Cue Funky Beatnik Drumline

Brains.
Mush.
Brain mush flows.

Out my ears.

No thoughts
No trains
Not a single train of thought

At the station.

Knitting sock.
Stockinette.
Inches from done.

Have a pair.

Work sucked.
Work dragged.
Duller than a wooden spoon.

Knit on bus.

Home free.
Home safe.
Comfort zone to knit more.

Leftover pizza.




Thank you

Sock Watch January

Saturday saw me without sock needles to be able to move on from the dang-blasted, con-sarned toe and move on up the foot. I lost two nails that day (both of which were coming along very nicely, I might add) because of the twitchiness that resulted.

Sunday though? Sunday was a whole other game. TOH had gone to his cousin's place for a little musical interlude and pre-birthdaying celebrations (it's next week, I'm going to cook; please don't pre-warn the fire department, I'll call if the flames leave the windows), so I took advantage and threw on some cinematic gems and knit. And knit. And knit some more. By the time he got back, I'd gone from a toe and two rows, to two inches from the end of the foot. Lightning.

Today, I was able to finish those two inches at work and get halfway through the heel (not the easiest task given what I do for work). I may.... no, not may. I'm tempting fate. I'm spitting into the eyes of the Gods. I'm going to poke the Knitting Fates, because I can (and because they've already d*mned my gauge on this sock: 9 sts to the inch, rat b*st*rds).

I will have this pair done before this weekend.

There.
I did it.
I said the words.

Let the hail storm fly.




P.S. The Knitting Broads at work are almost completely converted. K. cast on for her sock after lunch, and N. has decided to try crocheting one because her and knitting needles is a recipe for disaster (but she's a wizard with a hook)

Doofus

My new title. It's official. I am one. Lost two nicely growing fingernails to it, and chipped several others because of it.

Why?

I forgot my d*mn needles at home.

Finished the toe of the sock, reached for the 3rd dpn to take off the provisional cast on and remembered I'd left them stuffed into another ball of yarn. Right next to the one I grabbed in a hurry this morning, but another ball. In plain sight.

They're all reunited, but my gods I found out today how much I depend on this addic-.... er, skill. Yeah, that's it. It's a vital skill. Needed for... er... "Strategic Sheep Purposes"*, yeah. Honest!

Now I return myself to regularly scheduled sock, and enjoying the evening of the last Saturday I have to work for a looooooong while.

Woo!

I may even order in.


*Thanks to Eddie Izzard for that one.

Miscommunication

It's all my fault. It really is. I take full responsibility for all of it today.

It started with the sock. The conversation went like this:

me: oh i decided i didn't like your first sock on my needles anymore. so i cast on again

The Other Half: Sigh

me: it was the right length so i cast it off

TOH: I knew you would find some reason

His response, of course, is because I'd already ripped the sock back once, when I was just about done the foot. It was needed, that first time, and badly. I could have fit my foot and both my hands in it. I didn't realise, because the yarn was stretchy as well, until I put it on his foot for a sizing. He was thinking that it was going to be like his sweater: the never ending project/frog-fest.

At any rate, I was good, and instead of dragging it out I explained what "casting off" was, and he's seen the sock now and is happy. Don't know if it's the right size yet. It's not washed and blocked and it's been on my foot and that's just icky otherwise.

The next bit of miscommunication was with one of the Knitting Broads at work. I'd sent her this link when I took the in-progress shot of the sock that I posted on here so she could see it. That conversation kind of went like this:

(My recollection is hazy because I was too busy laughing)

Me: So what did you think of my blog?
Knitting Broad N: What blog?
Me: Didn't you get that link I e-mailed you the other day?
KBN: I clicked on that link you sent me. It was pretty cool.
Me: You didn't read it?
KBN: A bit. Was that where you got the pattern for the sock you're making?
Me: No... I sent it so you could see my sock.
KBN: Wait... That's yours?
Me: Yes. That's why I sent you the link. You didn't recognize it?
(We're both laughing at this point)

KBN thought it was odd that someone else was making what appeared to be the same sock that I was, in the same colour of yarn, even. The worst best funnier part of it (to me anyways) was that she said to herself, as she was reading it, "Wow, this sounds a lot like Adrienne. Maybe all knitters sound like that. Must be a community thing".

I'm coming clean. This instant. To avoid further miscommunication (as hilarious as the occurrences may be).

My first name is Adrienne. I'm AdrienneCMC on Ravelry. I'm Margaux here because that's what the M is for in CMC. It's a middle name; one of the three my parents blessed me with. I like it a lot and the spelling throws people for a loop. Apparently this is a pattern for me (hur hur, knitting puns). So, there's the link. There's the reason. Back to our regularly scheduled lack-of-picture blogging about knitting.

One sock down. One to go.

Here's hoping I don't get Second Sock Syndrome. I think I may be okay given that as soon as I cast off the first, I giddily cast on the second. (And am prepping to wind the ball properly for transport to and from work.)

I promise to be good and not swatch the other sock yarns hiding in my stash even though the Harmony needles showed up. Incidentally I have no idea how big four inches really is, isn't or "doesn't seem to be" in this case and am filing it away for a future splurge investment reasoning path: "But, honey, these needles really are too short for me to knit your socks with so I need these other three... or is that five? sets of needles. I don't want your widdle toesies to get cold, now. Do you?"

Solid logic, there, no?

Lazy Day

Nothing new really. Sock's almost done, working up the leg still. Decided, radically, to not do ribbing at the top (especially after TOH made an "ew ick" kinda comment when I asked about it). If it falls down, I will heroically rip it back and re-do it.

That's love, right there, that is.

By the gods if he doesn't appreciate that, he's not getting the next pair.

I promise to get a replacement camera soon.

Another truly Canadian moment: saw a guy on the bus today, wheelie bag full of hockey equipment on the seat beside him, and the stick was wedged in the corner by the window. Nice one.

Not that I want to get political, but what the hell kind of debate question is: "Why would your wife make the best First Lady?".... seriously, Wolf? Really? (Yeah, I watched it, but that's all I'm saying about it. That was a really stupid question.)

Again, I promise to get a camera as soon as I possibly can.

I will have more yarnage, soon, and the Harmony DPN's show up tomorrow!

*Squee!*

A Collage

Thing 1: A guy at work brought in, how shall I say... slightly dated Christmas cookies (should be obvious) and was wandering the aisles at work offering us toxic biscuits. I decided that was going to be my next band name: Toxic Biscuit.

I'm sure it's already taken.

Thing 2: My city is so very Canadian. People loudly thank the bus driver when they're getting off. It's a daily occurrence. Sincere every time. I'm starting to do it, too. Feels nice. They do have a PITA job, and they just drove me home, and often do in crap weather. A little thanks are probably always in order.

Thing 3: Not much further on the sock. Was knitting fine this morning before work, grabbed the mouse at my computer and my wrist started sending friendly stabbing warnings up my arm. The needles are fine, no problems, even after the stabbingly helpful messages of concern from my wrist. It has no problems with the needles. Doesn't like the mouse at my work computer.

I'm afraid to grab a hook.

There was other stuff, but my brain is fried and dinner is cooking. Ta!

Derring-Do

I did it today.

I decided to be adventurous.

Scandalous, even.

I wanted to shock people and get "looks".

So I whipped it out.

In Public.

...

I knit on the bus.

That's right. Pulled out my sock and went at it right there on public transit.

And no one looked. No one glanced. Not a comment. Nothing. Granted the bus wasn't full, and granted it was late. There were still muggles on there.

Not a dang thing.

Didn't get far though. 13 stitches in and I noticed some weird, messed up trippy dropped-yet-half-picked-up-again kinda stitch-thing (it was half stitch and half YO and all nuts). This weird thing in my knitting couldn't be fixed right then so I had to put it away and then rip out two full rows to fix it. Major surgery at this point in the game. I'm staring at a little yarn egg and wondering when I should start my ribbing. I've also started carrying around the other ball for the next sock. The Broads at work don't think I'm gonna make it. But I'll show them. My man has two feet and by the Gods on High I will finish them both!

And then cast on the next pair.

P.S. To the folks on Ravelry who didn't make fun of my first forum post ever: thank you, and thanks so much for all the advice on non-woolen yarns. I don't know if any of you will ever see this, but it meant a lot (and I posted so in the same thread so this is a double thank you)

Another day

Still under the weather. I'm starting to think it's more allergies now, so I have to make a point of getting the right medicines so I can survive at work tomorrow. Yeah, I have a weird schedule.

No work on sock, did work on chores, may sock later. Not sure. Pretty out of my skull right now.

Wind has picked up outside and is making weird noises past my window. Looks like a storm out there, but so far no precipitation, just dreary clouds.

Half my order from Knit Picks showed up today. I have yarn and a book waiting for me (book already read devoured, has some interesting points in there, and some nice simple patterns, but nothing that speaks to me, yet). Now I just have to wait for the other half, that contains the new Harmony DPNs I ordered, and I'm worried they're not going to be long enough. I have found, though, that I'm much happier working with 5 than with 4 needles, so I may be okay with them that short, and I'll just modify patterns (gasp! no! say it ain't so!) to work with 5.

The Tsock Tsarina's blog has just gotten to the point where she did a mobius scarf (I went back to the first post to play catch-up) and it included a link to Cat Bordhi's Into to Mobius Knitting... well, my wish list just totally expanded to include her books, and a set of KP's Interchangables (again).

I am being ever so good though. I swear it.

Slow Learner

Lesson One: If you don't get enough sleep, you won't get better. It doesn't matter that you did 10 hours last night, you're still sick so it's not enough. Stop staying up and get your butt to bed. NOW.

Lesson Two: I, while giving myself incredibly good advice, don't tend to follow it. Shame. I'm sure I'd be much better off if I did.

The main reason for all of this is that last night-ish, given that it's just now gone Monday and I'm talking about a time between Saturday and Sunday, I was knitting away quite peaceably (see the post) and just finished turning a very snappy short-row heel, when temptation waved it's tarted-up, frilly behind in my direction and I was lost. Temptation arrived in the form of a movie (Cold Mountain) served up by The Other Half. I can only assume that this was because it was a really good movie, as ulterior motives don't exist in TOH's world (so much so that I'm betting he may have to look up the definition every so often to remind himself of what the word actually means). It really was a very good movie, great acting, good story, wonderful cinematography and directing. Quite a pleasant experience, overall, and a far cry from my usual pap. Problem was, when I got done watching, I realised it was something like 4AM... and I'd done a good two or three inches on the leg of the sock. I was really confused at how much work had been done, because I really remember clearly only coming off the heel of the sock.

You wanna know the weirdest part? There were two points where I stopped, because I thought I heard something odd. Some disturbing sound. It wasn't the movie at all. It wasn't TOH saying anything or doing anything. It sure as heck wasn't anything outside. No, it was because I'd just dropped a stitch on the sock, and caught it the instant I'd dropped it so I could fix it. I checked too, once the movie was done, no other drops or errors. Just smooth stockinette working its way up the leg. Really weird for me, though, to be that in-tune with a piece of knitting. I've only been doing this, what.... two solid years (breaks due to yarn shortage and moving and the like are not counted here)... if that, more likely less of real knitting time. But there I am, catching a mistake in zen knitting, just like a pro. Crazy stuff.

Time to get my plague-ridden butt to bed though. Sock pictures in the morning, in between cleaning and all that fun stuff.

BOOYAH

Take that you short row heel! In your face so-called "intermediate" level pattern! Who's your knitter?!

That's right. I did it. I turned that heel but good.

Yes, I have a ball winder, and I make its little cakes hold one of my DPNs. Yes, it amuses me.

And 30 seconds after TOH sees this, there's a very good chance he's going to fix the picture's colour balances. (All the lights in my apartment are yellow... and my walls are yellow... and the carpet is beige... not the greatest photographic location. It's also winter in Canada, so sunlight is a precious commodity, just like heat).

I'm so proud, but I'm trying very hard to not dance around and tell everyone I know about this.... it's waaaaaaaaaaaaay too early on Sunday.

Must. Be. Patient.

Argh.

Still Down...

But not out.

Getting better, but at this point it seems slow going. Doing all the normal recuperative stuff: sleep, fluids, warmth, and it's helping. Almost back to the point where I can knit for a while without feeling dizzy (it must be working in the round on this sock). The sock seems to have hit a black hole now too. I'm looking for the heel to start so it's taking forever to get there. This last inch seems to be forever and I'm starting to think I'll run out of yarn before then. Logically, I know it's not possible. There's a third of the ball left, and I have three others waiting in the wings (I really have to get on top of that reading yardage when looking at the pattern thing... I'm really bad at it).

For now: more convalescence and lots of getting better.

Back soon!


Update: as of 8:26PM EST, I need two more rows (Knitting Fates willing) and I can finally start the heel. As interesting as this yarn has been (it's black and white varigated, and has been doing this interesting twist thing up the foot), I'm ready to jump for joy at the change in pace... Holy heck... I'm making a sock. This is for real people! This is not a drill!

Maybe I should calm down. It's just a sock....

Nah.

Down Day

At home. Sick. Lost voice. No energy for blogging or knitting or anything remotely involving thinking. Probably going to throw on a movie I've seen umpteen-dozen times before so I can enter some kind of zen state and ignore what these throat drops are doing to my mouth (they have super painkillers worked into them, it feels really weird and disturbing).

Plans for Christmas progressed last night with a yarn hunt done to find stuff for Dad (TOH must be somewhat happy about that, as he wasn't being regaled with links to yarn). Dad's the reason for my wool sensitivity, only he's got it worse. I have to track down cottons or other planty yarns. Thanks to my budding forays into the online knitting community, this shouldn't be too hard. No links yet, as this is still pretty stealthy. Yes, twelve months, yes, lots of time... but lots of time has a habit of suddenly morphing into too little time.

I'm hedging my bets, getting a hot drink, and throwing on some Mystery Science Theatre 3000. Maybe I'll do that last inch on the sock, too.

Failed Experiment

Hypothesis: the webcam I have can be used as a substitute for a regular camera.

Materials: one knitted good, one webcam plus software, one computer

Experiment: take a picture

Conclusion: my lighting is too fail low to be of any real use in capturing decent photos*, and I forget how to do a grade 10 science report.

That is the hat made from Christmas yarn for my stepmother; simple 2x2 rib, the other basics of the pattern provided by the Yarn Harlot. Well, I tell a lie: the whole pattern is hers. I just knit the darn thing on 5mm needles instead of the 4.5mm she recommended. Hopefully it's not rejected outright. And I just noticed the seam is visible, how gauche. The scarf her was photographed as well, but all of them looked like shapeless black blobs and didn't capture the cool stripeyness or the interesting stitch pattern. Probably wouldn't have been that big of a hit, it was one of those "instant gratification" crochet patterns that I pick up when I need a quick fix. Got it off a ball band, which is lurking around here somewhere.

As soon as I get a lamp to light my work properly, I'll post more pictures. The sock has an inch to go before the heel, the scarf is waiting for delivery to TOH, and I have more grand plans in the works.

Let it be proclaimed:
It is January. I am already planning for this Christmas. My first knitterly Christmas, and I plan to learn good habits early. I don't know if I can post about it here. The first recipient, my stepmother, doesn't know about this place yet... so I'm going to keep it stealthy for now. It involves a clever plan and includes her cats. I have an idea for Dad, and some budding plans for TOH... Phae's easy, she needs what I need: yarn. The list is small. The plan is long range. I may be okay.

*knocks on wood*

May be.... Never tempt fates. *glares at never-ending sweater of doom* There's no telling what they'll do to you.



*Better? TOH didn't like the "fail"

One of Those days

Work was work. I blinked and missed most of my day. Did get a bunch done on the sock. Camera is well and truly dead at this point, so I'm thinking of trying to rig something with my webcam. It will be shite and very Not Cool, but it's supposed to be a crafty knitting blog thing that I have here and not just some crazy babble-space. This is supposed to be an outlet, not a wall I bash my head against.

The sock yarn is doing a weird twisting thing with the colours; the toe and ball of the foot was interestingly random, but now... it's just neat. Stood the thing up on my desk last night while I was goofing around online (browsing some very yummy sites like this one and coveting their sock kit from the stars (yes, I am that nerdy)). When I looked at the sock, the part that I'm going to call the 'top' of the foot looks great, so I turned it around to look at the 'bottom' of the foot. There's an obvious line where I picked up stitches from the crochet cast on. A very obvious line. I'm glad I'm putting it on the 'bottom' because if it were on the top, my inner 12-year-old boy wouldn't be able to stop laughing about it. I threatened Phae (once I told her and she laughed) with making her a pair with purple toes and thus began the immature search of Ravelry accompanied by much giggling. (Not linking those patterns here, who knows who may be reading this. If you have a Ravelry account, you can find them yourself).

The other Knitting Broads at work enjoyed my finished scarf (as I'm hoping you all will too once I can get a picture of it posted up here). I worked the Ropes and Ladders Cabled Scarf Pattern from PieKnits, which is totally gorgeous there, in a ball and a bit of Bernat's Naturals Alpaca. I did the "medium" size, so 14 repeats, but, based upon my calculations, with my gauge etc, I could have done much more: size 10 needles had 10 repeats and then 9 lines out of the cabled pattern safely. I'm not sure what I'll do with the leftovers, as I am still apparently plauged by my inability to wear natural fibres.

It's not an allergy per-say but a definite sensitivity; so far: sheep and alpaca yarns have the ability to make me itch like mad, and my skin goes all red and irritated. Now, I am keeping in mind that I haven't had much exposure beyond what's been given to me or purchased by me. I can't say what breed it was, or how it was processed or cleaned or dyed or anything like that. I work with it fine; as evidenced by the scarf, which left my hands unscathed, and the socks, which are a wool/artificial/elastic blend, and my hands remain itch free. But put it near my face, or on my neck or anywhere above my wrists, and it's irritation central. Here's the part that has me worried: during the Hallowe'en sale, I spoiled myself with some Beetlejuice from Nerd Girl Yarns, because it's all my favourite colours, and I love that movie and the cartoon. It's superwash merino. Sheepy. Treated, and spun with some artificial, but still sheepy. I'm so scared that I'll knit myself some seriously wicked socks.... and then won't be able to wear them.

Oh the Huge Manatee!

I know, it's not a life ending prospect. I can give them away to someone who will love them (stop coveting Phae, I can feel it from here), and then make myself something nice out of... cotton... no... not cotton.

Silk.

Dyed in colours more vibrant, more decadent, more fantastical than the mind can fathom. Glorious. Delicious. Luxurious. Scrumptious. Succulent silk.

...

Suddenly... I'm not so bothered by my condition.

P.S. yes, Phae, if the socks bug me, you're first in line to get dibs on them. Yeesh!

Day Two

Camera still busted so I can't show off what I've done today on the sock. Nor can I show off some of my finished stuff before it gets mailed off. Truly upset. May try rigging something with a webcam later but I'm very put out.

Good to have a job where I can knit during the day though. Put a good inch of stockinette onto this sock. The colours.... if black, white, and grey can be called colours, are doing weird things now. Not as randomly spaced as I'd hoped, but now spiralling interestingly. Should be fun to see if it continues on, or if my ever-changing relationship with gauge mushes them all around into weirdness again. The pattern, by the by, is the ever-so-customizable Universal Toe-Up Sock Pattern from those wonderfully creative folks at Knitty. I hope everyone goes there and marvels at the genius that is present on their pages. I do all the time. Have quite the list built up, believe you me.

The most wonderful thing I learned from Knitty, I think, is that pattern difficulties are suggestions. Really. There was an article on there, and I can't remember it for the life of me, may I be flogged with my own yarn for not remembering, but there was an article on there that mentioned that if you only judge what you can do by what the pattern says you should be able to do, then how can you expect to learn? Chances are someone's going to take a look at that universal pattern and freak out at all the math and look at the difficulty level and decide it's not worth it.

That's cool.
I almost did the same thing.

But then I looked at what I was getting from Nerd Girl Yarns (Bounce and Stomp sock in "This is Hallowe'en" colourway, a limited time offer thing) and I looked at the pattern again and said a solid "Sod You" to the difficulty level, got some practice yarn (the Patons I mentioned last time) and cast on my gauge swatch.

I now have the pattern pretty much memorized, because the short-row toe is used as the heel as well and the rest is a blank canvas. Stockinette for me for now, but that's because I have yet to read up on all the ways to cable without cabling needles and all the other fun stuff I can do on a blank canvas of foot and leg (I know there are other technical terms, I had a long day at work and I thought I called in and ordered some Slack before hand, cut to order even. Don't tell me we're out of stock, either I checked before I got home).

At any rate, because I should probably pretend like I have a point here, this is really going out to my fellow Broads at work, and anyone else who might stop by to say 'Hi' and have a gander at the fibrous part of my mind: don't look at the difficulty and give up because you don't see yourself as an "Intermediate" or an "Expert" (or "Extra-spicy" for that matter, <3 Knitty). Try. If you try and it doesn't work, take a wander down to the pond, and try something else.

The words of my first-year university business prof come back to haunt me: "It's not a problem. There's never a problem. There's no such thing as a problem.... It's an opportunity for a solution."

Try finding yours.

(and to think... I meant this to be a short, light-hearted post... order shipped today.... new yarn soon... needles on backorder... must not bite nails... I think I'll knit)

First Post.... woo?

Finished reading all of the Yarn Harlot blog and have now moved on to the Tsock Tsarina. The Other Half has started giving me weird looks, now that I have... well, let's back up a bit.

My grandmother taught me to crochet when I was very little, somewhere between 8 and 12, but I can't be certain. I remember the yarn (a nice wine-colour in the only thing really available at the time: acrylic). I picked it out myself from my grandmother's massive, and I do mean massive yarn stash. Huge closet, filled floor to ceiling, back to front with bags upon bags of yarn. Intimidating, beguiling, perhaps a glimpse at my future... only time will tell. I remember the hook (double ended, or I suppose afghan hook, purple, H size). Far too well I remember the "square" I made. Counting wasn't a big part of my life at that point; seems funny now that I have a degree in Accounting. Tangent aside: I was so discouraged by that first attempt that I never really went back to it for years. I dabbled a little here and there, but then my best friend Phae started on the fibre arts. Don't remember how, probably the wool fumes, but she'd asked me to teach her to crochet. As soon as I grabbed that hook, and I remembered how to make a chain, my grandmother's words came back to me: "She took to it like a duck to water". I was off again.

Taught Phae to crochet, and she taught me how to knit. Continental style for those who might give enough of a hoot to know (picking, if you will). And it was all over bar the tears and cursing from there.

My camera's dead at this point so I won't have pictures for a while, but I'm hoping to put something up here. I'm no designer, I'm not super inventive, I'm still technically a beginner, but I'm bolder now that I know I'm not alone (see links above for hope and inspirational source; I'm a hopeless fangirl sometimes, too).

The other reason I started this blog: The Other Half (we still argue over who's better) has been giving me weirder looks than usual lately, so my hobby, er.... obsession? compulsion? possibly pathology? has apparently been running even more rampant. I am trying to keep it under control, if only because I think my mother would die a thousand deaths if she discovered I had a closet like my grandmother's (Grandma, I love you, but your acrylic leaves something to be desired... like merino, alpaca, silk and other blends). I digressed again... back on topic: so he's getting really weirded out at how rabid I am getting over yarns and needles and patterns, etc, etc, etc. As a gesture of love, and an attempt to keep his sanity intact, I jumped on here and whipped this thing together. My fibrous soapbox.

Now to the (k)nitty gritty of it all.

Patterns on the go:
1) Sweater, destined for TOH. I fear the sweater curse, and so, appropriately, have put zero expectations on him for the wearing of said sweater. The Knitting Powers That Be have decided my efforts are truly hilarious and have f***** me over royally. Knit the back with few issues. Knit most of the front then ran out of yarn. Unable to find yarn (I picked something without a dye lot, don't spaz) for a year and a half. Daunted multiple times by neck shaping (resulting in six frog backs on that part alone). Finally had a lightbulb moment on the neck shaping, and finished the front, then cast on for the sleeve. At this point, my developing knitter's voice said: "This seems loose. The gauge swatch was fine right? You didn't mush it or stretch it to fit did you? Better check the sweater itself."

Every.
Inch.
Wrong.

The curse rebounded and hit the sweater. One trip to the frog pond, and one trip to a Michael's store later, I have 7.5mm needles and about half a back re-knit.

2) Socks v1.5, also destined for TOH now that I have the resulting sock down to a size that doesn't assume he's going to catch gout in the near future. As a note to any who may be thinking of it, the Paton's Stretch Socks yarn has a lot of give to it. A LOT. So be prepared to either knit like you're choking the life out of it, or go way down a couple needle sizes (I'm not a loose knitter and I did a gauge swatch and it still turned out huge, your experiences may vary)

3) Random afghan #1, while crochet, is a work in progress. I will be mixing it up on here, get used to it (just wait until I try my hand at spinning). It's meant to use up some of my "beginner" yarn, some stuff I had kicking around from when I finished other projects (which I will show if only to establish my weirdo factor and Learning Experiences)

4) Heirloom afghan, which is almost done. Just a couple more rows then a border. It's made up of granny squares made by my friend B's mom. B knits, doesn't crochet, and she has a sweetheart of a daughter who misses her grandmother still (grandmother passed away a couple years ago), so I volunteered to take charge of these squares and form them into a blanket that could last into the next generation. It's been a slog, and as soon as I can find the time to have that heavy thing sitting on my lap for several hours while I work, I'll get it finished. I promise!

5) Practice square thing, a.k.a. a nice way of saying it's a bunch of scraps of yarn I'm using to practice colour changes whenever I have a spare moment, usually while sitting at my computer when I'm waiting for something else to load. Much easier just to say "Practice Square Thing" I think.

That's about it for the works on the go right now. I'm sure there will be more later. Knit Picks is shipping me goodies, and I'm trying to be patient but it's so hard. And even when it does show up (with yummy yarn, some for me and some for TOH's stuff) I know that I should finish one of the other projects first. *Le Sigh*


Addendum: Just confessed to TOH that I made this blog, and he chuckled at my fibre pathology, saying "It is fibre now, isn't it. Yarn wasn't good enough. Yarn just wasn't enough." I had to agree at that point, because I am strongly thinking of getting silk hankies and spinning them myself to make singles. He came back with: "So acrylic is a gateway yarn?"




* The conversation went like this:
The Other Half: "Sweetie, it's your birthday. I'm buying dinner tonight, don't worry about it"
Me: "Really? Sweet! More money for yarn!"
TOH: *long pause* "Wow, you just skipped obsession and compulsion and went right for pathology there didn't you?"