Travel, flu, stitch markers and a sabbatical postponed...

Well, my vacation in CA was great. The weather was perfect the entire trip. Wendy and I spent a ton of time together which was so awesome. Garrett was texting me non-stop; he's so sweet! It was just a really really great trip. I didn't get any knitting done. I think I might have gotten in all of ten minutes on my scarf askew, lol.

Before I left, Blaine mentioned that one of his gloves wasn't fitting right. I was worried about that. I thought I had messed it up but I was really surprised that he actually noticed, lol. Not a big deal; I'll just whip out a new one this weekend and give it to him when we go out for New Years. I meant to take Logan's yarn with me and get a lot of work done on his scarf but I forgot it. lol! So, that's the little postponement to my knitting-for-me-only sabbatical. It should only take a week or two to get done though, especially since it's my third one, lol. I'm really. really tempted to make one for myself too.

B got me those awesome stitch markers that everyone is talking about on ravelry. They are gorgeous!!! Too bad she blew her cover posting about it before X-mas, lol!! I guess I wasn't supposed to be on Ravelry while I was on vacation, hehe! I got her the portfolio for the KP Options needles and she loooves it. I saw Wendy's in CA and I was so glad I got it for B. It's so great; I want one now! LOL!

Yay for a good Christmas!

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Sweet Relief

I finished Blaine's stuff last night! Yayyyyy! I feel so much better with it done. I felt bad that I had been enjoying my DS for a week and he was still waiting on his stuff, lol. I finished up the scarf and then busted the second glove right before we went out. I have them to him after we left the Horse and the really liked them. Good thing I brought them with me because he was walking around with no jacket on. Silly boy.

Logan's yarn came in and B and I both really like it. It's going to look so nice. I am going to take a couple of days off from the pattern before I start his. It doesn't have to be done for a couple of weeks so I should be ok. I'll have some time to knit in CA and on the plan rides.

It's so nice to not have any pressure on me now. I have to be really careful about the commitments that I make when it comes to knitting for other people. I back myself into corners with my deadlines and then I end up not enjoying it and I don't want to not enjoy my knitting.

A waste of time?

I worked on Kayla's hat last night and it was coming along really well. I probably could have finished it, but I hit a part in the pattern that I didn't understand. Since it was 12:30, I couldn't ask B so I got stuck. I don't know if I'll have time to finish it tonight before the cruise. I'm totally bummed out because it's soooo perfect for tonight. *sigh* It's scarf knitting time wasted as well. Blaaaaaah. That sucks!

 

And I really wish Logan's yarn would get here so I can get his scarf on the needles. Thursday is going to be totally dedicated to kniting. I have to have Blaine's set done this weekend!!!

I was bad and it caught up with me

I didn't spend Wednesday night knitting Blaine's scarf like I was suppossed to. I was bad and I started Toasty Topper from the new knitty for Kayla to wear on the Lights Cruise instead. So, now that's not done and Blaine's scarf hasn't gotten any longer. I was so worn out and cranky on Thursday that I didn't want to knit. I went to the Tool concert Friday night so I didn't knit. I had a really super busy day yesterday and by the time I had time to knit, I was way too tired. Today is dedicated to sugar sugar sugar so I doubt I'll have time to knit. Monday is Kayla's birthday party and Tuesday is the Lights Cruise. Um...I'm kinda f'ed. Heh. Whoops.

So, looks like I am going to have some late night frantic knitting going on. Hey, I've gone to work on a hour of sleep plenty of times before. I can do it again. Oh, why am I in such a squeeze to get Blaine's scarf and glove done? I GOT MY DS LAST NIGHT!!!!!!! SQUEEEEE!!!! It's sooo pretty and cute and PINK! It's pink! I love it, I love it, I love it!

So, yeah. I need to get my ass in gear.

Back in the knitting groove!

I was still having a hard time sitting down and really concentrating on my knitting until this morning. But now my truck is fixed and running like new (yayyyy!) and my financial state is no longer a stress. I am ready to get back to knitting hard core so I can finish up my Christmas projects. I started Blaine's hat last night and finished it this afternoon. I have the second of his gloves and then I really really really really really need to bust ass on his scarf. It's only about 1/3 done. :-S Yeaaaah. I am so behind on it. I should be ok. It took me just about a month to finish up Travis' set and I am already ahead of that mark so I should be fine. It sounds like I am going to have the house to myself tomorrow night so I won't have any excuses to not get in some serious knitting time.

I also ordered the yarn for Logan's scarf. I was having a hard time finding something from my usual sellers (handpaintedyarn.com and 100purewool on eBay) so I was going to go down to Boucle's tomorrow but then I had a genius idea. Knitpicks! Duuuuuuh. Great prices (since I needed 400+ yards) and a lot of colors to choose from. So, I found two colors that I think will look really nice together and really good on Logan. Forest Heather and Amber Heather

Oh, hahaha! I just almost gave away another present that's included in that order. Glad I caught myself! Heehheheee. Annyyyywwwaaaaayyyys...the order won't be here for a couple of weeks, but since I am trying to get Blaine's scarf done before I leave for CA (yes, yes, I am going to be able to go!!!), I'm not too worried about it. We're not doing our gift exchange for the house until I get back so at the very least it will be mostly done by the time I give it to him, lol.

This just in: B approves of the colors for Logan's scarf. We are go, people!

Speedbumps

Does your emotional state affect your knitting? I find that if I am upset or stressed out, I'm not as apt to knit, even when I really need to. I don't know what it is, but if I'm having a bad day, I don't want to pick up my needles. Well, this week has been a perfect example. It's been a bad one. My truck is dying a very horrible death and I am so stressed. I haven't really knit all week (ok, well a little bit on Wednesday during girly-tv-knitting time), until today. Wanda saw a few of the baby hats that I had knit last year for the charity drive (I brought in the leftover ones for a drive at work) and she asked me to knit one for her new grandson. I told her to just take one of the ones that was already done. Then she mentioned that Alan wanted a plain black knit cap for Christmas and she offered to pay me to knit one as well as for the baby hat. So, I was finally inspired to sit down and knit today. I'm almost done with the hat; only an inch before I decrease. They're so fast that it wasn't really a problem to throw it in with my other Christmas knitting. I do need to get on the ball on Blaine's scarf, though. That's a whole other issue.....

Stick a fork in him; Travis is done!

I am done with all of Travis' X-mas knitting. I just finished the second glove and I am really happy with them. I think the striping worked out well and will look good with the scarf. I was a little worried that the stripes wouldn't match well but I think it's fine. It's really been pretty fun to knit his stuff because he is soooo excited for it. He keeps trying to convince me to give it to him early. It's been really hard not to. I'm such a sucker, hehehe.

On the other hand, it's going to be a bit of a chore doing all of this knitting for Blaine. I don't really know where we stand or if he's even in on this whole DS thing any more. It's hard to be motivated to knit for someone when you feel like that. Oh well. I need to get it done just in case.

I am really looking forward to the beginning of the year so I can knit for myself.

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One down....too many to go

I finished Travis' Danica last night. I am really really proud of it. It looks great, it's super warm and it's so him. It was a fun knit so I'm not worried about getting bored on Blaine's. It's really nice that Travis is so excited to get this scarf; he won't stop asking me about it and he was super cute yesterday when I told him that it was done. He even asked me the other night if he can have it early if I get my DS early. I said it depended on how much knitting I get done this weekend. I guess that means that I should actually do some knitting considering B and I spent ALL day shopping, lol.

Knitting is a violent sport

I was telling Travis that B and I had spent an entire weekend knitting. He, being the dork that he is, dreams up this crazy idea that B and I should knit competitively against each other. He was telling me how he had this vision of us sitting on the couch, furiously knitting and kicking each other and doing anything possible to sabotage each other. I said that we should make a Wii game out of it and he said that it would be like Guitar Hero "broken needle! tangled string!". LMAO. that would be awesome.

Selfish knitting

I don't get to do much of it. I am constantly surprised at how much of my knitting is given away. I've always been someone that likes to make things and buy things for my friends so it's really no mystery. I just really want to knit something for myself. This time of year is kind of a lost cause, but I've decided that Januray 1, 2008 marks a three month commitment to knitting for only me. I figure that will give me enough time to knit up a few things that I will still have enough cold weather to wear and I don't have any knitting commitments past Christmas.

B came up with a great idea. She said that we should pick some time every year and just knit something for each other off the other person's queue. That way, we'll have something that we want. :)

Ravelry, how do I love thee?

Oh boy, I am in so much trouble. I spent FOUR hours setting up my Ravelry page last night. teeeheee. I did mostly clean up the kitchen so my night wasn't totally unproductive. What can I say? I love it. How could you not? It's incredible. I can't wait to get home and play some more! I figure that I won't be on it tomorrow night while B and I watch our shows that will give me three solid hours of knitting time. I should be able to finish Travis' scarf tomorrow night.

 

I am really thinking that I am going to re-do Travis' hat. I am going to make Blaine's on smaller needles and see how that works out and then decide which one is better. By the end of this weekend, I need to have at least one hat and set of gloves totally done. That should be do-able.

 

B and I saw Son of SnB at Borders this weekend and I decided that I need it. As usual, I don't like a majority of the patterns, but the ones that I do like are so worth buying it for.

Peace, I'm out!!

I got it!! I got it!!!! I got my Ravelry invitation!!!!!!!!! OMGWTFBBQSQUEEEEE!!!!!!!!!. Goodbye outside world, you have lost me to the abyss.  What? I should be getting my X-mas knitting done? Uh...I don't know what you're talking about. I mean, it is a long weekend anyway....right?

Danica on the brain

Well, the hat is coming out ok. I finished the body and the crown closure and I am going to seam it up as soon as I finish this. It went really quickly. It's a little too long and I haven't put any ribbing on it yet. After I seam it I am going to take B's suggestion and wet block it on my styrofoam head and see if I can shrink it down a little bit. It's a bit bumpy, but that's the nature of entrelac. Hopefully I can get this one to work out so that I don't have to re-knit it. I think for Blaine's I will use smaller needles with the same amount of stitches and that should make it come out the right size.

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Entrelac Experimentation

I am seriously hoping that I do not suffer the same fate as last night. I am rested, well fed and refreshed from all too rare shopping trip with B. I haven't though about knitting for the past two and a half hours and I think my brain is ready to rock.

After deciding that making the IK short row hat in two colors would be too much pattern re-writing, I went on the hunt for a real entrelac hat pattern. I found one that I wasn't really impressed with, but it would do. The more I thought about and the more I fought with my gauge swatch (the hat was knit in DK; I'm using worsted), the more discouraged I became about the pattern in general. I wasn't enjoying the struggle I was having before I even started a pattern that was just ok to me.

After thinking about it and bouncing some ideas off of B, I've decided to try and work the Danica pattern into a hat pattern. I am about to start, so wish me luck!!!

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Friday Night Fiascos

I've done this before. I've learned my lesson...again and again and again. I always forget.

Last night, weary and worn out from a long, hard week, I decided that I was going to get my mind off of life by starting on the hat for Travis' X-mas set. The scarf is coming along really well and should be done soon so I thought a change in pace was in order; just for insurance against scarf burn out, you see. I am using the short-row hat pattern from IK because it has an entrelac look to it, even though it is all done with short rows. It's a very interesting pattern and I think that it will be a little bit of a challenge. It is knit side to side, not bottom to top. As I was reading the pattern, I realized that it needed a provisional cast on. I had to use a provisional cast on once, a long long time ago.

I settled onto the couch with my yarn and my B and started the video on knittinghelp.com. I tried and tried and tried to get this freaking cast on on my needles and I just couldn't do it. I re-played the video about five times and there was something that I was missing and I couldn't figure out what the hell it was. Of course, my mental state was not at all helpful and eventually I threw the needles and yarn down, shut off my computer and gave up. I was so frustrated that I didn't even want to work on the scarf. I wanted nothing to do with sticks and string.

After I had calmed down a bit and convinced myself that I had taken on more than I could handle at that moment, I did work on the scarf. I went to bed and I slept in. Well, I slept until 5:45am and then Cookie decided that it was play time for two hours. Once I finally got back to sleep, I slept in. I got up and tried the cast on again. Guess what? I got it. What a difference sleep makes...

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Dammit, Travis, stop being right!!!!

I went to dinner with Travis last night and I was teasing him about wearing his scarf around all night. He's really excited about it (he even wants me to give it to him before X-mas. Nothin' doin kidddo). He wanted to know what color it was and he started harping on me like he is wont to do. I told him in no uncertain terms that I wouldn't tell him so he started guessing. That fucker guessed on his first try. "Is it black and gray? It's black and gray, huh? Is it? Am I right?". OMG, shut up!! Of course, I maintained my composure and only said "I am not going to tell you.". Of course he asked me if I would tell him if he guessed and I said no. His reply. "It's black and gray; I'm right.". Uuuuugh! I'm tempted to bust out some hideous color quick and easy scarf and wrap that up for X-mas. teeehehehehe. I am evil and I love it.

 

I was a good girl and I worked on Travis' Danica last night and I got quite a bit done. I am getting close to the end of my two skeins of yarn and I don't know if it's really as long as I want it to be. Kind of funny though, I held it up next to B last night as she was stretched out on the couch and the scarf is almost as long as she is tall. Cute little B, hehehe. I am going to get another two skeins this weekend and make the hat and gloves and then I'll use whatever is left over to finish off the scarf. It'll actually be pretty cool to not have yarn leftover from a project for once. Those little scrap balls haunt me. I'm too OCD to throw them away but I never know what to do with them so they just kinda hide out in random bags, under piles of clothes and behind my piles of full hanks of yarn. I really need to just get over it and throw them out.....eventually.

Tips for Danica

*Don't cast on so tight. No on wants a scarf that visibly reflects your need to control things to the nth degree.

*Weave in your ends as you go along. You'd be surprised how many there are. Or, just leave it as some funky side fringe.

*If you can avoid it, don't use wool on metal needles unless you're going to learn to purl backwards. With all the flipping aorund, those stitches love to fly off he needles like the sychronized swimmers in an Esther Williams movie.

subconcious self-inflicted punishment

I cooked a delicious dinner last night. Lemon Rosemary chicken breast; juicy, tender, melt in your mouth. Roasted Root Vegetables; the perfect anti-dote to sunset at 4:30 pm. Perfect portions to stuff me for the night and leave me a lunch that wouldn't send me into a food coma at work the next day.

I lovingly packed up my leftovers, picking at the scraps on my plate, unable to resist the deliciousness that I had created and thought about how happy I would be come lunchtime the next day.

I must have known that I was going to be a slacker for the second night in a row and not knit.

I stumbled to the refrigerator this morning, collecting my goodies for the day and was confused that my leftovers container was not where I had left it. Well, with three roommates, things get moved around quite a bit so I shuffled some containers around and checked a couple of drawers...nothing. I stopped and thought about where I stuck it last night and I realized that I had no clear memory of actually putting it in the fridge. With absolute dread, I slowly scanned the dark kitchen and caught sight of several containers on the kitchen counter. I didn't want to, but I knew that one of them had my precious leftovers in it. Indeed, there sat my lovingly prepared dinner/lunch, rotting on the counter.

I will knit tonight, come hell or highwater....or shiny distractions.

3 Danica scarves, 2 pairs of Dashing and a new Nintendo DS fooooooor me!

I stopped by Target to see Travis last week and as usual, he was being his clingy self and I ended up loitering in electronics for an hour or so. While he was busy with a guest, I wandered over to the Nintendo case and caught sight of the DSs in stock. This jolted my memory of commercials that I have been seeing lately for academic "games" for the DS. Memory enhancers, vocabulary training; you know, not just your typical glassy eyed, stream of spittle inducing games. I have an SP but the damn thing is so small that I don't really like playing it anymore. And yeah, that whole fickle with novel toys thing again. By the time Travis got back to me, I had decided that I wanted, nay, NEEDED one of these fantastic toys (under the guise of wanting the educational games, mais oui). Blaine eventually wandered by and, as usual, I was given a heaping plate of shit about not having his gloves done yet. Of course, being the ass that he is, Travis had to chime in and harp on me about his scarf which led promptly into him begging me, again, to make him new gloves. You know, the same as the ones that he lost a month after I knit them. As I began to puff up like a pissed off porcupine, he desperately scrambled to distract me before the inevitable screaming fit. In his haste, he offered a deal to me. In exchange for a scarf, hat and glove set for each of the boys, they would get me a Nintendo DS for Christmas. With suspicion leaking from my slitted eyes, I analyzed the eager and hopeful looks on their faces. Still in the thrall of the shiny new toy just mere feet from me, I agreed.

So began the hunt for a scarf interesting enough to keep me entertained enough to want to knit it twice in a row but not too challenging that it would discourage me halfway through and become a burden that I didn't enjoy. I cam across Andre on knitty and thought it would be perfect for Blaine, but with the miles of stockinette knit in the round, I was wary. The color work at the beginning and end would have been interesting but I could see myself knitting three rows and realizing ten minutes later that I had drifted off into my infamous lala land and thusly never finish it in time for Christmas. Moving on, I found Danica, also on Knitty and knew instantly that it would be perfect for Travis. The more I looked at it, I realized that it was the perfect scarf for both of them. The patter was just right and with the two color blocks, I could make each scarf in it's own color theme that suited each of the boys. Half an hour later, I was at Michael's, picking out my four colors of Paton's Wool. Grey and black for Travis and brown and tan for Blaine.

I am now a little more than halfway through Travis' Danica and I have about six inches done on Blaine's. This pattern is so much fun and just the right level of interest and challenge. I have not learned to purl backward as a lot of people have because, well, because I really never thought about it. I am thinking about it now. Since I have been working on this project so much, Logan has seen it many times. I realized after about the fifth time the told me how much he liked it that I would be adding another Danica to my Christmas knitting list. I think I have decided to find a really nice variegated yarn for his instead of two colors. I am very happy to say that I don't see myself getting bored with this pattern any time soon.

I dream of knitting...ok, well, knitting blogs anyway

I guess spending an hour before bed starting this blog really set me up for some funky ass dreams. Amongst other not-to-be-mentioned odd dreamings, I remember a snippet in which some snatchy blogger left a comment here and said "as soon as you post some pictures of your knitting, we'll think about making you a part of the community.". So, yeah. I definitely don't want my membership to the knitting community to be questioned, so I'll be getting some posts up soon.

BTW, I checked my place in line at Ravelry and I haven't moved at all since yesterday. AAAGGHHh!! Meeee waaaaant!!!

I really should be knitting instead of blogging. I have so much to do before Christmas!!

I am impatient

So here I am....waiting...very impatiently and not by choice. I am an instant gratification kind of girl. I want it all, now. What am I waiting for this time? My Ravelry invite. Ok, not only am I impatient, but I am bit fickle and flighty when it comes to projects and novel things. And this leads us directly here. Here I am, appeasing a tiny portion of my intense agitation by doing something at least remotely related to Ravelry. One step closer.

So sleepy...more...*yaaaawn*....later....zzzzzzz