Friday, November 6, 2009

I'm not-quite-back from the dead.

Okay, okay. I haven’t blogged in a while. So sue me. I’ve been massively busy. Like, busier than I ever have been, or at least that I can remember. Each of the last eight weeks has held some kind of travel for me … Dallas, Illinois, Austin, Denver, Phoenix … the few and far between nights that I’ve had at home to myself have been purposely filled with knitting and television (two of my favorites). Despite all of these things, I have sad little to report.

I *have* {dramatic pause} … finished the body of the secret Mom gift. It’s coming along to Phoenix this weekend in the hopes of getting a good start on a sleeve (or two???) since Christmas is looming. (It’s true. I was in denial, too. And then I went to Macy’s and was slapped in the face by blinking Christmas trees. And then Glade assaulted my senses with cinnamon and pine cone and poinsettia. Christmas is here, and it’s back with an economic vengeance.) However, I’m also taking an as-yet-started pair of booties for a co-worker who thoughtlessly decided to have her baby shower BEFORE the baby was actually born. Doesn’t she realize I needed those two months to make the booties that I stupidly opened my big fat mouth and promised her?! I know, I know, I don’t *have* to give her the booties at the shower, I could easily make them when I have other things finished and then give them to her closer to her due date … but then I am empty handed at the shower, and I refuse to buy a gift where one can be made.

I was knitting away with decent progress on Tina’s brother-in-law socks … but remedial math skills flew out of my brain (bye bye addition and subtraction! You will be missed!) and I screwed up the increases at the heel and now I can’t see where I went wrong. I am banking on the fact that next weekend is my Knitting Class Extravaganza, or How My Knitting Life Will Change In Two Days. Next Saturday, I will take an 8-hour class with Cat Bordhi based on her new book on brilliant and wonderful ways to make perfect-fitting socks. I am hoping that after her class, I will have brilliant insight into making these socks so that it doesn’t look like a he-gorilla slobbered on the yarn and then molded said yarn into a sock shape. Then I will whip out the pair of socks with mere minutes left before Christmas, and then my major deadlines will be finished. I also have Nicky Epstein classes the day after the Cat Bordhi class, so I will come out the other side of next weekend as a totally new and talented knitter (who is $300 poorer after class fees and going crazy with class materials ... don't judge).

I’ve created a New Year’s Resolution for myself (I know, it’s November, and it will probably be February before this thing actually goes into effect, but who’s counting?): after finishing my immediate WIPs (which includes the Mom-thing, the socks, the booties, a pair of fingerless gloves, a baby jacket, a hat and half an afghan), I am going to spend some time knitting for no one but myself. It took someone pointing it out to me, but I spend the majority of my knitting time making things for other people. Don’t get me wrong, I love making things for other people, especially people that appreciate the knitted things I give them … but I only have two pairs of socks I’ve made for myself, and one of those pairs are toe-less for pedicures. I have a hat or two, and a head scarf, and a sweater … but I want more. If I’m spending all this time and money on the materials, then I want to have a few more pairs of socks to show for myself at the end of it. So it won’t last forever, but between my severely decreased knitting time and my level of interest in my current WIPs, I’m fairly certain that this needs to happen. So there … once the Christmas gifts are finished, I’ll re-begin the pair of socks I started for myself all those many moons ago and then at least one project on my needles will be intended for me. And once that big-ass list is down a bit, then even more will be for me. And now because this picture makes me happy … let me present my new desktop pattern at work (it keeps me sane and I love staring at it). Red Rock, Colorado. Can I move now please?

Please? Now? ... How about now?