Serendipity

So, last weekend I bought a couple of hanks of rainbow yarn with the intent to make a scarf.  This past Friday, I finally got a chance to sit down and yarn, and I started on the scarf because I didn't want to work on the hat.  After a couple of attempts, and frogging about three patterns, I decided on a simple basket weave.  I fell in love with it pretty quickly.  On Saturday, I worked on it some more, and as I neared the end of the first hank of yarn, I realized I didn't have enough.  In fact, I had nowhere near enough.  

I contemplated my options for a while.  I had enough for a cowl-ish neck warmer, and I could do that instead.  I didn't really want to buy more.  But then I got an email from my LYS saying it was birthday sale weekend, and everything in the entire store was 20% off on Sunday and Monday.  Well, that decided it, and I went to the yarn store on Sunday and bought two more hanks.

It's color change yarn, a variegated that basically self-stripes.  That was, in part, due to the number of stitches and rows in my pattern.  But it's fantastic.  But I discovered it had a very set pattern of colors.  So when I went to join the second ball of yarn, I had a decision to make.  I could just join on where it started, and the color pattern would change a bit.  But it would be clear where each new ball joined in.  Ultimately, I decided that wasn't something I wanted, so when I joined the second ball, I had to pull out a bunch until I got to the right section of color.  I wound that into a mini-ball, and then started knitting again, thinking I would join that little bit at the end or figure out where it went in the grand scheme of things.  

I went to the store and got two more hanks, and I wound them into balls last night.  And when I was done, I discovered something magical and utterly fantastic.  I chose all four hanks at random, just picked the same colorway and dye lot, but didn't examine the hanks too closely.  But, as I said, wound up into balls I saw something amazing.  The two hanks that I had bought, along with the little bit from the second hank, all end on the color where the next one begins.  It's perfect.

The ball I'm working on now ends in green.   There's a ball that starts with green and ends in purple.  The little bit left over starts in purple and end in yellow.  And the last ball stars in yellow and ends in purple.  That will be be the last ball I put on and, as an added bonus, it ends in purple which was the color that started the scarf.  

It won't be a perfect match for number of rows and the like.  But it will be a general match and that is just awesome.  It was a serendipitous series of events.  The yarn gods were with me.  Or something.  But it's awesome and I'm really happy about it.  

The pattern is relatively simple, with just a bit of variation to keep me interested.  And the color changes give an additional excitement to working on the project.  And I'm loving it.  

Also, I've gotten back into Ravelry, a social media site for yarners, and that's exciting too.  I joined about five and half years ago, but it fell by the wayside.  But I'm back there now, and that's fun.  Though as I was adding in some of my projects, I realized that I am sadly lacking in pictures of completed work.  I was going to be better about that, but it seems I've seriously slacked on it.  So that's another goal for me, to take the pictures of the completed works!

Anyway, after a bad few days, where nothing seemed to be going my way, and my temper was getting the better of me, and so was my sadness, it was really awesome to end the weekend on a lovely yarn note.  

Poor Sis

Sis is sick.  Way sicker than she's been in a long time.  It started with the sniffles, and then of course, got worse.  She started throwing up, and everything was bad.  The doctor diagnosed her with bronchitis and sinusitis.  But unfortunately, she was also still throwing up.  Because she couldn't keep anything down, she got really dehydrated.  With the sickness, and the dehydration, and the throwing up, there came a migraine.  But she couldn't do anything to combat the migraine because of all the other things.  

We ended up in the emergency room Thursday night because the pain was so very bad.

After an insanely long wait, during which she was crying and begging me to take her home, she was finally seen by the doctor.  Two hours, a half a liter of saline, some anti-nausea meds, and something for the pain later, and it was like she was a brand new person.  The pain was gone, and she was tired, but acting like herself again.  

She's getting better every day.  Still very sick, but she's better than she was two days ago. 

Which is why the relatives are still arriving today instead of cancelling their trip.  

So yes, house is going to be invaded again.  But with Sis sick, it's going to fall to me to pick up the Sis slack.  So, you know, socializing.  But fortunately, everyone is pretty able to entertain themselves so I don't have to chase after anyone or keep them occupied.  

It's still too cold, but I'm dealing as best I can.  

Knitting on a scarf right now, because now that the interesting part of the hat is done, it's sort of boring.  I'm trying to decide if I want to put some sort of patterning in or not.  Until I decide, it's sitting on the table and waiting.  When I get my new needles (I ordered a very exciting set of interchangeable needles from Addi and I can't freaking wait to get them!) it'll be the thing I work on.  One of the needles I have on the hat right now I don't like, so that, and trying to decide on pattern, is my excuse for leaving it as it is.  Since the needles may be arriving as early as next week, I'll have to make some decisions soon.  Until then, it can sit and I can work on the scarf.

It's not anything complicated, just a simple basket weave pattern, but the yarn changes color and that's always fun.  As I go along, I keep thinking, oh, I'll just do it until the next color comes up.   But at least it gives it a little flavor.  lol.  I didn't buy enough yarn, sadly.  But I just today got an email from my LYS saying that their big birthday sale is going on tomorrow, so I figure I'll pop over there and get some more, and 20% off to boot!  That's a good thing.

Here's wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!

Two Things

So you know I gave up on the CAL because it was just bad. (And not getting any better, I checked out the next clue just for shits and giggles and holy god, did anyone actually try these stitches together??  Awful!)  But that means I have this yarn, right?  And i know it's enough for a throw.  But while I was at the craft store this past weekend, I picked up one more skein of each color.  

I've wanted to make myself another blanket for a while now, and I love these colors (there's blue going on, I love blue, I can't resist blue) so I thought it would be nice for me.  And with the weather cooling down, it won't even be too hot to work on it with it on my lap.  And I wanted to think of something good and interesting.  So it's round.  Yep.  Round.  Well, actually, it's kind of like a soft octagon without defined points.  But yeah, round.  I'm enjoying the hell out of it.  I know I won't when it gets really big and it takes forever to go all the way around, but still.  I'll be happy when it's done.  

The other things is that sometime at the end of the month, I'll get the first edits back for my novella which will probably release sometime at the end of January.  I'm equals parts excited and nervous.  It's going to be work, and it'll probably sting a bit right?  Because I love these guys and their story. But it's going to be fun too; working to make the story better, and getting my very own cover.  

So at any rate, I'm anxious and exited in equal measures.  And I hate waiting, so even though there's still twenty days or so to go before I get that first thing, it's a little bit wearing on me.  But I look forward to the end of the month doubly so now.

Hope everyone is doing well in their respective corners of the world!  

The Weekend

Kinda sorta missed a deadline.  Even though it really wasn't a bit deal at all, I still feel like crap about it.  I had it in my head it was due a certain day, and wasn't paying attention to the date part and well...yeah, I feel like a jerk even though it was unintentional.  Need to get my ducks in better order.  I sort of have this rough and flexible schedule about when I do things...but maybe I need to firm that up a bit.

The good news is that ultimately my weekend was incredibly productive.  I'm still only just over halfway done with my hat, but I did put a few rounds on that.  Worked on a scarf a bit too, just because the yarn feels so fantastic.  Had lunch out with Sis, which is coming to be much more of a regular thing...we just call it sister time and that's really nice.

And I wrote.  I've got that WIP just about ready to go.  It's so close, I can taste it.  I'm just not quite there yet.  Just a wee bit more.  

But I feel very accomplished, and that is a great feeling, so I'm very happy about that.  Now just to keep the momentum going!  And to get things taken care of before deadlines!

Early Nap

I was up before six this morning.  Wide awake, staring at the ceiling, ready to start my day.  Oh I tried to roll over and sleep some more, but it just wasn't happening.  That's what I get for going to sleep at nine thirty last night.

God, I'm boring.

Anyway, I got out of bed and got my coffee.  I futzed around a bit on the web, and then got to work.  I've made some really good progress on some things I'm working on.  Actually managed to write a synopsis for my WIP.  One step closer to being done.  A few more tweaks and edits on the MS itself, and then....then I have to get up the guts to submit it somewhere.  Soon.  

But now I'm sleepy, and I've only been up for four hours.  I think my nap will happen earlier than usual today.  I want to finish the bit I'm working on, and then I'll crawl back into bed for a couple of hours.  

I want to point out that this is actually working too.  Because in those moments as I'm not really awake, but not quite asleep yet...those moments are when I do some of my best thinking.  The characters like to show me scenes then.   I'll replay them while I drift off, and then when I wake up, I'm usually in a good place to write. 

This one is almost done, and I have a bit of an idea for the next one.  I'm letting that one percolate some more.  I'm missing some details I need to work out before I try to get it on the page.  

But the end for my current boys is nigh.  I can feel it.  And I'm getting anxious.  Both to have the completed project, and because I have to let them go. They've only been living in my head for a few months, but they are mine and so that's tough.  

But after I finish this part I'm working on, and then a nap, I'm going to sit down with TV and yarn.  And that, right there, will be good.  

Feeling Worthy Again

I've been not great about the posts lately.

I'm sorry for that.

There's been a lot in my live, actually, that I've let go in favor of other things.  And today, it's certainly hitting me with a lack of balance.  I need to get back on track.  I need to budget my time better.   But we all know I'm not great about that.  I'm trying though.  Today, I'm making an effort to make a change.

A week ago, someone said some very hurtful things to me, treated me like I was a piece of trash, and that hurt lingered for a long while.  It's still lingering, if I'm completely honest.  

It's no secret that I can get down on myself.  That I can spiral to the dark place and that I allow self-pity to overwhelm.  I don't need any help getting there.  So, yes, I was down.  I was also angry.  Because it's one thing if I send myself there.  It's another thing entirely for someone else to try and make me feel that way.  In this instance, I got mad as well as sad and it was a dizzying combination.

Because of that, I threw myself into writing mode, because that felt good.  Because I felt accomplished.  Because it made me feel worthy, and not worthless.  The good that came out of that is that I finished a first draft on a novella.  And also plotted out the next book in the series.  That felt so incredibly good.

But I'm feeling the lack of yarn creativity too now.  And as weekend is fast approaching, I've made some decisions about how I hope to spend it.  I hesitate to use the dreaded plan word, and, as you know, I have good reason for that.  But here goes:

There's a sale at my LYS.  After work and a stop at the bank, I intend heading over there.  I need a little yarn shopping therapy.  

I intend to get a couple of my next reviews written this weekend.  

I intend to yarn.

I intend to edit.

And so, I intend to have a very good weekend.  Because doing the things that I love and that I'm good at will remind me that I am worthy.  

Stuff and Things

I haven't posted in days because I didn't want to wallow in the hurt and the anger, and sadly, that was all I could think about.  I was hurt, and I was angry and upset and a whole gamut of emotions, and I just didn't want to spew that all over here.  But now I'm better, or getting there, and so I can talk about other things.

The weather was aboslutely glorious here yesterday and I drove home with the top down on the convertible and loved every second of it.  It's been rainy and overcast today, but it hasn't dampened my mood overly much.  I think it's actually Spring now, and that makes me happy.  That's not to say that we aren't going to get a few cold days and/or a sprinkling of snow, but still.  It's much better than the bitter cold of the winter.

Brub is going to graduate law school in a couple of weeks.  I'm thrilled for him and so excited.  He's even already got a job lined up.  That's my Brub, so smart!

I haven't yarned in weeks.  Been too focused on other things.  But now that I'm getting some of those settled, I'll be able to get back to that soon.  As usual, I have many a thing in the queue.  Not the least of which is a baby blanket.  I'm going to crochet it, just so I can get it done faster.  I'm still debating on patterns though.

And as this goes up, I'm finishing the first draft on a novella.

That's all the news from my quarter.  Hope you've all been doing well!

Recovery

What a hell of a weekend.

I'm not even kidding when I say that it's basically taken me the last two days to get my head back into normal space.  I love my relatives and it's wonderful to see them, but it's almost as good to see them go.  Loud, crazy, all up in the business, making my life chaotic.  I like my routine.  I need things to go a certain way for me to be able to function at optimum levels.  The disruption is always a hard thing to take.

But peace and quiet has been restored and I'm back to being me again.

Currently, I'm working on an updated and better version of Spock.  And now that I've discovered a different way to do the hair parts, I think I'll finally be able to finish Captain Kirk.  Well, I'm making him over again too, in the new and improved way.  And then there will be a matched set.  Spock must have his T'hy'la.

The BFF's mitts are only half finished.  But she's not pressing me to have them done.  In fact, she sort of doesn't want them until the summer, as it's sort of a tradition.  And now that it's finally starting to warm up a bit, it's a moot point anyway. She'll have them when they are done.  

I got two new pattern books for my birthday.  And I'm dying to dive into that and make some of those things.  So after Spock/Kirk, I'm going to crack those babies open and start playing there.  That is going to be a great deal of fun.  

There's a baby blanket on the horizon as well but I still have a couple of months for that.  I know what I'm going to do and with what kind of yarn, so I'm doing well there.  (Famous last words right?)

At any rate, it was a good weekend, and fun...and crazy and chaotic and I'm glad it's over.  But I enjoy it for the most part.  Except the parts I didn't.  And now I'm looking forward to getting through the week and having another much quieter weekend.  :)

WTF Mother Nature?

Tuesday was absolutely gorgeous: sunny, 50 degrees, balmy, beautiful.

Wednesday was a horrid snowstorm with 15 inches of accumulation.

Thursday was a bit snowy in the morning but sunny by the afternoon even if it barely broke into the teens.

Today?  Today is supposed to be mid forties by the afternoon and gorgeous sunshine all day.

So I repeat, WTF Mother Nature??

At least I don't have to worry about driving my little car.  And I can stop at the yarn store after work.  Go straight to the right yarn, pick it up, and leave.  No dawdling, no looking at other things.  Only buy what I need and get out.

I'm desperate enough to get the project finished that it may just work out like that!  Well, I can hope so anyway.  I'm currently playing the game of which store do I want to go to that has the best chance of having what I need.  I don't want to travel all over hither and yon.  I figure I'll try the one out by work, because that's the first place I ever found it not online.  Part of me thinks I should have just ordered it, but I was afraid of the whole yarn debacle that happened with Sis's yarn happening again.  So I'll just stop at the store and pray they have it.

Really should have picked up some when I saw it at the store a few weeks ago.  Ah well.  Hind sight is 20/20 right?

So, yeah, pretty day, yarn shopping, Friday is shaping up to be pretty good.  

Ran Out of Yarn

I freaking hate when that happens!!

Like, really a lot.  See, I wanted to yarn but I didn't want anything that involved thought, so I pulled out some chunky yarn and started making a shawl.  My coworker wants one.  I thought I had enough.  I did not.  It's like a shawlette.  Which fits me just fine, but she's a good five or six inches taller than I am.  So I don't think it'll fit.  And I would pop to the yarn store really quick after work and pick up another skein...except that it's supposed to be very yucky all day.  And I'm sure that when it's time for me to leave work, I'll just want to get home safe and sound in one piece.

But I hate that the project is so close to being done and I just need one more skein.  If it wasn't so treacherous, I would do exactly that.  But it's shaping up to be really nasty, snow and freezing rain and sleet...the whole nine yards.  I'm not looking forward to the drive in to work in a little bit.  

And speaking of the weather...we had such a glorious day yesterday.  I mean, really, absolutely beautiful.  And it really lifted my mood.  But now...yeah, yuck all over again.  I'm just hoping it's not as bad as everyone says it's going to be.

At any rate, I ran out of yarn and the weather is crappy and I just want to stay in bed.  But alas, I am that responsible adult type person, and off to work I go.  To stew and wait for the day to be over, so I can white-knuckle drive home.

Stuff and Things

--Finished the final first draft of a short story.  It's off to the betas this weekend!  I've already got major nerves.

--We got a new girl at work a couple of weeks ago.  Well, actually, she's not new.  She worked in one of the other offices.  I'd talked her loads of times on the phones but I don't think we actually met in person.  She's a sweetheart.  She saw my mitts and wants a pair.  Did I say no?  Of course not.  I said, "I absolutely have purple yarn."  At least I'm going to do the easy version and not anything complicated.

--They did a system update last night for one of our programs.  Have no idea if we'll even be able to log in when I get to work in a bit.  Sort of hoping not so that there's time to do funner work stuff.  (Yeah, I totally said funner)

--Now that the frog of the short story is done, I'm going back to working on Kirk.  Spock needs his T'hy'la.

--Tomorrow is March!  I love March.  It is my very favorite month of all the months.  There are several reasons...the most prominent and self serving is that it's my birthday month. :)

--March is looking to come in like a lion...I'm looking forward to the lamb part.

--Sometimes when I see the word March, all I can think about is Little Women.

--It's cold and wintery again (hence the March coming in like a lion bit) and i'm so far over it it's not even funny.  I don't even care about the cold at this point, I just want the snow to stop.

--I hate wearing socks to bed.  My feet need to be free.  But it was so cold last night they were necessary. When I woke up, they were gone.  I now can't find them.  Who the hell knows what sleeping me did with them?

--It's Friday!  Yay!  That always makes me happy.

What a Way to Spend Sunday

Okay, so yesterday didn't turn out like I wanted at all.  Are we surprised?  Not really, no.  I'm actually not too upset about it.  Just kind of shrugged and went with the flow.  And as much as I thought, "there's always tomorrow" I am feeling pretty lazy today.  So I figure I'm just going to go along and see what happens, what I feel like doing.  There's nothing pressing that has to get done.  So I figure I'm all right there.

So far the only things I've actually been able to accomplish is removing the collection of coffee mugs that has been accumulating and feeding the cats.

Also got stabbed by a fork. 

But I've got the movie cued up (Despicable Me 2) and the yarn at the ready and I'm going to see if I can get some of that done today.

The muse hit me, hard and fast, yesterday and I got a bunch of words on the page.  That felt really good and was one deviance from the "plans" that I didn't mind at all.  We'll see where it goes.  I'm loving the new world and I love my MCs, so it should be good.

Of course, there's still snow.  And at some point today, I'll have to go out and clear some of it away.  

Work, lately, has been both better and worse.  There are moments I dread going in and being there completely.  And there are times that it's pretty good.  The hard part, for me, is never knowing exactly where I stand and I always feel like I'm on edge.  I'm working on getting into a better head space about it all.  At least until I win the lottery.  :)

But I have the rest of today before I need to worry about that.  There's a pot of tea in my future--I got a new flavor yesterday and I'm looking forward to trying it.  Tea, yarn, movies.  That's a way to spend a Sunday.

Hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend and that the week ahead looks glorious!

Epic

Yesterday went by both way too slowly and way too quickly!

Getting up at five o'clock int he morning on a Saturday?  Not fun.  No matter how you slice it.  But I managed to haul my ass out of bed.  The baby fell asleep when she wasn't supposed to and then, later, wouldn't sleep when she should.  But the times when she was sleeping were awesome.  He took a good long nap.  I ended up corralling them and confining them to two rooms, just because I couldn't keep chasing them.  I was tired and my patience was worn thin...and I didn't want to snap and be harsh when I didn't need to.  Finally, 3 o'clock rolled around and they went home.  I felt like I'd had a day twice as long as it was already.  But on the other hand, I was like, "holy crap! It's already three o'clock!"

Didn't stop me from taking a nap though.  

Then I went and collected Tato from work and we had one of our nights--which equals dinner and a movie.  Dinner was tasty and he made me try something new...which I didn't like.  Which always happens when I step outside of my food comfort zone and why it's so hard to get me to do it.  Though, in all honesty, it wasn't bad and I did eat it.  I just wouldn't eat it again.  

We watched Epic, which neither of us had seen.  It's exactly his kind of fantasy.  It was completely predictable and really cute.  I enjoyed it.  It was not, however, epic.  It was good, though, and I wouldn't be opposed to watching it again.  

Before the dinner and the movie, he helped me hash out some plot point that were sticking.  I'm worried about getting all the details down but I'm certainly going to try.

Today is a lazy day.  I need to clean some, but I might put that off till tomorrow.  I also need to yarn and I may or may not do that today.  Other than a couple of errands that I have to run (the cats are out of dry food and I need more litter) I'm thinking that I might not do much of anything at all.  I have tomorrow off, just a chill day, and I can get things done then.  Or not.  :)

Hope everyone has had a lovely weekend!

Well Then

There's no help for it.  I have to scrap Izzy's shawl and start over again.  But at least this time I know what I'm doing, I understand the rhythm of things, and I think I'll be able to do it well.  It's always a possibility, with a new pattern, that you don't understand what's going on until you actually work it.  Even though I read through it first and tried to visualize what was going on, what I thought I "saw" was not quite what was happening.  Now that I've actually worked it and caught the repeat-y-ness of it, I can make it without jacking it up, missing stitches that need to be there, and making it a funny shape.  That's next on my agenda as Izzy has patiently waited long enough.  I think I may be able to accomplish a great deal by the end of the weekend and my goal is to have both that and the mitts finished by next weekend.

Actually writing words on the page is going to have to take a back seat until I get those two things done.  But even though both things require a bit of concentration, I can devote at least part of my brain cells to plotting and planning while I work.  So really, that's the best of both worlds.

I have a busy weekend ahead of me.  A book I've been waiting for is being released on Friday, watching the babies on Saturday, and needing to yarn.  Fortunately, I've taken Monday off from work to kind of recuperate.  And the Dr. Feelgood anthology is released Monday...I have a story included in it, Hero Worship.  I adore Matt and Alex and I love their story.  The entire anthology is filled with great shorts about finding love with men in the medical profession.  It's a really fun compilation of stories.

And thankfully, the snow has stopped for the time being.  My drive home from work last night was terrifying, but it's clear today.  Cold, very cold, but clear.  As much as I love having four distinct seasons and yes, even enjoy the snow, days like yesterday make me want to move somewhere where there is no snow.  Probably never happen though.  

And that's it for me for now.  Hope y'all are doing well! 

The Good and The Not So Good

I started and finished one of the BFF's mitts this weekend.  It was, actually, a study in extreme patience.  And, a couple of times there, I was convinced the mitt did not want to be made.  Twice, I crossed the cable the wrong way.  Fortunately, both times, I realized it immediately and was able to go back straight away and rearrange my stitches.  Twice, I dropped a stitch.  The first time, I didn't realize it at first and had to "ladder" it back up a couple of rows and put it back on the needle.  The second time, I saw it was not on the needle as soon as I finished the row so I stuck the cable needle through it to hold it until I got to that spot again, put it back on the working needles, and knit it.  Several times, while working the cables, my needle slid out of the stitches and I had to quick grab them back up again.  When I got to the very end, I somehow had the incorrect number of stitches so I had to fudge it to finish the top.  That didn't matter so much because you can't tell and I didn't drop any stitches.  But one mitt is successfully completed.

After that, I jumped over to Izzy's shawl.  Now that I'm about halfway finished, I sort of think I should trash it and start all over again.  See, the pattern is in Swedish (yes, Swedish) and even though the pattern maker also translated it into English, I seem to have trouble following along.  It's taken me an extraordinarily long time to realize exactly what is going on and how it is all put together.  To be honest, I'm not entirely sure I understand one part of it.  But it's sort of misshapen.  I can fudge it...I can finagle it from here and make it work.  But I sort of think it would be better to just bin it and start over so that I can do it correctly from the start even though that means she'll have to wait even longer for it. I'm still contemplating my options.

At any rate, I do feel a bit accomplished.  It was a good weekend for the yarn...even if it didn't all turn out as it should. 

Two At A Time

Here's the thing about making stuff that comes in pairs: it's hard to make them exactly the same.  Even if you count rows/rounds meticulously, there's still a margin of error.  I usually do pretty well but there's always slight differences.  A stitch or two, a row or two...they fit differently.  I finished Mom's mitts the other night and the difference is a lot more than normal.  I'm a little bit upset about it, to be honest.

The wine colored fingerless mitts I made are pretty good.  My mitts have a row difference that I only notice sometimes.  I remember when I made the BFF's mittens the first time around, one was a couple of rows longer than the other.  

There's a way to almost eliminate this.  When you are making something that there are two of--mitts, socks, sleeves--you can knit them both at the same time.  This way, you are essentially working the same row on each thing at the same time.  I've only tried it once before, when I was playing with sock yarn, and ended up accidentally using the wrong ball of yarn, so that I connected the socks.  Frustrated, I tossed it aside and have only worked one at a time since.

But seeing the difference in Mom's mitts...and remembering the difference in the first pair of BFF mitts...I decided to give it a go again.  I tried.  God knows, I tried.  But I couldn't seem to get my needles sorted and everything kind of got completely frustrating and It just all fell apart.  And then, I thought I had gotten it all set, only to realize I had screwed up the pattern on the second row and hand to pull one out and that I would be much slower when I had to switch back and forth between the different balls of yarn.  And I was worried that I would get into a rhythm and just...forget to pick up the right yarn.  At that point, I decided it was much easier--and sanity saving--to just make one at a time.  

Though I admittedly sometimes feel like a failure when I can't manage to master a simple technique like making two mitts at one time, I also know that I'm a pretty good knitter and I make beautiful things.  So I've got my trusty click-action row counter, and I'll pay attention, and hopefully, things will work out like they are supposed to.  Wish me luck!  

Adventures in Steeking

There's this technique in knitting, when knitting a garment in the round, called steeking.  Basically, this allows you to knit, say, the entire body of a sweater without  having to worry about arm holes and the like until the end.  It's especially useful when knitting Fair Isle so that you don't lose the pattern.  You create a section of plain stockinette, do a little reinforcement sewing, and then you cut open the stitches to create the hole you want.

Cut the knitting, you say?  Yes, you heard me right.  You cut the yarn.  This works because knitting unravels up and down, not side to side.  If you're careful, then all you do is create a hole and not damage your work.  

Why am I talking about steeks?  Well, I decided to be brave and use them on Mum's mitts.  Last night, as I was getting to the portion where I'd have to start the thumb hole, I started thinking about it.  I was feeling lazy and I didn't want to do the whole gusset thing.  It's not hard, but I just didn't want to take the time.  My brain suddenly remembered steeks.  And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this might be the perfect opportunity to use them.  

Now, I've seen them done.  I've read about them.  But I've never actually done a steek myself.  So, I'm a bit nervous about how it's all going to turn out.  But I really think it will work.  As long as I'm very careful about what I'm doing when I get to the cutting part, I should be just fine.

It's a bit scary, but I'm feeling brave.  And I've already got half of it done, so it's not like I can turn back now.  Wish me luck! 

Starting The Year Right

Actually finished Auntie's shawl on time!  Though I completely spaced on taking a picture.  Still, it got finished and she simply adored it.  She wrapped it 'round her shoulders straight away and had to pet it (the yarn is super soft) and loved the shawl stick I had bought to go with it.  She also knew instantly that it was from me, though there was nowhere that I had written my name.  I got a weird sense of pleasure from that, knowing that she opened it and knew straight away who it was from.  The logical part of my brain knows that it was obvious but when have I ever listened to that part?

Of course, because she's a yarner herself, we had to talk about the yarn and the stitches used and how it was done.  Mom's eyes kind of glossed over for a minute, which always amuses me, because she's actually a knitter herself, though she hasn't indulged in the craft in years.  She found quilting and that's her main crafting passion now.  Anyway, it's always fun to discuss that stuff with Auntie.  

Of course, that made me want to make more things because talking about yarning makes me want to do it.  I have yet to start something new though.  Mom's birthday is in about five weeks and she's getting a pair of fingerless mitts.  So I have to get those on the needles.  

And Izzy's shawl.  Sigh.

Again, there are not enough hours in the day.  

Work is kind of a mess right now, because there's been some big changes that had to happen but really it's just a pain in the ass for everyone.  So that's a stressful eight hours.  And I have many words I want to put on the page.  And, of course, I wan to yarn all the things.  I need a Time Turner.  Or something.

At any rate, I think I started the year off right in the yarning department by getting that first project done on time and under budget (lol).  And Sis?  This year Sis is not getting anything handmade.  I've had her presents, store bought, tucked away for a couple of weeks now.  It feels like cheating to me.  But there the last two years, as you know, her birthday presents were completed 11 and 10 months late.  I am not doing that to myself again.  Er, I mean, to her.  I'm not doing that to her again.  *nods*

Dang It

So, we're celebrating Izzy's birthday tomorrow.  There's movie and then dinner and then back to their place for prezzie's and hanging out.  Except...I'm not going to be done with her present.  

I sort of screwed the pooch on that one.  It's all my fault.  I didn't yarn as much as I should have on the week that I had off--kept having that "there's plenty of time, I'll get to it later" mentality.  So, now I have to show up tomorrow with a promise of a future present.

I think it's worth the wait.  And I know Izzy's totally low key and would be happy to have it whenever.  Plus, that means her birthday gets to happen again, sorta, on a different day.  And that's always fun.  So it'll all work out in the end.

At least it won't be like Sis's birthday present and be ten months late.  Which, yes, okay...better than the year before.  But no, I'll get it finish it up after the holidays and then gift it to her and she will be well pleased.  Of all the presents I've made for birthdays this year, I've managed to get 5 out of the 7 done on time.  One, I even got done way early AND managed to get it mailed so that it arrived in plenty of time.  Which is only like 71% but it's still totally a passing average.

But still, I feel badly about it.  It's one thing to make Sis wait--especially because she insisted on the hugeness of it--it's another entirely to make someone else wait.  But there's nothing to be done about it now.  Unless I can somehow squeeze an extra 24 hours in and not have to eat, sleep, or pee, that is.  Considering I'm not a Time Lord, I'm going to just have to suck up the embarassedness (yeah, I totally made that word up) of it and just admit defeat.  

I'm pretty sure she'll forgive me once she sees the finished product.    

The Week Ahead

Wow.  Big day yesterday.  And I'm still sort of riding high.

I have the week off and I'm super happy about it.  I didn't actually manage to sleep in, which is okay, but I'm drinking my coffee in my pajamas and that feels like a luxury.  

Sis decided to make some Christmas decorations for her desk at work.  She's actually figuring out and crocheting them herself.  I'm incredibly proud.  She's not one to figure out how things work and though she's been asking my opinion on what and how, I'm just telling her what I think and she's figuring it all out on her own.  We raided my yarn stash so she could get all the colors she needs.  She said it was like going shopping.  I had to grin.  

I have to make a trip to the post office at some point today.  And also make banana bread (because the bananas are overly ripe and need to be turned into bread) but other than that, I have to get yarning.  Izzy's birthday is in a couple of weeks and I haven't made much progress on her shawl.  Needs to get finished, especially because I know she suspects what it is.  Which is fine, but I need to get on it!  I've only got one repeat done.  But I'm making it it with a slightly heavier yarn and a bigger hook than the pattern calls for so I don't think I'll have to do as many repeats as the pattern calls for to get a full sized shawl.  

Really, that's my plan for the week, pretty much.  Spend the whole time in various version of comfy clothes, yarn, write, read.  Maybe do a little cleaning.  A bit of decorating. I might end up having to spend some time babysitting my goddaughter but that would be a treat too.  All in all, just planning on relaxing and taking it easy. 

Hope everyone enjoys their week as well!