Procrastination...

So, I'm FINALLY getting around to blogging again.




I haven't been blogging for two reasons:



a) I've been working on a stealth knitting project that I couldn't publicly write about, so as a result, I got sort of blocked when it came to writing about anything else.

b) I’ve been putting off finishing the pillows for my Granny Square Afghan and Pillows project, which I’ve been feeling massively guilty about; so again, I wasn’t inspired to write anything else.



Lame excuses, I know!



I finished my stealth project (I still can’t write about it or post pictures), which is a relief. I’m also plugging along now with the Granny Square pillows. I was stuck on the bolster pillow—I couldn’t get the correct size, but decided the only possible way out of my predicament with the pattern was to just change it up a bit and add another column of granny squares. So far, it’s looking good! I’m hoping to be done soon and post some pictures. Actually, this project is sort of stealth, too, as this set is going to a friend for Christmas.



It’s amazing how we tend to put things off that we think are going to be a chore, horrible, or just plain impossible; and then they turn out to be nothing at all! Here I was letting a little mismatched bolster pillow jettison my blogging schedule.

Plagued by “Finishitis”

I’m having a crisis. In terms of crises on a worldwide level, it’s a minor blip on the radar of the cosmos. In fact, it probably doesn’t register anywhere…It’s annoying to me, nevertheless.

I seem to have entirely too many things that are not finished. I have a crocheted granny afghan and pillow set that’s not done yet. Why? I’m putting off having to sew the pieces for the pillows together. One pillow is a bolster pillow, and I’ve never attempted to make something like this before. It’s a round, sausage-like configuration where the pieces may or may not join together correctly, reaching all the way around the pillow. I haven’t even finished the round end pieces yet (Okay, I haven’t even BEGUN them yet).

I also have a repair job that I’m supposed to be doing for a coworker. All she needs is for me to sew a pair of elbow pads onto her favorite sweater and firm up the armpits. She even provided me with the yarn. Have I done this yet? Noooooo…my coworker has kindly said she doesn’t need this done until next autumn, which makes it even worse, as I have even MORE of a reason to procrastinate.

If you’ve read enough of my blog, you’ll see that the common denominator here is…sewing. As much as I’d love to wave a magic wand and have everything I need sewn together DONE…such is not meant to be. I know I need to just bite the bullet. If nothing else, all the items I’m putting off are taking up entirely too much space in the bedroom, making it all but impossible to fit in MORE YARN.

A person has to have priorities…


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Sweet Tomato Heel Socks Finally Done!

I'm happy to report that my Sweet Tomato Heel Socks from my class are done!  This is Cat Bordhi's Sweet Tomato Heel technique.  I liked the technique so much that I decided to start another plain pair using the same heel.  What I really like about Cat's heel is that there's no picking up stitches and endlessly decreasing to get back to your original sock width.  When you're done, you're done!  Also, the heel can be worked on either toe-up or toe-down socks.

Ravelry link

New Class Schedule for Creative Fibers in Windsor, CT!!!

For those of you knitters and crocheters in CT, Creative Fibers just put out their Summer Newsletter and Class Schedule!

In particular, they have a Tunisian class this time around, and they are going to make baby blanket squares! I'm tempted to try that one, as I haven't really done much with Tunisian Crochet at all.

Just go to their site and click on "Newsletter" and "Class Schedule."

http://www.creativefibersonline.com/

Mad Sock Mania!

I seem to have been bitten with a mad, mad, MAD urge…to knit socks. I don’t even particularly need to knit socks that are patterned—I seem to be content just knitting plain old stockinette socks with a 1x1 ribbing at the top for grip, and perhaps another session with the Sweet Tomato Heel. I do confess I loved the fact that once I was done with the Sweet Tomato Heel, that was it—I was DONE. No picking up stitches and endlessly decreasing to get back to the original width of the sock.

I think my sock mania is related to the fact that I just LOVE the actual sock yarn itself. I love the colors—it is the only yarn where I don’t necessarily go for a particular brand…I tend to be drawn by the colorway. In fact, sometimes I can’t even remember the brand because I’ve tossed the ball band way inside the project bag, in my haste to cast on. I also love the fact that you can splurge on a $20 skein of sock yarn and that’s enough for an entire project, versus spending $150+ on wool for a sweater project. I usually can’t wear wool right next to my skin, but I don’t seem to have that issue with sock yarn. I’m not sure if it’s due to the nylon in the yarn or the fact that perhaps sock yarn is just made out of softer, less scratchy wool.

It may be the time of year, but I love the fact that socks are a small project that’s not sitting in your lap on a very hot day, making you swelter.

Also, socks are the best KIP (knit in public) project ever!

Baby's First Jacket - Done!

This is a baby sweater I made for a coworker's new baby.  It's a pattern by Julie Cashin (Buttonjar Knits).

The details are out on my Ravelry page:

http://ravel.me/PBELKNAP/bfj

It was a fun knit and the recipient was as pleased as punch over it!

Knitting is useful for…

In addition to being relaxing, therapeutic—and just plain fun—I find that there are ENDLESS uses for yarn craft…and I don’t mean the final product.


1) You have something to do, look down at, and escape into when a scary, gory, or just plain gross scene appears in a movie or TV show. This happens to me all the time with “CSI” and “Bones.”


2) Ditto for those times you are crafting in at a public meeting that is getting entirely too controversial and heated.


3) You know that book by Susan Cain entitled Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking? Yeah, that’s me. I find knitting in public is a great ice-breaker when I have no idea what to say to people in any new situation. It is amazing how many knitters and crocheters I’ve met at the doctor’s office.


4) In this same vein, if you want to be highly entertained by some of the craziest comments people can make about our craft, KIP can’t be beat. For some reason, around here, the allergist’s office is the place to be to experience truly deranged assumptions about knitting (like the lady who insisted I was “doing it wrong” when she saw me knitting a sleeve in the round versus flat). I personally think it’s because my allergist keeps people waiting entirely too long; and people just start going loopy after a while, especially if little Jimmy is attempting to take out a pamphlet display with his toy airplane.


5) Knitting or crocheting a complicated pattern is the best way I know to alleviate boredom. Also, the boost in your self-esteem can’t be beat, once you master it.


6) I hate to say it, but our craft is a very quick way to ascertain who is and isn’t supportive of you. I mean, really, it’s not like you’ve taken up something dangerous, sinful, or evil…you’re just knitting a sock, for heaven’s sake (I think people get frightened by the DPNs).


7) Going to Stitch ‘n’ B**** groups is a great way to meet new people, whom you may not have met any other way. As many have figured out from my Twitter posts, I’m decidedly left-wing. However, my perspective has broadened greatly from meeting many different people with different viewpoints…we all seem to be capable of listening to each other’s opinions, and we all happily bond over our communal love of yarn.


Now if the rest of the world could just work together in the same way…