How Do Mom's have time to knit over the Holidays?

Seriously, folks. I had one day. One. Actually, half of one. Forget Christmas - it was too filled with getting Christmas cards done, and baking cookies and a Gingerbread house - I still have half a pound of Gingerbread dough in the fridge that never got transformed into cookies. I used to make 10 - 12 different varieties of cookies before I had kids. Finishing decorations, also ate up time, and planning menus and making meals, and serving guests and wrapping gifts and last minute shopping. UG. My visions of sitting on my couch with my feet up sipping cocoa or tea and watching the snow fall while I happily knit during the holidays - was a farce! New Years Day folks. That's the day I got to knit. New Years Day, after racing around like a chicken with my head cut off to prepare an Egg Strata for a Brunch, and then finding I had no eggs - I had to race to the store in my pajama's (under my coat), buy eggs, throw together the Strata, which was supposed to soak overnight and bake for 55 minutes, and I just barely got it together and threw it in the Convection oven at a higher temp while I took a 3 minute shower. Luckily for me my husband was feeling generous with his time, and actually got the kids ready while I was doing all that. As soon as I was out of the bathroom I grabbed my undercooked contribution and we hit the road. Needlessly to say, we were 45 minutes late. We stayed as long as we could without seeming like we were leaving too quickly, and took off as soon as the first guest left. I wanted to get home and make some progress on Mom's Icelandic Cardigan, and needed to leave before I had one too many mimosa's and would lose the whole rest of the day to a drunken stupor! I had what I would consider a great knitting day. I feel caught up. I finished the second sleeve and attached them to the main body, and after a little time this afternoon have a nice start on the yoke! I'm fairly happy now actually that I've gotten a good bit of it done. Maybe I'm just lucky it's an Icelandic, and once you are done with the sleeves all you have left is the yoke, so you feel like you are really working at the speed of light.

I spent part of one morning the other day reading Stephanie Pearl McPhee Casts Off , and particularly focusing on a section about start-itus, and I was beginning to panic. Somehow reading her stuff and then actually making progress on finishing something, gives me more joy than it would normally. Well ...maybe that's because normally if I set a project down and pause for too long- I can't seem to pick it back up at all, and usually start something new to motivate my knitting spirit. Oh...I guess this sweater actually falls under that category. Oops. And I was so proud myself too. I convinced my Mom to let me make her this sweater after I finished my Dad's and knew I was still too exasperated to return to that lace scarf.

Ooh some shopping news. I bought a couple of KnitPicks needles the other day. It turns out my Denises' don't shine with their previous glittery shine anymore. I'm not liking the plastic needles. Particularly with the icelandic sweaters. You've got to have either the turbo Addi's or ... in my case, the Nickel Plated Knit Picks Options. Ok, though I already have a complaint. I was whizzing along and suddenly realized my stitches were falling in my lap. My needle had come unscrewed! I was silently praising Knit Picks for being 110% better than the Denises, and look where it got me. Boom. I had to quickly lace them back through praying I didn't drop any stitches and then try to re-tighten the needle on the circular band, when it was full of sweater. Not fun. I still like them better than Denises, but YEESH. Can't someone come up with a better locking system that actually works? Granted I didn't use my locking key, but ...ok this is going to sound strange, but I'm not actually sure how to do it? Is there some trick to it, or are you meant to gain more leverage by holding it to twist tighter? It just doesn't seem like it actually gets any tighter than it was by hand, because you are still holding the needle with your other hand. Maybe if I locked the needle in a vice grip first it would tighten it more. Between my teeth? I don't know. If anyone has any advice on this I would appreciate it. I love the actual needles and I love the cords...I just need them to STAY together!!! I bought some size 4s too, in both the Options and Harmony, so I could use them both at the same time while making some mittens using the double loop method. WHEEEEEE. If they fall apart though, I will have to scream.

Notice Rudy in the picture above. Always having to be in the middle of my knitting. It's like he knows. But look who was right next to me.

That's all for now. So WHEN When I ask you is the calm snowy Knitter's holiday with nothing to do but knit???

The Good, The sad and the downright ugly.

I have been so taken with Ravelry, that I haven't spent much time reading or writing my own blog. So sad. I have had a rough couple of weeks. I have had a few very sad days indeed. I did finish my Dad's sweater but my dh ruined the 3rd cast of the Leaf and Acorn scarf, so I'm on round 4. I am debating whether or not to actually write out what happened to it, because its just too sad and awful to put out there. Let's just say that anger of a spouse can work its way into your knitting stash and current projects if they are angry enough. I don't want to talk about any of it... I do, but ick...who wants to read that?

He did say that I could purchase what I needed to replace it and have a day to get it back to where it was, (a day which he said would be without kids)...it did not happen this weekend, which is what I thought the plan was. I am wondering if it will ever happen. I will however, buy some more yarn because I damn well deserve it.

I am Hinklebell on Ravelry, and have posted all my photos up there, but I can add some here as well.

Here's my Dad in his sweater. He's happy, but I just made him stop making the goofy faces.

Now I just need to figure out how to add my Flickr account here and i'm all set.

I've started another old pattern of an Icelandic Knit Sweater for my Mom which will be a cardigan. I'm looking forward to finishing that soon as well. They go so fast and always end up looking quite nice.

It's a short post, but its a post. Ah well... better than nothing.

Ravelry - YAYYY!

I'm in! I'm in!!.... Now I just need time and more photos, and I think this calls for photos of my stash. I really do. I have an over sized trunk which is our coffee table, and a LARGE knitting basket, and about 3 bags in the back of my closet. God knows what's in there. I keep dropping projects, frogging them and then trying to find new patterns for the yarn. It's sad really. I have numerous amounts of some weird green tweed color, which I thought would be so pretty, for Alice Starmore's Caledonia Sweater, but it looks eeeeeawful! So bad. Really yucky. Should I finish it anyway? Maybe i need another yarn? I don't know. The chances of me buying more yarn right now are slim to none. Maybe frog it and start it again. At the least I'll have to make it a size larger...god I hope I have enough yarn now. I'm Hinklebell on Ravelry. Looking so forward to more and more of it.
Oh - what I'm up to. I put down the lace for a while. I pick it up and do about 4 rows each time. i think I'm better off that way. I've been working on a cable scarf and finally finally cleaned up the dreaded stash a bit and pulled out my Dad's old Reynolds Lopi Icelandic sweater that I started for him..hmmm before I was married? Definitely before kids. Anyway, it's old. I finished the unfinished sleeve. Tinked back the one that was too long - joined in the round to the body and I'm up to the 3rd pattern repeat for the Yoke. Hurrah. I've forgotten how easy and fun and fast these are. No wonder it was my first sweater. Tonight no knitting - I'm working, but I thought I'd post my thanks to Ravelry for inviting me at long last!
Cheers -

I killed it! Yup. I did.

The very first sweater I wanted to knit. I will do it. I will!
The one I just bought yarn for.

I'll tell you what I killed but first...some pictures. I've shown these before. These are my two favorite Kristin Nicholas sweaters that I am determined to knit. I figured I'd better get some images on this blog soon. I've been so lazy I haven't taken any photos of the scarf. (Which is what I killed today, by the way).

I did. I ripped that baby out. This is the second time I've ripped it all the way out now...what is it they say? Third time's a charm? Here's hoping. I have ripped it all the way out and I'm going to cast on again. I even printed out a brand new copy of the pattern so I can start fresh. With no errors this time. Here's hoping! I had to, I really did. I was completely lost and no matter what I did, that next row I knit didn't seem to be the right one. Bad Bad me for not ticking off my rows on my pattern. I must have thought - "Oh, I'll remember!" BAH. I had completed the first 60 rounds, and had only to repeat those rounds, ohhhh 5 times more to finish it. Ok, so I wasn't really that far along, but you know I was reading that even amazing knitters only tend to do a couple rows on a lace project daily, because like me, they need silence and concentration. I am NOT alone!! Wheeee! I think it was the Yarn Harlot that wrote that. Oh actually now that I look again, it was her guest blogger that wrote that but still... she's gotta be a good knitter, if she's writing with Stephanie right? I have a lot of work to do. Yeah, not just on my knitting real work-work. So I'll just finish ripping out the scarf, and then I'll work. Or... maybe I'll just cast on and do the garter stitch edging...and maybe 1 or two rows so I don't feel so bad. Either way I have a lot to do. And did I mention I'm about 3 days behind in dishes and laundry? Sigh. The world is calling - better get back to it.