mamacate

Failure

Well, this has been one crappy week.  The good news is that today, thanks to the wonders of modern medicine, DD is playing happily at preschool with her brother and friends.  When I left they were having a blast in the jungle with the dinosaurs.

But I'm not here to tell you about my cute kids today, I'm here to tell you that I have failed.  Soleil, despite the knitting being finished and the crocheted edging being half-done, will not make its debut at Maryland.  It's too freakin' big.  I thought and thought about what size to make and I finally came to a conclusion and it was wrong.  I knitted to gauge and everything, but it's just too big.

I admit, I was warned.  The pattern was very clear that it should be knitted with no or negative ease.  However, the mongo-boobs seem to be striking again.  I have a really weird shape--apologies for TMI, but this is relevant--I'm a 34F, which means I have a 34" ribcage and a 40" bust.  My waist, far from being wasplike, is all of 32".  So since the waist on the sweater was significantly smaller than the bust, I figured I'd be in good shape if I knit the 39" sweater, which has a 34" waistline.

Nope.

Hello, negative ease.  Hello, when you have a six-inch difference between bust and band you can't get away with neglecting to short-row the bust on a mercerized cotton close-fitting tank top.  HELLO?

Okay, so, it's a little big, a little floppy, and far from perfect, but that shouldn't stop me from wearing it anyway, right, since I've publicly declared my willingness to wear crappy sweaters?  Yeah, well, the other problem is that the v-neck is, um, not to say completely slutty, but um, yeah, revealing.  Like, more than a suggestion of decolletage.  And I'm telling you, decolletage is cute when you're a maiden in a c-cup, but when you're a nursing mom wearing one of those bras designed by bridgebuilding engineers?  Yeah, not so much hot as scary.

So, since I refuse to rip this thing out because this yarn is so not worth it, I'm going to try to figure out some sort of lace edging to put on the neckline.  I think it will actually be kind of nice if I can figure out some way to echo the lace on the tank, but since I'm leaving from work on Friday and need to be packed and ready to go tomorrow night, I'm so not going to have that done for Maryland.  So, let's see, that would be *check* another thing not done right and not done in time.

Crap.  Can I please get off the sucky screw-up bus now?

Now back to our regularly-scheduled writer's block.  And the large-scale email mistakes.  Anything else?

Despite all this, I can take solace in the fact that I'm going to Maryland.  I may be wearing the Shapely Tank I finished a year ago, but I'm going.  And it's going to be awesome.  See you there!

Just talking, a scarabus, and a little FS.

I stayed up late (for a change!) spinning and plying up some merino/tencel that I'm going to use to make a feather and fan scarf for the Webs tent sale.  Master's students will have a table there, and I expect there to be some hand-painted yarn and other cool stuff.  I missed the tent sale last year, but I have heard that it is awesome, so do come on by.  So how much do you think I should charge for a handspun, handknitted scarf?  I suppose you can tell me once I've posted a picture of it.  I do reserve the right to get frustrated and give up on it before the deadline.  I need to turn it in on 5/10, so we'll see.  I'm planning to make it some airplane knitting.  Of course I think I'll also bring a simple sock to Maryland, since there may be some KUI going on Friday night and I've learned my lesson with lace.

So I'm seriously thinking of selling my Lendrum ST folding wheel.  Everyone loves this wheel, but I don't think it's the wheel for me, at least the single-treadle isn't.  I think I'm going to sell it and get a double-treadle Lendrum, or maybe try out some other wheels.  Now that I have the hitcher, I'll have a super-portable wheel, though it is rather limited in application--basically nobody's going to be spinning lace on this thing.  It feels a lot like a Louet: it's awesome for low-twist, DK+ weight spinning, but not so much for something where you need more twist.  So I might shop around a bit, but I think I want a DT.  When I bought this I had read how Alden Amos thought that double treadles were a stupid fad and I agreed that why would you need one?  But it turns out that I don't care about a double treadle for a saxony wheel, but for a castle-style it gives me more stability--or something.  But that's just me.  I'm sure someone will love this wheel.  It needs to find the right home.

So anyway, I think I'm going to ask $325 for the complete package (wheel, standard flyer, fast flyer, plying head, and lazy kate), or $225 for just the wheel, standard flyer, and kate.  New, it goes for $395/$295 for the same packages.  There is a little bit of oil staining around the orifice on the standard flyer, and I can't seem to find the orifice hook (I had to hide it from a kid who wanted to play with it, and I hid it so successfully that I haven't seen it since!).  I will get a new hook before I sell it if I can't turn it up.  So, does that seem fair?  And anyone interested?  I would prefer not to ship it, but can bring it to Maryland (Sat. 5/7), NH (Sun. 5/15), Stephanie's talk in Amherst (5/10), the Webs tent sale (5/21 or 22), or of course Cummington (5/28 or 29).  Of course I can also meet someone in and around the Noho area at any time.   I'll take pics of the oil staining--it's really not bad--I think the oil is actually good for the wood, LOL.

Okay, I've said it.  I've been going back and forth about this, but I'm taking the leap now.  Once I get those pics I'll put it up on spin-sales.  Gulp.

So I've been thinking about finishing.  I've always had a problem with UFOs, but it was usually caused by hitting some sort of a problem: having to rip out some large section, needing to do math that would take too much of my brain, or losing my notes (totally my problem with self-designed projects!), or other stalls.  But Soleil is humming right along with just a few rows of neckline decreases and some straight knitting to the shoulder.  I'm a little worried it will be too big, but it's not going to be terrible and worst-case scenario is I give it to Rhys.  What's my problem?  Partly it's being on a major spinning kick right now.  I WILL finish it, since I set the deadline of Maryland, but it's going to involve forcing myself.  I don't know why I do this to myself, though.  Does anyone else do this?

In my non-fiber life, besides being festival season, May is the start of asparagus season.  Hadley, in between my home and work, is one of the world's best places for growing asparagus (asparaculture?).  We have this famous "sandy loam" that just pops those babies right out.  So there are farm stands on my way to and from work, and the kids have been getting terribly excited about farm-stands and "ascarabus."  They won't eat the asparagus (they used to, but have developed typical 3-year-old food rigidity, which oddly does not extend to salmon sushi or seaweed), but they love buying it.  So the whole way home I get asked "are we almost at the ascarabus area?"

I used to just steam the stuff, but my FIL turned me on to an even better (and easier!) method: roasting.  I rinse 'em off, dry 'em, then throw them in a roasting pan, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt.  Then I roast or broil them for about 10 minutes at 450.  Try it.  Amazing.

Folks Find First Fiber Fest Fun (despite getting off "on the wrong foot")!

Hey, I spent an entire childhood being assailed by NY Post headlines in the NYC subways.  I couldn't help it.

The kids and I gave mama Rhys a few hours off and went to the CT Sheep & Wool festival.  A little warm up for Maryland, I suppose.  We had a tentative playdate with a friend, but then that was going to be in the afternoon, and I figured, hey, it's only an hour away, and it's just gray, not even raining, let's do it!

So off we went, and before we even got across the state line it was pouring.  Oh well.  Luckily, the fair was almost entirely indoors, so no harm.  We have raincoats.  We won't melt.

After some nice hot dogs and hamburgers (I passed on the lamburgers; I don't question the contents of hot dogs), we wandered the barns.  My strategy is generally to cover the whole place in browse mode, then buy what I want on my way out.  Saves carrying everything, plus I can narrow it down to what I really want.  You'd think it would, but it doesn't cut down on impulse buys, because at the end I tend to get a tad manic.  Somebody is going to have to watch me at Maryland to keep me from ordering an Alden Amos wheel or something.  Not that I'd do something like that.

So, speaking of purchasing wheels, if you read the Spin-List you  might have noticed me waxing acquisitive about David Paul's ridiculously clever new invention, the Hitchhiker.  Well, he had them in CT.  And I was suddenly overcome with the fear that all twelve of the ones he had there at the show would be gone.  Okay, I wasn't that worried, but I just think it's terribly cool and I WANT one.  So despite being unable to really try it out because of the vagaries of certain short people*, I just busted out the checkbook and signed on the dotted line.

*I scared the bejesus out of one of Dave's helpers by suddenly saying "hmmm...I seem to be short one kid."  He was right outside the door, pretending to be a bridge over a small ditch where the rain was running, and my fear meter was at about 3 out of 10, whereas Dave's friend was ready to call the fire department. Sorry about that, when you have twins who come with attitude already installed, you just get used to having to do a little chasing, and knowing that the fiber fest was not likely to be rife with kidnappers or people driving dangerously, I figured worse case scenario was that he was trying to operate someones spinning wheel without their consent.  Not that that's okay or anything.

Pictured by the wheels was Dave's other helper, Judy, of Smatterings.  Judy had quite a weekend of fibery fun--from seeing Stephanie (Harlot on Tour) at Circles to CT Sheep & Wool.  Wow.  It was nice to meet another blogger, and we chatted a bit despite my inability to hold a conversation due to the wandering children factor.  I'm hoping to have a chance to meet up with her again during my 24-hour whirlwind tour of MD.

When the rain let up, as it did periodically, we went out and watched some sheepdog trials. I don't get the sense that sheep are particularly energetic creatures, but they had them running around this gigantic field.  Luckily, they got to rotate in and out so they didn't get too tired.  Heck, I can't keep up with a border collie!  Henry enjoyed talking to the penned sheep waiting for their turn to be herded.  I think the kids love sheep & wool festivals as much as I do.  This is very good.  I'll just have to keep it on the DL that my trip to Maryland involves a "festabal."

So, home again, home again.  And let's take a looky at the haul, shall we?

I confessed to the long-suffering mamarhys that I bought yet another wheel, and took it out to demonstrate it.  There was a moment of confusion and I realized that I had gotten a left-footed wheel (hence getting off on the "wrong foot," get it?).  Whoops!  Apparently no one else realized it either until later--I was looking at the wood on the wheels, not even thinking about the fact that it's set up for one side or the other.  They only had one lefty and were wondering what happened to it.  I can trade it in for a righty at one of the upcoming fests--I'm a little nervous about taking it on the plane to MD, so it's going to give me a good excuse to go to NH, I figure.  Even so, I was able to spin up some merino/tencel roving I got from the Sheep Shed.  Low-twist singles that I steamed over my spaghetti pot (multitasking!).  I'm in love with this stuff and I want more!  Eleanor has requested a sweater out of it and I can't convince her that I don't have enough.  Guess I'll have to get more.  Lovely, lovely to spin.  I'm trucking along on spinning the bunny roving I got at NETA, too, and now I'm spoiled with this amazingly smooth stuff.  I do, of course, have more in other colorways, but the pink/orange/yellow ("Sunrise") is pretty cool, no?  The other colorways are "Spring" and "Autumn."  Yummm.  Also notice the lovely blue/green batt I got from Grafton Fibers and the pretty orifice hook from The Wheel Thing.

So I get in this much trouble at an itty-bitty festival.  Oh my.

I have not forgotten my other commitments, though, despite being on a bit of a spinning kick and wanting to spend all my time doing that instead of knitting.  I did knit my bit on Soleil, which has only one front left, plus finishing, of course.  Maybe tonight if I can resist the pull of the wheel (pun intended).  I'm a little worried it's going to be too big.  It's measuring right on target, but it's having that annoying mercerized cotton thing where it's a little floppy.  Hopefully a good blocking will whip it into shape, but I think I will go back to my former rule of only knitting with cottons that are cabled or otherwise designed to incorporate some stretch and memory.  While I know some people hate ribbon yarns (and I'm not a fan of big, wide tapes), I actually do like thin ribbon yarns, and I think my next summer sweater will be with one of those.

Sunday was our last Ethnic I class for the Master Knitter program, and I got to provide moral support (and cheers) when CeCe steeked and cut a sweater (not her sweater for the class, but a practice one).  She did really well, but it made me realize what a wreck I'll be when I finally take the shears to mine.  Ah well, I have a lot of knitting ahead of me before that happens.  No pictures, because there's very little to show there.  Then Pride Day in Northampton, which, after living here for 15 years, is just turning into old home week.  I saw everyone I haven't seen in a while, lots of catching up and chatting, and of course the kids love it.  A fine weekend, and now I need to spend the week recovering working.  Just a paper, a survey, a report, and the start of another freelance project stand between me and Maryland.  AAAAAAAHHHHHH! 

O Blog

O Blog.  This is not good.  You have made the ultimate leap, you have fallen off the edge of the earth.  You are no longer a means of procrastination: you have become the object of procrastination.  And this is not good.  Not good at all.  I have a cotton intarsia baby sweater and a ribby green sweater you can talk to about what it means when that happens.  If you can find them in the bottom of the stash closet, that is.

I do have hope, though, perhaps more than even for that ribby green sweater (which I know someday will become the apple of my eye again, but probably not until I'm done nursing and my boobs are back to a size that doesn't involve repeating letters).  I certainly have more hope for the blog's retribution than for the cotton intarsia sweater.

Despite being under all kinds of deadline pressure, I'm ridiculously unfocused at work.  I am so outta there in my head.  I envy people who can stick with a single job for years and years, but I'm someone who needs to move on periodically.  Pain in the ass, that.  I really wish I could manage it, but as hard as I try to stay engaged and focused on this job after 7 years, I am just. not. there.  And I have to go give a paper (okay, two) in a couple of weeks and man, I hope I can string a sentence or two together.  Adrenaline, as much as I hate it, usually helps kick-start the brain even in the worst of times.  So I guess it's down to the wire and adrenaline.  It should kick in soon.  I hate that it has come to this.

I don't know, it's weird, because I'm always getting this positive feedback about what a good reputation I have, and man, right now I feel pretty damn useless.  So either I'm doing a decent job of faking it or people are totally lying.  Actually, the truth is I'm probably riding on past good work, and it won't last forever.  Just a few more months and I can do something I can actually get my brain to pay attention to.  Please, let me get through the next few months without crashing and burning.  I think that will entail not procrastinating the freelance project anymore.  Okay, okay.

Good advice in the comments, there, from Sara and Jo to keep  knitting through it all (and I'll try to bring the confidence and hope as well), and I'm taking it.  Soleil is coming along.  This is a deadline I might just pull off.

I'm still sticking with the fair isle,  slowly but slowly, as before.  I got a few more colors, and I like it.  It's a bit of a mish-mash, but that's okay.  As I've been reminded, it's a practice piece, not a masterwork.  I'm still a journeywoman, you know.  I'm going to work the mish-mash thing.  I wasn't sure whether I was up for a non-repeating pattern, that is, a sweater where no band is the same from top to bottom, but now I'm pretty much sure I'm going to do that, and it'll just be a crazy, complicated sweater.  Sounds like my life, huh?

In addition to giving me good advice, Sara hooked me up with a drum carder and some cashmere and camel fiber from a major bargain-shopping score.  Oh, how grateful I am that she thought of me!

I can also report that at my color class last week, I got the prize for the UGLIEST combination of colors (click the link to see the ugly combo from my last post).  Other people had namby-pamby combinations that were mildly unappealing, or which just "kinda" clashed.  People, I brought the ug-lay.  The teacher is going to try to make something as ugly as my swatch, just to show that she can.  Bring it on, baby.  I also spun up some kinda  purty hand-dyed alpaca roving for another part of the assignment, which was to express an idea or emotion with color.  This was meant to express "may flowers."  I also had a kind of cool dyeing experiment which represented "april showers."  It was that same bright green with a variety of reddish browns, kind of like the woods in early spring.  Of course, I forgot to take pictures before handing everything in.  The photo shows what was left on the wheel after I plied until 1:55 for my 2:00 class.  What was that about procrastination, last-minute finishing, adrenaline?  Hmmm.

So there you have it: procrastination, complication, and the prize for ugly.  Yeah, baby.

What did you do with April?

I'm not dealing well with the fact that tomorrow is April 20th.  I have a lot to do before May, and, well, I need more time to do it in.  So if anyone can talk to the daylight saving people and get them to give me an extra week or two, I'd really appreciate it.  I know they're hoarding all those spare hours.  Gimme.

Speaking of early May deadlines, just about the only one in my life that is even vaguely on track is Soleil/Sorbet (one day I'll commit to a name for this thing).  That is, if I pretend that I don't have any other knitting that I should be working on.  Like, for example, a forlorn and neglected fair isle cardigan whose pitiful lack of progress I am going to have to show at class weekend after next.  But maybe I can be chagrined in a new cotton tank top, eh?

But first deadlines first.  I was also assigned, for my color class this Saturday, to knit a swatch combining colors that go well together, and one with colors that go poorly together.   Check it out.  Guess which one this is?  Pretty dreadful, huh?  I'm much more interested in this part of the homework than in the nice combinations.  They say we're supposed to make a collage, but ugh, I have sweaters to knit, people!  Ah well, mitered squares are good for a collage I suppose.

I'm in denial about a freelance project I have to start.  And then there's the paper I'm giving in San Diego on June 1.  My son is probably having his tonsils out in May, too (we just got the tentative date today).  It's the right thing to do, but oh, poor baby.  And I'd really like to NOT have huge deadlines looming at work (of course I'll forget all about them, but the goal is to get them out of the way BEFORE the surgery so I don't have to deal with the fallout later).

Okay, so sheesh, this whole blog post is just stressing me out.  The kitchen's a mess too.  And Rhys?  Out of town tomorrow.  Sigh.

Turns out, I just needed STUPID knitting

I think I know what my problem is.  I'm trying to knit things that actually involve MY BRAIN for more than 30 seconds at a time.  Sorry, not currently available, try back when my kids are in school.  For example, I started the lace socks while waiting on the street for DP to pick me up from work after getting the kids at daycare.  I was there long enough to knit half a round.  I think I did the rest of the round in the car, then after dinner, then maybe ripped it out after the kids went to bed.  I guarantee you, I am not a good enough knitter to do *decreases* under those circumstances.  What made me think I could do lace?  Duh.

As blog is my witness, I will lock myself in a brightly-lit room to do the first round of any future lace project.  I expect the bathroom will serve nicely.  The kids will be shocked to find that, for once, they can't follow me in there.

This approach has paid off.  The lace section of Soleil is done.

Okay, so it's not done in the picture, which I took yesterday afternoon, before I spent all night ripping and reknitting the *increase* round after the lace because, apparently, I am unable to read a pattern.  Never mind.  It's fixed.  I have the right number of stitches.  All is well.

I've decided the name of this sweater should be Soleil sorbet, since it's such an icy, shiny pastely color.  I can't decide if I like it.  It's pretty, but it splits dreadfully and it's doing this odd pooling thing that I think will come out looking kind of camouflage-like in the end.  The colors are so subtle, though, that I'm not sure if it's going to have much of a final effect.  Anyway.  I'm enjoying knitting it because a) 22 sts/4in, and b) no sleeves.  It doesn't seem like this should be hard for my brain to take in, but in just the same way that I look at the Fair Isle and say to myself "YOU MEAN I'M GOING TO HAVE TO KNIT SLEEVES TOO?", when I look at Soleil sorbet, I keep having to pinch myself that when I'm done with the body, I'm done.   So, you know, about Maryland, I'm not saying anything out loud, but, you know, looks good, is all I'm saying (having typed that, I do realize that my sweater will burst into flames).

Meanwhile, I have commenced a project that is totally appropriate  for moments in which I am capable of only totally stupid knitting.  Four rectangles.  Klaralund, the sequel.  I'm enjoying knitting this sweater so much that I fear that by next fall I will have a Klaralund for every day of the week.  I suppose it could be quite a bit worse.  I also forgot how much I enjoy knitting with Kureyon.  It's not the highest-quality yarn (ahem), but watching the stripes emerge just rocks, baby.  I can forgive a lot for a really good dye job.  That's the back (or the front, depends on how the other one looks) and the edge of a sleeve.  Ahhh.  Knitting *is* relaxing!

Despite my increasing resentment of this project, I have finally finished knitting Eloise and have begun the loathsome seaming process.  I just love seaming bulky sweaters.  Not.  (I am not using a different yarn for seaming, since I can't figure out even what color to look for, but it's really the 3/4" seams it generates.) The more I look at this thing, the less I like it, so seaming it up just reminds me of how garish the yarn is, how much money I spent on it, and what a boondoggle the whole thing was.  I did have the idea that I might overdye the whole thing with a blue dye.  There's nothing there that would turn too terrible a color with a blue cast on it, and I think it might tone the whole thing down into something I could, um, stand to be in the same room with.  Ironically (after running out of yarn twice), I have a fair amount of bits and pieces left over due to obsessive and pointless stripe matching, so I will try it on the yarn first.  When I get around to it.  I know you're not holding your breath.

We had a taste of spring this weekend and the kids and I took a trip to Tregellys, a local fiber farm.  The farm is set on a ridge with a simply spectacular view, as you can see.   There were new lambs all over, not to mention llamas, yaks, potbeillied pigs, camels (HUGE camels), turkeys...the list goes on.  Best of all, the lovely owner let Henry & Eleanor feed a pair of bottle babies.  There was one ewe who even I could tell was a) having twins, and b) about to drop any second.  I was hoping she might have them while we were there, but no such luck.  And of course, a birth might be a bit much for the kids to watch.  But it would have been cool.  There was this incredible alpaca with the most amazing red/brown fleece--I can't even describe it--and I asked about the fleece but the owner put me off a bit.  I bet she wants it all for herself!  Don't think I won't be stalking her at Cummington.

Unfortunately, I left the camera in the car for all the animal encounters, but I did get a photo of Henry walking around the Buddhist Stupa they have built on the farm.  He was the only one who knew we were supposed to walk around it three times--El and I only did it twice.  Who says there's no such thing as reincarnation? 

If you go, and I recommend that you do, be sure to bring someone who's not afraid of dogs to deal with the welcoming committee.  The dogs are perfectly fine, but it's a bit overwhelming at first as they greet you in the standard dog way: by barking their little heads off.

Rhys is off on a business trip this week, so I'd better get some sleep if I have any hope of not being a grumpy, yelly mom tomorrow.  Nighty night.

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!