Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Something accomplished...finally

I didn't get as much knitting done this weekend as I had hoped, but I did further my progress. I have over half of the Pea Pod hat done, and I finally found some buttons for the cardigan. I have to say...I'm still not thrilled with the buttons. I might go Saturday to JoAnn's and see what I can find there. I'm not about to venture out on Friday. Friday is reserved for cleaning and wrapping gifts and knitting. The more knitting the better on Friday. Today is my Thursday, and if I'm good and sneaky, I might be able to knit a little at work tomorrow. If I can finish the hat, then I can hopefully work more on the KTC project. It might take me more than one month to finish that one. I didn't think it would take that long. I'm beginning to think I should undo what I've done and go smaller. If I reduce it by 20%, it will go faster. Hopefully I can post some pictures on Friday of what's been done. =0)

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Knitting on the Horizon

I haven't had time this week to knit! Can you believe it?! Monday I went to bed as soon as I could, around 8. Tuesday, a friend was supposed to come over to talk about the baby shower, but that didn't happen. While I waited for her, I cleaned up a little around the apartment. Last night, I fixed dinner and went to the store. Then I collapsed in bed around 10. Maybe tonight and this weekend I can get in some knitting time. I have lots to work on. There's another baby sweater, a hat, some booties, and my KTC project. Not to mention the other baby sweater I was going to make out of the CottonTots. I'm still not really happy with it, so I think it's going to get ripped out until I can decide what to really do with it. This weekend, we're heading out of town, and I'm hoping that I'll get some good knitting time in. There's not a whole lot to do in a suburb of Birmingham, so other than a trip to Wal-Mart, I think I'll be stuck watching movies and knitting inside, and trying to avoid the cat. Long story short, the cat's not too fond of people to start with (which means he's not friendly) and I'm allergic. It isn't a bad combination usually, but with the pregnancy, there's no telling what will happen. However, it can't be all that much worse than what's going on at work. They've started renovating our building, so dust, mold and all sorts of crap are floating in the air. I take advantage of lunch to get out and clear my lungs.

Monday, November 13, 2006

This has got to go!

It's just not working for me. I'm going to frog it, and I think I'll make the woman at work another sweater for her son. I still have to get buttons for the Pea Pod sweater, and do the hat and booties. I think another cardigan is in order. The first one turned out nicely, so #2 will be on its way.

I knit NOTHING this weekend. I just didn't feel like it, since we went to visit with my parents and grandmother, since my grandfather's in the hospital. I know that at least he knew and was excited about having a great grand-son. I am sorry he won't be able to see him. The stroke was extremely damaging, and it seems that the damage is irreparable. The doctors don't give him much chance of even being able to swallow on his own ever again, and even if he does, it seems he's blind and won't regain his speech capacity either. It's sad, but we knew it was coming.

I'm working on some patterns, and I might post one on here for free, and I think I might submit the other to Knitty. We'll have to see how it comes together, particularly while the baby's on the way. One of them is for Knit the Classics, and the other is in memory of my grandfather. I don't know why, but he seems to inspire something that needs to be created. If I can't get the pattern accepted somewhere, I'll post it here as well. I am thinking about the rest of my grandparents, and potentially creating patterns in memory of them as well. I will have one grandmother left (my mom's mother) after my grandfather passes, so I find the patterns will all be "in memory of" rather than "for" them.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Working through it

Well, I think I've worked through most of the problem I was having with my pattern for Knit the Classics. I'm going to work on it tonight and the rest of this weekend, and see how things go. If I wrote the pattern correctly, there shouldn't be a problem. If I didn't, I can hopefully fix any problems and correct the pattern. I can't believe people do this for a living.

I have decided however, to work on at least one pattern each month at work. It sounds like cheating, but since most of the month I have virtually nothing to do, the last 3 weeks are incredibly boring, and I have to create stuff for myself to do. I figure why not start with something that I enjoy, and can just do on the side, like patterns for knitting. It's better than a sharp stick in the eye.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Figuring it out

I think I figured out the pattern for the KTC project I'm going to be working on. I spent part of today working on that. I'm also writing it down...technically, I'm writing it out before I get started, at least most of it.

I also decided to write down the baby cardigan sweater I'm working on. If I decide to finish it, that is. I still haven't made up my mind.

There's lots of creativity going on in my head, and not all of it is in knitting. I remember a recipe from college that was FABULOUS...and I emailed for the recipe. They can't find it. So, I'm going to try and recreate it to the best of my memory. If you're lucky, I'll post that as well. It's a semi-original recipe. I haven't seen another like it, and believe me, I've looked. I can't say I've exhausted every resource, but most of the websites I've looked at haven't come close to this recipe. I remember watching the chef prepare it once (it was actually a vegan meal prepared fresh) and I'm hoping I have remembered all the main ingredients. I think I might bake cookies this weekend, and a cheesecake, for the office (but the cheesecake stays home). We'll see what happens.

It's been a crazy week. Tuesday morning, my grandfather had a stroke, and was hospitalized. He's stable, but they're not sure what his prognosis will be just yet. They're going to keep him sedated for a couple of days, and let his body heal as much as possible, and then see what damage has been done. On the bright side, he can't get any worse (without another stroke), and he could get up to 90% better. We're hoping for close to 90%. Thoughts and prayers are welcomed with open hearts.

Not happy

Ever have one of those years you just want to stop, before the year's over? That's this year. I'm so done with this year. Can we start the new year now?

I wasn't happy with the baby cardigan I had started with the CottonTots. So, I ripped it. I started it over, but when I started it, I thought about making a pair of mommy and son socks out of it. Cheesy, yes, but KEEE-UTE! I'm just not sure how they'd turn out. Any suggestions or ideas?

I still haven't budged on the baby blanket. I really should get cracking on that thing. It's just SO BORING now. I'd rip it out too, but I feel there's too much invested in it. Here's a shot of it so far:

It's probably about 10 inches so far. It just takes so long. I have thought about ripping it out, and then doubling the yarn and using a larger needle, and just doing the whole garter stitch thing.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Quick Update

Well, I am still not working on the baby blanket. How sad is that?! In any case, I got sidetracked with a cardi for my own little one in Bernat CottonTots (pictures soon to follow) and now I'm in to Knit the Classics, and will be working on a project for that. When I get a good start on it, I'll post more about it. =0) I have to leave something for you to come back and read. I'm in the mood to organize my knitting patterns. That doesn't happen very often, and usually indicates I have some energy. That's a good sign, since I'm at week 29. I'll post more later.