To crochet or not to...that is the question...

But let's talk socks first. This is how far I got yesterday before I got the overwhelming car sick feeling. That was fun. Started on the heel flap. Yay!

I was going to start on a blanket for my son with the black and blue yarn, but I got side tracked with a baby shower I have been invited to in two weeks. It was going to be pink and white, but Wal-Mart only had 2 skeins. I buy cheap yarn...don't hate me. So now it's purple and white. I figure when it's about 10 times this size I'll call it done.

It took me so long to figure out if I wanted to crochet or knit this. I decided on crochet because I think I crochet faster and I didn't have a circular pair of needles and the LYS weren't open. I do have to admit that I hate to crochet with bumpy yarn though because I lose stitches. See...if I had had this blog two years ago I would have remembered this.

Ah well. Wish me luck.

It's a sweater folks!

Happy happy...although this may not give me a thing to post tomorrow.

It's done! It's done! Oh joy! Buttons and everything...and it's pretty close to the pattern. :) But she likes it and that's all that matters.

A bit more about me...

Post edited...I went public 03/25/08.

Anyway...on to the REAL stuff...

I'm still working on it...only 60 stitches to go. *shudder* You can't even tell from this picture...only this cable running through it...will finish before Chika can't fit into it...must...finish...argh...

Happy sock progress. Although the actual sock I finished months ago and now I'm working on it's mate. I love self striping yarn...really any multicolored yarn...keeps my brain entertained. I have no idea how people knit or crochet single colored items...it would drive me crazy...I've tried...it has... :)

I'm looking forward to next Saturday. Next Saturday is St*tch & B*tch...although I am liking knit, purl, and hurl better...definitely PC for the kids. I get to assist in teaching Imbrium how to spin...yippee...I know she'll be hooked. Our other co-conspirator is looking forward to this as well.

Hee hee...you will be assimilated, resistance is futile.

Observation

So my knitting is suffering. I tend to go on these spurts of where there is not enough yarn or fiber to knit, crochet or spin, and then I stop for months. But this time I'm realizing that I've stopped because, 1) I work a lot, 2) my kids keep me busy, 3) I've been blogging a lot.

After all that picture shows hardly any progress in my work. It shows a few more rows which is a result of me forgetting to take the pattern to work. I did remember the knitting this time.

Last night I did accomplish this though...which is 60 pick up and knit stitches for the border on the cardigan. I forgot how much a PIA I think circular needles can me. Go figure. But it's going slowly...so close to being done. I'm not convinced that the size of the cable is long enough either...40"...although the Addi Turbo package said that that size should be sufficient. I suppose we shall see.

As a side note...I have some concern that my blog will be rather boring...just with the knitting. I don't have pets, besides the kids *snicker*, and I'm not married, nor do I have significant other. I work, take care of kids, and knit...sprinkled in with some reading here and there. I'm not dating anyone right now, my job is a bit boring,...blah, blah, blah, me, me, me...complaining. :)

Gotta go knit now...how else will I ever pick up and knit those 200+ stitches? They won't knit themselves...but it would be so nice if they did...

The bread knife snuck up on me...

ow...

ow...

stupid hiding knife in the water for washing dishes.

I forgot my knitting book today. I had nothing to read at work. What's worse?! I forgot my knitting too!

When I got home my boy child did bring me this...

"Mom-ee, Mom-ee...here!" I'm going to make him a blanket. It's self striping and awesome. He picked the colors. Super cute! Still in diapers and does not understand that LYS are not for running. Truly a bummer. That is what the internet is for. :)

A funny side note. I am a pretty decent cook. I have learned the basics and I have always thought who on earth would buy pre-sliced carrots, or potatoes, etc etc, because who can't cut up a carrot? Yesterday I found out the answer to my question...the type of people who buy stuff like that is...ME.

Two young children, and me...ack! Sure, that's fast, that's simple...pre-shredded potatoes? GREAT! Hurry, hurry! Get out of the store before the recognize the snacks.

Tickles me greatly thinking over this.

Oh, the other thing I noticed...delving into blogs...knit blogs per se...is that there seems to be much swapping going on here. Good thing and a bad thing. I used to be quite into the FB's, Decos, Slams, Sticker Swaps, and a few others...note pads or stationary. I would get at least a package a week. And I must say, there is nothing nicer than getting mail. But alas, when I moved I stopped. Sooo...tempting to start again...although with yarn. Ponder, ponder.

Thank you all!

Thank you all for the wonderful welcome. I must admit though, due to the settings on my blog, I thought to myself, "aww...only a few posts..." THEN, I checked my email and approved my comments.

So I was busy at work and with the kids and I didn't think I had anything interesting to post today, so I was going to skip it. Although, I did think to fix my grammatical errors in prior posts that my mom pointed out to me. Then, quite suddenly it occurred to me. I did do something!

Which I have proceeded to align funny on this page. Oh well. Live and learn.

Now of course if I could only remember where the pattern is...

Of course...in my knitting bag...go figure...me putting something where it truly belongs.

One of these days I'll post how my spinning is going as well. One of these days.

To answer a few questions, since I can't figure out how to reply directly to the comments yet...

The light green yarn on the prior post...the label calls it "127 Print." I'm convinced it'll felt into something nifty.

I am going the the Estes Park Wool Market, with Imbrium as a matter of fact. Fuzz...I am going to probably get in a lot of trouble there...especially since it's not a LYS. :D

Grr...

So I don't think I will have any progress on my cardigan to report today. Today I took the children to a yarn store. My oldest has always been perfect at craft stores. My youngest, doesn't get it. My oldest at the same age as the youngest would just peer,never touch, and would stay close to me. My youngest ran in circles around the isle.

I blame this on the fact that I was a stay at home parent when my oldest was that age, and I am not while my youngest is this age.

This brings me to my vent, the lovely worker at the yarn store, old enough to be my grandmother, kindly tells me how they appreciate that the children do not run in the store because of the hooks they have the yarn hanging on.

Duh.

Did I really look like I was chasing my child on purpose? This also brings me to my other issue. I have yet to be at a yarn store in this state that I like. They have...

• Ignored my question
• Ignored me completely
• Could not be found when I wanted to actually pay
• Started helping another customer in the middle of my question
• Have been prissy
• Have been unhelpful
• Been rude

So this yarn store I think has entered the top of my list of bad stores to go to. I am not stupid. I was not just letting the child run rampant. I was with him trying to catch him. I know I would have been irratated if I were the store worker as well. But I think you know the difference between parents' who don't care and those who are trying.

Needless to say, they did not have the pattern I wanted. Unfortunately they do carry my favorite brand of sock needles. I am hoping another one of my unfavorite yarn stores will carry them...or maybe I'll just resort to shopping online.

So I went to the next least favorite yarn store...and they were much nicer. But the worker was a newer one, which would explain her friendly manner. I tolerate this store, because they actually have a little place set up with toys for children. My oldest enjoyed it very much. The youngest napped.

So, they didn't have the pattern either. But I did find this on sale.

Even though it's olive green, it's just screaming to be something felted. So, I bought a book on felting. Should be interesting...when I get to it. That and lace, but that is another blog.

A Little Blurry Eyed

So...I don't know what was up with me last night, but for some reason my brain did not want to sleep until about 5 am. Riiight...

But...as a result...

It's a sweater!!

So I have the collar and the front border to finish, buttons, and sewing in the tails. Wow. Took me a long time. But I've completed it. The one true thing I love about knitting.

However, at around 2 am I must admit that I found this...

Do you notice the issue?

Besides from my super photographic skill...yes that is right...the border on the left side is good because I knit it according to the pattern. The one on the left side, yes, I knit that right too according to the pattern...too bad I then continued to knit the right side of the stockinette stitch on the wrong side of the border. Oops. My daughter is young. She'll understand. I don't even think she'll actually notice. I will. Because I am a perfectionist, but see? See how I had these truly wonderful and unique mistakes and I did not frog and redo? Of course, I had finished all of the pieces before I noticed any of this, and technically I would have just thrown out the piece and started over.

But...

There is SO much yarn and SO little time. I will admit that I did take off the sleeve and I redid the shoulder seams that I had posted in the prior entry. After realizing that I did not remember how to finsh a sweater and all of my books are in storage. It did give me the excuse to buy a new book though.

On my own...

Recently, I have lost my desire to read fiction. I tend to be more interested in books on self...and self discovery. I'm not sure when this happened. Granted I'm not sure what this has to do with anything right now.

Okay...back to the sweater...notice anything wrong?

Yup. Thats right both front panals are decreasing the same direction...oops.

As you can see here...the shaping on the top look the same on the left and the right. I couldn't believe I had done that.

But I pressed on.

And...there you go...persistance...and well, if I frogged it like the little perfectionist in me says to do...the child will be in college before I get it done.

New blog, bad title.

Okay...so this is my attempt to dive into this blogging thing...at least where it concerns knitting. Realistically, I think I may have 3 blogs, and 5 e-mail accounts.

So, my background. I learned how to knit when I was about 8 years old from my aunt when visiting one summer in which, I promptly forgot. This is true of crochet as well, but I did not learn how from that aunt. Anyway, skipping ahead, I was about to have my first baby, and a friend of mine at the time was crocheting this giant gray blanket in hdc. She informed me that was the only stitch that was done in crochet. I believed her and I tried to remember the steps she was showing me since it was 1 am. I then tried the next day, and proudly showed her my work of a potholder the next time I showed her in which, she told me I was doing it wrong.

Disheartened, my mother gave me one of her old books which, I flipped through, only to find out that I was not wrong, and that there were many many stitches available. So another friend of mine, the one who actually taught my other friend, told me she was incorrect, and encourgaged me. That was some time 6 years ago.

Then one day I thought to myself that I wanted to learn how to knit because I like the way the needles sound when they click...and also I wanted to make socks. I once knew how to knit and I couldn't remember. So I bought myself a book...and proceeded to confuse myself greatly. I then enrolled in a class. I was taught by an 80 year old woman who was very knowledgeable, but not very empathetic, especially when you did it wrong. Either way, I picked it up...that was 4 years ago.

The latest to my collection of knowledge is yarn spinning on a drop spindle...fun stuff!! Love it.

My biggest thing right now is to find the time to do all of this. I found some self striping yarn made by Bernat today at Wal-Mart and I have decided it will be a blanket. (along with the Noro that will be a scarf, and other pieces that will be scarves, blankets, socks, and sweaters...)

Right now...and for the last year...my project has been this...

A cardigan for my girl child. Yes, I think she will be too big once I get this all sewn up. BUT...this is the binding off of the second sleeve! Yay! Next comes the sewing...sigh...