Knitting trip

Today Mother and I drove down to Irvington, VA to look at a new yarn shop...or at least new to us. We had such a great time and got a lot of inspiration. We didn't buy much which made us feel very virtuous, but I did get something I really needed. Years ago I gave Mother a hanging organizer for circular needles and I have meant to get one for myself sometime. This is the first time I saw one in a store. Usually you have to order them. This should help me with my organizing project. I promised myself, as a New Year's resolution, to sort through all my knitting needles and project bags and organize ALL MY STUFF!!! As soon as I get home, I am going right to it and I am actually getting psyched up about it. We shall see!

Finishing Eli's Sweater

I can't believe it has taken me almost a year to get this one sweater done. I've made some socks and other thing in between, but this was the project that I wanted to get done most. Since I am about 650 miles away from Eli, and I had to have her try it on periodically, it has been slow going. It's a good thing I made it big. All I have to do now is make the garter stitch button band and sew on the buttons.

I did have one great success...the yellow buttons. I found a great place to order buttons...buttondrawer.com. One set of buttons had a black widow spider on it and that was what she picked. Eli is our nature child and she loves all sorts of things that creep and crawl. I ordered several sets, but I had a feeling that was what she would choose. Hopefully the buttons will arrive soon and the sweater will be on her by the weekend.

I know I knit something!

Where has this year gone? I know I have been knitting all year, but I seem to have so little to show for it. I have knitted sox and I have to remind myself that the guage is very fine and that means that, although they are small, there are a lot of stitches on the needles.

I've also been trying to rescue some old projects or reclaiming the yarn when that is not possible. I have been meaning to do this for a long time. I have a nice bit of yarn that once was a sweater for my son when he was little. It is in watch plaid colors and I have tried to reclaim it and knit something for his son. That hasn't been going well. I've tried several things and it just doesn't seem to work right. I hate to admit it, but the yarn may just be worn out. I don't mean it has breaks in it or anything like that, but it just doesn't seem to have any life to it. I think I am going to try one more time and after that, it goes in the trash if I can't work it out.

Knitting Eli's sweater

I feel like I have knitted this sweater at least 3 times. The yarn is soft and lovely to work with, but counting rows and measuring has been a real challenge. I finally ended up sewing the sweater back and fronts up to get the bind off for the armholes.

That worked and then I started looking for yellow buttons. That was a joke! I finally began looking online and met with some success. It was certainly cheaper than driving all over the state.

Time to catch up

I can't believe it has been so long since I have written in this journal. I've been doing more on my Twaddle journal, and have been neglecting all my others. I decided to keep track of all the books I have read this year. I did that about 20 years ago and it was a real revelation.

So, where am I on my knitting? I still haven't bought any yarn and I have been trying to complete some old projects. I did get the yarn for Eli's sweater, but that was a special request, so it doesn't count. I have finished the body and one sleeve, but waited until I was in Virginia where she could try it on, before I finished. The sweater fits perfectly, so I'll be working on it again.

I've also got several pairs of socks on the needles and will get to work on them also. I see that there are only 137 days left until Christmas, so I'd better get some of them finished.

I am in Virginia housesitting again and my sister has me going to all of her knitting groups. That should put some spark in my knitting life. I am looking forward to going to the River City Knitters group in Richmond. I hope that someone there can show me how to strand yarn when using the English/American system of knitting. I do the Continental style knitting, but I a knitting a pattern with two colors and I am doing the main color with the Continental style and the accent color with the other. I have it all worked out except the purl in the English.

I love knitting this way when I am using two colors. It is so much more efficient that carrying and twisting the yarn. I'm thinking about making it my project of the year next year. Two years ago, I challenged myself to make socks until I could knit them without a pattern and it really worked. I might even combine it with socks for some really nice Christmas presents.

The lavender sweater

I have got to get back to this lavender sweater. It is a fluffy yarn and will be good for either of my granddaughters, but I am having a lot of trouble getting back to it. I don't know why I have gone off of it; I liked it perfectly well before I started Eli's sweater, but now I can't bring myself to start working on it again.

I think this is one that is going to end up being taken to Virginia. I'll be up there two months and am bringing all my FUO's. I am going to force myself to work on them. I don't understand why I have this reluctance, but I know I am not alone. It seems to me that I would look at the project and say, "Wow, I only have one sleeve and this is done." It's like being given a project with most of the work already done and you only have about 10 more hours to work on it and then you have a nice completed project. It doesn't work that way though. Once something gets shifted back to the UFO pile, it becomes harder and harder to work on it. Oh, well. I guess that is just the way it goes.

Eli's sweater

I am still working on Eli's sweater. I broke my rule and have ripped this sweater out twice. Since Eli picked out the yarn herself, I can't just keep on knitting it for whomever it will fit. I seem to be having trouble getting things to fit. I work a stitch gauge every time I start, but I must be changing my tension a lot when I actually work on the sweater. Things keep getting either too big or too little.

I decided to knit the sleeves in the round on double pointed needles. I hate to sew things together and hopefully I can figure out a way to do this all the time. This worked perfectly, but the sleeves seem to be pretty big. I think I might have to set this aside and wait until she can try it on.