Birthday Lunch

Got together with Princess... well technically yesterday at this point, and we celebrated our birthdays. Hers is technically December 4th, and mine was November 27th, but we could only get together yesterday. So, we exchanged gifts. Now I don't have any pictures but I got beautiful yarn in colours that are so very me, and gorgeous fingerless gloves in colours that remind me of berry crumble. Then, because I gave Princess her Christmas present early, she gave me mine: more gorgeous yarn inspired by the Vincent episode of Doctor Who.

I'm in heaven.

And the card had me about misty eyed in the pub.

I kind of feel badly that mine wasn't as poetic.... more piratic.

Ah, well. At least it was very me.

Thankee Princess. You're the best.

Post-Birthday Blog

Going to keep this short 'n' sweet not only because doing so is so very me, but also because it's an ungodly hour of the night and I have to get to sleep.

For those of my friends and loved ones that keep track of what blatherings I put on here: Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, and with the entirety of my being, for all the wonderful birthday wishes. You all made what could have been a hard, trying, and above all, long day into a spectacularly great one. I send you all hugs and good karma and love.

I'm also continuing the wave of good feelings and making a list of things that I definitely need to get done, for one reason or another. I'm still psychotically busy, so I'm very glad I didn't attempt NaNoWriMo this year, but now that I have a list, I can definitely get things crossed off. Since I'm a new age, it's a new year, so I'm making some resolutions: the first of which is to get myself back into the cleaning habits mom built up when I was younger (do one massive clean to get it all to ground zero, and/or then there's one thing to do a day, and then one day a weekend where an hour is spent taking care of the other stuff). I can do this. I know I can.

Further efforts are being made on the front of taking care of myself. My physical health is really quite poor at this point and must be remedied. Sadly, my gym membership has been gathering dust with all the schedule changes. Damn my lack of routine.

And no, not much of any of this has anything to do with knitting, but such are stealth projects and the impending holiday season.

Off to bed now. Ta!

Interjection

Dear Other Tea Store That Is Not The One In Ottawa:

Thank you for your offerings, they are delicious. Thank you also for being redonkulously expensive and proving that my favourite Tea Store is still the original and the bestest ever.

Love,
Me

*******

Dear Holiday Projects:

Please learn to knit/crochet yourselves by telekinywhatenousis or by yourself. I apparently am incapable of growing four extra arms.

Love,
Me

*******

Dear Bank Account:

I'm the one that's supposed to lose weight. Not you. Stop that.

Yours,
Me

*******

Dear Everyone Else:

I'm very sorry. You'd think with all this fibre I'd be regular (har har). I'm still in Holiday mode and have no other projects going on that I can blab about. Except the spinning. But I don't have pictures of that yet, because I've been busy.

Repentantly,
Me

*******

Dear Kitchen:

We're going to have a serious talk later. It's time.

Me

Apologies

I have been stuck in the realm of Christmassy/stealth crafting and still have nothing viable to post. I'm almost tempted to go out and pick up some dishcloth cotton of various flavours to alleviate this lack of stuff on the blog.

There's also a lot of black apathy floating around me lately, which is a shame, but I'm doing what I can to drag myself out of it. Have switched to a morning shift for the next week which should help some; I'll be able to get some sunshine.

Maybe I should also splurge on some vitamin D.

Drive By Blogging

Can't Blog. Too busy with super stealthy holiday projects. Still not dead. Have some spindling, my newest obsession, to tide you over until I can go off with the big photo-reveal of the massive amount of fun stuff I've been playing with.

Lookit the pretty yarn I've made! See? Not dead. That's my hand. No zombification present.... and that's the ugly cop before I re-wound it on the spindle. It looks much nicer now. Trust me.

Check in and Confession Time

Not dead!

I keep meaning to blog and post things, but I keep not doing it, because I'm bad or something.

I still haven't taken a picture of my lovely new hat.

But I did get my hair taken care of. I had a hair appointment! It was awesome. I'm so going back to that hair salon again. This is the nicest my hair has felt in a long time.

Nothing else new on the knitting front, really, just working through in progress projects; and then I have to wait for yarn to show up and I have to ship things off to get feedback on them.... and then blanket...

Urgh, not enough time in November.

Now for confession time:

I'm a grown up.

I know. Scary. Shocking. Horrifying. But true.

I'm a grown up.

Wanna know how I figured this out?

It's simple: I went down to the bank, and started an RRSP, and a Tax-Free Savings Account.

Yep. Thinking about my future, waaaaaay down the road.

I'm a grown up.

I'm celebrating with cookies and ice cream.

In Memoriam

Today marks the first casualty of the season. I have lost the Purple Slouchy Goodness hat. It decided that I wasn't cool enough for it, and it needed freedom. The Bus Gods called it home and the Fibre Powers That Be agreed. I swear I thought I'd put it in my bag properly but apparently I hadn't. Now it's gone.

I'd be sad, but I'm too excited to make myself another hat.

Spindle!

Roger finally showed up, after being held (unintentionally) hostage for a week by my landlady. Here's his debutante ball photo shoot:

Freshly unpacked with the sample bat supporting him, and the next in line to spin, from NGY, nearby (plus candy! Om nom nom!)

He was ready for a closeup, but his powers are too awesome and mucked with the flash.

My first attempts! He's no longer nekkid!

Did I forget to mention he has a cute butt?

My first ever handspun! Test batt all yarnified.

 So yeah. Major picture spam, but I'm very proud and happy to have him.

Now on to working on this Blue Faced Leicster braid from Nerd Girl Yarns in the colourway named Gallifrey. The BFL feels really weird after the merino. This is going to take some practice

Ahhhh... Lovely...

Dear Trish:

I can't tell you how happy it made me to have you compliment my shawl today. The sense of satisfaction I got from your simple words filled me with an indelible joy. I loved finally being able to say "I made it myself" with a feeling of pride (unlike with my crochet projects, because I think they're cheating, they're so easy).

You're the best, and I don't think I'll ever tell you why. Though I did say today that you're awesome.

Cheers,
Me

----

In other news:

Spindle!

Heeeeeeee.

And it's perfect timing because NGY fluff showed up today, too. So I've already forgiven my landlady for not being able to sync up with me when I was home to deliver the box sooner.

Pictures later.

Action Shot

BAM

Finished shawl. Unblocked, but still full of awesome. I'm surprised I can wear it this close to my skin, but I'm claiming it's because of the blend: Merino, Cashmere and Nylon.

I am going to cuddle this thing forever. I'm so proud that I finished it, and so proud that I only made one mistake during the whole dang thing, and said mistake was stupendously easy to fix. (okay there was a second mistake found but that was on the bind off row, and that was just a loss of a yarnover; also easily resolved)

Pattern: Whippoorwill
Yarn: Nerd Girl Yarns Come Hither
Fibre blend: 80% superwash merino, 10% cashmere, 10% nylon
Colourway: Remember, remember the fifth of November (from the Random Fandom yarn club)
Skeins: 2
Project name: Whip Her Well (because I can't read whippoorwill without changing it, and the colourway and pattern name combined reminded me of the scene in V for Vendetta when V was torturing Evey).

Now.... to find something else to cast on... Entrelac, anyone?

Recovery Mode: Activate!

Today's knitting has completely messed with my head. I had a whole bunch of other stuff I was going to blog about and post up here just to share, but I honestly can't remember a word of it because I'm so freaked out by what I went through today.

I learned to crochet first. Crochet, by nature, takes up a whole lot more yarn than knitting does. It's just a fact. That's how it works. I've been crocheting since I was in my early teens, so I'm very used to how a crochet project will be going along swimmingly and the ball of yarn will shrink quite rapidly. I know how to estimate how much yarn I have left for a crochet project. I can say for certain that this shrunken little thing will get me so far in this stitch pattern.

Knitting, I haven't been doing as long. Probably 3 full years, all told. So I don't know how to estimate stuff like that. So when I'm knitting along on a shawl, and each row I do increases the width by two stitches, I get a little concerned. Then I look over at the ball of yarn, and it's barely changed shape. I went through this on the first part of the shawl pattern, when that first ball just kept going, and going, and going... Then I did a Russian Join on the second ball and started in on the second section. The number of stitches per row were getting up in the 300's and then 400's... and the ball of yarn started noticeably getting smaller. I got closer and closer to the end of the pattern, and that ball got worryingly small. I kept pushing, determined to get as far as I could until it was down to this:

That's a bottle of Dr. Pepper in the upper right hand corner, to give you something of a sense of perspective. That ball there is only slightly bigger around than the bottle itself. When I took that picture I had four rows to go, including the bind off. 561 stitches, then 563 stitches, then an eyelet row of 565, and a bind off row of 565 stitches... 2254 stitches in total, of fingering weight yarn, on size six needles. If you're not a knitter, I don't know why you're here, so I can't explain how intense this situation was for me. I got through the 561, and the ball didn't look that different. Then the 563, and the ball suddenly looked small and weak; like other balls of yarn would have picked it off in a hunt.

I knew I was stressing at this point. I could feel my knitting get tighter. I tried really hard to relax, but I could still feel how the yarn sat differently on the needles. Trying to breathe, I put the whole thing down for a second to take a break and let my hands dry off. Then I threw on a movie that I knew would leave me relaxed and thinking about something else: Mystery Science Theatre 3000 - The Movie; the lines in that movie are practically memorized at this point, so with it on I'm more focused on saying the lines with the right timing than anything else. With my mood chilled out I kept on going. Finished the first 565 and looked at that sad little remnant of yarn sitting on my desk. I was worried, but I wanted to see how far I could go; wanted to get some idea of how much of the other yarn I might need to use for the bind off. I looked over the pattern and I realized that I would have to bind off in a different sized needle.

Thank heavens for my Knit Picks Interchangeables. Took off the one size 6 end, and put on the size 8 the pattern called for. Queued up another movie (Disney's Mulan) and started in on the bind off.

All 565 stitches of it. Standard knit bind off.

Long and boring.

Thank heavens for the movie. I stopped paying attention to the yarn, and let the Disney magic fill my mind and let my knitter out to play. In the middle of binding off, I even caught where I'd missed a yarnover in the previous row, and picked it up to correct that missing eyelet. My conscious self, that part of me that was taking a back seat to the knitter, was absolutely amazed at how I caught it. The knitter just scoffed; this is nothing, I've fixed worse.

Then, the unexpected happened.

I was done.

All 565 stitches were bound off loosely.

They did what I wanted them to: they made little purl bumps and kept the eyelets open all along the edge.

You can't really tell from this picture, but the eyelets are there, and gorgeous.

Then I took a moment to weave in all the ends, and make sure there weren't any weird bits sticking out, and tried it on for the first time. No pictures of that yet. My hair is a mess from mussing it up in frustration, and I'm in full weekend mode.

After all that was said and done, I looked over on my desk to see this:

Do you believe that? That's about the same size the ball of yarn was when I started the first 565 stitch row. It still looks small and puny, but there's still more yarn there! How the heck to knitters *deal* with this miracle?? I knit and knit and kept knitting and knit some more, and the rows got absolutely massive, and I still have bits leftover. Consider my mind completely blown.

Many thanks to Babelglyph and Langwidere from the NGY Ravelry group for offering to hack into their own skeins of the same yarn if I ran out. Please accept my apologies for even making such a thought necessary. I will learn to have more faith in my abilities and in the pattern requirements, and in the contents of the skeins. Your generosity was heartwarming beyond belief, and I am truly touched by it. Thank heavens it's all over, and totally gorgeous, to boot.

Now I just have to learn how to block. Tomorrow may include a field trip for foamy mat things, and pins.

And a grownup drink or two to celebrate.

I Am Slowly Going Crazy...

This is the shawl that never ends.
Yes it goes on and on my friends.
Some people started knitting it not knowing what it was.
And they will still be knitting it forever just because....

It only keeps getting bigger.

It's so very huge.

And yet, so incredibly beautiful...

I'm going to go knit some more.

Update To Reminders

Caitzilla's set all together and looking fine (even if sans buttons) - Check

Caitzilla's fingerless gloves - Check, even if it's just one. I can't take pictures of both my hands at the same time, dammit.

Jekyll and Hyde socks - Check even though the colours are really washed out because of the flash. They're much richer in person

Beetlejuice socks (sorry fogisbeautiful) - Check. The apology is for a buddy on Ravelry that had requested a picture. These colours are also washed out because of the flash. The purple is deeper, and the green gets way more neon.

Whip-Her-Well shawl - Check. Although I did ten more rows on it at work today, each row being along the longest curve at the bottom there... and is actually longer now because each of those ten rows increased the length of the row by two stitches each... so I added 20 more stitches to my labour of love today. It was really really slow at work.

See? I've been productive!

Reminder Post

Okay I have to take pictures of:

Caitzilla's set all together and looking fine (even if sans buttons)
Caitzilla's fingerless gloves
Jekyll and Hyde socks
Beetlejuice socks (sorry fogisbeautiful)
Whip-Her-Well shawl

Don't let me forget!

Quick Ranty Update

1) The dryers in my building's laundry room are almost on the fritz. Which means I'm up later than I wanted to be.

2) They turned the heat on. One temperature gauge for three buildings, and some people apparently don't know how to layer. This means trying to get some kind of comfortable balanced temperature in this apartment without making myself sick (again).

3) I'm seriously debating my sanity with all the things I have decided I want to make. I have to put some works in progress into hibernation so I can get rocking on other projects.

4) I have no idea what I'm doing for NaNoWriMo next month.

The good stuff:

I was up late enough to dye my hair. Should look good, even if I just realized that I picked my mother's natural hair colour... That's another can of worms I can't tackle tonight. Ugh.

I'm getting a lot of great progress on my translation book. I have no idea if it's going to work or make sense, but I'm going to try.... and I may even be brave enough to hand it to someone else to submit it to a publisher. It's something unique in the world of fibre crafts.

There's probably a lot more but I can't make sense of my tangle of thoughts so: neener, neener I'm off to bed.

The Morning After

I've slept. Lots. And well, too. I can always tell when I have a good sleep: my hair goes from being ruler straight to all kinds of kinky and wavy.

So far no drama llama tendencies. I'm going to knit and watch movies I've seen before... ooo crud, I have to write something first. Okay, write, then knit with movies.

It's seriously Fall outside today (all grey and overcast) so pictures aren't going to be forthcoming yet. The weirdest part? According to various weather thingies, it's 20C outside (that's something like... 60F? maybe 70? hang on, I'll go do math... 67) Hopefully the rain clouds will finally dissipate at some point before the sun sets and I can take pictures.

Saturday Hates Me Too

It was fine until I hit the wall. I was producing, the words were flowing, everything was going great, and then WHAM. Wall. Not writer's block, no. Something more insidious.

Ignorance.

The ignorance, willful or otherwise, of the general populous. People that buy things and allow them to be installed in their home without learning how to use them, how to maintain them, or how to set them up. Then the follow through of that state of bliss is the entitlement. That "I can't do this so dammit someone should do it for me... for free, because I don't think I should have to pay someone to do something I can't be arsed to learn".

I can only hope that some day an application will pan out, and I can go back to pretending that people like that don't exist. It is a sad state the world is in, it truly is.

On the lighter side of the news: I did get a whole lot of writing done on my book thing. Well, I say a whole lot, but it really doesn't look like much on paper. No pictures. Gotta arrange that once I get more of the draft going. I did let some snippets out into the world as a part of my self-validation campaign (I needed praise, I wasn't in a good place that day), and was told that I was wrong as wrong could be: what I write is not shit only fit for burning and burying at a crossroads so it cannot harm the general populace. Apparently I just wrote a first draft. From what the test audience said, it's supposedly a good first draft with an exciting direction. And I'm never allowed to refer to this work as anything other than a first draft anymore.

Point and hint taken. I will be less harsh on myself and I will write more.

On the knitting side of things: I'm working on a different shawl now, this one seems to be going better than the first or second shawls I have attempted. I think that's because the first shawl I attempted was started with some mystery fibre in butter yellow. The second shawl is some serious lace, with all kinds of charts that I am having a hard time following. I'll get them both done eventually, but this third one is a whole lot of stockinette so far, interspersed with rapid areas of increases. Not bad. Learning the best way to do a M1. I'm liking the lifted bar M1 so far. Or at least what I'm doing and calling a lifted bar. The yarn is delicious, too. Definitely glad I picked up that destash offer and got the second skein. It's knitting up lovely.

Yes I'll post pictures when I can.

To close this, I'm going to take a moment to relieve some of the stress and pressure of the thoughts on my mind. Feel free to stop reading here. This next part will be a pity party of epic proportions where I will hang myself on my ebony cross with my solid gold diamond engraved nails.

I really haven't been able to shake this wretched feeling of the past week. Every day, I find something new to be upset at, something new to be irritated at. Mix this with hormonal shifting of the feminine kind, and my face turning into the disaster of the Exxon-Valdez and it doesn't put me in a good place. I feel gross, like I'm still not well from the bronchitis; my face feels like there's bugs crawling under my skin; and, because I haven't been sleeping well either, I can't wake up to make myself go to the gym to try and take care of myself. Sometimes it feels like I have an answer, and that I know what's wrong and I have fixed it; I can be fit for human consumption again. Then some other teeny little thing sets me off down the roller coaster again.

The worst part is that I can't find a good outlet for it. My twisted little brain thinks that the best way to cope with all this negativity is to create more negativity by lashing out at those I love. TOH and TBF and Princess and Cait and Nikki and Leigh and Krys.... you guys don't deserve that. If this was just some standard bad day stuff, I'd blow off some steam with one of you and it'd be fine. This is some real malicious meanness that wants to crawl out of me, with no true discernible source and, apparently, no end. I'm trying to play nice, but every day that passes makes me want to curl up away from the world to protect you all so I just implode on myself, instead of saying something to cause drama or hurt you. I don't know if that's selfish or not. It's just starting to hurt, wearing this mask of "I'm All Right".

Don't freak out. I'm not stupid, despite what I might think. I'm going to sleep, do what I can to try to take care of myself and make sure that tomorrow is better than today.

Okay, done with all that. It probably sounds like all kinds of "Dammit, tell me I'm pretty!", but I'm only trying to get this out of my system to make some sense show up in my head. Can't keep letting it weigh on me.

Besides, I have buttons to hunt down. That can't be such a bad thing, right?

Friggin Thursday...

I am much like Arthur Dent in that I could never, ever get the hang of Thursdays. It seems to be the longest most tiring, drudging day of the week for me.

Thank heavens I came home to yarn.

Too bad I don't have enough light to take pictures to share.

Required Post

Talking with Caitzilla, I gave in to the urge, and she summed it up like this:

It's 12:30 in the morning. I want to cast-on but I should go to sleep. Fuck it. YOLO BITCHES



Banzai!

Apologies

I've been very remiss in blogging lately. It's very bad of me, and I'm sorry. It means I've been subjecting poor TOH to more of my fibrey ramblings. Poor man.

Bought a spindle. Custom job done just for me. I've made a deal with myself: If I get a chore done, then I can get more fibre for spinning. So if I get the kitchen cleaned, I can get some Merino. The bathroom means Polwarth. The bedroom? Corriedale. If I can get the whole apartment clean, I'll be allowed to get alpaca.

Doing a hat in NGY Clever, the colourway is Stellar Debris. Cue pic spam!

One of the two balls all wound up. SO pretty. Oh good lords it's gorgeous.

That's the first bit of the ribbing. Looking pretty good. I wasn't sure what it was going to do held double and I wasn't sure that I liked it at this point.

Then I got into the actual body of the hat, and I started to like it a little more. Sorry, the flash kind of ruined the colours. I have to try to remember not to take pictures at night.

And just now... I am so loving this. I just need to find two buttons, about an inch in diameter that are black and sparkly. I'm so adoring this pattern. And I desperately love this yarn. It's absolutely gorgeous. It feels so very very good. I never thought I'd love 100% Merino this much but I do, and these colours... oh heavens. Lawks, even.

So I was away for a while, but please forgive me, because I did give you knittery things.

There's Noro Place Like Home

I was away for the weekend, visiting The Other Half and finishing up my "sweet goddess kill me now" plague. On the way down, I got to find out that the outlets on the bus weren't working, so my laptop died after one movie, which was good, got a good chunk of the trip taken care of; Detroit to Toledo. A lady got on at Toledo and sat next to me just after I'd put the laptop away and pulled out the knitting. We spent the next three plus hours talking, and I was knitting almost the entire time. I only stopped to teach her how to knit, and then how to crochet (I love having all my tools with me). I didn't realize it then but when I got off the bus at my destination, Cincinnati, I had gone through half of each ball. And I didn't even knit from Dayton to Cincinnati because it had gotten too dark and I didn't feel like turning on the light.

Knit a bit over the weekend, when I could. I spent a lot of time in bed, passed out, attempting to get well. Did a bunch during two movies and... wait... three movies, I came downstairs at one point on Saturday and watched Shaun of the Dead (one of my many favourites). Sunday was two back-to-back movies with mucho knitting time, and then the latest episode of Doctor Who. I thought I would cry during that episode, but I spent more time being paranoiac and freaked out; then relieved at the end. It was upsetting, but it didn't tear me up as much as certain episodes with the Ninth Doctor or the Tenth Doctor. I remember bawling like a lost child while making my way through those series. I think it's because the Eleventh Doctor doesn't have the depth and subtlety of acting that Nine or Ten did. Eleven is all "go big or go home" and it doesn't tug at my heartstrings as much. Still sucky, still emotion inducing, just not "Oh good gods how am I going to go on living? I will never stop crying. Not. Ever."

Wait... I was talking about something else... Oh yeah! Knitting.

(Wow. I got sidetracked from Knitting. Take note everyone: I have an obsession/love greater than fibre. Scary.)

Anyways, I did a whole bunch of work on the scarf during those movies/shows and I could see that I was getting close to the end of the k1p1 ribbing (yay) and the end of the delicious colour variation (boo). Well, when I got on the bus to come back to my main base, it wasn't a fancy newfangled bus that could allow me to hook up my laptop and be entertained that way; so I pulled out the scarf and finished that sucker. I used up as much of those balls as I possibly could. There's only a few inches from each colourway left (and Leftoversushi gets the leftovers because she turns them into awesome. Don't believe me? Check her profile on Ravelry.

So now I have this totally gorgeous scarf that's finished and pretty and long kinda hanging around my apartment. I have no idea who to give it to. I can't wear it, it would irritate my skin. I am also not blissfully in love with the colours. Don't get me wrong, they're stunning and gorgeous, and do this sexy "winter/fall" melding together. But they're not me.

And it is way too late to get any pictures.

I'll figure something out tomorrow. For now: getting something to eat, taking my last antibiotic, and relaxing myself into zen...

Oh! and casting on a pair of socks.

Easily Influenced

I'm finding that on these incredibly awesome cold medicines, I am highly susceptible to the power of suggestion. I'm also very willing to do things for my friends.

Please, dearest friends, don't start asking for yarn. I have things I need it all for and can't give it away.

Anyways. Sitting here working on the draft for my knit thing and Caitzilla asked to see pictures of the Scotty hat.

So I'm going to break my own rule and post pictures that include my own head. Shocking.

Funny... The hat actually looks better now that it's had time to sit. Very strange. I may not rip it back at all.

And because someone will comment: the mess on the couch is my attempt to organize my stash, and the box on the background is sitting on my mini-fridge because I've been trying to clean. Bronchitis makes it harder than it should be.

Also for your viewing pleasure: the crocheted slouchy hat I've dubbed "Purple Thing".

Much cuter on me when my hair isn't mussed.

And a blast from the past: the "Pink Thing" cowl I crocheted out of.... yes it was Christmas yarn.

No, no picture of it on me, because orange and pink, at least that very serious pink, and the pumpkin orange I'm wearing would clash horribly, and I'm too... er... what was the word I wanted... too out of it to change.

So, back to working on this:

Because it's technically only halfway done, and it's super simple for my addled brain to concentrate on. This picture was actually taken with a flash, so the colours are... well they're actually a little bit washed out, to be honest. Much richer in person. I'm loving it so much and can't wait to knit another one. Which is an odd thing to say about k1p1 ribbing, but there you have it. I'm entertained by the pretty colours.

So there you go, Caitzilla, your request has been fulfilled. Here's hoping I made sense. Back to movies and knitting and trying to ignore the odd taste in my mouth from the antibiotics.

She's Down for the Count Folks!

Bronchitis. Official. Have stuff. Taking it. Going to knit easy stuff. Sleep. Watch movies or something. Should get some pictures of stuff taken.

Maybe later, when I have more brains in.

--Update--

Blech. Antibiotics side effect: change in taste. My mouth feels like I've been chewing on kitty litter. Or... what's that stuff... Like I've had a flouride treatment. That icky dentist tray that always gets filled with icky powdery feeling paste.

Thinking I deserve some homemade mac and cheese for this.

Almost Normal

Whatever plague I caught is almost gone. Just dealing with the leftovers. And yes, I am very well aware that it's 2 in the morning where I'm at. There was a scary noise that woke me up and I can't identify the cause so I'm very very awake at this point. Had it been a certain blue box, or a vampire, or a lycanthrope of some flavour, I would be off enjoying my new life. It wasn't any of those, so I'm decidedly "freaked the frak out" as those crazy kids are wont to say (or something, it's too early and too late, at the same time, to try to make much more sense than I am making right now).

I finished the Scotty hat and... I don't like it. It's the acrylic, I know it is. As much as I like the fact that I can wear that hat, it doesn't drape properly because of the yarn. I could, and probably should, wash it a few times to soften it and get it so that it'll do its thing properly, but I almost can't be bothered. I'm tempted to just rip the whole thing, seams and all, and figure out something else to do with that swack of blue. Not sure yet. Don't want to do anything hasty, you know.

Been working on the Noro scarf still. The colour changes are getting more intriguing. I don't think they're for me, but I like them nonetheless. I'm planning out the next one I'm going to make already. Starting to wonder if I'm mad, but I know any other process knitter... heck any other knitter knows what I'm going through. "This thing was so much fun and so beautiful and easy that I must make more!" It's like socks. (Speaking of, I have lots more socks to cast on... blimey).

Spindle has been fully painted. It was varnished last night, and should get shafted in the next couple days. Then a test spin by the artisan, and it will be winging its way out to me. Then I get to pick out and purchase my first fluffy stuff! Exciting! I am going to learn to be tri-craftual! Even though technically I'm try-craftual already: I'll try any craft at least once.

What do I have already? Cross stitch, sewing, beading, small box loom weaving, friendship bracelets, crochet, knitting... now spinning. Amazing. The last three seem to have been able to hold my interest the longest. Here's hoping for a long and glorious future of creating!

Still Zombiefied

The garter stitch is done, now I'm fighting the seams: garter stitch to bind off edge. Unfortunately I got one seam done yesterday, and then had all kinds of craziness happen with the illness. I'm... not sure what went on... Still woozy. I missed all of today. I remember waking up a couple times, only enough to take more of the green goo...

Everything is still fuzzy. I'm going to get soup. And something to drink.... probably coffee or something. I can't think properly.

Zombiefied

So I got sent home for being plague ridden today. Very sick. Partying with the green fairy that is the deliciousness that is NyQuil. Left me kinda woogy (yes that's a technical term). I'm being entertained by garter stitch....

Garter stitch.

Rows and rows and rows of knit.

And I'm delighted by it. Must be the short rows.

And the green goo.

MMMMMMM goo.

So yeah, almost done Scotty's Hat, the pattern someone linked to me on Ravelry, and using up the Demon Sweater leftovers. But there's so much left....

I'm going back to being woogy and knitting endless garter stitch.... for the next, um... hang on..... 9 rows. Sorry, had to count.

One Hundred!

Break out the champagne and mourning wear! Woo one hundred posts! Yay I did it! I'm keeping up with my blog and getting the knitting stuff out there so I don't drive the rest of the human race that comes into contact with me absolutely bonkers with my obsession/compulsion! Hooray!

Why the mourning? Because I just added up everything I spent this month on yarn and fibrey things. I am WAY off course and have to go on a yarn diet. For the sake of my budget, my ability to eat, and my ability to get to work. I have to stop. Time to make do with what I have, and finish a whole bunch of things I have started. Time to be good, and responsible, and do what's necessary before what's fun.

They can pry my yarn club out of my cold dead fingers though. There is no way in any definition of anything that I'm giving that up now. You hear me Christa? I love your work so much I'm willing to give up all kinds of necessities for you.

Doesn't help that my only utility bill is getting way out of whack because the pricing is some serious bullmalarky. I'll get that sorted though.

Started making a hat similar to the one Scotty wore in the newest Star Trek movie. Promised myself I wasn't going to cast it on, but there it is. Nice soothing garter stitch with the occasional interesting short row thrown in. It's going to be massive, and it's going to chew nicely through that whack of blue acrylic I have hanging around.

Finished another Christmas present for Step-mum, but it's going out to her early for sizing purposes. I have to know if what I did fits right to make sure the other two are also perfect. Shoot, if I need to cast something on, I should be casting those on. I'm a doofus! **checks time** I'll do it in the morning. When there's light.

Ripped and re-started Dad's Christmas present again. This is the 5th incarnation.... no, I tell a lie, it's the 6th. Dad, please stop being so hard to knit for. I'm kidding, of course. I just have to pick patterns I like the first time. This one is turning out lovely; subtle, masculine, goes with anything. It's going to be soft and squooshy and warm. And not wool. That's very important.

Note to self: If you finish things,you'll get the cables back from them and then can move on to other projects that need to be on longer straights but not psychotically long ones (what was I thinking getting 40" cables for my KnitPicks interchangables?)

So anyways. It's official. One Hundred Posts and a yarn diet....

One that will start right after I've gotten the stuff for the swap...

Boy is it a good thing that I don't have a credit card.

Sweet Mother of Pearl

Oh my good gods. I have been so very very remiss in keeping myself healthy. Especially my upper body. I feel better now that I've been to the gym a second time, but holy monkies ow.

Dear Triceps:

No, I don't hate you. Really. No, seriously, I don't. This is for your own good. It builds character. It hurts me more than it hurts you. I still love you, I promise.

Now stop hurting.

Love,
Me

Had a nice lady at the gym take time away from her busy schedule to quickly walk me through the machines and my goals and appropriate weight levels. I think I underestimated my abilities on some of them. No I don't want to injure myself, but the last three reps (out of twelve) should be a push.... and on too many machines they weren't. Especially the leg lifty things. No, I don't remember the name, but 90 is too light. I have to go up one bar weight level. Thingie. No, I don't know what it's actually called. (I probably do, but I can't think of it right now, and I'm imagining my Dad reading this and doing that "oh dear lord" face/sigh thing he does... it makes me laugh).

Anywho!

On track for being more awesome and healthy. Three months I want to see some results, and then I get to stick with it, to infinity and beyond!

Cast on a new project last night. I know I shouldn't have but it was too tempting. I'm bad and should finish stuff. More on knitting later.

Checking In

Been AWOL for a bit, changing over to a new schedule and basically living life.

Princess got me signed up for the gym. I'm doing healthy things for myself and so I'll get to deal with my body being all pissy about that. But it's good for me in the long run. Lord knows my father will be singing her praises.

Haven't been knitting because I've been off. Decided to crochet something instead. Made a hat. TOH made comments about it like it was Jayne's hat from Firefly. Can't figure out if that means he likes it or not. It's comfy, and purple, and it fits me (for once) so I'm keeping it, and if anyone thinks it's ugly, then that's their beef.

Got my prize from NGY in the mail last week. Took it in to work so everyone could experience the wibbly-wobblyness of it. Wore the glasses for a couple hours. That was fun. Got all kinds of looks. It's nice being odd.

Hoping random fandom shows up soon. Plus the other yarns I ordered for various other purposes. Have to get stuff mailed off soon, too. Can't keep making excuses. Got people expecting stuff.

Oh and I have to pick up circular sock needles. Going to do a bit of a self-made knit along thingie for socks. Going to see if anyone else might be interested, too. Love Ravelry for that. Can always find friends there.

Actually trying to keep this short. That's about all. Oh, note to self, let my family know I'm not dead, and really try harder not to fall off the face of the planet so much, k? Thanks me.

Self-Esteem/Ego Trip

It hurts being so awesome, sometimes.

I hope you know what I'm talking about. Those moments where you weild your particular skill with such precision and elann and dexterity that you just blow everyone off the field of combat. That moment where you pull something off that others deemed impossible. That instant where you feel absolutely in control, powerful, intelligent... like a super hero.

Then someone throws a little speck of kryptonite into the icing on your awesome cake...

You're still awesome. You still totally rock. You just did something no one else did; that changed the mind of the person you did it for.... but because you couldn't put forth that laaaaast little bit... You know you're going to hit the bitter part of the bittersweet victory.

Take tonight. Have a guy on the phone. Fix his internet issue. No one else did. Months of calls in, and a technician in his home, able to see the issue, and they didn't fix it. I remote in to the trouble system, figure out that he's using the wrong connection, get him on the right connection and rock his internet world.... but can I fix his e-mail problem? No. Is that going to be held against me? Yes.

I am so awesome. But I'm not perfect.

Thank heavens for that by the way. Being perfect would suck. It would mean less opportunities to learn, and then life would be boring. I wouldn't have anything interesting to knit, because I would know it all already.

Dull!

I'll stay signed up for my lifetime supply of Not Perfect But Ready And Willing To Learn, thank you very much.

Quick Update

Middle of my nice little weekend away and I figured I'd pop in here for a quick little update.

Sock progress was made on the second of Step-Mum's socks. I have decided unequivocally to send them off to her early to make sure she can size them for me. I have to know if they will fit so I can make sure the other two pairs are perfect (they're using Blue Moon Fibre Arts yarns, so I'm going to be more particular about them).

I have to remember to pick up a couple sets of circular needles. One of the many lovely ladies in the NGY/Cluster Cuss gangs I frequent on Ravelry suggested I look into the HiyaHiya Sharps. So next paycheque a couple of those will be making their way over to me. Just think... two at a time, toe up on magic loop. I'm turning into a machine.

Another reminder: tweak the outline for the knitting guide, and let Our Lady of Nerdy Yarn know what I'm planning. Additional: order those skeins of bulky weight for the booklet thingie. Yay for combining hobbies! Knitting, Crochet and writing.

Oh and check Etsy for an update on the spindle... and budget for fibre.

I love me, but boy am I an expensive date.

In still other news: (crud send Princess a note) I'm going to be taking Princess up on her offer to be gym buddies. I figure I can get in on the membership deal she mentioned and do something good for myself. I'm not healthy right now, and I have to get healthy. I'd much rather get healthy and spend time with a really cool person who is turning out to be a really good friend (making me eat my words notwithstanding).

So much for just a quick update, huh?

The Demon Sweater has been delivered, and, as I expected, received well, and will be used for it's intended purpose: a basement/weekend sweater. The Other Half noted the seams I was so disappointed with, and it's even bigger on him than I had expected. Next time: not quite so wide in the shoulders, and add a little to the overall length... In fact, scrap that pattern entirely and whip up something that actually suits him a little better: vertical patterns, cables, probably a cardigan, maybe even a big shawl collar if I'm doing it in bulky weight so it could pass as a jacket. Hell, buy those dang leather patches and sew them on to the elbows even. But not that horizontal striping shallow scoop neck ever again. Totally doesn't suit.

Hence why no action shots.

That sweater will, hopefully, be unconsciously relegated to exactly where it belongs, where it was made for; the back of the chair in the man cave for those occasions where he might get a bit nippy and need an extra layer for his arms.

The socks went over better, and three cheers for the cold weather that's going to be rolling in soon so they can see some use!

Bed time for me. Long, long, long day tomorrow.

It's gonna be so worth it.

Comeuppance

I'm to be hoisted by my own petard.

You see this? This is a finished sock. It's done. Waiting for its mate. You can see that long, long tail... Lovely thing the kitchener stitch.

And you know what?

She won.

I'm going to be made to eat my own words.

I hope you're happy, Princess.

Little Absentee...

Just a teensy weensy little bit. Really. Not that long at all. Despite it feeling like forever, and yet no time at all, in my head.

Found Doctor Who. Said that in my last post. How people can knit and watch that at the same time I'll never know. Going to be getting them all. Even the original stuff, even the black and whites. I want to follow it through.

Took a break, though. Had to. Worried I'm getting weird because of it (probably just the messed up sleep schedule more than anything). Decided to track down Sherlock instead.... Yeah.

If anyone reading this has not seen Sherlock, stop reading now and go watch it. No I'm serious. You have to. It's funny, witty, intense, brilliant... the writing and treatment and adaptation is gorgeous (not to mention the main characters, yes I still love you TOH). You just have to get there. The acting too, just brilliant, and subtle, the changes and emotions and little betrayals of thought. I wish I knew how Cumberbatch did it all, but it's so seamless... Just get some of that, all right?

Still working on the sock. It's crazy doing 8.5 inches of stockinette. Hopefully the night will stay rather lackadaisical and I will be able to put a sizeable dent into it. I'm just glad I remembered how long to make the foot without needing the other sock to figure it out.

Instant addendum: it's not really crazy doing 8.5 inches of stockinette, especially not when it took me four years to put together one of the most simple sweater patterns out there. It just seems like that because my mind is whirling around in one direction, and the yarn is whirling around in the opposite direction. My mind is filled with fantastical thoughts and daydreams about Sherlock and Doctor Who, swinging between them on barely a whim. It's incredible. My imagination hasn't been given a shot like this in.... well, unfortunately, in a good long while.

Just over two months until NaNoWriMo, too. Good lord, what shall I do for that one? Hmmm....

Letters to Nowhere

Dear TOH:

I love you with everything. We have to come to an understanding, though. If a strange, eccentric 900 year old alien with a blue box that's bigger on the inside shows up, I'm leaving. I'm grabbing the stash and the tools and my laptop with hard drive and probably a change of clothes and I'm gone. I'm sorry. Blame the Doctor. Blame the peer pressure that introduced me to the Doctor.

Ye gods I want it to be real...

Love,
Me

-----------

Dear Rose Tyler from Season 1:

You're an idiot. You make me ashamed. How could you not think that going back and changing something in your own past could muck everything up. I'm disappointed and hurt and want to smack you a good one. You obviously haven't read enough of anything to know that what you did was a very bad idea. Wait, scratch that. It was not just a very bad idea. It was a Very Bad Idea(tm).

You're off my Christmas list, you naughty child.

From,
Miss Cheesed-Off in the Real World

-----------

Back to actual stuff: I finished the gusset and have now moved onto the foot of the blue sock (it's internal proportions are fine, thank you). That ball is looking very small for needing to go another six odd inches... It'll be down to the wire.

At any rate: Back to the Doctor with me.

Keeping On

Sock made major progress last night. Finished the flap, started on the gusset. That ball is looking scarily tiny.... I may win yet, and not have to eat my words! We shall see though. After the gusset I have to get the foot of the sock out to 9 inches. Stockinette doesn't take much, but it's still a long way to go.

In other news: I am a convert. Seriously. I have found the word, and the word is good. I have subscribed to the Church of Doctor Who.

Okay really seriously: why the heck have I waited so long to watch this show? It's bloody brilliant. I only wish I had more of the early episodes so I could get some of these wicked inside jokes. That's the only part that makes me sad.

Thank heavens The Other Half has MechWarrior. He won't even notice I've found a new obsession that cannot be interrupted...... Please let MechWarrior last me through the rest of the seasons.... Please?

WIPs Update, Now With More Pictures!

Starting this while I can ....

This is the progress on the second blue sock for The Other Half. Was a slow knitting night last night, so I only got an inch of leg and then the beginning of the flap on the needles. Hopefully I can finish the flap and get that turn done; need to blast through to the foot for simple, mindless stockinette for about 8 inches... possibly 9... hey honey, can you measure the sock I left for you please? Just from the heel to the base of the toe decreases.

This is the ravellenic games shawl so far. No I don't have any blocking pins (yet) and lace looks like boiled ass until it's blocked.

This was my first attempt at lace. The Goddess shawl from The Anticraft (I'll add links later, I'm a little rushed right now, trying to get this in before I have to catch my bus). The fibre was generously gifted from Knitting Broad N (sweetie I need a better nickname for you), and it's some kind of artificial blend. This pattern is going to be done up one more time in some beautiful blue stuff for a dear friend as a Christmas present, so I have to get my other wips done.

This is my stripey Noro scarf, because the colours of everyone else's have been so gorgeous so I wanted to make one. I just don't know that I picked the right two blends. TOH, could you weigh in on this for me? I am not that great when it comes to colour theory. The grey and black eventually goes to a blue, the red and purple and green is represented quite well there. If it sucks, hon, let me know. I'd rather rip it now, and pass off the yarn I don't like (red, purple, green) to someone who does like it, and get something that would work nicer with the grey, black, blue.

This is my handspun silk scarf. It's pretty short, so I'm probably going to fold the one end over to give it a keyhole effect. It's meant as an accent piece, and will be going to my Step-Mum. Technically it's for Christmas, but she's seen it already. I would do this again in a heartbeat. It was fun, delicious, and fascinated many. I'd also like more practice in getting my silk spinnering even.

This sock has been on here before. But this is the fix I cobbled together after the sweet, darling, pain-in-the-butt dog decided that this sock was tasty. It's not the most glamorous, but it does the job and I'm proud of it.

And this last teeny little picture is the stealth pic of what I'm working up for my Dad for his Christmas present. I'd show more, but I don't know if he's still reading this. This he hasn't seen so I want to do my best to keep it a surprise.

Still on a finishing kick, so now y'all know what I have ahead of me.

I think that's it for now.

Oh, wait. One last note on the sweater: after all my fussing and worrying and trekking across the city. I got to find out, after finishing it, that I had more than enough yarn. I didn't need to buy a third gigantic ball of dark blue acrylic yarn. Urgh.

Also hoping for news on the care package I passed off to Caitzilla; hoping she was okay in getting the stuff to Leftoversushi (yes these are Ravelry names).

Aaaaaaaand, I inquired about getting a spindle built with a custom design on it so I can finally learn how to spin fibres..... Poor TOH now will have to deal with another new obsession of mine. I've been shopping for fluff, and I have some gorgeous Wensleydale locks picked out, and some beautiful Blue Faced Leicester top, but I know my first fluff has to be some Nerd Girl Yarns... because Christa rocks, and deserves all my business.

--Update--
Apparently I can type faster than I thought I could, so the only further updates on this will have to be the links. I'll toss those in later.

Ah... So This is What Dread Feels Like

She's right.

I don't want her to be, but she is.

With every repeat, every row, every stitch the clarion call rings out in my mind:

She's right.

Dammitall.

Why? Why couldn't I see it? Why wouldn't I? Even with other evidence sitting in front of my face. Screaming at me that I should believe. I should trust. It's right and good and there's nothing wrong and everything will be fine. But no. I had to sit there and deny, deny, deny. There's no way it could work. No way possible. It's madness and foolish to think otherwise.

There just couldn't be any way to get two full sized socks out of 400 yards of fingering weight yarn.

You see this foolishness? It's sheer stupidity to think that way. Of course I can get two socks out of that much yarn. The proof is sitting in my stash from the last time I did socks out of this same yarn base, the exact same yardage!

I can't believe myself. I really can't. Now I'm never going to live it down, and Princess is going to make me eat my words. Literally. I know she will.

At least I found another knitter at work today. He's doing a scarf for a cosplay costume he's working on. Keep it up, Tim, and try not to let some 12 feet of garter stitch drive you mad. Nice job on those colour changes, though, very smooth. I'm quite impressed.

Time to Celebrate!

It's DONE.

First thing I'd cast on. My first serious project. Four years in the making, and it's done.

I'm sorry? Beg pardon?

Ends need weaving in? What ends? I see no ends. I'm too busy celebrating my awesomeness.

I'll come to terms with body dysmorphia later. Those sleeves are freaking hugely long. But the body of the sweater fits perfectly with room to spare. It should fit The Other Half just fine. The front definitely needs more breaking in and abuse, you can see the distortion of the back quite obviously. Ah hell, since I got started I can point out my other flaw: the sleeve cast off I'd change next time, and I'd actually learn how to do a proper mattress stitch seam.

BUT

With all that? It's a great weekend sweater. I'm debating making one for myself, if I can figure out the best way to add some shaping on the sides, and change the neckline (I look better with a v-neck).

Scary thought that. I finally finish a sweater I've been busting on for four years, and I suddenly want to make another one... one for myself, though.

However, if I make one for myself, I know exactly which pattern I'm going to use: the Burnside Tunic from KnitPicks.com. It's soooooooo pretty. It tasks me, and I shall have it.

--UPDATE--

Ends woven in. Here's hoping they stay that way. If they don't, I'm going to beat them up. It's totally totally finished. And because it's acrylic: no blocking needed!

Knit Outing Report

Ah... I feel so much better for having had some girlie time today. Thanks to Caitzilla, Knitting Broad N, and Princess for coming out and giving me an estrogen fix.

Yarn was shown and fondled. Gossip was shared. Stress relieved. Friends made. Coffee drank. Food eaten. Laughs had. Great time.

This is Princess' sock. She kindly donned it on her arm so I could show off the pretty pattern. It's so gorgeous, and it's such a pity my camera sucks at catching subtle variegation and accurate colour.

This is an action shot of Caitzilla's first sock!

She was knitting very quickly, trying to get through the ribbing part so it wouldn't feel like she was knitting with an octopus. Started her on top down, dpn socks to get the hard stuff out of the way. It's like learning math in elementary, Cait: they teach you the hard way first so you can then learn the short cuts and understand where they came from and why they work so well. So this is the hard part, and every row will get easier, and then you'll be doing lace and cable designs up and down the leg and foot on two-at-a-time magic loop toe up socks. Even if you don't wear socks, they're pretty awesome to work on.

It was unfortunate that Knitting Broad N had to head out before we got to lunch, she did get a lot of work done on the stuffed animal she's working on as a commissioned piece.

This is the bottom of the body. It's going to be a sizeable thing once it's done, but I hope she can keep the proportions equal. That's quite a bit of progress considering we started the afternoon with me ripping it out for her (only done because I could rip it, and she needed the ripping done anyways; learned the hard way that single crocheting twelve times into one stitch doesn't make for a tight backside).

In my own realm of progress: cast on for the second blue sock (no picture yet, it's only three rows past the ribbing, so there's not much of anything to show) and, far more importantly, I washed The Sweater (it's now so notorious it gets the capitals) and I've started seaming it up. It's so soft now that it's been washed, but the back is still way more stretched out than the front. It'll even up eventually; and this thing isn't supposed to be the height of fashion. I'm making sure not to do each stitch at the top of the sleeves to each row on the body. I'm skipping every third row to make sure there isn't any craziness. I have real progress. To be honest, I was going to start it tomorrow morning, but I was just so excited after I got back from girlie time, and then I got to see The Other Half and.... well I'm a sucker for that smile, and the way his eyes light up like a slot machine that hit the jackpot whenever he's happy... so I washed it, and started in on seaming.

Now I need to figure out what to finish next... probably one of the lace things or somesuch... I just have to resist the urge to cast on the entrelac, now that the sweater is almost done. Come on, willpower, work harder!

Pictures or it Didn't Happen

That's generally how I feel about my knitting. If I can't back it up with photographic evidence, then I might be lying. Not that I would, but this is the internet, and I'm talking about making a physical object. I feel bound and determined to get something out there to make sure that I can back my statements up.

Isn't it a thing of beauty? I like it. You can see in the lower right hand corner that the back is more relaxed than the front. Seaming this is going to be fun and interesting, but I can totally do it. I'm probably going to do for those seams what I did for the shoulders: turn it inside out and sew the seams on the wrong side, then turn it right side out.

And because I'm just so proud of winning the fight:

BOOYAH. Neckband. Collar. Thingie. It almost looks professionally done. Little lumpie things notwithstanding. Oh, and just in case: Dearest, I'm not saying that because I hate the sweater or I didn't have fun doing this part either. I'm saying that because I made it, so I can see all the little niggling titchy things. Unlike you with your art, especially in Photoshop, I can't go back and tweak. I would have to trash the whole thing (again). Every knitter goes through this. I know this because the Yarn Harlot goes through this. If the Harlot has these issues, and she's been knitting almost as long as I've been alive, then every other knitter in the world goes through this. I just happened to call it like it was. The demon's been exorcised though, so there's nothing to fear (except being too warm; had the thing on my lap doing that neckline and holy snotballs I was boiling).

Rounding Third....

Back: done.

Front: done.

Sleeves: done.

Shoulders: joined.

Neck: picked up, stitched, decreased, stitched, cast off.

Now, I get to wash everything to relax it all into some semblance of uniformity, then attach the sleeves and seam them, and do the side seams.

So close. So close I can taste it....

I'd finish it tonight but I've lost the light, and there's no way I'm brave enough to tackle row seaming in low light conditions.

Same with progress photos. I'll do those tomorrow.

Oh yeah, and then I have my girlie afternoon tomorrow, which means getting to start the second socks that need finishing.

This whole finishing kick feels great. It feels weird to not have to do a gigantic sheet of blue. I want something simple to knit now.... so I have a choice: silk, Dad's Christmas knitting, or the Noro.... Hmm... I still have a lot going on. Definitely going to be on this finishing kick for a while yet. Time to enjoy some sense of accomplishment, and get the stash back.... oh yeah I didn't mention that did I? Heh. The stash and WIPs no longer fit in my stash bag. I feel guilty for having a second stash location, but it's better than loose yarn balls all over my couch.

My mind is all over the place because I'm a little shell shocked at where I've gotten to in the sweater. Just flat out dazed and amazed. Little lost, too, because, again, it feels odd to not have a giant sheet of blue in front of me that needs to be knit....

I also put the half finished body over my head to check the sizing.... and I'm not going to psych myself out now. It'll fit me for sure, so it should fit him.

I could still use a drink, just to shut the little doubting mean voice to shut up. Gonna get some water instead, and maybe some hunks of cucumber. The crunch will have to suffice.

The Light! It Burns!

Success! So close! It's blinding! With sheer awesomeness!

In one shift at work, I did half a sleeve. As in four of the 8 and 7/16th repeats that are needed to match the other sleeve. The bulk of the sleeve is ahead, but the night is still young for me (never mind that it's 1:40am EDT) so I'm going to throw on my random movie list and have at it.

Ah shuffle. Thank you for giving me The Shadow after I told you that I didn't want Zoolander. You always know when I'm in the mood for cinematic studmuffin (sorry baby, it's nothing against you). Time to immerse myself in cheese and knit the shit out of this sleeve.

Mmmm Cheese. The Cheese of Light.

It's 1:40 in the morning, don't expect coherence.

Ongoing Sweater Progress

I swear this pattern lies. Increase every 5 rows 21 times, then increase every 4 rows 12 times, and then continue in pattern stitch until the sleeve is 21 inches long....

I'm just starting the every four row increases and it's 19 inches long already!!!

I refuse to make stupidly log sleeves. I'm going to keep at it until I get to the end of the decreases, and then I'm casting off right there. I'll tack it to the sweater body once I'm home and check the proportions.

This sweater is going to be ludicrously slouchy and comfy. Though I suppose I'm learning to modify a pattern on the fly... hmm... good to know I am learning something from this, aside from new combinations of swear words for the mind-boggling nature of all things gauge.

Swatches lie. Swatch anyways. It's madness. And I love every minute of it.

--Update--

The pattern is fighting me. I'm about 4 odd rows away from hitting the 21" mark, and I'm a pattern repeat and a half away from finishing the increases. Whoever wrote this thing seems to have a WAY tighter row gauge than I do. That or it's the acrylic being weird. At any rate. I'm going to finish the pattern repeat that I'm on, do one row in the pattern, and then bind off.

That way I can cast on for the next sleeve and have something that I know I can work on seamlessly for the rest of my work shift.

Plan for tonight: tack front and back together, tack sleeve on, and then try it on to test the fit.... Or.... no. I should.... urgh... stupid sleeve is making me doubt myself.

I'm going to beat up this pattern, and beat up my instinct and just.... aaargh.

--Final Update--

Okay, cast off the sleeve, and I'm glad I did. This thing is going to be a hugely comfy saggy boyfriend sweater. But I'm kicking its ass. One sleeve to go and then I get to start putting this thing together. I'm not even scared of picking up to do the collar. I'm totally going to own it.

This pattern has fought me in more ways than I can truly count. But I got The Other Half to talk to it sternly. It'll behave. Or else.

Sweater Update

Tah dah!

Two shifts worth of knitting plus some time before and after work.  I am SO HAPPY.

Day 30: What’s your name on Ravelry? If you don’t have a Ravelry account, why?

I addressed this earlier, as a matter of fact: AdrienneCMC

Clearing My Head

I don't want to whine, or make it seem like I'm out for pity or anything. This is just for venting purposes, to get the rest of the ick in my brain out, so I can move on from it. Nothing super bad, just got to get it out.

I didn't sleep well last night.  I'd had a slew of dreams, that ended up being a montage of things that just scare me. It started out, in a way, with something kind of funny: the sweater I've been working on for forever got stolen. But it sprialled down from there. No money to get something. Lost my job. No apartment. No food. The Other Half left me. Lost. Then I was pregnant. Then murdered. Then raped. Finally, alone and left in a dark black pit of a room. These scenes would flash through my head over and over and over again. Until it became a horrible blur. I woke up in a terrible state feeling deeply disturbed. Spent a couple minutes crying before I got out of bed. No clue what could have caused that terrible night. It's not like I have anything crazy going on, no massive stresses or anxieties or anything.

I'm trying to get to the point where I will just fall asleep as soon as my eyes close. I don't think I'm going to get there.

On the lighter side of the news: sleeve!!!! I'm whipping through it. It's so exciting (for all that it's a trapezoid), and I'm totally in love with it. I finished with the increases every five rows, now I'm on to the increases every four rows. I don't think I'm going to make them the full 21 inches long. The shoulders of the sweater are already very broad, and The Other Half doesn't have freakishly long arms. If I remember rightly, they're pretty much the same length as my own, maybe a little bit longer, so I'll probably finish the increases and then go to the end of the pattern repeat and call it done. Then I cast on for the second sleeve and get to do seaming, and then the joys of picking up stitches for the neckline. The finish line is coming. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and it's not an oncoming train. I'll get a picture once I have the light.