a total of 625 yards, and it blocked out beautifully!
Because I had such a tight timeframe to complete the shawl, that was my primary project. And while I wanted to work on several of my WIPs, I only managed to continue working on my cardigan. (Spoiler alert: since taking the photo on Monday morning, I managed to finish the center back panel!) We’ll see how quickly I can complete the rest of the piece (two side lace panels and the collar). It would be nice if I could then complete another WIP or two before the Down Cellar Studio’s Pigskin Party kicks off in early September!
Cast-on Conversations
Because I finished the July Camp Loopy project, that also means I cast on the August project. And having completed a 400+ yard project and a 600+ yard project, this one needs to use at least 800 yards. I’m sorry I neglected to share when the yarn arrived a couple weeks ago, but I’m working up something of a jewel-toned rainbow series of colors against a light gray main color. When the order arrived, I was amused when I realized that the two coral colors here match the dresses worn by my wedding party 35 years ago – matron-of-honor in the dark shade and bridesmaids in the light one. That’s not why I chose them though.
This is a Year of Projects post. Officially the Group is in its 15th year, my second. If you would like to find out more about the Year of Projects Group on Ravelry, please join in the fun!
Financial Finesse
The month of July concluded with less than stellar results. I’ve been dealing with a higher-than-usual number of significant expenses in close proximity, and my extra income hasn’t been enough to make up the difference. I did manage to keep up the escalated payments on two of my loans – I’m still on track to pay off the big & expensive loan on the bathtub by March 2026! It still brings me great joy that despite the original estimated interest of over $21K, my projections show I’ll pay less than $2K. My total loan balance has dropped by over 20% since the start of the year, so that’s very good. My credit card debt, however, has ticked upwards. I’m working on building up my DoorDash earnings to help bring that debt down, but that takes time.
Environment Evolution
Last week I shared the image of my “garden of weeds” (sounds less suspicious than Weed Garden, lol) – the early part of the week was equal parts rain and oppressive heat, but on Saturday the weather gods were in my favor. I managed to put an entire hour into starting on this project. As you’ll see here, there’s still plenty of work remaining. But I feel like I accomplished quite a bit as long as my body could handle it. In addition to removing this section of weeds, I also managed to distribute weed killer around the property. Hopefully next week I can share a bit more as the weather continues to be gorgeous and suitable for outdoor work. The challenges I’m facing are the scheduling of DoorDash shifts and the number of bug bites I’m dealing with in the aftermath of that hour! Even three days later, one arm has been terribly itchy.
More news on the house – it took until midday Wednesday before I had working WiFi again. Breezeline just continued to have subpar customer service – now I’m waiting to receive the refund for the unused portion of this billing cycle. The AT&T setup went fairly smoothly, but now I’m still working on getting the various smart devices linked to the new network. I’m about 80% there. It’s a little sad how much we take technology for granted when it’s working, and how much it can hinder us when it’s not.
Next week I’ll have a Grandson Glimpses segment, so I’m doing more decluttering in the house. Check out updates next week!
Knit on. 🧶
Kninja Knitter 
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