On feeling unfaithful

Oh, dear.  I’m suffering from some guilt here.  I love the Percy Shawl I’m working on, honestly.  And I really, really, really love the yarn.  I do.  But I also really, truly, madly and deeply love this project, too:

Jared Flood’s Girasole shawl. It’s addictive in the worst way – the pattern changes every 20 rows or so (sometimes even less) and it’s just so easy, yet cool! The yarn is making matters worse. I have to admit that it was love at first sight, the Hojlandsgarn and I. I mean, really, Shetland lambswool? Spun in Scotland? I was a goner from the start. A Greek sailor would have had better odds against a Siren.

I only started this beast* four days ago and I’m nearly through the first 300 yard ball of yarn.

This thing is dangerous.

In other knitting news… well, I have no knitting news since The Beast (I’m starting to like this name) is greedy with my time and very jealous of my attention.  I have not so much as looked at another project in days and I’m beginning to feel guilty of abandonment.  I suppose I’m lucky WIPs can’t file lawsuits over neglect or indicted for criminal negligence.

Anyway, maybe I can finally brush my teeth and go to bed.  The bathroom with my toothbrush (and there are three in this house!) has been continually occupied for the past hour and a half, so going to bed hasn’t been an option.

It’s almost a shame I can’t photo-document this phenomenon because I actually just stopped typing for a few minutes to knit on The Beast.

I am in so much trouble.

*1200 yards and a knit-on edging, don’t tell me it isn’t one – as pretty and sweet as it may seem, I know there are dark times ahead**
** I HATE knitted-on edgings.  I would actually rather crochet than knit-on an edging.  And that says a lot.

Quickie

Waiting for a ride (just finished “No Mean Feet!” at the store), and thought I’d put up my newest wip:

The Percy Shawl, knit with one 100g skein of Suri Blue in “Rose”. Love the pattern and the yarn, especially together.  If you’re a lace freak, I cannot recommend this pattern enough – the Estonian stitches are really, really cool.  And it’s proving to be a quick knit, too.  (It helps that all my commissioned knitting is done!)  I’m also going to cast on for the store’s Girasole KAL on Wednesday, so there’s going to be a lot of lace hanging around for the next few weeks (did I also mention that I found the yarn I bought for Icarus?!  I should probably wait to finish Percy before starting that, though…)

Anyway.  Ride should be here any minute, gotta run.

It’s the little things

It’s silly, I know, but I’m really proud of this particular design:

My Asymmetrical Cabled Collar. I designed it and knit it up in two days so ShibuiKnits would have a pattern/ kit to take to Columbus for TNNA. To get the even selvages, there are a series of cabled short rows worked on one end to create that fishtail effect.

Ah, well.

I forgot the needles I bought today at work (lovely, right?), so I can’t progress on three different projects (sad).  And since I still can’t face the Elderflower Skirt, maybe a new project is in order… mwahaha.

what a ride

D@mn, but I’m tired.  TNNA, WWKIP Day and a family visit – all in one month.  I probably could sleep for a week before I’d feel refreshed again.  Not that I’m complaining (anything but), it’s just that it would be nice to get a break in here somewhere.

Technically, I’m getting a mini-break this weekend (3 days off!), but I think I might actually plan for a week-long vacation once Sock Summit is over, cause I’ll probably need it by then.

Anyway.  Onto more interesting stuff.  Like, oh, Tegan!

Mom and Dad nearly fell over when they saw how big she is now. It’s kind of shocking, I’ll admit, because I remember when she couldn’t even sit up. Crazy. And Dylan?

Left to right: Mom, Dylan, Tegan, and Dad

Superbig now. I’m designing a sweater for him right now (Top Secret, shhh), and Alexa and I have decided to go with the 14-year-old option, instead of 12!

(P.S. No one tell the ‘rents I put that photo up)

Next on the catch up list, well, I can demonstrate to all y’all once again that I’m not actually a knitting guru. I have one heck of a knitting mistake to show off. And, oy, it’s a doozy.

Remember the Elderflower Skirt that I cast on a few months ago, fully acknowledging it was doomed to failure? Well, here’s the first big ‘Uh Oh’ to date. See the lace?

The very lace I was so proud of myself for decoding and progressing on (one-third of the way through!). Well, hah, I realised something this week – - – it’s in the wrong place.

Hah.

Yeah. Partially, I blame the instructions (they’re very vague, I even showed them to Opus who couldn’t make heads or tails of where to start the lace short rows), but I also blame myself. One should not attempt lace short rows after three weeks of inadequate sleep and one too many glasses of wine (don’t ask, it was a very bad day with the server).

Right.

So, I still haven’t ripped back because, quite frankly, I just can’t face it right now. Which might explain the rapid progress of several other projects that had been sitting on the back burner for awhile, liiike Mom’s vine-y socks:

And my Euroflax/ Tsumugi Silk cardigan (no photo, sorry). Plus one or two other Top Secret projects.

In non-knitting news, I just finished the Percy Jackson & The Olympians series, which I really have to recommend to anyone who’s a fan of Greek mythology/ history. It’s hilarious (in a good way – I thought Apollo was spot-on).

Also, Mom and I went a little crazy at the Gardening Center at our Fred Meyer…

… and invested in a lot of plants.

Which helped transform this:

into this:

Much better, right? There’s still a lot of work to do, but at least I won’t be embarrassed to have Patrick and Opus over next weekend for a carding (& spinning) party.

At that’s a lot to cover in one post, but hopefully I’ll have the successful repair of the Elderflower Skirt to report next time.

Living on borrowed time.

It seems like I’m always short on time these days.  The blog, my design work, and even day-to-day stuff have really been suffering lately.  Hopefully, once TNNA is over and past, I might just have more time to do the fun stuff like blogging and knitting and (oh) cooking and maybe even not-so-fun stuff like laundry (it’s embarassing how many shirts and shorts/ skirts I’ve had to buy in the last two weeks so I wouldn’t have to go to work in rags or a Halloween costume).  Oh, well.

Anyway.  It seems like I’m always stealing time from something else – I knit instead of eating dinner, or work instead of knitting, etc.  Just so’s we’re clear on the title of this post and all y’all don’t think I’m getting more off in the head than normal.

In the next couple of weeks, I’m hoping to have a sock pattern that will need test knitters.  It’s for a US 7, 7.5-8″ foot circumference and I’m thinking of submitting it to somewhere – so I will need very studious test knitters.  Any volunteers?

Before I can get to that, though, I have to finish three commissioned patterns and all the graphic design stuff I’ve promised for TNNA and the like.  I bet you never knew I was a graphic artist.  It’s because I’m not, but I’m all we have.  Oy.

Not that I’m not doing fairly well, I just have the nagging suspicion that someone who’s been trained in Photoshop and InDesign would do better.

Eh. It functions.

I have good news.  I’ve been promoted.  Or will be, as of July 1st.  I begged to have some time to finish current tasks before starting new ones.  See?  I’m learning.

And that’s about everything.  In short.  I haven’t run off with the French Foreign Legion (I wish) or been kidnapped by aliens (which could be interesting in a Farscape kind of way).  Mostly, life is pretty darn dull around here.  Oooh, are any of you far-reaching readers going to be in Portland for Sock Summit?  I’d love to meet up with you!  It’s always nice to put faces to commentors ;D

Wow, it’s after eleven.  I have to get ready for bed.  Tomorrow’s going to be another late night.  ‘Til after TNNA, stay cool!