Knit like the wind weekend.

I’ve had a productive weekend.  Thankfully.   My knitting slump was a bit depressing.  But I woke yesterday morning and made the decision that I was going to knit like the wind all weekend.  First and foremost was finishing Mackenzie’s hat.  And I did.  I just don’t really… think it’s all that …good.  The biggest problem was the yarn, which looked sweet and was really soft, but was LOOSELY thread plied, making it a splitty disaster to knit with.  

It’s the design that my friend asked for, and I guess it’s not too bad, really.  Although, my pom poms look a little sad.  I’m going to give them another trim tonight before sending it off to it’s new home.  I just hope that all fits well and that poor little Mackenzie doesn’t look ridiculous in it.  

Next on the knitting list were the Bella Mittens.  I’ve had one mitten done for a week or so and knowing there was another cold front moving in, I figured that I’d better finish them up so that I could finally have a pair of mittens that aren’t fingerless.  (I don’t want my fingers to freeze and fall off!)  So, I whipped up the second mitten in seemingly record time yesterday and now I have happy hands that won’t mind scraping the car windows at -2˚.  

Now all I need is an onion spray-painted gold and an old orange truck to stand next to and then I’ll be instant Bella.  Yeah, I’m a geek like that.  I’m okay with it.

And since I can’t very well have mittens without a matching hat, I whipped up the Bella Hat, designed by the awesome Hollye.  

I had just enough yarn left from the mittens for the hat, so all worked out well.  Now I coordinate.

In reading news, I’m coming along with my 52 in 52 challenge.  I’ve finished 4 books so far and will most likely finish up book 5 tonight.  So, I’m right on track.  I had hoped to get a little ahead of myself so that I could allow for extra time down the road for a couple of larger books that I have queued.  But, I suppose that I have plenty of time to get ahead still.  I try to give myself some time right before bed to read each night, but I’ve been noticing lately that it might not be the best idea to read vampire novels right before bed.  They’re starting to affect my dreams.  

Now I’m off to prepare dinner (sauteed artichoke hearts and asparagus with wheat pasta and feta) and then work on some fimo clay buttons that I’m making for a swap.

january.

I’m such a blogging slacker.  

I’ve been in a funk lately.  But, honestly I get like this every January.  I get restless, lose focus and motivation, and dwell on things that should not be dwelled on.  But, as the days start to get longer and the air starts to get warmer, it passes through me and I become myself again.  

I’ve been trying to keep myself busy with the “string” (as a friend called it) but my short attention span has me bouncing from project to project looking for something that will hold my interest for more than an hour.  Progress has been made, just not on the projects that need progress.  Par example, Mom’s Christmas socks.  Oh yes, I’ve not finished them yet.  I’ve been trying to knit on them tonight, but my mind is everywhere except for the socks.  Mackenzie’s hat is so close.  But kitchnering 128 stitches is seriously annoying, so it stays unfinished and Mackenzie’s head continues to be cold.  I did finish the first mitten in my Bella’s mittens.  And it looks pretty groovy.

But, I have no motivation to even start the second mitten.  

At least I finished up the second cowl from the Jewel Cormo of Doom.  The first one went off to find a home with Skye, and since there was enough yarn left, I made a second one for me.  

I like things made with handspun yarns.  There’s a rustic quality and a richness about them that you don’t always get with a commercial yarn.  And that makes me happy.  Plus it satisfies the deep-rooted need in me to make things.  And what could be better than making something from something else that you’ve made?  

I also need to get back on track with my book challenge.  I’m slacking there as well.  Eh, something tells me that I should just crawl in bed and sleep through the rest of January.  February is always infinitely better anyway.

I dyed.

Yesterday I decided to further my love of all things fiber by giving dyeing a go.  And of course, I loved it.

Following how-to instructions from the fabulous missjulie, I managed to dye a skein of yarn without it looking too unfortunate.  In fact, I rather like it.  Surprisingly, it was super easy to do.  I used Wilton’s cake icing dyes in violet, teal and orange.  (I like the idea of being able to use non-toxic dyes that won’t be a danger to my kitchen or dog.)  

I’m calling the yarn Lisa Frank because the colors look like a Lisa Frank sticker page threw up on the yarn.  It’s crazy bright and garish, but I tend to like garish colors, so I’m extremely pleased with the results.  The true test is now to find a pattern that can stand up to the color and see how it will look knitted up.  So, I’ll have to get back to you on that one.

I picked up the needles this weekend and have been working diligently on the mitten and hat set for my friend’s daughter.  I’ve already knocked out the mittens and have made a decent start on the hat.  I’ve never knit anything for a baby before, so I’m really nervous about the sizing.  I just have no idea how they should fit.  I do have measurements from my friend, but still.  He made the measurements, not me, so he may not have measured the right places.  I guess I’ll find out once everything is finished and they have been tried on.  I do hope they fit.  I’ll feel terrible if they don’t. 

That’s about all I have to say today, which isn’t a lot really.  It’s been a rather quiet weekend as I’ve not been able to go anywhere due to yesterday’s ice storm.  But sometimes quiet winter weekends indoors are exactly what you need to recharge for Monday.

I love my bed.

I’m exhausted.  Every ounce of my being screams for me to go to bed and stay there for at least two days.  I spent the entire day at work blankly staring at the computer screen trying not to fall asleep.  I turned on episodes of Strongbad on my iPod in hopes that it would keep me awake, but still my eyelids weighed heavy and my head bobbed up and down as I drifted between sleep and oh-my-god-I-hope-no-one-saw-that-I-just-fell-asleep (you know that brief little adrenaline rush that soars through your body momentarily when you wake yourself up from half-sleep in public).  Somehow, I made it through without my head smacking into my keyboard with a loud crack that would have made the devout christian woman in the cube behind me swear with surprise.  Go me.

But no sleep just yet.  I’m about 40 pages from finishing book #1 of 52.  So, no sleep until Sookie’s latest shenanigans are through.

And knitting… it’s been a while since I’ve done any of that.

Spinning…  I’m way behind on Lew’s yarn.  I need to just knock it out this weekend.  That’s totally doable.

But I did learn how to crochet last weekend.  Surprisingly, it doesn’t suck as much as it has always sucked for me in the past.  I’m learning early on that I have a talent for decreasing in crochet.  Unintentionally.  As in I went from 203 stitches in the first row to 103 stitches in the 3rd… maybe 4th row.  And I have no clue how I did it.  Now I just need to crochet something that isn’t a sad little test scarf.  

And since I have no WIP updates to share, I’ll leave you with my new favorite photo.  This is the Best.  Spinning.  Photo.  Ever.  And no, I did not do this (although I kinda wish I had because it’s awesome).

Watch out where the other end of your roving is while you are spinning.  Otherwise, you might spin the carpet too.

Just a little word of advice.