Grab your knitting needles and come relax with me.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Hold My Hand
This is SO gonna hurt. I decided after a good week of agony to frog more than three inches of lace work. I asked some friends their thoughts on the matter, "Did this bit look okay?" I was beginning to be very displeased with how the lace pattern was coming out. Everyone told me it looked good. But still niggling in the back of my mind..."no no no no it looks like crap!"
I hate frogging. It usually takes me so long to knit--it's just going backwards right? But the wise Yarn Harlot says, but hey YOU GET TO KNIT AGAIN-YOU GET TO KNIT MORE!!! What's so awful about that?? (I had to shout this last bit to give me some confidence).
So here it goes...heavy sigh...somebody hold my hand?
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP...
soft sobs
Damn this is taking forever...ouch...hold tighter, please.
Whew. Done.
Wow. I feel much better, much lighter...even though I pretty much have to start all over again... It will be a better design. And the yarn is a delight to work with (it's Buffalo Gold Lux).
Sorry but I couldn't tell you WHAT I am frogging. It's super secret...but soon I promise to spill ALL the beans.
This post written under the influence of Jason Mraz. My own official song of Summer 2009.
Right now I am hating socks and all I want to do is throw all the socks in progress in the bin. Grr...argh! I admit it is rather extreme (I am blaming hormones), as it's only one sock that is giving me fits...the others are blameless and are behaving themselves. I am just very aggravated.
The heel will not fit over my heel.
Sigh. It's not the sock's fault. It's MY foot. I have a high instep and I neglected to take that into account. It's easier though to be mad at socks than my own feet. I can change/fix my socks...my feet those are unfixable. AND really I do like my feet, a lot actually. And so the sock (all the socks actually) will suffer.
It's so sad. I have to tear out SO much. The entire heel and the inch I already knitted PAST the heel. I was so excited about being able to knit this up to my knee, with that band swirling up my leg. Well, at least I discovered it now and NOT after I was done knitting that knee sock.
That would have sucked.
In other knitting news: I finished the Isobel a few days ago...but it still needs blocking. I bought new pins on Monday, but was in no mood to block it Tuesday (mad about the socks and other things). Tomorrow, I think I'll squeeze in some time to block it. It's fabulous and I miss knitting on it. Knitting with silk is just wonderous during the summer when the weather is so hot and swarmy.
Granny's Shawl is coming along great as well, but it's ceasing to be a good carry along project.
So I have been looking at my project page and stash pages on Ravelry...trying to find some inspiration. Nothing on the needles seems to please me. I have some nice cool type yarn, but I feel worn and stretched and designing just doesn't appeal. But I think I need to force myself out of this rut. I do have several designs that need to be started and just because I am not feeling super duper creative doesn't mean I should slack off.
You know what I mean?
Being an artists does take a lot of discipline. You gotta go hunting for that spark of genius.
So I am think of giving some monogamy in my knitting a try. I tend to have at least 5 knitting projects going on a one time...and I really don't spend a significant amount of time on any of them. Sorta just skipping around.
So I really don't get anything finished.
It's getting rather aggravating--especially when I don't feel right starting new projects because I have nothing finished.
But what to concentrate on, Lace Ribbon Scarf, Swallowtail Shawl, Tiger Socks, Celtic Tote or those two skinny lace scarves I have been working on my my little shop.
Jamey suggested I work on the project that is closest to the finish line. That would be the shawl, but it's in time out (I am beading the edging and the beads are giving me troubles--and I need to tink half a row). I think the socks are next, then the tote and skinny scarves. Course I am really loving the Ribbon Lace Scarf--so I don't want to stop knitting that. And knitting on plain jane vanilla socks doesn't sounds appealing.
Sorry I have been out of pocket. Life got super busy there.
The Samara Scarf has entered an ugly phase and I am not so sure about it.
Okay it looks pretty here...lot's of purples, and mauves.
Not so bad...the green adds some interest. But then...
A BRUISE!!! It would be different if there wasn't such a big expanse of pretty purple-ness. But the colour change is too shocking after so much soothing colours.
Am I nuts? What do y'all think? Does it work? I am very tempted to tear out the bruise colours and cut it out, continuing with the purple.
In other news:
I got attacked by a new knitting bunny and it's going to be a Super Secret Project. So no pictures, just lot's of hints and I am sure grumping and groaning (right now it's all about the wedge of EVIL!). Hmm let's call it Super Secret Project 3. It's going to be entered for submission somewhere--just haven't decided where yet. And it's going to be a gift.
Reading my knitting blogs I came across the most fantastic knitting accessory ever. Growing up Mormon, we are drilled in emergency preparedness--we take the Boy Scout code very seriously. We have 72 hour kits (for evacuations), food and water storage (the goal is a year's worth), and so on. Bad things happened: BE PREPARED! I myself have laid awake nights what I will do in case of a fire: how to save both my children and my yarn and not come off looking like a putz. But, this idea is just right up my alley! I really want to get it--but what I really need to do is convince that I need another knitting bag. (Someone buy a pattern so I can justify my knitting existence!!)
Last night we moved our weekly informal (it's started out as a cry for company and now it's a week;y thing) knit meet up to Anne's house. Quite lovely. We talked and cooked/chopped/snuck pieces of food more the knitted, but we got a few rows in I think. And it's the companionship that's important--not the actually knitting, right?
Knit PicksEssential really holds up well to multiple froggings. Just so you know.
I knit all the way to the first row of the heel turnings (I had already short rowed the heel) and did a re-read and a stitch count (making sure I was on track). And lo' and behold--I can't read or do math. So I frogged back to the arch increases and I am adding the two increase rows that I neglected to knit.
Let's all pretend we are frogs and rrrrrppppppiiiiitttt!!! Sob.
Yes, the heart socks are too big--a good inch unstretched too big. I had a bad feeling for a a day that these were too big, but I had hoped the heel would work it out...nope. I want this to be worn and fit nicely this year. So I tried it on Mic.
And they are obviously waaay to big. But guess what?!?!
They fit me just fine!
Just dandy!! But they aren't supposed to.
Now the toe is too short for me--but after all they ARE toddler socks. So a frogging I will go...all the way down to just above the 3rd heart repeat. I had so much fun knitting the arch increase and the heel--and I will have fun knitting it all_over_again!
This post written under the influence of 
