Forget Jan, the new year is just around the corner

September is the real new year, summer ends, the weather changes, and school and work pick up again. It is the time of year when I make my resolutions and refocus on what needs to be accomplished. (Which is consequently, why I am in pain right now - stupid new exercise programme). It is also the point by which I absolutely have to have begun my Christmas knitting, or things like last years - finished two hours after Amy left- senario.

I am doing much better this year. I have projects planned (for 3 friends - who never read my knitting blog so I can post all I want) and my sister (who is in the army and has better things to do than scope out Christmas and birthday present spoilers on a knitting blog she doesn't know exists).

Plans are as follows:

*3 shawls for the girls in Sea of No Cares, California Dreaming, and something I haven't dyed yet, because Boston and St. John's didn't work out. Sea of No Cares Shawl is cast on and 1/4 finished - if only I could keep up this pace, I'd be done no sweat.

*I'll be knitting a Marvin doll (from Hitchhikers Guide - see here - amazing what you can find on Ravelry!) for Leah's birthday

*She'll be getting a Dr. Who scarf for Christmas, and possibly I'll use the Boston and St. John's to knit her something, socks maybe or even a stuffed animal of some description).

I also have to finish my Socks for Solider's socks (the legs of both socks are done, and I'm through the heel and gusset on one, hopefully it'll be done in the next week or so) - NTS: these socks are huge!! (oh, and the socks for Nonna...)

I've also bought yarn to make my Coachella, which I have been resisting casting on, though as it will be quick I'm sorely tempted. I may even be able to do a smallish size, given that the comments seem to be that it runs big.

Spinning... sort of...

Wednesday, I finally went and did it. I made kind of a mess of it. The first try (on the pencil in the picture) is really thick and parts of it took no twist at all. The second one (on the spindle) was slightly better, at least parts of it begin to approximate a useful thickness. It is a mess, but it was fun, and fairly simple.

My biggest problem (ergo question) is how one makes a smooth transition at the bottom of a batt when drafting (ie. the way I was going about it the fiber basically needs to be pulled out in strips and then attached - which is not the way it looks in any of the books!!)

My other problem is that I'm not drafting it thin enough, which will just be a matter of practice and chutzpha, because it is already drafted pretty darn thin and I just need to trust that it won't all fall apart.

Any recommendations or words of advice?

Also - I've frogged the first Christmas shawl - I didn't like how the colours were working, it was not the right feel, so I'll do up another colourway and try again. I do like the yarn, however, so I'll be saving it for something else, maybe socks for a guy.

I've cast on the second Christmas shawl, and it is looking really good. I worked on it a bit on the steps of the library at WLU yesterday and a woman, who teaches in my old department - but even when I was there I don't think ever knew who I was (*this is actually rather amusing, since our dept was very small and I was really well known, not to mention I carried all the graduating prizes they could bestow*) - walked by and commented (apparently she used to knit Icelandic sweaters, but doesn't have time to knit now).

Last night I knit a pair of Fetching, in a lovely blue, they will be given as a gift today (3 cheers for simple projects and stash!!)

During dinner, or well, started before, simmered during, I dyed up some more of the Knit Picks bare worsted I had in my stash (last one, guess I'll be needing to order some more....) in a mossy green. I'm going to knit a pair of Dashing for a friend. I was hoping to get started last night as it was super sunny and hot when I hung the yarn up - but I went downstairs for a few minutes and it rained :( - so now it is almost dry, and hopefully I'll get it started today.

Whoa...

The wedding is over - it was wonderful:

Monday- 8-10hrs of dyeing yarn!!

There are many many pictures here are a few:

Sea of No Cares colourway (there are 4 skeins)

Boston and St. John's (also 4)

California Dreaming (4 more)

I also finished my hand-dyed yarn swap yarn too.

I'm exhausted.

Whee - yarny goodness

It arrived, FINALLY!!

Those two outstanding yarn orders of mass proportions - they got here on the same day.

See ->

(photographed next to the file of stuff for the article I'm writing and season 5 of X-files - for which I only have one episode left to watch).

There is the 20 balls of lanett from Ram Wools out in Winnipeg.

And 10 skeins of Knit Picks bare

superwash fingering weight.

12 of the lanett are for Christmas knitting (as in I know what they are for, vs the others which might end up Christmas knitting but I'm not sure as what...), they are going to be hand-dyed and made into shawls (3shawls x4balls) so I played with my swift for the first time and skeined all 12 last night for dyeing next week (most of this week coming will be wedding related, as one of my girl-friends is getting married). I'm hoping to find some merino/tencel on our yarn crawl on Thrusday and dye that at the same time for the Hand-dyed yarn swap, if I can't I'll either use more of the lanett or the KP for that I'm thinking that on that crawl we also need to hit the bead store(s) and the dye store.

Pattern writing is hard!!

Designing the pattern is a piece of cake compared to writing it up (and then making it meet style sheets).

My pattern just needs a name now, which I can't solicit help for because I can't talk about the nature of the project. *sigh*

Yesterday I was looking for an old text book, and found a box of yarn I forgot I had...

Xfiles and Sock Combat

My first BBS is now into the gusset decreases. (Three cheers for the YH's guidelines, because my pattern left ALOT to be desired - as in it is really more like confused guidelines than anything resembling useful instructions... but the sock is turning out a sock so oh well).

It took a full ball to get through the leg, the heel and the first 8 or so rows of the gusset, I've cast on the second one and am hoping to get to the same place -yeah right- and that 1 ball will be enough for both feet - which is a whole helluva lot of hoping...

My shawl is still no where near done, not much farther ahead - probably because I've been living and breathing these socks for the last few days. But I've discovered that the xfiles mak excellent sock knitting back ground (so apparently does pre-season football...)

Pretty good, for a Wednesday

* I made a dent in the annoying little things that have to be done to my paper, (the plan is to add a wee section before bed and then have nought but a trip to the library and editing to do).

* My Socks for Soldiers kit arrived today and I cast on my very first pair of Big Black Socks. I've been thinking about doing this for awhile, and finally got around to it at the end of my vacation a couple of weeks ago.

- it also came with 4 stitch markers; a cute little monkey ruler thingy, a couple of plastic darning needles, and some really really flexible plastic dpns (I tried using them and it made me feel twitchy -weird- so I switched back to my bamboos).

* I played more on Ravelry. I now have several things I'd like to try.

QUESTION: as cotton shrinks, what can I use or how do I modify (ie. how much bigger do I make it) if I'm trying to knit a hat (not for myself that will definately get washed hot) that calls for cotton?

* I had a couple more adventures on Lime and Violet's KnitWars.

Tuesday... right?

Yesterday was a holiday Monday, so that makes it Tuesday, right?

I'm trying to make sure and work for at least 3 to 4 hours a day on my article. I think most of it is coherent now, so it is just editing and annotating (which I really really hate).

I read Deathly Hallows yesterday, I was satisfied (and mostly right).

I have now finished the number of repeats for the shawl, but my guage must be waaaay off because it says it is supposed to be 87" and I've got 51" - I guess I'll do another 4 repeates and take it to 15 and see where it is at then. :( I was so looking forward to being able to block it and photograph it and tuck it away until it is time to give it a Christmas :(

*sigh* Must. get. back. to. article.

(But I would rather play with the ravelry pattern library...)

I'm in!!

I got my invite, it is awesome!!!

I got my name LadyOctavia. I am a happy camper (I just wish that today wasn't the day we have 70 people over so I could sit and play with it all day).

10 people!!!

TEN PEOPLE!! Only ten people in front of me!!!

WAHHHH

Found you!
You signed up on June 7, 2007
You are #7610 on the list.
80 people are ahead of you in line.
14790 people are behind you in line.
33% of the list has been invited so far

It's been like this since the day before yesterday... antsy is right, I'm doing a very good impression of a 5 year old that has to good to the bathroom or a 7 year old trying to wake up dad on Christmas morning.