Projects forward!

Last night I began on Hubby's hat...again. Today he has asked me no less than three times if I have worked on it; each time I have been honest and said I haven't. He truly enjoys the things I make him, and this makes me deep down warm-as-toast happy.

S much knitting.....!

There is so much knitting I am behind on - part of me wants to feel almost panicked because of it, but there is another part of me that is sincerely thrilled about it all!

Let's see.... There is the sweater for Ricyos. Hubby needs a new hat and keeps asking me about it every day to see if I have started on it or not. Sister2 needs her dishrags ASAP. And the lace yarn is just laying there viewing me with shameful...fibers...wondering why I am neglecting it so. The new sock yarn is forlornly pining waiting to be put on needles. Oh, and the beautiful purple roving is nearly spun but I just can't seem to find the extra time needed in order to pick it up and finish it!

I know knitting and fiber work is now my truest of hobbies simply because I do not feel over-whelmed by all of it waiting for me to get to it. Knowing it is there and working on what I can in the time I have fills me with peace and such a deep joy. However, it would be nice to have all day to knit and about six more pairs of hands in order to get it all done.

Knitting Woes

You know, I have a brand new project on my needles and I haven't had time to blog about it?

Arthritic Hands

The weather here in Kentucky has been absolutely horrible and has caused my arthritis to REALLY act up. Still, I have managed to knit a little, mostly on Hubby's newest hat. He wants a true Jamaican tam. So far so good. I found the basics of a tam on Ravelry, and now I am adapting it. Hopefully it will turn out nicely.

Technical Difficulties

I am afraid Blogger and I are having technical difficulties: I need to upload a picture in order to sort of explain the article I was going to write; Blogger keeps telling me no. So, as soon as I can upload the picture, I can tell you a cute little story. Sadly, I need to picture to do so.

On the knitting front, however, things are finally progressing nicely. With my last final out of the way, there is a lot more time left to knit, and to write, which makes me a lot more relaxed. The wonderful sweater called Clark almost has a front now. Just a few more rows and the shaping of the neck and it will be finished! Excitement abounds! And Saturday, if all goes well, and I am praying it does, I will be able to go to Stone's Throw for my sock class and simply enjoy myself with Beth and other knitters for a while. Poor Hubby has been relegated to running the store while we knit. This pleases me tremendously - he is doing his very best to get me to that class, and since Gabby has eaten the toes out of his socks, well, he sort of needs some more.

Bright Sunlight and Knitting

Today is one of those days where I am not feeling all that perky. My stomach is nasty and my head doesn't feel well, still (although I can gladly say it is better). Shane, a.k.a. Ricyos, is coming in this weekend and I really want to have at least the front of the sweater done for him so he can get an idea what it is going to look alike. At the same time there is this huge part of me that really wants to cast on for the back, then arms, so I can look at it eventually and say with pride, "It is finished! And it is beautiful! And I did it!" Yeah, a wee bit of the arrogance there, but, truth is, if you can't have some pride in what you do, why should you do it at all?

It would be wonderful if I could combine my love for knitting and writing to make a living out of it, this would be fantastic. A lot of knitters probably feel this very same way. Is that really such a bad thing? I don't think so. You have your two ultimate loves together, helping you make a living. What could be wrong? At the same time there is part of my brain that goes, "But wouldn't you get tired of knitting after a while because you wouldn't just be knitting for the love of it, but for other reasons, as in putting food on the table?" And, yes, this is a concern. Still, I want to try it, and I believe I will, but, for now, I knit on the wonderful sweater called Clark and be happy with feeling physically better right now.

What is it about snow and knitting?

Yesterday, while it was snowing, I simply could not keep my hands off of the wonderful sweater called Clark. It called to me with a siren's song of yarn and loops, and I answered that call. Today the front of the sweater should be near completion. Then I will cast on for the back.

There is something about the sweater, now that I see the ridge pattern in action that makes me wonder if I shouldn't change it? I want to, but there is a big part of me that wants to see the completion of this part of the pattern. Since it is my first sweater, and I have already changed the pattern somewhat, I think it would be good just to finish the sweater with the remainder of the pattern.

My hubby, Kolbar, looked at the wonderful sweater called Clark last night and asked me if it would be cheaper to purchase the yarn for the sweater than to get the roving, spin the yarn, and then knit the sweater. The answer, of course, was "Yes." I showed him the yarn I had for his sweater and he said, "Go ahead and make me the next one out of what you have, and then we'll get some more yarn. I'd like some Seventies style sweaters." My entire being, on the inside smiled. Now that the sweater is looking more definitely like a sweater, he is curious about having one and wanting one!

I am also going to begin casting on for my lace scarf project for Pascha. So this will mean I will have three projects going on soon - 1) the wonderful sweater called Clark; 2) the lace scarf; and 3) dishrags for Sister2. I am going to be quite busy on the knitting front here soon, and it thrills be to the depths of my toes!

The Beginning of a New Idea

Slowly something has been dawning on me: There are a lot of knitters out there with arthritis in their hands. A lot of them have said, "My hands are so bad I can't knit any more and I really miss it." When I say I am still knitting they always ask questions and I always answer. Since this has been happening a lot recently, I have seriously been considering working on a knitting book for arthritics. There are a lot of little tricks out there some people have I don't, and that I do but others don't. Wouldn't it be nice to collect some of them together? The only true problem, question I have is What kind of patterns should be included in the book? They need to be simple, for beginners as well as for sore hands to warm up with, but not so simple as to get boring. I am open to suggestions at this point.

Dishcloths Ahoy!

Six of these wonderful dishcloths have been done for my lovely Sister1. She said she needed some and did not have the time nor the inclination to do them herself this time. Always being a happy knitter, it was a joy to sit and work on these little projects of an evening. They were quickly done and one of those less thoughtful projects, unlike the wonderful sweater called Clark.

Since these little beauties are done I will turn my full attention back to the wonderful sweater called Clark. We are at the point to where we begin shaping. A little nervous I am, but I am excited about the progress made so will head on and see how difficult (or not) this truly is!