knitting & other distractions

I needed that.

2008-05-12T13:06:00.002-04:00

As I had promised myself, I took a break from the charity knitting and did a quick little project for my daughter. These are from the Knit Picks Victorian sampler that had me all giddy a few weeks back.

And now it's back to the heart baby blanket and preemie hats, and I am not dreading it. The break did me good.

shopaholicism, knitteritis strain

2008-05-09T12:39:00.004-04:00

Oh crap.

This is totally not my fault. It's an addiction. It's an illness, even. Knit Picks has figured out that I cannot resist their sampler packs and they can't help taking advantage of my weakness.

I bought the summer yarn sampler just a few weeks ago and haven't had time to do anything with it. Now they've hit me with the lace yarn sampler, and they have it in blues and greens. I cannot say no to blues and greens. And lace yarn, for crud's sake. It's all like crack to me.

And since I have to pay nine bucks in shipping anyway, it only makes sense to try out the Harmony wood needle tips. And I did need some extra 24" and 32" cables. And some blocking pins. Once you've committed to the shipping you might as well make it worth your while, right? Simple economics.

I feel like a creation of Sophie Kinsella right about now.

My Mother's Day gift to Me

2008-05-09T08:36:00.003-04:00

On Sunday I am not going to do any charity knitting. I am going to play with my Knit Picks sampler and I am going to swatch for the Goddess Knits Mystery Shawl. I might have to assign an enforcer to make sure I don't try to sneak a baby blanket in there but I'm sure one of my daughters would be happy to help in that capacity.

How to make knitting not fun

2008-05-07T09:09:00.002-04:00

1. Put too much pressure on yourself.
2. Knit what you think you should be knitting instead of what you want to knit.

And this is what I have been doing for the past couple of months. I'm trying to crank out as much charity stuff as I can before the last meeting in June and it is making me grumpy.

Last week I handed in three adult hats, three baby sweaters and a baby blanket. This was my first contribution since February, and feeling totally inadequate I put my little grocery bag on the table amidst a mountain of garbage bags filled by the other ladies. Now I'm pressuring myself to get some more stuff finished before June so that I can donate, well, maybe a sandwich bag full. I'm half-finished another baby sweater and am having totally unrealistic fantasies of completing a sweater/hat/bootie set and another blanket. It is to laugh. I'm thinking I should probably crochet the blanket to speed things up a little.

In the queue, I have promised a lacy cap to the younger daughter and a pair of fingerless gloves to the older one. I have -- let me count -- at least five unfinished shawls lying around, and the new mystery shawl is due to start mid-June. And I've bought yarn to make shawls for both daughters as well. My completion record totally sucks right about now and I blame that darned charity knitting.

Off to take a deep breath and contemplate priorities.

confession time

2008-04-30T08:15:00.004-04:00

My name is Kathryn and I have never participated in a KAL. I did not do the Knitting Olympics and I have never paid any attention to the mystery whatever-alongs. As a rule I like to plod along at my own pace, whether it be like lightning or that of the slugs I keep finding in my watering can. But I am considering joining y'all out there in the big world just to see what it's like. Temporarily, of course. I'm not promising to actually become part of society or anything.

I've been following a certain meltdown in the mystery shawl land with morbid curiosity. It seems that a certain designer, who appears to be fairly new to the title, initiated a free mystery shawl KAL that was riddled with problems and then decided to renege on the "free" part. Folks who had already invested in materials and knitting time are steaming mad. Coincidentally I received an email last night from another designer, who is not in any way a newbie, announcing that she too is hosting a free mystery shawl KAL. I already own a couple of patterns by this designer so I decided to give it a whirl. Nothing like a whiff of scandal to catch ones interest. Remember how popular figure skating became after the Tonya/Nancy incident? It's the same thing. Newbie designer has whacked the mystery shawl industry on the knee and given it a whole new life.

Of course we all know that this is really nothing but a stash enhancement opportunity. My budget does not allow for major stash enhancement at the moment so I ordered some of that dirt-cheap Shadow from Knit Picks. Since I had to pay eight bucks for shipping anyway, I ordered enough for two shawls. No fool am I.

Apropos of not much, here's a hat I knit last week.

It's Dez Crewford's pattern, found here, but I made it a lot shorter than the pattern directed. I have never seen a head that could accommodate a 14" long tube, but I've already mentioned that I don't get out much. Mine is 10" up to the decreases and consequently I only flipped the brim once. I'm currently knitting another one. Shawls are still hibernating but I'm hoping to get one of them done before the KAL begins.

2008-04-21T13:24:00.003-04:00

Sigh. Eventually one has to face up to the fact that ones Chibi set has gone astray somewhere between here and Montreal and one must order a new one. This one has just done so.

I also ordered one of the spiffy little samplers from Knit Picks. I chose the Victorian one, firstly because I like the colours but also, quite conveniently, I prefer the set of patterns that comes with this set to the other two. I really can't think of a reason to knit the doofy little bags in the other sets. The older daughter has already laid claim to the fingerless gloves and the younger one wants the lacy cap.

Meanwhile I continue on my charity knitting binge. I have so far finished one baby hoodie and one excruciatingly unexciting dishcloth pattern blanket. I have started crocheting a scrap afghan and have Lorraine Major's quick baby sweater almost finished. All shawls et cetera are on hold until I have a decent contribution for next month's meeting.

2008-04-14T09:30:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I witnessed the daughter wearing her Wallaby but did not have the gumption to go find my camera. The Wallaby remains sadly unphotographed and is already acquiring that much-loved look, which I admit does have its own appeal. Next sweater will be immortalized in pixels as soon as it is off the needles and/or finished blocking. I maintain that you will see the Wallaby in all its pilly glory sooner or later.

****

I continue to whine about the garter stitch baby blanket. 'Nuff said about that. I've also cast on Lorraine Major's version of the 5-hour baby sweater (found here) just because I am in dire need of an FO right about now. The next major charity project will be Ann Saglimbene's Heart Blanket. You may anticipate a certain amount of whinging.

Meanwhile, in real knitting, I have made some progress on Butterfly Wings. I'm trying to focus on the charity stuff but I'm managing to squeeze in a row or two on the shawl most days.

****

I had a small crisis a couple of days ago when I experienced a system failure on one of my Knit Picks Options cables. The purple plastic cable separated itself from the metal screw-in connector thingie, naturally in the middle of a long row. Luckily it happened to the garter stitch project, not the lace shawl, so it was easily rescued. I've heard that Knit Picks is very good about replacing defective tools, but I'm thinking a drop of superglue might be a more efficient solution. Perhaps if I'd had to rescue my lace I'd be in a bigger hurry to demand reparation.

****

I was nosing around Ravelry yesterday (who among us can say that they do not nose around Ravelry most days?) and was very impressed by a couple of afghans made from sock yarn scraps knit into mitred squares. I have a pretty good collection of leftover sock yarn and am considering putting such an item in the queue for portable summer knitting.

Permission granted.

2008-04-06T11:36:00.004-04:00

I am pleased to announce that I received the memo from myself granting permission to cast on a new shawl despite having about a hundred and fifty-four unfinished shawls littering my home. Oh, and one finished one. See, it can happen. There's always hope.

This is Butterfly Wings from Goddess Knits. I'm using Jaggerspun Maine Line (which happens to be the very yarn called for in the pattern, fancy that!) in apricot. So far I am having a grand old time with this one and am absolutely fully committed to finishing it. No, really. I will. And then I will finish the border on the Flowing River shawl that is currently in hibernation.

Really.

And here's some of the rather dull charity stuff I've been nattering about.

Yes, that's a whole lot of knit stitch you're looking at. This has been in progress for two months now and has followed me all around the St. Lawrence-Great Lakes area. It does make for good mindless knitting.

And this...

...is the only charity project I have actually completed since February. Gotta get the old butt into gear before the summer break. The pattern can be found here if you're interested. It's quick and easy, but I modified it a bit, adding three buttonholes and changing the sewn hem to a garter stitch border.

And for those who love bad photography and/or pretty birds...

This handsome gentleman has been singing his little head off in our backyard every morning for the past few weeks. I had to use digital zoom and snap quickly before he moved on, hence the less than stellar image quality. Sometimes I do miss my good old 35mm SLR.

grumbling

2008-04-04T09:39:00.004-04:00

I am trying to decide whether to give myself permission to begin a new lace shawl and leave yet another in UFO limbo. The yarn isn't working with the pattern and I am finding it just depressing. I don't really have that much on the needles at the moment so as soon as I'm granted permission to allow the Bad Yarn Shawl to remain dormant, I will be free to cast on something more pleasing. I'll sit here and await the memo.

Meanwhile I'm chugging away at a bunch of agonizingly dull charity stuff. One garter stitch blanket, one just-finished baby hoodie with another ready to cast on, and a preemie hat in fingering weight that is probably going to be the death of me. Unfortunately our local hospitals are requiring that preemie hats be knit only in fingering weight. They're trying to drive us into the booby hatch. Maybe they have a few empty beds.

And it's snowing, for cripe's sake. What happened to spring? Did I miss it?

Happy frogging to you

2008-03-28T15:22:00.003-04:00

Dang but it feels good to frog a project that is not offering any enjoyment whatsoever. I had been working on the Lotus socks from Red Bird Knits a bit at a time over the last few months and for some reason it was not working for me. I had turned the heel and was starting on the gusset when I decided that I simply was not enjoying the lace pattern. And the memory of working on this thing while waiting for my nine-year-old to come out of the OR did not bestow any positive vibes either. So they're toast. The yarn is luscious (Lana Grossa Seta/Cashmere) and will serve me very well in a future project, ideally one that does not carry any hospital associations.

Pictures of the Wallaby will be along eventually. Lame as this sounds, I swear it is the truth: the batteries in my camera are dead. I laundered the Wallaby this week, once I was finally able to peel it off the daughter, with only mildly upsetting results. It was knit in Knit Picks Main Line (cotton/merino) and I very cockily put it in the washer on delicate. It came out of the washer stretched all the way to hell and back and looking a little fuzzy, but it seems to be regaining its shape and most of the fuzz appears to be loose lint rather than pills. Whew. While suffering machine washing remorse I rhetorically asked the daughter whatever we would do if the thing did not recover. And she answered, bless her, "I'd just wear it anyway."

Gymnastics meet tomorrow. I'm going to be working on my Boring-As-All-Get-Out Dishcloth Pattern Baby Blanket for Charity (hereinafter known as the BAAGODPBBFC - or maybe not).

2008-03-22T16:13:00.001-04:00

Day 2. The daughter still has not taken off the Wallaby. Obviously I'm going to have to photograph it on her.

2008-03-21T12:49:00.003-04:00

The older daughter's Wallaby is done. I will get a picture of it eventually, but at the moment she is wearing it with pajama bottoms while doing housework. I am trying to control my horror as this is probably evidence that she likes it. And that is more important than the fact that she's going to butcher the bloody thing before I even get my camera out. Deep breath.

I could make a long list of its imperfections (like screwed-up Kitchenering on the garter rim of the hood, sickeningly obvious joins of new yarn, one wonky stitch in the placket...) but I won't. They'll just be my little secrets.

The best news: it fits me too. If I don't get to steal hers, at least I know what size to make my own.

A positive stash experience

2008-03-13T17:16:00.004-04:00

I have oft grumbled that the majority of my so-called stash is crap. I have boxes full of leftover odd balls, freebies and crappy acrylic whose origin has faded into the mists of time. There are a few balls that belonged to my late mother and grandmother, and everybody knows that you can't just chuck out family heirlooms like Eaton's Sayelle, right? And a full ball of anything with an intact label has automatic immortality.

I do realize that I have a problem.

Well, yesterday I was in Michael's with the young one (and may I say it was a most uninspiring yarn experience) to find her some craft supplies. I picked up a free leaflet about making critters out of yarn, felt and googley eyes. And I am ecstatic to report that I had in the aforementioned Stash O'Crap the two very exact balls of yarn that the projects required (Bernat boucle and that godawful Disco). I mean, I even had the colours pictured. See, there's a reason I keep all this junk around.

If there was any hope that I would ever purge this stuff it has now been squashed like a bug.

Oh yeah, I edit this to add that the Wallaby is still creeping along. I have started the neck opening and am attempting to de-glitch the placket by changing the knits to purls on one side of the garter stitch border. If I understand the directions correctly you can get away with this if you're doing a stockinette hood. Which I am. So it's all good, I hope.

announcement of revision of goal

2008-03-08T09:53:00.003-05:00

OK, I said I was going to join both sleeves to the body of the Wallaby before the snow stops, but that was before we managed to acquire a Wii. I have started the second sleeve nevertheless and am now forced to adjust my goal. I will get to the top of the cuff increases before the snow stops, and I will play some Wii with my darlings. Just because I'm a good mom, don't ya know.

Another snowstorm. Whodathunkit?

2008-03-07T12:29:00.002-05:00

Apparently it isn't enough to have snow piled so high on both sides of the driveway that one has to back out blind. No, we're expecting another foot or so over the next 48 hours for good measure. Just to make sure that we still won't be able to see to the corner by August, I guess.

I am trying to see this as a Golden Knitting Opportunity. Once I've delivered the older daughter to the gym at 4:00 I will not be required to leave the house until Sunday. The husband, fortunately, does not mind driving in this ridiculous weather and has agreed to be the designated driver until the storm is over. So I intend to cocoon, knit the sleeves of the Wallaby and get them joined to the body before the snow stops.

I seem to have returned from the gymnastics road trip without my Chibi case that contained not only its original contents but all my favourite yarn needles. I had to run out to Wally World this morning when I felt the urge to weave in some ends. That urge doesn't hit very often and must be obeyed when it drops by. I hope the fact that I replaced some of the needles will ensure that the Chibi shows up within the next day or two. But it's most likely in Montreal somewhere.

Along Came A Spider

2008-02-27T14:33:00.002-05:00

We're about to hit the road for another gymnastics road trip, this time to Montreal, but I felt the need to crow that I finally finished the Along Came A Spider lace scarf.

This was a kit from Rovings that a friend won at a knitting event in September. My brain has already been packed in my suitcase so I can't remember the name of the event. It was in Kitchener-Waterloo...Knitter's Fair, perhaps?

I'm taking the sadly neglected Lotus socks from the Red Bird Knits SOTM to work on once I've unpacked my brain, and a garter stitch baby blanket for the other 23 hours of the day.

The Trouble with Knitting In Public

2008-02-25T12:17:00.001-05:00

I was KIPing in the doctor's waiting room today when I was approached by a Helpful Person who wanted to critique my knitting technique. Now, I am fully aware that I am an Awkward Knitter. I hold the yarn in my right fist and drop the needle to wrap the yarn. It looks like hell in progress, but this is how I am most comfortable and the results are good so I do not feel the need to change.

Said Helpful Lady indicated that I should learn to flick the yarn with my index finger. My mother knit this way and I am very familiar with the technique, but it does not make me happy. As a crocheter I am also semi-competent with continental style, but it is not my favourite either. I like to knit the way I like to knit, and that just happens to involve flailing my right fist while my needle drops into my lap, often sliding out of the stitches along the way. I can deal with it. I told the lady that it works for me, and she shrugged and said, "Oh well, whatever works," before moving away. But not before she had snarked that I must have just learned to knit in hopes of getting this scarf (which, by the way, is already four feet long) finished in time for Christmas.

Anyway. Let us assume that she meant well.

I present my Wallaby-in-progress as it stood a few days ago. I've added another couple of inches since then. The yarn is Knit Picks' Main Line in Wedgewood.

travelling FO

2008-02-18T08:01:00.004-05:00

What did I do on our five-hour drive to Ottawa?

I finished Sydney's socks! I used Opal Petticoat Cotton and am crossing my fingers that she'll actually wear them. I've learned the hard way that she won't wear Opal wool.

We were in Ottawa for a gymnastics meet. I won't go into detail except to say that our results were ugly aside from one bronze medal on floor. Next week we're chugging off to Montreal for another meet. Medals will be impossible at this one because the daughter has been bumped up a level, and I fear, given my current assortment of WIPs, FOs are equally unlikely. I'll try to enjoy the scenery anyway.

We have too much flippin' snow.

2008-02-13T08:31:00.002-05:00

I recall many recent winters when I have sat here staring at the frozen brown earth wishing we had a little snow to pretty things up a bit. And then there's this year.

The tail belongs to Logan, the snow-loving German shepherd who can't wait to get back into the house. Even she is fed up.

And according to this morning's forecast there's more coming before the end of the week. And what will we be doing during the next onslaught? Why, driving to Ottawa and back, of course, for a gymnastics meet.Of course I will bring along some mindless knitting to work on while the husband digs us out of the drifts.

Vaguely knitting related notes

2008-02-04T17:17:00.001-05:00

Let me tell you about my latest boneheaded Random Act of Vanity. Five days ago I got acrylic nails. Lest you think I have no regard for my knitting whatsoever, I must point out that I had them clipped relatively short, explaining to the technician that I needed them short enough to knit with. And in my defence my natural nails were actually interfering with my knitting because they were so shredded that they caught on even the smoothest of yarns. It was purely a practical move, I assure you.

So can I knit with these monsters? Yes, I can, by golly! Can I knit fast? Not on your life. It's sort of like having to manipulate ten extra DPNs.

I did watch that silly football game last night while working on the new charity baby blanket. The good news is I sort of kind of moderately enjoyed it. The bad news is...my previously non-football-watching significant other discovered that he could get into football. Uh-oh.

Am still eagerly awaiting my Knitpicks order so I can start the Wallaby for number one daughter. I have no doubt that the neighbours gather to snicker as they watch me stalk the mailman.

2008-02-03T11:51:00.000-05:00

Well, I have finished all the charity stuff that I'm going to, given that the meeting is today: two baby outfits and one slightly abbreviated Moderne baby blanket. I realized after packing them up that I had forgotten to take pictures, but I truly believe that our society will not suffer greatly for lack of this particular pictorial evidence.

As is usually the case when I knit garter stitch, the blanket was a screwup from start to finish. I've said before that I can handle complex lace and Arans, but give me a garter stitch washcloth pattern and I can make a total hash of it. I suppose it's because I don't pay it enough attention and it repays my disrespect in kind. So upon reaching block #9 of the blanket, I realized that somehow I had managed to knit one of the starting blocks in the wrong direction. This may have been related to an earlier disaster when I had to rip out a different block because I had knit it in the wrong position. Now, the wrong direction thing was by no means a fatal error, though I think I could probably classify it as a classic Random Act Of Stupidity, but upon realizing that the blanket had already reached the 32" minimum measurement required by the charity group I decided to cut my losses and get the miserable thing off my needles. It doesn't look too bad, really, but you'll have to take my word for that.

Since I so cleverly neglected to photograph the latest FOs and am not inclined to unpack them again (I already had to unpack once upon realizing that I had forgotten to label the blanket with its measurements), I have decided to post a pic of an old FO from sometime last year. I babbled at the time about the My Constant Companion tote that I had been working on. I never considered this thing fully finished because I still have not sewn on the 47 or so pockets I made. And yet, strangely enough, it still functions as a bag!

I knit it a little taller than the pattern instructed, and we'll just say I did it on purpose. It's easily big enough to carry a small blanket in progress so that worked out quite well in the end. It does have an unparalleled talent for attracting dog hair, though, so I don't often take it out in public for fear someone will ask me to muzzle it.

Current WIPs include, um, a whole bunch of stuff I started a long time ago. The Along Came a Spider lace scarf is right up there and I still have some faint hope of getting it done in time to wear this winter. I am making some cotton blend socks for the youngest daughter, and the first one is nearing completion. I have barely started a garter stitch (danger, Will Robinson!) blanket as my next charity offering. I'll probably get some work done on that today. And soon I hope to resurrect the Lotus socks and the Flowing River shawl, along with a truckload of other UFOs that are haunting my basement.

Today I intend to watch that silly football game that everyone is always talking about. I've never seen it before, I have no idea which teams are playing or why I am even considering it. But I figure it's a good excuse to Sit and Knit and eat a lot of junk food.

2008-01-24T08:24:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I was KIPing on the green baby sweater at the daughters' gymnastics club, and two people asked if I was expecting. The muggles just do not understand us.

Ennui

2008-01-21T10:19:00.000-05:00

Let me explain why I feel like such a big blob of nothingness lately, as far as knitting goes anyway, and how I am trying to dig myself out of the pit. The story begins in late October.

Around Halloween my younger daughter, aged 9, an A student, national stream gymnast and always the picture of robust health, started getting sick. Soon she was weak, pale, bleeding internally and suffering terrible intestinal problems. Several visits to an unsympathetic family doctor later, we found ourselves at the end of a very long waiting list to see a specialist. Our appointment was scheduled for April. By mid-December we were frantic and managed to harass the unsympathetic doctor into having us moved up on the list. We managed to squeeze in thanks to a timely cancellation and got the poor kid admitted to hospital, where she was diagnosed with moderate to severe inflammatory bowel disease and put on a nasty brew of very strong drugs. She is now on the mend and we're crossing our fingers that her remission lasts a good while.

What, you may be asking, does this have to do with knitting? Not a whole lot, except that for a couple of months I lost interest in everything but getting help for my baby. I did knit a row here and there but I was too rattled to concentrate on anything more complex than Deal or No Deal, which I found strangely therapeutic during the ordeal. The sad result is that I sit here with countless UFOs and a big hole in my charity knitting with the year-end for the charity group approaching. I realize that I'm not going to make a big splash at the awards presentation.

This month I'm on a charity knitting binge in an effort to finish the year with a decent contribution. The trouble with charity knitting is that it leans toward the mundane. There's no point in using good quality wool because in addition to the cost issue you know that someone, somewhere is going to throw it in the washer. Acrylic rules. And of course the patterns tend toward the uber-traditional and the, well, less-than-exciting. Speed is of the essence here, and one doesn't want to get overly avant garde for hospital donations. So this is the kind of thing I'm trying to churn out.

I just need to put some cords or ribbons through the eyelets. And now I've started the same set in green.

I've also been working on the Moderne baby blanket from Mason-Dixon Knitting, which presents the comatose knitter with yet more garter stitch. Garter stitch is actually quite soothing when ones brain has been through a cheese grater, but it also has a tendency to bore the socks off ones feet.

Once we've had the February meeting and the charity binge is finished, I am going to tackle some UFOs and start one new project. I have three socks on the go as well as one lacy shawl and one lacy scarf that I intend to finish before the 2010 Olympics. The basement, of course, is jammed with other UFOs that will go on the agenda for 2012. The new project will be the long-promised Wonderful Wallaby for number one daughter. She's 12 and growing like a weed so I'm going to make her the small adult size. Hopefully it will still fit by the time it's finished.

And what do we need in order to commence a new project? Stash enhancement, of course! I received, with great excitement, the winter catalogue from Knitpicks and have been carrying it around cuddled to my chest like a teddy bear. I have a few needles and gadgets from Knitpicks but have not tried any of their yarns yet. This needs to be rectified ASAP. I ordered some Main Line (cotton/wool blend) for the Wallaby as well as three hanks of Shimmer to make a shawl for the older daughter. The young one also wants a Wallaby and a shawl so future orders are a distinct possibility. Shocking, I know.

the bingo lady

2008-01-14T09:29:00.000-05:00

Sometimes one just has nothing to talk about. No FOs, no interesting new projects, not even a stupendous Random Act of Stupidity. Sounds like a fabulous way to begin a new year, doesn't it? So because I am feeling like such a boring lump of nothingness at the moment, I have decided to honour Sylvia The Bingo Lady. Now that I have typed the name, I am having doubts that Sylvia is actually her name. I think it is. I'm pretty sure it starts with an "S" anyway. Let's just call her Sylvia, shall we?

My connection to Sylvia The Bingo Lady is a distant one but I will try to explain it briefly without boring anyone silly. My daughters are competitive gymnasts, and as a fundraiser their team hosts a charity bingo at a local bingo hall every other week. My husband, a jovial sort of fellow who always seems to hit it off with senior ladies, is a regular member of the bingo crew. He and Sylvia became fast friends a couple of years ago when he gave her a hug because she hadn't had a good hug since her husband had died. Since then Sylvia has tried to keep track of his bingo shifts so that she can collect her hugs and repay him with yummy baking. And then yesterday she brought these for our daughters, along with a heap of assorted squares and butter tarts.

Wasn't that sweet? Somehow she even managed to hit on their favourite colours. I have to confess to the usual knitter's weakness for handmade gifts and in gratitude am willing to offer up the husband's services for as many hugs (or whatever) Sylvia might require. I'm enjoying the baking too.

Top 10 random thoughts that have popped into my head this afternoon

2008-01-01T16:24:00.000-05:00

In which we begin knitting-related and eventually veer wildly off-topic. This would in all likelihood reflect the "other distractions" to which the blog title refers.

1. DPNs are A Good Thing. I have recently embarked upon a sock for the younger daughter in Opal Petticoat Cotton and have temporarily forsaken my magic loop experiment in favour of my beloved DPNs. What a relief.

2. The previously mentioned Opal sock makes three first socks in progress. Which is not good. Lordy help me when I reach the second sock crisis stage.

3. Charity knitting has gone all to hell recently. I've been working on the flippin' garter stitch baby blanket since the paleolithic era (approx.) and have not been accomplishing much else. Well, aside from a row on this sock and a few stitches on that one, which does not help my charity knitting situation as our group does not accept socks. So it looks like I'm going to be attending this week's meeting empty-handed. Again.

4. Although the previous item might make me appear incapable of constructing a proper sentence equipped with noun, verb and the other necessities, I deny this disability and plead poetic licence.

5. Professional dog grooming is another Good Thing. Our beasts (a German shepherd and a Catahoula cross) were stinky so we had them professionally laundered. Now they're soft and fluffy and smell like vanilla. Which is weird, yet good.

6. A vegetarian kid on a low lactose, low residue diet is very difficult to feed, especially when that kid is on steroids and wants to eat everything on God's green earth.

7. It is a very boring thing when ones husband is twice ones weight and therefore wants to spend all ones Christmas money on a better mattress, even though this lightweight is quite comfortable on the current mattress and could always use more yarn. Just saying.

8. I am way behind in updating my Ravelry stuff.

9. I hope there's something good on TV tonight. Why is there never a good movie on the movie channels when I am available to watch? We subscribed to them a good while ago, figuring we were entitled because we never seem to get out to the theatre, but it seems like they're always showing dreck.

And the #1 thought that has popped into my head this afternoon: New Year's Resolutions be damned. I have spent the day stuffing my face with pasta, chips and chocolate. Good thing I'll soon have a mattress strong enough to support it all.