Mulling it over

You know how I am a wee bit obsessive and like to plan things? I am still at a point where I am planning a lot of knitting. Pretty much that is always running in the back of my mind. You know the part of your brain that kick in and keeps you safe driving to work. On those mornings when you're getting out of the car and you suddenly realize you have no memory of driving there? Yeah, that part of my brain also plans my knitting.

It gets pretty frustrated with me when I have too many projects on the needles and it has nothing to plan. While the actual knitting part is firing away, the planning part is plotting ways to lose a project or two, you know, just so it is needed again.

Well this part of my brain is busy chugging away planning a train trip that is not even booked yet. It has decided that train knitting should be somewhat like plane knitting, no complicated lace projects. While socks are always a go to project, they don't take that much effort to plan. Sweater knitting is out since it is too bulky to lug around and the trip will most likely be in the summer.

Planning brain is thinking a shawl would be nice. But not a lace shawl, that's cruel. It keeps focusing on  a nice garter stitch shawl. Actually it is pretty darn focused on one garter stitch shawl, the Color Affection Shawl. Lovely is it not? Those nice long rows would allow me to sit and stare out the window, watching the countryside roll by, while keeping my hands happy.

Now my dilemma is what yarn to choose? I bought the pattern before Rhinebeck so I would know how much yarn to get, but alas I did not buy yarn that would work together. I've had a vendor in mind to get yarn from but they don't seem terribly active right now, so that is out. I've even resorted to googling for a kit, but the trend seems to have passed so no one seems to have them. (You can usually tell when a trend has hit its peak if I am finally interested in it.)

So we will have to wait to see what pops up before the train leaves the station. Hey, what colors do I want? I like green a heck of a lot, what goes with deep forest green as the darkest color? Maybe I should just spend a bit of time slogging through all the completed projects on Ravelry. All 7000+ of them, see what I mean about being the tail end of a trend?

I still want to knit it though! Any color combinations will be considered. Let me know what you think.

And to top it off I am one of those weird people that does not like to mix yarn makers. I don't know if it is because they will fight or just that they may have different tension or feel. I just know it is one of my things.

Hatching a plan

You know how reading blogs make you feel like you know a person? You've never met in real life but you know what their pets look like and what their spouse asked them to first knit for them. I have that feeling with Adriene at Adriene's Couch. I found her blog because of blogging group on Ravelry. I read a few posts and was hooked especially when she did a post about yarn cakes including a picture of her attempting to bite one.

I read for a while before I commented but when I did a friendship was struck up, well at least it was in my mind. I will admit to feeling a little weird when I started telling my husband about Adriene, my Canadian blog friend. But then I am weird so I'm ok with it, and Hubby knows me well enough to be ok with my weirdness too.

So this year when I was talking about going to my festivals, Adriene commented that it was too bad that we live so far apart, wouldn't it be nice if we could go to one together sometime? I thought to myself it would be fun to do that.  Then the plan hit me, if we could not attend a festival together, we could buy yarn for each other. I think it may be why people do yarn swaps. I've never done one but I thought what the heck and asked her. Luckily she said yes to my plan.

I would by yarn for her at one of my festivals and she offered to buy me some yarn (maybe some Canadian yarn) at her vacation yarn store. (Yes I do believe that we should all have a vacation yarn store.) So it would be a bit like attending a festival together. Yeah I know it is a stretch but hey allowances must be made.

Now the pressure is on what do I get? First I researched how yarn swaps have been done and we traded a list of questions and set up some ground rules. We discussed allergies, color preferences, fiber preferences and set a price limit. I think we may be a tad excited because the price limit was renegotiated. We questioned the exchange rate between the Canadian Dollar and the US Dollar. Turns out that the difference is minimal now, and I think it has been for a few years.

So now it is a few weeks to Rhinebeck and I am all excited to buy yarn for my Canadian blog friend. Man, I hope I get her something she will like. I am having a hard time deciding, now I want to buy all the things! But first I think I will test out the US to Canada mail system. I'm sending a card first, you know to see how the yarn's journey may go.

Anybody have any advice on how packages between countries work?

How I plan a vacation

Once we decide where we are going I start researching. I look up things on the internet. I checkout every book in the library even remotely related to where we will be going. I find out all there is to do and see in the area. I research hotels, B&Bs, rental cars, public transportation and of course yarn shops.

I present my findings to the Hubby as a long list of "we could". I basically make myself an amateur tour guide of the area. We discuss and I implement our (my) plan. I book it all.

In the week leading up to our departure when people start asking me if I am getting excited, I usually reply No. I used to think it is because I don't travel well and I don't want to work myself up before hand, but now I know that is only part of it.

I had just spent the last so many months at DefCon III planning this thing. I have used up all my excitement till I get to see it in person. Think maybe that is why I crash like a 6 year old kid after a three day weekend of birthday parties?

Don't get me wrong, you know how much I love lists and planning. Each trip is like the Super Bowl for me. I can not believe I made it here today! I am so lucky!

Oh maybe I should go look up Nova Scotia, D talked about going there one day maybe I should just check in to that.

Getting it done

Well it seems my needles and yarn are attacking me again. I've cast on 2 new projects in 2 days. The good thing is I've finished some smaller instant gratification projects in the mean time and D's sweater is washed and drying. He should be able to wear it this week.

Second bonus for him is that one of the new projects is for him. He mentioned today that he would like another pair of socks. Yep I think the sock bug has bitten him too. Or does it bite me through him? I had picked up a couple of skeins of Red Heart's Heart and Sole yarn to try. It is brown with some white and navy blue thrown into the mix. He thinks it should be manly enough, but it is that self striping stuff that seemed to saturate the market a couple of years ago. I must admit I am no longer a fan of stripy socks but hey they will look fabulous on him.

Oh my instant gratification projects? Dish towels/spa towels. Depends on if you use them for the dishes or your face.

Yep that bug finally bit me too. I did not understand what the fuss is about. Turns out they're fun to knit. So fun I started another when the first was done.

Gus decided he wanted to model the cloths, to make them all the more tempting to the viewing public. I was worried the cotton yarn would be hard on my hands but it was much smoother and softer than I expected.

The brown yarn my Mom picked out while I was home for Christmas. And the green I found here in NY. My sister will be getting one of the green ones and I'm keeping the other one.

My first instant gratification project was not a cloth. It was a bulky yarn hat. Foliage from knitty.com.

It was the yarn I picked up at the Southern Adirondack Fiber Festival, in September. I rather like the hat but not so much on me. It is a close fitting hat and I feel a bit claustrophobic in it. Maybe I'm just not cold enough to appreciate it. I will use the rest of the yarn to make another I think. Unless I can find a different hat pattern that will work. I've used half of the yarn so the other half must go to the back of the "I'm knitting this" list.

Also I started another pair of socks for me, out of the new Paton's Kroy sock yarn I got in SD. I will be knitting it in the Retro Rib pattern by Evelyn A. Clark from Favorite Socks. I've wanted to knit those since I got the book a couple of years ago.

I also worked on putting together some ideas for what socks I want to knit out of what yarns I have. Sometimes it is fun to look at all the patterns and imagine what the yarns will look like knit up in a certain pattern. Sometimes I would like to have that planned out for me, so I could just get started with it. I still reserve the right to change my mind at anytime. Many of the socks that I'm thinking of knitting are in the Favorite Socks book. Well maybe that is one of the first books I looked at in the planning. I think many of the designs are beautiful. I still have a few others up my sleeves but I think I have some things to keep me busy and out of trouble for a little bit.

Startitis, again

So knitters have defined the word "startitis" as an overwhelming urge to plan or start many projects in a small time frame, usually without finishing any projects in the same time frame.

I've got it bad! Well bad for me, I only have three projects on the needles, but I went out Sunday and bought yarn for 2 more. I narrowly escaped buying yarn for a third one, it was beautiful soft yarn and I don't know how I resisted. I think I may be ill.

Now a trip to the yarn shop that lands yarn for only 2 projects is pretty good. But If you look back to last week's posts all you see is festival yarn that I bought for projects. Wait a minute I'm going to go count that project amount now. You can either scroll down with me or hum a little tune while I'm gone.

Eight projects! That brings my total to ten for the last couple of weeks. Crap I forgot about the fiber festival in September, hold on. Poo, I had five there. New total 15 projects bought with in about a month.

In my defense, hubby said it was OK, the festivals only come around once a year and I usually knit up what I buy in that time frame. I don't know why I feel I should defend myself, I've never heard a bad word from any of you.

On with my story. I found yarn for D's sweater. He even thinks the color will be OK. It is a very deep plum almost black. I'm itching to start this one, but I really want to finish his socks first.

You remember his socks I've been knitting on them for a while now. I think it is that his foot is so much bigger than mine that I get distracted. Usually for my little feet once I finish the heel of the sock it seems like it knits itself. For D it seems like I just started the sock (which is true). There is nothing to keep it spicy in the middle for me. Sorry Hon that is just the way I'm wired I guess.

I bought yarn to make some super cool two color mittens from "Folk Mittens" for me. I've started about 20 pairs of socks in my head, now if I could knit as fast as I think I would be set. No wait all the projects would be odd mutant projects if that were true. I tend to think way too many random thoughts for that to work for me.

I'm also waiting for a shawl to appear on my needles in the middle of the night like it does in my dreams. I still have to find a pattern for that one, maybe that is why I'm dreaming about it.

So I'm dreaming, I'm planning and I'm casting on a few projects 'just to see how they look'. My house is a happy place once you move the yarn and needles from the chair.

One foot in front of the other.

I am still plugging along on my sweater. I finished the body using a baby cable rib I found in my Custom Knits book. It came out looking better than I had hoped for, sometimes even I am a pessimist. I'm working on a sleeve and have managed a few rounds but that is about it.

I can feel the seasons change and see it even more. It is starting to stay darker longer in the morning. So my normal reaction to this is to sleep later and later. I make it to work in the morning but my breakfast and knitting margin have shrunk down to 5-10 minutes, which really means I have time for breakfast. The leaves are starting to change and I am determined to get pictures this year. Every year I meant to take a camera to work with me because I can stop on my way home and find some lovely trees. Every year it is December before I blink and all the leaves are sitting in an unattractive pile in my yard. They are leaves it is what they do!

I managed to finish a pair of socks this weekend but did not get pictures of them. Soon my pretties soon.

You know how I love lists, right? Well I listed all the immediate projects I wanted to start and came up with 15-20 projects. I still have 2 on the needles I'm trying to finish. I would like to have my sweater done by October first, I don't think that is going to happen. Maybe it needs to start following me around, so I would work on it. Of course that plan has not worked for the second sock of D's pair. I told myself I needed a time when I could concentrate to turn the heel since I was trying an unfamiliar method but I turned the heel 2 weeks ago and has been riding around in my purse since then. Poor sock it wants to be on his feet so badly.

One of the projects I want to start is mittens for D. One of his favorite animals are squirrels, don't ask me why maybe it is the tail. I found these mittens and thought of him. I thought they would be too funky for him to wear in public but I have been given the go ahead. I hope they look as good as they do in theory in my head.

I think I will save the rest of the list for another time. You can be sure D's sweater is right up there at the top. I have to deck him out in knitted wear while the decking is good. Sort of the knitters version of strike while the iron is hot.