lately, i just can't seem to find the time to knit, much less finish anything. i have an ever-growing pile of things that are done, except for the ends that need to be woven in. between all of the trips to the vet in the last week or two, coupled with getting a nasty virus that knocked me out for nearly a week, my productive knitting time has been seriously reduced. and then there's all the time i spend on the internet - for example, i've used the first hour and half i've been awake this morning to list some more buttons in my etsy shop, do some facebooking, and now i'm here writing this blog entry.
luckily, things are calming down. we're getting robin's symptoms under control and starting to get his new routine down to a finer science. robin is quite happily sitting in my lap right now and purring like crazy. i'm looking forward to sitting around the house and knitting for the rest of the morning, and hopefully all day tomorrow and thursday.
i've definitely noticed a priority shift since robin's diagnosis. before, when either cat would hop into my lap while i was trying to knit, i might stop what i was doing to pet them, or i might just keep knitting and hope they'd move on to the next lap. now it seems really important to put down my knitting, because with robin especially, we're on borrowed time. i'm reading up on cat massage techniques to enhance both robin and tilly's health. robin loves his massages, and i think they've already brought him a lot of pleasure and benefit. tilly is sort of reticent of late, and i'm hoping her massages help bring her out of the closet, which (as previously mentioned) is where she seems to spend the lion's share of her time these days.
now that i've rambled on and on about my dear, sweet kitties (and completed my transformation into that special brand of crazy yarn AND cat lady), let's take a gander at some nearly-FO's and WIPS!
first up: i really need to stop procrastinating. i need to set an afternoon aside and sit myself down and WEAVE IN SOME ENDS.
pattern: alphamitts by emily b. miller
yarn: lorna's laces shepherd sock in chocolate (MC) and red rover (CC)
once i enlarged the chart for my aged eyes, these flew off the needles. i love the way corrugated rib looks on a project, and using a variegated yarn with a solid color is an easy way to make your colorwork look even fancier!
pattern: some basic stripey socks i made up on the fly
yarn: knitpicks simply cotton sport in basalt heather (MC) and green tea heather (CC)
i'm sold on the concept of sport-weight socks. they're so fast to knit (these took about two weeks, but if i'd been more dedicated, i probably could have finished them in a week's time!). i love this cotton yarn from knitpicks - i think it's my favorite yarn of theirs. this is the first cotton yarn i've ever come across where you don't feel as though you're wrestling it as you knit with it. it creates a really soft, bouncy fabric and i really can't say enough good things about it.
moving on to the WIP department:
pattern: heliotrope stockings by me
yarn: the sanguine gryphon skinny bugga! in gryphon's purple soldier fly
finally resurrected this one to start sock #2 - just finished the fancy cabled cuff - the rest of the sock should fly off the needles (um, sorry, no pun intended).
pattern: gwynedd hat by cecily glowik macdonald
yarn: elann.com peruvian baby silk
i've had this yarn in my stash for years, and i'm quite pleased with finally getting to use it! it's so soft and pretty, and for the money, an excellent bargain. i'm holding two strands as i work, since this yarn is actually fingering-weight and the pattern calls for dk. i'm getting ready to start the decreases, so this hat should be done in no time flat.
pattern: tsunami by judy sumner (from Knitted Socks East and West)
yarn: zauberball crazy
in the last week, i started these socks with some yarn i picked up the last time i was at sister arts here in chicago. I wanted a pattern that was interesting for me to knit, but not overly complicated, since the yarn is crazy enough on its own. i think that, once these are blocked out, they'll be pretty cool!
i've definitely noticed a priority shift since robin's diagnosis. before, when either cat would hop into my lap while i was trying to knit, i might stop what i was doing to pet them, or i might just keep knitting and hope they'd move on to the next lap. now it seems really important to put down my knitting, because with robin especially, we're on borrowed time. i'm reading up on cat massage techniques to enhance both robin and tilly's health. robin loves his massages, and i think they've already brought him a lot of pleasure and benefit. tilly is sort of reticent of late, and i'm hoping her massages help bring her out of the closet, which (as previously mentioned) is where she seems to spend the lion's share of her time these days.
now that i've rambled on and on about my dear, sweet kitties (and completed my transformation into that special brand of crazy yarn AND cat lady), let's take a gander at some nearly-FO's and WIPS!
first up: i really need to stop procrastinating. i need to set an afternoon aside and sit myself down and WEAVE IN SOME ENDS.
pattern: alphamitts by emily b. milleryarn: lorna's laces shepherd sock in chocolate (MC) and red rover (CC)
once i enlarged the chart for my aged eyes, these flew off the needles. i love the way corrugated rib looks on a project, and using a variegated yarn with a solid color is an easy way to make your colorwork look even fancier!
yarn: knitpicks simply cotton sport in basalt heather (MC) and green tea heather (CC)
i'm sold on the concept of sport-weight socks. they're so fast to knit (these took about two weeks, but if i'd been more dedicated, i probably could have finished them in a week's time!). i love this cotton yarn from knitpicks - i think it's my favorite yarn of theirs. this is the first cotton yarn i've ever come across where you don't feel as though you're wrestling it as you knit with it. it creates a really soft, bouncy fabric and i really can't say enough good things about it.
moving on to the WIP department:
pattern: heliotrope stockings by me
yarn: the sanguine gryphon skinny bugga! in gryphon's purple soldier fly
finally resurrected this one to start sock #2 - just finished the fancy cabled cuff - the rest of the sock should fly off the needles (um, sorry, no pun intended).
yarn: elann.com peruvian baby silk
i've had this yarn in my stash for years, and i'm quite pleased with finally getting to use it! it's so soft and pretty, and for the money, an excellent bargain. i'm holding two strands as i work, since this yarn is actually fingering-weight and the pattern calls for dk. i'm getting ready to start the decreases, so this hat should be done in no time flat.
yarn: zauberball crazy
in the last week, i started these socks with some yarn i picked up the last time i was at sister arts here in chicago. I wanted a pattern that was interesting for me to knit, but not overly complicated, since the yarn is crazy enough on its own. i think that, once these are blocked out, they'll be pretty cool!
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