Night & Day

The Bryspun needles are making a huge difference in knitting the lace scarf. It's like the difference between cutting a steak with a Twinkie versus a Cuisinart knife.

I'm knitting so much faster & I'm no longer frustrated. However, I can't say I love Bryspun so much that I would trade my firstborn for a whole fleet of them only because they're plastic & bendy & it just doesn't feel as good to me as bamboo. (If they did feel that good, I'd consider trading all the kids.) Since I'm a process knitter, I love feeling the needles in my hands as much as I love the feel of the yarn. So the Bryspuns get a big thumbs-up for pointiness; an OK for texture (the yarn isn't sliding along like it would on Addis); and just a "meh" for feel.

I've also decided that I'm only going to do one 16-row repeat per day. Although I'm going faster, it still takes a while to get through all 16 rows. I figure if I do just 1 repeat per day, I can finish by Christmas & still fit in other knitting. Plus, the 1 repeat won't be so much that I have a throbbing headache by the end of it & keep muttering to myself "Why am I doing this again?"

Oh yeah, this is why.

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The Yarn Diet is O-VUH!

Mmmmmm, yarn, yummy yummy new yarn, how I've missed you. Never mind me, folks, I'm just rolling around (nekkid) in this pile of yarn. I'm not ashamed!

As you might know, I've been on a yarn diet for a while--I guess it was only a couple of months, but it felt like a decade. Yarn withdrawal will do that to you, make the days seem long. I didn't do a whole lot of stashbusting because I haven't had a lot of time to knit lately. *sadly* Still, it's nice to get new yarn. Nothing fancy here, just some KnitPicks. I plan on a few cardigans for myself one of these days. Like I already said: I'm a hoarder. I just have to have it, even if I don't knit with it for five years. I just feel better knowing it's there.

Also, here are the sharper needles so I can continue the lace scarf. I hope they work. If I mess up that scarf anymore, I just may do myself in.

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Distractions, distractions

This is the distraction:

Meet Macy

Macy is a distraction disguised as a cute puppy. Sometimes distractions come in packages like that; I have 3 kids, so I know.

Our family finally decided to get a new dog (it took me a few months after losing my last dog to warm up to the idea). I was partial to Beagles because their grooming is less maintenance, but DH likes Mini Schnauzers & since he's going to be responsible for grooming, I said fine. This is called "Compromise". It's also called "The Set Up" because this leaves the door open for me to finally get a cat, which is what I really want. Heh heh.

After several nights of being up at 2 a.m., standing outside while waiting for Macy to do her doggy business in the grass and not my house (I'm sure our green carpeting confuses her, but that's no excuse, puppy--life is hard), I can honestly say I HATE PUPPIES. No, scratch that. I didn't mean that; that's the delirium of sleep-deprivation talking. Really.

However, I did tell DH I'm not doing this again. He said "I thought you wanted a dog." Yes, a dog, as in a housebroken dog who doesn't need to be watched like a toddler who's just learned to run.

So, knitting? Very little. Writing? Even less.

Just wait 'til I get my cat.

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A Tale of Two Scarves

This is Scarf #1, whom I shall call My Beloved. For obvious reasons, besides the fact that it's been so easy to work up on thick yarn and size 10.5 needles. I should be finished any day now.
This is Scarf #2, whom I shall dub The Burgandy Widow. This is at least my sixth attempt with this pattern. When I put it away earlier this year, I'd just had an "episode" where I cursed the yarn, the spinner, the sheep who gave the wool ("son of a ewe!") and even the sheep's mother. I hang my head in shame. So I'm trying again. It's not that the lace pattern is especially difficult; I just kept messing up & couldn't see how to tink my way out, so I had to keep starting over. Working with cobwebs laceweight yarn isn't the easiest thing in the world, either, but this scarf is for my mom, so I trudge on. However, I can't make any more progress until I get some more needles, probably these. The ones I'm currently using aren't sharp enough. Also, I will use lifelines this time, now that I know how to use them. It should by finished by Christmas...2007.

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WOO HOO! FO's galore!

I know you've been waiting to see if I ever finished Louise. Yes, I did. Here they are, together again, Thelma & Louise. Aren't they purty?? While I took a break from my blog, I also took a mini-break from knitting. I only knit sporadically, which is why the socks weren't finished sooner. My "Finish it Early" regimen quickly degenerated into a caffeine-fueled midnight knitting session (the effects of which will not allow me to go to sleep until Saturday or so). These socks are for my SIL & I finished just in time to race to the post office & send them Overnight Mail so that she could get them in time for her birthday (securing my spot in Knitting Heaven, for sure).

-- Nice resort.

-- Mm hmm...cabana boy? I need a refill.

Up close & personal

Pattern: Embossed Leaves Socks Interweave Knits Winter 2005
Yarn: Opal (this looks like Orchid, but my band doesn't have a color name on it, just a number)
Designer: Mona Schmidt

These stripy socks just came out of nowhere; I needed plain & simple after the fussiness of Embossed Leaves. Again, these aren't for me. They're a Christmas gift for a cousin with very small feet (I love those small-footed people).

Pattern: My own, culled from various plain sock patterns
Yarn: KnitPicks Simple Stripes
I don't think KnitPicks makes this colorway anymore because I haven't seen it in the last few catalogs

And, more dishcloths, YAY! The one on the left, is, of course, another Mason-Dixon creation. The one on the right was my need to do something different.

Pattern: Designer Dishcloth from Knitting the Easy Way
Yarn: Sugar n' Cream in Cream
Designer: Lucie Sinkler

And you thought I was just sitting around eating chocolates...

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9/11

A moment of silence for all the innocent lives that were lost

May we never forget.

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Are you blogaholics OK?

Hi kids, I'm back! *smooches* I missed you, too!

While away, I contemplated deleting my blog only because my knitting time is becoming very limited. And since this is supposed to be a knitting blog, I thought I'd be doing a disservice if I didn't have a steady stream of knitting content. For now, I'll continue blogging because I love you guys & I feel part of a great community of wonderfully crafty people. Plus, I'll throw in a sock now & then so that I can still call this a knitting blog! heh heh

I read A LOT (finally finished Midnight & also finished The Princess Bride)...I caught up on my fashion mags, I walked almost every day, I ate well, I lost a few pounds (!). I knitted a little.

But with my 2-man entertainment crew back in school & me having to kowtow to C all day long, my blogging won't be as regular as it was. Sadly. However, if anything changes on this end, perhaps I'll be more prolific in my blogging and knitting. Right now, I just have to wing it & see what happens. Thanks for sticking around, really!

Next post: all those FO's I completed while you all were busy knitting

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