Monkey Off My Back

Yes! My Monkey socks are finished! I had to take Girly Girl to a doctor's appointment this morning so took a half day off work. We went to her appointment then I took her to school. I was home and in my jammies by 9:15 (go figure). Then I finished knitting the sock and kitchenered the toe. I need to wash them and block them, but I was so excited that they were done that I wore them to work.


I'm not sure what's next. I'm going to poke around on Ravelry tonight and see what inspires me.

Stash Enhancement

I participated in the Think Pink group swap on Ravelry in January. I got some gorgeous pink that I can't wait to knit up: two skeins of Karabella Aurora 4 and one skein of Sheep Shop Yarn Company Sheep 3. I love these yarns. I have some possible projects in mind, but always welcome suggestions.

I also won a trivia contest on the Grey's Anatomy Season 4 KAL and got some lovely green Cascade 220 heather. I also made a new virtual friend who is a librarian, knitter, and Grey's fan. Sound familiar?

With the Cascade, I'm going to make A Scarf Askew from the March 2007 Magknits, but I have to wait until I'm finished with my Monkey socks. I'm showing admirable restraint and not casting on NOW!

My Monkey

Really...I have been knitting. I finished the first Monkey sock out of Lisa Souza Sock! in the Violet's Pink Ribbon colorway. It is gorgeous. I have three repeats done on the second sock, and I can't wait to finish. I've also been knitting on my mom's Artisan's Vest whenever I get a chance. The vest is great TV knitting because it so boring that I need distraction.

I participated in the Think Pink swap on Ravelry and got some lovely yarn. More later about that.

Knitting Boredom

I have it. I can't find a project that interests me. I've cast on and ripped out numerous projects in the last few days. I just can't get motivated to knit. I'm hoping that my mom bought me some yarn I hinted around for for Christmas. (Actually more than hinted, I send links to a bunch of stuff on Etsy and Lisa Souza's website. So maybe I'll just take a small knittin va-cay and see what I get. There are a couple of projects in the new book 101 Designer One Skein Wonders book that I'm semi-interested in. I really want to knit a pair of mittens, but I don't know who to make them for, what to make them out of...I'm really in a slump.

Actually, it's not just knitting I'm bored with. It's pretty much anything. I'm not even excited about Christmas. I feel like I'm going through the motions and checking things off my to-do list. Cookies baked. Check. Presents wrapped. Check. Cards sent. Check. Tree decorated. Check. I think I need a vacation.

Here's an interesting article from the Wall Street Journal about Sock Wars. I'm such a joiner and would be tempted to sign up if someone does another round, but I know I wouldn't last long.

I still haven't decided what to do about my Modern Quilt Wrap. I found a bunch of projects on Ravelry that I could use the Kid Seta for. I just hate to see my effort go down the drain. I really need to give myself permission to give it up. The yarn definitely won't go to waste.

Christmas Meme

I saw this on a couple of blogs and thought it would be fun.
Wrapping paper or gift bags? Both.
Real or artificial tree? Real. I'm thinking about buying an artificial one though.
When do you put up the tree? Usually the first weekend in December. This year, I'm a little behind, and we still don't have one. I'm a little behind on everything. I just sent out our Christmas cards today.
When do you take it down? Anytime between the 26th and the 30th. I like to have it down before New Years though I’m a slacker where household duties are concerned so it doesn’t always happen.
Do you like eggnog? Only Purity.
Favorite gift received as a child? Blue ten speed bike when I was 12.
Do you have a nativity scene? Surprisingly, yes. I'm not religious, but my husband is Catholic. My MIL gave us our nativity scene the first year we were married. I put it up every year.
Hardest person to buy for? My mom!
Easiest person to buy for? Me! I seem to have followed the one-for-them-one-for-me philosophy when buying gifts this year.
Worst Christmas present you ever got? Wool hiking socks. (Not handknit.)
Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail. As a matter of fact, I just mailed them today.
Favorite Christmas movie? A Christmas Story. (You'll shoot your eye out!)
When do you start shopping for Christmas? October-ish.
Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No.
Favorite thing to eat on Christmas? Christmas cookies.
Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear.
Favorite Christmas song? Christmas Wrapping by the Waitresses
Travel at Christmas or stay home? Travel. Parents' house for Christmas Eve; SIL's house for Christmas dinner.
Can you name all of Santa’s Reindeer? Of course! I have kids.
Angel or star on top of tree? It's a star woven out of wooden slats.
Open presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning.
Most annoying thing this time of year? Crowded stores.
Do you decorate your tree in any theme or color? Nope. A lot of our ornaments are homemade though.
What do you leave for Santa? Cookies and milk. And a carrot for Rudolph.

Updated to add: we now have a Christmas tree. It's on the screened in back porch right now. There's a lot of clumps of snow on it so I don't want to bring it inside yet. Maybe we'll decorate it tomorrow since it sounds like it will be a good day to stay home.

Projects

Here is the progress on my Modern Quilt Wrap. I took a class at my semi-LYS Finger Lakes Fibers. As Mary Jeanne said, I didn't need a lot of help, just some guidance and a solid block on knitting time. I cast on during my class and knitted 3 1/2 squares. Because today is pajama day for me, I managed some knitting time while watching a movie. I just finished square 8. I'm not enjoying knitting this at all. I'm too much of a perfectionist and end up ripping out so much because it's not perfect. I also hate the difference in quality between the Kid Seta (love love love it!) and the Crystal Palace Kid Merino (ick). I spent so much on the yarn for this project though that I'm knitting on. (Even though I'm tempted to turn the Kid Seta into six Scaruffles (pattern from The Knitter's Book of Yarn) and use the CP Kid Merino as pot scrubbers--yes, it's that coarse.) What would you do?

Here is my other WIP--Jaywalker socks using Zwerger Garn Opal Feelings in color 1702. As you can see, I only have a few rows of the ribbing done and haven't started the actual pattern yet. This is my first pair of "fancy" socks. I'm using the Knitpicks nickel-plated sock needles. I purchased the 0-3 set a while ago, and this is my first project with them. They are so smooth, and the yarn just glides along. I will never go back to my old bamboo DPNs which I always end up breaking since I'm such a tight knitter. I am so pleased with this Knitpicks purchase.

Progress

I've been making a lot of progress on the knitting front lately. I discovered the Lime & Violet podcast and have spent many evenings knitting and listening (and laughing). I finished the Classic Socks made from Zwerger Garn Opal Hundertwasser. I also finished my Clapotis which is absolutely GORGEOUS! It is made with Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted in Chianti (rescued from the frogged Hourglass Sweater which didn't fit me right). My Clapotis is so cozy and warm, and I can't wait until the weather cools off to wear it more. I can't believe it's the end of October, and we haven't had the heat on yet. I'm also partway through an Irish Hiking Scarf for Big Guy's family Christmas gift exchange. They do a Yankee gift swap which is always so much fun.

Big Guy's football season is over today, and Girly Girl's soccer season ends tomorrow. Hopefully, we'll have a few weeks of calm before basketball season starts. I'm hoping to celebrate my very own International Pajama Day next Sunday.