Indecision

A running theme around here lately has been indecision. I can’t decide on anything and normally I am the kind of person who knows exactly what they want. It’s very hard to live with this person particularly since it’s me.

Way back here I told you how we were fixing up the living room and dining room in preparation for the arrival of my parent’s furniture. The furniture has been here for months and I have done nothing about the curtains or pictures/whatever for the walls.

What you see is a hodgepodge of their furniture and mine, none of which really goes but I can live with that. So we’re living in this stuck place with no idea what to do about curtains (hang something I have or make something new?) or pictures/ wall stuff. I have the old stuff or stuff that was my parents. Its hard to decide without living with it for a while. I guess I’ll just have to try whatever and see what we think.

WIP Not On Wednesday

I haven’t been able to work on the First Crush cowl when on the go because it has reached a size that is too large to drag around and any time I knit it when I’m not paying 100% attention I make a mistake. Yesterday I spent the morning tinking back a bunch of rows and reknitting them. Three hours work and no gain. That is the way things go sometimes. So to fill those knitting moments I cast on the Speeder socks by amippa. This project is my September Loopy’s Monthly Mixer project. As you can see I really haven’t gotten much done on them considering it’s the end of the month. I chose this pattern because of the interesting heel construction. It is knit at the same time as the rest of the sock is knit. I’ll be interested to see how they fit.

A Little Fall Cleaning

The other day I spent a bit of time cleaning out the stash. I hadn’t gone through the buckets in a while and knew there were things in there I wasn’t going to use. It was so much fun to revisit the lovely yarn that I liked enough to bring home but haven’t yet knit. This is the majority of what I like to call prime stash. There is a pretty good mix of single skeins and sweater quantities. Much is what I would consider to be workhorse yarn. There are a couple of skeins too pretty or special to knit. I did make a couple of observations as I was going through it.

• I like blue and gray. If you want me to buy your yarn those are the only colors you have to stock.
• I have less sock yarn than I thought. Yes, I was shocked too.
• I could knit for years with what I have. That isn’t going to stop me from buying yarn.

There is a subset of stash that I hold on to just because.

• Just because someday I might need it.
• Just because someday I might want to knit a bunch of baby things.
• Just because it was given to me.
• Just because I have it doesn’t mean I ever plan to knit it.

In the process of going through the stash I was able to photograph some of it for Ravelry so I’ll actually know what I have buried down there.I was also able to fill a couple of bags and pass those skeins on to someone who will knit them.

Things You Shouldn’t Watch

They say there are two things you shouldn’t see being made: laws and sausage. Can I add one more thing to that list- cables being fixed. Last night when I was knitting I discovered a miss-crossed cable about 8 rows down. Fortunately it was one of the simple cables near the edge. This isn’t the first time I’d corrected a miss-crossed cable in knitting but this is the first time I’ve done it 8 rows down with additional crosses in between. I captured the two stitches below the last correct row and dropped my stitches. They ran down faster than one would expect with a wool yarn but this yarn is super soft so I shouldn’t have been surprised. I used the two crochet hooks I keep in my tool pouch, neither was exactly the correct size but I made it work. I crossed the first cable correctly and then completed the rows before the next cable cross. After the second cable cross I did the final plain rows and then all was right in the world. Immediately I felt a rush of relief. I didn’t even realize how tense it made me to correct this error. Now I’m back on the right path and making progress. So have you done anything new lately?

Soul Soothing Knitting

I’ve got a few projects that I am currently working on and a few waiting in the wings to be cast on. I have a sock I knit when I’m waiting to pick N up at school or really waiting any place, the baby cardigan that really needs to be done ASAP but I’m dragging my feet on the sleeves and the evil stocking that I’m ignoring. The only thing I feel like knitting is the First Crush cowl. I don’t know if it’s the yummy yarn that I crave or the more complex pattern. Something about knitting this is perfect for my knitting mood. As you can see I tinked back a bunch of rows to fix the miss crossed cable I told you about last week and I added many more rows. I’m finally in to the last repeat. I think this is going to be one of those projects that I’m going to miss knitting when it’s done. Have you had projects like that?

Keepin’ It Real

Last week Bonny talked about being who you are and letting the real you shine through in an honest way. Well, I haven’t been keeping it real here. I’ve taken some time to reread some of what I’ve posted lately and some of what I posted ages ago. As self absorbed as it sounds, I like reading what I wrote ages ago. My blog is my journal and when I read it I am taken back to a time, a place or an event and it brings it right back to me as if it was yesterday. I love my blog for that. Lately I’ve been holding back, a lot really.

This last year and a half has sucked. There is no other word for it. Grieving is miserable. It’s a heavy weigh to carry around all day and it makes you tired. It has also made me impatient, short tempered and even at times angry. It’s like riding a rollercoaster in the dark, you know it’s moving and you expect that but suddenly you plunge and you’re taken by surprise. Add  that to all the other stuff that comes along for the ride like the never ending relationship I now seem to have with a lawyer who doesn’t answer email for days and days and days, an accountant (who knew there would be so many tax returns) and an unhelpful confused probate court, see angry above. So while I’ve seemed calm, cool and collected posting about knitting most of the time and a tiny bit of baking, the real me has been quiet but I think it’s time to let her out now and then. Watch out.

FO On Thursday

It just doesn’t have the same ring as finished object on Friday does it? But I have one for you today. I finished my rainbow socks! I finally sat down and got that kitchenering done. Of course the nearly finished socks had been sitting on my dresser making me feel guilty so I had to do it. They just weren’t going to kitchener themselves. The yarn is Knit Picks Felici in rainbow. The pattern is my favorite one I keep in my head: 64sts, 1X1 twisted rib and a traditional heel flap. I enjoyed the yarn as much as Regia or Opal. It’s a more sturdy yarn and should wear well.