Shopping for Completion

I went ahead and did some online shopping so that I could finish some of those projects that I have stash for.

Behold my goodies: a set of circular needles in a size that I didn't have, a pot of rug backing to paint onto the felted clogs, and the novelty yarn for the mitten cuffs. I'm still missing a zippered pillowcase. I don't even know where to get a cheap one.

I went ahead and started on the clogs. Photo some other time. The instructions keep talking about slipped stitches but they never say how to slip them purlwise or knitwise? I've been doing whatever the wind tells me haphazardly and I haven't noticed anything wrong, but I'd still like to know which one is it?

I am somewhat disappointed that this is not duh knitting. Every row has its own set of explicit instructions. Nothing's very difficult so far, but you can't sit there and zone out either.

I zoned out the next day instead. I stayed up all late to get to another part in the pattern and cursed my way through the following day. I stayed away from those puppies last night. Not like I won't be cursing today, but not as much I hope.

And the Award Goes to

I finished the socks during the Oscars. I watch the Oscars religiously every year, and I always reflect on how incredibly boring they are and wonder why I continue to be drawn to them. At any rate they provided ample time to finish the socks.

I hadn't ventured into socks before because I find most patterns quite ugly. I'm not wearing a sock that looks like it got stuck in the vacuum (jaywalkers). This sock is a regular ol' stockinette sock. I learned to understand the whole fixation with sock yarn. It was so exciting watching the yarn knit up into cool little graphics with no additional effort on my end.

And I came to understand the general sock excitement. You put a couple hours in and you see notable improvement. You knit a bit and you have the cuff, another bit and you have the leg, another bit and you have the heel, another bit and #&@^%$^%!!!

I had substantial problems with picking up the gusset stitches and decreasing. For whatever reason, I ended up knitting the rest of my sock inside out. Whatever. No one's the wiser.

Seriously, the award has to go to Betsy McCarthy who wrote a sock book assuming total, utter, sock ignorance which is were I stand. Even so I still flubbed up that gusset stuff. However, the famed kitchener stitch was a breeze with her easy instructions and diagrams. I'm now chugging along on the 2nd sock.

As for the Oscars, zzz to Ellen Degeneres. Yay to Gwenyth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett and Helen Mirren for looking good and selecting lovely dresses. And yay for Forest Whitaker's acceptance speech. Woof to Meryl Streep's outfit. She looked like she was launching her world zither tour. More woofs to Jack Nicholson's hairdo, and unfortunately Penelope's dress looked like underwear for your wedding dress. I suppose my critiques balance out the boredom I suffered. Heehee.

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

On the left is a picture of my sock yesterday. On the right is a picture of my sock today. Indeed. I'm not particularly inclined to get into the specifics at this time.

I Didn't Miss You 'til You Were Gone

I'm always complaining about cell phones and their omnipresence. Just because one has a cell phone everyone expects you to answer their beck and call. I am not a phone person, and I try not to use my limited daytime minutes, so odds are if you call, I'm not picking up. I'll probably call you back when I have free minutes, but I'll be getting off the phone as soon as possible.

Then yesterday, I dropped my phone. I heard a piece skidding across the floor. It was unsalvageable. And I was so sad not to have a phone anymore. I never knew how much I needed one until it was gone. (Given my misophoney, I don't have a land line.) Yes, phones are a pain, but when you can't make a phone call it hurts. I felt abandoned and alone. I had an incredible urge to talk to someone, but I could not.

And these stupid phones are really expensive. I had to pay for one because I would feel guilty signing up for a new plan and then canceling it just for the phone. My new phone has a camera and speaker phone so I expect to have some fun with those bells and whistles. I'll try to honor my phone for a while and realize that when it leaves, it does in fact take a piece of me with it.

In the meantime, I finished an afghan square made of bad stash and I’m plugging along on my very first sock.

Quick Inventory

The other day I went through my "stash" and was pleased that most of my good yarn (I have a good yarn and bad yarn stash.) was already allocated for projects. The problem was that I had no materials to finish these projects. I had lots of red yarn for mittens and no novelty yarn to make the snowy white cuffs to go with them. I finally got the stupid felted clogs pattern, and I don't have knitting needles big enough to make them. I've got a bunch of lace weight merino and I don't have the talent to get the lace done. That pretty much concludes my good yarn inventory. That was quick.

The rest is all bad yarn and I have no idea what to do with it. I've got two big skeins of the pale green I used in those ill-fated wrist warmers that could become a baby blanket for some unconceived baby. And I have scraps of yarn in primary colors (red, blue, green, and yellow) that I used for blocks and I have no clue what to do with the rest. It's so ugly. There have got to be some tried and true stash busters out there!

Oops

I was working on wrist warmers to go with the bad-yarn scarf I made from some foreign (not mine) stash. The idea was to surprise the recipient with a new scarf and wrist warmers. I finished one and gave it away for safekeeping along with the scarf. That way I was sure to be inspired and finish the other wrist warmer quickly. Sure enough I got it done soon afterwards; I went over to deliver the gift.

Um. We seem to have a problem. I have no idea how I managed to make one wrist warmer about a full inch shorter than the other. I'm pretty sure the short one is the incorrect one as I made it while eating pizza and watching South Park. I had to take the wrist warmers back. The recipient was like, "Well maybe if I keep my sleeves over them". No. I can’t have my shame wandering about publicly.

Besides, these required a 3 needle bind off that didn't result in a smooth seamless seam. So I'm back to the drawing board on that little gimmick as well.

I was so excited to be finished. It never occurred to me how faulty the end result would be. LOL.

Back to the Basics

I was having knitting problems yesterday. I'll spare the details of one problem only to get into the other problem.

Realizing I didn't have the proper materials to start 1/2 my projects, I was determined to get rid of some stash. Unfortunately most of my stash is acrylic. Nevertheless I have 2 mammoth skeins of light green acrylic that I was going to use for a pillow. (The pillow's been ripped up so many times, I'm pretty much over it.)

So I decided to make some wrist warmers with the stash. The pattern called for a long tail cast on. Um. I use knitted cast on. The instructions in the book said to "hold the yarn like a slingshot". What? There were no pictures. So I took out my handy "The Knitting Answer Book" by Margaret Radcliffe. She includes pictures.

I was taught the long tail cast on at a stitch n' bitch meeting long ago, but I don't remember it as I never use it. So there I was carefully studying the diagrams and flinging my slipknot all over the room. After a shameful number of tries. I got it together.

The wrist warmers knit up quickly. That was perhaps because they were entirely too small. They fit on about 3 fingers instead of wrapping around my hand. So I have to start over. They should be done later this week to go with that green scarf monstrosity I made over the weekend.

V-day Gripe

V-day is right up there with New Year's Eve as the most overrated holiday of the year. I've always hated V-day. In fact, my most memorable V-day was when a group of single friends got together and went out for red margaritas and one of the guys broke his chair. Very romantic.

This year, we have a snowstorm going in Chicago and the poor boy has jury duty. Hah! So just think, if you're out there wishing someone would send you V-day greetings and they don't, you could always be in jury duty. Or if someone does find it in their heart to give you a V-day present and it's a new broom because you need that, you could be in jury duty.

Well happy stupidest day of the year to everyone. I hope some nice chocolates find their way into your belly.

Geographical Stash Expansion

Thanks for the well wishes on my health. I was introduced to “Cold Eeze” by coworkers and I think it really worked. You have to take a zinc lozenge every 2 hours. As I was in cold limbo, after a day of this, I was pretty much out of cold limbo. Of course, I was also sleeping some 12 hours a night, but I really think the Cold Eeze did something. It certainly paused the sneeze attacks I was getting. Anyway, that’s just a public health aside.

In the meantime, I realize as knitters, avoid it as we may, we end up with stash. I’m not too bad about the stash. I sincerely try and use the yarn that I have before acquiring a lot of other yarn.

Now I’m considering geographical stash expansion. Am I alone on this one? I was at the boy’s house and I stayed a lot longer than I expected. Next thing I knew, I was watching him outfit his little video game men which takes a lot longer than I take to outfit myself. “Should I get the chain mail or the iron breastplate?” I was bored to sobs.

Back in the recesses of my mind a small light bulb was lit. His sister had dabbled in knitting and had a skein and some needles in a plastic bin somewhere. I asked if I could use them. And it occurred to me, I was expanding the stash geographically. I had one stash in my bedroom closet and here I was making another stash across town. Next, I’ll make another stash in Michigan and lord knows where else I’ll start stockpiling needles and yarn for times of boredom. Does this mean I should also buy more yarn for my stash in other locales? Stop the madness.

So I quickly understood why his sister gave up knitting. She bought some kind of rabid homespun. It was awful to knit with yarn catching everywhere. I’ve seen yarn porn Fridays on people’s blogs. This is Friday the 13th yarn. (Cue the psycho music.) I made a scarf as I was watching the little video game men change clothes. It’s not my proudest achievement, but the yarn was seriously wild.

Going Down

I haven't caught a cold in 2 years. That's right. I was so proud of this tidbit. Then I spent the weekend surrounded by sick people. On Monday morning I felt a little scratchy, no big deal. On Tuesday I was perfectly fine. On Wednesday the forecast was grim and so it continues.

Last night I had to pull out the Kleenex of shame. Some of you may know this idea well. I take diagonal corners of the tissue and stick one end in each nostril. Others just use a tissue for each nostril. So there I was, sitting around with a little bull ring of Kleenex in my nose. It kinda worked. (I'll spare everyone the photo.)

So I remain in limbo, not well enough to be well, not sick enough to be sick.

At least I was productive. I got some laundry done because I was down to that last bra and had to decide between buckling down and doing laundry or getting creative about the undergarments. And I carried on with the headband. The cables may survive to see a day in public. So far their appearance is acceptable. Meanwhile I thought I had a problem dropping stitch markers, I could make some serious punctures with the flying cable needle.

Cold Words

So today the high is 7. It actually doesn't feel that bad, but still, it's the principle. Yesterday, it was so cold that I cursed the entire time I was outside. My coat felt like paper. I saw on the news that the authorities advised not to go outside unless one had to. Hello! Doesn't that mean we should all stay home?! I mean what did I really do yesterday? Would it kill us all to stay home for one day when it's cursey cold outside? Evidently, yes.

I was about to pull a Little House on the Prairie last night and bake some potatoes to put in my bed. Man it was cold.

I've been grumpy lately because I've had no time to myself. I did finally get some knitting in on Friday and I made a hat and 3/4. I'll get a photo up when the 3/4 of a hat is finished, I already gave the other one away. This morning I was flipping through my stitch a day calendar and decided to cast on for a winter headband. Stupid. Now I'm all pissy because I'm not at home working on my headband. I pulled out the cable needle for this headband. I've pulled out the cable needle before, but I've never liked the result so I have nothing to show for it. Maybe this time the headband will live to be seen.

So I'll sit here and be pissy and wish I didn't have a 9 to 5. Of course, if it was hot out, I'd still be pissed because I wasn't outside knitting soaking up the rays. LOL. I'll never win.

Curse of the Boyfriend

I found one! I think I have a real life curse of the sweater example! In case anyone's not in the Midwest and hasn't experienced the freezing nosehairs weather, it can get really cold over here. It's really cold now. I go outside with my coat and my wimple and I get confused and wonder whether I'm really naked like the emperor. (By the way my wimple has lost me yet another earring.)

One of my co-workers was wearing this lovely thick wool sweater with some intarsia motifs. I asked her if it was warm and if I could feel it. Oooh. It was nice, thick and wooly. I really wanted to flip it inside out and check out the handiwork, but that would've been inappropriate. She related the story of the sweater to me. It had been her son's and he was about to deposit the sweater in the Goodwill bag, but she rescued it. The sweater came from an ex-girlfriend. Then he married someone else (you know when they get married immediately after dumping a prior woman) and the sweater had to go.

There it was. I was face to face with a boyfriend sweater. The sweater looked handmade to me. Maybe the ex-girlfriend didn't make it, but this sweater could've contributed to their demise as the sweaters like to do. At least this sweater found a happy home and it's still being admired. I hear of those other sweaters lining dog beds and I think the fate of this sweater is more justifiable.