I Fought the Yarn and the Yarn Won

 I was casting off a project early this morning.  I knit and cast one stitch after another, sure in my faith that my little ball would definitely have enough to finish.  All of a sudden, I was down to a foot of yarn, and a foot of stitches on the needle.  I didn't even notice that I was playing Yarn Chicken.  And I lost.  Horribly lost.  Really, not even close.  Fortunately, my Long Tail Cast On was quite long.  I had recently trimmed it down, but fortunately my untidy nature meant that it was still sitting next to my chair.  

So that is one Christmas present finished object!  My oldest son's favorite teacher is retiring this year.  He has been in her math class for 6th, 7th, 9th and 10th grades.  (Small school.)  She has already received a pair of mitts and ear warmer, but he asked if I could knit something special for her final year.  I still had three partial balls of the same yarn, so I thought what could be more fitting for a math teacher than a moebius scarf?  

I also wound in the ends on Color Affection, so that is technically two finished objects!  I don't know what dresses I am wearing for court this week, but you can bet that it will have blue in it, so I can show off my latest shawl.  

The best part of this coming week is that I will THREE FULL DAYS of knitting.  My mother is having surgery.  (That is not the best thing.  That is the worst thing about the coming week.)  But it does mean that I will have a day sitting for hours in the hospital, waiting to hear that it was successful.  Lots of knitting time.  Then I will have another two days in the hospital and rehab center.  Lots of knitting time.  

So many choices to bring to the hospital.  Something simple.  I want a distraction, not knitting that will lead to swearing.  I have plenty of options.  

Today, it is all about the object saved by the tail, and the other.  

I don't need a stinkin' lifeline!

 I have been doing lace knitting for a while.  An important skill with lace knitting is realizing the flow of the pattern.  You start to realize where the YO's and K2tog's should be, so you notice when there is a mistake.  If the K2tog isn;t where it should be, look back to find the error.  It helps the lace work go much smoother.  

But it also leads to hubris.  You start thinking that you don't need to take precautions.  You can not pay as close attention.  You can watch a new movie.  You don't need a stinkin' lifeline.  And pride like that come before the fall.  I have been working on Spring Wood Shawl.  The first graph went fine.  As I started the second graph, my counts started to get off.  I put it aside for a few months.  That probably compounding the mistake, because when I picked it up again recently, there was no correcting.  I was only on Row 48, and now hopelessly lost.  It was honestly easier to start again.

With precautions.  I have been very careful, and only knitting with low-distraction TV.  28 rows down, and so far ok.  But you better believe that I will be using a lifeline before moving on to Chart 2.

Today, it is all about the repetition.  

Wait, that isn't knitting!

 My brother got married last June.  He and his wonderful wife already have an established household, so I was a bit stumped for a wedding gift for them.  My mother suggested a high quality tablecloth.  I did a lot of searching online, and couldn't really find anything that jumped out at me.  Then I wandered down the rabbit hole of Etsy, and started musing to my mother that a hand embroidered tablecloth might be nice, and I hadn't done embroidery in a very long time, and I enjoyed cross stitch type of stitching but not the kids of embroidery that my grandmother used to do, so I would have to really look at the stitches required, and where would I find a pattern for that. . . . Then my mother said words I never expected:  "Would this work?"  And she showed me a kit for an embroidered tablecloth.    

My mother hasn't done any embroidery since she was taught as a child, and has expressed no interest in doing so.  So why does my mom have a full kit?  As it turns out, it was in my aunt's craft supplies when she died.  Mom had kept the kit in her basement for over a decade, thinking maybe someday she would complete it.  It was perfect.  Correct size and shape.  Pretty colors.  Cross-stitch style.  Interesting pattern.  Perfect.

So for the first time in a long time, I have been working embroidery, and I have been loving it.  I am loving it so much I started thinking about doing another one for myself, in a different color.  Alas hunting down a decades old embroidery kit has sent me down another set of rabbit holes, with little success.  Then it occurred to me that I already have the pattern.  It is just a matter of putting it onto a tablecloth.  I have markers and paper that can be used to iron on a pattern to material.  I can just make my own kit, right?

And now I have been inspired to pull out my unfinished cross-stitch projects.  The last thing I need is more WIPs, but it is a nice alternative to knitting.  

Back to the tablecloth.  I had first thought to give it to my brother and his wife for Christmas.  Well, THAT didn't happen.  So my new goal is to have it finished by their first anniversary.  

Today, it is all about the craft from the past. 

A weekend of knitting

 This weekend was full of lots of Christmas knitting, but not for a good reason.  I have been sick the past week.  An evil (what turned out to be) sinus infection has been whomping on me all week.  It was all I could do to get through my court schedule, make dinner, then retire to the bedroom to try to get enough sleep to start over again the next day.  Nyquil was my only hope for a decent night's sleep.  So I finally went to the doctor, which diagnosed the aforementioned sinus infection, and prescribed antibiotics.

The good news is that there has been marginal improvement in my sinus congestion.  The bad news is that the side effects of the meds have been to wreak havoc on my guts.  So I have spent the weekend snuggled under a blanket, knitting, napping, and watching Hallmark Christmas movies.

My sweetie was hunting all weekend, and the kids were camping, so at least I was alone for my misery and comfort hobbies.  (And didn't have to share the bathroom.)  I made significant progress on the Ravenclaw scarf.  And when everyone came home, I worked on the Teacher Mitts.  

It turned out to be a productive weekend for all.  My boys worked on Scout advancement, and had fun.  My sweetie bagged a large doe, and has been butchering it all day, to fill our freezer with deer meat, and had fun.  I knit, and well, didn't exactly have fun, but I survived this illness.  

Christmas knitting countdown:

1 pair kid mitts: finished

1 Ravenclaw scarf: 40%

1 teacher mitts: one down, second cast on

1 Teacher ear warmer (Mrs. Loveless already has mitts from two years ago):  finished

One embroidered tablecloth:  This one is hard to judge, and optional for Christmas. . . .  This one probably requires an explanation.  Next time.  There are people in the house that are going to be demanding dinner soon.

Today, it is all about the seasonal focus.             

Decision time

 This is why I should check patterns on Ravelry before attempting to knit.  Because when over 16,000 people have knit the same shawl, surely SOMEONE has some good advice.  

I have been working on Color Affection, and everyone and their mother made this shawl years ago.  I just started the second color, but I am starting to have my doubts.  The inside edge is simply too tight.  The part that would rest around my neck and drape around my shoulders is very tight.  

So today, I got the bright idea of going on Ravely to check people's comments.  Sure enough, a bunch of people mentioned the followed Yarn Harlot's advice and added a yarn over at the beginning/end of the row, then dropped in the next row, to make a looser edge.  A number of people also change the type of increase to something far simpler.  

So now I have a decision.  Do I plug on?  Or do I rip out and start over, with the modifications?  I know what I SHOULD do.  I should start over.  I hate that idea, but I know that it will always bother me.  It isn't just an extreme curling edge, the edge is so tight that the increases are puckering.  Maybe those puckers will be hidden by my hair, but I would know that they are there.  

Today, it is all about the dilemma.  

Christmas starts in July

 At least Christmas knitting does.  I decided to gift my children with knitted items, and possibly my Sweetie, so I have started my Christmas knitting early this year.  This is particularly challenging as I can only knit when they can't see me.  

So far, I have one pair of fingerless mitts finished for my youngest son.  I am optimistically hoping to add a hat to the mitts, but wanted to get started on others first.  

Second, in progress, is a new Hogwarts scarf.  My oldest son pointed out that the design of the scarves changed in the later movies, and now that he is in high school (?!?!) he wants the older student design. He identifies as Ravenclaw, but likes to dress up like Harry Potter.  So I asked which house he wanted, and he said "both".  Of course he did, twice the knitting.  

Then there are the annual Teacher Mitts. . . . I may not have started early enough.    

Today it is all about the early starts.     

So many ends

 My kids and my sweetie went camping last weekend.  Yes, the Boy Scouts are a hardy lot.  They camp in January in the upper Midwest.  In tents.  I am not a hardy Scout.  I stayed home.  36 glorious child-free, husband-free hours.  Just me and the doggies, snuggled warm and cozy inside.  I never even stepped outside, but I did think of my guys as I woke up to single digits outside.  

Mostly, I watched cutesy movies on the Hallmark Channel, and I finished knitting.  I had a shockingly large stack of items that I had finished knitting, but hadn't seamed or tied in all those loose ends.  One item after another.  I kept digging in the knitting bag, and I would find another unfinished item.   

The final count was two ear warmers, one baby blanket and four placemats.  

Today, it is all about the stack of completely finished objects.