I've created a monster

I have been hard at work with new projects. Socks for the little guy. . . . .

Socks for me. (He looks less enthused knowing they aren't for him.)

And the sweater/hoodie for my sweetie. This is my mindless knitting. After the couple inches of ribbing, I knit in stockinette for over two feet. Round and round and round she goes. When she stops, no one knows. I feel like I will be knitting on this until the next ice age, but it is a direct request from my sweetie, so I don't mind. Mindless knitting definitely has its time and place. I like having something that I can pick up for two minutes.

But I may have created a monster with my sweetie's recent request. Last weekend, we went to the Indy Irish Fest. While drinking cider, listening to the music and examining the wares, I (of course) wanted to look at the knitted items booth. Not that I was going to buy anything. I just wanted to get ideas and see what they had. My sweetie saw some of the breathtaking hand-knit cable wool sweaters, and asked if I could make something like that for him. Well, I have not yet completed my first cabled knit, and wool is more expensive than the cheap hoodie yarn, but I don't see why not.

Then came the details: I like this cable, but not that one. Don't make it too small. Don't make the neck too tight. It won't be a V neck, will it? The designs on that sweater are too busy. I decided the safest route would be to make the little guy a prototype, so we could resolve all the design questions. Plus it would be cute for them to have matching sweaters.

Then I realized that I had just committed myself to knitting 2 cable sweaters. When will I have time to knit the 50 something items in my ravelry queue for myself?

Today, it is all about the sweaters.

Found!

I am pleased to announce that I did indeed find my missing sock. It was stuffed in a diaper bag that the hospital gave us. One that we obviously hadn't used yet. The twin sock was very happy, and is vowing never to be separated again. In my joy and glee, I started working on it again, and finished the sock. Except for Kitchnering the toe, of course. That just takes a level of concentration that I haven't had time to do yet. So, my mother will be getting her socks long before the cold weather comes. That has to be some kind of record.

When Grandma was watching my little guy the other day, she commented that she has trouble finding booties/socks for him. Well, that was because they were all in the laundry. Then yesterday it occurred to me , I could knit him socks. What took so long for me to think of that? The best thing about knitting baby things is, of course, they are very small and don't take long to finish. So last night, I started a tiny little sock for him. Already have the cuff nearly finished. :-)

My sweetie took one more step in converting to a knit husband. He saw me wearing a hooded sweatshirt that I made a few years ago, and asked if I could make him one. He even went with me to look at the yarn colors in person, and followed my suggestion of which color. (The blue was just richer and prettier. The charcoal gray was just plain boring.) The yarn selected (though not purchased), we proceeded to step 2: He picked out a sweatshirt that he likes the fit, so I could take meaurements and choose a size and confirm his desired level of ease. I am excited. I may even buy the yarn tomorrow to cast on.

Mommy had her six-week post-pardum checkup, and confirmed that I am completely healed. I have lost all but 2 of the baby poundage, and the am cleared to do anything I want. Exercise was also suggested, especially to re-tighten my abs, though that will depend on my level of sleep deprivation. After a bad night with only a few hours of sleep, I am not really in the mood to work out. But what I have been in the mood for is . . . . knitting. (Get your mind out of the gutter.) I have been pulling out long-neglected projects, and dreaming of new ones. It makes me feel like I am truly back to normal to feel this level of excitement about all things knitted again.

Today, it is all about the knit-spiration.

Pomotomus Revisited

I did a little work on Pomotomus at Sock club a couple weeks ago. It was like seeing an old friend again. How could I have ignored it for so long? I just love the easily-remembered pattern, that looks more complicated than it is.

So I have been happily working on it again (what with the plain sock missing in action). I have nearly completed an entire pattern repeat, the last one before starting on the heel.

Unfortuately, this work came with a painful lesson: Never leave your knitting where a toddler can find it. Last weekend, my brother approached me with DPN's in his hand. "Do you know what these are?"

"Yes, those are the spare needles in my knitting bag, right?" I said, the last word filled with weak hope. I ran back to the room where I had left my knitting. There my sock was, laying on the bed without a single needle in it. I suggested that my nephew not sit next to me at dinner. I didn't want to risk an impulse to strangle him.

It really could have been worse. While the little guy did discover that needles are removeable, he didn't realize that pulling on any of the pretty strings would make a bigger mess. I was going to reconstruct the needle arrangment right away, but my sweetie (perhaps wisely) suggested I wait until I was no longer angry about it.

The good news is that the sock is back on the needles. The bad news is that one repeat has an error that I haven't figured out yet. I may just try to knit the next row, and see if that makes it easier to decipher, or at least correct.

My nephew is also fine, and continuing to wreak havoc on grandma's house. Just leave my knitting out of it, kiddo.

Today, it is all about the kid.

Interview with a Muggle

Me: What is your favorite thing about my knitting?
My sweetie: It keeps you occupied when we go places that I like that you don't. (I am guessing that he is referring to Nascar Club, but really any Nascar or sporting even would qualify.)

Me: What is your least favorite thing about my knitting?
My sweetie: When it lays around the house. (You mean that one sock in progress on the coffee table that I worked on last night and will work on this evening?)

Me: What is something I have knitted that you recall as being good?
My sweetie: My socks. (Ah, the Secret Wedding Socks that I gave at the rehersal dinner, so he wouldn't get cold feet before the wedding. At least he appreciates the finished product.)

Me: Do you think knitting is an expensive hobby?
My sweetie: No. (Ok, that is one facet of knitting ignorance I think is best left intact.)

Me: What are your hobbies?
My sweetie: Motorcycles, Nascar, hunting, fishing. . . . .what is this for, anyway?
Me: Um, nothing.

Me: If we compared money spent on hobbies, who would win?
My sweetie: You. You spend a lot of money.
Me: (Remembering that I had not bought yarn at all this calendar year, since I did so little pregnancy knitting.) You mean groceries?
My sweetie: Yes, and CVS. (We will ignore for the moment that he considers groceries and toiletries purchases as my "hobby".)

Me: Has my knitting in public ever embarassed you?
My sweetie: Oh yes! Um, I mean, no.

Me: Do you know my favorite yarn?
My sweetie: Baby yarn? (Sigh. I have one partial skein of cheap baby yarn. I have a small plastic bin of sock yarn in the house. The rest of my stash is stored off the premises, so I wouldn't expect him to know anything about. How can he not notice that most of what he sees me knitting is socks?)

Me: Can you name another blog?
My sweetie: No (Not even the Yarn Harlot? He really doesn't listen when I speak at all.)

Me: Do you mind that I want to check out yarn stores everywhere we go?
My sweetie: You do?

Me: Do you understand the importance of a swatch?
My Sweetie: Sure, they tell time.

Me: Do you read my blog?
My Sweetie: No.

Me: Have you ever left a comment? . . . . That one would be "no" too, right?
My sweetie: Right.

Me: Do you think the house would be cleaner if I didn't knit?
My sweetie: Yes.

Me: Do you have anything to add in closing?
My sweetie: Less knitting; more cleaning.

Hands off, ladies. He's mine. I am trying to remind myself that he didn't marry me because he loves knitting, and that I have had a mere year and a half, and knit-love training takes a lot longer than that.

Any training methods that have worked for other knitters in the past would be appreciated.

Today, it is all about the training.