happy new year

Yep, it's that time again! Sitting back for a moment and reflecting back upon the last year. It's been a big one for me -- bought my first house, adopted a couple of beautiful Siamese kittens, got married... It's been a year of milestones for me.

I thought it'd been a big year for me knitwise as well, but I was surprised to learn that I was actually far less productive than I was last year.

2009 saw:
--22 total finished projects
--5961 yards of yarn used up

As compared to 2008...

--24 finished projects
--9,979 yards of yarn used up


I'd only finished two more projects in 2008, and for a minute I didn't feel so bad, until I realized that 3 of my 2008 projects were crocheted afghans. Yikes. I blame it on the fact that what with moving into my new house I lost a lot of knitting time. And the fact that I've just been lazy...

So, resolutions...

1. Keep more organized in all aspects of my life. Need to keep more on top of housework, and keep my knitting and yarn more organized.

2. I need to be far more productive knittingwise. I have several large WIPs I need to get done, and I have some projects I've had planned out forever that I'd like to finish up as well.

3. I want to work through at least half my stash this year. No more buying yarn I don't have a project in mind for, and I'm only allowing myself to buy one skein of yarn for every two I work though from my stash. Realistically, as long as I can get my stash to fit comfortably on its shelf I'll be happy.

4. I want to work on my writing more this year. I want to have my book finished by summer, and ideally have a good chunk of the first in the trilogy rewritten.

5. I want to read more. For some reason I've stopped reading as much as I used to and I really want to get back to that.

Here's to hoping 2010 is even better than last year!

minor update

Onerva is done done done! It's currently pinned out, blocking. It's nearly dry, so hopefully tomorrow there will be some picture-taking before it goes off to its new home with Sarah. I'm so excited over this project -- the pattern is simple but elegant, and the yarn is just gorgeous. Hopefully she likes it as much as I liked making it.

Because I already got my yarn in, and because I'm an impatient little so-and-so, I started my Quadrat.

By which I mean I swatched.

Erm, by which I mean I started to knit my little 4"x4" square, lost interest halfway through, went "eh, I'm not quite getting gauge but the smallest size is going to be slightly too large for me so I'm just going to say it's close enough!" and started to cast on.

However, Quadrat outmaneuvered me. See, I knew I shouldn't be casting on because the reason I bought the yarn for this to knit it NOW is so that I could participate in a KAL for it. And casting on before the KAL begins sort of defeats the point of doing a frigging KAL in the first place. Well, Quadrat told me to cast on 110 stitches using a cable cast on.

The Cable Cast-On, ladies and gents, is the work of the devil at his finest. I thought that casting on in general was a pain in the ass. I thought that knitting lace was a form of torture. I thought that Intarsia was up there with dancing barefoot on hot coals and broken glass. The Cable Cast-On, my friends, puts them all to shame. I think I made it about ten stitches before the whole thing got so tight that I could barely cast on the next stitch, and then I thought about knitting that first row and how horrible that would be if it was already this tight just casting on. Ripped it out, started again.

Rinse and repeat about half a dozen times before I stuffed the whole mess into a bag and shoved the bag under my bed, and sat down to work a few blessedly mind-numbingly simple rounds on the leg Jason's sock.

Maybe in the meantime I'll actually swatch like I should...

happy christmas!

Happy Christmas, all! Here's hoping that everyone's holiday is going well.

As for me, I'm enjoying a rather lazy Christmas Day with Jason's family. Mmm, Christmas.

I'm also still knitting Onerva. But really, who didn't see that one coming? I've only got another two or three repeats left. I don't really know for sure, since I'm just knitting until I run out of yarn, and I'm terrible at estimating amounts. I'm optimistic about having it done by next week. Then just blocking and it's done!

In other happy news, I got in my yarn order yesterday! Mmmm, Cascade Dolce is just as soft and pretty as the name implies. Nine skeins of it looks like it might not be enough. I know that it's MORE than enough, because the suggested yarn is 109 yards per 50 grams, and the Dolce has the exact same yardage to grams ratio. And because I'm paranoid I ordered a whole extra skein more than what I need. I'm going to worry about it until I actually start knitting and I see that it's not using up as much yarn as I fear it will. I wish I were better at judging amounts.

Anyhow, I couldn't resist balling up one of the skeins last night, and mmmm, so soft! I'm going to knit on Onerva today, and tomorrow I'll let myself play with the Dolce a bit. Because, believe it or not, I'm actually going to swatch for this thing. And I mean actually swatch, not the half-assed swatching I normally do. Exciting!

For now, back to knitting for me.

I've been bad

I know I have. I am a bad, bad blogger. I suck. I know.

But! I offer you pretty pretty pictures in return for your forgiveness! Dane shawl is bound off, blocked, and already happy in its new home with Rina. I'm in love with it. I really want to knit another one. For myself. Which I would keep for me and wear all the time. Mmmm, love.



I also finally took pictures of other FOs I'd been meaning to photograph for a while now. My Silk Garden Kerchief, for instance. I'm really happy with how it came out. It's very warm, and I've been wearing it pretty often. I was slightly less than thrilled with how the colors came out, but it's since grown on me...


Then there's my Envy. This was half-finished for a while, but I finally got off my lazy ass and sewed the buttons on it so it's actually, ya know, wearable. I'm pretty happy with this as well. It's a pretty color that looks nice against my grey coat.


And this is my latest FO, which I am so so so happy with. It's for my friend Jon. It's a little big on me, but fits him well, and was very well-received. He put it on right away and went around showing everyone. He's been wearing it all week, which makes me feel all warm-and-fuzzy inside. Nothing like knitting something for someone and having them really appreciate it. Makes me want to knit tons of things for everyone! But I'm too lazy for that, really...


In other news, I'm still knitting Onerva. And still putting off finishing J-L's hat. (hence the blogging! nothing like a good lengthy picture-filled post to put off knitting something I don't want to knit!)

I'm also planning more projects. Yep. I know. Heard it already.

I'm in love with Quadrat from the latest issue of Knitty. Mmmm, boxy cabled sweater. AND I found the perfect yarn for it. I was planning on using Cascade 220 for it, but I stumbled across Cascade Dolce on sale for mega-cheap. Wool/alpaca/silk blend at half off? Don't mind if I do! I ordered it in Silver. Smallest size is for a 33" chest, so I'll be knitting it at a smaller gauge to take off an extra inch or so. I went ahead and ordered more yarn than I'd need for knitting the pattern as-is though, since the reason the Silver is on sale is that it's discontinued. That does make me a bit nervous, but hopefully it'll only serve to motivate me to knit this sucker straight off. That way if something goes horribly, terribly wrong (as it is wont to do) I'll still be able to get my paws on more yarn in that color. Hopefully.

Also in the works are plans for cabled socks, and a hat for Jason. He really liked the one I made for Jon, so he'll be getting one as well. In alpaca. Mostly because I want an excuse to play with alpaca. Also because I love him.

Mmmm, alpaca...

NaKniSweMo: Day 30

So. Here we are at the very end of November. Remember that sweater I was going to knit? Yeah, didn't happen. I haven't even cast on for it. Hell, I haven't even swatched for it.

Yes, I know. I totally fail. Are we really all that surprised? Nope!

I imagine there must be some sort of hell for people like me.

On the plus side, I finished my Dane Shawl for Rina. I'm somewhat less than halfway through an Onerva for Sarah. J-L's hat is mostly finished. I've been dragging my feet on that because Intarsia is the devil and I would almost rather knit with redhot metal rods than knit Intarsia. I'm going to force myself to sit down and finish it once and for all when I get back to Pittsburgh. We'll see.

Let's talk about happy things! Let's talk about Onerva!

Ever since I saw the gorgeous one made by the infamous RandomCyn, I've had a minor obsession with it. She made hers with Malabrigo sock in the colorway Persia. What a coincidence! thought I, I've got some Malabrigo sock in the colorway Solis sitting in my stash right now! Because, hell, if I'm going to be a copycat I might as well go all the way!

I've done somewhere between a third and a half of this sucker, and my obsession has only grown. I want to make more of these things. I want to make one for me, and for my mother, and my cats, and the postman... I want to go to the LYS and buy out all the Malabrigo sock and knit this for the rest of my life! The pattern is just interesting enough to keep it from getting boring, but easy enough that I can knit while watching a movie and not have to rip back. And pairing it with Solis? Best idea I ever had! The deep green with just the barest touches of lighter green and blues makes me think of vines on a trellis. I love how it's coming out.

I'm so much in love that, aside from a few hours' urge to knit fingerless gloves, I've been completely faithful to this project thus far. Of course, it helps that I've been in Tampa for the week and it's the only project I brought with me. I considered doing my usual ordeal of taking extra yarns and extra patterns and extra needles. Then I stopped, and I thought about it for a minute. I knit slow as fuck. If I'm able to knit this whole damn thing in a week? Hell, I deserve to go to the Tampa LYS and buy more yarn and patterns and needles!! Of course, I didn't come anywhere close to that...

So, no pictures in this post, which I know sucks. I'll post again once I get back to Pittsburgh.

NaKniSweMo: Day 4-7

Fuck intarsia.

I took a break on the shawl because yesterday was my brother's birthday, and I'd like to finish the hat I promised him back in August by the time he comes up here to visit me next Friday. It's a hat, a frigging HAT, knit in a bulky yarn. I'll have that knocked out in a couple of afternoons easy!

Let me tell you something, ladies and gents. The knitting gods do not appreciate cockiness. In fact, they take great pleasure in beating every last shred of smugness out of you, then they bludgeon out all your optimism just for good measure.

Hm, guess I should start at the beginning...

So way back in December, my brother decided that he wanted me to knit him a hat from a book of patterns I got for Christmas. It's a stockinette hat with earflaps and this fauxhawk made from felted yarn along the top. It's knit in the colors and pattern of a union jack. But he doesn't want it in red, white, and blue. Nope, he'd prefer if I knit it in red, yellow, green, and black. For the less mathematically inclined, three and four are different. Very different. Especially when we're talking about an intarsia pattern.

But, this is what he wants. And it's for his birthday. And I feel kind of guilty that I don't spend nearly as much time with him as I'd like to. So I rework the charts to have four colors instead of three. And then I swatch. And guess what! Cascade 128 and Brown Sheep Bulky aren't really the same thing! My gauge swatch came out waaaay too small. So I jump from size 13 needles to size 15. Still too small. In a stroke of genius, I hold my yarn double, and make gauge with the size 13s.

Fantastic! Except now I have to reskein all my yarn. Out comes the ball winder. I follow the pattern instructions, and divide it up into smaller balls. Midway through, I considered just floating the colors not currently being used along the inside of the hat, then realized that the finished hat would be way too thick. Finally got the balls divided up, and started knitting.

I had so many issues casting on for this stupid thing that after the third botched attempt, I gave up and just decided to use a provisional cast on for the whole thing since, hey, I'm going to be attaching earflaps to most of it anyhow, and I'll just bind off the extra live stitches later! I'm sure that'll be a disaster worthy of its own post, but we'll have that bridge collapse on us when we get there...

So, after an afternoon's worth of work, I get this:



But what you don't see is that it's attached to this:



As if this project wasn't already fucked from the get-go, I had a tiny feline helper decide that she needed to step in for some assistance when I got up for TWO FRIGGING MINUTES to use the bathroom.

As if that wasn't fun enough, while I was laying this out to take a picture of it I noticed that I completely botched the chart for the last bit of yellow before the red intersects. Rather than rip it out, I'm now trying to replicate my error on the top and on the left panel as well. (for what it's worth, it's not as bad as it looks in the picture, the stupid thing just won't lay flat because yay! stockinette curls like a motherfucker!)

Also, there are a bajillion ends to weave in, and have I mentioned how much I hate intarsia? Because I do. A lot.

Stay tuned for the further adventures of the hat from hell.

Oh, wait, what's that about a sweater? And something about the month of November and a big fat deadline on the 30th??

...

I have no idea what you're talking about.

NaKniSweMo: Day 2-3

I didn't do any knitting yesterday. It was glorious.

I haven't done any knitting today either, but I have done some planning! I sketched out a rough idea for my sweater, and I plan on winding the hanks of yarn I've got for it. Then I will swatch (omfg yes i actually plan to swatch!) and come up with a more solid pattern idea.

I've finished the final repeat on my Dane Shawl, and it still seems a bit smaller than I thought it'd turn out. I'm debating whether I should just knit the edging and hope it blooms when I block it, or if I should go for another repeat. I think I've got enough yarn to go for a second repeat. Maybe. It'd be close. So, yeah, not really sure what to do. I'm leaning toward stringing a lifeline in on the last purl row of this repeat (omfg lifeline who are you and what have you done with biteyfish??) that way if I do come up short on yarn I won't want to scream and throw things and yank my hair out when I rip back. Yeah? Yeah?

But tonight will mostly be winding up my beautiful soft oh-so-pettable sweater yarn. Mmmm, yarn. It'll give me something to do while I watch V (which I am super-excited about!) And that counts as doing something for NaKniSweMo, right? Because really, two days without doing a darned thing for it is bad enough.

NaKniSweMo: Day 1

So, today I didn't start. Big surprise there, yeah, I know. Today I wrote a page and a half. A rather good page and a half. Maybe I should have gone with NaNoWriMo anyhow...

But no, I've committed. I need to commit. I will knit a sweater.

I don't have a pattern for my sweater yet. I do, however, have yarn for it. A while ago I bought enough yarn to make a Thermal. Then I actually bothered to look at the pattern. The waffle pattern on it involves a lot of k2, p2-ing. I hate ribbing. Hate it with a passion. Knit an entire sweater with ribbing, in fingering weight yarn no less! I would go crazy. Absolutely certifiably crazy. So I need a new pattern.

Rather than do the logical thing and hop on over to Ravelry and search for sweaters that would work well with that yarn, I decided to make up my own sweater. I've only knit two sweaters, one of which I probably have to frog because it completely doesn't fit right, and I've never written a pattern for anything before. Really, what can go wrong?

Anyhow, I spent the evening working on my Dane Shawl. I'd really like to get this done well before Christmas because last minute gift knitting sucks. It's gotten a lot bigger, yay!


It's coming out smaller than the pattern suggests it should, so I'm putting in an extra pattern repeat. I'm nearly done with that, then just have to do the edging. It still seems rather small, and I have a surprisingly large amount of yarn left over, so I'm pretty much just crossing my fingers and hoping that it grows a lot when I block the everloving fuck out of it. We'll see.

I also really need to knit up J-L's hat. I've had the yarn for it for quite some time now, and he's coming up to visit the second weekend of November. It's bulky yarn, so it should go fast. Fingers crossed on that.

Then, yes THEN, I will start my sweater. Um. Yes. I suck. I know.

ah, November...

November is an exciting month for me. The weather's just starting to turn, Thanksgiving's fast approaching and we all know that Christmas and New Year's Eve are right behind it. November has always been the Thursday of fall -- you're past the halfway point and it's almost the weekend! I love it.

A couple of very exciting things also take place in November: NaNoWriMo, and NaKniSweMo.

I had all of October to prepare for this, but on the few occasions I actually thought about it in more than just passing, I was sidetracked by a glorious mental picture of me sitting down on November 30th, putting the last touches on my shiny new novel while wearing my pretty new sweater. Hopelessly unrealistic, yes, I know.

Now it's November 1st and I've actually sat down and thought about it in more than just passing, and I've faced the harsh reality that there's no way in hell I'm going to be able to do both. And thus I have a choice. Knit a sweater, or write a novel? Both appeal equally much to me, and I have done an equal lack of planning for both of them. I fretted for a while, then it hit me that no matter which I chose, I'm probably not going to finish it by November 30th. That took some of the pressure off, but didn't make it any easier to choose.

My darling husband actually made the choice easy for me. While I was wibbling and waffling back and forth about it, he said to me, "Whichever one you do, you're not going to finish it in a month." (yes, he knows me so well!) "...so you should knit the sweater. See, if you do the book, you're going to have a half-finished book that you'll probably never look at again. But if you do the sweater, you're going to have a half-finished sweater that you're going to want to wear, and it may take you until February, but you'll probably end up finishing it."

In the face of such logic, I chose to do NaKniSweMo. Clearly.

progress!

My Blue Afghan is going well. My Dream in Color shawl is going well. (still looks like unblocked ass, but I haven't screwed up the pattern. yet.)

It's funny how when all my knitting is behaving itself I have nothing to post about...

knitting blues

Literally. The two projects I'm mainly working on now are blue. I'm really digging it right now, heck if I know why.

So. Anyhow. Last post found me whinging about how I have nothing to knit. Next time I start that crap again, I want someone to point me at this photo:



(please note the copious amount of blue yarn scattered throughout it)

And the next time I start up my Oh woe is me I've got nothing to knit! the appropriate response to that is "Horseshit! You have enough yarn to cover a queen sized bed. Put on your big girl panties and go knit some of it!"

Which is pretty much exactly what I've done. I've pulled out that one lonely skein of Smooshy I've been meaning to knit up, sat down at Ravelry and dug up an appropriate pattern for it. And then I picked up my needles and started knitting it

(swatch? what swatch? swatches are for the weak, baby, I live life on the edge!)

I'd love to say how much I love it and how happy I am putting this yarn with this pattern etc etc etc. I'm really loving the pattern; it's not too difficult, but looks pretty and complex and, well, lacy. I'm ecstatic over the yarn; it's gorgeous and soft and every bit as smooshy as its name implies it should be. But what's coming off my needles . . . well . . .

Frankly, it looks like ass.


Pretty colored ass, but ass nonetheless. To be fair, this is simply the nature of lace, and it's just a blocking away from becoming gorgeous lace, but right now I look at it and all I see is a garbled messy blob of pretty colored ass. And this right here is why I hate knitting lace. I don't mind following a chart. I don't mind counting stitches and desperately searching for where I missed that one damned yarn-over because my last row came up a stitch short. I don't mind actually having to concentrate at my knitting.

But I do dislike looking at what I'm knitting and going "this looks like ass."

I read somewhere that there are two types of knitters: those who do it for the process of knitting, and those who are motivated by the end product. I'm definitely the latter. The best part of knitting for me is the feeling of pride when I look down at my emerging project, and think to myself "hot damn, I made that!!" or "hey, look! I've knit another two inches!" With lace it's all about delayed gratification because it doesn't get pretty until all the way at the end when it's pinned to the blocking board.

But for now it's rekindled my knitting mojo, so I am grateful for that. Also, it's a gift for someone. Hopefully that will motivate me to keep going on it. Time will tell, I suppose.

I'm off to Virginia this weekend to visit Husband's grandfather. This will be the only project I take along. I'm curious to see how much I'll end up getting done on it. Stay tuned!

buh

I seem to have fallen into another knitting slump. I've got several projects going, but none really seem to be catching my interest. I've recently started a blanket for Jason as well as a pair of socks, but I've been kind of eh on both of them; the blanket is a log cabin pattern done in half-double crochets, and the socks are 3x1 ribbing. Both are pretty mindless, which usually is exactly what I want while I'm watching tv in the evenings. But lately they just end up lying in my lap forgotten. I'm also working on that scarf for my mystery CAL. I love the way it's turning out, but the pattern is a bit to complicated for tv knitting, and I really don't like the way it's written. Urgh.

In other news, I finished my silk garden kerchief, but have yet to block it. I've finished my friend's birthday gift, but have yet to block it and sew the lining and button. I've finished all but the button band on my sweater, but seriously fucked up the seaming on the shoulders despite redoing it several times. I'm hoping a good blocking will fix it, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

(are we sensing a theme here??)

In other OTHER news, my LYS is having a pre-inventory sale. I made the mistake of stopping by last weekend and spent more than I intended to. Mostly sock yarn (whee!) but also some very pretty wool that was clearanced for just $1 a skein. Yeah, I made out like a bandit on that one. Normally buying yarn inspires me to knit, but I don't have a pattern in mind for the clearance yarn, and I really don't feel like starting another pair of socks when I've already got one on the needles that I don't really want to knit on.

I actually sort of feel like knitting a sweater, of all things. Which would be great except for the fact that I don't have a pattern picked out. I also would have to go buy yarn for it, which is normally a nice thing, but I just spent my fun-money for the month on, well, yarn.

I'm hopeless, aren't I?

Keep tuned in, kids, maybe I'll have something to post besides "i feel like knitting but don't feel like knitting anything i have, and I really shouldn't add to my stash even though i just bought more yarn. which i also don't feel like knitting right now." Hell, there might even be pictures.

yes, I know, I suck

I honestly have no idea why I suck so hard at posting in this thing. I really need to be better about it.

But I return with some FO hotness in humble offering as a token of my guilt.

Finally got some pics taken of my River Tam Vest. It came out so much better than I though it would, considering there wasn't a very specific gauge given for it, and the instructions were only step-by-step for the side panels, and more akin to "helpful guidelines" for the rest of it. I took pretty good notes, and plan to type up my instructions for the rest of it at some point. Maybe later today depending on how motivated I am.



Also finished my Desperate Housewife Sweater. I used the Lion Brand Cropped Raglan Sweater pattern with some fairly heavy gauge modifications. But it fits and that's all I care about.



I used Knitpicks HW City Tweed in Lemon Curd, which is a lovely lovely soft smooshy yarn, which, I incidentally found the first time I wore it, also sheds like a white cat on a black couch. I also severely overestimated how much yarn I'd need for this thing. I bought 5 balls, and I used 2 1/2. I'm currently looking for a pattern to make with the rest of this lovely soft warm sheddy yarn.

I'm still working on my Silk Garden Kerchief. I've mostly been using it as a mindless-keep-my-hands-busy-so-my-brain-doesn't-wander-off project for during D&D, so it's only been getting about 4-5 hours of on-and-off attention a week. We'll see how long it takes me to finish the thing. Maybe by Christmas.

I've also started a mystery CAL, and so far, despite my track record of starting shit and losing interest shortly thereafter, I'm actually keeping up to speed on it. The group is on Part 4 and I am (gasp!) also on Part 4!! No pics of that, since it's a mystery. But I am using Fibranatura Yummy in Hawaiian Ocean and I really really like it. The pattern itself is enjoyable, though is pretty intricate and takes a fair bit more concentration than I'm really used to putting into projects lately.

I've got plans for a few more projects I'm going to be starting soonish. After the Silk Garden Kerchief is vanquished into my closet as a wearable garment, I'm going to start another triangle shawl for Rina. I've decided on Dream in Color Smooshy in Some Summer Sky for the yarn. I'm still looking for an awesome pattern for it.

I'm also going to start the pair of socks I've been promising Jason for about a year now, as well as a log cabin blanket in Lion Brand Homespun. The Ripple Afghan I made in it over a year ago has held up really well, but is too narrow for proper snuggling under, so I'm making a big Log Cabin blanket to replace it. I'm slowly stocking up on skeins thanks to Michaels gratuitous dispensing of 50% off coupons every time you make a purchase. It'll be in different shades of blues and greys. And I'll be crocheting it so it'll go fast!

I'm ALSO going to start a top-down hat in some delicious handspun I bought from a local spinner/dyer. Mmmm, check this out..




Seriously, how gorgeous is that??

Oy, I really need to be better about posting in this thing.

I haven't really been doing anything. WWM09 worked out a lot better than I thought it would. I only cast on one new project in the entire month of July, go me! Finished my River Tam vest, though it still needs blocking and to have the ends woven in. Not much other progress to report.

Started on my Starry Night Kerchief, which I'm in love with. Yards and yards of deliciously mindless garter stitch. Mmmm, mindless. Also going to start a cropped sweater, once I make gauge for it. Yes, my other Sesame Sweater is still in pieces. No, I'm probably not going to be motivated to actually finish it until it gets cool enough to wear it.

Woo.

WIP Wrestle Mania!!

So I'm jumping in on the WIP Wrestle Mania event on Ravelry. It might be nice to have some motivation to finish up old projects that have been lying around unfinished for waaaay too long. God knows I need it. And since this is only for the month of July, maybe I'll actually finish it! Unlike the ill-fated knitalongs I've tried to do.

Anyhow, I rounded up all my old WIPs and entered them into random.org, and the list they came up with is this:

1. binary scarf
2. ocean waves afghan
   
3. simple socks
   
4. beholder
5. granny afghan
6. river tam vest
7. salto socks
8. crochet tank
9. stripey sweater

Obviously, there will be some small amount of fudging this list. I need a big project for home, and a small project for when I'm out and about. So, the scarf and wavy afghan will be my home projects, and I'll just work my way down the rest of the list, starting with 3 and skipping 5 of course. Probably won't finish the afghan, if I even get to it at all. I've done another few rounds of the binary scarf, and all it's done so far is remind me just how much I hate colorwork. Ugh. I remember why I stopped working on it in the first place. But once I got it out again, I saw the way Jason was looking at it so I'll be [hopefully] finishing it before next winter. Fingers crossed on that one!

It's a good thing the River Tam vest has fallen somewhere toward the end of the list. I was working on that, and then realized last night that I've completely neglected to start the armhole shaping. My complete and utter lack of reading comprehension strikes again. So I've ripped out several rounds, and it's in time out until I get around to working on it again.

On a less-whiny note, I'm also participating in my very first swap ever, which I am super excited about. I had the day off work, so I did all my shopping for it while I was running errands today. Then I knit up something small but very awesome for the box. It needs a teeny bit of finishing, but then everything will be all ready to go. I'm fairly sure all the post offices will be closed tomorrow, so I'm aiming to get it sent out early next week. I technically have until the 17th to get it mailed, and it's quite a change to have something finished so far in advance of the deadline. Usually I'm rushing around at the last minute, scrambling to get everything all wrapped up. It's nice. I might have to try it more often. :)

It's been a little quieter lately, now that I'm mostly unpacked. I've actually had time for some amount of knitting recently. Still not nearly as much as I'd like, but more than I'd previously been doing in the midst of crazy packing/moving/unpacking craziness. Glad to be done with that! Also, kittens make knitting a study in patience. Woo.

It's late. I suspect I'm babbling. Should go to bed. Happy 4th of July, all!!

happy-go-lucky hat

It's that time again! That's right! I finished another project! No, it's not a project on my Plan of Attack. Yeah, that Plan has pretty much fallen to the wayside. But it's cute! And so what if it's late June, I'm gonna wear it anyhow!




Unfortunately I now have no take-along project. And I'm pretty much back to seaming my soul-sucking sweater of suffering. Do. Not. Want.

Is it bad that I want to start anther project?

still here and still knitting!

So, believe it or not, I'm still here, and still knitting. I'm moved into my new house (!!!) and more or less settled. The endless round of visiting family has abated (for now...) and my evenings are once again my own. So what have I been doing with them? Why, knitting, of course!

I finally finished up my Tequila Sunrise socks. Yep, at long last. I know. Just as it's too hot to wear handknit socks. But I loves them, and the temperature is supposed to drop a bit later this week, so I'll get some use out of them, at least.




Still seaming up my sweater. I've more or less lost interest in it at this point; I dislike seaming and weaving them ends, and hoo boy are there ever a lot of ends to weave in. Stupid stripes. Stupid me for thinking stupid stripes are cute. And the fact that now that it's summer I won't be able to even wear the thing for another few months has sapped the last of my motivation. I'm trying to force myself to do a little work on it every few days. At this rate, maybe I'll have it done by autumn... I'm not holding my breath, though.

I did end up buying more yarn recently. (Yes, I KNOW) But since it's for a gift, I'm pretending it doesn't count. J-L picked out some colors he liked, and I'm going to be knitting a bulky hat for him. I'd wanted to get it done before he left, but sadly I don't have needles big enough to make gauge with. So it'll have to wait until I can pick some up.

In the meantime, I've started a Felicity Hat with some Dark Horse Fantasy in Jade Green that I picked up for 40% off while getting yarn for J-L's hat-to-be. I figured some a short project of mindless stockinette that ends in a cute hat might do me good.

Plan of Attack? What Plan of Attack?

Also, most excitingly, I have picked up a couple of knitting helpers. They've been very diligent about performing such useful services as eating my needles and trying to make off with my yarn.



This is Ozymandias and her devious little sister, Pyewacket. I'm sure adventures will follow. In the meantime, though, aren't they cuuuuute?? :)

still alive!

Nope, I don't feel fantastic and I'm certainly not doing science, but I am certainly still alive. I'm actually in the process of packing up my apartment (which has a lot more junk in it that I realized) and moving it all into my lovely new house!!

Unfortunately this doesn't leave a whole lot of time for knitting. Sadness. I know. Anyhow, just stopping in to say I'm still here, and I'll be back someday. Hopefully soon.

In other [related] news, yarn makes lovely padding for those odd spaces between things when packing. Now my yarn is all packed up, and mostly at the new house, and I miss it. I miss it so.

My as-yet-unfinished sweater is staring at me from its perch on the arm of the sofa. I suspect it may try to strangle me if I don't finish it soon. I'm almost done, I swear! Just have to bind off the collar, pick up and knit the button bands, seam, add buttons, and I'm done! With luck I may have it finished by the time the weather cools off again in the fall. ^^

eff-oh!

Yep, that's right! My impatiens scarf is done done done! Well, not technically done - I'm still blocking it and then I have to weave in my ends. But I'm done with the knitting and that's good enough for me! Here is a pretty, sorta artsy picture that doesn't really show off either the yarn or the stitch pattern, but goshdarnit it's the only one I've been arsed to take so far so I'm tossing it up here anyhow.



Better pictures will follow as soon as I'm done blocking it. Because blocking is magic and makes the stitch pattern stand out rather than looking like a pretty colored garbled mess of yarn. Urgh. Stupid thing won't fit on my blocking board, so I'm forced to block in sections. Should be done by tomorrow, though!

And, because I wrote out a nice neat organized list, I've moved along to STEP TWO of my Master Plan. Just past the cuff on sleeve #2 of my Stripey Sweater of Intimidation. Then just have to knit up the collar and button bands, sew the blasted thing together and find buttons for it. Ya know, no biggie. Should have that done just in time for the weather to be too hot for me to actually use it. Cause that's my luck. Yep.

plan of attack

So. I'm procrastinating again. Still haven't finished knitting the last sleeve of my sweater. Still haven't knit the second of my clownbarf socks. Started ANOTHER frigging project. Yep, I could no longer resist the siren call of the Ruca. Drastic measures are clearly called for. Thus, Plan of Attack.

Firstly, I will finish knitting my Lacy Spring Scarf. Because I've cast on for it, ya know. And all. Perhaps actually forcing myself to finish a project I've started will somewhat curb my startitis.

Secondly, I will finish that damned sweater. I hate it, and it hates me, and it just needs to get out of my WIP basket and into my closet.

Thirdly, I will finish my Valentine's Hat. Remember, the one I started on Valentines Day? Yeah, that one.

Fourthly, I will finish my second Clownbarf sock.

Fifthly, I will crochet up my lace vest that I've had planned for-effing-ever. Because I haven't crocheted anything in far too long.

Sixthly, I will use the remainder of that yarn, and the skein of Silk Garden I just bought (yes, I know) to make my Silk Garden Kerchief. Because after all that I'm going to need something mindless to recover with.

Seventhly, I'm going to knit something for Jason. Because it's been a while since I've made anything for him. Maybe the socks. Probably the socks.

And somewhere in all that I'm going to finally finish my Crocheted Tank. I've finally thought up a way to salvage it without ripping the entire bodice. I just have to undo a little of what I've done, and thus far I've been too lazy. Yarr.

So. This is my Plan of Attack. I'm now accepting bets for how long I'll actually stick to this. Personally, I give it a couple of weeks. I might make it to the "Secondly."

it's that time again...

...when I realize "gee, haven't posted anything in a long while, maybe I should." Because, ya know, the whole point of a blog is to update it? And so far I'm pretty much failing at that.

So. Knitting.

The Stripey Sweater of Intimidation is going. The first sleeve has given me very little trouble, until I reached the end of the armhole shaping instructions and still had twice as many stitches as I should have. After puzzling over it and adding up how many stitches I've got and checking several times for errata, I've just kept decreasing and it seems to have come out more or less the right shape and length. I'm very tired of knitting this thing. It's been one problem after another for me, and I'm ready to have done with it.

I also blame the Stripey Sweater of Intimidation for me buying more yarn even though I shouldn't have. See, even though I obsessively double-checked my yarn amounts when ordering, I still didn't order enough. So I had to order an extra skein. I actually ordered two extra skeins, because with my luck I still won't have figured it correctly and I've got plans for a pair of fingerless gloves. Well, two pairs. And this yarn can go to one of those. And you can't just place an order for two skeins, so I also threw in two pairs of socks' worth of sock yarn. And a cable needle. I know, I fail.

While The Sweater was in time-out, I started another pair of socks. Yep, rather than knitting up the companion to one of the several orphans I've got lying about. I know, I know. I'm using Cascade Fixation. The yarn looked bright and cheerful online, then when I actually received it the skeins looked like garish clownbarf. Then when I started knitting the cuff the colors looked bright and cheerful again. The sky-blue and lilac blended perfectly with the yellow and orangey-red. In a fit of helpless optimism, I named them my Tequila Sunrise Socks. And they were pretty.

Until I hit the leg. Then the colors started doing odd things. They began pooling funny. And unattractively.



And I just let them, because, hell, I don't care anymore. Let them pool. As long as the stitch count is right and the pattern isn't trying to make me scream in frustration, I'm good. Of course, they couldn't pool consistently, oh no, that'd be too much to ask for. Now that I'm on the foot of the sock, they've settled into making stripes. STRIPES. Still, as long as the pattern is correct, I really don't care.

All of my knitting hates me. I have begun to accept this.

And following that line of thought, I'm going to share a conversation I just had with my darling fiance.

Me: I've finally found a pattern for that Araucania Ruca I've had for so long! It took me forever but I've finally found the perfect one, and now I want to cast on!

Him: Shouldn't you finish one of your other projects first?

Me: Yeah, maybe, but I want to make this.

Him: You know how it'll go. By the time you finall finish it you'll be so pissed at it you won't want to wear it.

Me: What?

Him: It happens every time. You'll screw up the pattern, swear a lot, throw it in the time-out corner for a month, rip and reknit a dozen times, and just get angry about the whole thing.


As much as I hate to admit, he really does have a point. Although he was wrong about one thing - it's a time-out basket not a time-out corner.

So, Ruca, you'll just have to wait your turn to drive me round the bend. That is, if there's anything left of my sanity by the time I finish this soul-sucking sanity-eating monster that's masquerading as a sweater...

somehow, i have angered the knitting gods

I swear. I don't know what I've done to piss them off, or why the hell I deserve such punishment, but the knitting gods are smiting me with every possible bit of bad luck they can manage. Let's take a look at my Stripy Sweater of Intimidation!

--The ribbing is 24 rows, 12 in color A and 12 in color B. I knit 12 in color A and 14 in color B. Not a terribly big deal, and I'm replicating that error on all the pieces. Kind of annoying that I cannot frigging count.

--I then realized that the stripes are supposed to be 20 rows wide. I'm knitting them 24 rows wide. Still not a big deal, as I'm just knitting them all 24 now. So my stripes are slightly wider. So what. Still pretty annoying that I cannot frigging count.

--Halfway through the back I realized that I cast on four stitches too few. DESPITE counting and re-counting, and counting again obsessively. I still fucked up, and not by just a stitch or two. By FOUR. How the hell did I miss FOUR stitches??? My inability to count is getting somewhat ridiculous.

--Finished the back, moved on to the left front. I apparently store my brain in my butt when I'm knitting, because I just kept knitting along after finishing the increases, in a happy little fog. Snapped out of it to realize that I've knitted two and a half stripes past where I should have started the armhole shaping. This is what happens when I knit and . . . well, when I just knit, sadly.

--Knit the right front. Realized when I was about to bind off that instead of knitting the right front, I've actually been knitting another LEFT front. Much screaming and swearing occurred, and there may or may not have been a childish temper-tantrum followed by me storming off to the kitchen for a fortifying drink of the alcoholic variety to steel myself to rip back to the armhole.

I'm at somewhat of a loss for how else exactly I can screw this thing up. But I'm sure there's a way.

Last night I just cast on for the first sleeve. Stay tuned for further adventures.

my knitting hates me

It's the only conclusion I have reached after the events of the past several weeks. I'm not sure what reason it has to hate me, but hate me it does. Suddenly and violently and all over the place.

Let's review.

There are my January KAL socks. Which, two months past the deadline, I still have not finished. I was knitting away at them, still very much within my self-imposed deadline, when I reached the toe decreases. What possessed me to stop and count my stitches, I don't know, but I did. And I discovered that somehow when I was decreasing the stitches for the gussets, I decreased too much. the sole of my sock was six stitches short because I, apparently, am an idiot who doesn't know how to count. I tried it on, and yep, it's noticeably tighter than its mate. I frogged the entire foot.

But I was not discouraged. I valiantly started knitting away at it again. An inch and a half later, I realize that I ripped back too far, and now it's hasn't been decreased enough. Because I'm an idiot who still doesn't know how to count. I ripped back again.

Frustrated with the sock, I put it in time-out. Then I went out and bought myself a skein of Malabrigo in the colorway Stonechat and cast on for a hat. I'm about halfway through the first lace panel, when I realize that I somehow, and I have no idea how, screwed it up. Ripped back. Put the hat in time out as well.

Moved on to my goofy orange hat. Screwed up the decreases, but luckily I caught the mistake three rounds in. Ripped back and reknit because damn it I was going to bloody well finish something. The rest came out all right.

Empowered by my recent victory I went back to the Spiteful Lace Socks of Hatred. Knit the foot, obsessively counting the stitches every other row. Ended with the correct number. Knit the toe. Realized that the toe of the first sock and second sock look very different. Consult the pattern. Realize that the pattern says decrease every other row. And, yep, I decreased every row. I'm an idiot, and somehow I managed to not catch it before I cut the yarn. Very nearly pitched the whole thing across the room in a childish temper tantrum. The sock is in time out again.

Considered going back to my stonechat hat. Remembered that my stonechat has already expressed its hatred toward me. It's still in time out. Cast on for my sweater instead.

I've been putting off this sweater for a long time. I was disappointed in it before I ever started it, because the yarn looked different online than in person. I thought I was ordering grey and brick-red yarn. Instead I was actually getting grey and brownish-red yarn. But after knitting it up, the color combination has grown on me. It's still not something I would have chosen intentionally, but I think that it works well. Take a look!




I'm almost done with the back, and while at first I thought I had broken the string of evilness, I was wrong. The stripes are supposed to be 20 rows wide. I've been knitting them 24 rows wide. Where I got 24 from, I have no idea. But I didn't discover that my stripes are too wide until I was halfway done with the back. The hell with it, I said, I'll have wide stripes. I don't care.

Then I discovered that not all stripes are 24. The first two after the ribbing were 24. The one after that was 28, and god knows how many the one after that would have been. Probably 38457298734 if I'd had my way about things. I ripped back. All stripes are 24 now.

I also just discovered (and may or may not have hurled my knitting away from me while swearing violently at it) that despite counting and re-counting and re-re-counting, I still cast on an incorrect number of stitches. Four too few. I just fudged the increases so at least the top half will have the right number. Did I mention I apparently suck at counting? I think a kindergartener could count better than I can. It's kind of pathetic.

But that's not true. It's just what my knitting wants me to think. It wants me to think I can't count and can't read a pattern to save my life. It wants me to doubt these basic skills I've mastered since grade school. To what end, I don't know, but it clearly has some clever, evil plot.

So, you see, my knitting hates me.

But that's okay, because right now I hate it back.

the cure to the knitting blues

I've rediscovered my itch to knit. And, who knew, the answer was so astoundingly simply I'm surprised I didn't discover it before. I'm sure I'll pounce on it quickly from now on.

The way to kick myself out of a knitting slump, I've found, is to buy more yarn.

(two skeins of Crystal Palace Yarns Maizy in Neptune and one skein of On Your Toes in Sage Heather - both of which I bought on sale! $12 total for two socks' worth of yarn, go me!)

I know this sounds like a thinly-veiled excuse to further expand my stash, but it really worked. When I have a new skein of yarn, I immediately start thinking of what patterns would work with those yarns, and all the things I could make with them, and on and on, and then suddenly I want to make things with them, but to do that I have to finish what I'm making now, and bang! just like that I want to knit again.

And besides. Everyone knows that sock yarn doesn't really count as stash.

someone kick me out of this slump?

Please? Someone? Anyone?

I don't know what's wrong with me lately, but I've been in kind of a funk , as you may or may not have noticed since I fell off the face of the world internet recently. I wish I could report that I finished my hat, my socks, all six pairs of mittens I queued up, and the Stupid Striped Sweater of Intimidation, as well as saved the city from aliens and developed a cure for the common cold.

But alas, I have not done any of those things. In fact, let's just take a look at all the things I haven't been doing:

• - I have not finished my January KAL socks.
• - I have not cast on for my February KAL socks.
  
• - I have not finished my goofy orange hat.
• - I have not cast on for my Stupid Striped Sweater of Intimidation. Really, the name says it all there...
• - I have not been blogging. (obviously)
• - I have also not been doing most of the other things I normally can be found doing, including but not limited to: reading, writing, laundry, saving the city from aliens, etc.

I jest, I jest. But only that last bit. In fact, the only thing I've been doing recently is poking around Ravelry and queuing patterns like I have until tomorrow to list everything I'll knit in the next five years. In one night alone, I queued 13 different patterns for socks. Thirteen. I don't knit socks that fast. I'll probably never knit anything that fast. Thirteen different sock patterns, and that doesn't even touch all the other sock patterns I've already queued. I'm starting to think I've got some sort of problem. I wonder if there's some sort of help group for this sort of behavior...

And so this post isn't completely boring and whiny, here's a picture of my pink lace socks. Or, rather, my one pink lace sock that I completed over a week and a half ago. The second is languishing in my WIP basket, waiting to have its gusset stitches picked up. Which I've been procrastinating on because I can say with relative certainty that picking up gusset stitches is my least favorite activity, like, ever.




Not bad, eh? Now if I could just be arsed to finished its mate... ::sigh::

socks, hats and mittens

So, my knitting is coming along. My pink lace socks are farther along, and I'm sure they'd be even farther along still if I'd worked on them at all since last Friday... I'm just past picking up the gusset stitches. The instructions at that point of the pattern didn't make much sense to me (possibly because I barely skimmed the pattern, went "that's not usually how I do gussets!" and then went along on my merry way doing the gussets as I've always done them.) I re-read the instructions after doing them my own way, and still don't quite get it. Something about k2tog in a place I don't recall ever knitting 2 together before...

Anyhow, socks!



Not a terribly good picture of the yarn, I'm afraid. It comes out looking far too orange-y. It's a really pretty pink in real life, and one day I swear I'm going to take a picture of this thing in natural sunlight. Although that might take a while because, oh yeah, I live in Pittsburgh, where the sun apparently abandons us every winter.

Anyhow. I'm probably not going to finish these socks by the end of January like a good little KAL participant would. And that's because I'm a horrible procrastinating project tramp. But oh, I have justifications. And don't I always?

The reason I haven't touched the socks is because I was being responsible. Yes, I know. Me. Responsible. Ha. But I really was! See, Sunday was the Steelers game that determined whether or not they'd be playing in the Superbowl. (and they are hurrah go Steelers!! ahem...) For this game, the FH and I decided to go enjoy it at a local sports bar. Unable to be parted from my knitting for even a few hours, I had to take a project. Now, since I'd planned on having a few beers and have learned from my past drinking-and-knitting experiences, I wanted something simple to work on. And honestly, who wants to be caught knitting pink lace socks at a sports bar?? Nope, knitting a goofy bright-orange hat is faaaaar better. *eye-roll*



(yeah, I was real productive knitting-wise during that game, wasn't I...)

Yep, that's my skein of Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted in Orange Creamsicle that I bought several months ago because I liked the color but had no idea what to do with it but that's okay because now I do and I really like the pretty things the colors are doing! Except, dirty dirty knitting tramp that I am, I now have no interest in my pink lace socks, and instead am itching to knit this hat. I'm on such a hat-making binge right now. It's kind of silly, but there we are. My addictive personality strikes again.

For whatever reason, in addition to hats, I also want to knit mittens. Why? I have no idea. I've never knit mittens before. Hell, I don't even ever wear mittens, and have previously had no desire to wear mittens. Yet I want to make mittens now. I went so far as to poke around Ravelry and queue half a dozen mitten patterns, most of which I'll never get around to making. Mittens mittens mittens. It's fun to say, but that still doesn't explain my obsession with the darned things. I'm probably going to make a pair out of one of the many skeins of yarn I've got lying about. Possibly the skeins of Bernat Berella 4 Ombrees in Terra Cotta Mist I've got. And then hopefully I'll lose interest in them entirely.

And speaking of yarn, I picked up another couple skeins when I was at Michael's the other day. Guess what I'm gonna make with it!



Go on, guess!! I'll give ya'll a hint: it's gonna be cunning!

stupid lace socks

Yay! So I finished my on the fly hat last weekend, and then immediately jumped into a Foliage Hat from the Lamb's Pride bulky I bought. Imagine that! I went out, bought yarn, came home, and started a project with it. I know, I know, I almost fainted when I realized what I did. Yipes.

It came out more-or-less pretty. There's one section that I mucked up. I think I missed some YOs since two of the diamond leafy bits are sort of fused into one vaguely misshapen lump. I noticed my mistake five or six rows later, and, unwilling to rip them out, I simply dropped that section and reknit. It came out slightly less misshapen, but still wrong. Whatever. The lace pattern more-or-less hides the error, and when I shoved the hat under my non-knitting fiance's nose and demanded "What's wrong with this!?" he couldn't spot the error. So I just wear that bit in the back and try not to think too much about it.

Things I learned on this hat:

1. How to read a chart. I've never knit anything from a chart before, and this was a simple enough chart to read. Hurrah, I did it!
2. How to knit a hat top-down. All my previous hats have been cuff-up. I was thrilled at the complete and utter lack of casting on!
3. That working a simple bind-off on the ribbing of a top-down hat results in said hat not being over to fit over my head. A very painful lesson, but one I learned well.
4. The sewn bind-off is pure magic.

I've also cast on my first pair of socks for my knitalong. I'm using the Araucania Ranco Multy that I bought from simplysockyarn.com, and it is wonderful. Sturdy, but soft, and the mild color variation is just amazing. Love love love. I'm knitting the Blackrose Socks from the latest issue of Knitty, and I also love it, and I especially love the pattern and the yarn together. Unfortunately, I'm about to go frog about half of what I've knit of the first leg. See, it all began with a missed yarn-over...

I was admiring my three inches of sock leg, when I noticed IT. A solid bit where there should be a hole. Could it be? *gasp!* I missed a yarn-over! With a surge of dread I recalled when on the prior lace repeat, I'd ended up a stitch short. Unable to spot my error at the time, I just picked up an extra stitch and kept knitting.

Now that I'd spotted it, I couldn't stop staring at the error. Sure that I was being crazy, I shoved the sock under my fiance's nose and demanded "What's wrong with this!?" After peering at it for a moment, he pointed right where the yarn-over should be and said "Something looks funny right here... is it missing a hole?"

Arrrrgh! So I'm not crazy! Even my non-knitting fiance who can't spot the gaping holes or stains on his own socks, was able to see my glaring little error!! But alas, it was twenty rows ago and I really REALLY didn't want to drop those stitches down to fix it. Dropping a section of lace to add in my one little missed yarn-over isn't my idea of fun, and I'm so new at knitting lace I'd probably screw it up more. Oh well, I reasoned, that part of the leg will be under my pants, and who's going to be putting their face close enough to my feet to spot it even if I wear these socks with a skirt? So I kept knitting.

But I was so preoccupied that I repeated one of the lace rows an extra time. So the lace patterns on my socks go normal-normal-normal-too long-too short. Arrrrgh and double-arrrrgh! So I have to frog back the whole sock to fix that. And since I'm already going to be frogging, I might as well just rip back to where that stupid missed yarn-over was in the first place. *sigh*

Where I was:

(can YOU spot the missing yarn-over??)


Where I am:


Tragic, to be sure, but really, two inches was a small price to pay to be able to knit in peace. The error would have bothered me THAT MUCH. Yes. I know I'm neurotic.

Now I'm off to knit and continue watching Desperate Housewives. I think I can get back to where I was by the end of the evening...

sock yarn!

My order from Simply Sock Yarn got in today!!! Eeeeeeee!!!! I also did a bit of shopping today...



From the left: two sets of double-points in size 10 and size 10.5 from Natural Stitches.

Center column: Dream in Color Smooshy in Some Summer Sky; Lamb's Pride Bulky (from Natural Stitches) in Red Hot Passion; Patons Kroy Socks in Bronzed Berry Stripes (on sale at Michaels); Cascade Fixation in Paint Bucket.

From the Right: Arucania Multy in Colorway 312; Noro (I chose the grabbag option on this, and am very pleased with the color chosen for me!); and last but not least, mmmMalabrigo Sock in Solis.

I'm so very very excited over all of this wonderful pretty yarny goodness. I'm very much looking forward to knitting up all these lovely socks (and my Red Hot Passion hat!)

I'm intimidated by my unknit sweater

There. I said it. I admit it. The damned thing intimidates me.

I've had the yarn for my Sesame sweater for nearly four months now, and not done anything with it. I swatched in October. I swatched again earlier this week. And not just my usual half-assed version of swatching, in which I knit a few rows, get tired of knitting it, measure, come up wrong, and go "eh, it's close enough." Oh no. I actually swatched like They say you should swatch. I knit up my little 4"x4" square, complete with a few stitches of garter stitch on each side, and a few rows of garter stitch on the top and bottom so it'll lay flat. Then I measured. Then I washed the swatch. Then I dried the swatch. Then I measured the swatch. Then I measured the swatch again. And I came up spot-on.

I have my needles.
I have my yarn.
I have my pattern.
I have my cute little square that tells me I'm good to go!

Yet I haven't cast on for this thing yet. I'm coming up with all sorts of reasons for it, too.

"I need to finish this hat because it's on a deadline." Technically true. But I don't have to have it done for another two weeks. And when have I ever finished something early when I could drive myself mad knitting it the night before?

"I have so many unfinished projects. I should finish some of them before I start another." Ha. I can hear some of you giggling from here.

"But I've got the project for my KAL!" This is how we can tell it's getting bad. I found a pair-of-socks-a-month knitalong that I joined. The last one of these I joined, I didn't even make it through the first month. I'm sure this won't be any different, but it's a little worrying that I'm seriously trying to use it as an excuse.

Really, I just need to man up and start the darned thing. I've looked over the instructions, and they seem very step-by-step and clearly written out. The toughest thing about this is probably the seaming, and I won't have to worry about that til the end. So why have I not started it yet? I don't know. Best I can think of is I'm intimidated by it. I've built up the idea of knitting a sweater so much that I don't want to do it.

This is ridiculous. My first knitted project was a pair of socks. "Start with a scarf!" I was told. "But I don't want to knit a scarf, I want to knit socks!" I said. "But socks are hard," I was told. "I don't care, I'm going to knit them."

And that's how I've always done things - by being too stupid to realize that I can't.

So, I really have no excuse. I need to just jump in. I need to stop being a wuss and just knit it. .....after I finish my hat.....

blargh

So, things have been a little stressful lately. I flew back to PA on Sunday night, and walked into my apartment only to find that my beautiful parquet wood dining room floor, which was perfectly flat when I left it, now is horribly warped. It goes up and down by several inches. Some of the boards are actually split and cracked, and it sags significantly when walked upon. Yikes.


What a thing to come home to! The appropriate people have been contacted, professional floor people are [hopefully] going to come take a look at it in the next day or so, and this whole mess is well on its way to being fixed. The only really good thing for me about this is that since we're renting, it's not our dime that's going to be paying to fix this. And this is something that seems pretty expensive...

On to happier things! I've finally gotten around to placing my yarn order. I have one from Knitpicks that's still being processed, and another from SimplySockYarn.com. There was a slight problem with that order - one of the colors I'd chosen had sold out just after I placed my order. But the owner sent a very nice email apologizing for the problem and offering either another color or to take that yarn off my order. I picked another color that I liked not quite as much, but will still be fairly happy with. Now I'm just eagerly awaiting the postman!

In between daydreaming about all the lovely things I'm going to make with my pretty shiny new yarn, I'm still working on my superwash hat. Finally took some pictures of it. I'm done with the cabling, and just have endless inches of ribbing before I start the crown decreases. Woo! I think the cabling came out nice, for something I made up on the fly. Simple, but pretty, and fairly well suited for a boy.



Apologies for the crappy pic. Would you believe I STILL can't find the charger for my camera's battery??

Anywho. I have to have this done within the next few weeks, so the recipient will be able to get lots of use out of it this winter. And we all know how great I am with deadlines... It's up in the air right now whether or not I'll finish it in time. I think I will, since this is the only thing I'm working on right now. But then again, we all know how great I am with knitting monogomously.

I swatched for my Sesame sweater last night, and am eager to start it. I'm holding off until I get my hat done. We'll see if that holds.

end of year stats

So, out of curiosity, I sat down and calculated more or less just how much knitting (and crocheting) I've done this year. Since I don't have all of the FOs with me, I had to estimate a few of the stitch counts on various projects. I also didn't take into account projects or sections of projects I ended up frogging.

So, totals!

FOs - 24

Yardage - 9,978.6

Stitch count - 38,947

I'd also be interested to know just how many hours I've spent playing with yarn this year, but that's something I couldn't even begin to estimate. It's definitely a big number, though.

I'm going to try to keep better track of things this year, just to see how it compares with last year. Of course, I always start out the new year with all sorts of things I've said I'm going to do, and then lose interest a month or so in. Though I think I've been realistic in setting my New Year's Resolutions this year...

1. Try to keep my home a bit more organized. This means keeping on top of cleaning and laundry and such.

2. Keep in closer contact with family and friends. I'm usually pretty bad about talking to people. I think about my family and out-of-town friends almost constantly, but rarely take initiative in keeping up with them. I need to be better about this.

3. Finish more knitting projects than I start! Seriously. This probably won't happen, but I'm going to make a serious stab at it.

4. Be more consistent updating here!

Thanks for reading, all, and I wish you all lots of happiness and luck in the coming year!