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  • Saturday Sweater Report: Week 5

    It’s that time again! Here’s the sweater progress update at week 5:

    sweater yoke after 5 weeks of knitting
    sweater yoke after 5 weeks of knitting

    It looks like half an inch a week is about all I’m good for with this thing. To top that off, I’m up to my eyeballs in knots again and the yarn is driving me mad! I am this close to cutting it again so I can work on the knot. Some of us got together at Marie’s house today and Alice worked on my knots for quite a while, but I do think the whole ball is a mess.

    I’ve got quite a few inches to go before I can even start on the lace section. Maybe 5 more weeks and I’ll be there! I must say that I am growing ever more jealous of the folks who can burn through their knitting at lightening speed.

    I do love the February Lady Sweater! But I understand now why the original design was done with worsted weight yarn. I am a little nuts for trying it with Tess Yarns Raw Silk, but it is pretty and it does feel wonderful! I think I may get some more of this fiber next weekend at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. Can’t wait!

    Today I went to a jewelry show and knitting party at my friend Marie’s house. It was a blast! Several of the folks from knit group were there, and it was wonderful that Marie’s house is accessible to me. I’ll post my pictures about it tomorrow.

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  • Hot Pink

    hot pink yarn on ball winder
    hot pink yarn on ball winder
    I’ve been bitten by the sock bug again. We’ll see how long it lasts this time, but I decided to wind up some Socks That Rock mediumweight (colorway “hot flash”), just in case the sock bug decides to hang around a while.

    I’m actually interested in making boot toppers (footless short socks with a cuff). I can’t really wear socks inside my orthotics but this way I can at least look like I’m wearing handknit socks, right? Humor me for a while so I can figure out whether this will work to my satisfaction with sock yarn. I’ve found some heavier ones but none so far intended to emulate socks. I’m figuring a snug ribbing down around my ankle and the top of a sock cuff ought to do it. Wish me luck. I’ve got some cute new Dr. Martens shoes that need proper socks.

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  • Sounds of Spring

    I was going to do a quick post this morning, complaining about the dark and dreary state of this Monday morning, something evoking an old Carpenter’s song, you know… “Rainy Days and Mondays always get me down…” But then, I opened my front door, and heard this:


    Spring is here. Enjoy.

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  • Another Boring Sunday…

    payin' bills, and loving it
    payin’ bills, and loving it
    Today’s been a quiet day around the house. I’ve gotten exactly one half of one row knit. I’m supposed to be paying bills, and I will, but I thought I would blog first.

    Tomorrow’s the first day back to school after a 10-day spring break. As usual, the mom and dad are glad to be getting back to some semblance of routine, but the kids? Not so much… BoyZilla just had a twelfth-degree meltdown, figuring that if he didn’t go to bed, then maybe tomorrow wouldn’t come. I know kid, ends of vacations bite. Suck it up.

    I’m teleworking tomorrow, and I’m glad, because I really hate Mondays. Don’t tell the BoyZilla, but I have a colossal meltdown EVERY Sunday night, only a telework Monday seems to soften the blow. At least a little.

    Spring seems to be making an earnest attempt at hanging around now, which makes me happy. And the pool is opening in about a month already, and I’m kinda kicking myself. This year has flown by! (My mother told me it happens when you get older… it sucks, doesn’t it?)

    The thing is that this was the year I kept telling myself that there were a lot of things I was going to fix. So far, none have really happened. Get organized. Exercise. Eat well. Lose weight. (A LOT of weight.) Sleep more than three or four hours at a time. Be nicer to people. Sounds like quite a list, doesn’t it?

    That’s the problem. My list is so long, I don’t even know where to start. I feel pretty alone and overwhelmed by my goals most of the time. So it’s like I have them on a shelf, right next to me. I can see the goals nearby, staring at me and taunting me. I know, I should tackle them one by one, and in little bits at a time. And then I think that they’re ALL so pressing, each one needs to come first. They’re all important. I’d probably feel better if I just somehow did all of the things on my list, and then so much more would be possible because I did. And yet, it’s all too overwhelming.

    So what do I do? I blog. And I knit. And I generally spend too much time on the computer, pushing all of the things I really need to do out of my mind, and out of the way.

    It’s not what I’m supposed to be doing and it’s not really working. Someday, I’ll sort it all out. But for now, I gotta pay bills. Argh! See you later.

    And now, I leave you with a smile:

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  • Saturday Sweater Report: Week 4

    If you’re a knitter, you know how it is with garter stitch. You knit and you knit and you knit, and after what seems like forever and miles of knitting? What have you got to show for it? Next to nothing, that’s what. Such was this week for me:

    a lousy half inch of progress on my sweater
    a lousy half inch of progress on my sweater

    It’s all I’ve got, after knitting my fingers down to little nubs. A half inch. At this rate, my sweater will be done in about, oh, THREE YEARS! Nah. I swatched. The lace section goes a lot faster. At least I’m telling myself it does. (It does, right?)

    Here’s to hoping I don’t lose the mojo. I’ve got a couple of events coming up over the next couple of weeks that should keep me excited about knitting. Next Saturday promises to be a day of knitting with friends, and then in TWO WEEKS, it’s the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. I go with Steve every year, and so far we’ve lucked out with decent weather each time. I’ve already made dinner reservations for The Melting Pot for that evening. Should be a great day all the way around.

    Here’s to hoping I’ll have more to show next week!

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  • Is It Art?

    I’m having a backwards sort of day. I woke up early, fully intending to work, but then just could not make my body go. I was cold and shivering, and I don’t really remember anything that happened before 3:00 p.m. when I finally woke up. Sigh.

    I don’t normally take something I see on someone else’s blog and run with it, but I saw this YouTube clip on Brenda Dayne’s site today, and I really can’t get it out of my mind, so I thought I’d share:

    My 13-year-old daughter has been touched by the painting muse in recent weeks. This is a kid who normally would have the goal of doing any project as quickly as possible, and then wonder why they never seem to come out as polished as she had hoped. She’s been working on posters for her upcoming school play. And I have watched as she has been spending days at a time on each one, adding little sparkles or dabs of color here and there, until they are just right in her eyes. I’ve never seen her take such an interest in something, or ask her dad several times in one week to take her to the art store for more colors of paint. I’ve been trying not to make too big of a deal about it all, because well, you know how young teens are. If I did gush, that would be the end of the painting. And I’d really just rather her keep figuring out how to express herself in such a beautiful way.

    I never could paint, or draw, or do any of those things that most people would consider to be “art.” But then there’s the knitting. Is that art? I never quite understood the whole “art vs. craft” debate. I mean, does it have to be one or the other? And I know we’ve all seen handcrafted items, be they knitting or some other thing, that would count as true works of art. And of those, I am in awe. (For an example of what I mean, check out the work of Debbie New. Click on the link for the slide show and prepare to be amazed.)

    But MY knitting? Is it art? Not really, I think, most of the time. But then there are those times when an odd color combination or a strangely freeform knitted hat express some quirk about my personality. So maybe, occasionally, knitting is an artistic outlet for me. This blog sort of fills that bill, too. Still, most of the time my analytical side smothers the artistic one. I don’t often throw caution to the wind with my knitting, just to see what will happen, and that sometimes makes me afraid to try new things. Two things I really want to conquer: colorwork, and sweaters. Sometimes I think I should have just dove right in and made my first sweater a colorwork project instead of a plain February Lady Sweater. But, the analytical side won out, and I became chicken at the last minute. Not that I don’t love my sweater-in-progress, but part of me just wishes I could be a little more brave.

    So, this video clip today got me to thinking. And I will work on my artistic side. Maybe I’ll start with small bits of colorwork here and there, if I ever need a sweater break. Maybe, I, too, can learn to “paint” with my yarn. who knows what will happen? I just know I have to try.

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