Remember me?

Um...Hi!

 

So yeah, I sorta dropped off the face of the earth again for a while there.  Call it laziness, I guess.  I kind of ran into a lack of energy to blog and read blogs and comment...  Sort of hard to explain but sometimes I just get overwhelmed with the little things and need a break.  So I've been taking one.  The other thing is that when I get home from work, there are SO MANY other things on my to do list right now that quite honestly blogging and reading blogs just aren't making it.  Please don't take this as a personal affront at all!  And I don't have the energy to upload photos in the evenings, so that's why you're getting this texty post now.  ;)  (Also...I'm at work and my only way to post is by emailing.  I suppose I could do this more often, but I don't have that much of interest to babble about!  So I can't do photos...so links are what you get!)

 

Does anyone else feel like this sometimes?  I manage to get myself so overwhelmed with day-to-day stuff that needs to be done that pretty soon I don't want to do any of it and it all falls apart, piles grow, and nothing gets done.  I sure hope I'm not the only one.  One of these days the energy will hit me and I'll start accomplishing things and I'll be back on the upswing.

 

I have been knitting and crafting though!  In knitting news, here's where things stand:  I am on sock #2 of both my Pink Flamingo socks and my Summer of Love Lace socks.  As I say, no photos...just use your imagination!  I mean, the second sock looks pretty much like the first sock did.  heh.  ;)

 

Neither are moving very fast though (not in a hurry either) because I was wooed away from my knitting by a very pretty cross stitch project.  I used to be a cross stitcher, back before I became a true Knitter.  Since then I've been away from it, but this one project caught my eye and I could not resist.

 

My coworker brought in a magazine to show me and then kindly let me borrow it because of the pattern I fell in love with.  It's a gorgeous paisley design, and I am a complete sucker when it comes to paisley, it always catches my eye.  Here is a link to a picture of it.

 

Purty, huh?  I didn't try to find the hand-dyed purple cross stitch Aida fabric, gorgeous though it may be, so I opted for some ordinary cotton fabric paired with waste canvas in order to stitch my design, which is working out well so far.  When it is all done I'll sew a tote bag of some sort and use the design as the front panel.  I'll post a photo of my project when I get off my duff and take a photo of it.

 

I'll admit...it's been kind of fun to work on something other than knitting, but at the same time, after a few days of that I really started to miss my knitting!  Especially since the cross stitch isn't as easy to just pick up and work on for just a little while like a sock or something.  Much more cumbersome getting out the pattern, figuring out where I am, wrestling with the thread, keeping Moose off of the end of the thread, threading the needle, etc.

 

I needed to order something for my project from Joann.com and while on there I became totally smitten with two other projects...and they were on sale so I had to order them (heh, heh).  They're cross stitch Christmas ornaments, and they have incredible detail and are just so, well...enchanting!  Each kit has 6 different smallish designs which will be nice as I can do them one at a time, so it's not a major project that way.  The kits I got are here and here.  Aren't they pretty?  I love the little Christmas village ones...the detail is awesome.  You can zoom in to the designs on that page and see what I mean.

 

In my last post I mentioned having ordered some BMFA Socks That Rock...and I got it last Friday.  Woohoo!  Gorgeous colors!!  Not that I was surprised or anything.  :)  The Pink Granite is definitely going to be great, and the Fire on the Mountain...WOW...the colors!  So vibrant!  I'm definitely glad I went for that one.

 

The other skein I ordered was the STR in heavyweight in Peaseblossom to make a purse.  I haven't counted that in my WIPs because it's had a couple of false starts.  I swatched two stitch patterns, this woven stitch and the pretty stitch pattern from My So Called Scarf.

 

I love the look of the My So Called Scarf pattern, but it had a lot of long loops that could potentially catch on stuff, if it were made into a bag.  So my initial swatch led me to believe I wanted the woven stitch...it was smooth on the front, nothing to catch on anything, great for a bag.  However, about 4 inches into it I realized it was not going to work out.  I liked the outcome...the dense fabric that appeared to be woven.  But I was not enjoying it, kept making errors (the alternating of knit or purl with a yarn fwd or yarn back and a slip stitch was making me batty), and it was just generally making me cranky!  And that is not how knitting is supposed to be.  I was also having some tension issues...I found myself gripping it so hard that I was tugging on the yarn way more than I should have.  This then changed my gauge as I went along which was actually slightly apparent in how the colors were dancing around in the knitting, as I could see a point where it started to change.  I probably could have tried a larger needle size, but in all honesty, I just didn't enjoy knitting that pattern.  At least not in the quantity required for this 8.5" x 8.5" bag.

 

So instead of ripping out what I had already done, I decided to bind off and then make that piece into a little coin purse, which I wanted to do anyway.  The woven stitch is so dense that no lining is necessary and it'll make a great companion piece to my bag.  I am back to thinking stockinette is how I want to go for this bag, since I wanted to line it anyway.  Sounds boring, but I might use that pretty stitch pattern from the scarf above to make a pocket which I'll attach to the front of the bag.  I'm also still brainstorming as I go to see what else I can come up with.

 

That's about it from here, minus some promised photos.  Oh--I also wanted to share this:  I learned something valuable in my recent whittling-down of my WIPs to a mere two projects.  I thought I would like it.  I thought I would appreciate how neat and tidy that was, no major commitments, just two measly projects, etc. etc.  However, I learned something.

 

I was wrong.

 

Sure, initially I found this to be pleasant and organized and freeing in a sense, but I soon came to the realization that this was simply not the way things should be done.  I have discovered that I in fact need to have several projects going just so that I have options...do I want to sit on the porch, listen to music, and enjoy the lovely weather, and knit something complex?  Or do I want to veg in front of the TV with some stockinette?  I also must have something that will go on and on for a while, like a scarf or wrap, so that there's no need for fussing with designing or sewing up seams or whathaveyou.  I found that with only two projects, both of which are currently stockinette socks, I was not fulfilling my needs when it comes to having just the right portable project as knitting does so well.

 

I will learn from this!  I will always have something cast on that is suitable for any kind of situation!  This is my new M.O., and I'm not going to be ashamed of it!

 

Oh and one more thing...I haven't started that turquoise Print O' The Wave Stole yet, but I will.  Thing is, we have a big trip coming up that involves a few plane rides, and I don't want to chance losing my new Addi Lace needles which I got for that, so I'll be taking socks on bamboo needles instead.  I figure one patterny pair (Jaywalkers? Monkeys?) and one plain.  I need to start those soon and get all prepped for my trip.  I like to have things established before I leave so I'm not diving blindly into a new knitting project once I'm away from home.  After that trip we have a couple of local family vacations too, for which the stole will be perfect.  It's definitely going to be started soon!

 

Anyway, if you've made it this far in this VERY long and wordy post, thanks for sticking with me!  I'll try to get back into reading and commenting, too, I promise.  I think my blogging mojo just might be making a comeback.  ;)