Year of Projects 2025-2026: Weeks 48 and 49

I kind of fell off the planet there for a week. (You can read more about the personal/life stuff below.) But I am back with a 2-week update this time.

Supernova Quilt: Still working on the center section. I have all but two of the rainbow stars sewn into place. There is also an exterior ring of rainbow and black/white striped fabrics that needs to be done, but here’s where things are right now. I have a periwinkle and a light sky blue star left to add (plus the one green star arm not done yet).

Lite Bright Sweater: Cruising along on this one, I have completed the first 2 colors and the 2 transition sections for the body, so the remainder of the top will be in the light blue speckle. Still have sleeves (I’m thinking elbow-length and not short/cap sleeves for mine) and the neckline to knit but hopefully will finish this up this month. Yarns are all Hedgehog Fibres 2-ply sock yarn from a club eons ago.

Transfer Point: I needed something super mindless, so I cast on this easy mostly garter-stitch (with a few slipped stitches) 2-color DK-weight shawl. Kacey Knits is a favorite designer for these kinds of projects – they are nicely written with some details but nothing difficult about them at all. I’m using 2 skeins of a small-farm alpaca yarn sent to me by a friend a while ago.

Jane Austen 250th Anniversary Quilt: I received the last shipment of block-of-the-month fabrics so I have started assembling the quilt. It is done from the center out with mostly pieced borders, and some fussy-cut striped fabrics. Here’s the first and second interior borders added to the central block. Next to be added are some appliqué borders, and I need to finish the last 2 of the 4 of those, so I’ll continue working on cutting and sewing the pieced sections as I go.

And that’s it for projects this time around! No progress on Oscar, the kiddo cardigan, or otherwise.

Life Update: The past 2 weeks have been challenging and chaotic here. I am still the sole full-time person in our department other than my boss who has a LOT on her plate right now with a new CEO and President and strategic VPs, so the bulk of the daily items falls to me. New Mexico is a big state, and I have had several in-person events totaling about 800 miles of driving on top of my normal work hours.

That alone would be stressful, but our older dog, my BFF, Lizzie, got sick about 2 weeks ago. We thought it was just a short-term issue, but after a week of not being able to eat much, a trip to the urgent care vet (and finding she had lost just over 15 pounds since her annual check-up 3 week ago), a round of fluids and a lot of medications to try to help with her symptoms, we made the hard decision to put her to sleep. She was 11-1/2 and while I know she had a great life with us – we loved her so very much – it is never EVER an easy decision. She was definitely my heart dog and a constant presence, so I am painfully aware of her loss in everything I do right now. I am glad she isn’t in pain anymore and I hope she found an entire basket of tennis balls across the bridge where she’s running around like crazy, feeling good again.

7 responses to “Year of Projects 2025-2026: Weeks 48 and 49”

  1. I am so sorry for the loss of Lizzie. While I love my banner photo of my knitting area, it’s always a stab of pain to see my kitty that I had to put down in April. I miss her. Your quilting projects are just gorgeous. What a pretty shawl.

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    1. Thank you! We have been fortunate to have had many wonderful animals live with us over the years, but she was something extra.

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  2. I’m so sorry to hear about Lizzie. No, it’s never easy and they leave such a big hole. Hugs.

    Work sounds rough too. I hope there is some relief for you there soon.

    I think of your projects here, my favourite is your supernova. I’m looking forward to seeing how that continues to grow

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    1. Thank you so much. We miss her hourly around here.

      I’m really enjoying working on supernova. Next up, we’ll start some of the blue section which I’m looking forward to.

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  3. The hardest decision ever! We still look for our boy when we come home from outings. It is so hard! Your sweater is so cute and I like the color changes in it. The Supernova is awesome. I love the bright colors in it. I hope your work place can find help soon before you and your boss burn out.

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    1. Thank you, Marsha, for all your kind words. It is very hard and still feels very unsettled and sad around here.

      We have been doing interviews at work and I think we have a candidate to start later this month – HOORAY!

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  4. I love all of your projects! They all look like such fun, and the colors are different palettes for each (but all lovely).

    I’m so sorry to hear about your Lizzie. Even when you know it’s the right choice, it’s never an easy decision to have to make.

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