Wednesday, February 11, 2009

The sky is falling.

Yesterday was the first day in a long time that I did not knit at all. Not one stitch. I admit, I did pick up my socks-in-progress a few times. I arranged my yarn and the socks on my needles, and not a moment later Connor would find me and was pulling at my clothes, his furrowed brow accompanied by "Eeee!" and a sense of urgency.

Today, I have resorted to my least favorite solution to Connor's teething crabbiness. I have employed the brain slug. Yes, PBS is on and he's distracted enough by the TV to play quietly with his toys. At least he isn't staring at it.

There was another good reason for the lack of knitting. There was an ever-growing pile of laundry in front of my washing machine. I'm honestly not sure why the pile was still growing, as there were really no more clean clothes to wear. So, the neglected pile was calling my name and asking me questions. It was grilling me over my suddenly suspended daily visits. Halfway through our visit, the dryer started making an obnoxious noise that could not be ignored. Now we're waiting for a repair man before we can continue. It also became apparent (around the same time) that the leaking kitchen faucet could no longer be ignored, as it was running just as much water behind the sink as it was into it. Then there was also the problem of it randomly spraying in the operator's direction. That was especially entertaining when the operator was a six-year-old, or a grown man who had just gotten dressed up for a job interview. (Really, it was entertaining if it was anyone but me being sprayed.)
Now it has also come to my attention that there is a problem with our dishwasher. The other day, I called my husband over to get his opinion on a suspicious wave mark on the floor in front of the dishwasher. He insisted that it was impossible for it to be leaking. I wiped up the dried wave lines and moved on to other things. Wouldn't you know it, more lines keep appearing and I'm beginning to think that he just might be wrong.

Despite my lack of knitting, my brain is writhe with knitting plans. I have so many ideas for projects I want to do that I am afraid I may be overwhelming myself. I'm being sucked in by Ravelry, the desire to make things for my loved ones, and proposed ideas for KALs. I've never actually participated in a knit-along, but there is a certain sweater I've been eyeing that would be perfect for spring. This month would be the perfect month to knit it.
Yes, I am speaking of the February Lady. I first came across it in November while on a search for something to knit with six skeins of Manos Silk Blend. It's my thinking that I can just squeak that sweater out, due to the lace and relatively short sleeves. I also plan on shortening the garter section, as it seems unflattering to visually cut "the girls" in half. Since garter stitch is a great black hole for yardage, this strategy should aid me in getting a satisfactory sweater out of so little yarn.

I normally have a firm rule about starting new projects while others are in progress, but I think this time I will break that rule. The rule exists because my WIP pile would quickly grow to depressing preportions, and then none of it would ever get finished.
The February Lady should be good "mindless knitting" while Connor's eating or napping, or when I am in a sitation where I can't just grab my sock project. I've been toying with the idea of making a small shawl out of sock yarn for Erin. Also on my radar are socks for my dad. Socks for Erin. Socks for Jesse. Socks for me. But first, I must finish the heel turn on these socks for Grandma.

This whole sock thing is addictive.

I'm also beginning to have trouble prioritizing my projects.

I know before beginning any of these other projects that I really should knit a baby sweater for friends who are expecting this month. I was nearly finished with a sweater this past weekend (everything but the side seams) before deciding that I hated it.
I could consider the time I spent wasted, but I learned a valuable lesson: don't knit with yarn you don't like. I also got a lot of practice seaming and picking up stitches. Yay, me.

And with that, I leave you.

2 comments:

Tammy said...

I'll knit the FLS with you. I have the yarn for it and was going to knit with the BMFA group, just haven't started it yet.

I'm sorry that you are having so many household problems right now.

pdxknitterati/MicheleLB said...

Ig, I hate it when the household equipment starts to rebel. Makes me absolutely crazy. Sorry about all those little things.

I already have a FLS, so not for me, but have fun with yours! And decide before you get there if you really want that eyelet row in the middle of the garter yoke, or if you want a different increase that doesn't show. Just sayin'. (I didn't like it, so I used a different one...)