File under "I should Have Known Better"

I have a knitting journal with pages for a needle inventory, pages of size charts for friends and family, and many, many, pages for notes on projects. I actually have more than one knitting journal with similar pages in them. They are all pristine. I have never written on a single page. I should have been writing in these books, especially on some projects.



I started these socks several years ago. The printing date on the book is 2001 so I'm guessing that I started them in 2002. I didn't knit exactly according to the pattern which is why I should have been writing deviations down...somewhere...even on the pattern.

When these socks when into the resting drawer, I had pulled out the needles to use on a different pair of socks, and placed the stitches on a thread. I think I have the right size back on the stitches. I'm hoping I have the right size. They look the same. For some strange reason, I believe I used a 2.5 mm needle originally instead of the 2.75 that the pattern called for.

I also changed the heel from the original. Did I write down the changes? Of course not. Did I even look at the heel on the first sock before I had completed the second heel? Why would I do that?

After ripping out the heel, I did stop to look at the first sock (which is just past the heel to realise that I hadn't followed the pattern for the sole of the foot either.

It is much easier to follow a sock pattern than it is to knit a sock from a half finished one.

Am I using the knitting Journal now? Not yet but I will just as soon as I start my next project.

The call of the Cashmere was just too loud.

I had planned to treat myself with knitting one repeat of the border each day. That was on Friday. By knitting one repeat each day, I could enjoy knitting this pattern and this yarn for fourteen day... two weeks of knitting Utopia. By Monday night, I had finished the shawl.



It was worth it.



The next project will be a completed UFO. The Gillihook Heritage Knitting Guild is challenging us to finish us unfinished projects. We are to list ten projects and only ten projects. Each month a number will be drawn and that is the project we are to have completed by the next meeting. I am fairly certain that the first project that I should have to finish will not be a single sock but instead the massive shawl that has been languishing on the shelf for three years.

I made a list. I went through cupboards, and closets and drawers and made my list. I now have to choose ten UFOs off the list. I could put several socks on the list since I have six single socks and when I last checked, I do have two feet.

I could put all my lace projects on the list but that would be silly. I wouldn't be able to leave my house for the year as I knit the seven started shawls and one Christening gown.

Two sweaters, one baby blanket, one pair of mitts and a couple of other projects. Before I knew it, my list was twenty items long and logically,I have no hope of completing them all in a year.

And that isn't counting all the projects that I have the yarn for that I'm just itching to start.

Start? Did someone say "Start"? Now that's a much better idea. I think I'll go cast on the new sock yarn that I got last night. Socks are little. They don't take much time to knit. I'll be finished it in no time.

The story of a conflicted knitter.

I've been working on these socks even though I don't like the color and I'm not thrilled with the pattern. They are not what I want to be knitting.



I've been working on this blanket because the new baby will be here in less than two months. It is not what I want to be knitting.



I really want to be knitting this shawl.


I love this shawl. I love the soft yarn that caresses my fingers with each stitch (Jade Sapphire cashmere). I love the pattern that changes enough to maintain my interest (Harbour Lights by Sivia Harding)



I even love the silver beads that came out of my stash to add the perfect amount of sparkle to the knitting. I love knitting this shawl, which is why I am avoiding it. I love knitting it so much that I don't want it to be finished. I'm sure it will be pretty when it is all blocked out and the lace is shown in all it's glory, but I will be finished knitting it. I won't ever have the same connection to it.
If I knit one repeat of the edging each day and only one repeat, I can enjoy knitting this shawl for another fourteen days.

Reflections and Resolutions

At the end of January last year, I joined a Ravelry group called Mission Possible 2008. I listed 12 projects that I wanted to finish within the year by what ever means were necessary. I could actually finish knitting them, or I could rip the project out and put the yarn back on the shelf or give the whole thing away to someone else, in any stage of completion.

This morning I looked at my list. I completed 10 of the 12 projects. Of the two remaining projects, the Unst Bridal shawl was knit on, but it didn't get past the second border. My Kauni Rainbow cardigan did not see daylight. I'm not ready to deal with it yet. Maybe next year.

In the last year, I completed 31 projects of varying sizes. Included in that total are 6 lace shawls/stoles, 10 pairs of socks (I thought I had knit more...perhaps if I put all the single socks into pairs, that number will look better),4 pairs of mitts, 4 baby sweaters and 1 entrelac stole.

The oldest project that I completed was my Tina shawl. I started in 2005 or maybe 2004. I know that it was sitting on the shelf for awhile.

2009 - Resolutions.

This is the year that I want to become a better spinner. I have a lovely collection of Spindles and two wheels. They need to do more than collect dust.
I was given some very precious quiviet down and Silk Hankies for Christmas. I won't spin those wonderful fibers until I can spin them into wonderful yarn.

More Baby Blankets need to be knit and quickly. I usually knit to deadlines but March 20 is quickly approaching.

The gym? Diet? Getting organised? No point in being unrealistic!

Have a very Happy and Peaceful New Year.

Warning Labels

Warning labels can be found on almost everything we purchase. My coffee cup warns me that my coffee is hot. My sleeping pills warn me that they may cause drowsiness and my new knitting needles came with a warning.

"Knitting needles are intended for knitting purposes only. The knitting needles are sharp and should be handled with care, stored with the pointed ends down, out of the reach of children and should not be left on the floor. The knitting needles should also be carried with the pointed end down. The knitting needles should not be used in a moving vehicle due to the possibility they could cause the puncture of the person or airbags in case of an accident. The needles should not be stuck in the ear or in other body parts"

I choose to ignore the warning to not knit in the car. Long road trips are the perfect time for uninterrupted knitting.

Leaving needles on the floor while knitting is attached can accidentally cause the knitting to come off the needles when someone trips over the yarn. Rather than putting all those stitches back on the needle, I think I'll store the knitting....with the points down.

There should be a clarification on the final warning.
"If I catch anyone sticking my knitting needles in his ear or any other body part, the damage that I inflict upon him will be far greater than any self inflicted damage."

So why doesn't sock yarn come with a warning?

"This product may cause uncontrollable shopping. Sock yarn must be kept in large groups for ultimate happiness. If knit, it will require the purchasing of several more skeins to replace the skein that was removed from the stash. Single sock syndrome, also known as second sock syndrome may result from use of this product."

I like my socks to match

So it will not be a surprise to anyone who knows me, that I go to great lengths to make my socks match.

When I am knitting with a self striping yarn, I pull the yarn out of two balls until they match and then start knitting. If I am using a 100 gram ball, I will knit two pair of socks because I know that the colours for the second pair are already lined up.

Friday night, as I was frantically starting another Christmas gift, I started to organise the yarn. After spreading half a ball of yarn all over the floor, I realised that one ball needed to be re-wound . The patterning was reversed. One ball started from the outside, and one from the inside. A minor delay and I was determined to make the socks match.

I knit all day Saturday, and all day Sunday. I took a break to knit a pair of mittens and continued on the socks.

Sunday evening, as I was working on the foot of the second sock, I realised that stripes on the socks weren't lining up.

All my great plans for perfectly matched socks were gone. There was a knot...in the first sock...The patterning had been changed.



I thought about ripping the first sock back but I will not.
I believe that the recipient of these socks will not mind that that they don't match. In fact, if his sister doesn't tell him, he will probably never know.

The next step? Wearing mismatched socks? Deliberately making only one sock of each pair? Only time will tell.

December 12, 2008

Panic sets in as I realise that I have yet to start my Christmas knitting. How long does it take to knit three, no four pair of socks and one pair of mittens. The scarves have been deleted from the list.

December 13, 2008

Panic avoided. I remembered to check the bin of knitting where I have been placing finished socks, hats and baby sweaters. There were fortunately, socks for two in the bin. Two pair of socks are doable in 12 days, even with another pair of mitts. Besides, OK is too warm for mitts anyway!

Insomnia

The other night I was lying awake, trying to fall back to sleep, but couldn't. Strange thoughts kept running through my mind.

What was I concerned about that was preventing me from sleeping? Was it the political scheming that was happening in Ottawa? No, not that.

Was it the fear of a economic downturn and the falling stock market? No, not that either.

Perhaps the quickly approaching holiday and the knowledge that many things have to happen before December 25. Close, but not that either.

It was the yarn. It had been sitting quietly in the Stash for the last year but decided that it was time to be heard.

"We are here and we demand to be knit! You have the pattern. You picked all the colours of yarn. You even started this sweater once and ripped it out because you didn't like the way it looked. Enough waiting. We want to become that sweater. NOW!"

I tried to reason with the yarn. I explained patiently that since Christmas was coming, I needed to be knitting socks for people.

The yarn didn't care.

I tried again. I vowed that I would start the sweater as soon as I finished my Berry-beautiful shawl. No, that just wasn't good enough. No compromise would work. The next morning, I cast on 286 stitches.




Saga Rose Cardigan from Jamieson's Shetland Knitting Book 3.

I have also been knitting the Berry-Beautiful shawl. Don't tell the sweater!

CONFLICTED

I have been knitting for a long time and while I am not a fast knitter, I am an obsessed knitter. (Big surprise there to anyone who knows me) I have often thought that if I could knit faster, I could knit more.

Recently, I went to the Make 1 retreat at Kananaskis and signed up for a class with Stephanie Pearl MacPhee AKA the Yarn Harlot. I signed up for the class not knowing what the topic was going to be so I was very excited to find out that it was a class on Knitting for Speed and Efficiency.

After a timing my knitting, I quickly realised that, yes, I am average. I spent the day examining my technique and learning new techniques to speed up my knitting. Stephanie insisted that if we practised for 15 minutes every day, after 28 days we would feel comfortable with the new techniques and be able to knit faster. This may be the longest 28 days of my life.

I am now undecided if I really do want to knit faster. I am comfortable with the way I knit and do accomplish a fair number of projects(see sidebar for 2008 list)

With the alternate techniques, my ability to knit evenly has disappeared.

My shoulders are sore and I'm missing shows on TV because I have to watch what my hands are doing.

I knit in my usual way for 16 hours on Sunday and only managed to get through 30 rows on this. I was sure I was going to be able to finish it but I didn't complete it until Monday.



Yes I know there are many, many stitches in those final rows of a triangular shawl but I really thought I should be able to finish it faster.



I have more projects with deadlines on them. I will admit that they are deadlines that I have set in my own warped brain and they can be delayed...especially if I see a new project that insists that I cast on immediately.

I was looking at my Stash this morning and it actually made me sad, knowing that there are so many wonderful yarns that I want to knit but that I don't have enough time to knit everything that I want to knit.

If I learn how to knit faster, I can finish more projects, but will I enjoy the process.

Oh Hell....I think I'll just go bake a batch of muffins and avoid the whole issue. Banana chocolate chips muffins solve all the problems.

Seeing Double

I will admit, that I have bought the same colourway of a sock yarn more than once. I may have bought a magazine a second time. I was not prepared to see this.

I even placed the new copy of the book right beside the first copy on the shelf and still didn't notice.


I suspect that I will find my knitting in the fridge soon.

Until then, does anyone need a copy of "The Natural Knitter".

I've been tagged
Michelle, aka knittinggrammy thinks that the world is interested in six quirky but unspectacular things about me. I disagree, but in an attempt to play fair, I will invent some.

1. I hate cooked turnips. I don't just mildly dislike turnips. I hate them. D's family thinks it's funny to dump a spoonful on my plate so that I have to eat them. I won't. There aren't many foods I won't eat but cooked turnips are at the top of my list.

2.I like raw turnips.

3. I am afraid of heights. In the past I have avoided the Capillano Suspension Bridge and the cave at Grotto Canyon because they were too high.

4. I'm stubborn. (just ask Sandra if you don't believe me) This is why I now have stood on the glass window at the Calgary Tower, on the top of Chichen Itza, and climbed all the stairs to stand outside at St Paul's Cathedral in London. I may only have one chance to see the sights and you always get the best view from high up. I refuse to let my fear of heights spoil the view. Next on my list is the Sydney Harbour Bridge but that one might be too high.

5. I believe that the law giving pedestrians the 'right of way' should be changed.

6. I watch lots of reality shows on TV. Survivor, Amazing Race, Hell's kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, Big Brother. I watch them all.

Vegetable sister #2 and Gingersnaps can consider themselves tagged.

I am a Procrastinator

I have gone shopping for Birthday gifts on the day of the birthday...if not the day after. I have entered damp socks in the Stampede because I hadn't blocked them early enough...even though the knitting was completed much earlier. I have started Christmas knitting on December 23.

I have the best of intentions to become more organised and not leave things until the last possible moment, but I get sidetracked and something more interesting will pull me away.

I confess, I was going to post this morning but my knitting and a crappy movie on TV made me delay until now.

I tell you this because there is an anomaly in my house. Why is my Christmas cactus blooming in October?



We just barely finished the turkey soup after Thanksgiving and I haven't bought my Halloween candy yet.

This wrong....unless it's really an Easter cactus and is procrastinating too.

Did you ever wonder????



how many people Kinneared The Yarn Harlot at Rhinebeck this past weekend??????

THE RHINEBECK/NYC ADVENTURE

Back in August, when we started planning our trip to NY, we realised that there wouldn't be enough time to see everything that Seven Knitters wanted to see. We didn't even come close.

But we rode the subway....from Hoboken to Manhatten to Battery Park, to Brooklyn and back again.

I missed Central Park where I was going to go jogging and find a body because on Law and Order they always find bodies in Central Park. Got my TV fix last night and the body was found in Battery Park. Now that was some good planning.



We looked at statues.



We ate. Then we ate some more. And for a break, we would have a glass of wine. And then we ate.



We had time to contemplate life in beautiful surroundings.



And we also went to the NY Sheep and Wool Festival.


We can rest before our next great adventure.

ZOMBIES ON THE LOOSE

While most of the citizens were happily eating turkey and mashed potatoes, a horrific scene was occurring on the streets of our fair city.


The Zombies were running amok.(okay, zombies don't run. They were walking slowly and creating mayhem)

But fear not.

One brave soul, armed only with his trusty toaster was there to save us.

He fought valiantly, and vanquished the foe. We can now rest easy and return to our pumpkin pie and spend the rest of the weekend knitting. We are safe!

FINISHED....AGAIN

On Monday I finished my Tilted Duster. As I was taking the picture to post on Ravelry, I realised that I didn't like the buttons that I had found in my stash, and I didn't like the way the collar bunched up around my neck, and it needed a snap right at the edge to make it close neatly.
Today I ripped it back and reknit it. I am much happier with the new closing. I now have the perfect sweater on which to wear this.
My shawl pin beaded for me by my friend Lorraine.

Sometimes a pattern just needs to be changed.

Tilted Dusted from Interweave knits 2007
Yarn - Berroco Peruvio 100% wool
Other alterations- Ribbing added to the bottom of the sweater to prevent rolling of the stocking stitch sections
-Sleeves were made one size larger.

A BRILLIANT IDEA

Every so often, I get an idea. Once in awhile, I get a good idea. Sometimes, I get a brilliant idea.

That's what happened back in July when I thought we should have a sock exchange.

The not so brilliant part of the idea was assuming that everyone checks their email as often as I do. Some people missed out but those of us who decided to exchange socks had fun.

These are my socks, knit by the wonderful mtlaise. They're perfect. They are Dreaming in Color Smooshy and match the sweater that I knit in the spring.



Pretty spiffy socks for Angele's third pair of socks. And now they're MINE!

HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN, JIGGIDITY JIG

6163 - Total Kilometres travelled.

States driven through - Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Kansas. Missouri, Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana.

Hours spent in the truck - too many to count.

Surprising sites - The windmills in Montana. There are fields full of windmills, that looked like some creature from outer space. Those things are huge.  And they looked even stranger on Tuesday when they weren't moving - at all.

Antelopes on the prairies.  There were hundreds and hundreds of antelopes. There were more antelopes than cows in the pastures.  We saw so many that we stopped pointing them out.

The Feed Lots in Kansas. Kansas around Dodge City is home to many many feed lots.  I'm not talking about small feed lots either.  They were huge!  Fortunately, on our trip home we drove through a very different part of Kansas that was very picturesque, with rolling prairie, and sunflower fields.

Mount Rushmore. Defiantly worth the trip.

And why did we drive to Bartlesville?


So that Grandmas could walk to the park.


So someone could crawl through the tunnel.


And since the one of the reasons for this road trip was to see sites that were written about in Western Novels, someone had to ride a horse.


We went to Bartlesville to visit, and relax and hangout.


The typical tourist photo - no sock included.

KNITTING ON THE ROAD - PART 2

I had planned to knit my Tilted Duster on the way home.



My plans have now changed.

Knitting on the Road

Day 1 - I thought I would start simply with a sock. Of course I didn't have a pattern and had to guess on the size.


536 kilometres later we were in Great Falls, MT and I had a sock. Just one. I left the second one until I could try on the sample sock.

Day 2 - and a second project to start. This time I had a pattern. I was determined to complete the body of the sweater before we stopped for the night. I also had a broken knitting needle. Each time the needle came apart and five or six stitches dropped off, I wondered if I should admit defeat. It was after all, a little difficult to pick up stitches in the dark.


I'm no quitter. 1101 kilometers later we were in Torrington, WY and I was finished the body of the sweater.

The sleaves should be finished easily in ine day.



Lamar CO, 759 kilometers. Two sleeves, neck ribbing and a correction from the day before.




I finally got around to trying on the sweater today. LD has grown more than I thought and tomorrow I will lengthen the sleeves by couple of inches.

The socks also need to be bigger.

The last 749 kilometers I knit my Tilted Duster. I should have pictures after the trip home.....we're taking the long way home.