Pleasant Distraction

Some of the projects I have underway at the moment need to be kept secret, and that means that the blog would essentially be going dark until I finished.  But that isn’t any fun.  Last night, at knit night, I started a Summer Pelisse for, well, whichever baby comes first. I know so many pregnant women at the moment, I can’t get my head wrapped around how much baby knitting is necessary.  I still have lots of goodies I want to make my little goddaughter (who is now crawling, for the love of wool!)  This may be for her, it all depends on what size it is when I am done.

More things underway, and I promise to keep one active project that I can show you while I knit quietly in the dark over here.

Feeling Productive

With Semele off the needles, I picked up the Roundabout Leaf Tank last night and finished off the main body portion.  It needs to hit the blocking board now before I can add the straps.  Then it’s done.  Two projects crossed off the list in a week (hopefully).

So, today, my traveling companion was a third WIP that has been floating around for almost a month, slowly being worked on inbetween everything else.  This the first sock of a pair for a friend.  You can see (if you know about sock construction) that I am a few inches past the heel.  The toe is pointed toward the camera, the heel sticks straight up, and where my needles and cable hold the stitches is a couple inches shy of mid-calf.  I am about to begin the shaping for her calf, but don’t know her measurements, and then I will continue working until that little green ball in the background is used up.  Then, I cast on the second.

I am hoping SSS (Second Sock Syndrome) doesn’t strike too bad.  To keep it at bay, I am going to swatch a couple of my next designs tonight to begin those.  I want to have at least one of them complete by mid-June.

No More Center Stitches

My lunch hour today saw the frantic knitting of someone eager to reach the end.  I can feel it.  Just at the very end of my allotted chow time, I decreased that last little stitch.

Now, I just have to finish and join the leaf motifs and the knitting will be done!  I am too excited for this.

Saturday

A different kind of aerial update today! I have spent the afternoon in the green room at the Actor’s Gymnasium.  Today is our Circus In Progress show.

It is so inspiring to hang out with and watch so many talented performers.

Yes, I am knitting!

The Fix

Early this morning, I received an emailed photograph from a coworker on his way to work.

A moving sale…. at the yarn store right down the street from the office.

I spent the rest of the morning hemming and hawing about whether or not to nip down there for my lunch break.  I have been on a yarn diet, after all, and so far it has been successful.  I think part of this success has been from the fact that I have avoided the yarn sales I have seen advertised like this.

 

And then I thought – it’s May.  5 months of a solidly kept diet is a pretty good stretch.  Maybe I can reward myself a little.

 

So I went to the store.  It was fairly easy to resist because the shelves had been picked through considerably by this point in the sale (17 days of 20% off can do that).  And then I wandered to the baskets.

Aracauna lace weight in a 50/50 silk merino blend.  And just look at those beautiful colors!

And then it got worse, because as I was looking, I started chatting, and then I looked up and saw the hints of sea tones peeking out of a cubby, and I asked about them.  The clerk pulled down the entire cubby and emptied it’s contents on the table (claiming she needed to relocate the yarn, anyway).  She started separating them into dye lots, raving about the cotton/linen blend as knitting up so nicely, and the colors are steadfast and gorgeous.  I read the label, pet the yarn a bit, and grabbed two skeins.  But when she had finished dividing up the dye lots, there was only one rogue skein left of the dye lot I had grabbed.  I stared at it, suddenly feeling guilty for leaving behind one lonely skein.  What if it didn’t get purchased by anyone else because there wasn’t enough for a full project?  What if I run out of the color while I am knitting?  I would know my chance of replenishment would be finite because I left the only skein available at the yarn store.

It’s questions like that that get me into this kind of trouble…

40 and Counting

Progress thus far, with near diligent monogamous knitting (I must admit, this is not the best piece to knit and travel with since there are charts, and as such I allow myself a travelling sock as fiber companion).

This is the shawl folded in half, since it is almost symmetrical.  I can see the distance I have yet to go.  You see that middle section of stockinette?  Yeah, that has 40 stitches in it.  I have to decrease every fourth row until it has 17, then every other row until there are only 3.  That middle section is how I am gauging my progress – how many stitches have I decreased in this knitting session?

 

I must admit, it really is starting to wear on me.  What are your methods for getting those fiddly, tedious projects knocked out?

Attempting Monogamy

Last week’s episode of the lost project showed me how out of hand my knitting has become.  Yes, this is a hobby and I can do whatever I want with it (and oftentimes, do just that), and there really is no authority to limit how much time I invest in it, or how many projects I cast on (or when), or what my deadline ought to be.  I am the one who gets to decide.

But, not being able to find what I’m working on amid the projects and needles in progress left me a little shaken.  There are a number of things that I just want NOW.  In this moment, I am a product knitter (knitting for the end result, as opposed to a “process” knitter – someone who enjoys the act of knitting without caring too much about the end).  However, I cannot get the products if I don’t commit to the projects.

So, in the end, I have chosen a project – the one that has me the most delighted at the moment – and will attempt to stick to it until the very end.  This is my progress on Semele - a thoroughly enchanting shawl that I am knitting with Malabrigo sock.  It is incredibly soft and lofty.  I was worried about the color variation being an issue, but I quite like the depth it gives the piece.  Once it is blocked, the leaf edging will pop more.  Right now, it is kind of muddled.

Over the weekend, I reached the halfway point, and have been trying to get a few rows in each night.  It’s only going to go faster from here, since every other row, I decrease.  Let’s see if I can stick to it!