Eight is great!

Pictures of eight works in progress. The only eight I own.



The Sandy Cardigan looks way more finished than it is. I have to rip out the sleeve and the side panel on the left, and re-measure myself and do the math again.

And here is a shot of the beautiful #19, which I swear I will wear to my husband's fancy Christmas party this year. Probably with something red.



After some very sophisticated math with my carbiner calculator, I have figured out which project will be the quickest to finish. And the answer is Via Diagonale. And for some reason, that just ain't calling my name. The 2nd quickest, Icarus, is likewise not calling my name. The Scotch Thistle stole will take twice as long as Via Diagonale to finish and I think that's what I wanna do. I don't know. But I'm down to eight. And I feel pretty darned good about that number.

Fe, Fi, FO, done!

And then, there were nine. Which is decidely less than ten. Less than ten people!!!

I now officially only have ten projects on the go. I just wove in ends on the fuzzy feet. And tomorrow morning I will throw them in the new washer and see how it goes. St. Andrew's Cross Blue for my Scottish husband.

And now, it's listy time! Because it makes me happy.

OTN:

1. Lillian's Tank - front & back done, needs ruffles & straps.
2. Scotch Thistle Stole - nearly half done.
3. Icarus - 86% done according the shawl calculator.
4. Wren - got 1.5 sleeves done, so pathetic.
5. CK Sweater - nearly done with the yoke.
6. Sandy Cardigan - basically only the diagonal panels are done as I need to rip out the sides.
7. VK Fall 2005 #19 - only 2/12 repeats done, and will need border and collar.
8. Via Diagonale - about half done.
9. Embossed Leaves Repair - need to rework about 40% of the pair.

I think I'm gonna make myself finish another before I cast on. Or two. Hmmm... which would be the quickest two to finish? I guess the sock repair and the Lillian (Monica) tank? The Scotch Thistle Stole goes very fast if I actually work on it. Decisions, decisions.

In other news, I got an A in film class. This is very good news, because when I took film class back in the day I blew it off. Which equals an F. On my freaking transcript. So an A in the "grade forgiveness" category is a beautiful thing!

Picture Pages...

Do you remember picture pages? What show was that a part of? Bill Cosby and the magical marker. “Time to let Bill Cosby do a picture page with you!” And the magical marker would make wonderful sounds as it traced the lines. Dude. I’m old.

But I did finally squeak at least one picture out of ole Carmen the Camera. Yes, I’ve named her. This is so she won’t die on me before I can get a replacement.

What you see before you is a fit of finishing, nestled in with some of my Secret Sox Box Swap swag and topped off with the “newest” thing.



We have four washcloths. The round one on the left, the blue bunny in front, the making waves one under the needles, and the secret yellow & white one under that. Those penguin needles are my official washcloth needles. The secret one is the August pattern for the washcloth club so I can’t unveil it yet. The purple under there is another secret, but not a washcloth. More on that later. In front we have the blooms bracelet from pick up sticks and perdita. On the top right is my gilligan hat from Knit.1 done in cream cotton fleece. Yes, I know you need a modeled shot.

The red case on the left is the motherload of all notion holders. My Secret Sox Box Swap partner sent it to me, along with the Tofutsies and that completely precious sock bag.

The cherry red yarns is Louet Gems Sportweight. For my Katherine Hepburn cardigan from Lace Style. Now if I could make some decent 1x1 ribbing to get that puppy started, we’d be cooking with gas.

My list is doing ok. I started and finished the Knitting Daily Summer Shawlette in Berrocco Ultra Alpaca Light. It’s a model for the lace class that the owner is giving at the yarn store. It’s beautiful and is blocking as I type.

So I have seven projects on hold and four technically on the needles. I think I might give up on the mystery stole. Truth be told I just don’t love the yarn I ordered. And I started with beads, so I sort of have to keep doing them. And dude, those beads slow you down, down, down. I don’t know. So I have eleven projects. Which is so much better than before. But as usually I have itchy fingers. I wonder if they make a cream for that.

I blame her.

She knows who she is.

I gave up on the silk/mohair scarf. Everything I was doing with that yarn combo was craptastic. Seriously bad. So for those of you keeping track, I would be down to four active projects.

I tried to cast on today for something else. It's her fault. She sent me home with a skein of SWTC bamboo. And when I googled it, I was reminded of the lovely Silk Corset pattern I have. Unfortunately the serendipity bamboo is not meant for that pattern. Or maybe that's a fortunate thing. I don't know. All I know is that the swatch on my needles ain't going nowhere. Although I am now tempted to see if it will work in Knitty's Convertible.

But right now my fingers are itching. She was the one who helped me figure out that the new Berrocco Ultra Alpaca Light will probably be perfect for the Summer Shawlette on Knitting Daily. So now I want to make it. And how.

But I have a paper to write. And some birthday Carolan's to drink (thanks to her!) and so I will not cast on for anything new. At least not tonight.

The answer.

It's simple really. The reason I don't finish any projects is because I never stick with anything. Even now. I only have six projects that I'm actively involved in. (I frogged the July washcloth - something was off about it). But even with only six, I flit from project to project. From day to day, I never focus on the same thing. I could finish stuff I wasn't so willy nilly about the whole business.

I've decided to put the Maximize socks on hold. I will have another Magic Loop class in August and it will be good to have those to work on during class. Plus I can get them to same point the class is at for the 2nd class, which is the short row heel portion. So now we have five.

And I shall prioritize.

1. Silk & Mohair Scarf
2. Mystery Stole - try to keep up!
3. Lillian's Tank
4. Fuzzy Feet
5. Scotch Thistle Stole

Are you tiring of my lists yet? Be glad you're not on my livejournal friends list. When I was moving, everyday I posted annoying lists. Hopefully soon I will find the battery charger, (which my husband swears is in the garage!) and I will be able to post some nice FO pics.

Now wip it... into shape!

Whenever I think of wips, I think of Devo. I'm sorry, I'm an 80's child. I would love to show you pictures of my finished projects. Or of my Super Sox Box Swap swag. But alas, the fates are against me. I finally found my camera (under all the stuff on my desk) but the batteries and the charger are somewhere in a box.

So we’ll give you happy lists instead:
1. Lillian's Monica Tank – Now 65% done!
2. Silk & Mohair Scarf -- Finish ASAP
3. Fuzzy Feet -- Finish ASAP
4. Maximize Socks -- Now 70% done!
5. Scotch Thistle Stole -- Finish ASAP

I have seven projects on hold – Icarus, Wren, CK Sweater, Sandy Cardigan, VK Fall 2005 #19, Via Diagonale, and Embossed Leaves Sock Repair – which brings me to twelve. The French Silk Socks are coming off the list, because my friendly LYS owner assures me that an unstarted second sock does *not* count on your wip list. And then I cast on for two things: the July Washcloth, and Mystery Stole 3. So…. I’m down to 14 projects total. Which is way better than the original 25 I came up with when I had too much Irish Cream the other night. Dude, I couldn’t even read my handwriting for part of that list!

I got an awesome box of stuff from my Sox Box partner. Tofutsies yarn, two beautiful lace sock patterns, a whole set of traveling notions, a beautifully embroidered sock project bag, and some yummy flavored coffees. I organized all my yarn today, so I separated stuff – I think that was the whole shebang. The traveling notions set is awesome. Everything you could possibly need for knitting on the go. Everyone should have one.

In the last bit of news, having a birthday on the luckiest day of the year is not turning out so lucky for me. All three of my guys are being buttheads. So I am off to the store to buy ingredients for one of my favorite cakes and/or some more Irish Cream. Happy seven-seven-seven to you!

Don't Let Me Teach Your Children

I kept saying "less than ten" in that last post, over and over. But clearly the math would give me exactly ten. And I wanna be a math teacher. Geez. And it gets worse. There aren’t 22 projects in that list. There are 21. Seriously folks. Someone pass me a calculator.

But here's the good news. I've finished three projects. And frogged four more. So the list of 21 is now down to 14. Which is good news for my itchy fingers. I have seven that are on “pause” and seven that need to be finished.

I love the number seven.

July Goal: Less than ten.

I would like to have less than ten projects going. Right now I have 22. And I am itching, nearly dying, to cast on for two more. Make that three.

What's calling my name? Mystery Stole Three. I have all the supplies. It would already be in the wip count if I hadn't screwed it up like five times yesterday. The second project is Tomato, available for free download at Knitting Daily. Yes, I have the yarn for that as well. A beautiful cocoa color with a nice tan for the stripe. The third project would be the July washcloth pattern. I'm in the KnitWitz washcloth club and the July pattern is on its way.

So.... although I really dream of less than five, I'm shooting for less than ten. So how do I get there? I have 22 projects. I have to get rid of 15 of them to allow myself to cast on for three more to equal ten. Ok. I can do this.

Here's the list of 22 and what I plan to do with them - the ones that say "Finish ASAP" are in the basic order I plan to finish them in:

Perdita -- Finish ASAP
Blooms Bracelet -- Finish ASAP
Bunny Washcloth -- Finish ASAP
Pie Crust Cloth -- Finish ASAP
Lacy Baby Bonnet -- Finish ASAP
Lillian's Tank -- Finish ASAP
Silk & Mohair Scarf -- Finish ASAP
Fuzzy Feet -- Finish ASAP
Maximize Socks -- Finish ASAP
French Silk Socks -- Finish ASAP
Scotch Thistle Stole -- Finish ASAP
Baby Boy Socks -- Frog
Sarcelle -- Frong
Splash Scarf -- Frog

And the remaining seven:
Icarus
Wren
CK Sweater
Sandy Cardigan
VK Fall 2005 #19
Via Diagonale
Embossed Leaves

Tell me I can do this?