A Little Yarn On The Side

So I've finished WIP number 8 in the WIP marathon, which would be quite exciting except for the 19 WIPs left. Not that I actually think I'll make it all the way through to 27 without casting on something new. I mean, if I had that sort of willpower I wouldn't have ended up with 27 Works in Progress now would I? To give myself a little motivation, I've joined a "Knitting for Men" project for September--the idea being I show some traces of project monogamy and actually complete a knitting project for one of the men of our species. Fair enough, one of the WIPs is a sweater for Andy which takes such boring pictures bur is actually much nicer in person. It's "Gridlock" from the fall 2003 issue of Knitter's Magazine , and since they had the sense to do it in red, theirs photographs much better than mine does. Judging from yarn requirements, I've almost used up 436 yards of the 1535 the pattern calls for, which means I've knit 28% of th...

WIP number 9 is for Andy, which works out well as if I get this one done this year, I'll have averaged a sweater a year for him since we got engaged. I don't know what one normally woos a man with, but wool works pretty well--except for the dreaded Boyfriend Sweater Curse. It is a well known fact in the knitting world that the surest way to end a relationship with a man is to knit him a sweater. I don't know what it is about the Boyfriend Sweater, but I only did it once and the only positive thing I can say about the whole episode is that I managed to end up with the sweater and not the boyfriend--a better scenario all the way around. Boys come and go, but good wool is good wool. Knitting for a husband, however, is another story. This is the long-suffering gent who ends up with a dimpled posterior from sitting on knitting needles buried in the couch cushions; who has to pull over on the side of the road in central Mexico so his loving wife can poor their bottled water ...

So I had planned to start on Christmas gifts this weekend, but first I got distracted by some over-exuberant tomato plants and today so far has been taken up by the normal weekend stuff--laundry, cleaning, and getting ready for fall as it's 3:00 in the afternoon and still only 64 degrees. Even the cats were cold this morning. I think I need to do a little knitting this afternoon--it's definitely starting to feel like wool weather!

The bags are finished, washed, and in the dryer now. I always like to start a 3-day weekend by accomplishing something--it sort of takes the pressure off the rest of the weekend. Not that holiday weekends should always be about GETTING THINGS DONE, but I always convince/delude myself into thinking "if I just had more free time, I'd get all this done..." which is not true, of course, but I'm a gullible human being. Tomorrow I start on the Christmas gifts! Ho ho ho!

Crafting was a little slow tonight thanks to Theo. First he "helped" me with the trick-or-treat bags, then he "helped" me embroider some towels, then he helped me with the knitting bag for Jennifer , our first contestant to finish 10 WIPs in a row. Of course, it could have been worse--I could have been trying to knit tonight.

I have now finished 8 WIPs in a row. I have 19 left, and am at least trying to make it to 10 in a row. I am currently mostly working on Andy's sweater and the Fir Cone shawl (now that I remembered to wind the ball of yarn & everything). Tonight, before deciding which project to work on, I actually sat down and did the math: Andy's sweater calls for 1530 yards of yarn (I actually only have 1526 so I hope they're just kidding about that last 4 yards). I have knit up 327 yards so far, leaving me with up to 1199 yards left to knit. Plus seams. The fir cone shawl called for 2200 yards of yarn, of which I have knit 1320, leaving up to 880 yards of yarn left to knit. A little grafting, but no seams. GUESS WHO GOT THE ATTENTION TONIGHT????? I have been driven to perform non-required math!!!! When I start doing voluntary Geometry or long division, stage an intervention !!!!!

Last night, in the sheer ecstasy of having new yarn, I pulled out the shawl, sat down with the new yarn and I honestly forgot it would need to be wound. Obviously the shock of A.) being able to buy anything at all after the 90-day spending ban and B.) getting to buy yarn at ALL addled my brain entirely. Good thing it wasn't a 6-month spending ban. I'd be a talking monkey by now. So tonight I came home and wound the new yarn (the thrill does have to last me another 4 months, remember) and ended up back with Andy's sweater because that little ball of yarn on the side is almost used up and might even be able to be added to the tally tonight. Entering the 9th month of The Year of the Stash, that little tally is the only thing keeping me going at this point--especially since there really is no visible dent in the stash. Maybe a dimple, but definitely no dent. Back to that ball!!!!!