I am trying to defiantly not feel guilty about not blogging like I feel I should. Work is still rather challenging at this time, and the writing isn’t the only thing suffering. For starters, I haven’t managed to make it in to the gym in the past month or so. My diet is very erratic, but I’m trying my best to limit grains, starches, and sugars (because while they taste good, I feel a lot better without them).
I haven’t knit any socks. I’ve come close to completing a couple of plain self-striping single socks, but it hasn’t managed to happen. I’ve heard comments of “You’ve knit a LOT of socks, sweetie…maybe you’re all ‘socked’ out for a while…maybe take a break.” For the record, I’ve heard that from more than just the husbeast – my Mum and some friends have also made the observation, and it’s perfectly valid. I’m trying not to feel bad about not having my usual 3+ pairs of socks finished by this part of the year. My overindulgence on socks hit home when I went looking for a pair of straight needles that I’d stashed in a basket, and came up with two pairs of socks that were knit in advance for gifts this year. On the one hand, I’m glad I don’t have to worry about trying to bust out a couple of socks for people who deserve more than a halfhearted rush-job (if this ennui continues). On the other hand, it’s possible that those two pairs of socks contributed to the current state of affairs.
And it’s not like people haven’t been tempting me with sock yarn, so it’s definitely not a lack of beautiful materials that I’m dealing with! Unfortunately, I’m looking at some of those yarns and saying “ooo….that would make a lovely shawl…” 😉
What have I been working on? Well…I finished off two pairs of these:
These are Susie Roger’s Reading Mitts in Berocco Ultra Alpaca (1 skein!). Only one pair is pictured as the other pair (in a pretty raspberry colour, no less) has gone missing. Stupidly enough, they went missing the moment I finished them. I distinctly remember weaving in the ends and putting them somewhere safe, but now I can’t remember where that safe place is. And that ticks me off, because even though I love my pretty purple handwarmers, I’d really like to wear the raspberry pair that I knit for work.
I also finished off my Pimpelliese.
Amazingly, the second half of the scarf only took about two days to complete once I’d put my mind to it. There was absolutely no yarn left over…my math was right on the money, and that’s a really big thing for me. Scary, but very very cool. There’s nothing quite like getting down to the very last two inches of the scarf and wondering if you’re going to be able to finish, or if you’re going to have to rip everything out (because you don’t have any more of the yarn in your stash).
I’ve also been making a bunch of these sorts of things:
They’re eventually going to make a blanket. Possibly a baby blanket. Not sure who it’s for, though. I know of at least one baby that’s due towards summer/autumn that might be able to use it, but I think the expectant Mum has started a very similar blanket of her own. Either way, I’m enjoying it as a “small” project that I can work on in front of the TV. I started out using old leftover baby yarn that was in my stash, and I’ve since picked up a bunch of colours that I love playing with. I think the pictures show the change, particularly with the frequency of colour block repeats. I may actually make more squares than I need just to keep some sort of consistency.
Other than that, the second attempt at the husbeast’s sweater is ticking along. I’d picked up a bunch of Cascade 220 (all in one dyelot this time!) at Gina Brown’s a couple of month’s back and have restarted the project. I’m most of the way through the body, and just cast on the sleeves a couple of days ago. I’m trying to make both at the same time on one or two pairs of circular needles, but I will admit that’s not my favourite way to knit in the round. I find the method rather awkward to manage. We’ll see if I wind up separating them and alternating them while knitting instead.
And that gets us pretty much caught up! I’ll leave you with a picture that never fails to make me smile…
That’s the Garden Zombie that Robin received for Yule. We named him Bob. Because the garden is currently waking from winter hibernation, Bob hasn’t been taken out to the back yard yet. Instead, he’s been hanging out in the husbeast’s office, on his old steamer trunk. The funny part is that he looks realistic enough that it looks like he fell through a portal somewhere and got chopped in half…
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