Check it!

Oh yeah!


So I treated myself to knitting on Pomotamus while watching Fog of War, which I netflixed ages ago and never had a chance to watch (can I interrupt myself to note that "to netflix" now seems like a completely acceptable verb? My how things have changed!). I was all set to post about the P-sock tonight -- how I first knit one a year ago, how hard it seemed, how I couldn't follow the pattern and how badly the sock turned out (so badly I actually didn't knit the second. This rarely happens). This time around, I flew through the first chart, all the way down the ankle, and turned the heel without even a second thought. It was, to me, a testament to how much I've grown as a knitter in the last year. I had all of these back-patting thoughts planned for my post -- introspective musings about the measuring of progress, adult learning curves and such. But alas! It seems I don't always learn as fast as I think. Because half way through (of so I thought) the second foot chart, I take a moment to actually consult the chart. And lo! I effed up. Damn. I effed up in a way that can't be easily fixed. I was so frustrated, I had to set it aside. I'll figure out how to rip back a sock full of twisted stitches tomorrow.

But I'm worried... could this be a sign of the times to come? So far, everything I've knit in 2007 has had to be at least partially frogged. Like the Spindle-socks-that-aren't. Or the Endpaper mitt disaster, where I repeated two extra rows of the chart, but didn't realize until I was well on my way up the thumb, had to add an after-thought lifeline, rip back and knit again. Sheesh.

Here's to hoping for either more brain power or fewer mistakes the rest of the year! And now, back to the endpaper...

Radio Silence

Sorry for the long absence. Thanks all for your suggestions on the posting problem. I haven't remedied it, although I think I'm gonna follow Meg's example and switch over to haloscan for my comments. I'm starting to think the new year might bring a blogger-free blog... but let's not get ahead of ourselves here.

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!