Allow me to be the first to voice my befuddlement.

I have been reading the My Constant Companion pattern, over and over and over again, and still am not clear on all the finishing alternatives. No problem, thought I, I will Google and see how other people dealt with their confusion. And do you think I can find a single solitary soul besides myself who admits to having had any trouble with it? Not a one. It's all crystal clear to everyone but me.

Having spent the entire afternoon cogitating and perhaps ripping out a few hairs, hopefully the grey ones, I think I've got it. I think the page entitled "knitting your bag" contains variation one, which has slots for straps in the body of the bag, followed by an inch of k 1, sl 1 for stability, and then a knit-cord bind-off. This must be the technique the designer used here, because the picture shows only one band of cord along the top. Then, the next page offers an alternative to that entire section, with a possibly different knit-cord technique -- I haven't quite figured that whole cord thing out yet -- with slots somehow worked along with the knit-cord. The k 1, sl 1 section would be omitted. Then there are two more bands of knit-cord. This appears to be the version one usually sees, as most pictures seem to have the stacked cords on top as seen here. Does that make sense?

Apparently the second version is the one in the book Knitter's Stash, which I don't have. Aside from the somewhat obvious clue on this page, I have also stumbled upon what appears to be a page from the book, right here. This page has a chart for the mosaic design on the pocket, which is not included in the single pattern, but please be aware that per Janet Scanlon's note on her website, the word "pulling" should read "purling".

And here endeth my Googling for today. I hope someone, somewhere, some day, may benefit from my befuddlement. But I doubt it. Everyone else seems to get it.

Sigh.

in which I call a truce in the stash wars

It would have been very good and saintly of me to continue with my WIPs and not start anything else until they're out of the way, but let's be serious here.

Every now and then my generally useless stash comes through for me. Much to my amazement I have enough feltable wool to do a couple of My Constant Companion bags. For the first one I've fished out a heap of Bernat Lana in chocolate brown for the main colour and Patons Classic Wool in Tree Bark Mix for the accents. They claim to knit to the same gauge (20 stitches to 4"), and I'm using a double strand. I guess we shall see how they felt together. I'm currently knitting a ginormous swatch, which will eventually become an inside pocket, out of the chocolate brown. I have 2,600 yards of the brown so I can make swatches and pockets till doomsday. Such luxury!

I also see some hat knitting in my very near future. Taylor appears to have lost the Nature Spun and Kureyon hat I made her a couple of years ago and she is coveting the one I just made for Sydney. I think I have enough odds and ends of Nature Spun and Galway to come up with a Mommy Original for her. Yes, the evil, useless stash justifies its existence twice in a single post! Perhaps it is beginning to suspect that I've been losing my patience with it.

One finished sweater

There's a very good reason to toss away our nonexistent funds on more yarn: it makes me go into warp speed to finish the stuff already on the needles. Case in point: Sydney's sweater and hat.



This is the back-of-the-label pattern from Bernat Super Value. I enjoyed knitting it and Sydney loves it. In fact, I had to tell her to take it off this morning because she wore it all day yesterday and wants to wear it to school tomorrow. I suppose I'm lucky she didn't wear it in the bath last night.

Now I'm digging out a UFO from last year: a similar sweater for me from Creative Knitting done in Brown Sheep Nature Spun. I used my Boye Needlemaster set for Sydney's hat and I think I'm going to switch to Boyes for this sweater. I had been using the smallest size of Denises and the fat cables were a bit of a pain.

I edit this a couple of hours later to add an item from the "what was I thinking?" files. Because it's been so long since I worked on this sweater I had to count stitches to figure out which size I was making. Obviously I'm very diligent (not) about keeping careful notes. Anyway, I see I was making the second-largest of four sizes. A bit about me: I am a size 4 petite, 5'2" and about 110 pounds. Why in god's name am I making the second-biggest size? Anyone? Help? I suppose I wanted it to be oversized so I could wear it as a top layer over other clothes. Yes, we'll go with that.

Wow.

Five days ago I ordered the new Opal Feelings collection from Astrid in The Netherlands. It was delivered today. Five days. Wow. And that was with standard shipping. All hail Astrid and the Dutch and Canadian post offices.

The yarn, of course, is beautiful. I have put it into a clear bag with my Trekking collection and it's sitting on my bed where I can admire it. Upon fondling I notice that the Opal actually feels itchier to my hands than the Trekking. This has unsettled me.

Dear Stash: I hate you.

Yes, you read that correctly. I hate my stash. I resent my stash. It makes me feel guilty every time I buy new yarn. It says, "Why do you need more yarn when you have me?"

Well, stash, let me tell you why: you don't have the yarn I want at this moment. You don't have enough of any one yarn to make a sweater (ok, except for the cheapo grey wool blend I got on clearance at Wal-Mart and have regretted ever since). You squat there engorged with monstrous stuff like that brown novelty abomination someone was sending out for free a year or two ago. There's some pink floofy crap left over from knitting a scarf that stretched out into something resembling a fuzzy clothesline. There is sock yarn that itches. There are partial balls of assorted wools, half-balls of sock yarn (too little to use, too much to throw out), odd balls of acrylic, and odds and ends of dishcloth cotton. There is some really nice stuff too, like most of a skein of Zephyr and a few balls of Baby Silk. They would make lovely scarves, but what if I'm not knitting scarves right now? What if I want to make a bunch of Wonderful Wallabies? You can't help me there, now, can you?

I am toying with making a new year's resolution to knit only from the stash. But how would I make my Wallabies? Here are a few options.

1. Before the resolution comes into effect, stack the stash with enough yarn for four Wallabies. This is my favourite option, though I suppose it runs counter to the spirit of the resolution and requires a large expenditure of non-existent funds.

2. Consider the Wallaby project an exception to the resolution.

3. Postpone the Wallaby plan until the stash has been significantly reduced.

4. The Good Little Knitter's solution: Try to use up the odds and ends to make one-of-a-kind multicoloured Wallabies. I am confident that this sounds easier and more fun than it would actually be.

#2 sounds like the winner, don't you think?

Sydney's sweater is almost done, by the way, and of course it is going to leave me with enough purple acrylic to save but not quite enough to do anything with. Open wide, Stash. Incoming.

Further to my dance crisis

As I mentioned earlier, I am being dragged to a dance tonight and frankly I'd rather have a root canal. I am going to be wearing a dress that is suitable for my figure but clashes badly with my age. It is strapless. It is now -- let me think -- oh yes, November. In Canada. No problem, you say, just grab one of the dozen slinky little wraps that you must have knit by now.

No can do, I reply, because my one and only knit shawl looks hideous with my dress. The dress is tan and the shawl is copper. That doesn't sound so bad but they look absolutely wrong together, plus the Creatures of the Reef theme is inappropriate for a semi-formal affair in winter. I am left to choose between two squares of some sort of synthetic, one pink and one navy. They both look like crap.

Why oh why have I not made myself a basic black shawl yet?

This is all too much for me. I'm not getting out of bed tomorrow.

Somebody stop me!

I have done a lot this week, some of it good...some not so good.

In good news:
Good thing #1: I did finish knitting the baby kimono, as promised.
Good thing #2: I finished the charity hat and matching mitts.
Good thing #3: I finished the plain Trekking sock and -- AND! -- the autumnal sock.
Good thing #4: I have made considerable progress on Sydney's sweater. The body is done up to the armholes and I've almost finished the first sleeve.

In bad news:
Bad thing #1: I have not sewn up the kimono and am in no hurry to do so.
Bad thing #2: The hat and mitts are so dull they're not even worth photographing. Picture plain green hat and mitts, stockinette with ribbed cuffs. There you go.
Bad thing #3: The aforementioned socks are both first socks. I have cast on the second autumnal sock and that's about all.
Bad thing #4: I screwed up the toe of the Trekking sock. I was near the end of kitchenering and discovered a dropped stitch running hell-for-leather up the foot. So I scooped it up and sort of crocheted it into the grafting-in-progress with less than stellar results, but at least it appears to be holding.

And now for the truly horrific:
Horrific thing #1 through 100: I spent almost $100 on sock yarn.

It was beyond my control. Look at this stuff. I mean really. This yarn is so dangerously addictive that marketing it should be illegal. The dh has just started a new job, we're totally broke, just had to spend $1200 on car repairs, and now this happens. Sucks to be me, I tell you.

Tonight I have to go to a dance. I do not like dances. I am not a dancer nor am I a socialite in any way, shape or form. And to add insult to injury, the husband is playing in the band so I will be alone for most of the night. I bought a nice dress that was obviously designed for someone less than half my age and I will enjoy my delusions for the evening, but aside from that I have no plans to enjoy myself. I toyed with sneaking in a bit o'knitting but the daughters laughed me right out of the kitchen when I suggested it. So if any of you are parked in front of the TV tonight with a bowl of chips, where I will be longing to be, please grant me a moment of pity. If you require a moment of jealousy over the dashing figure I will cut in my teen dress, I will grant you that right. But please remember that the dress is the only thing that will redeem this wretched evening.

Absolutely not a needle review

My inferiority complex once again begs your indulgence. I am going to demonstrate my lack of sophistication when it comes to needles.

I know that the good bloggers (if you've read my ramblings before you know that I have a possibly pathological tendency to distance myself from Good Bloggers) often post reviews of knitting needles. I fear that this is one more area where I cannot compete, for the simple reason that I do not have preferences when it comes to knitting needles or crochet hooks. I use whatever works for the project and I do not care who made it or whether it is plastic or wood or bamboo or metal, shiny or dull, long or short, circular or straight. If the tools work, and I haven't found many that don't, I'm pretty much oblivious to them while I'm working.

Yesterday I trotted out to Michael's armed with a 50% off coupon and bought a Boye Needlemaster set. I have not used it yet, but once I have I promise you that I will have nothing intelligent to say about it. I expect I will have no reason to dislike it. I have the Denise interchangeables as well, and I do use them frequently. They work. What more is there to say? Of course my favourite bits and pieces are usually in a UFO or a WIP somewhere so I decided I needed an extra set of interchangeables. I chose the Boyes rather than more Denises because they come in smaller sizes and the cables are thinner. OK, OK, there's a small gripe: I don't like the fat cables on the Denises because the stitches don't slide well. There you have it: my first and probably last needle critique.

OTN report: I am trying to finish off two charity projects today: the baby kimono and the chunky hat I started for the meeting last week. I am suffering either a relapse of my recent cold or a whole 'nother one hot on its heels, which I see as excellent justification for mindless knitting in front of the TV when my chauffeuring services are not required. I only have one little gymnast training today and she's done at 4:30, so I'm planning to settle in with my knitting for the evening. Doesn't that sound lovely? Of course I'm not naive enough to expect it to happen that easily, but I'll give it a whirl anyway.

What I did today

There is a very long preamble to this story involving a crochet exchange and ebay and some admirable self-restraint on my part, but the upshot of it all is that I felt justified in spending a little bit of money. So I ordered two patterns that I have long coveted: the My Constant Companion felted bag and the Wonderful Wallaby. I am having ridiculously unrealistic fantasies about making Wallabies for everyone in my family. This from the woman who has been known to take months to knit a single sock. Perhaps it would be prudent to cast on adult sizes for the children.

I managed to finish a mildly adequate donation for my charity group this month: two baby outfits and a blanket. I have started the baby kimono from Mason-Dixon Knitting, though with some alterations as my gauge is wildly off, and a plain ol' hat that I cast on this morning because I needed something small and mindless to work on during the meeting.

And now for my crowning achievement of the day: Remember the garbage bag full of yarn that I hauled home from Listowel in August? Today, November 5, I put it all away. Yes, that garbage bag has been sitting in my upstairs hall outside the linen closet for two and a half months, mostly because I wasn't ready to be parted from it yet. But finally I bought two new Rubbermaid bins and moved it to Official Yarn Storage Area in my basement.

And then a nice lady at the charity group told me that the Spinrite sale happens TWICE A YEAR, not just in the summer as I had thought! God help me. God help us all.

WARNING: Crochet Stuff

I don't know why some knitters despise crochet, but I thought I should give a heads-up in case anyone is offended. Here, as promised, are the projects I've completed for a crochet gift exchange. I cannot say that I am displeased with them.

A pinwheel doily, about 13-14 inches in diameter:



A long-ish, skinny-ish scarf, crocheted lengthwise, intended to be suitable for wear in warmer climes than these.



And a dishcloth and scrubbie set.



And this concludes my current crochet agenda. I will probably start another charity baby blanket pretty soon, but for the moment it is back to knitting.

Current projects are, as ever, the plain Trekking sock, the Autumnal sock, the sweater for Sydney and the stalled Magickal Earth shawl. Might get back to the shawl this weekend.