The Un-knitting

Yes, I am thinking of changing the title of this blog to Un-knitwhitties: a whole lot of knitting nothing. Given that I seem to have the functioning brain cells of fungus on a log, make an extraordinary number of mistakes, and have frogged a few of the things I'm working on, it seems appropriate. I mean, how hard is a knit two, purl two ribbed scarf? Other people seem to be able to manage this! I'm sticking to that beautiful bias-stitch mohair scarf. Okay! Yes! My biases DO in fact seem to bias this way, and that way, and then back this way again. And while pictures of other people's well-executed bias stitch don't seem to do that (there go their biases marching along in straight lines), mine is MEANT to do that, and I like it. Because if you did it on purpose, it's not a mistake right? And it's soft with pretty beads, and I like it, so there. And there is no way I'm frogging it. Absolutely not. Not in this lifetime. And I WILL finish it. Even though I knit and knit and knit and knit, and don't seem to be any farther along. I swear the un-knitting fairies are coming along every evening and un-knitting the work I've done that day. So it only seems as though I am spending every spare waking moment knitting, and accomplishing NOTHING. Because, surely, I must be accomplishing SOMETHING; that's only logical, right? Right?!

It's a good thing I'm so stubborn, because I'm becoming very frustrated.

Spreading the Obsession

I had taught my friend to knit back over the summer. She didn't seem to enjoy it. All right, she didn't seem to be obsessed. She didn't knit every spare second. Every time I saw her, the knitting had not progressed. She did express interest in what I had done, and admired it. But still, I felt like a share-the-hobby failure. Until... recently... she expressed interest in buying yarn. To make a scarf. Aha! Eureka! I thought. She, too, is becoming enmeshed in this sweet torment called knitting. And she knew what yarn she wanted - oh, yeah, Schaefer Esperanza in the Gertrude Ederle colorway. To not let her escape, er, change her mind, yeah that's it, I offered to get it for her for Christmas. So now, she too, is trapped! Success! One knitter at a time!

More Knitting News - That Isn't Fit to Print

I miss my knitting class. I really do. I miss learning new things – shown by someone else, since evidently I’m not quite bright enough to figure things out on my own! I miss seeing what everyone else is working on, and hearing what they think of the yarn or the pattern. I miss seeing unfamiliar yarns, and touching them, and going oooooooo. I miss seeing how wickedly well everyone was knitting, and how their projects were turning out, week after week. I really, really miss it. I definitely can’t wait for the spring semester, when I can sign up for the intermediate knitting class.

On the knitting front, I’m still working regularly on that gorgeous beaded mohair and the Vintage Velvet. That ribbed knit scarf is sitting by the way-side, awaiting some attention from me. Somehow, and frankly I have no idea how, I added a stitch. It took me a row or three (or, um, five) to realize this. Duh! So, now I have the options of attempting to pick up the stitches prior to the error & ripping back to that point, or just frogging it completely. I’m not looking forward to either, and suspect I am incapable of the first. So there it sits, forlorn and waiting. And it will continue to sit there until I can force myself to address the situation. In time-out, if you will.

So, to cheer us all up, let’s look at some yarn. This is Colinette Tao, Neptune colorway, 117 metres per 50 g, 4 mm (US 6), Gauge is 24 stitches/30 rows per 10 cm. I don't HAVE any of this, but it sure is pretty, isn't it?

UFO's

Oh, boy! Do I got UFO's. Uh-huh. OTN:
1) Vintage Velvet, still on the 3rd skein. I bought 2 more, for a total of 7. But it will be nice and long, if I ever finish it. I do knit on it a little bit every day.
2) The beautiful mohair from my secret pal. It's a bias stitch pattern that is shaping up nicely. But it's hard on my fingers, so I only knit a little of that every day.
3) A 2x2 rib knit scarf in cashmere aran, on US 4's. Yeah, it's slow going.
4) So I started a 2x2 rib knit scarf in Nashua Wooly Stripe, Cognac colorway, on US 9's. That's moving along much faster.
5) The blue thing that I may never actually finish. Needless to say, that's on the back burner.

Then there are all of the projects I want to start:
1) The Red Cross Sock kit.
2) The Baby Alpaca sweater.
3) A felted Nashua Wooly Stripe scarf, in the Ocean Colorway.
4) Something with that Trendsetter ScoubiDou.
5) A hat for my son.
6) The umpteen things that my friends are starting to ask for.

Arrgghhhhhh! So much to knit, so little time!

My class,sadly, is over now, but I learned so much. I can actually knit the rib & seed stitches! I went through Barbara Walker's A Treasury of Knitting Patterns, trying out different stitches. And I didn't mess them up & was able to do them! Wayyyy cool. I'm looking forward to the spring, when I can take the intermediate class.

And I'm having a lot of fun getting to know my SP9 spoil-er and spoil-ee, it's great. So, that's all the knitting news that's fit to print. I know I've been a little slack (a little? Hello? People may have been wondering if I had fallen into a black hole)about posting; I'll try to keep more up-to-date!