Joining in with Ginny for the Yarn Along.
I love to knit. I love to read. Here's a little bit about both.
Christmas knitting you guys, it's the worst. I'm so behind. I want everything to be perfect if it's going to be given to someone other than me so of course I'm stressing out. I'm also super lazy clearly. Well maybe lazy is not the word. It's more like I know it need to be ready for the 25 so my brain is like oh that's so far away we've got plentyyyy of time. And then suddenly there's only 8 days left and my brain gets like whaaat? Which you think would help me to make progress on those projects. But no I decided to start a Henslowe shawl that's very much just for me instead! It might have a lot to do with the fact that my first Christmas Project, the Warble cowl i'm making for my sister (and started back in October!!) is not a pleasure to knit. It's a lovely pattern, easy to memorize, it's going to be awesome to wear for sure but I just don't like working on it! There is something about the stitches, the needles and the yarn that makes it a pain (literally for my hands) in the ass to knit.
Also, I just discovered that I had learned to make yarn overs the wrong way (don't ask why, I have no idea!). I will admit to a little meltdown when I realized it (while knitting on my Henslowe). Then I grabbed my Warble (which has a lot of yarn overs). I did a few rows with the correct yo, and obviously it got super pretty and oh super different than the (hundreds of) previous rows. At this point I was 75% done with the cowl. And I needed to decide whether I wanted to rip everything or not. I ended up ripping half of it (basically to where I had joined skein #2) and then knit again. I'm basically back to 75% again. I am hoping blocking will help with the differences between the two half, and also secretly praying that my sister won't even notice. Can't wait to be done with it seriously…
Which is why I have spent so much time working on my Henslowe. I love it, love it, love it! More on it once it's done! Also on the needles: a hat and cowl combo for my nephew. He's 3 which is awesome because that means everything knits super fast since it child size! I'm using my Knit by Numbers wool which I loooove, such a pleasure to knit with it! So yeah, merry Christmas everyone! ;)
On my Kindle right now: Little Women! Tis the season for classics I guess :) I'm 6 chapters in, so not so sure how I feel about it quite yet!
I'm with you regarding the self-imposed Christmas gift knitting stress. Have to say that your progress pics are fantastic and inspiring. You can do it!
ReplyDeleteOh thank goodness it's not just me! I'm almost caught up, mostly by ditching half the yarn projects for sewing instead (much quicker!). But on Monday night I thought I was going to have a full-on meltdown!
ReplyDeleteDespite the stress, your projects look awesome, and I'm sure all will be forgotten when you hand them over and see how happy they make the recipients :) That scarf is really amazing, so much detail and such a wonderful colour. Sorry it gave you such a headache, but it really looks worth the work. Good luck!
I have learned not to stress so much about the Christmas knitting and perfection. Chances are, the recipient will never notice your "design features" (i.e. - mistakes) and it will be received with lots of love!
ReplyDeleteEverything looks lovely! Especially the shawl, and in such a lovely color!
ReplyDeleteI did the same with an afghan I was crocheting for my dad for Christmas. Started the middle of October, and knew I had *plenty* of time to get it done...only to have finished it last Friday! I think the "plenty of time bit" is a bit confusing. Yes, there's time to not do it *today*, and then you get to too many todays that it wasn't worked on! At least that's how it was for me!
These all look beautiful - I love the teal colour especially. Hoping the stress eases and you enjoy the next eight days. (I had a mini-meltdown when I read that. What? Only 8? Arrgh!).
ReplyDeleteChristmas knitting is, indeed, awful. I keep adding projects to my list, despite there being no time left. Also, Henslowe is such a joy to knit!
ReplyDeleteright? love working on it so much! the edging is kind of taking forever but still super pleasant!
DeleteFunny, I learned myself the yarnography in a wrong way too :) Christmas knitting is so,stressful, in fact so stressful, that this year I decided not to knit Christmas gifts. I've got three now, just finished the first two today. Good luck with the knitting, you can do it!
ReplyDeleteAll your knitting projects are beautiful - shame the cowl is not great to knit because the result will be stunning for sure!
ReplyDeleteI have a huge respect for anyone who knits for Christmas! Your projects all look super pretty, I'm sure the recipients will be thrilled. Hang in there ;)
ReplyDeleteI bet she won't notice..my sister sewed me a dress once and she only recently admitted that one of the panels was inside out. I would never have known.
ReplyDeleteDid you get posting okay?
Oh I understand what you mean. I've been enjoying the first stitches of my Warble too, but as soon as I was able to remember the pattern, I got bored, so bored...
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