Sunday, May 25, 2008

Inventory: OTN

This morning I had to fight the urge to start a scarf, a hanky, and two new socks. It's not so much a case of startitis as crafting ADD--I'm in a frenzy of enthusiasm for everything at once. (I'm also fighting the urge to scour Lexington as I did Green Bay in a search for ladies' hankies. I don't need more--I've got about a dozen.) So I thought I'd take a step back and take an honest look at what I'm working on right now before I did anything rash.

Afghan square. Priority: High. My goal is to have 42 squares by June 1; right now I have 21, and I'm positive there are more out there that haven't been dropped off at ReBelle yet. I think we're in pretty good shape. Thanks a million, Stitch 'n' Bitchers!

Blaze/Oriole Socklets. One completed, one barely started. Priority: Low. This is stashbusting/mindless knitting.

Hanky number 3. Edging base nearly completed. Priority: Medium. I have no real need for it (I pretty much only use hankies when I've planned ahead to cry), but it's really hard to put aside a shiny new obsession. I couldn't bear to rank it "low."

The slowest Bellatrix socks in the universe. Priority: Low. I hate to say it, but my enthusiasm for these socks has waned because of the fussiness level. I still really want to end up with a pair of Bellatrix socks at some point, but my world/mindset doesn't allow for fussiness very much right now.

Sock Knitters' Pentathlon Sock #2. Priority: Low. Again, there's a fussiness factor I'm not sure I'm up to right now. I may frog this and save the pattern for later. (Check out my awesome throw pillow!)

Grandma's Favorite Dishcloth, knit entirely in a doctor's waiting room. Priority: Medium. Again, I have no real need for it, but I spaced out and didn't have any knitting with me on a day when I knew I would spend some time waiting, so I borrowed some of Samara's needles and a ball of cotton. (Her house is closer to my office and my doctor's office than mine is.) I need to give the needles back at some point! Plus, it's a quick knit and I don't need it hanging out and driving my numbers up unnecessarily.

Wombat. Priority: Medium-high. The recipient is due to make his arrival sometime in August. I can't rank it low and then put it off until September!

I frogged the Cursed Red Sock I started many moons ago. I seriously considered just cutting the yarn and hanging it up on my bulletin board with the other cursed yarn (What? You mean you don't have a cursed yarn quarantine?), but decided against it for now. The curse did make itself apparent in the rewinding process a few times, in the form of stubborn tangles, so quarantine is still an option--if the curse doesn't wear off before I get back to it. (Hear that, cursed yarn? You're not safe. There are ways of dealing with you. Remember, you're 40% cotton. I bet you're flammable. Think about that.)

So here's my plan: I'm taking the afghan square and the hanky to SnB today. If I finish the square, wonderful--I'll get to play with my hanky. After the square is done, I'll move on to the dishcloth, then the wombat. And after that, anything goes! My amazing and generous mother bought me some Debbie Bliss Pure Silk, and I'm scouting patterns now. Who wants to place bets on the next project I cast on?

Friday, May 23, 2008

Friday Night

May I just say that, if you have 36 hours to kill, I feel strongly that you shouldn't spend 16 of them driving. That's just too many.

I am very sleepy. As soon as this is posted, I'm going to bed.


I found myself in Kent, Ohio, today, and on the Kent State campus I saw some lovely knit graffiti--a tree sweater, covering probably 3 feet of trunk. It was fun and unexpected, and if I'd had my camera with me, I would have taken a picture.

I also saw several women knitting at a nearby table when I was at lunch, and then discovered that the son of my gracious host is a knitter!

Yep, I can find yarn and knitters just about anywhere. Even during a whirlwind visit to a town of 27,000.


While I was visiting the family, I did very little knitting. This is due in large part to how crammed my schedule was, and in small part to my shiny new crafting obsession.

Crocheting delicate lacy edging on handkerchiefs.

Unfortunately, delicate little ladies' hankies are surprisingly expensive and shockingly difficult to find. Despite my initial optimism, I've had to give up on my brilliant idea of using cheaper, more readily available men's hankies.

They're freakin' huge. Acres and acres of white cotton. Far too much ground to cover with my little size 8 steel hook.

As luck would have it, I did manage to obtain some ladies' hankies (at great expense).

I didn't embroider the rose on it--it came pre-embroidered. My main requirement in hanky-buying was that they be small. I anticipate the edging on the second one will look better after washing--my picots in particular. I love the sparkly crochet thread, though. I may have to buy more, but first I need to examine what's already in my stash. Looks like I've found a use for the crochet thread that came in my Elmore-Pisgah surprise bags! I've got another hanky in the works, and I might work on that some tomorrow. Or I might sleep all day.

I'm still undecided.

Oh, and before I go to bed, I have to show off my wedding injury. During photo-taking, Abby asked for her shawl, and as I ran inside to get it, I ran into a banister. Not particularly hard, mind you--just a glancing blow.

This is the result, several days later. (Interestingly, it's vaguely Kentucky-shaped.) Even now, after almost a week, it still pretty much looks like that. As I told my mother--I wouldn't have minded having such fair, delicate skin if I wasn't so damn clumsy!

Monday, May 19, 2008

Long and Picture-Heavy

Wow--almost two weeks since I posted. The time has flown by so fast! There's been a lot going on.

Here's what I've been up to.

When attempting to dry a large sock, you can wind up with an interesting mark on your towel.

Dolphins are a surprisingly quick knit. This one is about the length of a ballpoint pen, and took just over one evening.


I bought some pretty new yarn. It has silver in it--that's why it sparkles.

My brother looks very good in a skirt.

And his legs look very good in custom hand knit socks. (I love the shoes, too.)


He even looks good from the back.

Even after a very long day, my new sister-in-law is lovely.

And she seems to like my brother a lot. Bonus!

My mom and grandmother are very pretty, and my little(!) cousin is a very handsome young man. I even got him to dance with me a few times!


My dad looks very sharp in a tux and bow tie.


My brother's friends are extremely good sports. They prove this by wearing kilts, and not complaining.

Some seem to enjoy it more than others.

U.S. Army veterans waiting to stand up in a buddy's wedding ceremony, or marauding highlanders about to launch a daring raid on a plate of scones? You decide.

This is the wedding cake--a creative and elegant solution to the problem of "one cake, many people."

Here we have the opposite problem--one Dude of Honor, many cakes.

And, in an interesting twist of fate, the Dude of Honor kisses my dad--for $60.

David takes a swig from his flask to wash that image out of his head.

A wonderful day ended with a wonderful dance. Don't my parents look happy?

There was so much more that I forgot to take pictures of! The wedding was beautiful, all of the surrounding events were wonderful, and I think everyone who was involved is ready to sleep for about a week. I'm glad I get a few more days at home before I have to take a long drive again!

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Aside

I've been poking around some new blogs lately, and I realized something today. Most knitters--actually, I should probably say most knit bloggers--are firmly convinced that they are the dorkiest person on the planet.

I love this. We have a dorky hobby, and we love it so much we are absolute dorks about it. We are dorks when we meet famous knitters, when we run across some fabulous yarn that we can't live without, when we accomplish something that intimidated us. A kingdom of dorks--if not unashamed, then at least open about it.

We are a disparate community united by a common dorkiness.

Feeling like dorks tells me that we have a childlike joy in this. And it makes me feel good to have a hobby that can inspire that feeling--in me, and in so many other people.

Thus endeth Ann's Philosophical Musings. Go forth and be dorks.

Monday, May 5, 2008

Stuff!

Check it out--I finished my bolero!

Not too bad, for bad knitting. It even looks cute on me. It's a bit bigger than I had envisioned. I mean, I made the side that corresponds to my bust size, and if it was the kind of sweater that fastened all the way down the front, it would be perfect. However, what I foolishly didn't really think about when I started was that I wanted it to be a bit smaller--so that it would be a little form-fitting and not quite close in front. Oh, well. I'm happy with it. Everyone at Aaron's graduation party liked it, too. It'll be perfect to wear to one (or more, if it's chilly!) of the wedding events.

I also finished Abby's Afghan! I'll post a picture on Ravelry. Abby, you'll have to wait! I want it to be a little bit of a surprise.

I remembered that I was making a turtle as a big sister gift for one of the siblings of the forthcoming babies I'm also knitting for.

There wasn't much left to do. A few limbs, a head and tail, and a belly.

I love this guy. He's completely adorable. And I know that there are a few pervs out there just aching to get a glimpse of his undercarriage, so for them (you know who you are), here's a little turtle pr0n.

Sickos.

Finally, I started a pair of toe-up anklets to use a little skein of Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn that came as a free gift with some of my Sockotta.

It's orange. It's really orange. I find myself grateful that I only got 180-some yards of it. It's nice and soft, though, and someday I might have to buy some in a better color. For now, this will make a nice pair of little house socks.

So, you can see, even though I've been a slacker knit blogger recently, there is knitting going on. And even though some of it is "bad," it doesn't suck. I might have to make another turtle one of these days...