blargh, christmas

Things have been pretty hectic around here in Yarnia. The last two Christmases were studies in knitting hell. So this year I said to myself, I've learned from my mistakes! I'm not going to knit anything for Christmas this year! Store-bought gifts are definitely the way to go! I love knitting for other people, really I do, but I'm awful at knitting on a deadline. It's stressful and hectic and it makes me feel like crap when I'm not able to finish on time because A) I drastically underestimated how long something would take, or B) something goes terribly horribly wrong causing me to take much longer, or C) all of the above.

Which is why, of course, here I am with less than a week to go until Christmas, frantically knitting away despite the fact that there is No Way in Hell that I am going to finish in time. I've prioritized which projects absolutely must be finished by Christmas, and which I've got a bit of wiggle room with and if I finish them a little late it won't be so bad. My mom and grandmother are getting two pairs of socks each (I made this brilliant decision on the 9th of December. yes, I'm absolutely off my rocker) and I've finished two pairs so far. So if I'm a little late with the other two pairs it won't be the end of the world. The other parts I won't go into detail on because I'm not sure who else does and doesn't follow my blog.

In other happier FO-news, I've gotten some great things taken care of. I've finally finished J-L's hat. That awful evil intarsia beast I've been complaining about on and off for the last year? Yeah. Done. Well, nearly done. I've just got to add braided tassels to the earflaps and felt the whole mess. I'll be posting finished pictures in a blog post of its own with probably a documentation of the whole sad tale.

I've also finished Jon's mitts and scarf. Still haven't presented them to him, because life keeps getting in the way. Namely, my work schedule and his finicky car. But they came out quite nice, and I'm very pleased.

I've also completed Abby's shawlette. I used the pattern Spring Thaw, and Malabrigo sock in the colorway Abril. Lovely yarn, lovely pattern. I did have some trouble starting it. The charts only show half of the shawl, and I didn't realize this at first, then couldn't figure out why the written instructions and charts didn't match up. Two froggings later, it finally clicked. The pattern was quite easily memorizable, and the yarn is a dream. I'm so in love with the color that I want to make myself something with it. Someday, after I downsize my stash quite a bit more...

Abby seems to love it. She's worn it several times since I gave it to her, which pleases me to no end. The best part of knitting for other people is seeing them use and enjoy what I make.

And that's probably why I'm sitting here, half-finished Christmas gift beside me. The thought of it being used and loved is what keeps me going.

Ravelympics: Day 1

So, believe it or not, I've actually got a decent start on this! I'm already worlds ahead of where I was for NaKniSweMo, but we won't talk about that.

I had my pattern all picked out.

I bought the appropriate amount of yarn.

My yarn is wound into balls. (hehe, balls...)

I swatched. Well, sort of. (okay, now this is sounding familiar) I knit a bit and it was coming out too small, so I'm knitting the next size up and it should be fine. I hope. Gauge swatches lie, anyhow.

I cast on during the opening ceremonies last night, and got a couple of hours in. I've put in a couple more hours so far today, and while it is driving home the fact that yes, I do knit slow as hell, I'm actually making decent headway on this. I'm about halfway through the raglan increases, whee!

Also, Malabrigo is soft and squishy and I think I never want to knit with anything else ever again. I loves it, even if it is kind of a pain in the ass to switch skeins every couple of rows. Most of the balls look like they're pretty close to the skein, but I have one that's sort of lighter and one that's noticeably darker despite the fact that I sat in the LYS for fifteen minutes comparing skeins of Burgundy and trying to pick the five that matched the best. I started with the lightest and the darkest in the hopes that the garter section would help to further disguise the dissimilarity in color, and it seems to be working so far.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this progresses well. I'm hoping to be done with the yoke by Monday, then done with the torso by the following Monday, which would leave me two days each for the sleeves, and two more days to do any finishing and blocking. When I first started, I thought there was no way I'd actually finish it in time, but now that I've got some amount of it done, I'm feeling optimistic again!

ZOMG

So, I've been neglecting this blog again, bad girl that I am. My life has been INSANELY BUSY lately. So busy, in fact, that it requires the use of ALL CAPS to emphasize just how CRAZY it really is. Yeah.

So, I've not made that much headway, unfortunately. I've finished the first of my mother's socks, but haven't cast on for the second one. I've also finished the first of Rina's Harry Potter socks, and just cast on for the second one last night. I'm about five rounds in, which, let's be honest, doesn't really count for anything. ::sigh::

The BTWNE is soooooooo close to ending. I have just FOUR MORE ROUNDS to do, and then I am done with that awful beast FOREVER.

I've also resurrected my amigurumi cupcake and am almost done. It just needs to be stuffed and sewn together. I might do that later tonight if I have two seconds to do it in. I thought about resurrecting my Beholder as well, but decided that enough is enough. I'm overambitious enough as it is. That little bugger can wait until January.

Now I am off to go crochet like a madwoman. I have delusions of finishing the BTWNE by tonight. Expect a picture-heavy post tomorrow, including the blanket from hell, a cupcake, Jason's hat, and the two first socks!