LOOK! I knit something!
One Endpaper Mitt, at long last (sorry about the flashiness of this photo... nighttime pics suck).
The outside looks depressingly amateurish, pre-blocking. But the inside? I love the inside.
I also love the way you can see where I switched which color I held in my left hand (I knit continental).
Other things to love? Tubular cast on. HUGE pain in the ass to do, but damn, it looks good. And so stretchy.
In life, there are things that make me wonder -- like those mushrooms that will kill you if you cook them for 30 minutes, but won't if you cook them for 45. Or those fish that are part poisonous and part edible. After these mushrooms and fish killed one person, who decided to try again, but cook it longer? And coconuts. Who was the first person who tried to get into a coconut to see if there was something worth eating in there? I feel the same way about the tubular bind off. What sick mind thought that trying that combination of weaving and stitching might turn into a good bind off? It mystifies me. But I love it, despite its finicky-ness. It looks pretty.
So, moral of the story -- the first mit is... well... a bit of an ugly duckling. But I learned a bit. And maybe blocking will help. And perhaps, just perhaps, the second will be lovelier.
I also frogged the fingerless mitts from the last post and reknit them. They were gifted today, along with the "hippie hat" I knit over the summer, and were well received. I forgot my camera, but Julie promised me a photoshoot after the holidays.
On a more personal note, thanks for your patience with the sporadic blogging and e-mail-returning. I've been having a rough go of it this winter and my enthusiasm for knitting (and, right now, everything else) is waning (the lack of knitting mojo isn't helping). I'm facing the reality of another dark winter alone here. I didn't mind so much last year -- I was distracted by a heartwrenching breakup, a need for serious life re-evaluation, and a new place. But this year... I guess this year, it's getting to me. And dissertation writing is a hard thing to do when your closest support network is an hour's drive away. I've got some decisions to make, and I'm finding it a bit rough at the moment. I usually love this time of year and the mid-winter blues don't normally set in until the end of January. Apparently, my blues are a bit precocious this year. I'm trying to knit through it and am teasing myself with a sweater's worth of malabrigo that I bought a few months ago and will turn into a cozy sweater for me (once I've finished my gift knitting). Going home for Christmas (tomorrow) should help too.
I close with a photo from the hike I took last week. I've got to enjoy this 60 degree weather while it lasts!
6 comments:
1) you mitt looks beautiful (i don't think i've ever put those four words together before!). what yarn is that?
2) the winter blues really suck. i can totally relate. my solution is to always plan lots of fun things post-christmas - see lots of friends, have new projects in the works, and try lots of new things. i hope you find some way of beating the blues!
3) have a wonderful christmas with your family!
The good news is that we're on the way towards spring, the solstice is passed! Merry Christmas!
Yikes, I'd better get going with my switch to haloscan!! (Don't worry, that's why I turned on the computer this morning...)
Wish I had a word of wisdom about winter...but I don't. Take sun when you can, one needs plenty of those vitamins you get from the sun!
Your mittens and hike - lovely! I'm so sorry to hear that you're having a rough time right now. :( You know we're all with you, right? Only a click or two away??? Go hug your kitties and put on some crazy music that'll send you giddily dancing around your living room. That always helps me.
Isn't yarn dominance crazy? Who knew it mattered which yarn gets carried on top/bottom? You mitt looks great.
Best of luck evading the doldrums. It has to be hard out in the middle of nowhere. Lots of comfort knitting and warm drinks works for me when I'm by myself. Now with a 4 month old baby, I would kill for some of that cozy, alone knitting time! Knit some for me, OK?
"Amateurish" is quite an overstatement. The mitt looks fabulous, and blocking solves all problems.
I've been thinking about you this winter, ever since I read this post, but have been unable to find time to post. I'm sorry you're suffering the winter blues--and I can definitely sympathize. Come to New York for a visit sometime, we'll paint the town red :)
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