A bit of fluff

Meet "Sirius Black" on some kind of mixed media roving. It's pretty sparkly, but there wasn't much of it, so I don't know what I'll do with it. Hopefully something fun. Once I ply it and everything. Whenever I get the chance to do that, since this week is full of post-Christmas type stuff, and packing. (I'm leaving on Monday!)





I had to spin Sirius up, because I had only done about half of the mini-braid and I needed to make room on my wheel for this:

Little Women on shetland wool. It's another spin along, based on classic literature. I'm very excited to spin this braid, but I fear that spinning it will have to wait until I return from my quick jaunt to Europe.

Did everyone get nice Christmas presents? I did!

Finishing High

You know that feeling you get when you've finished a new project? The euphoria because it's so awesome that you're done and have a new object, and hey wouldn't it be great if you could finish some other stuff so that the feeling could continue?

Well, I have it. I've been doing kind of a purge on my WIPs. It's pretty cool. I finished my class knitting hat. That's my knitting during my academic classes, not a knitting class where the project is a hat.

Pretty, yes? It's the Pasha hat, in Honor. Absolutely gorgeous yarn, but I'm very partial to Lorna's Laces. And silk...

I also finished my novelty scarf. Just in time for Christmas! Which is lucky, because I need a present for a friend, like, right now. Two birds, one stone. Epic.

Admittedly, part of the purge has involved frogging. Those socks I was complaining about? I've consigned them to the frog pond because they have displeased me. Now I need to select a different stitch pattern and try again. You know, at some point in the future. Because I have many better things to knit! Including a thrummed hat and thrummed mittens. Which I may or may not have already cast on.

I'm so excited to be knocking down these WIPs! The melonstrosity finishing high should persist for a while longer, right? Cuz I can think of a bunch of things that I would like to work through...

A very hairy Christmas

I actually ended up knitting very few Christmas gifts this year. Maybe I maxed myself out last year. Or my friends and family have enough knitted items (perish the thought!) 

Anyway, this year I just knitted a couple of cowls, the same yarn and pattern. I posted about one of them earlier this year, because I thought I was gonna be on top of things. Ha! Anyway, 2 cowls. 

Then, because I love my brother beyond reason, and because he thought it would be funny, I made him a beard hat. I hope he likes/wears it. Because the half double crochets were much slower than just about any other stitch I have ever had to work, and the treble crochets in the beard were obnoxious as well. Holy poop.

Finally, I made a little fingerstache. Because all fake mustaches are hilarious. I can't imagine a time when I wouldn't find them funny. And my cousin clearly agrees, because she silk screened my brother a t-shirt that says "I mustache you a question"only with a mustache instead of the word. Freaking funny. Anyway, I bet she'll appreciate the fingerstache I made for her. Fortunately, it didn't take very long. And it's the only one I had to make, unlike the cup cozies I made last year that no one understood cuz Dad forgot to include the explanatory note (no, I'm not bitter, why do you ask?). Genius. I guess this actually counts as Hanukkah knitting, since she's Jewish... but who is counting?

Anyone else have some wonderful Christmas knitting to display?

A little Christmas present to myself

DO YOU SEE THAT?! That's the melonstrosity. I have finally killed it. I cast it off this afternoon, and wove in the ends, and tried to fold it up.

Do you know how heavy more than 40 skeins of Simply Soft knitted into a blanket is? Do you? Well, it's really *bleep*ing heavy. Like, really. Clearly, someone didn't think this plan through all that well.

Too late now! Now I'm going to love this blanket to bits. Because I invested several months of my life into it. And it's wonderful. I just need to find a place for it to live... hopefully somewhere with reinforced floors.

I now have the freedom to knit pretty much anything I want! And don't have to donate 2 hours every night in the hopes that someday I will be free of this blanket. Unfortunately, I'm still being dutiful. I have a hat that was a class project but now class is over, a cozy shawl that has been sadly neglected, a scarf made out of the new ruffle yarn that hasn't received my full attention because it's kind of difficult to knit with, a sweater that requires-wait for it- 3 charts, some socks that have fallen out of favor, and a lace shawl that I can't bear to look at because it's scary.

*Sigh* I guess it's back to the grindstone. Maybe I'll reward myself with some time on the spinning wheel before I slog away at those other projects, though...

Picture this

Last night, I sat down at my knitting (after whining a bit to Caitlin about how sick I am of the melonstrosity). I was working dutifully, thinking how wonderful it was going to be to get 4 more rows done, and be closer to the end (less than 3 blocks away!), when BAM! I ran out of one of the colors I was using.

Apparently, the last time I purchased yarn for this freaking blanket, I didn't check the labels on the colors I was buying. I bought 2 skeins of vanilla, and one skein of off-white. Off-white is not sufficiently close to the correct color of yarn.

Therefore, at 10:30 last night, progress on the melonstrosity stalled.

Bugger.

Going out for yarn reinforcements later. I am cranky that this is necessary.

Revised

I was going to post this really long, whiny rant. But then I decided I didn't really want to put that out into the universe. Instead, the things I want to say, in bullet format:

• This week is kicking my booty. Seriously. Can we be done yet?
• It's my sister's birthday week. Yes, she gets a week. Which means I'm seriously sleep deprived and yet still have to function normally. How is that fair?
• Knitting on the melonstrosity continues apace. If by "apace" you understand that I mean that I'm cramming it in wherever I have space, which is not really a whole lot of time.
• Shield your eyes if you are sensitive. Christmas is less than 3 weeks away. I'm not done buying gifts, making gifts, and deciding what to give people. This is a problem. 
• I'm leaving for Europe in less than a month. I don't have enough clothes for this trip. And I don't have my airline tickets yet (not my job, I'm waiting for the group I'm going with to send them to me). I'm kinda freaking out. I have my knitting planned, though. So at least that's settled.

That is all. Return to your regularly scheduled lives. Sorry there aren't any pictures. Again. Because my life is being consumed by this month. No joke.