Commissions and Crunches

In addition to knitting projects for my own enjoyment, I completed several commission projects this semester as well.

HeeBee Beret:
One of my Resident Assistants, HeeBee, really liked the berets that I had made for myself. She asked if I could make her one in purples and greys. Berets being nearly as fast as beanies, I agreed. I made it out of KnitPicks Imagination in Arabian Nights. She really liked it, and received a ton of compliments!

Flame Beret {Photo Pending}:
One of the people who really liked HeeBee's beret was her really good friend Flame. Flame asked if I would make her a beret as well. She picked a yarn that I had in the stash. It was a jewel tone variegated Hacho from Mirasol Peru. (The yarn has been discontinued...so I bought scads of it in various colors on clearance at Knit This Purl That...LOVE THIS YARN!!!) Flame is classically beautiful in an old Hollywood sort of way. She looked great in the beret.

Dr. and Mrs. Boss Socks:
As previously blogged, Dr. Boss commissioned a couple of pairs of socks. Things got a little hairy with both pairs because I was using a self striping yarn. I am a little uptight, and had determined that the stripes on both pairs had to match perfectly. It was a bit of a headache, but worth it in the end. Overall Mrs. Dr. Boss's socks were a breeze. Lovely football knitting. Lovely airplane knitting as well. Dr. Boss's socks, on the other hand, not as joyous.(Note to self: Man Socks take FOREVER. I thought I would never finish those boogers.) I was very concerned that I was going to run out of yarn. In the end both pairs turned out beautifully, and were appreciated by their recipients.


A Capella Beanie and Scarf {Photo Pending}:
Sister has a really good friend that I met when I was visiting out there. SNC was heading up to Chicago for a Straight No Chaser concert...I think it is about the 1000th she has gone to. Chicago = Cold. SNC knew I knit (how could she not, I was doing it constantly while I was there) and asked if I could make her a plum hat and scarf. I took a pattern that I have been developing (The Hypothetical Beanie) and converted it into a scarf pattern, and made the matching beanie. I really liked the way they turned out. Hopefully SNC did as well.

A Couple of the projects I made for others can only be called Crunches! They were last minute, looming deadline, oh no I totally need to get these done NOW!!!

Wedding Knitting {No Photo, Cause They Are Gifts}:
BFF's younger sister is getting married this next week. I had asked her months ago what her kitchen colors were so that I could knit her dishcloths. But...then I kept postponing making them. Fast forward to last week. One of my residents goes to church with BFF's parents in Houston, and had agreed to act as my own personal UPS truck. She was going to take BFF's Christmas presents home with her at the end of the semester...WHOOPS! I had less than a week to get the wedding dishcloths done! Ack! Luckily they are quick knits...I made up 2 Movie Theater Dishcloths I...finishing them the night before they had to leave town! That was cutting it a wee bit close. I hope she likes them!

Argyle Beanie:
Argyle, one of my fellow RDs, is spending part of the winter break in Washington, D.C. It gets quite cold there, and Argyle does NOT like being cold. We were standing in the main office discussing holiday plans, when he turned to me and asked me if I had any spare beanies in my gift stash, and if so how much they cost. I told him that I certainly did, and quoted him a price. He pulled out the cash and said he wanted a grey or black one. I took the cash and went back to my apartment, where to my horror I realized that the grey beanie I thought was in the stash had actually been used as an emergency birthday gift a month or so earlier. OH NO! I took money under false pretenses! Luckily for me, I had dark grey yarn languishing in my stash. I cast on a version of the Knox beanie on a Thursday afternoon, and finished it before bed that night. It was a close call though...

Chaperon Knitting

I host the teen book and movie club at the library. The teens read the monthly scheduled book, then meet at one of the libraries to watch the film version. This provides me with a lot of time to knit "on-the-clock".

The knitting I do during the teen movies has to be even more brainless than what I typically take to the theaters. During the movie my attention is divided between the film and the behavior of dozens of teenagers.

I am shushing.

I am glaring.

I am evicting.

I am shaking my knitting needles threateningly in their general direction. (Which is usually greeted with gales of laughter, thereby defeating the purpose of my waving them in the first place!)

Well, I have finally discovered the best possible project for chaperon knitting: a patchwork baby blanket. It is all garter. All the time. And each section of the blanket is large enough that I can work on a single section for a whole film without having to change colors/pick up stitches.

It is also helping me meet a looming deadline (or birthline, as it were...) BFF is having baby number three, so I am making her/him the "Baby^3". (Get it? The blanket is cubed because it is the third baby, and it is made up of boxes! Oh, the cleverness of me!)

My design is loosely based on the "Moderne Baby Blanket" from Mason Dixon. Only loosely based, since I have changed the number of colors, the yarn gauge/needle size, and the shape/size/direction of every patch. No plan. I'm just winging it

I would show what it looks like, but that would ruin the surprise for BFF...so instead...here is a look at the yummy yarn!

And the Medal Goes To...

ME!

I finished the shawl...and most importantly I finished it ON TIME!!!

This despite the setbacks of intruding purses and felting, sickness, graduate school, and some semblance of a social life!

Now, back to the regularly scheduled project queue!

Can She Finish?

I feel like Dory from Finding Nemo...



Just keep knitting. Just keep knitting. Just keep knitting, knitting, knitting.

(Just today and tomorrow left in the Knitting Olympics!)

Tomorrow, Tomorrow...

My class is tomorrow...

...it's only a day away!

(Get Knittin' @ the Library: Felted Purse Session II is tomorrow night at 6:30...5 samples done...2, possibly, to go!)

The obnoxious thing is that I made a completely amateur mistake on one of the purses! It is too late to fix it properly, I should have noticed it sooner. I can "fix" it still, but it will involve changing the design a bit. I think I will leave it until after class so that I can use the sample as a sort of warning to my students.

And, after tomorrow night, it is all cinema shawl all the time in the Knitting Olympics!

Becoming a Bi-Athlete

Just as the real Olympics have the biathlon...my knitting Olympics are also swiftly turning into a combo-event. Only instead of skiing and shooting, I am juggling multiple projects.

I initially signed on to knit the blue mohair cinema shawl for my Knitting Olympics project. I waited patiently, and then cast on during the And it is progressing at a snail-slow but steady rate.

However, at the same time...I have a stack of felted purses to finish as samples for the class I am giving next Wednesday at the library. And by stack, I mean seven...which are at various stages of done-ness. (I couldn't count the purses as my official Knitting Olympics project because many of them were in progress before the Opening Ceremonies.)

I have been alternating back and forth...mohair shawl, purse a's strap, mohair shawl, purse b's body, purse a's strap, mohair shawl...etc.

Now I am starting to worry that not only will I not complete both tasks by their respective finish dates, I might not complete either one.

AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!

(I comfort myself with the fact that the shawl doesn't have to be done until the 28th, and the purses (finished or not) can be set aside after the 24th. That gives me FOUR WHOLE DAYS of non-stop (except for work and school) shawl knitting to play catch up in.)

How Did That Happen?

Somehow I have a pressing queue of time sensitive projects.

A queue which is bordering on the insanity of a Christmas queue!

It includes:

• Additional samples for the felted purse class


• Baby burp rags for friends who continue to reproduce


• The birthday gift for Sis-In-Law, which I am really enjoying making


• Commission wrist warmers and fingerless gloves (technically these don't have a due date...but it would probably be best to deliver them while it is still cold!)

In addition to these items...I also have several things that I would like to make for me!

I am only one knitter. I can only do so much.

(Breathe in. Breathe out. Remind myself that the fate of the world does not depend on my completing knitting projects. And be grateful for it.)

Lost in the Shuffle

Somewhere in all the chaos that was the Christmas queue I completely forgot that I needed to have samples for the two upcoming library knitting programs!

Whoops!

Luckily the teen program just needs a garter stitch scarf or two...I have plenty of those in the bin-o-scarves.

But...

How long is it going to take me to design, knit, and felt a simple beginning purse?

Hopefully not more than this weekend, since I need to have it when the library reopens on January 4!

Packing...?

I have actually finished my knitting to-do list for Christmas. With two days to spare!

This leaves me with an interesting quandary...I no longer have any projects that I have to do...so what projects do I want to do?

I am heading to WA as we speak to be with the family. I needed to take at least 3 projects, one of each type:

1. Purse Project: Beret Pour Moi, which doesn't require a pattern, but does require attention.

2. Brain-free Project: Les Tuileries...which just keeps going and going and going

3. Pattern Project: Martinelli Sweater...I have the goal of completing it by New Years.

(I am also taking my Rivendell socks...they are small and portable, but totally require a chart. I figure they will be good for the car trip to my aunt's for Christmas, or the plane trip home.)

Insanity...Thy Name is Mine

I had a LONG Christmas queue this year. Long in quantity, but not necessarily in difficulty. A lot of the projects/gifts that I had decided to make were verystraightforward knits. They were things that, generally speaking, I could knock off in fairly short order.

The problem was that even if a project by itself is fast and simple, when you add a gazillion more fast and simple projects to it...well...

I am crazy.

I started planning and knitting the Christmas queue way back in October.

Still not done.

In addition to my own projects this year, I took on several commissions for the holidays. Don't ask me why. I don't know.

All of the commissions were also straight forward simple knits. When I was asked, I thought, "Of course! That is an easy peasy project. It will take no time!"

But again, get enough easy peasy projects in a queue and you have a huge mountain of knitting. So, these just add to the general insanity of my life. Not to mention the fact that commissions need to be delivered on time...and in my case, on time means early since I am going to my parents for the holidays. Unlike my own gifts, I can't IOU a Christmas commission.

Oh, and just to make myself even more loopy, or because I was already loopy...I actually knit 7/8 of a gift for a family member. Then I decided that it was utter rot and I needed to do something entirely different. Hours of knitting gaily abandoned and additional hours tacked on. (In my defense, the original project was a good idea conceptually, and I knit it perfectly according to the pattern...the pattern was just cruddy and not at all what I had envisioned...) Then the back up project also wasn't working out, so I have abandoned it as well. Hopefully, the third time will be the charm.

Now I sit here, on my floor, surrounded by project bags. I have put each project, its pattern, extra yarn, and needles into its own bag in order to stay organized. I am literally overwhelmed by organization. It is a huge ordeal to prioritize what needs to be knit now, what can be put off...if I put it off will I still be finished with it on time? Not to mention having to take into account who will be around while I'm knitting it. Oh the agony!

Thinking positively...I am almost done with the queue...I am almost done with the queue...I am almost done with the queue...

Warm Hearts Warm Heads

My friend Belle's mother was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. She has already had the required surgery, but now must also undergo chemo.

Belle called me last week to schedule a time for me to come over and help her with some quilting she wants to do. (Yes, I quilt. I actually am probably a more skilled, though less frequent, quilter than knitter. Quilting isn't as portable as knitting...) While she had me on the phone she asked, in a plaintive manner, if I would consider possibly knitting her mother a chemo cap.

Here is the thing. I am very busy right now with school and work and life. Belle knows this. I am also trying to finish up my gift project queue. Belle knows this as well. She was very reluctant to request anything, but really wanted the chemo cap.

Here is the other thing. My mother had breast cancer. My grandmother had breast cancer. I knit mostly because I see it as a way that I can serve others. There were no grad school assignments, library duties, or social obligations that were going to keep me from making that cap.

I went to Knit This, Purl That on Sunday and purchased the softest yarn I could find. It is a cashmere, silk, merino blend. I found several patterns online, and had Belle pick out the one she liked the best. Then I put all other projects on hold till I got the cap finished. (I had a deadline set...tonight when I was going over to Belle's house for the quilting counseling.)

I got it done.

Here is Belle modeling it. (Please note...this photo was taken LATE at night after approximately 6 hours of quilting...)



Best wishes to Belle's mother! I hope that as this cap keeps her head warm, she is reminded of all the warm hearts who love her and are praying for her speedy and full recovery.

Incompatibility

I have a knitting blog. (Which you probably know, because you are currently reading it.)

On said knitting blog, which I committed myself to updating every other day, I discuss my current projects, successes, epic failures, and quirks.

I also have something called the Christmas Queue, which is the list of all the gifts I need to make by Christmas.

The Christmas Queue essentially devours all available knitting time from approximately September 1 through December 24. (And often later, since I tend to give out gift IOUs.)

The recipients of projects on the Christmas Queue have 2 things in common.

1. I love them
2. They are the vast majority of people who read this blog!

There is a definite incompatibility problem here. I want to blog about what I am knitting, I want people to read my blog, and yet I don't want anyone's Christmas surprise to be spoiled.

It is a conundrum.

Paid in Full

After a successful and industrious day of knitting yesterday, I believe I have now filled all outstanding gift IOU's. Finally. I was feeling a bit of guilt.

This doesn't mean that I don't still have a gift queue going, just that all items in said queue are for FUTURE events! (Christmas, etc.)

This also doesn't mean that the people who are owed the IOU's have received their gifts, completion and delivery being 2 very different things.

Still, I have a great sense of accomplishment.

...

(Also, if you are currently holding an IOU...let me know...because at this point I have no record of it!)

Little McBeanie

Little Mc, BigOne's younger brother, had a birthday.

He had a birthday a while ago.

I promised him a handknit, and gave him an IOU for a blue beanie.

The poor kid.

Birthdays of departing folk, impending births, graduations, and going-aways all kept cropping up...and I kept putting off his beanie. I felt bad, I really did. But, as I am sure you all know, I am the Queen of Justification.

Justification #1: Little Mc was not leaving the state anytime soon.
Justification #2: A beanie is winter-wear (regardless of JoNo's constant wearing of his) and this is summer.
Justification #3: He isn't pestering me like everyone else.

It was that last one that killed me. Little Mc was not making a stinker of himself like EVERYONE else always does. He just waited patiently, knowing I would get around to it. Why, I asked myself, should he be punished for good behavior when everyone else clearly is benefiting from bad? So, with much love, I set aside the nostepinde the last 2 nights and knit. I ignored all other projects and chores that called to me...I just knit.

And I finished it. It is ready and waiting to grace his head on Sunday. YAY!

(I actually feel even worse because I finished it so quickly...was I really incapable of finding a measly 2 nights of knitting time all summer?)

In the Knick of Time

I finished Blondie's Satchel in time to send it to Florida with her parents!

I forgot that they were leaving a week later than she was!

Frabjous Day! Calloo Callay!

I was really not wanting to ship it!

Decorative AND Useful

When I was working on the wedding present for Starlet, I intended on making a set of dishcloths AND a dish towel. I completed the dishcloths, purchased dish soap and rubber gloves, but didn't get the dish towel finished.

So, I took it to camp, where I diligently worked on it every chance I got. While working on it , I was repeatedly asked what it was. When I answered a dish towel, I was met with surprise. One person even went so far as to say it was too pretty to be a dish towel. (This made me momentarily consider lengthening it into a wrap and keeping it for myself. However, I muscled past my selfish tendencies, and continued working it as planned.)

Unfortunately it was not done in time for the wedding, and since Starlet didn't know that she was supposed to get a dish towel too, I left it out of the gift bag.

It is now finished, and truly is almost Too Pretty. So I am calling it the Too Pretty Dish Towel. The pattern is from Mason-Dixon's first book, with the only alteration being that I made it solid instead of striped. The yarn is Grace by Patons in "Amethyst"...a 100% mercerized cotton. It is silky soft, and will hopefully wash well.

It should be both decorative AND useful in Starlet's new kitchen...once I stop petting it long enough to actually give it to her!

Yet Another One Bites The Dust

Yet another completed baby gift to cross off the project queue:



This one is for Red. She doesn't know what she is having, which kind of limits me. She was on the burp rag list. I had the yarn cast on and everything. Then while surfing around for patterns for Niece or Nephew, I came across one for the Bunny Blanket Buddy. (I would link to it, but you have to be a member of the Lion Brand club to access it.)

It was an incredibly speedy knit, and a little cuter than a burp rag...although it can serve the same purpose. It is also knit from Scoubi Du, only this time in the yellow stone wash.

As we speak it wings its way to the Midwest, where Red is NOT awaiting it, since she doesn't know it is coming!

Her oldest daughter Twilight, on the other hand, is expecting something in the mail...I should probably go work on finishing that, too!

(By the way...did I mention that a week or so ago I recieved news that yet ANOTHER friend is expecting? Or rather, his wife is? As a guy friend he can just take the burp rags and deal with it!)

Knit Old Woman, Knit Like The Wind

Ok, so I'm not old...but still.

The pressure to finish projects in a timely fashion is starting to wear on me.

Why can't I just be like a normal person and give a note and a gift card?

The trials of being a knitter, or specifically of being KNOWN as a knitter by those around you, are never ending.

Getting Ready for Aunt-hood

This weekend I went to Sacramento, to Brother and Sis-In-Law's house, to help them get the baby room ready.

Since they are adopting, they don't know what gender their baby will be, when it will arrive, or what it will look like. Those are a lot of unknowns for a knitter like me who does not deal well with uncertainty. What am I supposed to knit? What color should it be? When is my deadline? AAAH!!!

Baby will be my first niece or nephew, so NOT knitting something is not an option. Neither is waiting until Baby arrives, because NO niece or nephew of mine is going to go a day without a hand knit demonstration of my love!

I am overcompensating. I have yarn to make a girl sweater and yarn to make a boy sweater. These will wait till after the arrival. I have also started a crocheted receiving blanket.

Until then, I am falling back on my old standby...BURP RAGS:

UFO Sightings

There seem to be a lot of UnFinished Objects lying around my room of late...

I have so many projects with deadlines that I keep trying to work on all of them at once, rather than finishing one as quickly as possible and then moving on to the next.

If I finish them one at a time, the worst thing that will happen is that the last due one or two won't be finished and I will give an IOU.

However, the way I'm going, they will all be ALMOST done and everybody will have to get an IOU.

I need to get organized!