I'm so relieved

First, as I've slowly immersed myself back into Knitty Blogland (which is quite a different world from the rest of Blogland--Knitty Blogland is much more colorful & friendly, kind of like Emerald City), I'm relieved to see that I'm not the only one who's not posting several times a week. Those of you who are, I respectfully bow in the face of your dedication.

I didn't participate in the Sahara KAL at Sexy Knitters Club because right around the time it kicked off, I just got too busy. Sahara is still on my to-do list, but now, so is this Summertime Tunic (Interweave Knits, Summer '07). Knowing my track record, I'll finish both right around the coldest day of the year.

I've decided that if I get into a project & I don't LOVE it...not immediately, but at least halfway through it...then the project gets frogged. I'm no longer wasting time on projects that don't move me. Even if it's not for me, even if it's a gift for someone else, I have to love what I'm doing. The feel of the yarn, the way it moves with the needles, that's all very important to me. I'm also no longer holding onto yarn that I don't love. So I'll be going through my stash & cleaning house soon.

One WIP that will end soon is this tank top for #1 Girl. Once I get this off the needles & frog a rather ugly sock (not Plumicious, but something that can only be described as My Orange Fuchsia Nightmare), my WIP count will be down to 4, which is much more manageable. I suffered through a bout of Knitter ADD for a while & had 6 projects going (I don't know what I was thinking).

Back to the comforts of Knitter Monogamy...

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Who woulda thunk...

...that I'd come back this way??

I'm a HubPages columnist and I get to write about...knitting! And I get paid for it, too (!). One of the stipulations is that I upkeep a personal blog, so whaddaya know...cozy's place has reopened! (I'm so happy that I never deleted it.)

I'm still knitting, although I took a little break. I have more projects OTN than I've ever had at one time, but because I have a gig that's related to knitting, I consider my knitting time "work." Not work like digging ditches, either...more like work being an ice-cream taste tester.

Before, when I was getting ready to shut this blog down, I was insanely busy. I'm still pretty busy, but I'm managing. I really missed the whole knit blogging world (because we do have our own world here, don't we?) & I have a lot to catch up on. I missed you guys, a lot. Well, if you can stand me, I'M BACK.

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Simplicity

There's something to be said for plain old stockinette. I'm sure there are knitters out there who'd rather lose their thumbs than to be caught knitting a stockinette sock (what with the zillions of pretty sock patterns out there now), but when the yarn is beautifully colored, with coordinating hues, and it stripes itself, I hate to take away from it with too much busy-ness.

This lovely yarn was gifted to me by Wanda in a super-easy contest she ran not long ago. It's Claudia Hand Painted yarn in "Plumicious." My very first Claudia, but definitely not the last. It will be my first pair of socks that require hand-washing, but now I don't even mind. The yarn is simply that satisfying. If you're keeping count (or you're a member of the Monogomous Knit Police) you know that this sock brings my WIP count up to 5. Good thing I'm not letting that bother me anymore.

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Because you knew I couldn't stay away

Well, not exactly. Right now, I have my blog set to "private" because I really haven't made up my mind 100% to delete it. I mean, I know what's going on in my life & how much free time I have & don't have. Still, since the original intention of my keeping a knitting blog was for me to keep track of my projects & such, I'll continue...for the time being...in private.

Currently OTN:
Tank top for #1 Girl
Arctic Diamonds Stole for myself
Dolman Pullover for myself
Cable & Lace scarf for MIL

I had nearly finished a baby cardi for D's baby & when I did the seams, I did the sides first when I should have done the sleeves. (That's something they could've put into the instructions!!) Since the sides were done already, once I saw I had to set in the sleeves, I had to unravel some of the side seams (remember, please, this is only my 2nd cardi & I had the exact same problem with the first--helllllooooo, people who write patterns for dimwits like myself!). Because my seams were perfect, for the first time ever, I had a difficult time unraveling & ended up unraveling the wrong thing (i.e., the back of the cardi!!!!!) & just ended up so disgusted, pissed off & all around MAD, I stuffed the cardi into my stash chest & when I rummage around in there, I just ignore it, even when it tries to apologize.

I also had to deal with the fact that even though my time is limited, once I got over the bulk of my website designing, I just didn't feel like knitting. I'd find other things to do, even if those things were sometimes big timewasters (#1 Girl's giga-pet for one--why is that thing as addictive as chocolate right now??). I don't think it's the weather that's causing this un-knitty attitude, but I could be wrong. I realized that before, I sometimes knit not for myself, but for the blog--and that felt very wrong to me. It took away from my enjoyment of both, sad to say. Once I realized that, that's when the idea of shutting down the blog came into play because I've always said that my hobbies are for enjoying & once it feels like work, it's no longer fun.

It's no surprise then, that of my 4 WIPs that 2 are for other people & those are the 2 I'm working on the most. Although I can't wait to finish the stole--I hope I can finish it before the summer is half gone because I love it. I've knit a few charity hats as well (what's so great is that I can finish a preemie hat in about 2 hours...good movie knitting).

Right now, knitting is about 6 on the Fun Scale for me, whereas it used to be at least 9 (out of 10). Until I hear some good news about my novel, however, I'm hard pressed to concentrate on much of anything else. For now, it's the writing that's taken precedent (honestly, it should've been that way all along), although I'm a slug about keeping up my writing blog, too.

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