Saturday, June 02, 2007

Time is an illusion...

Considering that my work break-up party was yesterday, you'd think I'd be lying on my couch, clutching my head in agony. No such need despite far too much alcomahol. Instead my stomach muscles are aching from a highly embarassing display of dancing, which included Andrew and Felix joining in for "Footloose". I'd say never again, but I know better by know...

Luckily, knitting is a stomach muscle stress free exercise, and for now, I shall continue to knock almost done items off of my list. Today I plan to finish my da's St Kilda beanie, as I struggle through the third attempt. Version one was too long, version two was too floppy, so hopefully this attempt will be the baby bear beanie. Instead of rolling up the brim, I'm picking up the edge stitches and knitting up a broken rib rim, which my da chose after I described it as the most "perfect of all ribbing". "That sound like it will suit me then", he said despite both my mother and I rolling our eyes.It's being knitted in the colours of his all too wonderful St Kilda Football Club, and like the matching scarf I made him last year, is knitted in undyed alpaca 8ply in cream and black, and an alpaca/silk/wool blend 8ply in red. As punishment for being the only person silly enough to make knitting requests, I'm planning to top it off with a black, cream and red pom pom. The pattern was given to me by the Divine J, the knitting goddess everyone needs.

The undyed chocolate brown alpaca bedsocks are finished in record time - the pair for my mum took about two months, these took a week. The pattern is from Vogue Knitting on the Go series - Socks Two. I'm starting to enjoy knitting these socks, so much so that Felix is getting a pair in this odd blue/silver combination for toddling round the house in. One day I may actually knit myself a pair, but I'm not holding my breath.

The brown jumper continues onwards. It's a reverse stocking stitch jumper from Jo Sharp. and it's a pretty easy knit, just boring. I managed to knit about 16 shaping rows at "Pirates of the Caribbean" last week, and I've ignored it ever since. I'm now determined to finish it up in the next few days, which shouldn't be too impossible, as I'm now gainfully unemployed. I just hate knitting sleeves, more than anything, even sewing up (not hard - I love sewing up). My problem is that I knit both sleeves at the same time, which is tiresome and annoying and the wool gets tangled, and this will be worse as there's two kinds of yarn... It's too easy to talk myself out of it, which is why I generally don't try. Otherwise we're looking at the cream jumper disaster all over again.

Worst of all the infinished ones is this bear, for my new nephew Rohan (I love that name. I must tell my friend Rohan there's another him). All I need to do is finish stuffing it and finish it, but you all know how much I hate finishing anything, so it's another "forcing myself" job. I feel dreadful about this: what kind of vibe am I bring to this present if I start hating it?

So all this is what I need to work on over the next few days. Nothing much, just a LOT of knitting. It looks so daunting, but after a few seconds of doubt that little voice in the back of my mind reminds me "You love knitting, remember?" Oh so that's why I keep doing this to myself. Fair enough then...

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