A Little Yarn On The Side

The good news is, the Luna Moth shawl is finished and blocking... The bad news is, my camera had a little incident with the kitty water bowl this morning, so there are no pictures. The good news is, Andy thinks that the camera will recover--I removed the battery & memory card immediately and the whole thing is drying on my desk. The bad news is, I will fret & stew about my camera the rest of the day. The good news is, the yarn diet has saved me so much money that I can easily afford a new camera if it doesn't recover. The bad news is, just because I'm not currently spending my money on yarn doesn't mean I don't wat to EVENTUALLY spend my money on yarn, and I'm saving up for some really terrific stuff--like cashmere, which is way more fun than a camera any old day. The good news is, it's the first of the week, our food "cheats" have been reset, and I can have a white chocolate martini tonight to calm myself down and stop worrying about the camer...

The July Project of the Month is FINISHED. I know--quite a record for myself and probably never one to be repeated. I ended up not doing half with navy thread, because for some inexplicable reason, there are seven napkins--not eight. Having bought these quite some time ago, it's impossible to know what happened--were there eight and one got lost in the laundering process (which would have been more than a year ago anyway)? Were they on clearance and I could only find seven? Did the eighth one get sucked into the sewing room black hole that now contains--among other things--2 pattern instruction sheets and a half-finished pajama top? Did I only buy seven because there are only six placemats and I was just looking to have a spare? This is a great mystery, but I embroidered the seven I had, wrote down the thread color I used in the off-chance I find the eighth napkin (I know--planning ahead! So unlike me!), and called it good. Another project down!!!! (And yes, groping around...

* When one starts getting a bit too confident about one's knitting, one's probably about to get one's arse kicked by mohair. * Even when one hasn't liked any of the patterns in the last year and a half, it's still really hard to cancel a subscription to a knitting magazine. * The difference between "collecting" yarn and "hoarding" yarn is about 3 skeins. * Attention Deficit Disorder is in the eye of the beholder. I like the term "diversified knitter with options" better. * Checking gauge is a lot like flossing one's teeth. Even though I know it's a really, really, REALLY good idea, I don't always do it. * No matter what your hobby is, at some point during your lifetime it will probably be considered "cool." * Even if one hardly ever wears them, one can't have too many lace shawls. * The fastest way to end up with a sweater one doesn't really like is to get caught up in the pattern buzz on Ravelry. * My c...

I HELD STRONG!!! I did not break down at 11:59 last night and fling myself into the laceweight, but it was a close thing. The yearning for a lace scarf was very tough to resist, but already having 4 lace projects on the needles made it a bit easier. This morning bright & early I closed my eyes and reached into the Project of the Month bin and groped around until I had a bag that didn't contain yarn--no sense blowing my WIP marathon on the first day--and I pulled out this: Eight white napkins that I bought quite some time ago, intending to embroider roses on them to match our dishes--which of course hadn't happened. Since I have to change the sewing machine to embroidery, and I was pathetically close to finishing my last sewing project, I buckled down and finished a cotton pique jumpsuit for wearing around the yard. The pique is a bit heavier than I would have hoped, but it is nice & loose for hot summer days and.....IT HAS POCKETS!!! I love pockets--probably because...

Technically, I could cast on something new today, and I don't really have any good "stoplight" knitting.....but I'm trying to hold strong. I decided it wouldn't hurt to move one of my WIP Wrestling entries a little farther along The Luna Moth shawl has 4 1/2 pattern repeats, and I just finished repeat number 3, so it's getting close. And the most marvelous part--NO EDGING!!! Theo thinks I'm cheating and doesn't condone such behavior. To make amends, I did some sewing while he guarded the material for the next project-- some summer clothes for Andy. Around here, our clothes are furry even BEFORE they're made. I also did a few rows on the Kimono Shawl, which has now become a Top Project because it's just about the only thing I can work on without having to consult the pattern for every row. If I can just make it past today without going near the yarn closet.......

And only in my world could that be a GOOD thing. The June Project of the Month socks are done, washed and blocking with 2 days to spare. I'm feeling positively giddy...and had fleeting thoughts of casting on something new before the July WIP Wrestling begins, but I refrained. For now... Theo refused to have anything to do with the socks. He presented me with a dead bird this morning, and seems a bit disgruntled with me after I threw it in the trash. I did praise him and let him play with it for a while, but I think he expected me to treasure it a bit longer. Maybe a little sewing in the morning will smooth things over....

The sock is fine, but I have lost my favorite cable needle--the one I bought 20+ years ago to make my very first sweater--has been lost while mowing the lawn. When last seen, the needle was hooked on my shirt, where I had placed it while knitting and forgot about it as I went out to mow the stupid lawn, which will just need to be mowed again next week. Sigh.......