Oncoming Winter

i had to wear my full length wool coat today to court. It was 43 degrees, and I had been freezing for two days worth of walks to and from the courthouse because of not wearing it. I was not ready for this. I didn't need hat, ear warmer, scarf or gloves, but it is only a matter of time.

It can't be almost winter already. I had such plans for summer. I was going to try dyeing this summer. I have some wonderful silk ribbon that I received at the Christmas gift exchange, that is in an unfortunate shade of puke green. I was going to overdye it in some blue-ish.  I have been losing love for the heathered berry of the Merry Berry Shawl and was going to overdye it in . . . Well, I hadn't actually decided. Black, to make a charcoal gray withbp pink undertones? Red to make a rich burgundy?  Blue to make a soft purple?  I was going to do some test dyes, and decide.

 I was going to try dyeing this summer. Yet, here it is, Halloween tomorrow, freezing temperatures looming, . . Summer is gone, and I never tried dyeing. I am inclined to vow "next summer" but that is what I said last winter.

Today, it is all about the seasons.

Once in a Decade, Or Twice in the Same Week

Only a few nights ago, I made the joke that I crochet once in a decade.  That is not far from the truth. The last time I crocheted was to finish an aphgan at the request of my uncle. It was the aphgan that my aunt was crocheting when she died, and I think he wanted that one last thing to remember her. That was five years ago. But the time before that had to have been at least 15 years before.

The past couple nights, I successfully completed the thin tidy crocheted edge of the Swirl Rainbow blankie.   I was all set to cross it off the WIP list, until I remembered about the companion Car Seat Blankie. Curses! Foiled again!  Ok, so that blankie is a little less that half finished. 

And yet, I started on the new lace shawl. Notice that I didn't say cast on?

 That is because this shawl starts with a crochet chain, then you pick up stitches to start knitting. Chain on 897, and pick up 449, to be precise. That is a hell of a lot of stitches. I mean, I get why. The shawl starts at the bottom, wider edge. Then there are all those little spikes at the bottom edge, requiring even more extra stitches. But still . . . Wow!

I think I did most of the casting on at the Cub Scout Pack Meeting. But after I got kids homeworked, jammied and into bed, I was no longer able to count all those itty bitty stitches. We will see about tomorrow. 

Today, it is all about the crochet sequel. 

A Rare Double Header

I haven't done the math, but I have been going to Knit Night for over ten years, possibly close to fifteen. Always on the second Monday of the month. 

Except the last year or so, I have had Cub Scout pack meetings on the second Monday of the month. So no Knit Night. Except this month, the pack meeting was scheduled for a Thursday. I am not sure why, but it was nice to be able to go last night. 

Then I left to go to Knittervention. Have to love the opportunity to go two knitting groups in one night. Except for brief travel, three solid hours of knitting time. 

But I didn't knit. I did something very shocking instead. I crocheted. I crochet every decade or so, whether I need to or not. This was apparently the year. I originally planned to do a scalloped edge around the Rainbow Swirl blanket. I did the first set up row of single crochets, and a few scalloped, then decided I didn't like the scallops. So I ripped out those, and started one last row of double crochets. An added bonus of the border is that all the little ends can just be crocheted in; I don't have to weave them in. This has me considering a crochet border on everything I knit, just to avoid weaving in ends. 

Today, it is all about the hooking. 

It Was Really Only a Matter of Time

Between the 2 for 1 vow, and the knitting deadlines, I have been in the equivalent of a knitting related diet for months, and I have been doing very well.
 One out of three mitts completed. One baby set completed and delivered. Second set has the large blankie finished except for the optional border, and the smaller car seat blankie is zipping along.

Then, it happened. It started last week. I started sneaking little glances at the yarn cabinet. Then there was some wandering around patterns on Ravelry. The next thing I knew I was setting up the yarn winder, buying new bamboo needles and risked being strung out on alpaca. 

Fourteen months ago, I made the 2 for 1 vow with 20 projects in progress. I have completed some, and started some, and now I have 22 in progress. Not counting the pink alpaca on the nightstand. I haven't cast on, so it doesn't count. 

Today, it is all about the backward progression. 

Just swirling around

The Rainbow Swirl Baby Blankie is finished.  You know, except for the finishing.  I have enough yarn to make another, if I was so inclined.  That will be for future reference, because this time around I still have to make the little car blankie.  That one won't really work as a circle, so I am probably going to just make it out of the rainbow colors.  The only reason the white was there was because I needed a sixth color.  (Yes, I am aware that a true rainbow would have had a sixth color: peach/orange.  However, for reasons I cannot comprehend, the yarn store only had pink, yellow, green, blue and purple.  No orange/peach.  Neither did every other local yarn source, though I did find white and light gray in the same yarn.  And peach was available online, but at three times the cost, with shipping.  Hence the white.)

So, the gift is finished, except for the finishing, and the car seat blankie.  Oh, and since I do have extra white, I am thinking about knitting/crocheting a little border around the blankie.  So, finished except for the finishing, car seat blankie, and the border. 

The baby gift is so not finished. 

And yet, I spent an alarming amount of time at the office browsing lace shawl patterns in laceweight.  I checked and I have over 2600 yards of the pink laceweight.  Enough to make any shawl I desired.  Even though I know that this baby gift is not quite finished, and I still have three more mitts to complete before Christmas Break, I still cannot stop obsessing about a new bit of lacey goodness.  I have the pattern selected, printed, reviewed, and viewed corrections/deviations that others on Ravelry made  with the pattern.  I am doomed.  Really, it is just a matter of time before I find myself casting on.  (Or, in this case, crocheting a chain, then picking up alternating stitches: interesting start.) 

I just hope I have enough of the deadline knitting knocked out of the way before I start, or I will never make the deadlines. 

Today, it is all about the unfinished gifts. 

 

Autumn Temptation

Autumn in Indiana is a little crazy.  It could be 80 or 30.  There could be rain, snow, and sun, sometimes all in the same 24 hour period.  Every morning, I study the hourly weather report to decide to how to dress the children, and hope that I don't choose jeans and long sleeves on a day that ends up being 80.  The corn and soybean are nearly ready to harvest, and the leaves start turning pretty colors. 

For me, the best part about Autumn is that it is shawl weather.  There is a slight chill in the air that may or may not be there an hour from now, so a light shawl thrown over the shoulders is a perfect compromise.  Lucky for me, I have a few shawls.  Lately, I have been using Duchess as my perfect slink-over-my-shoulders shawl.  It is thick enough to be warm, yet stylish. 

This is the kind of weather that has been dreaming of more shawls.  Don't get me wrong, I love Duchess and Aurora Borealis.  They are cozy and warm.  And Purple Annis surrounds my neck very charmingly as the darling shawlette that it is.  But I want more. More colors, more designs, different from the last in a new way.  More. 

This past weekend, as I was working on the LAST wedge in the Rainbow Swirl Baby Blankie, I found myself glancing at some pretty soft rose-pink lace weight in the yarn cabinet.  While my hands knit mechanically on the mindless garter short rows, my mind was scrolling through pretty lace patterns. 

Then I remembered.  Deadline knitting.  Blankie.  Mitts.  No lace. 

Today, it is all about the resisting the temptations.