Shrug finished and shrug about WIPs

I am pleased to have finished my mocha-colored alpaca-silk shrug (from Classic Knits) this week. I loved working with this yarn (Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca Silk). The pattern was easy enough and at a better gauge for me than the shrug pattern that I had initially started out to make with this yarn (the Blue Sky Alpacas shrug). This, of course, results in me having 3.5 skeins of this yarn left to add to my copious collection of leftovers. It was so unusual for me to buy yarn and pattern together the way that I did and quite discouraging that I didn't end up knitting what I had planned, since I would honestly like to buy yarn for specific purposes some of the time rather than just because I liked it or it was on sale... Anyhow, I do think the shrug looks okay, even if not quite my usual thing, since I got my 12 year old to pass judgment on it for me and I'm pretty sure she wouldn't just let me go out in public in it if I were mistaken in my own assessment of its appearance.

I don't know if I have it in me to stay on this campaign where I keep working my way through my in-progress projects. I should really work on my summer tee (which is now in the
utter winging-it phase as I modify all sorts of bits at the top). It's now only loosely based on
Jenny from Rowan 37, although I luckily noticed quite quickly when I cast off for the front neck on the left sleeve :). If I don't cast on for something new this weekend (oh, the lure of socks and mittens), I'm down to just the tee, the striped sweater, the poncho?, and the 2 afghans to choose among. Not too bad.

We're starting to gear up for school this week. Kids now have lunchboxes and school supplies and, as of today, after a marathon stint at our favorite little shoe store (2 hours! many came and went and we stayed and stayed and stayed), most of the necessary shoes and sneakers and ballet paraphernalia. 2 more weeks. It'll be nice in some ways to have the kids off to school, but I'll miss them too, and I know I'm not looking forward to the resumption of music lessons and orchestra rehearsals and the complications of scheduling those with other activities (a new ballerina and a new football player this year). Someone please remind me that I told the other kids they can do soccer or track in the spring when I won't have to worry about the football schedule...