EVERYTHING FITS.

That's right. It all fits. The stubby wee arms, the short rows, everything. IT ALL FITS. I can't even tell you how thrilled I am. My mother loves her sweater. (She was so stunned by it that she had to ask if I made it. No, Mum, I bought your sweater this year. Of course I made it!) The Retro Socks were a hit, and the Infinity Gauntlet, though I was up much too late and much too early finishing the damn thing, is utterly fantastic. Behold:



Yeah. I think I may have to make a whole pair with full fingers and everything. That is a pretty great, geektastical item. And I want one for myself. I admit it.

Yay! Go Christmas! Go everyone liking their presents! Oh, and the mitts were a hit at the handmade grab bag. I like it when everyone likes their presents and EVERYTHING FITS.

Note to Self:

Do not ever do NaNoWriMo and attempt to knit a fingering-weight sweater for Christmas in the same month. I've been trying to figure out why I'm so damn behind with the gifties, and I think it's NaNo. Well, and the two solid days of choir concerts last weekend. Those sure didn't help. :(

Not that it's a Gifting Tragedy here. The Retro Socks are done. The Grab Bag Mitts are done. I just have to sew in ends on the ginormous red sweater of doooooom. I'll do that tomorrow morning. The Infinity Gauntlet is super-close to being done. I'm going to finish the cuff tonight, and do the gems tomorrow. Hopefully the gems will not be too much of a pain in the ass. I'm kind of bummed that I've pretty much run out of yarn, though, and will not be able to do cute i-cord detailing around the gems. I'm hoping I can find some embroidery floss that's close to the orange-yellow of the glove, and I can do something with that. I guess there's no reason I can't do embroidery-floss i-cord, is there?

Man, all I need is about ten more yards of this yellow, that's what's really annoying. Sucks that it's the same color as I used for the toes and heels of the Retro Socks.

Anyway. Back to the grind! Adam Warlock needs his glove!

stick a fork in it.

Cause this bad boy is DONE!



I still have to block it--and I'm hoping things will be slightly less wriggly after blocking--but hopefully that is the easy part. Mostly it is DONE and I think there's about a 95% chance that it will fit, so.

In case you want one of your own, the pattern is this free one from Drops, though I modified it to make it a pullover and re-calculated everything to go with the gauge I was getting with the yarn I had. The black and white are Knit Picks Palette, and the red is Lion Brand LB 1878. I have a feeling the Lion Brand stuff isn't going to wear very well, but oh well, you knit with what you can afford.

Um. What else? Did the whole thing on size 2 needles, and it's sized to be about 54" around with short-row extra room for bosoms.

I am so relieved that this thing is done. Now I can finish the Infinity Gauntlet and stuff.

stay on target . . .

Ugh, I did two rows wrong on the red sweater on Tuesday, so I spent Wednesday fixing them. Now I'm back to where I should have been yesterday. :(

On the other hand, I have one more three-color row left, and then it's all two colors and decreases, so I should still have the damn thing done by the 20th.

I think the Retro Socks might end up as a post-Christmas present, though. Sad face.

slowest sweater ever.

Am still knitting away on the Giant Red Monster. I really don't have all that much left to do on it: maybe 40 or so rows on the yoke chart, and then some short rows for the back, and then some ribbing for the neck, and bam! Sweater!

However. There are sooooo many stitches in each row, and I (being an idiot) had to go and fiddle with the chart, so there are now about eight rows where I have to do three colors. You guys. It is going so. slowly. It's like the sweater that time forgot or something. I celebrate whenever I hit a decrease row. I mean, I'm so pleased to see the decrease rows come up that if I weren't knitting colorwork, I would do a shot to celebrate.

And watch, the damn thing probably won't fit the woman anyway. I admit I'm sort of looking forward to getting a pair of scissors, chopping away at anything that doesn't work, and re-knitting and grafting it. That could be entertaining. Or maybe it will fit well enough, who knows? It's just that when you're knitting for a 5'3" woman who wears an I cup, proportion goes wild.

I really, really, really want to knit a chunky hat right now, just for some instant gratification, but I can't think of anyone who really needs a chunky hat for their Christmas gift, and God knows I don't need any more hats.

Ok. Enough procrastinating and whining. Back to the knitting!

:(

progress . . . a little progress.

Actually I'm posting here because I'm about to start the zillion-stitch colorwork yoke on the red sweater of death, and I need to take a bit of a break before I jump in. ARGH THE STRESS. MY MOTHER IS SHORT. I DON'T WANT THE YOKE TO BE TOO LONG SO HER ARMHOLES ARE AROUND HER ELBOWS.

Ok. I feel better since I got that out. Here are some photos as your reward for listening to me panic and whine:



If I get both mitts finished, they will go into the handmade grab bag on Christmas Eve. Up next we have the Infinity Gauntlet:



Just have to add some half-fingers and some Infinity Gems to that one. And here we have a comic picture of three sleeves in a box. Yes, I made sure to put the correct ones on the sweater:



To paraphrase that cinematic gem The Three Amigos: KNIT, VERY OLD ONE. KNIT LIKE THE WIND.

getting there.

1. I now have a body and two sleeves (technically almost three, I knit most of a first one before I decided it was too small, and I'd BETTER put the correct ones on the sweater) finished for the Hubris Sweater. I've 'only' got the colorwork yoke left, which is theoretically the 'fun' part, so I'm looking forward to it, right? Right.

2. I've got one finished Retro Sock. I'm planning to mainly work on the second one at my concerts next week. There will be a lot of sitting around, and the Retro Sock is portable and requires very little counting.

3. Approximately two rows have been knit on this year's Brilliant Joke Gift. Why do I never think of these in the spring or something? Anyway, it's merely a glove, so I should be able to hack it out in a day or two.

4. One black-and-gold hat is completely finished. I will probably give it to my big brother. If I have time, I will knit another one (there's plenty of yarn left!) and give it to . . . someone else.

5. Because I can't seem to resist knitted comedy, I acquired another item on my To Do list. My dad and I feel that a tiny sweater with his department's logo on it would be a hilarious edition to his office tree, so a tiny sweater it is. I just have to do the arms and the logo on it, but I went with v. small needles to knit it, and it's taking longer than I would like.

6. Am slightly worried about my Handmade Grab Bag Gift. I've got most of one mitt done, but it takes me a while to do it (it's more colorwork, apparently I am all about the colorwork this Christmas) and I'm trying to decide if I should keep going with it or chuck it and do a pair of stripey gloves or a quick hat. I figure my deadline for bailing and doing a hat is Dec. 20. I can do a hat between the 20th and the 24th.

Ok. Enough time wasted on the interwebz! Must get back to knitting!

WHY ARE YOUR HANDS ON BITS OF STRING, CHILD?

For St Nicholas' Day, I am making my mother a pair of wee Christmas ornament mittens. (Or 'glubs,' as I tend to think of them.) There may be a bobble hat to match later.



(All other Christmas gifts continue on apace, though I have had an unutterably brilliant idea for one of my brothers, and so the Retro Socks may get shunted to the back of the queue.)

communism was just a red herring.

So. At this point I am reasonably certain that I'm not going to run out of yarn. In fact, I am reasonably certain that the extra black and white yarn I just ordered is not going to be necessary. However, I imagine it will not go to waste. Anyway, here's what the Overly Ambitious Sweater is up to these days:



I have only about five inches to go on that sleeve (way to have short arms, Mum!) and then I just have the other sleeve and the colorwork yoke to go. So right now I am pretty optimistic about getting it done for Christmas. Whether it fits or not is another question entirely, but I'm the sort who doesn't mind ripping out and re-knitting, so.

I think my mom should like it. I like it. I wasn't sure about the cuff at first, but now the more I look at it, the more I like it. I'm starting to want one for myself, which is always a good sign.

omg short rows.

So I've been working and working on my ridiculously ambitious sweater project, and dude. I am now at the part where you worry about not having enough yarn. I am, however, nearly done with the body. I should be able to finish it this weekend and be on to the sleeves starting Monday. So I really am on schedule to finish it before Christmas, I just worry about, you know, fit, and having enough yarn.

I knit short rows on the bosom of this thing for three hours last night (whilst watching hockey) and am still not done with them. Let's just say the cup size I am dealing with is well into the alphabet. Oy. On the other hand, if it does fit, she'll be quite pleased to have a sweater that is long enough in the front.

My first Retro Football Sock is at least two-thirds done. It's amazing how fast a round goes when you've got 80 stitches instead of 400. I'm almost to the toe, and then it'll be off to the second one!

I still need to decide what to do about my grab bag gift--but I did start, just for a break from the endless stockinette of my life--a pair of red and grey mitts for a friend who saw the mitts I'd made for another friend and was whining that I never make her anything. These mitts are kind of a bit unisex, so if I run into troubles, I can use them for the grab bag. I actually quite like them. My favorite part of the pattern is that it has a hem where you do a provisional cast-on and then pick those stitches up at the appropriate time, fold them to the back, and knit them together with the row you're working on, thereby eliminating the need to sew your hem down later. GENIUS. (And the worst explanation ever, but believe me, it's brilliant and awesome. And covers up the long floats in the cuff pattern, so you don't have to worry about people getting their fingers stuck.)

Ugh, that was long. I've had too much caffeine, I think. And it's not even 10:30 yet. AIEEE!

no pictures yet . . .

. . . but I shall tell you what's up, because I know you're so super curious. :)

First of all, the Rainbow Mitts were a big hit with their intended recipient. Yay! They fit and everything. Good times.

The Retro Socks are not very far past the heel, but I'm sort of saving them to knit while I sit around at eleven choir concerts in December, so there's no need to panic about them. I also have a hat planned that I will probably work on while waiting to sing. It's a plain ol' stockinette hat, so it won't take very long.

Mostly I've been doing miles of stockinette for what I hope will turn out to be a sweater for my mom. I'm trying to get the body done this week so I can start on the sleeves. There's going to be a colorwork yoke involved, but I think, if I keep plugging away, I can get it done by Christmas. Luckily the first season of Burn Notice (which I've been waiting for for MONTHS) is on its way to my library, just in time to entertain me whilst I knit miles of stockinette. I'm also listening to The Mill on the Floss, which is very good and quite entertaining, but sometimes you want a little modern tv where stuff blows up and Sharon Gless is hilarious.

It's the most wonderful time of the year . . .

. . . the time when you're all, "Argh, I want to knit things for gifts but arrrrrrgh."

Anyway, I've started on a few things. One epic gift for my mom that I'm not posting about yet because I'm kind of embarrassed at how ambitious it is. Once I get going a bit and see if I have a chance of finishing on time, then we can talk about it.

I did start a super-retro Pitt sock for my dad:



It's thoroughly portable, so I'm kind of saving it for when I'm out and about. I did most of the cuff (it's much longer than in the picture) on Election Day, after a surprise call to come work the polls. I was glad I had a really easy knitting project right on top of the pile, because even though we were quite busy, there were still bits of downtime that were perfect for getting some Christmas done.

Oooh, I also have some self-striping Draygone Yarnes Penguins worsted in my hot little hands, and I can't decide if I should do a hat for one of my brothers, something for the handmade grab bag, or something for me. (See how I slipped that in there?) There actually may be enough for both a hat and some mitts, so I should probably just make both and then figure who to give them to.

knitting like a fiend

First, some wee pictures of stuff I've finished recently:





I really am pretty pleased with how the rainbow mitts turned out. I think I'm going to cast on another pair today (because I need some reasonably mobile knitting to take to choir concerts) with an eye to them being Christmas presents. Now is the time for Christmas knitting to begin in earnest, or it would be if the yarn I ordered would show up. Ok, that's mean, I do expect some of it today, and then I can get started on the Big Project, a sweater for my mom.

On the other hand, I could take my purple gloves to the concerts. That would be pretty mobile. No! It should be giftie time, right? Right.

remember books?

The Endpaper Mitts, as some of you may know, finish up with a tubular bind-off. This being the digital age, I looked online in a couple of places to find out how to do it, and they all turned out looking just dreadful. So in a fit of desperation I turned to the book I should have turned to in the first place, The Knitting Answer Book, by Margaret Radcliffe.

I think I've mentioned this book before, but not for a while. Dude, this book rocks. It's not very big, so you can take it with you, and it has really terrific, clear instructions for, well, every knitting thing I haven't been able to figure out otherwise. Needless to say, the tubular bind-off instructions were excellent, and the tops of my mitts look great. I wish I'd thought to look in the book when I couldn't figure out the tubular cast-on from online sources, but oh well, I'm planning to make another pair of the mitts, so I have another chance to learn.

The tubular bind-off looks pretty awesome in the 1x1 rib, by the way. I highly recommend it, and I'm not usually a fan of sewn bind-offs.

glubs.

Or, rather, fingerless mitt-thingies. :)

First off, my friend loved the purple-and-green (with matching motif) mitts. Yay! Apparently they will go very well with her coat.

I've also started a pair of Endpaper Mitts for another friend, one who has been having a difficult time of it lately. I asked her what she likes in knitwear, and she suggested red, or rainbows. Ha! I have contrived to do both, and I kind of love them.



Sure, they'd do better with a bit more contrast between the red and the rainbow, but they will do their job well anyhow. That's a little Trekking XXL in #100, and some Knit Picks Palette in Pimento. Or maybe Lipstick. I don't remember. Oops. I am hoping to have enough of the Trekking left that I can do a pair with black instead of the red. And then either keep them for myself (though, as we know, I really don't need any more mitts) or make someone's Christmas (or Random Present Day) merry.

As for my socks, I only need to do the cuff on the second one, but I have had a migraine for two days, and it's really slowed my life down. I think I'm better now. I'd better be. I will be so cranky if I feel like crap again tomorrow.

Socktober!

Usually I am not a joiner, but I cannot resist the hilarious punny good time that is Socktoberfest. Or maybe I just like knitting socks, and will leap at any excuse. Whichever. Here's what I've been up to, at the expense of various other projects that I should be finishing:

A pair of nice warm thick worsted weight socks, done with size 4 needles. No cold will be getting these puppies! I started them in the middle of last week, when it was all kinds of cold. I finished them on Friday or Saturday, when it was around 75 and sunny, so yeah, haven't worn them yet. I dig them, though!



Orange socks! Oh, how I love the orange. The pattern is Scylla, if anyone's wondering. It's doing pretty well at staving off any horrible pooling, although the second sock seems to have all the bright bits of color on the sole and all the drabber bits on the front. 'Drabber' being a term I use loosely because it's still plenty bright.



I've also been wanting to do some sort of colorwork sock, but really, I should finish my grey shawl--I just have to do the crocheted edging, dammit!--and knit up the last quarter of the heinous woolly undershorts I've been threatening to make forever. Oh, and my purple gloves. Yeah. I don't even know where they are. Ooops . . .

I am a genius.

Not.

Ages and ages ago (by which I mean July, or perhaps August) I started on a pair of purple and green stripey mitts (yes, like blue and white ones) for a friend of mine who adores purple and lime green. I got the first one finished, all except the thumb, and about half of the second one, before children's theater and other madness intervened.

So then a couple of days ago I found the bag they were in, and was all, oh hey, I should finish these! And I was very careful to look at the thumb gusset and do them both the same, and to count how many rows I had above the thumb before the colorwork motif happened.

You see where this is going, right?

One of these things is not like the other . . .



Clever me, putting the wrist motif at the top there on the first one, and not bothering to check for the second.

Now, if I were making these for myself, I'd probably just leave it, because I'm not so much with the caring that things match, but I don't know how my friend feels about it. And anyway, I do like the 'wrist' motif a lot better. And I only have to pull out a few rows, and I knit 2-color stuff pretty fast, so it should take me all of 20 minutes to fix it.

I'm still pretty annoyed with myself.

a photographed item!

A hat! A Star Crossed Slouchy Beret, to be precise. I've wanted to make one of these forever, and lo, I needed to make a thank-you hat for a friend, so she's getting one.



I haven't blocked it out to slouchiness: I think it looks super cute the way it is, and I also think this sort of shape is more what's in this year. I admit to loving it so much that I might have to make one for myself, which would be ok since my friend and I do not live in the same state. :)

I hope she likes it as much as I do!

(Oh, and the knitting is finished on the Equinox shawl. Now I'm slogging my way through the crochet bind-off. Good God, it's taking forever. And the next chunk of Battlestar Galactica is not yet ready at the library! Aiee!)

almost there . . .

Battlestar Galactica has really helped with the grey shawl. I am now on the very last clue! Only six or so rows to go!

I am a little bit peeved that I got almost the whole way to the end before seriously screwing up--and since I wasn't about to rip out four rows of 300+ stitches, one of the motifs is not quite like the others anymore. This makes me cranky. No, what makes me cranky is that I couldn't figure out how to fix it. (The mess-up was of the dropped-stitch-in-a-decrease-section variety.) Usually I can fix anything, and this has made me cranky about my knitting skills.

Oh well. The shawl still looks pretty good, and I'm mostly enjoying Battlestar Galactica, though I could really do without all the prophecy crap. Particularly because when they mention the Arrow of Apollo and the Tomb of Athena, all I can think about is the flagon with the dragon and the brew that is true, and then I start wondering when Danny Kaye will show up and if he will be a Cylon, and that's a little bit awkward.

Anyway! I am looking forward to seeing how big the shawl will actually be--looks like not very, that's what I get for using 'laceweight'--and am also knitting a hat as a thank-you for a friend. It's fun! I haven't knit with big needles for a while. It goes so quickly!

updates . . .

1. Have not knit on my purple glove in well over a week. This is not a good sign. It needs fingers! And a mate!

2. Have taken apart a bright pink sweater that I don't wear anymore. Am trying to decide if I want to re-knit it into something similar that fits better, or to do something with stripes of bright green and black.

3. The Vernal Equinox Shawl is still in a big tangle of mess. I just have one more repeat to go on Clue #4, which is pleasant. I am very tired of Clue #4. I think it's going to be a great-looking shawl when finished, though. If I ever finish. Those rows are getting long! On the other hand, I've got season 1 of Battlestar Galactica waiting for me at the library, so perhaps I will get into it enough to sit around knitting a lot.

4. What I really need to be doing right now is not puttering about on the internet, but finishing my brother's Commemorative Romeo And Juliet Potholder. He's in his Very First Play Ever this weekend, AND he just bought a new house, so I'm combining housewares and a quote from his play. I'm also trying to felt it, which is why I really need to finish it so it has half a chance at drying overnight. And hopefully it will shrink down to a decent size in the washer. Otherwise I'll be making some sort of other Commemorative Potholder on the four-hour trip to his place. Oy.

grey tangle of mess

It's my Vernal Equinox Shawl! Check it out:



It may look like a big ol' scribble now, but all the finished ones I've seen pictures of are gorgeous. I do kind of wish that I had prettier yarn to make it out of (this is just an old unraveled grey sweater) but I'm sure it'll be nice just the same. And grey goes with most things, so I'll probably wear it a lot. If it ever gets finished. Let me tell you, Clue #4 is taking forever, mostly because I don't have any real lace needles. Stubby tips + double decreases = pain in the rear.

As for my glove, it has most of one finger finished! It's going to be quite nice. But, ha, looking at the pattern on Ravelry I discovered that there's actually an error in the chart (I admit I thought it was a little weird when I started, but I was like, oh well, whatever) but when I look at the glove, I like how it looks and there's really no problem. To my eyeballs, anyway.

(I'm also dithering over whether I want to make my mom a lace wrap or a sweater for Christmas. I need to decide soon, because whichever it is, there will be a lot of knitting involved.)

glove!

I have decided to go with 'glove' instead of 'sock.'



This picture is a couple of days old--I'm just about done with the thumb gusset, and then on to the hand and the fingers. I hope twisted rib fingers look ok, because I can't see suddenly getting all stockinette on things.

I guess I'll just have to find myself a three-quarter sleeve coat or jacket, now won't I?

sock or glove?

So I'm knitting away at yet another sock--amazing how unemployment catches you up on the ol' knitting--and I'm wondering if it should really be an elbow-length glove. WTF? What do I need an elbow-length glove for? I do not have a 3/4 sleeve coat or jacket with which to show them off. But they're very pretty, and it might be sad to just have them go on feet.

Naturally I have not taken a picture of the awesome, mostly since my computer has been on the blink, and corrupted files in iPhoto have been the problem, and even though it's supposedly all fixed, I don't even want to open that application right now. So I will just tell you that the yarn is Malabrigo sock in some kind of excellent purple-ness (I bought it last year, wound it into a ball, and promptly lost the tag, so yeah, beats me) and the pattern is Ripple Weave Socks, by Charlene Schurch.

If I didn't loathe doing this kind of stitch pattern so much (if I mess up, I can never tell how to put it right!) I would totally make myself a whole sweater in it, because I love love love the way it looks. Maybe someday if I hit the lottery and can afford a whole sweater's worth of some sort of purple Malabrigo sock, I will force myself to do that sweater. Because it would be sweet.

Um, so, do we think I should make gloves or socks? Socks would be easier, because I have a pattern (and there's an eye of partridge heel on the horizon!) but gloves might be super-awesome. And I don't think I own a decent pair of full-fingered gloves right now. Hmmm . . . but there's just something so satisfying about knitting a sock. I don't know what to do!

good lord.

Yeah. When I said I was busy, I wasn't kidding. But hey, now my summer of madness is over, and though I may be unemployed again, I have time to breathe. It's a fair trade, I think. For a while. I don't see why my life has to be either unemployment or jobs that need you to work 18-hour days. Clearly I need a new profession.

Anyway, I did knit a bunch of stuff towards the end there, when I was actually in a show and had a lot of time to knit while sitting around at rehearsal. Let me see if I can dredge up a photo or two . . .

Here we go! I did another Square Circle Hat, but this one with sock yarn--the yarn I won in our Puck This! hockey playoff pool on Ravelry. It's almost hockey season again, you guys! I will soon be able to wear my prize hat while watching games.



And I made a pair of basic ol' socks. Love the stripes. Thanks, Lolly!





I'm also making a pair of half-finger gloves with the rest of the stripey sock yarn, and then last night I knit up a slipper, totally on a whim. It's the sort that needs to be felted, so perhaps I will knit the other one today and felt them tomorrow, and see what happens. I'm curious to see if a felted slipper will actually be a useful item, and if it is, LOOK OUT. Those things knit up so fast that I will probably end up with a pair of slippers for every day of the week.

I have been SO BUSY!

Ok. I'm still alive! My summer job has been wildly busy, and there has not really been a whole lot of time for knitting or blogging. Here are the few scraps I've done.

First up, the Big Green Blob!



It's going to be a tunic-y sort of pullover. I hope it fits. I get cold in the air conditioning. The miles and miles of stockinette are totally boring, but perfect to knit while you are babysitting the sound guy to make sure he gets all the cues right.

Second we have the Super Cute Winter Mitts, which are my mom's birthday gift. She's visiting me this weekend, and I just have to wait for them to dry before I give them to her. I kind of adore these mitts. I will be making a pair for myself, and possibly for a friend.





Maybe I'll do a link to the pattern when I finish my mitts? No time now! I have to go learn to sing Memory from Cats. WTF?

this is a little awkward.

I'm heading off to my summer job tomorrow, so I started an easy stockinette cardigan thing that will a) be handy plane knitting, and b) be useful once it's finished. Yay, right?

You'd think so, until I busted out my carry-on bag and saw this:



Yep, that's right. My cardigan is the same color as my carry-on bag. I am overly coordinated. Lest you think I have some mad passion for salmon or coral or whatever this color is, I'll have you know that both the bag and the yarn were gifts. I like both of them very much, true, but . . . oh dear. I'm going to feel a bit silly sitting in the airport tomorrow.

here's how clever I am.

I made yet another snazzy potholder for a bridal shower. The bridal shower was yesterday. I didn't take any pictures of the snazzy potholder because I was in a bit of a rush, of course, and I was all, "Oh, no worries, I'll just take a picture of it when the bride-to-be holds it up!" And of course, you know how they play that game where they set a timer and whoever's gift is being opened when the timer goes off gets a prize? Of course the timer goes off when my gift was being opened, and I was so distracted by the glory of winning that I forgot to take a picture.

:(

Oh well. I am now the proud owner of a very pink, very flowered stainless steel water bottle. And the bride-to-be liked her potholder. Even if I don't have photographic evidence.

glorious sock!

Yesterday afternoon I popped on my half-finished sock and flailed my foot around in the window until I could get some nice pictures. I hope no one across the street was watching. Or maybe I hope they were watching, because it would have been pretty funny, and who can't use a good laugh? (There was one crisis moment when the needles got caught in the lace curtain. I was starting to feel like I was in a Ben Stiller movie.) Anyway, the sock:



Isn't it glorious? Like I said, red AND orange AND yellow AND pink. So awesome. The yarn is Woolarina Handpainted fingering weight, and it is in my hot little hands because Lolly is awesome.

The pattern is Leyburn Socks, a pattern I'd had my eye on for a while as a good way to keep variegated yarn from getting all pooly and wacky. It's pretty fun, with the wee lattice stitch and all. I think the cuff may end up being a little large, but I think I'm going to leave it, since I don't feel like doing the math to take out ten or so stitches.

I Hemmed It!

Yay! The guideline worked! Totally thrilled. The guideline was so handy I could even hem this sucker in the car. Which I did on Wednesday. :)

Now to block it, try it on, and see what the heck kind of closure I should put on it. I have two different sets of grey buttons which would look nice, should I decide to go the button-band route. (Or I could go buttons-and-loops.) I am also contemplating a belt route. Too many choices! Too many, I say.

For my other road-trip amusement, I started on an incredibly, gloriously loud sock. Colors to burn the eyeballs, y'all, and I couldn't love them more. I have no idea how it'll photograph, but I'll get to it eventually. Just know that there is orange AND red AND yellow AND pink. So awesome.

I'm also freaking out a bit about my mother's birthday. I can't think of anything to knit her, because she has TONS OF KNITWEAR, and it's all my fault. I guess I could make her another sweater, but I don't really feel like knitting a sweater in the summer in Texas. And if I DON'T knit her something, then I am shit out of luck for birthday gift ideas. Maybe I could record a song for her? Argh, I don't know. I've still got two months, and I can totally get something epic done in two months, if I have to, but I need to decide SOON.

of hemming.

I've been trying to hem my recycled cardigan for a couple of days now. The sleeves look ok now. I had a couple of do-overs because of overly tight bind-offs, but they're ok. The hem hem, the bottom, is a real pain in my rear. I don't want it to be squiggly, but measuring doesn't seem to work, and I'm not particularly good at keeping my stitches in the same line of purl bumps . . . this afternoon I tried basting in a guideline thread, but I'm pretty sure that it hasn't stayed between the proper rows of purl bumps.

Ugh. If the guideline doesn't work, I'm just going to block it, in hopes that it'll even out the purl lines, and sew it up from there. Hopefully.

I really want to wear this sweater! It's very plain but very flattering. (And no, I still have no idea if I should put buttons or what on it. I'm so indecisive.)

where do they GO?

Y'all, my knitting needles are totally disappearing. My double-points, I mean. I don't know where they've all gone! Even the Great Knitting Needle Spill Of '09 can't account for all of it. I thought I'd be picking them out of the carpet forever, but then I got rid of the carpet, and yes, I checked for needles before I threw it out.

This needle problem can lead to comedy, like when, in dim lighting, I grabbed up five silver needles to do the sleeves on my recycled blue sweater. I know the silver ones are size 5's. No problem, right? WRONG! I'd finished the first sleeve before I realized that two of 'em were smaller. Probably size 3's. WTF? My 3's are aqua! I have no idea where the other two 5's have gone. Oh, and did I undo that sleeve and find several needles of the same size to re-do it? Nope, I just knit the other sleeve with the same mish-mash of needles. Ha ha! It looks fine, only I'm doing turned-up hems, and my cast-off is too tight for the hem to lie right, and I haven't been able to convince myself that a do-over won't really be that annoying. I do want to wear the sweater, so I guess I'll get around to it soon. (The sweater's pretty cute, I might add. Only I don't know what kind of fasteners I want to put on it. I have some silver buttons that might look nice, or I could do a belt, or I could just leave it open . . . argh, I can't decide.)

So. That is my current Knitting Problem. I am almost done with my potholders, which are quite nice, and I will take pictures if the sun ever comes out again.

what the playoffs are all about!

Q: Where does the general keep his armies?

A: in his sleevies!

That's my second-favorite Dad Joke. :) I bring it up today because I am finished with the body of my current Seat-Of-The-Pants Sweater, and have to start on the sleeves. I never like doing sleeves, because I'm not good at counting and am always afraid they'll come out crooked. (It's a top-down raglan, so no, I'm not going to be doing them both at once. I totally would, otherwise.)

Here's a picture, though it's really just a scraggly dark blob right now. And much more blue than it looks here:



It actually seems to fit very nicely. Covers my bosoms and everything. I'm kind of stoked. I mean, I won't know for sure until I block it, but I don't think it'll need an extra anything for any purpose other than decoration. Yay!

I really should get on those sleeves, though. If I knit like the wind, I can wear it to a concert on Friday. My mom is busy, so my dad gets to take me instead. It's apparently circus-themed. Maybe I should knit up some kind of Scary Clown Purse real quick?

quality knitting miniseries.

No, not a miniseries with knitting! A miniseries to knit to. I really dig knitting to tv and movies and whatnot. I've tried books on tape, but I don't concentrate on them very well. I do much better with something that's been filmed. And most of the time I don't need to look to knit, so as long as I pick something with a fair amount of dialogue that'll get me through the parts where I do have to look, all is well.

This week I've been 'watching' that most recent version of Bleak House that the BBC did. You know, the one with Gillian Anderson. It's actually pretty good--and it's really long, which is awesome for Knitting Purposes. I think I have one segment left to watch. Oh boy, I'm excited to see how things turn out! I do think, though, that the goofy Dickensian names might work better on a page than they do spoken. (Unless English people really do have cutesy-poo weird last names? There can't possibly be as many as Dickens throws in there.)

Anyway, off to watch the end! I'm about halfway through a potholder with a pretty sweet orange on it, in case anyone was wondering. I did the back for a lemon, but have decided that it needs a color I don't have for the background of the lemon side, and have not yet got to a store. I think cotton was on sale at Michaels' last week, too. Serves me right for being slow. :(

But honey, I thought you wanted a new vacuum!

When I was trying to think of something awesome yet cheapish that I could make my mother for Mothers' Day, I stumbled across a wee bin of leftover cotton yarn in the back of my closet. Since my mother's potholders have been looking a little singed lately, I am ruthlessly ignoring the little voice that says "but that's like buying someone a toaster for your anniversary!" and potholder-ing away. I figure if I make them really, really pretty, I might be able to avoid toaster or vacuum comparisons.

This will be the first one, front and back:



The tulip is from Debbie Abrahams' book 100 More Afghan Squares To Knit. Now, I'll admit it, I'm a snob, and usually I don't find anything I like in that sort of book, but dude, this one has all kinds of cute charts for fruit (there's a kiwi!) and a tulip and a wee cute fluffy chick . . . there are also some creepy clown-heads, but I flip past that part of the book pretty quickly. Oh, who am I kidding, I'm totally contemplating making some Creepy Clown Potholders just for the hell of it. Christmas Handmade Grab Bag Gift, anyone? Nightmare in a box? There's this one frowny clown which, if made into a potholder, is guaranteed to make anyone who's seen Poltergeist set it on fire on purpose. :)

I'm intending to make four potholders, but they're kind of like popcorn, and I may just end up knitting the damn things until I run out of cotton yarn. And then it's possible that I'll start on the wool or acrylic.

Now my only worry is that my mom will think they're too nice to use, because she won't want them to get all singed. And I will have to tell her that that's ok, if they get ruined, then I get to make more!

Spring? YAY!

I may be taking the concept of putting-away-the-winter-clothes a bit far this spring. Instead of folding all my sweaters up and putting them in drawers and bins, I'm unraveling some of them--the ones I didn't wear much this winter--and putting them in bins. And then I can make new sweaters out of them during the year! I think there might be a grey sweater with blue and green patterns on the yoke in my near future. Good times.

My seat-of-the-pants blue sweater is . . . well, I like the fabric very much. And the back and sleeves seem to fit well. However, there is not nearly enough fabric to make the two fronts close over my ginormous bosoms. (They're not really THAT ginormous. They're just, as I've mentioned, proportionally ginormous.) At first I was going to undo the whole thing, but then I was like, hmm, maybe I could put some kind of big wide collar/button band concept that would add three or four inches to the front? So I think I'm going to try that. There is a chance it will be a contrasting color, only then I will need to find more of a contrasting color than I was originally planning to. (I bet cream would be nice. Navy and cream are nice together.)

Oh, and I started a pair of Endpaper Mitts when I was on my road trip this week. I didn't knit much of them, because I was too lazy to print out the pattern, and fancy that, it was a huge pain in the rear to knit from my laptop when I was away. They're in Knit Picks Palette in grey and dark red (sorry, I never remember color names) and they look quite nice so far.

laughing at myself.

Well, after making so many almost-exactly-to-pattern projects post-Christmas, I am back in full winging it form! Mostly. I mean, I have a pattern for a v-neck cardigan, and I'm following that for the v-neck shaping, but the yarn and needles and gauge aren't anything like the same, and Lord only knows what will happen after I finish the yoke.

One idea that is simmering is to edge the whole thing in contrasting applied i-cord. That is what has led to today's comedy. The yarn I'm using is a sort of heathered navy blue that was once a rather nice store-bought tank top that I just wasn't wearing anymore. So I was online looking for some yarn that might work for the edging, but a lot of the less pricey lace weight--like Knit Picks--is much thicker than the yarn I have. And then I thought, well, it's not like I'll need a lot of the contrasting yarn--I can probably just go to a thrift store and look for a color I like and recycle that sweater. Or ask my friends if they've got any old green or purple sweaters they don't want. I'm rather bummed that I don't have anything. I mean, give me a couple of years, but I'd like to wear this cardigan this spring.

So yeah, after my road trip this week, there may indeed be hilarious yarn shopping at the thrift store.

Grey Lace!

I finished it! Ok, I finished it a couple of days ago. I was hoping to wear it to the opera this week, but it was cold and rainy and it didn't really go with any of my cold-and-rainy outfits. So sad, because it's awesome:



It turned out to be just the right length--which means it fits on a twin bed for blocking. I would have liked it to be a little wider, but it is certainly Wide Enough, and I imagine I will get a lot of wear out of it. When it's either a lot colder than it is now, or just a bit warmer.

Anyway, for those of you who care about that sort of thing, I did a wider version of Oiseau de Feu. I cast on 91 stitches, used size 4 needles and 2 skeins of Knit Picks Gloss Lace in Sterling. I cast on using an 8 or 9 needle--there's actually a chance I did one border with an 8 and one with a 9--so that the edge would be nice and loose to make points with.

One thing I do need to work on when knitting this sort of lace is that I always slip the first stitch so I'll have a nice edge, but I invariably make that slipped stitch too loose, because I'm all anxious that it'll be too tight and not stretch. It's never too tight. It always stretches, and in fact, the slipped-stitch bits are a bit too loose and look messy. Something to work on, I guess. I find it amusing that this is my big challenge when knitting lacy things. Nupps? No problem. Wacky charts? Grafting? Provisional cast-ons? All ok. Slipped stitches are another story.

still knitting grey lace . . .

Am still chugging away on the Oiseau de Cendre. I have opera tickets for next week, and so, since I am so close to finished with this stole, I clearly have to have it done in time to wear it to the opera. This should not be a problem. I'm about 3/4 done. Yay!

I'd forgotten how much I enjoy knitting lace. I kind of want to make my mother a silk shawl for her birthday, but I did make her a wrap last year, and I can't decide if it would be too much the same thing. Last year's wrap was wool, though, and I thought something she could wear in spring and summer would be nice. There will be a wedding coming up in September--not mine, don't worry!--that she could wear it to and be all spiffy.

Uh-oh: missing project!

So yesterday I was all "Hey, I could unravel the Disco Scarf while I watch tv!" And then I COULDN'T FIND IT. Now, granted, I didn't look very hard, but it wasn't where I thought it would be. This freaks me out just a little. I wonder where I would have put it?

Because, you know, one of this year's plans is to do that scarf RIGHT. It'll be so awesome if done right. OMG. I might have to keep it for myself. No, I have enough scarves already.

Um, and to make this post not completely useless babble, check out my Oiseau de Cendre stole-thingie so far!



I'm definitely liking it, but I probably should have gone up a needle size or two. This Knit Picks Gloss is pretty thick for lace weight. In my admittedly limited lace weight experience. :)

I bet you think this will be about mittens!

But it's not. I don't seem to have any colors that would be awesome with my pink coat, so pink-coat-matching-mittens will probably have to wait until next year. (And you watch, my mother will probably decide I need a new coat as my birthday present, and give me something that matches all my other mittens . . . anyway.)

So this is not about mittens. This is about me knitting lace! I have some grey Knit Picks Gloss Lace, thanks to the awesome Mary T. of the Knitting on Top of the World Knit-a-Thon. I knew the title of a mysterious childhood knitting book, and she sent some yarn to thank me. How did she know that's just what I would like??? ;)

And a couple of days ago I was all I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO KNIT! And then I was all "I haven't done any lace in a while," and so now I am making an Oiseau de Feu scarf. Well, stole, probably. I've made it wider, because I have a couple of narrow lace scarves and I don't wear them as much as I wear the wider ones.

I love the pattern so far. The wrapped stitches are a bit of a pain in the rear--I haven't found a non-awkward way to do them--but they look awesome, so I'll forgive them. The rest of it is an easy-to-read good time. I don't actually know if I have enough yarn, due to the whole 'widening' thing, but what would be the fun of knitting with no suspense?

I was going to wait to make this post until I took pictures, but then I was like, "That could be next year, the way I go!" so here we are. They would just be the blobby sort of "Look! Unblocked lace!" pictures that you can't really tell much from anyway, so it's not like you're missing out.

ahem.

I don't know how this happens, but I keep making myself blue and green gloves and mitts and whatnot. Like, I have three pair of blue and green handwarmy items. Which is nice--I like blue and green--but my winter coat is PINK. Would it kill me to make a pair of gloves in maroon or something?

Apparently it would.

I was planning to make another pair of Latvian-inspired something anyway . . . maybe now is the time to find something Pink Coat Friendly? Unfortunately I don't have any maroon or burgundy. Would be nice with grey--which I have--AND my coat.

Omg, totally useless post. Um . . . I wore my blue and green Latvian Mitts out in public today, and they were lovely and warm. I might have to make a pair of full mittens. I don't know. Would I wear mittens?

first mitt!

Naturally it has been finished for a couple of days, and I am only just now getting around to posting the photo.



I think it turned out pretty well! Still not completely enamored of the colors, but plenty enamored enough to wear it. :)

The second mitt should be finished tonight. I'm just about done with the thumb gusset.

In other news, I've also finished another Square Circle Hat, this one to send to a friend in a sassy surprise care package. I just have to block it, and it'll be ready to go. Best of all, I've used up some leftover yarn from a sweater I made my mom, and I'm sending it far away, so no one will be all "Hurrrr, you made this out of your mom's sweater." Yes, haven't you ever heard of leftovers? Geez. Anyway, I'm quite fond of the hat. And the mitts!

And I think I may be getting the urge to knit more tiny sweaters. They're like crack cocaine, folks. Or maybe those sour cream and onion Pringles. Oh wow, I love those, and I can't even remember the last time I had any. This is probably for the best.

well gee whiz.

Good thing I started making this pair of stranded mitts, because the fucking snow is coming down again, so I'm gonna need something to wear over my gloves whilst I shovel.



I've actually finished the first mitt, and though I'm not really keen on the light blue, and the light green and dark blue don't look as good together on the hand as I'd hoped, whatever, it's still a pretty cute mitt-thingie. And it's very warm! I'm nearly finished with the cuff of the second one, so if I do some Olympics-watching tonight and tomorrow (and when I say 'if' I mean 'when') I'll have a nice new pair of mitts soon. Yay!

I'm also thinking, since these are so quick, of doing a pair of Endpaper Mitts in red and gray. I think that would be sort of awesome.

Also, opinion poll, how unisex do you think a pattern like this could be? You know, for Christmas Grab Bag Purposes. They're sort of addictive to make, and since no one is expecting a trunk of mittens as my dowry, I think it's best to find a use for them as gifts . . . I just don't know if something of this sort, however manly in color, is something an American dude would wear. (I'm expecting there will still be more women than men in this grab bag, but still. The last pair of mitts I put in were very much girls-only, and I'd like to do something that's at least dude-possible this time.)

gettin' ready!

You guys, have I mentioned how much I love the Olympics? Like, I ADORE them, even the stuff like curling. I could watch the Olympics 24/7 and not get bored. I think I prefer the Winter Olympics (hockey and figure skating and curling! Whee!) as a general thing, but the Summer Olympics will always have a special place in my heart because in 2000 they kept me company while slogging through tough music theory homework and learning a really difficult opera score. Male swimmers make all that so much better.

But what does this have to do with knitting, you ask? It has to do with me finally deciding to make the darn Latvian Mitts, though I still don't know if I will like them, and if I don't like them there's a chance I will just chuck them and do Endpaper Mitts. I've even decided on my color scheme: two shades each of green and blue, and one of purple. There is also a chance that the purple will be swapped out for red or yellow, if I don't like it. There is another chance that I will make purple and green Endpaper Mitts. Anything could happen!

Mostly I just wish the Olympics would start already. And I hope the Georgian team decides to stay and play, because I know that if I were the athlete who died, I would not want the rest of the team to withdraw out of some misguided respect for me. Now, if they're too shaken up to compete, ok, I could see that, but I think any athlete would want their teammates to get it done.

Anyway. That got sad! I hope there is at least one moose in the opening ceremony. I have my fingers crossed for a moose.

stuff that is happening:

1. Still working on the purple and grey sweater. I thought I'd be on to the sleeves by now, but apparently my body is really, really long. Am hopeful that I can be done soon, though am now worried that the sleeves will have to be three-quarter.

2. Lots of snow. I mean, HOLY CRAP LOTS OF SNOW, and there is supposed to be more tomorrow. Awesome. And by 'awesome' I mean ENOUGH ALREADY.

3. I made a pair of baby socks--the orange and yellow ones--and they're quite cute. Naturally, no pictures have been taken. I'm taking pictures of snow this week, not socks.

4. I've shown the tiny sweaters to a couple of people, and they invariably make people laugh. They're so cute and weird and multitudinous.

5. I have contemplated colors for my (theoretical) Latvian Mitts, but not actually knit any of them together to see how they will actually look. I clearly want an adventure.

6. You know all that knitwear I make? I've been wearing it, lots of it, because it's so darn cold. My Aeolian shawl might as well be grafted to my neck. That's right, I believe in shoveling snow in fluffy-ass hand-knit lace. And then there are the socks and the hats--though I have a truly ridiculous white fake fur hat that I prefer to wear for shoveling, it's very warm--and the mitts . . . hell yeah, my hobby comes in handy. Go me!

speedy delivery!

Remember that yarn I ordered on Wednesday? Of course you do: it was my previous post. :) Anyway, it arrived today! That sure was quick. And just in time, too, because I was sitting here all out of Tiny Sweater Inspiration. Perhaps new colors will do the trick.

The orange and yellow stuff, while not quite as bright as I would like, is still pretty nice. I think it will work. It'll just have to be a slightly sophisticated baby, not all bright and wild. Well, ok, the orange is still pretty bright. The baby will most likely be able to see it.

AS for the rest of the yarn, this is the first time my monitor has deceived me as to color: there was a red (should have expected this, with red, right?) that looked to be much more of a purple-red on my monitor, but in real life it's pretty straight-up red. Still a red with a blue undertone, so it will not go to waste around here, but something closer to purple would have suited my other colors better. Also not entirely certain of the light blue, but again, it won't go to waste.

The needle I ordered is the tiniest wee cute thing ever. 16-inch 2.25mm needle anyone? Shall we take bets on how quickly I lose it?

Anyway, yay! Now to look for baby sock patterns. I'll probably just do Basic Sock and cute it up with the colors, but you never know.

LATER! Here's the yarn:



The stuff with the labels on is the new yarn: I stuffed the rest of my Palette in the box so I could see how it all looks together. I'm not too keen on the dark green, but I'm sure it'll come in handy somewhere down the road.

shopping!

Just ordered some yellow and orange yarn for the baby items I mentioned a while ago. I just got some stuff from KnitPicks, (ha ha, put that link in to be an enabler) because I figured if I don't like the colors--for a baby, God knows I'll put most oranges and yellows on myself--I at least won't be out too much cash.

Right. Because then of course I also bought a circular needle in a size I need--ok, well cheaper than anything I would find in a real live store around here--and, of course, some yarn for a pair of colorwork mitts I want to do next month. I could have just done some Endpaper Mitts, because, hey, I've got two colors of yarn that would look nice together, but nooo, I want to do something more complicated, such as the Snowflake Fingerless Gloves or a pair of Latvian Fingerless Mitts , and so, of course, some yarn was purchased.

I am rather proud that I at least kept myself from buying any sock yarn or anything. While KnitPicks is not my favorite yarn ever, they do have lots of nice colors, and the Palette yarn becomes pretty soft after it's been soaked a bit.

The next thing I need to acquire--argh, was so trying not to buy!--is some red acrylic. I need--yes, need--to make a pair of patriotic shorts. :)

oh hey

Just remembered that I took some pictures of the loud purple-and-grey sweater I'm sort of making up. Remember that the purple is louder in person!



The yarn is a bamboo/wool/nylon blend, and it's all kinds of soft. I think it's a Deborah Norville brand, of all the hilarious things. It was on sale for $2.50 a skein about a month ago, and I figured that for $15, I could make myself a rather loud sweater. :)



I tried putting in some short rows for bust shaping today, but I have only the most general idea of how that works, so now I have to try it on again and see if I'm anything like right. Which means putting all those tiny little stitches on waste yarn, and then putting them all back on the needle again . . . needless to say, I am not eager. And I have a sneaking suspicion that I did the shaping a bit too high, but oh well. We shall see!

Eventually.

update!

Whew. Right, so I have 8 tiny sweaters left to go! Well, plus the sleeves of today's. Oof. I have loved the tiny sweaters--most of the time--but I will not miss them.

I have also been working on the purple and grey sweater which I mentioned a while back. It's taking a good long while, because it's sock yarn on 3mm needles, but I think it'll be worth it! I don't know what else I would have done with this much slightly loud yarn. Well, it would have made a hell of a pair of shorts. Anyway, I'm all excited, because I've just finished the yoke (basic top-down raglan action) and when I tried it on, it fit pretty much perfectly. I do have to enter the more-or-less unknown world of shaping to make enough room for my bosoms, but hey, it's good to learn something new.

My hat is still flower-less. I should probably just sew some leaves and buttons on it and be done.

I've been wearing my Aeolian shawl around the house a lot this week, and I'm starting to feel more shawl wishes . . . perhaps for something in a heavier yarn?

And possibly, just possibly, there will be some utterly ridiculous shorts knit during the Olympics. Brace yourselves.

frustrating!

Because I am not ashamed to wear a hat similar to a three-year-old's, I am attempting to make myself a brown hat with some leaves and stuff and a cream flower. The hat part has been finished for a couple of weeks now, and I've got some leaves, but the flower is kicking my butt. I have a picture in my head of how I want it to look, and it won't do what it's supposed to.

Grrrr. Maybe if I felt/shrink the latest one I've made . . . argh. I'm going to have all these random rejected cream flowers around--then I'll have to make something to stick them on! Aiee!

In Tiny Sweater News, I made a Tiny Cardigan today. It's cute but not amazing. The ones with embroidery are definitely the best, but they usually take the longest. Typical.

another hat!

For me this time.



I love this pattern madly. It's the Square Circle Hat, and I've been wanting to make one for AGES--ok, a couple of months--but I had to wait until after Christmas. Now I kind of want to make more. This hat makes me feel all modern and stylish, which doesn't happen all that often. :)

It's just in your basic Patons wool, but I held a strand of random formerly-a-Gap-sweater grey yarn with it, because I thought the purple was too plain. The effect is really nice! I wish I'd been able to find my size 7 needles to knit the main part of the hat, but I couldn't, so it's all on sixes. Anyway, I'm very fond of it. There's a strong chance I will make more in the future. Possibly for me. Because we all know I am wasting away for lack of hats.

more tiny sweaters!

A selection of the tiny sweaters I've been knitting:


This first one was done in 36 gauge craft wire, and was much less of a pain in the rear than you would think.



Batman? Total pain in the rear. Total. It's pretty cute, though! And not quite 3 inches tall, for those of you who care about such things.



This little guy is made of yarn from two recycled sweaters, one of which I took apart during the last two games of the Stanley Cup Finals. Believe me, ripping things to bits really helps with the stress of an important sporting event! (For those of you who care, this one's about 1 3/4 inches tall.)



Awwww. So cuuuuute.

Hat!

I finally finished this, a ginormous hat for my mom's ginormous head. I have it pulled down over my glasses in this picture. I don't think she could get it over her eyes if she tried. I really, really need to go at her with a tape measure and see how big around her head is. :)



I think it turned out quite well! The yarn is recycled from a scarf and hat I made her four or so years ago. It was the first nice yarn I'd ever bought! Perhaps even the first yarn I'd bought, since everything else I'd been knitting with was random stuff that had been around the house since I was a kid. The original hat and scarf were also made before I knew her head was huge. And she doesn't wear scarves, so I cannibalized part of that.

Anyway, it looks very nice on her, and now her head can be warm and look cute.

this is how clever I am.

I had an audition this morning, so last night I was very sensible and packed up all the stuff I was going to take with me, including some knitting for when I was waiting. I put in all the stuff I'd need, the needles, scissors, some waste yarn, yarn needles . . . and I forgot to put in the actual ball of yarn itself. You know, the STUFF YOU ACTUALLY KNIT WITH.

I felt like such a dolt.

Sigh.

And I was bored while I waited.

can't say no to baby brother!

So normally I don't knit stuff when people ask me to--I have tons of stuff I want to knit, dammit!--but every so often someone in my immediate family will ask for something, and I really can't say no to them. You may remember the Devil Scarf I was knitting last summer? Yeah. Like that.

My new mission is much, much easier. My little brother's supervisor is due in March, and little bro has asked me to knit a baby item. He mentioned that "booties might be the cutest thing." I kid you not. So really, no problem, because A) booties go at the speed of light, and B) the supervisor apparently is very fond of orange and yellow. What? An excuse to buy orange yarn? When booties will use very little of it, so there might also be orange wristies for me? Don't mind if I do. :)

Ok, there will probably be a hat to go with the booties. Or two pair of baby foot-coverings, because babies grow so fast. Perhaps one pair for cold newborn spring, and then another pair for cold 10-month-old winter?

I'll have to ask him when he'd actually like to give her the item, because, blargh, I'm superstitious about very few things, but I always feel uneasy making items for someone who's not born yet. Like I'm tempting fate. Which is kinda stupid, but you can blame my mom, my grandmas, and all my aunts for this attitude. We all feel a little bit nervous when we have to go to baby showers.

Anyway! Orange or yellow yarn! I'm excited! I would like to buy it in person, because there's such a fine line between pretty orange and scary orange, but I've done quite a bit of online stalking, so if I have to go that route, I am ready. :)

tiny sweater, in natural habitat.

In case you were wondering how the Tiny Sweater Project is going:



I took that picture about half an hour ago and I'm still cold. This is what I get for thinking, "Oh, I'll just dart outside, it'll be ok . . ." I had my big fuzzy hat on, but still. BRRRRR.

This is Tiny Sweater Number Six. I can't even comprehend what 31 of them all together will look like. Probably terminally cute. :)

stuff I am knitting:

1. Lots and lots of tiny sweaters. Oooog. They're cute, though!

2. A pair of socks. For me! I really should go get that heel done. It's cold here. I could use a new pair of socks.

3. A brown hat. On which I will eventually slap a flower and some greenery.

4. A purple-and-grey sweater, though that has kind of been chucked to the back of the pile in favor of the tiny sweaters.

And I've started piano lessons up again, and you wouldn't believe how tired my hands are. However, at the end of this month I should be able to crush a steel girder with my bare paws. :) Well, if I could get them around a steel girder. I have wee tiny hands.