Four Reasons Why I Don't Want to Talk About Knitting

Have you noticed that I am all over the place, but discussion of my knitting projects is suspiciously absent?  Okay, pretend you noticed.  Here's why:

1. I'm too lazy and busy and crazed to take photographs despite the fact that it's light out later thanks to daylight saving time (thank you Norma for explaining that there is no "s" at the end of saving--I'll remember that one).

2. Despite continuing to knit obsessively (is there any other way?), for many hours a week, there is a truly discouraging lack of progress to show.  This may have something to do with the whole 348-stitch fair isle on size 2 needles thing.  I dunno.  I also knit up all these swatches for my color class, one of which I rather liked, and then forgot to photograph them before I handed them in for evaluation (a requirement for master knitters program participants).  Whoops.  So sometime next month I'll show you my fun entrelac swatch that I may felt and make into a change purse or glasses case or something.

3. Startitis, and not just regular startitis, but startitis that I feel shamefaced and chagrined about.  Partly it's because I'm an idiot (see 3a. below) and partly it's because things just feel a little crazed and scattered right now and having 50 active knitting projects doesn't help and can someone please tell my tiny brain that starting another one isn't going to make it better?  Too late, the new Knitty is up.

   3a. So why am I an idiot?  Because there I was, realizing that I needed a mindless project, one that would fulfill my need to actually have a chance for completion in sight, and one that I could work on when my brain was not capable of following a chart on tiny needles with tiny yarn.  So, idiotically, I decided that lace socks on #1 needles in koigu was just the ticket.  Oh yeah, and a competitive knitalong.  Uh, yeah, Cate, that's it.  So, in a reprise of my Socks of Doom experience (apparently I'm okay with basic lace once I get going with it, but getting started is pure hell), I cast on for the Spearfish Socks*, knitted the pattern wrong, ripped out, knitted the pattern wrong in a different way, ripped out, knitted the pattern wrong IN EXACTLY THE SAME WAY AS THE LAST TIME, ripped all the way out, cast on for a different pair of socks, decided that no stupid competitive sock knitting project was going to kick my ass (the obvious fact that my ass had already been kicked notwithstanding), and ripped that out and cast on for the first damn socks AGAIN, and then paused to have a nervous breakdown.  I must say that my darling partner is a freakin' saint, and actually listened to me talk about all this in the middle of it, and not only didn't she say "uh, yeah, that sounds like a real problem" with a tone of deep sarcasm (really, a very sound reaction from any normal person), she actually told me to put down the knitting and GAVE ME A BACKRUB.  No, you can't have her.  And yes, I will be adjusting my thyroid medication.

*Please note that these are gorgeous socks, which is why I wanted to knit them, and anyone who has half a brain can absolutely do them.  Even I, lacking that basic requirement, could probably have conquered them if I had stuck with it.

     3b. So, having come (somewhat) to my senses thanks to my dearest partner, I PUT DOWN THE SOCKS and cast on for Klaralund, The Sequel (this time with Kureyon!), since Klaralund is about the most mindless, rapid-gratification project I can think of, PLUS I already had the yarn in my stash so, you know, it doesn't make me feel as much like a hopeless dilettante if I'm not spending any (more) money for it.

     3c. There I am, happily knitting on Klaralund, pretending needles of less than 3 mm in diameter do not exist, and whamo! I decided to go to Maryland, and realized that perhaps I should have an extra-groovy new sweater to wear to it.  And hey, we're talking tank top and I've got a whole month so if Stephanie can knit a cabled long-sleeved cardigan in two weeks for Rhinebeck I can probably pull off a shapely tank in a month.  I say "probably," because in fact I probably can't, especially if I keep being this scattered, not to mention the fact that I need to keep working on the fair isle AND knit swatches for the color class.  But does that stop the dream?  It does not.  So I cast on for that with (hooray) stash yarn last night.  Little scalloped edging going on too.  Not exactly as lovely as I envisioned, but okay.  And it's STASH YARN (the Berroco Echo "lite" they had last spring at Webs for a buck a ball).

     3d. Then Knitty came out today. (Have you heard?  Haha!)  And it had this, which is actually what I *meant* when we talked about that edging thing that wound up being a slip-stitch scallop.  And it's terribly well-suited to another bag of yarn I have sitting in the stash that has been there for at least five years and is starting to look mournful and neglected.  Bye-bye shapely.  Warm up the needles for when I get home tonight!

4. I tried so hard to finish Eloise, but I ran out of yarn AGAIN.  I have one sleeve cap left and then it's buttons and sewing up and a new, bulkyweight, garish-as-all-hell, fuzzy-ass sweater to wear....for spring.  Go me.  Luckily someone still has the discontinued colorway I was using, and I'm thinking it will be in my mailbox tonight.  Yet I will eschew it for Maryland Sunshine (ooh, I like that nickname for Soleil, despite my lack of confidence that it will ever see the sunshine in Maryland--maybe on the needles it will).  Maybe garish-as-all-hell will be the new black next fall?  Manolo?  Jessica?  Anyone?

Now, let's not talk about the fact that Soleil has lace at the bottom and that my recent experience with knitting lace has been, um, shall we say, less than fabulous.  I'm going to square my shoulders, remember that I am the boss of my knitting, and hopefully manage to knit the edging without having another nervous breakdown.

Just don't talk to me about the socks.

PS: Everyone's favorite commenter Jo has finally given up paid employment and is instead going to entertain us with her new blog.  Unfortunately, she is also starting a very promising consulting business, but hopefully it won't distract her too much from knitting and telling us all about it.  She's even been gracious enough to let me play hostess here on my lovely Typepad account.  Welcome, Jo!

Comments

[Anna]

I'm seriously fighting casting on for more stuff, I gave in a tiny bit and am doing a sock that was unplanned but am restricting my other casting on to fantasies about projects I could be knitting! I keep saying that I must finish off something before I start the next thing, with 4 sweaters on the go (2 of them on 3mm needles) I really don't need another project.

Thanks for the sock url, I have bought the pattern now!

Anna

[Sara]

ROFLMAO - Well, at least you make me feel like I'm not in a party of one by myself - I seem to be in this knit for 1/3 to 2/3 of the way through a particular project, and cast on for something new or two. So Yes, I have about 50 projects going. It feels good for about the first 1/3 of whatever, but then...

whatever. Process, product, whatever floats your boat at a particular minute. Sara

[Jo in Ottawa]

Ok. You have lost it. The trick to that lace is probably lots of stitch markers. Like between each repeat. Easier to keep track and you can count the stitches between the markers on the purl row (I haven't read the pattern but it looks like a simple enough lace that you just purl back) and fix things as you go.

You've reminded me that all those other things I was going to say I can go write in my blog.

[Clementine]

Eeek- you have not exactly filled me with confidence about starting the spearfish socks myself... I must go and locate that brain I had.. I'm sure its around here somewhere?

[Deb]

Well, they sound like good reasons to me! And I agree, stitch markers are definitely helpful for lace! (I don't use them all the time, but I do use them most of the time--at the very least, they can help contain any damage to one pattern repeat, instead of spreading it across an entire row.)

[Deb]

I am so very relieved that I do not possess the knitting gene. I already have at least two copies of the "start projects but do not under any circumstances finish them" gene, and with Julianna's fabric stash taking up most of the available extra storage, we'd have to buy another house. In addition to this one. Just for yarn and fabric.

[Jessica]

I can't make any promises on the future of garish-as-hell. But the heart wants what it wants.

[Jenifer]

Yea ... good for you, Cate! There's nothing like a good dose of ADD knitting to help cope with reality (the real reason we all knit, right?)! Love the projects, and they'll all get done in their own time.

[Kristi]

Jo in Ottawa had it right! Would it make you feel better that I started the cuff on the very first Spearfish 4 times before I got one that worked right? Use a stitch marker for each repeat of that top lace and count the stitches between each one before doing the purl row. Oh, and on the first sock, I also ran life lines through the last row of the garter stitch section, so if I really screwed things up and couldn't tink back to the problem, I could just rip back to that life line and pick the stitches back up. Once I did that, of course I didn't need it, but it was nice to know that it was there.

You'll get it!