Re-surfacing...

I am back to work again so I am having a hard time finding the energy to blog. And knit. In fact, after being off for eight weeks, it is all I can do to show up at school and pretend to be interested. I am slowly adding things back into my routine, though. Tonight I think I might even cook a meal and heck, by the end of the week, maybe I'll even be doing laundry. I think it is not helping that the temperature here in Atlanta is pushing 100 this week. The last two mornings I have walked at 6:00AM and I thought I was going to expire. It should not feel so miserable outside before the sun is even up. Hopefully next week will be better.

Last night I gathered what is left of my energy and joined some lovely ladies at the Universal Joint in Oakhurst for some group knitting action. I just love this group of feisty women. Talented knitters, a bit irreverant and very fun to hang out with. And nobody EVER asks me why I am always knitting on the same sock. Seriously, the last 4 or 5 times I have seen them I have been working on the same project. I have witnessed the near completion of a very complicated vest by Megan, seen several people complete socks and move on to new projects and watched Debbie haul ass through a beautiful alpaca blanket. And I am still working the same stockinette sock. Pitiful. I think I'll go catch some TV and put a few rows on the Nina throw.

I finally finished something.

Well, I finished half of something anyway. That's right... one sock started in January is finally off the needles and I dutifully cast on for the second sock in a hurry so that "second sock syndrome" doesn't strike. I know I had my doubts about this sock yarn at first, but I actually kind of like the way it looks completed.

I better get knitting. Remember this pledge? Yeah... um, so far I have used up 200 grams of yarn from my gigantic collection. Next month I want to go ahead and get the materials to start the baby blanket for my nephew (due in December). So far I have earned the right to buy 2 little balls of yarn. Speaking of the new baby blanket, I am strongly considering this one, the Hola blanket from Mission Falls cotton. The yarn is machine washable, which is necessary for a baby gift, and not terribly expensive. What do you think dad-to-be? I know you have a comment.

Because all posts should have pictures...

I've just had another knitting related disaster and I don't have any pictures to show for it. Last night I cast on for the Zimmerman seamless hybrid sweater. I dutifully figured out the gauge and did the calculations and read and re-read the recipe that is in my borrowed book. Then I read and re-read the excellent instuctions from brooklyntweed on how to do the hem and I just can't do it right. My hem came out wonky and terrible. I have since ripped it out and put everything away again. Maybe this is a sign that I need to actually complete a project before I cast on for something else.

I think that the problem is that I did not use the provisional cast on as instructed by Jared and others out in blogland. I have not been able to figure out the cast-on in the past so I kind of ignored that part of the directions. For homework today I am going to play around with casting on and hem construction as a swatch. Once I have mastered this skill I will attempt the seamless hybrid again... until that time it is back to the Nona throw. sigh.

Consumerism got the best of me.

So I did go out into the world yesterday to get some "chores" done. This meant I went shopping. A few new clothing items for work were purchased (and even more gathered up for a Goodwill drop off), but my most exciting purchase occurred at The Container Store . Usually I wouldn't even go in that store because of all of the over-priced temptations, but I was doing an errand with Carina and so I did. Look at the exciting transformation a few new toys can encourage:

Before:
And after. Much better I think... I wonder how long this tidiness will last?

The new Interweave Knits preview is up and I think it looks like it's going to be a pretty good issue this time around. I am particularly attracted to Placed Cable Aran and Tangled Yoke Cardigan. Both projects look like something you could actually wear without looking like too much of an ass. I think I also like the man sweater - Cobblestone Pullover - though it's hard to tell from that picture. It could have a weirdness about it (like a sailboat or a reindeer) that you can only see on closer inspection. Knitting patterns are just like that.
My sweater is blocking as promised (with help from Anna) and I have started another new project. For now I am going to keep that one a secret. I am thinking it might be a Christmas gift and I am not sure who the intended recipent will be.

My summer break is drawing to a close and I am starting to feel antsy, like maybe I should have accomplished a little more during the five weeks I have spent just sitting around my house. The weeks were broken up nicely by a vacation and a week of training so I really never got to that place where you clean out all the cabinets and closets and start doing cutesy projects around the house. I don't know where my days have gone. By the time I exercise, shower, eat, knit (and okay, watch some television) it's time to go to bed, wake up and do it all over again. Here in my last week of freedom, I am going to try to take care of some of the chores that have been hanging over me and organize some of the clutter in my house.

Face the embarrassment head on.

The sweater that I am writing about today is one that I finished some time in June. I actually started it last year and knit half of it before getting bored and shoving it off into a dresser. I dutifully took it back out this May and finished it. And then I put it on once and thought, "well, I don't love it, but it's not SO bad..." And then I had my friend take this picture of me in it:
God, was that supposed to be cropped? I actually added an extra inch to the pattern because I am so tall. Guess I should have added 2 or 3 more. The sweater hasn't been blocked yet and I know everyone claims that blocking can really hide a multitude of sins so I will try that today. On a positive note, the rest of the sweater actually somewhat fits. I'm not sure that it's anything I'll ever wear, but it's a start.

Here are the specs on this beauty: Orange Ice - the yarn is Manos Cotton Stria. I used 6 skeins and had a little left over. (of course, I SHOULDN'T have had anything left over if I made it the correct length.)

I really love the way that the Cotton Stria looks and feels. It is very soft and the color has subtle variations to it, but I am not sure if I would use this yarn again because I am worried it won't wear well. I want to see how it washes before I make a final decision.

Add another knitting book to the collection.

Today I got a new book - Modern Classics by Louisa Harding. I have eyed it over the last year and finally added it to my collection. Basically, this book has some very simple patterns that should turn out well if you can get them to fit correctly. That is a very big if for me. Shown above are some of the patterns I can see myself making (well, attempting). Now that I look at them in this layout I realize that they are all basically the same. Hmm... I have some dk weight light pink superwash sitting in my stash that I acquired from elann a few years ago. Maybe a v-neck cardigan?

I am still plugging away at the Nina throw. For some reason I am in a period right now where mindless knitting is the only knitting I feel like doing. I am going to take advantage of that feeling and try to get it to the halfway point and off of the needles for measuring by next week. I think progress is being made.

Games make life more fun.

Ok, I am going to play a little knitting related game in an effort to reduce the amount of my yarn stash. It seems like I may have (this is approximate, of course) 15,150 grams of yarn crammed into an IKEA dresser crammed into a small bedroom crammed into a small house that is already overflowing with stuff. I could certainly knit for a long time using the materials that I already have on hand... and yet, I am always acquiring more. It really feels like a sickness if it goes unchecked and so this is my plan: for the next 6 weeks, I will knit only what is in my stash. The game is as follows: after the 6 weeks I can only replace half of what I use up during this time frame and ONLY if I also complete one of my many WIPs during this time. So, if I finish up Sofia's cardigan and I use up 1200 g of yarn, I can buy 600g of beautiful new fiber guilt free. If you were wondering about the yardage of my stash, it comes to about 41,765 yds... that is a lot. I happen to know these details because I keep a very detailed list of every ball of yarn that I purchase. I am planning to join Stashalong at the beginning of August. (My first ever KAL... I'm so excited!) The administrator only puts in new members at the beginning of each month so I will have to go it alone for the next few weeks.

My pants don't fit.

Really, I currently have 2 pair of pants that fit. I bought them at the beginning of the summer when it was clear that I needed to go up a size. Now I am back from a two week vacation 5 pounds even heavier than I was. Crap. Actually, since I have been back home I have managed to ease off two to three of those pounds but that is not enough to get me back into work clothes. School starts again in two weeks. I am setting a modest goal of losing three more pounds before then.

Blogging is a very obsessive activity I am finding out - even if no one reads what you write. So far the only person who has visited my site is my husband and I plan to keep it that way for awhile. I realized this morning that I don't know any of the rules related to blogging. Can I link over to another person's site without asking them first? Extensive googling suggests that I can but this is muddied by the fact that what I want to show is other people's pictures and maybe that is a different thing...

I learned a new skill this morning. I can now make the percentage bar thingies that everyone has up on their knitting blogs. I got this information from following this link. It actually may be a bad idea to have these considering how little brogress ever gets made... depressing.

Taking good pictures of knitting is no easy task.

Last night Justin confirmed my worst fears about the color choice of my Nina throw by stating that if we saw it at the dollar store we would mock it. I am still holding out hope that when all is said and done it will be pleasantly funky. We'll see. I did add on about 5 more rows yesterday so it is moving along.


Today's knitting task is to get this sock past the picking up the gusset step so it can be worked on mindlessly at knitting group tomorrow night.

The group I am speaking of is the Atlanta Intown Knitting Meetup Group and we are going to be at the Highlander pub in Midtown. I am sure drinks will be had so it is important that I don't have to think about whatever knitting I bring along. I have learned that lesson the hard way. These socks were meant as a birthday gift for my mother in law. Her birthday was in February. (I am right on track as usual.) The yarn, once again, is Regia Canadian Colors. Susan actually chose this yarn out of my enormous sock yarn stash, but I am not sure she will love how the pattern is turning out. I am not sure that I love it and I chose the yarn. You know, you can never tell what's going to happen with the self-striping sock yarn. I would let you know what Justin had to say about the way these socks are looking but then you'd think my husband has lost all faith in my knitting.

This is just a test.

I want to see if I can get a picture to show up on here, so I will take this time to explain that the only knitting I have had ANY success with is the knitting that doesn't really have to fit. With that in mind, I am slowly working on this throw for a Christmas gift for my mom. It is modeled after the Nina Shawl in Mason Dixon. The colors I chose are a little too bright. (At the time, I thought they were fabulous together, but now I am wondering what I was thinking. ) Ya'll have to trust me that my mom likes really bright, tacky colors. So far today I knit about 3 rows on it. I am almost at the end of a skein which makes me really happy. (I have a sickness... more on that another day.) So, here goes.... the Nina throw in all its glory:

And while I am at it, here is some proof that I do actually finish a project every once in awhile. The sock shown below was a Christmas gift for Carina. She was so excited to finally receive it in July that she actually modeled it for me. The yarn is Regia Canadian fashion colors (Montreal, I believe) and yes, I am told that the socks fit. Yea for me.

I couldn't resist...

Though I know I'll be mocked about starting a blog, I just can't resist an opportunity to parade my multiple knitting failures around in public. This is also a nice forum to whine about weight gain while munching away on chips and drinking a beer. (I have been lurking for some time so I know how it's done.) I don't want to make any bold proclamations about what this blog will or won't be about, I'll just quietly start writing it and hope that no one I know ever finds it.