Giving In

Ever just have a bad day? I had a bad day yesterday. I got really sick at work, went home and slept all afternoon.  It was horrible!

Before Dan came home, I got up and said "You know what? I'm going to live my life to the fullest. I'm not going to put off stuff because I'm ridiculously busy! I'm going to work better at scheduling knitting time, and friend time, and just regular time doing regular things, because this isn't working."

So apparently that translates to "I'm going to buy stuff that I want online," because not five minutes later I was faced with this.

I told myself, though, no starting it when it arrives unless my sweater is finished! (HAR.) I will only allow myself one BIG knitting project at a time...  I think that's a good recipe for sanity.

Knitpicks Catalog

I get the Knitpicks Catalog.  Well, DAN gets the Knitpicks catalog, because he ordered me a subscription to Interweave Knits magazine and now he gets a ton of catalogs and junk mail, and one of those catalogs happens to be Knitpicks.

Anyway, I love this afghan! I know my rate of completing projects is so bad that if I were to start an afghan, it will never be finished... but I want it!

Lost Then Found

I went to Minnesota for work again, and brought my knitting again! I haven't done much on it though.

When I got home today, I figured I would pull it out again and work a few rows before I started dinner... and noticed that the first sock that I finished was missing!  I tore my bag apart, but no luck.

Finally, when I went pocket by pocket I found it!

Why did I tuck it in there? I'll never know.  I'm still too young to have senior moments!

Knitting Update

Here's my WIP Basket.  I'm still in my pink phase, but my projects are chugging along!  I cleaned up the tangled mess that was my socks yesterday while waiting for laundry.  But there's still more work to do on them... especially if I want to start another pair of socks.  I told myself one type of project at a time. And I'm doing ok getting through what's on my plate before I start something else.


Here's a picture of my latest project - a stuffed animal in the making.  Can you guess what it is?


How about now?


Now?

I'll post pictures when it's done, hopefully I don't run out of yarn... that happens when you're using yarn leftover from your boyfriend's hat.

Hiking Photos

I've been knitting, but so slow that I feel like if I were to post weekly updates, to someone that was just casually reading it would look like I wasn't doing anything at all.

So, here are some photos from my hike yesterday to Mt. Major, in NH.

The last one might be my favorite... do you see the frog? :)

Where My Disorganization Bites Me

The last round of Design Along that I participated in, I ACTUALLY designed something - a set of fingerless gloves.

I thought up the design, drew a sketch, was convinced that this was "the one"- the design that would be my best accomplishment yet, etc. etc.  I feel this way about a lot of the things I knit.

I finished the first glove, with all my little notes in my little notebook, when I went to the Twin Cities for work.

Then I lost the notebook.  I'm pretty sure it fell out of my bag at some airport.  Or in some plane.  Point is, I lost it and I put the single glove on a table and said "When I have time, I'll reverse engineer it and write out the pattern and then make another pair in a contrasting color that's longer. It'll still be the best pattern yet."

There are a few flaws with that logic. First, I don't have time.  Not like I had before, when I was in school at least.  Second, the gloves are made with expensive, expensive yarn I got on sale ages ago and then lost the band to - Luxe Lace? Anyway, there was no way I was going to afford another skein of that stuff.

So, today while I was cleaning up my desk, I found that one glove, and I decided to put it to rest.  I would write up my notes, but I know that I will get a ton of angry emails like "What does this mean!?" Basically, I knit part sideways, and made the ruffley bits. Then I worked the cuffs out from the sides, and added a thumb gusset.

The gusset what I'm most proud of actually.  I'm not sure how I did it, and it's a little loose... but if I had the notes I could modify it and...

No. I'm done.  It's time to put the glove in the bin and say goodbye.  I'm sorry little glove, but maybe someday you'll be resurrected.  Or maybe I'll find something nice to make out of the yarn. Who knows!

Sometimes when things don't work out, you just have to move one.

This is why I don't make myself wearables...

... Taking photos of your project in action is so frustrating!

I thought that it would be a good idea to model my finished shawl. I worked on it for a long time, and when I unpinned it, it just looked so beautiful.  I couldn't find a good place in my apartment to stand by.  The bed? The stove? Pu-LEASE.  I finally settled on in front of my shower curtain.  I took one picture and thought "Wow, really? This is the best I can do?"

So, I went outside and set my camera up on a timer.  Then my neighbor came outside and distracted me.

After I talked with her, I realized that the picture I wanted to do was dumb.  So I tried another one.

SUNLIGHT! This is what happens when you can only take photos between the hours of 4 and 6 PM

So I gave up on the self-timer because I was beginning to feel incredibly self-conscious. So then I played around and just took selfies.

Then Dan came home and I put the shawl in the bathroom window and went to check on dinner... and noticed I had burnt part of dinner.  Oops.

But the funny thing is, he went to wash his hands and said "I like the shawl there over the window."

So, there it will stay for now, I guess.  I kinda like it too!