Ever Mindful

One day this week, I found myself curled up in bed, tearfully texting a dear friend that I just wasn't in the spirit.  This is nothing new.  Every year around this time, I start to feel a little overwhelmed.  

I'm not enough of a planner to start preparing for the holidays in September, so suddenly December is upon me, and I don't have a tree and my gifts are half made and there's just not enough time!  And then I remember to take a breath.  And that I don't have to do it all.  Least of all, live up to some trumped up expectations that I have for myself.

  I'm going to be mindful of how fortunate I am this year and not overreach.

I started the project above on Wednesday.  It's a skirt for a tree that I don't have.  I'm expecting a houseful of friends on Saturday who will have fun even if that tree skirt isn't finished and if I serve them store bought bread instead of homemade brioche dinner rolls.  

So the table is set for tomorrow and tonight I will sit and stitch and be mindful of all the reasons that I love this time of year and all the wonderful people in my life and all the ways that I am so, so lucky.

 

Look! Look! A Finished Object! I know, I can hardly believe it myself. I started this in November and just finished it last week.

It's the Patsy Swing Cardigan from The Point and I highly recommend this pattern to anyone who wants to knit a first time cable sweater. It was their pattern of the month for November and I bought the recommended yarn, as well. The pattern is a dream and super easy to knit. It's knit from the top down, though, and being a cardigan, the stockinette gets a little tedious towards the end.

I think this may be one of the first sweaters that I've made that I'll really wear. I usually end up so unhappy with the way I look in the finished product that I stuff it in a drawer.

I've been a really impatient knitter up until now, but I think I'm entering a new phase where I can knit from challenging patterns and take my time to undo mistakes and check for fit. I'm less concerned with having a finished item than having an item finished well.

Words to live by.

Leaf count: 58 (64, with these guys here).



There's still time to contribute! Take your leaves to The Point before October 1st!!!!!!

We finally got an air conditioner! Doesn't this little guy just look like he's fearing for his life? That's kind of how I feel about our ConEd bill.

I've got so many things on the burners right now! Should I space them out and make many blog posts? I think I shall.

For now I will share this with you. Some really amazing yarn that I swiped from The Point for August's Pattern/Yarn of the Month.

It's alpaca. And merino. And silk. 'Nuf said.

It's going to become this:

This is just a mock up that I did at work (Of course during my lunch hour! Um, yeah.) and of course the finished product will be a hand-knit. My favorite thing about the design? It's one knitted piece. Well, two, if you count the belt.

Stay tuned!!!

Actual knitting content!



This tank felt like it took forever to make, but, in actuality, it only took 3 weeks.

This is the Pattern of the Month for The Point, for June. They wanted a really simple shell for, oh, say, an advanced beginner. I though that was a brilliant idea because I can't tell you how many times I had a request for one when I worked there!

This was made from -4 skeins of Classic Elite Cotton Bam Boo. Though the yarn was really lovely, it was torture for me. I ended up knitting it on size #1 needles to get 6 stitches to the inch!!! The fabric that was the result of this labor of love was drape-y, with a slight sheen. I can't say it was totally worth it for me, but for those who don't have the crazy tension issues that I do, you should give it a try.

Go to The Point's blog or Ravelry for more info! And, of course, The Point for the pattern!

I'm taking part in Color Week via Curious Bird. I was a little under the weather this weekend, so I'm recycling some old images for Green Monday.


My favorite colorway of Manos ever.



A shot from a series of vintage jewelry and candy that I did for work.



The perfect summer beach tote.



Gratuitous kitty picture on my old green coffee table.


Stay tuned for Yellow Tuesday!!

Whoa, that's a big glass of wine. Tell you what, though, I'm gonna need it. See below.

This is a picture of the sweater that I made Master P for Christmas. It should have been done for Christmas, but there were some extenuating circumstances and I didn't quite finish. So, he got a box of sweater parts to open on the big day. So what.

I finally put it all together (which took a while) and was ready to knit the collar. And so I did. And so it looked like crap. See, I didn't have a pattern in hand when I knit this sweater, just some inspiration. It was designed with a shawl collar, but I had never knit a shawl collar such as this before.

So I knit it the first time, and it was WAY too small. I knit it again, adding short rows, and it was way too short around the neck.

Now, armed with a page from Vogue Knitting's Ultimate Knitting Book, I am ready to knit the collar for a third time, but not without that glass of wine!

(P.S. Thanks for all the birthday love!! Knitting (and crocheting) friends are some of the best friends!)