Finished Object Mojo

Yesterday I groused. I whined about everything. The house is a mess. Mount Washie (pile of dirty laundry on floor next to washer) is enormous. The sink is full of dirty dishes. There are thousands of milk stains on the family room rug. No matter how much I do around here, I'm still about a week behind. The baby won't play by himself for even one minute. I don't have time for knitting, I haven't had a shower, I never get any time for me, I'm haven't gotten enough sleep, my back hurts, my tongue's asleep and my teeth itch. And then, through no fault of my own, this happened.

Today, Mount Washie is considerably smaller (It's down to the tree line already), the sink is only half full, some of the spots have been scrubbed out of the rug, the baby not only played by himself, but did not follow me and drag out everything right after I had put them away, as he usually does. It must be some sort of finished-object mojo.

The sock is Regia color #5343. (I am assuming here that "Farbe" means color. If, in fact, "Partie" is color, it is #30771.) This sock is for younger Nephew, and should fit his Mother nicely after he outgrows it. (he's eight. The monster feet on these boys...) You might be thinking it's not technically a finished project until there's TWO socks. Back off, I need this one.

See the background of the sock picture? Ice. About 1/2 inch of ice. That fell from the sky. And still coming down. Ick. I'd much rather have snow. Even rain would be better, but I definately prefer snow. Snow is "sit with a mug of hot tea and knit" weather. Freezing rain & ice is "how long will the power lines stay up?" weather. Obviously my mojo does not extend to controlling which weather we get.

As for the trekking socks that have uneven cuffs, I've decided to re-block and see if there is really an issue worthy of ripping out the tops of two socks and finishing them off, or if I'm just making a mountain out of a molehill. (totally unlike me, no matter what my husband tells you) Besides, I'm told by the highest authority that blocking is completely unneccessary for socks, so blocking is most likely what messed them up. I should do that today while my mojo is still good.

I meant to do that

Blocked the Trekking socks and went to put them in a box to ship them when I noticed it. Here they are, do you see it?

The feet are perfectly lined up, and they match great. (in size, not striping) It's the CUFFS that don't match. They are each 72 rows. Crap!

I don't know if my gauge changed for the second sock, or if I was in a different mood. I can imagine that if I were angry for one of them, I would be gripping the needles tight and that would reflect in the knitting. Or did I relax for the second sock? I was so excited to finish them for someone who would truly love them, and now I can't send them. Even a 10 year old receiving a gift would notice this. Any ideas on fixing it? I toyed with the idea of snipping and ripping out the last 7 rows on the longer, last 3 rows on the shorter, and finishing them off (so they look alike at the edge.) I am not looking forward to doing that...

Keeping Track of Progress

Knitting a little at a time means I have to remind myself of my progress so I don't go on a knitting binge, or start a mess of new projects at once. Here's an update on my project progress:

FINISHED

1. "Wonderful Wallaby" by Cottage Creations in purple acrylic Red Heart
2. (found almost finished in stash) Wallaby in "mexicali" acrylic Red Heart
3. Barb's recipe for socks in Trekking XXL Color #68 for DNephew (yeah I finished these last night, I'll post pics soon!)

UFO's

1. (got nowhere on) Philosopher's cardigan kit "Trillium" in autumn colors
2. (one of two done)Feather and Fan shawls from Interlacements in "Rick Rack" by Interlacements
3. (didn't even touch) Cardigan (my design) in purple "Muskoka" by Berella
4. (haven't thought about) Pullover (my design) in green heather "Amawalk" by Filofin (Italian)
5. (almost done)Helmet liner in olive green Lion Brand Wool????
6. (couldn't help but start) "Lizard Ridge" from Knitty.com in "Kureyon" by Noro

From the Stash

1. Philosopher's cardigan kit "Colour your own" in pastel colors
2. Socks for TM out of leftover/orphaned sock yarn
3. "Nantucket Jacket" from IK Winter 2006 in blue "Muskoka" by Berella
4. "Children's Cotton Hats" from Last Minute Knitted Gifts in 1824 cotton by Mission Falls

Isn't it amazing how the core of the UFO list did not change? Gee, I wonder why these things are not getting finished... I must really be avoiding these. I even started new projects instead of working on them.

Well it's snowing here today. I love snow. I love the way the world gets quiet when the snow comes down, and everything seems to wait. When I was little, my Mom would bake on snowy days. Now that I'm grown up (yeah, that's debateable) I always feel the need to bake when it snows. Then I knit until the feeling passes. The urge to eat all of what I bake is a definate drawback to having home baked goodies in the house. The snow is still falling. It's really piling up. Soon someone will need to shovel the driveway and walks. That's usually DH's job. I'm sure he'll work up a big hunger while he's doing that. I should make him some brownies as a reward for all that hard work, don't you think? You don't suppose he'll need them all, do you? I could eat a few and he wouldn't even know. I'm sure he'll be so grateful that I made him some that he won't even question where the corner pieces went...

Timing is Everything

One row at a time is not how I usually do things, but I'm learning that it has benefits.

Usually I procrastinate until I get fed up with having no results and engage in a marathon knitting/cleaning/working session which lasts until I feel that progress has been made. Recently, I have been finding evidence that doing a little at a time has its benefits. First I found that it works in de-cluttering my house, via Flylady, a mentoring website for clutterbugs. Then I learned it worked for cleaning the house. Now I'm finding that it works for quite a bit more.

I used to knit so much at once, that my wrists would hurt. Pain would linger so I couldn't knit for a few days. When I started to Knit a little at a time to keep the pain at bay, it was very hard to put down the project. I had only knit one row! That's almost no rows! I tried to think of it as pacing myself.

When I knit one row at a time, I found I could knit another row later in the day. I managed to knit a little so often that I could get more knitting done in one day than I had before, this time without pain at all. That's not usually how it happens, but the possibility keeps me at the slow pace.

So a little at a time is how I finished this Wonderful Wallaby which started out to be for The Monkey, but since he has about 10 sweaters that are the same size, (size 2) I decided to send it to a friend, who lives in Hamilton, Ontario. I figure that it's a bit colder there, and her son might need it a little more than TM does. Besides, I love the colourway so much, I'm thinking TM needs one in the next size up!

I was rearranging the stash (fondling the sock yarn) and found another wallaby, which was almost done, it just needed a hood! so I dug right in. This one is MUCH bigger. (size 8) What was I thinking, abandoning a project that was so very close! Musta been some sort of knitting emergency...



I'm almost finished with this helmet liner, they go pretty fast, except I wait until TM goes to bed. I don't dare knit with dpns with him around. For his safety, not for the integrity of the knitting. He likes to pull dpns out of the knitting, and run away while chewing on the ends. One little trip at that point would mean he needs to go to the hospital. I'm trying to make it a year without his needing to go to the hospital, which means he has to last until the end of March. After that, he can swallow anything he likes/run with sharp implements/stick things up his nose to his little heart's content. I'm such a good Mom!

Here's the beginning of the Lizard Ridge blanket, thanks to Margie's cheat sheet. I would have waited until my brain returned (which might be a while) if I had to work straight from the pattern. I read it eight times. Eight Times. I had no clue what she was talking about. Margie made pictures, and used colors. Pretty, pretty colors. Then I got it. I am working on my third block. Unlike the pattern, I am doing mine in a purple/blue/green colourway. (I like the canadian way of spelling, don't you? Fancy!)

The first sock and a half for Eldest Nephew. The yarn is Trekking XXL in #68. Youngest Nephew (there's just the two so far) is getting neat blue and green stripes, Regia #5343. My sister seems to think they'll wear them under their birkenstocks all summer. They are such great Nephews!

Happy Birthday!

Just a quick note...

Today is Margie's birthday! Margie is a wonderful person, and I'm very lucky to be friends with her. Good friends are hard to come by. She has an awesome sense of humor that tends toward the sarcastic. She is always enthusiastic, even when she's in a bad mood. (especially then) And it doesn't take much to talk her into a yarn-store road trip. (a very good quality in a knitting friend) She also knows where to find the good snacks. (an awesome quality in a knitting friend)Did I mention that she's an incredible knitter? And you should see the quilts!

I haven't had too many friends that I can be truly honest with. One time I became really uncomfortable with a subject we were discussing and, to be truthful here, with anyone else, I wouldn't have mentioned it. But I felt I could so I did and she did something wonderful. She changed the subject. And didn't open that subject up for weeks. When it did come back up, I brought it up, not her. Have you ever felt really respected by a friend like that? I hope you have.

Happy Birthday Margie! And thanks.

Hiding Out

Thursday is usually the day when I take a few hours and spend a night being ME, not Mama, or wifey, sister, or daughter. It is my Thursday routine to get OUT of the house, and knit with the Knit Chicks. Not tonight. Tonight I have barricaded myself into my guest room (amongst the yarn) and am pretending to be at a B&B until bedtime, when I'll rejoin my family.

Don't worry, I remembered the snacks. Unfortunately, I forgot the alcohol, and the room service here stinks. When one rings for champagne, one should not be greeted at one's door by a naked one year old, who grins at you before peeing on the floor. Cheeky. I just don't appreciate that sort of service. And he forgot the booze.

I have finished a bunch of projects. (ok, two) Will post pics soon. I'm procrastinating. Seems I'm a bit embarrased that the bulk of the projects I am finishing are all the same pattern. Yep, two more wallabies. Yawn! I started some new projects though. I started socks (from stash) for the eldest Nephew who's feet are as big as mine (he's 10). Using Trekking XXL in a cool blue with a touch of orange colorway. Also started Lizard Ridge blanket (knitty.com) in Kureyon (from stash). Margie really saved me by giving me a cheat sheet for that one. I woulda never figured it out by myself. Thanks Margie!

Today marks the last day of my commitment to the StashAlong. I didn't buy yarn for two months. I didn't even use my "free"shopping days. Can't completely take credit for having such great self-control, having a one-year-old in the house makes it real easy to avoid the yarn shops. I might even sign up for another go. I kinda like it. I just need a ball of sock yarn for DBIL. He likes crayon colors, and I don't have anything like that in the stash. Maybe I'll take a couple of days off before signing back up...