Responsible Knitting - NOT

I am trying, really, I am trying to be a responsible, grown-up knitter. This is something I have struggled with all my life. Maybe if I put it out there, you will help me to be more accountable.

My name is Peggy and I am a process knitter, hence the large number of UFO's in the stack that are growling at me. I need help. The Siren's song is luring me to cast on something new but I MUST RESIST!

I finished knitting Amused last night. What a fun and easy knit. The best part, the most rewarding part is that after the last stitch was bound off, IT WAS FINISHED!!!. There were four ends, really, only four ends to weave it. It is currently bathing in a nice pot of Eucalan. There will be no photos this weekend, DD is on her way to show her horse in Williamston, NC and stopped by the house to pick up tack and nabbed my camera. Really, I told her she could use mine since it uses batteries. Hers uses a rechargeable battery and she was not sure how much charge it had.

She had had an eventful journey from CofC to home. She had stopped at a Kangaroo gas station out in the boonies between Mt. Pleasant and Georgetown. It usually has the lowest gas prices of her trip and she typically stops there. A man approached her at the pump and asked for 2$. She refused and he showed her a gun and requested 10$. She gave her the money, hopped in her car and called me. I insisted that she report it to the police. She did, they seemed to know who it was and shared that this had happened before, they would check it out. She handled it well, was calm and told me that 10$ was not worth any of the possible consequencies. I am not going to enter my rant here.

Anyway, back to knitting - sans photos.
The Amused is bathing, what next. I have Woolmeise lace. It really is calling me. I must admit, I did wind it this morning. I have a pattern selected. But my responsible voice is on my right shoulder - you do not wear lace often and you have so many other knits to finish.

Shall I list them:
1. The Ziggys for the twins. They are over a month old now. I am lacking a front and sewing up. - Rationale: DD is back at college and she is the one who will deliver the sweaters. I think she might do that next weekend.

2. Mom knit a sweater and finished it last winter, except for the sewing up. Yep, it is in my pile and I have not done it. It is all garter stitch, hate sewing up the ribs. I have to become familiar with the pattern and I hate sewing up. Yay, I know, bad daughter. I am putting everything out there, hoping the shame will spur me on.

3. Chevvy socks for my redheaded step daughter. I am almost to the toe of the second sock. I mailed her the vanilla socks several weeks ago and never heard from her. Even though she said she wanted the socks, when I had not heard from her I thought she might just be being polite and knitting time would best be spent elsewhere. I received an email today thanking me and sharing that she had worn the socks several times, they fit well and she enjoyed them. Great so let's move forward on the Chevvys, only problem, I did not take notes and I really am not sure where I am! Do I really feel like problem solving today - NOT.

4. Fair Isle Cardigan. I knit the Fair Isle Cardigan last winter and did not finish before the weather turned warm. It has been in the UFO pile quite a while. It is in a large ziplock bag with the pattern and left over yarn. Almost everything is done - so why isn't it done? I wish I had been brave and knit it in the round with steeks. Flat fair isle is a pain when you knit the color changes on the wrong side in purl stitches. The knitting is not the quality I am comfortable with. It might even out in blocking but I am concerned to wet block. The body is burgundy and there is a good bit of white in the colorwork. Will it bleed? So I guess I will need to steam block. All I have left to do is sew the sleeves up and in and do an i-cord bindoff at the bottom of the sleeves. This should be manageable. So steam block it is.

5. Lady of the Lake I don't even know what I have to do on this one. I think just some blocking and sewing up. It was tossed aside because I am concerned that it will be too small. I have had more experience in blocking since last year so maybe I am ready.

OK.
This confession has also served to set goals and make me accountable.
Goals for February:
1. Finish blocking Amused today.
2. Sew up mom's sweater this weekend.
3. Finish Ziggys before next weekend.
4. Fair Isle Cardigan
5. Lady in the Lake

In between, I will be finishing the Chevvys.
Despite this list, I still know in my heart that I am going to cast on the Woolmeise. The Siren's Song is just to LOUD and ALURING. Look out, there are rocks ahead.

Black Hole of Gift Giving

The socks I blogged about in the last post have been finished and sent off to step-daughters. The girls have had them about 10 days and I have not heard from either of them. There were other Christmas gifts in the box for the eldest so at least it is not that she doesn't like just the socks. We had spent Christmas day with the youngest and she had admired the blue and green socks. I offered them to her and she seemed to want them. Before mailing the first pair, I started a pair of Chevvy's for her. Now I am wondering if that was a little optimistic. Well, she has small feet, no one else I know can fit into these so I guess I will finish them and send them on into the black hole of gift giving.

I have enjoyed knitting Chevvy by Jody Pirrello It is a pattern in the new book: Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn by Carol Sulcoski. The sock yarn is Team Spirit by Lorna's Laces Shepards Sport. I went down a couple of needle sizes to get gauge. This has been a quick and enjoyable knit. It reminds me of Jaywalkers. I never liked the way the cuff flowed into the Jaywalker pattern. The designer has solved that issue by using short rows between the cuff and the sock and between the leg and the foot. It made me read the pattern line for line and count carefully but it makes all the difference in the world when it comes to the fit of the sock and flow of the design.

The Sideways Cardigan was finished in time for DD to take it back to college with her. She selected the pattern and the yarn but seemed very uninterested in the knitting. I really wasn't sure if she would wear it but has told me she is pleased with the results. I did meet gauge but the yarn would not stay bocked out. I finally gave up and got out the iron and steam blocked it. No photos of the finished object but it is a rather popular item, I am sure you have seen it. If not, here is a Ravelry photo. I really enjoyed this knit. The construction is very interesting. I love to learn something new. The use of i-cord on the ribbing created a very nice finish. I definitely will be using (in fact have used) this technique again.

At work last Friday I got the itch to cast on something new. I guess I must have seen a photo of a sweater on Ravelry. I honestly do not remember how the fever began. Anyway, decided that I wanted to knit Amused, a design by Jorana Paige in the winter Knitty. I started cyber shopping and then remembered that a goal of mine this year is to be very fruggle in my yarn purchases. When I got home Friday evening, I ransacked my stash and found some Rowan RYC Cashsoft Aran. It is a little lighter in color than I wanted but it is the correct weight and I have enough so I cast on. This has been a very quick and easy knit. I love that it is seamless.

It hasn't hurt that I have had an unusual amount of knitting time this week. DH has torn his Meniscus (knee). A shot of cortisone on Friday provided some relief but he spent the weekend with his leg raised. I decided the only decent thing to do was to sit at his side and keep him company. That way I would be available to fetch and tote. Monday was MLK day and we continued our routine as our schools were closed. Tuesday we had the great snow storm of '09 and left work at 12:30. Wednesday morning we had a 2 hour delay because of the black ice. This work schedule has provided much knitting time. I have part of a sleeve and the collar to go. Who knows, dare I even suggest, this might be completed this weekend!

I knit on with trepidation. I am either going to love or totally hate this sweater. I am not sure that my short and rounded figure is going to be able to carry off this much ribbing but we will soon see.

Lost and Found.

On Christmas Eve, I started a new vanilla sock. The yarn is from an Indie Dyer, Sunshine Yarns and the color is "It's Cold Outside". I really enjoyed the last vanilla sock and decided I needed another easy, mindless project. I carried the sock with me on Christmas day to my red-headed step-daughter's home. She admired the yarn and the socks will be her's. I have no memory of purchasing this yarn. I have had it for awhile in my stash. Glad to see it become useful.

I moved a box of yarn today that was in my sewing room. The yarn inside caught my interest and I took a moment to look inside. Imagine my sock when I found two almost completed socks that I do not even remember knitting!! I remember buying the yarn, it is an Arts Yarn super merino that I purchased from the Wooly Ewe in Pano Texas during a business trip to Plano Texas in November of 2006. I started searching through my blog to see if there was some reference to the socks. There was! Evidently I started them in May of 2007. The pattern is Eleanor and I knit them on a size 3. All I need to do is finish sewing the toe of one sock and bury the ends and they are done. Why in the world would I have abandoned them!!

Searching my blog for a reference to these socks led to a startling realization. I can not believe how many UFOs I have! There were many items started that I loved and then abandoned. It looks like the majority of finished objects are gifts. I really must do something about this! The first thing is to quit purchasing new yarn. The second, obviously is to finish the projects!

Got to go and knit some!