Musings on Friday

As you can see, I finished the Tosh sweater. Details and more pics on Ravelry here.

Funny thing about this sweater. The whole time I was forcing myself to just finish it, already, I was cursing it and I became very sure that I would chuck it into a drawer, never to be seen again. Then I took the photos and kept it on for the rest of the day. Slowly I began to realize how good it felt, how soft, how perfectly fitted and comfy. It wore me down and won me over in short order. I am so glad I stuck with it because now I have a really nice sweater that I know I will enjoy wearing in the fall.

After my last post I finished up the ugly single Fortissima sock. While I was working on it I changed my mind about not knitting for a while. I realized that lately I have been worried about household finances quite a bit. Not that we are hurting or anything..in fact I think this is the most comfortable, financially, we've ever been. But I think that, for me at least, this recession has created a sense of urgency to save money and have an emergency cushion in the bank in case of disaster. Just living paycheck to paycheck doesn't cut it for me anymore. I need more security and tangible savings for the unknown "what-ifs".

How this relates to knitting is that working with my stash is one thing that always calms the anxiety and makes me feel more relaxed and able to cope with stress. I was browsing around in my room yesterday and felt reassured that, no matter what transpires, I will never run out of pretty things to work on. Hell, I could go without buying yarn for years and still not run out of possibilities, lol. So I decided to keep the project ball rolling and picked out some skeins for a simple, quick project.

This is some Punta Yarns Mericash in fiery oranges and Cascade 220 in a purplish brown. The project is a Vertigo vest for me. I have made this pattern before for K., so I know it is relatively simple and quick. I think it is important for me to keep knitting right now, if for no other reason than to keep my twitchy, anxious fingers occupied.

Ten on Tuesday

Ten Things I Wish I Was Brave Enough to Do:

1. Skydive
2. Go down a huge waterslide
3. Bungee jump
4. White water rafting
5. Base jumping
6. Travel alone to a foreign country
7. Make a public speech about an important cause
8. Learn a combative martial art
9. Have a real conversation with a famous celebrity
10. Dye my hair a truly outrageous colour

FO = Finally Over

The Mad Tosh sweater is done at last! Its blocking right now and hopefully I'll have pictures in the next day or so. I don't think I've ever been so happy to see the end of a project. I had to literally force myself to finish up the last bit of knitting yesterday. None of this was the yarn's fault..it was purely a victim of circumstance, lol!

While I was looking for a needle to do the collar, I spied this old victim of second-sock syndrome languishing in my craft room. I made up this sock at least a year ago and decided that I didn't like the colour enough to make the 2nd one. For some reason the idea of only having to make one sock to complete a project is really appealing to me right now, so I will most likely start it tonight. Since the socks are for me it should be a quick knit up.

After this I don't have any plans. I'm kind of sick of knitting (gasp, I know!) right now so I may take a bit of a break and perhaps drag out the quilting or something. Or I may just do stuff around the house. We bought some paint and some pretty flowers on the weekend so there is no end of things that can be done!

The Project That Ate My Soul

Okay..maybe I'm being a little dramatic! But you know how every project eventually reaches a certain point where you are sick of it? Sometimes its just a little "man, I can't wait for this to be done" and you keep soldering on for that last little bit. Every once and a while, though, it reaches that point where it feels like it will never end and you would rather do anything but work on it. That's where I'm at right now with the Mad Tosh sweater. All that extra reknitting is taking its toll. Today it feels like I would rather gouge my eyes out with a dull tapestry needle than even pick it up. I'm employing all the classic avoidance techniques: lots of time on the computer, lots of tv, reading, etc. I have several balls of sock yarn lined up like little soldiers on my dresser. Every day I fondle them but I know that if I even cast on a sock the sweater is lost. My stash is full of almost-sweaters where something went wrong with them along the way and they were heartlessly abandoned. I would tell myself that I will come back to them but I never do and they sit forgotten in their plastic bag coffins while I enjoy the next, greatest project.

This time I'm determined to mend my fickle ways. I'm going to stick with this sweater even if it kills me...at least I'll die wearing a beautiful sweater that matches my eyes!

On a completely unrelated (but great avoidance) note, here's a picture of K. and youngest that I'm entering in a local "Daddy and me look-alike photo contest":

I don't care whether or not we win..I just want everyone to see how cute they are!

Ten on Tuesday

Ten things that really disturb me:

1. Being in water deeper than my armpits
2. Spiders
3. Hypodermic needles
4. Mold
5. Driving down ridiculously steep hills
6. Plastic coated paper clips
7. Getting shocked on door handles
8. Metal plates or grates in sidewalks
9. Ants in the house
10. Talking into drive-thru order microphones

Weekend in Pictures

A giant shrubbery spider:

Home-made tempura cod and fried rice:

Eldest's Barn Owl project:

Cute new salt and pepper shakers:

Yet more knitting on Mad Tosh:

Sheep to Shawl

Last weekend we took in a small "sheep to shawl" competition at a local heritage museum. (It took me a while to find the camera cable for downloading...woops!). They had four teams made up of various spinning and weaving guild members. Each team had to card, spin and weave the raw, dyed wool into a shawl 6' in length, all within the 5 hour time limit. We didn't stay for the whole thing (easily bored kids) but while we were there the girls got to see every part of the process in action and do some fun crafts.

Whenever possible I try to get them out to see craft or art events where the artists/craftspersons are actually working. I think it is good for them to grow up knowing that it is possible to get beautiful things that aren't made in China and sold en-masse at the local mall. Its also good for them to see things made by hand so that they will be more encouraged to place value on arts and crafts and see it as something that they themselves could do too.

First up, a display of handspun yarn and a small loom:

Some raw wool ready for spinning:

A team hard at work (these ladies are from a local art college):

A large loom ready for weaving a beautiful shawl:

Eldest doing some weaving of her own:

Youngest and her new sheep buddy: