Plan of Attack

Every day I log into my Ravelry account and see those 13 WIP I groan. It's one thing to have them all tucked away in the craft room, and quite another to have them staring accusingly at you on a daily basis. I really need to get this situation under control.

With that in mind, I buckled down and finished up all the pieces of the Amigurumi Turtle, which Paul has affectionately named Snappy Tom, and sewed them all together. Although this photo looks pretty good, I am planning on redoing the eyes and embroidery on the face. You can't tell at this angle, but poor Snappy Tom has a definite vision problem. If it weren't for his shell, he could be mistaken for a chameleon. I'll take a few more photos once I do some serious work on his facial features.



In order to get the WIP situation under control, I obviously need to do some actual knitting on some of them, and quit setting them aside when a new project takes my fancy. Unfortunately, some of these WIPs have lost their appeal entirely for me.

One such project is the Double Eyelet socks. Socks in general have lost their appeal to be quite honest. The 52PP kinda killed the magic. Instead of forcing myself to work on a project I'm not feeling the love for until it's complete, I'm breaking it down into manageable bits. Two repeats a day on this is making progress, and the charm is starting to return I might add. I should be able to put the finishing touches on the first sock this week, and have the pair done mid November at the latest. (12 WIP to go)



Another project that has lost it's magic is the Everlasting Bagstopper. Again, 2 repeats a day will have this finished up by next weekend. (11 WIP to go)



I'm seeing a trend here with patterns that have a never ending repeat of 4 rows or so as the ones I lose interest in. The Clementine Shawlette is one such pattern. I'm just glad that I decided to knit both pieces at once or this might never get done. Once again, 2 repeats is the extent to which I can work on this project before my mind starts to wander or I get the urge to go do laundry or scrub a floor. You know a project has lost it's appeal when housework draws you away from your knitting and you feel relief. This WIP is much closer to being done than it looks and I believe I can have it finished up next weekend. (10 WIP to go)



Although I didn't take a new photo (since it looks almost exactly like the last one I took), I've been doing a few rows a day on the Asymetrical Alpaca Jacket I started about this time last year. It will be awhile before it's at the top of the WIP list, but at least there's some progress.

Even with all the 2 repeats here, 2 repeats there, on other WIP, I have managed to stick with my daily quota of one background color on the Mary Tudor cardigan.



Since I know that there is no way I will be able to finish all my current WIPs before giving in to the urge to cast on one of the multitude of projects I have waiting in the wings, I am not going to even attempt it. I will instead work towards decreasing the WIP count steadily and cast on selectively.

Worrying over my WIPs always makes me want to retreat to the solace only casting on a new project can provide, so yesterday I didn't deny myself and cast on for the Fyne Vest I bought yarn for a couple weeks ago. I only worked on it for long enough to take the edge off before going back to completing my daily WIP goals.



The next batch of WIPs to receive attention will be:

• Stansfield 27 Socks
• Leg Cozies
• Lace Knee Highs

And next up on the cast-on list are:

• December Lights Tam
• Braided Cable glove with fur trim
• Russian Coat

Wish me luck!!

Turtle Parts!!

Ain't they cute? I've picked at this project a bit here and a bit there. I'll probably put a bit more effort into it this week and try to have it finished up this weekend. Woohoo one more WIP down.



I've pulled out the Clementine Shawlette recently too and am doing a bit of work on it each night. My MIL mentioned again to Paul that she'd love to have something to keep her shoulders warm. I really want to get this done soon since the weather is finally turning cool.



The Mary Tudor cardigan is now in progress. I thought I'd never get done with the border. Can I just say that garter stitch in the round in fair isle sucks! It might not be so bad if I learned how to purl continental, but I haven't had the discipline to learn that yet. If I complete one section of background color each day, I should be able to complete this cardigan by the first of February.



And, because I forgot to post this last week, and was asked to do so .....

here's a photo of the front of Knitfitt's nonmitts. I love the lace pattern and the little flair the picot hem gave the cuff.



Just in case anyone has wondered if Doppler the weather radar dog is neglected with all the knitting I do, just take a look at how he spent his Monday evening! Looks pretty comfy doesn't he?

Why yes, swatching IS cheating

Last night when I got home from a very stressful day at work I was pleasantly surprised to find my yarn order for the Mary Tudor cardigan had arrived! I tried to convince myself that knitting a swatch wasn't cheating. Didn't work, I felt guilty just thinking about it.

So instead, I pulled out the Silken Slippers and finished them up. Aren't they cute?







Feeling much better about my WIP situation, I tore open the package sitting on the bed and dove into the yummy yarn. I sorted it all out by color, preparing to knit just a few rows of a swatch (surely just a few rows isn't cheating) and groaned. Most likely the only person reading this who will understand why what I am about to say is so stupendously idiotic is Marina. I stared at the balls of yarn and the color chart in the book, trying to put everything in order, and wondered how on earth I could have NOT ordered Oasis and Ginger, and why on earth I had so many balls of Pistachio and Yellow Ochre. Ummmmmm you big dumb@$$ the color names of the yarn you bought are different than the colors in the book! Of course, this realization didn't hit me until I had stuffed all the yummy yarn into a bag and had given up on the idea of knitting the few rows of a swatch. That's ok, since even a few rows of a swatch would have been cheating right?

So I pulled out the Lake Park gloves and finished up the first one. Any idea how hard it is to photograph a glove on your right hand by yourself when you are righthanded? This is the only photo out of about 10 that was decent enough to save.



Tonight I cast on for the second glove and knit this much ribbing .....



and then .....



OK I FREAKING CHEATED!!



All in all, I'm quite pleased with the substitutions I had to make due to discontinued colors. I don't think I'll be changing any of them. The only modification I plan to make on the cardigan is to shorten it. Normally I need something no longer than skimming the hips or I look shorter than I am. Sometimes I can get away with something longer, but I don't this is one of those times.

Now to get back to that second glove so I don't become a complete cheat by casting on the sweater!

Progress abounds

Knitfitt's nonmitts are officially finished, blocked, and tucked away in a package along with some other goodies. I missed the Post Office today, but they will be in the mail and on their way come Monday.



I did have a full ball of yarn left over from these, so I returned it and picked up 2 balls in a lovely purple color this week. I'll cast on for a pair for myself in a couple of weeks.

Only 2 more projects to finish up before I'm allowed to cast on the Mary Tudor cardigan. I received notification today that the yarn has been shipped. Good thing both of the projects I need to finish are fairly quick knits. I expect the yarn to arrive probably Wednesday, and I don't know if I can restrain myself once it gets here.

I mentioned in a post earlier in the week that I had frogged the Lake Park gloves due to the yarn not behaving with the pattern. The other night I dug around in the stash and found something I thought would work better. It's a fairly lightweight sock yarn from Laughing Rat Studios that Laughing Rat custom dyed for me. Since the pattern calls for a DK weight yarn, I am knitting with 2 strands. I love the result so far, and the pattern shows up beautifully in these colors. What you see here is only one evening's knitting. I'm pretty sure I can have these finished up Monday night watching the football game.



Finally pulled out the Rowan Margaret's Silken Slippers to work on again. Here is the state of them last night when I put them away for the evening. I finished up the first this afternoon and will take photos once the veil is finished blocking. These went really quick once I put my mind to knitting them. I might be able to have the second one completed tomorrow.



I couldn't help starting another project! I found the most adorable pattern for a crocheted turtle and just had to make one for Paul. Right now it doesn't look like much, but give him a few days. This might be completed before the Mary Tudor yarn arrives.

Long overdue update

Well, I didn't finish Mermaid in time to give it to Mom when I had dinner with her Saturday, but finished she is. I'm hoping to get it to her this weekend, but that will all depend on when Paul gets back in town. The second car isn't running so well, and I don't trust it to go anywhere except work and back home right now.

I'll make sure to get some photos of Mom wearing her to post later.



I'm making good progress on the nonmitts now that I don't have Mermaid to keep me otherwise occupied. Almost positive these will be done tomorrow night! I've purchased a few goodies to add to the package when it gets sent. Now all I can hope for is some cold weather so my pal can enjoy these.



This weekend I did a few repeats on the Lake Park gloves I had started, but the pattern just didn't look right with the yarn I was using, so off to the frog pond they went. I've decided to try again with other yarn since I like the pattern so much. Hope to cast those on this week.

The chant is working!

Maybe I should try this chanting thing more often. That might solve the WIP issue once and for all.

Monday night, Mermaid looked like this.



... and tonight, she looks like this. I think I'll have the second sleeve gusset done before quitting for the night. At this rate, I just might have the jacket finished in time to give it to Mom this weekend when I give Ron his OSU socks.



That will leave more time next week to work on Knitfitt's nonmitts. Monday night the first one looked like this.



... and tonight, it looks like this.



Once Mermaid is done, I think I can have these finished up in just a couple of days. Which is a good thing, since I went ahead and ordered the yarn for the Mary Tudor cardigan. I just hope that I've made significant progress on the silk booties and Lake Park Gloves before the order arrives so I don't have to torture myself with new yarn that I'm not allowed to knit with yet.

Ugggg I'm not sure what the heck I did to my camera settings, but aren't those photos from tonight just awful?? Guess I must have hit something in the menu without realizing it.