Day of rest

Tomorrow is a rest day in Le Tour and I'm going to rest as well. I'm about 1/2 done the shawl (and halfway done the yarn) so I'm ahead of schedule. I need a little break from the blanket. It's only been just over a week, but it's not like me to immerse myself so fully in a project.

I may work on my shawl for the Edmonton Knitters lace-a-long as I haven't started Clue 3 yet...


Or I may start the sleeves on my cardigan...

Or try both?

A year in the making

This project should really not have taken a year.

It was somewhat (ok, very) painful to knit, but a beautiful outcome. I am just not a good scarf knitter. The commitment is too great.

I should stick to knitting socks out of sock yarn, not scarves.

Plodding along...

Week 2 of No New Cast-ons....applause please...thank you, thank you

This is a great feat given that my first Hill Country Yarns shipment arrived. They are destined to be Christmas socks to boost up that tally (I'm not even trying to approach J's 8.5 -- I'll be happy with a solid 5). Pictures of those will follow when they get started...

As I work through my current projects, I notice that I have made some progress. Amazing what you can complete when you actually focus on a few things at a time (rather than ELEVEN things at a time...and yes that number is correct; 11 UFOs).

My Tomten....

This was originally meant to be for my new niece/nephew, then I thought my baby boy but now I'm thinking maybe my big boy. What do you think???

My Hanami....

It's looking good, and I'm keeping up.

This Christmas gift which can not be spoken of....

So I'm making progress and as Oliver Wendell Holmes said:

“The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.”

I'm moving forward baby, I am.

Head Down, Needles Up

I have not cast on anything new in the last 7 days. This is huge for me. Huge. I have been working primarily on my Hanami and my Tomten jacket.

In an effort this "fix" this problem, I have been evaluating my need to continually cast things on. This habit appears in many other facets of my life. I think the root of the problem is that I am easily bored. I got bored with my old job, so I went back to school. I was bored with my current job so I looked into other jobs (I stayed put, which is good, but spent a lot of time considering other options). I always say "I like a new challenge", but I'm not sure that is the reason why I roam. I think it is more related to my inability to follow through. It's the thrill of starting something new that gets me and then after the initial buzz wears off, I'm bored. I don't have staying power.

I realize the same thing is happening in my knitting. I get bored with a project, so to get a buzz, I start something new, then I get bored with that, move on, get bored again, and so on and so on. Hence, I never get anything done, and I get frustrated with my progress. How the hell am I ever supposed to finish anything if I can't focus on one project at a time???

In my defence, I have recently finished these:

And these:

So I am making some progress. I also recognize I have a problem (the first step on the 12 step program, right?). I'm working on my follow through. My staying power.

It's a good thing I haven't gotten bored with this:

or this:

I'm putting my head down, keeping my needles up and perservering. I am looking forward to the buzz of finishing projects, not just starting them (that happens, doesn't it J.??? Tell me it does so I keep on going....). Head down, needles up.

Getting Everything on the Table

Let's just say I haven't been entirely honest about a lot of things. Things like how many objects are actually on the needles. And definitely not about how much yarn is stashed in places throughout my house. So, I'm coming clean. I'm letting it all hang-out.

This is my pile of UFOs (minus the 2 UFOs I can't find....more on that later....)

This is my Rowena Cardigan. Back done, 2 front panels done. No sleeves.

These are my most recent cast-on item. Socks for my mom for Christmas. I'm not sure why I cast them on considering all the other socks I have on the needles. I think I just wanted to try out this new yarn (Crystal Palace Panda Cotton from the Loopy Ewe).

Next, this lovely, but VERY incomplete pair of socks for my big boy (one of 2 incomplete pairs of socks for him ... the other pair however is currently misplaced. Not sure where. But I'll find it).

Then there's this. I've purposely not posted about this because it's for a Christmas gift. I won't tell you what it is or who it's for. But, there it is, out on the table.

Oh ya, there's this too. A Tomten jacket for someone. Possibly for the new baby in the family, or my baby, depending on the size. This project was cast-on because of my new-found obsession with EZ. The lady was a genius. I'm in awe and wonder with what she came up with and I just want to figure it out.

There is the Mystery Stole - it's still quite a mystery to me.

And the beast of all UFOs. This was completed 2 years ago. It's a baby alpaca yarn (of course I've lost the ball-band so not sure where it came from) in a worsted weight. I think the colors are fabulous.

There are a few problems with it, however:

- 1 arm is longer than the other - I think I sort of fixed it when sewing it up, but it's still a little off, and no amount of blocking will fix that.

- I don't love the neck. The shape is good, but it needs something - maybe a couple rows of garter or moss stitch. Not sure. I just don't like it the way it is.

- It's not long enough. I have started picking up stitches from the bottom in an attempt to lengthen it. However, I'm almost out of yarn and not sure how many extra rows I'll get. And not sure if I should do the extra rows in stocking stitch or garter or moss. I just can't decide.


The Hanami of course. This is moving along well and I'm quite happy with it.


My Chevron scarf - also very happy with it. This is my "in the car" knitting project, so I can only work on it when I'm a passenger in the car - this doesn't happen too often, given I'm the head of Mom's Taxi.

So there they are. The UFOs. Not including the 2 missing things (a pair of Monkey socks and a pair of socks for my boy).

Whew. That took a lot out of me.

Next time, we'll tackle the stash.