Sometimes I Impress Myself

I took several projects with me to work on on my WA trip last weekend. Specifically: Les Tuileries, a chunky cabled beanie, the last of the Cousins Beanies...and the Rivendell socks.

I have been "working" on the Rivendell socks for over a year now. I purchased the yarn before I moved to CA. I begged my parents for the Eclectic Sole Book for my 2008 birthday. I even cast on once...only to second guess my yarn choice, rip them out, and proceed to knit several other pairs of socks instead of the Rivendells.

Finally, I decided that enough was enough. The original yarn choice was great, and I was not allowing myself to knit any other socks UNTIL I knit the Rivendells.

Truth is...I was scared of them. They have something called a "yarn cluster"...there is a ton of cabling...they REQUIRE a chart. (I can read charts, I just prefer to use written row by row directions...I am less likely to lose my place.)

Anyway...I psyched myself up and cast them on again this last weekend. With all of the driving we did, and with all of the sitting and chatting and drinking tea...I got quite a bit done.

In fact, I had the whole cuff done before the flight back to CA Tuesday morning.

Frankly...I am pretty stinking impressed with how they are turning out. That may not be a humble admission, but it is the truth!

I am proud of me.

(Since the picture was taken, I have actually finished the heel flap and picked up the gusset stitches...the rest of the sock is simple straight-forward vanilla knitting, easy, breezy, and beautiful...I'm just not thinking about the fact that I have TWO feet!)

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!)

Celebrating 26

I spent my birthday with Brother and Sis-In-Law yesterday. It was grand.

I extended the celebration by one day when I went to the store to take advantage of the 20% birthday discount.

I had to go on my lunch break, since they are only open 10-6 on Mondays, and I work 9-6.

I went in with a plan...a great plan...a plan that I had every intention of sticking to:

1. I was only going to spend babysitting money, all other funds have to go toward living expenses. (check)

2. I would only buy yarn for specific projects, none of this buy-now-figure-out-what-to-do-with-it-later business. (check)

3. I would be very selfish and only buy yarn for projects for me. After all, it was my birthday!(check)

4. I would NOT buy sock yarn since I have scads of it. And had received a lovely skein of Alpaca Sox as part of my birthday present from the parents.(ummmm....)

5. I would NOT buy anything Noro. I don't need Noro. I need to branch out. (double ummmm....)

Well...3 out of 5 isn't bad!

Here's the swag:


The noro will go toward a coffee cup cozy for me...since I currently use one that I just never got around to gifting.
The sock yarn will be used in a sock pattern from Knitty.

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.

I Need To Go On A Diet...

...a yarn diet, that is!

Forced Purchases

Confession: There are times when I have purchased yarn, not because I liked it, but because it was the least offensive yarn I could find in a store.

When I go into a new yarn shop for the first time, I often feel as though I am intruding on someone else's territory. All eyes turn to me, and I feel as though I am being judged. Part of this stems from my own personal insecurities and anxiety issues, but part of it is based on fact. I am younger than a lot of knitters, although that is changing as I age and knitting becomes more socially acceptable. Also, as B1 pointed out at Stitches West, I don't exactly look like your run-of-the-mill knitter either. I have been followed in shops because the owner thought I was going to shoplift, I have been questioned, I have been informed that the shop only sells yarn, etc. I have developed a wee bit of a complex.

As a result, now when I go into a new shop, I feel compelled to buy something...anything...to justify my presence there. This isn't easy to do since I am very picky. (Do not laugh...I admit I have a lot of yarn, but I love all of it...imagine how much I would have if I was less discerning!). In the end, I buy yarn that I don't really care for. And it's hard. If I am guilt buying, then I look for yarn that is fairly inexpensive, but not so inexpensive as to be obvious that I am only buying under compulsion. I also look for yarn that comes in skeins large enough to make a scarf, but small enough as to leave NO leftovers.

My most recent forced purchase occurred when I went into the yarn shop in Dublin. I had just moved here, and already had a delightful experience at the Pleasanton shop. Unfortunately, the Dublin shop was a dud. I got the judgemental stares, the following, the constant "can I help you find something?". (Advice to store owners: If I tell you I am just browsing, let me walk around and squish the skeins. I am more likely to impulse buy by touch than by your constant pestering. Asking once is good customer service, asking repeatedly is just annoying.)

On top of the behavior, the yarn just wasn't what I like. Also, it was organized by brand rather than type. Brand organization is even less accessible to me as a knitter than organization by color, which I also dislike! (Note: I don't intend on going back there. I love Knit This, Purl That! which is closer to my house anyway, so why make the effort?)

I had to buy something. I didn't like anything. They didn't even have a good needle selection...so I ended up purchasing this:

Its ok, but not really my thing. I ended up making a scarf out of it using a simple pattern from "Drunk, Divorced, and Covered in Cat Hair." The scarf turned out pretty well. The variation in the weight and texture of the different yarn elements made the stripes droop in places as heavier parts pulled it down. That is annoying. Also, the style of the scarf isn't really my thing. It is going into the gift stash, or perhaps to a consignment shop or something. We'll see. At least I finished it, and my stash now has more room for a wanted yarn.