UFO's in the lounge room

I wish I could pretend that I only have a nice area for my knitting, small, tucked away, neat. No chance. I have projects scattered the length and width of my house and no idea which is next. I decided to do a room by room check, but it appears that most of the projects are either in my lounge or out in their rightful place, the bungalow of win.

Now the lounge room knitting can be divided up into sub categories:
1. Stuff in bags
2. Stuff shoved into the knitting bucket in the hope I won't notice it.
3. Stuff behind the couch (I wish it wasn't so, but still...).

Onwards!

1. Stuff in bags

First up is my Tea Party frock.

















This has been languishing for a very VERY long time. I haven't lost the pattern (it's on Knitty), it's not too hard (although increasing by 1 stitch every 3 in the opening rows almost killed me), I'm not knitting it because I have to, which leaves a deadline.

This jumper was my project for "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" for the "Knitting 19th-Century Novels" group on Ravelry. You have two months to read the novel and discuss it and your knitting project should reflect the novel, hence red and an Edwardian tea gown pattern. The deadline was April 30th. In 2008. I really missed the deadline on this one.

I do love this jumper. I love the colour, I love the pattern, it's all great. But... 22 inches?!? Follow the basic 4 row repeat for 22 inches?!?! Using the tension that's 148 rows and each row is kinda looooooooong. I might lose my mind with this.

Should it stay or should it go? As I tend to show a certain bias, I asked Felix. His logic is that unless I need the yarn for another project, do not frog. There's other projects more important, so put it aside for now. It a lightweight jumper, more spring or autumn than winter, so I'll try to finish it up for then.

Verdict: Hibernation - finish for autumn.


















Next on the program is a plastic bag with potential. Two balls of Jo Sharp Silkroad DK Tweed in Fleece and a ball of Jo Sharp Alpaca Silk Georgette in Ecru. Two still have the ball band on. The project? A cabled tea cosy of my own design. I have about 20 tea cosy design in my head and drawn up but I've never converted them. It takes the luxury of spare time and I don't have all that much of it these days (blog every day? Pfffffffft!). Time to ask Felix again.

Felix reminded me that I had planned the tea cosy for the Royal Show but never really started properly (a swatch isn't really starting and all I learned was that my chosen pattern was terrible and I needed to re-jig everything) so I guess it's another missed deadline piece.

Waaaaaaaaaaaay back in February I declared that I was quitting deadlines and the pressure that comes with it, so I know I'm putting my tea cosy ideas on the backburner for now and if I feel like it I'll get around to them again.

Verdict: Hibernation - pick up when I feel like it again.

Oooo, I'm feeling a LOT better!

2. Stuff shoved into the knitting bucket in the hope I won't notice it.

















"Oh you mean this knitting bucket, officer? I'm just minding it for a friend..." Good thing there's no knitting police, isn't it?

Let's see...

Grey ball of wool with a swatch attached. It was the start of a jacket for Marcus who is now far too huge for the pattern.

Verdict: Frog!




















Felix's Skull socks, which I started in January. The patterned section is too tight for him to pull over his foot, so I'm going to pick up just below it and rip it out, then knit up in green. Apparently the second sock has to be the same "but the opposite colours". *sigh* How vile are these two colours together? Only for love...

Verdict: Repair and continue, knit at work.




















Three balls of Sublime in olive green that will become a jumper for Marcus next year. He doesn't need it just yet, so I'll put it aside until the end of summer and start knitting it up then.

Verdict: Hibernate until March.





















Various colours of 8 ply I'm planning to split in half and use to make "The Knitted Farmyard". The blue will be for the river, the multi for the hayfield, the gray for kittens and donkeys and the dirty brown for fields, knitted in ribbing. It is an amazing book and it's going to be a lot of fun. I must be mad, obviously, but lots of fun.

Verdict: Keep nearby and knit pieces at night.

















This is a completely knitted newborn baby bonnet that is just lacking the bows on the side. I made it for my second cousins little girl, but I haven't been down to see her yet. Anyone know of a little girl soon to arrive who wants one?

Verdict: Add ribbon and give away.

















The remaining yarn for Marcus' nursery blanket, number two (He'll get the Alphabet blanket one day, okay?). The blanket itself is the one item I have down the4 back of the couch and that's due to sheer laziness on my part. Couldn't be bothered to pick it up! I need to settle in to the couch for at least a fortnight and just work on this, but it's currently in no great hurry (winter is over) so I'll put it aside until after Christmas.

Verdict: Hibernate until New Years.




















Lastly we have some cream yarn. The tangled up piece was used for a small hat that was frogged to use in a very nice jumper (I'm sewing it up even now) and the other ball is an 8ply that I plan to splice for the farmyard animals.

Verdict: Use up in the next week.

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So there it all is. A ragtag mess that is now somewhat more organised, if only mentally organised.

Next up I'll have to tackle the bungalow stash, and that one could be pretty nasty...

Spring Cleaning the Knitting

The insane season is now officially over. The Show has been and gone (to the helper who folded up my Alphabet Blanket, be aware that my mum hates you) with no fanfare or a win, but arriving nice and early for Marcus to visit the Animal Nursery before it all got too busy was pretty great. 

Less showbags, more animals and farming next year please RASV. Felix was happy that halfway through the day there was a bar in the middle of the food pavilion!

Our next problem was Marcus' 1st birthday party and my need to go over the top at the slightest provocation. I tried to reign myself in but I failed.

Marcus enjoyed all of his visitors...

...but mostly he enjoyed his smash cake.

A lot.

We've almost moved all of our stuff into the new/old house. Most of the books are still cluttering up my parents front room, but they'll get over it, right? I've moved all of the craft books into the bungalow, and now I need to sort out my yarn and projects  - you can tell when spring hits, can't you?

Looking around the blogosphere, I'm not the only knitter with starting fever. I have tonnes of unfinished projects lying around in bags, boxes, ziploc bags, heck everywhere! (I can see one sitting on top of the bookshelf in front of the tv even now!) It seems to come down to a few reasons:

1. I can't find where I put the pattern. This is less common than you'd think, but it really can hold up a project, sometimes for months.

2. I've come up to a hard part or I don't understand it and I'm wussing out. Hardly ever happens, but can block up the queue, definitely.

3. I'm making something because I feel I have to. Skull socks for Felix are in this category, and I feel terrible for not working on them more, but they're really boring socks!

4. I was working to a deadline and missed it. Once the deadline has passed there's no need to rush and so I just relax and start something new. Something small that I can whip up and give out. Christening shawl? What christening shawl? Nope, nooooo idea....

This is going to take at least a week of working out what to finish, what to frog, what to do, so feel free to join in each day. If Marcus keeps sleeping this much I'll be blogging more often!