KNITSTER

I don’t know about anyone else, but these days, with the holidays and everything else going on, I’m finding it hard to make some time for knitting.  One way I’ve been squeezing it in is by bringing a project with me while Drew is at TKD. It gives me something to do and distract me so that his antics don’t get me all in a tizzy. I’d be pretty bored otherwise during that time. It’s too noisy to read a book or something like that, unless it’s light reading. But pattern reading and keeping track of stitches and rows? With the right tools, it’s fine.

I’ve also found that in order to feel like I’m making any progress on any WIPs, I’ve started doing smaller projects. I have a pair of socks in the works still. One sock is complete, the other is still working on the heel. I think if I can get past the heel, the turn, picking up the stitches for the gusset, and continue from there, we’ll be good. I also need to get back to doing my Doctor’s Bag, and my attempt at my own pattern with the shrug I started last year. Now that it’s getting cold again, I feel the need to finish the shrug more and more! I might be modifying the pattern again, so we’ll see. It’s all part of the creative learning process, right?

In the meantime, I can say that I finally finished another small project. Pictures to come soon. I did another pair of Voodoo Wristwarmers, this time for JC for his birthday. Okay, it might have helped if I started them before his birthday instead of after, but he’s the kind of guy who doesn’t care. I finished them yesterday and he wore them while raking leaves and using his new leaf blower! Yeah! I think he’s happy with them, especially since the colors are very neutral, and they go with most of his wardrobe. I made one modification with the pattern that almost ended in disaster, but crisis averted! JC wanted that the palm edge be even with the back of the hand edge when wearing it. Y’see, when putting on the hand warmers, just due to the natural shape of the hand, the palm part ends up being a little shorter at the edge where your knuckles/beginning of your fingers are. So, the solution was to “short row” that section. Since I made them on two circs, I just knit in pattern across on the one needle, and then just turned it around and knit in pattern again to where I had just come. Voila! Extra row on that side! When I bound off the piece, I just sewed the end into the beginning edge, and that made it look more seamless.  The problem was that I made two identical wrist warmers. Thus, the palm part would be backwards for one hand! D’OH! Simple solution. Since the pattern is a 2X2 rib knit all the way around, all I had to do was turn one of them inside out, and it was fine. That’ll teach me to pay attention next time! As I said, photos soon! (Just haven’t taken them yet.)

So, now I need to finish those socks, because I promised Drew that I would finish the mittens I starteda year ago. I’m not sure if I will actually end up frogging the yarn and doing something else with it instead. It’s good yarn, and I bought some backup gloves for him at Walmart for $1.42. The yarn was worth at least $8.00. Hmm…plus add in all the time in making them, and then he loses them? Yeah, it’s something to think about. Time might be better spent– when you can find the time — doing a different project.  There’s always the knit skirt that I could start back into doing as well. Hmmm….

So with the holidays, rushing around getting shopping done for those who would never appreciate a handknit item, or rushing around with other things just called life (work, school, TKD, Cub Scouts, etc.), it’ll be interesting to see how to make time to make knitting happen. Because these days, I need the stress relief it offers!

Posted on November 25th, 2007 by Dani
Filed under: Finished Objects, Projects, Works in Progress