A Little Yarn On The Side

* 16 pints of vegetable soup * 11 half-pints of roasted red pepper spread * 12 pints of multi-use tomato sauce Yep, I'm ready for vacation again.................

There's a garden with a very  long to-do list waiting for me after my 4-day vacation from it, but before I get to that, it's time for "What I Did With My Crafting Vacation:" As you might remember, I'm planning to do a music-themed Christmas this year, so I played around with an idea I had been toying with as a decoration: which aside from the slight puckering where I slip-stitched it shut turned out pretty well for a first attempt. I also got back to my mitten project, and am counting these five as a finished project: They're a bit addictive, really. Speaking of addictive, I am obsessed with these mittens!  Usually variegated yarns never end up looking as good on a project as I always hope they will, but this might finally be the answer.  I love how it looks with the cream stripe in-between.  Good thing I've already finished a lot of Christmas gifts for this year.  Otherwise I'd be embarking on a mad mitten-making rampage.  Of course, I might ...

First, the socks are done: Yay!  They are a Christmas gift for THIS year!  And they're done early!  Excuse me while I enjoy this moment...........it doesn't happen very often.  Andy is away for a few days, so I am taking a break from the garden and canning to do some crafting.  In a mad, allergy-medication-induced frenzy of yarn, I have another set of finished tribbles: part of another attempt at EZ's mitered mittens, although this time I thought I'd adjust needle size correctly to get gauge.  I still haven't figured out what to do with the monster mitten from my first attempt, but I have already tried the new mittens on, and they will actually fit a human hand.  I love being ahead without even having the first mitten done.  And I can now show you one of the secret projects, as it is now with its new owner and thus no longer a secret.  We have friends who have spearheaded a bit of a music club, and one of them had a recent birthday....

I don't know why Blogger won't let me respond to all comments, but it doesn't, so thank you to everyone for the anniversary wishes.  I can't believe it's already been five years.  It has just FLOWN by! Speaking of flying by--it's Monday already, and I still have no pictures to put up.  BUT, there has been knitting and in fact, I'm closing in on finishing the second sock.  I've never really had problems with Second Sock Syndrome, thankfully.  Once I get one sock done I'm in a real rush to get the second sock done to make it a Finished Object, so it may go faster than the first one.  Of course, nothing is going fast right now because of the gardening/canning/entertaining happening around here, but fall is in the air.............:)

Today is our fifth wedding anniversary, and we're having a party tomorrow to celebrate, so Finishing Friday has temporarily been put on hold in favor of "Clean Up The House" day--a trend which I really don't see being repeated.  I've actually been cleaning and straightening and putting up fall decorations all week, but Canning Season is upon us, so it has really BEEN a whole week's project.  BUT I am happy to report that there is a finished sock, and if the computer, camera, sock, and I ever get our act together, there will be a picture.  And hopefully some serious progress on the second sock.................

So, I mentioned that I was thinking  about attempting 12 sweaters in 12 months for 2012.  If you've been following this blog for any length of time, you might have noticed that it's a surprisingly short leap from "thinking about insane behavior" to "behaving insanely."  Maybe more of a small hop, really.  12 sweaters in 12 months is crazy, completely idiotic, and likely to have me whining about project monogamy/monotony by mid-February.  Andy yet.............I'm still going to do it. My one real saving grace is that even I  am willing to make it 12 sweaters or shawls, so the long-languishing dem fischer sin fru would count,  as would the current Pi shawl .  They're both mostly done, so I'm thinking the 12-in-12 challenge might be a good way to bribe myself to get them finished.  Then there's the Kauni cardigan , which is fabulous but slow, and which has pretty much been neglected because even "fabulous" sweaters in fingering yarn...

Yesterday was my birthday, and I decided to celebrate by casting on a new sweater for myself.  Being down to a svelte 15  WIPs, I felt I could splurge a bit. I have been lusting after Alice Starmore patterns for years, and last year's reward yarn splurge included yarn for one of her sweaters, so I dug out my yarn and book and settled down to do a swatch --not something I am normally smart enough to do, but when a pattern calls for size 2 needles, I thought it best to check.  And, as luck would have it, my 4-inch swatch was easily 4 and a half inches, so I need to go down a needle size, which means I would need a size ONE circular needle.  I don't own a size one circular needle, as I have always maintained that any knitting that would require a size one circular is behavior that should not be encouraged.  I almost  made a trip to the store yesterday, but rational thinking (and the desire to stay in PJs just a bit longer) prevailed, and I decided to look f...