Knit Once, Purl Forever

Still Here

I'm just barely here. I'm hurt. I'm "suffering" all kinds of agony. Okay, "suffering" may not be totally correct as things could definitely be worse. But I feel as though I'm am suffering of sorts and I just have to share the "misery."

Bad Project
The big work project went off without a hitch at the end of last week, but I've been sulking around ever since. I'm pretty sure that I'm suffering from post work-project depression. This is not something I'm familiar with as I'm usually more than happy to move on to the next thing. I think I just enjoyed this one so much that it's hard to see it end. Of course, the next project is even bigger and should prove to be even more challenging, but I'm still sad to see my baby "grow up" and end.

As sick puppies go, I'm hurt.

Bad Blogger
First of all, I'm the world's worst blogger. The WORST! It has come to my attention that I've only managed to post eight entries this month. Eight out of 29. Bad as that sounds, that's one more entry than I managed to post last month. Yes, I am ashamed of myself. Yes, I am busy, but that's not a valid excuse as I manage to waste plenty of time each day doing nothing much of anything when I could be saying something here.

As bloggers go, I'm hurt.

Bad Gardener
At first glance, it would appear that I am a good gardener. I certainly don't mess around when I'm gardening. We don't cut corners around here. I'm VERY organized in that I gather all my supplies and go about my work with a plan. But it's definitely not a labor of love as I do not ENJOY it for a second. I do not love to garden. It would have to be a labor of hate. I attack the gardening on high speed. Doing things right, while getting done as soon as possible is the mission. 

And with The Hubby suffering from a broken leg and ankle and all, the gardening, and any outside  chore for that matter, rests squarely on my shoulders.

I do love it when I'm done though. I love the sense of accomplishment from having the yard work done. I enjoy seeing the pretty flowers and neatly trimmed shrubs. I'm just not too fond of the work.

The entire weekend consisted of gardening on high speed, including the digging up of a huge bush that had died, and every muscle in my body aches right now. It actually hurt to lift the 20 oz water bottle to my lips earlier tonight.

As people go, I'm hurt.

Bad Sunburn
I managed to get a horrible sunburn at the soccer game today. Hello, it's APRIL. Sunburn in April? I guess there's a first time for everything.

As pain goes, I'm even more hurt.

Bad Good Knitter
I haven't been able to knit anything complicated as I just can't focus enough for that, but I have been knitting away on socks. I should have another pair completed soon. And I've been eying the WIP basket, dreaming of finishing even more projects. Suddenly, I'm all about adding the finished projects into the finished projects gallery. It's an obsession. What can I say?

As obsessive knitters go, I'm hurt.

Sir Knits A Lot

I know, I know. The word play on the Sir from the Sirdar Jacket is getting old and I promise this is the last one. But it really fits because there has been a whole lot of knitting going on over here this weekend.

The Sirdar Jacket is coming along. I've managed to complete three repeats of the diamond pattern and I still love this project. It's challenging, but not too challenging. It's cabled, but not too cabled. It's perfect.

I've also started another pair of socks in Opal Petticoat colorway 1295. I saw the "Brach's Socks" somewhere recently and decided I HAD to dig this yarn out of my stash and abandon all my other projects, but I'm not sure which knit blogger to blame. I know I saw the socks in a recent Bloglines post, but that's the danger of reading blogs via Bloglines: they ALL look the same unless I take the time to visit the blogger's site and I use Bloglines because I don't always have time to do so. So, I don't know who to blame, but her (I think it was a "her") socks were so beautiful that I had to knit some too.

Of course, the official "Brach's Socks" yarn was Trekking XXL in colorway 126, but I think the Opal Petticoat in colorway 1295 is pretty close. Close enough. I do love them and I'm trying something new: I added a picot edge to my top down socks this time. One of these days I will be brave enough to knit toe up socks...just not this time.

Oh, and I finally finished the Twizzler socks.

Yarn: Knit Picks self-dying sock yarn dyed with Kool-Aid.

Needles: US 1

Pattern: Basic sock recipe.

Time: These socks have lived in my car for the last few months and have been knit here and there and everywhere around town.

I expect another crazy week at the office, but I hope to be around more than I was last week. Of course, that wouldn't take much!

Sir Rips a Lot

The voices were right you know. Sharon knew. I knew it too, but I loved that colorway so much that I REALLY wanted it to work.

This is what's left of the Sirdar Jacket in the Plum colorway (145). Although I really love that colorway, I had to admit that it's just not the best choice for a cable sweater. Ripping the sweater was a wise decision. The Plum colorway will find the right pattern eventually. It's inevitable.

As for the Sirdar Jacket?

We're back in business with gray Rowan Felted Tweed in colorway 159.

Yay! There is finally a pattern going on here that we can actually see! I love this yarn by the way. Did I mention that already?

It's crunch time at the office this week, so I don't know that I will be around all that much. I will try.

Sir Time Out

That's the status of the Sirdar Jacket. I ignored the voice (is it bad if it's voices?) in my head for as long as I could until I could no longer ignore the fact that we really need a time out.

 

It even looks guilty, doesn't it? Notice how it curls up and away from the camera? Guilt. Pure and simple.

The stitch markers talked me into a shameless beauty shot. You know I've been dying to use these, but they're actually necessary too. I've found that they help me follow along with the pattern. And the reason for that?

It's not easy to see the cable pattern because this yarn is so dark. I've only knit 10 rows of the cable pattern so far, but I think that would ordinarily be enough to get a sense of the pattern.

You can see the pattern in this off-color shot.

I really love this yarn and I like the way the cable pattern is shaping up. But the pesky voices tell me to stop knitting. They say the cable pattern won't show. They warn of the danger of knitting an entire sweater and not being happy with the results. It's very disconcerting because the more I knit, the more they nag. I keep telling those pesky voices that the pattern will still pop out with time and many more pattern repeats--we, the voices and I, just need to be patient. It will be more obvious if I just knit more. Who's right?

Of course, even if I do decide to continue knitting Sirdar with this yarn, I have another reason to rip. Can you see what I've done?

Next to the Ladybug (to the right, to the right), I've replaced the seed stitch that is shown on the pattern picture with 1x1 ribbing. And I hate the way this looks! In my defense, it wasn't intentional. I *swear* that I followed the pattern as written and ended up with the 1x1 ribbing. I've studied the pattern several times now, and when you alternate k1, p1 with p1, k1, 1x1 ribbing is the results.

So, Sirdar is in time out until I decide if I'm going to rip down to the band and begin the pattern again with seed stitch on the panels that surround the cable pattern. What to do, what to do????

Telltale Tuesday

Telling on myself on Tuesday, that is.

I love Technique Tuesday as it gives me the opportunity to learn something new each week. Sometimes I learn several new somethings and I hope that's the case for all of you as well. I have something a bit different in mind for Technique Tuesday this week. Instead of learning how to do something, I'd like to talk about learning how not to do something.

The technique I would most like to unlearn would be the single cast-on (also known as the backward-loop cast-on). The single cast-on was the first cast-on method I was taught all those years ago and for my first 20 years as a knitter it was the only cast-on method I knew existed.  Of course, I've known of other methods for a while and I've even tried a new method once or twice. The problem is that when I'm ready to start a new project, I grab my yarn and needles and those backward loops are on my needles faster than I can say either provisional or long-tail cast on. Next thing I know, I have all my stitches on and I'm busy knitting the first row before I realize what I'm doing. I'm on auto knit.

I'm a little self conscious about my "primitive" cast on technique especially when knitting with others, but I don't usually think twice about it when I'm knitting alone. The thing is, I think my tried and true cast-on method works out perfectly fine most of the time. I've been doing it for so long that I employ several tricks and end up with fairly even stitches anyway.

Just wondering if anyone else out there has a technique they would like to unlearn? Is there something you do that you would like to change? Is there a technique you would like to learn if only you weren't always knitting on auto pilot?

Pretty Knitting

Here's the latest Twizler sock, complete with yarn jewelry in the form of a beautiful stitch marker:

I love Ms. Calamknitty's stitch markers so much that I snatched up as many as I could during my last visit to the yarn store. Here's the lot of them. Almost makes me want to cast on another dozen projects or so just so I can see them all in action.

Not that I ever need an excuse to cast on for another project, but if I did need an excuse I'm sure that the prospect of getting to use these adorable sheep would fit the bill.

And if you think those are cute, check out the ladybugs. They are my absolute favorite. LOVE them.

More Diet Stuff:

Thanks for all the supportive comments in the last post. Dieting sucks of course, but being in shape and feeling healthier is great. I do feel a lot better than I did last summer before I embarked on my weight loss journey, but I know I will feel even better when I finally meet my goal.

What I didn't mention was that I've been stuck on this plateau before. The last time I was stuck at this weight I ended up giving up on my diet and regaining all the weight plus an extra 15 pounds. I'm determined that won't be the case this time.

And, yes, the advice to drink more water is excellent advice because, while I drink a lot of water, until today I probably haven't been drinking as much as I should as I've been slacking in that department as well.

The other thing I need to work on is going to bed at a decent hour. I tend to stay up until all hours of the night and then I'm tired during the day and I use that as an excuse to skip my workout. And we all know that skipping workouts leads you down a slippery slope...

That said, it's off to bed for me. Good night, everyone!

Cable Diet

Actually, this post is mostly about the diet. I haven't mentioned anything about my progress toward meeting my fitness goals because I really haven't made any progress lately. I've been on a plateau since the beginning of March. The sad thing is that I'm sooooooo close to meeting my goal. I only have eight pounds to go.

I really want to meet my goal soon, so I've decided to make some changes starting this week.

For one thing, I will weigh myself everyday again. I tend to stick to my meal plan more when I know where I stand with the scale. When I know that I'm up a pound or two, it's easy to channel that knowledge into better eating habits. I tend to relax and reach for things I shouldn't when I don't know where I stand. It's as simple as that.

Next, I will kick up my fitness goals by increasing my workouts. Since I've been working at the office so much for the last month or so, I've really slacked off at the gym. In fact, I haven't worked out since the beginning of March either. Bad, I know. I'm committed to hitting the gym 6 days a week from now until the end of May. I'm toying with the idea of shooting for running/walking 100 miles by that same time frame, but I don't know that I want to limit myself to the running/walking as long as I'm working out.

The last part of my plan involves sticking to my meal plan and recording everything I eat each day as I eat it. When I bite it, I will write it. This is hard for me as I tend to write in my journal every other day or sometimes every two or three days. It's difficult to remember and record everything when I wait, so I know this is one of the things that is preventing me from meeting my goal.

I would like to meet my goal by the end of May or sooner. The sooner the better.

As for the knitting...

I've been working on the second Twizler sock. This photo is actually from a couple days ago. I've actually knit the heel flap and I'm now rounding the heel and advancing toward the foot. And I've cast on for the Sirdar jacket. There's not enough progress for a photo yet, but I'm working on it.

Besides the cable project and three different pairs of socks, other projects on the needles include the fair isle hoodie and the Icarus Shawl and more. Ordinarily, this would bother me to no end, but the ADD has been worse than usual this year. ADD is the new black.

Just Alright

The lady handed me an empty shopping bag (extra large) and a Popsicle stick (extra licked) marked 40% off. And while I was armed with a plan and knew precisely what I wanted to purchase, it still wasn't that easy. First of all, I browsed through the Inspired Cable Knits books ahead of time and found a couple potential cable projects, but I didn't write anything down. I was able to reference the store's copy of the book, but I couldn't really concentrate or calculate any yardage equations in my head because we really were shoulder to shoulder--constantly bumping into each other and all that. Plus, I haven't shared just how much NOISE a bunch of excited knitters can make. WOW! Just so you know.

It really wouldn't have paid to have done all the math anyway. They didn't have more than 10 balls of any one color of the Felted Tweed. (Teeehee! I just typed "Feltweed" by mistake, but I think that's a better name for this yarn!)

From left, I was able to find nine balls of the gray (159), 10 balls of the plum (145), and 3 balls of the dark blue (133).

The colors are most accurate in this photo from the last post:

Now, which cable sweater do I knit? I've seen and touched finished prototypes of all of the sweaters below and they are all simply beautiful. Breathtakingly so. That's why what you're going to see/read next, might surprise you...

I first considered knitting Gathering Intentions, until I decided that I'm just not feeling it.

Then I looked at Putting Down Roots, but I decided it was just alright for me.

And there's just no "Yo-factor"* in Celtic Icon. The more I look at it, the more I decide that it's just another hooded sweater. I actually cast on for this and knit three rows before I pushed it into the project basket.

I really can't explain it. They're all very fine projects--they're just not what I visualize when I close my eyes and see the Feltweed FO of my dreams.

Sirdar #8445 just might be the perfect cable project though! I just can't decide if I should knit it in the gray or in the plum. Do you think the cables will show if I use the plum? Is that colorway too dark for cables?

I guess there's only one way to find out...

*I might be watching a bit too much American Idol this season.

The Early Bird...

...gets the yarn.

It's good to be an early bird, not that I have been the early bird very often. I did manage to make it during the first hour of the yarn sale on Saturday--the hour they were giving the 40% discount off all yarn. And, while I definitely don't NEED more yarn, I have been wanting to buy enough Rowan Felted Tweed to knit a cable sweater, but I didn't want to spend a lot of money buying yarn that I know I do not NEED. Getting the yarn at 40 percent is a whole nother story, though.

Of course, every other knitter in the city showed up for the sale as well. I know I like to exagerate, but that is not an exageration. We were crammed in that yarn store, shoulder to shoulder. And while it only took me five minutes to select the yarn I intended to buy, I had to wait in line for 45 minutes just to check out. I'm not complaining or anything. Can't complain about getting the yarn you have been wanting to get for almost half price.

I think I purchased enough yarn to knit two sweaters. What I don't know is whether I have enough for two cable sweaters.  And that brings me to the Technique Tuesday portion of this entry.

TECHNIQUE TUESDAY

I know cable knitting takes more yarn than "regular" knitting. Anyone know just how much more is required? Is it 10% more? 20%? 30%? 50%? Or even more than that? I searched around on the Internet, but couldn't find the answer to that.  Any tips for a book or reference material that answers that question? Any help is appreciated as I really don't want to knit an entire cable sweater to find out that I don't have enough yarn to finish it.