Yes, she is purty. It took me about . . . hmm . . . a week and a half, but I didn't work on it consistently. I had a million other projects going (still do). Let's see, there was the skirt, which I finished. The slippers, which I half-finished. And a new project, a hot water bottle cozy that I am knitting for MONEYZ. But that is giving me a LOT of trouble. Even though I'm about five inches in, I think I'm going to start over tomorrow. For a few reasons:
1. The first few rows have a few strange color kinks, due to (kfb) on color rows, thereby making the increased stitches stand out and look awful;
2. Since I had to rip out and re-knit the first repeat of the Fair Isle pattern, and I re-knit it when I was tired, it's bunchy, and not smooth enough;
3. I've been handling the yarn so much (pulling out, re-knitting, stretching, picking, etc) that it's getting kind of nobbly;
4. I am sick of it and I need a fresh start.
So tomorrow is my designated HOT WATER BOTTLE COZY KNITTING DAY. I doubt I'll be able to actually finish it, but since it's actually less complicated than I thought (the pattern is not so knitter-friendly) and has less repeats than I thought, it should go faster. I was completely bewildered by a seemingly random bind-off and cast-on right in the middle of the work, but my roommate Sarah Jo cleverly suggested that it was kind of like an overlapping slit that you slide the bottle into, like some pillowcases. Now that I have a vision of what it actually is, it'll be much easier to see what I'm making. When I knit something and I have no idea how it's going to look, I'm much more hesitant and unenthusiastic. So now that I have an idea of what the thing I'm making is supposed to look like, I think it'll be much easier. So I'm excited to re-start tomorrow. I don't think I'm going to bother ripping out what I have so far. I was provided with an excessive amount of yarn for the project, so I should be able to use two new balls without worrying about running out. And the yarn will be cleaner and not as . . . how do I describe it? I'm sure there's some special knitting word for the texture of the yarn-- it's like, wooly, and not smooth, but has got wispy edges you can pick off . . . I don't know how to describe it at all. But I am not loving the yarn. This is for a British magazine, and the whole project seems very British. Who uses a hot water bottle these days? Hello, heating pads! But, it's okay. I'm getting paid A HUNDRED DOLLARS to knit it, yes pleeze!! That's a lot of yarn dough!!
And I have quite a few new projects in mind, too. Here they are:
1. Laptop bag!! One of my bestest friends, Chaya, is going to knit it at the same time as me. We're using a pattern that Sarah Jo lent me. I looked around for yarn today at work, but I didn't find a color scheme that I loved enough to actually buy anything. Besides, I really need to finish the cozy before I start doing more pleasure knitting. But the bag is really cool. It's felted, and I've never felted anything before, so, new adventure! I think I will probably not start that for a few weeks though.
2. Twists and Turns Socks. These are in one of my boss's books, How to Knit in the Woods. They're really cool, with twists and little cables. They look like the kind of sock I would really enjoy making, because I like classic patterns with cables. I LOVE cables, but they do not seem to be "in" right now. Lace is like, the thing. And I really do not like knitting lace. Hopefully cables will come back into fashion soon.
3. Hat. I mentioned this-- with the worsted Malabrigo I bought last week, a winter hat, which I also found in How to Knit in the Woods! But this isn't a priority really.
And, of course, those silk gloves. The silk is SO soft, you would not believe it-- those gloves are going to be INCREDIBLY beautiful and soft. But I probably won't start them until fall.
And I have to finish my slippers!!! I just have not had one spare minute to work on them-- I've been trying to wrap my head around the cozy thing, and finishing my Karira sock, and I'm just busy busy busy with knitting!! I LOVE being busy with knitting!!!
Maybe I'll work on the slipper tonight, actually. Since I finished a sock and I have given up on the cozy for the night. Hooray! I wonder how long it'll take me to get up the momentum to start the second Karira sock. Sigh. Second Sock Syndrome strikes again! The sock was just a bit tricky, so it kind of stressed me out at times. Therefore I am not totally psyched to start the other. But I will soon. I have to, for the KAL. And what's the point of one sock?!!?!
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