PERSONAL RAMBLINGS

And now we come to the part of the blog in which I come right out and tell you how much of a nut I really am. Welcome.

As I have mentioned previously, I am a compulsive blog reader. I have about 40 blogs bookmarked that I read daily. I will occasionally surf around the knitting bloggers webring to look for new ones, as well. However, I never comment. It’s odd, but I am pretty shy, actually, and I just never feel able to break out and throw in a comment or two. I decided not too long ago that I might like to make the ‘bed coziness’ shrug that Theresa, of Bagatell, translated for Kate, of Mama Kate. (I just learned how to embed links. Nice, eh?) I am ashamed to confess that it took me several days to work up the courage to send a message to Kate asking for the pattern. This, when she seems like a very nice, and completely non-threatening person. What the hell is wrong with me?

Anyway, I am bringing this up now because this same shyness is proving to be hurdle to my blogging. Right now, I have the comfort of knowing that I am, essentially, blogging in a vacuum. With over a million blogs hosted by Blogger alone, it is extremely unlikely that anyone will happen upon this one. Therefore, I can ramble along on odd tangents, adding in facetious asides and plenty of self-deprecation, without worrying that others will read and be irritated by my long-winded and overly sarcastic style. I don’t have to worry about whether my knitting is good enough or interesting enough to warrant writing about. However, being my own isolated piece of the web means that I do not interact with other knitters, which was a large part of the reason for me to start this damn thing in the first place.

I told myself that, once I got the comments to work, I would submit the site to the knitting bloggers webring. Well, comments are working. They have since Thursday evening, and still I have not submitted. Arg.

But, my friends, I will screw my courage to the sticking post. I will do it today. I promise. And so, if you happen along through the ring to this little site, please be kind. This is all very new to me. And it feels like a big step.

And now, back to the knitting.


PROGRESS…

Well, it was a finishing-heavy weekend. I finished the neck on the seed stitch pullover (hooray, hooray) and wore it Saturday evening. Very exciting. The fit is all that I hoped for, which is quite a breakthrough for me, especially after the crocheted disaster I blogged about a few days ago. I also finished the watch cap, thankfully, as it is a gift for the love of my life and my partner in crime, J, who shall henceforth be referred to as “the dear boy.” I started it simply for the sake of making him something, but in the process, I realized that it would be finished near the 14th, so it is becoming a Valentine’s Day gift. While the finishing vibe was upon me, I also wove in ends and steam blocked a couple of scarves that have been sitting around for some time, shamefully, requiring only this basic step to render them wearable.

After the finishing madness, I tried a little starting. I made the first of a set of knit washcloths for a little gift set. (First knit washcloth experience. Not bad. Not amazing. You know?) I also ripped back a portion of the sleeveless pullover and started again. (I am making “Button” from the last Rowan magazine, knit from shoulder to hem in Rowan Polar. Halfway across the front, I became concerned that I was going to run a hair short of yarn, so I decided to rip back and make the turtleneck a little shorter to conserve. Also, I will now have a neck that will stand up smoothly, without needing to be folded over. A good thing, I hope.) I also started a pair of Fiber Trends felted clogs, which I am doing as a knit-along with my mother. Ah, mother-daughter slipper knitting. Is there anything more heart-warming? I think not.


STASH RECLAMATION

Of course, finishing some things always causes a girl to turn an eye to her stash. In an organizing frenzy, I decided to rip out another old project and salvage the yarn. Now there are damp hanks of yarn hanging all over my bathroom, waiting to be rewound. Thank you to Theresa, for the directions on washing unraveled yarn, and to Bonne Marie, for the helpful photos showing how to use a ball winder to frog at lightning speed!


…AND STASH ENHANCEMENT

But now I must confess, I am not always a thrifty stash-recycler. I do, far too frequently, succumb to the desire to purchase new yarn. This is getting worse these days, as I have become more adept at finding good yarn prices online, and I cannot resist a bargain. Hence, the 10 skeins of Noro Silk Garden that were so inexpensive at WNW Discounter. Hence the Manos that I just ordered from the KnitPicks weekly sale. Oh, the horror. I will need a new stash storage location. Particularly since I just made my first pilgrimage to Webs.

I live in Connecticut, so Northampton, Mass is an easy drive up I-91. I went to college in Northampton, but somehow, the entire time I was there, I never discovered Webs. This is good, since I was a broke student at the time, not the working woman that I am now. Anyway, what a place. If you are ever in New England at all, I highly recommend going as far out of your way as necessary to check it out. First, they just have a ton of yarn. And lots of books. And all kinds of back issues of knitting magazines. Then, there are the sales and closeouts. My friends, as I have admitted already, I cannot resist a bargain, and that is why I am now the proud owner of 14 skeins of Noro Cash Iroha in a lovely, dark grey-blue color, purchased at 35 percent off. Score. I nearly passed out when I found it. That is the freakish kind of excitement we are talking about here. I think that the majority of this will turn into the cabled raglan from the first Debbie Bliss Noro book. The rest? Who knows... but I trust I will think of something.