Unrealistic Expectations

I have a problem I think most people have, but anyway it's a problem.  I seem to think there are more than 24 hours in a day.  And that within those 24 hours, I can be superwoman and accomplish all this stuff, despite the fact that I can't even get my ass moving too fast (like now).

In other words, it's October, and I of course have way too many projects going on.

It's a bit worse this year, though.  The first issue is that I decided to make almost everything for my Halloween costume this year, so not only am I knitting a couple of items (one done, the other in progress:

), I'm sewing a dress.  Sewing takes up a lot more time since you can't just do 'a couple of rows' like in knitting, and is not portable.  At least I have a machine now:

The fact that it lives on my dining table is another problem

The good thing about the sewing machine is that it does save time.  The bad thing about the sewing machine is then I think I can whip out a full dress in a couple of days.  No.  No, I can't.  Especially since I'm a novice, crappy seamstress.  I then think I can do more than I can within the three or so hours after work I have.  Except when I don't because I went out to dinner.

So that's taking away from my knitting time.  Other things taking away from my knitting time are the NYC Yarn Crawl (for which I bought more yarn I didn't need) and NYS Sheep and Wool (this weekend!  Buy more yarn I don't really need!), and concerts (I've got three shows this month I went/am going to), and my boyfriend (which is related to the concert and dinner thing, at least).  And I can't even be pissed about it; I enjoy it all. But when did I gain a life?  Actually...never mind that, when did I become an adult with all these adult responsibilities on top of it all (you know, because I also really need to cook two weeks worth of lunches, do laundry, and clean the bathroom today)?

The second (third?) issue is that not only am I working on things for Halloween, I had to start everything for Hanukkah this month as well, since the first night is the evening before Thanksgiving (American, so that would be late November).  Usually I get last-minute present plans around Rhinebeck, get the yarn there, and start early November.  It works if Hanukkah is at least mid-December (though I still run into scheduling issues).  It doesn't work this year.  The good thing is that I did plan ahead on some things, and I have one present done, and I got a jump start on my Mom's socks.  The bad thing is that I currently have two more projects (including the socks) going for that because why not start another knitted present while I'm working on one already:

Ignore the gray skein...that isn't a project, just some random yarn I thought I might use and didn't

Well...started being relative.  I did swatch and do some calculations for one of them so far.  The reddish one is the Jane Bennet socks from the Summer 2012 issue of Jane Austen Knits.  I didn't pick the pattern; I had my Mom search Ravelry for a sock pattern she liked, and made the yarn I'm using the surprise (last year, it was the other way: she knew what yarn I was using, but didn't really know the sock pattern until I had to try them on her....ok, so we don't really do the surprise thing here.  It's just that she hasn't seen the work in progress yet). 

Oh, and I'm knitting another sock for a KAL:

Yeah, that's not getting done anytime soon. 

And don't even ask me about the tank pattern; I haven't started writing it yet.

Negative Yarn Craft

I got nothing of value at the moment, but two other things:

I made this simple seed stitch cowl last December, out of a random ball of royal blue alpaca I picked up:

It didn't take me too long (I don't think I ever mentioned making it here), and despite my not-love for cowls, I started wearing it all the time.  Since I wear it all the time, I went out last Friday with it...and promptly managed to misplace it in a bar. When I got to the bar, I know I put it with my coat, and I thought I stuffed it in my coat sleeve, but it wasn't there or anywhere nearby when I went to move the coat, oh I don't know, maybe forty minutes later.

I think this is the first time I've managed to lose on of my projects.  Well, at least ones that weren't crappy that I didn't care about. And it's not like it'll be hard to make another.  I just got to go spend $15 on another skein and re-do it.  But it wasn't in my plans, and I'm pissed off at myself, but what else is new?

The second is that I'm cheating on my yarn.  Oh, don't get me wrong, I've been knitting.  I finished the fingerless gloves I was working on a bit ago:

And I've been steadly working on my simple top-down raglan sweater (mostly on my morning commute, as I always get a seat on the subway then):

But that's not what I've been spending most of my time working on.  I'm sewing instead.  Despite the fact that I barely know how to sew and, oh yeah, don't own a sewing machine nor have the room or desire to get one. Because I'm ambivalent at best about sewing or any craft involving using a straight needle and tiny thread, and this isn't a long term new craft for me.

This seems out of the blue, but I've been planning this project for awhile now.  I'm hoping to go to a couple of SCA events this year, and I need better garb. However, any garb on the internet is either the same mass-produced inauthentic stuff (and I have enough of that) or really expensive for even the simplest of things (which I understand, but still).  Or actually, make that 'and really expensive (which I understand for the authentic stuff but otherwise, no, rip-off)'.  It came down to either spending hundreds of dollars on basic garb or making it myself for half that.  Given that currently I'm not a member and am only planning to do two weekend events...yeah.  I'm already going to be investing too much money in it because it is a big money sink (more than yarn craft), and that's even given the fact that I bum space in my sister's tent and camping supplies from my family.

To bring it back to yarn craft, I feel like the whole falling in head first with the knitting and crochet in the last couple of years has made me infinitely more patient at making stuff (well, may also just be me getting older, but whatever).  Four or five years ago I wouldn't be able to spend two months working on a sweater, no matter how much I liked the idea.  I just did that.  Of course, there's a limit, but the whole garb issue now falls on the 'screw it, I'll learn to make it' side.

So that's what I'm doing instead of blogging.  Maybe next week I'll get this thing back on topic.  Maybe.

Too Many Frogs 'Round Here

This past month, I can't count how many times I've frogged or otherwise had to undo some work due to a mistake I made.

For the Dwindling Cables Hat, I ripped out the base band three times, attempted to pick up the stitches twice, and then had to frog most of it after I screwed up all the cable crossings.  At least after that I didn't screw up majorly again (some minor issues here and there, but nothing that couldn't be hacked easily) after that.

For the Work Cardigan (almost done; debrief will be next post), I once again didn't read the pattern closely enough and missed that I needed to increase my stitch count up the sleeve to account for the subtracted bell shape.  I figured this out after I got to the top of the sleeve cap and was wondering why I had so few stitches.  A week's work frogged out.  How long have I've been working on this again?  Almost two months now?

I then spent my last Sunday sewing in and ripping out one of the sleeves to said cardigan as I learned how to sew in a set-in sleeve.

Now I'm working on the first of a set of fingerless gloves:

So far, I've had to drop down the stitches of one of the cables to re-cross a miss-cross, and had to rip out the start of the thumb gusset (about 5 rows) since it looked like crap.  It still looks kind of shitty, but since I stopped using the stitch markers, it's been better:

Oh, and I've decided to try another way of purling at the same time.  Which took me a couple of rows to get, and it's not so natural for me yet.  I don't know if I'll keep doing it this way or not (but that's another post).

Luckily, this is a pretty fast, easy pattern.  Yes, even with all the cables.  It's pretty logical and easy to memorize.  Despite my inability to do anything right at the moment, I love patterns like that.

Now my sweater just needs to dry again so I can finish it, oye.

Things That Are Gray and Things That Are White

Oh, look, I've finally got something done:

This should have not taken me a month to do, but it did.  Mainly because I was too busy working on the work sweater at the same time.  However, it didn't help that I frogged parts of this hat multiple times either.

It came out a little big, I have to say that.  Having worn it a couple of times already, I wish that I had made the band a little tighter (though that would have screwed me up on picking up the right stitch count even more, so maybe that isn't the best idea).  It stays on, but if I dart around it sometimes slips foward, and otherwise doesn't always stay where I put it.  Nothing that can't be fixed with a snap clip or two, though.

I love the way it looks, which is always a bonus.  However, I had to switch back to my heavy duty hats today due to the lovely nor'easter that's coming through my area as I type:

That's what it looks like outside my window a couple of hours ago from this post.  Well, if you subtract the fact that my camera turned the scene yellow tinted....

Supposedly its name is Nemo, which I can't hear without getting this song stuck in my head, so I'm going to ignore the Weather Channel's attempt at giving cute names to nor'easters and just call it a snow storm.  Despite everyone freaking about about it here in NYC, it's not supposed to be as bad here.  But that's NYC mentality for you...it's going to be an event enough to cause minor disruption?  Everybody panic!  Meanwhile, back in 2010:

Three feet of snow, whoo hoo.

So forgive me if I'm not currently impressed at the moment (however, those of you northeast of us that are dealing with the snow amounts in the second pic...I feel for you).  The snow falling this morning was pretty, though.  It was the right weather to have light big snowflakes and not be crazy cold outside.  I actually didn't mind walking in it this morning.  Then again, I like snow and don't mind colder weather.  I just don't like crappy slush and shoveling things and the type of cold that is bitter and biting.

Another positive thing about it was that I got to do this:

Finished the last sleeve on the subway today, and managed to get to the post office before it closed to pick up the package that contained those nice new blocking pads (one bad thing about apartment living in the city; getting packages delivered is a pain in the ass.  Especially when they decide not to bother ringing your doorbell before leaving the slip that says 'we missed you, now you have to go to the post office that's only open during your working hours most of the time!' Ug).

In other news, yes, I finally broke down and bought blocking pads.  T-pins don't really hold when your using towels on a hardwood floor, and while I can work around it for small things, this needed to be pinned out sturdily. 

I'm not done, though.  I still have to sew it up and do the back of the neck (it's a bit of an odd construction).  Hopefully I can get it done within the week, though.  Then I'll have both my over-a-month long projects done.

Then I'll start something else...woops:

I kind of already did.

P.S.: For anyone dealing with the snow, stay safe and warm, and don't try to curse it too much.

P.P.S.: Oh, and we're in a severe French Toast Alert, ya'll (the site is Mass. based, I believe, so it's even more applicable). Have fun!