Finshing, beginning, and tinking
Since I’ve posted last I’ve finished the Abby cowl.
Very pretty…tho apparently I have a big head (ahem, actually my son and I are teased by family for our ‘gigantic heads’ so I guess this shouldn’t be a big surprise) and it does not look loose and lovely on me as it does the model.
In fact, it looks rather like I’m a Russian “washer woman” from an old movie.
Then I cast on the Landscape Scarf by Evelyn Clark. And then I ripped it out and cast on again. And then…I ripped it out. And then, (can you guess??) I cast on and knit and tinked, knit and tinked, knit and tinked..). I’m about 3/4 done with it now. It’s not perfect. There are errors. But, I don’t care, lol. If I ripped one more time I would never start.
I’m knitting it out of Noro silk garden sock…which is okay. I love the colors for the most part, but being noro, in the middle of the skien there are sometimes really funky colors that have nothing to do with the colors on the outside! As well, the inconsistency of the yarn bothers me. Thread-thin in one area….almost bulky in another. This a.m., I came across a simple knot – totally throwing off the color repeat. Not sure what I’m going to do about it…but it was one more annoying thing with this yarn that bothered me. I can tell you, I would HATE socks knit out of this. They may look gorgeous, but the thin/thick effect would really bother me.
Other than that…We had my dad’s memorial service last week. I’ve been to the probate attorney and what I found out was pretty stressful. I can’t touch dad’s money for four months. During that time, I have to pay his bills/keep his utilities on out of my own pocket and be reimbursed at the end of probate. Um, can you say “HOLY COW how am I supposed to do that?” All in all, quite stressful, tho there is a light at the end of the tunnel when probate ends and I can sell the house. I won’t be rich, FAR FROM IT, but I can hopefully get debt free and have a “nest egg” in the end.
Working wayyyy too much…but other than that…fat and sassy.
Finishing
I’m probably 1/2 way through the Abby cowl. I’ve worked on it every single morning, even if it was only 15 minutes. I think I’m just about 7 hours into it total – yes I’m even keeping track. Scary, eh?
I had a very-bad-rotten-day yesterday. To soothe myself I purposely went to the LYS with the mission of “I will buy a nice bit of yarn an d I will enjoy doing so”.
And I did. I purchased a skein of Noro silk garden sock, in btright purples, greens with bit of yellow and orange – looks nicer tan it sounds, and the pattern for the Landscape Shawl/scarf from Evyeyn Clark, and when Abby is finished, I shall cast it on for myself.
I loved the yarn. I loved the sample. Good enough.
Hey, I could be wearing that!!
Friday, I had a rare chance to have a free lunch hour. Too often lunch is spend driving to and fro and running errands. I spent it at B&N. As I was walking in a woman was walking out and I instantly noticed her sweater – looked like Noro silk garden and scarf….I suspect a Flower Basket or something similar. I couldn’t help myself and had to speak “You’re sweater is lovely…..did you knit it?” and she smiled and said yes and kept herding her small children out the door.
I walked in two steps and stood rooted for a moment and thought “HEY! Wait a minute! Why aren’t I wearing gorgeous handknits like that?” I knit!!! I have yarn! I have lots of yarn…but that’s another post…
Why AREN’T I wearing lovelies like that? Cause I don’t knit enough, for one and second, I either give it away or don’t finish it (uh, see #1 again). It bothered me. I went by the newly-moved LYS on the way home. I didn’t buy a thing (this is very good, I should be praised) but I got some ideas for the yarn I already own.
I love lace. Really, really love lace. But, as mentioned here before, I do not have a lot of time. I have relatively zero quiet, uninterrupted time and apparently that’s what I personally need to achieve lace-dom. I’ve also wanted a cowl/neckwarmer for awhile…so I looked around on the web, chose Abby from Knitty, dug out a hank of Mountain Colors Bearfoot – colorway forgotten but I think it might be Crazy Woman.
Shut up. I don’t want to hear how appropriate the colorway is considering the little bit of time I have and the desire to knit lace.
Started this a.m….I’m in love. It’s so simple (knock on wood), even I can do it.
I’m working on my dad’s memorial – set for Saturday the 31st. I went up to his house and found several pictures, his Legion hats and I’m going to make a display for the service. I only cried twice – once when I found a stash of apparently every single card I ever sent him since I could write my name – I couldn’t believe he’d kept them! and the second when I came across his glasses, bent up from I assume his landing on them when he died. Cried like a baby. I can’t emphasize this enough, I never guessed it would be this hard.
But, it’s moving along and so am I.
No title. I don’t have what it takes to think of one.
It’s been a long week. My dad died a week ago. I’m an only child, and so the arrangements and details have fallen to me. I was cluelss prior to this, because I had no idea it could possibly be this painful.
But it is.
Life moves on and I’m trying to as well…along with trying to muddle my way through his affairs, get the memorial service planned…Hard stuff.
I will be alone and have some knitting time tonight for the first time in a long while. Despite many plans not to prior to all this – I think I will start something new. I may even purchase yarn for it.
I ruined the first pair of socks I ever finished. I really, REALLY thought they were superwash. Um, guess not. I cried. I will henceforth now and forever hand wash handknit socks. Period.
There you have it, my life in a nutshell.
Pictures, just not of knitting…
My troupe dressed to perform Michael Jackson's Thriller
Or, How I Tore My Medial Meniscus….learning this dance. Super fun…not so sure it was worth it, lol.
My troupe performing earlier this year
Grr, other pics are not loading appropriately. So much for that idea.
Knitting: Almost to the decreases of the spiral hat. Actively reading blogs again, actively looking at Ravelry and yarn sales. Must mean the knit mojo has returned. Let us celebrate.
Stash Knitting is Boring
The ugly yarn is going away. Goodwill or some such thirft store can make a buck off it. I can’t stand it.
So I dug around in the stash some more. Mind you, I have PLENTY of stash. Three large totes, three medium totes and six smaller ones. Lot’s of yarn. Some of it is now undesireable to me. Some of it is needing to be wound, and I have no yarn winder/swift so that discourages me from dealing with it. Much of it is sock yarn and I need to finish the socks I have going…..
Therefore, when I wanted to start another spiral hatl….I felt like the pickings were slim. I finally settled on a lone ball of Reynolds Odyssey…love that yarn. Realizing it won’t be enough for the whole hat..well, I’ll knit to the end and finish with a solid.
Meanwhile, in that odd serendipidous way of the universe, Jodie went to Wal-Mart last night, and when she came back out toe h van, there was a lone skein of yarn sitting in the middle of the parking space next to her with no one around – no cars…no people… 10 pm at night. So it came home with her. It could have been ugly yarn, but while it is acrylic, it is at least pretty acrylic, Black with a gold thread.
Yay for odd stash enhancement!
Ugly Knitting
So I finished up the hat and love it…tho I wish I’d made it a little longer. Oh well, next time.
I decided it was such an easy pattern and I’d had so much fun knitting it, that I would knit it for the christmas basket my work is doing. There is a little girl and I thought, hey why not? So I dug around in my stash and found an odd ball of Lion Brand wool called Autumn Sunset …a variegated in pinks and purples with a splash of orange and blue-green. It looed festive if nothing else.
I began knitting and the more I knit, the less I liked it. This is some UGLY yarn. Little girl might get teased for wearing such an ugly hat,. So I thought, okay, I’ll just put it in the homeless box! Thecold is causing so many problems for the homeless right now since we are in the single digits…then I imagined the homeless person getting the hat and saying “yeah, they give all the ugly stuff to us..”
Sigh. I have a hard time pushing through on stuff I don’t like. I’m just under an inch into this hat and it may well be the end of it.
More knitting
Saturday, I finished a second Kleenex cozy. My interested was finally peaked in knitting. I “shopped” my stash and found a ball of Lorna’s Laces..I want to say in Waterfall but that may or may not be right and I don’t have the time/energy to look it up (maybe later). I dragged out an old Ann Norling pattern for a spiral rib hat and cast on. Almost finished by this a.m.
More important than anything…I ENJOYED it. I wanted to knit MORE. This, this is a very good thing after the knitting apathy I’ve had. I dug around a bit more in the stash before I left and came up with a ball of Noro for another one…only to realize there is NOT enough yardage in one ball for the same pattern and vaguely recalling that might be the last ball set aside for one of the Noro/solid striped scarves I started when that was a big deal, like what a year ago? Two? I’m thinking I’m over half way done with that scarf and perhaps I don’t want to steal that ball.
The point is, I’m knitting again and having fun with it. Woot!
Not much else to talk about. It’s Monday and I’m at work. That pretty much says it all. I’m realizing I’m really, really burned out on my job. It’s been 10 years of doing the same thing. I’m not feelin’ the love. But, I’m feeling the love for my paycheck, so I guess I’ll get on the stick …..
Self-satisfied
Did it. I cast on something, I knit it to completion, and I completed the finishing.
Sweater? er…no. Too big. Socks? Nope, there are two of those and well, let’s be real. A hat? Uh, also no.
I finished one of KmKat’s purse size kleenex sweater thingies. About 8″ x 5″ of stockinette and a bit of rib. Not exactly mammoth. But done, nevertheless and enjoyed the process of.
It’s about time. I wouldn’t say the knitting mojo has exactly returned, but it may at least be dreaming of knitting rather than just snoring loudly now.
Off to start another.
Christmas Knitting? Me?
My daily schedule changed some a month or so back. Instead of working 6 a.m. to 3 p.m, I now work 7-4. I don’t particularly like it, but oh well. Sometimes I go work out during that “extra” hour in the a.m., more likely lately I have wasted it in front of the internet. While wasting said time this a.m., a wee thought flashed through my mind.
“You could use this time to knit, you know.”
Hey, brilliant thought, that. But….what? Finish a UFO? Eh. Not start something very big, too many of said UFO’s laying about. Hmm. Make Christmas goodies? Not a bad idea! But…what? Then I recalled filing away the idea of these fun little Kleenex purse-size cozy thingers.
A while ago (read several months), I’d seen them linked at Stumbling Over Chaos…but then couldn’t find it again. Chris was kind enough to send me the link.
So I made a mad dash to find needles and some leftover sock yarn to stash in my bag today for work and printed off the pattern. I’m thinking these are so small, I could use a couple of breaks at work and they’d be done before I knew it. Filled with those fun printed tissues, they would make great little gifts…tho some may find them “dorky”. I don’t care. I like them.
Sahara Knits 