You Are Likely a Third Born

At your darkest moments, you feel vulnerable.At work and school, you do best when you're comparing things.When you love someone, you tend to like to please them. In friendship, you are loyal to one person.Your ideal careers are: sales, police officer, newspaper reporter, inventor, poet, and animal trainer.You will leave your mark on the world with inventions, poetry, and inspiration.

Though I didn't spend a lot of time on it today (so far), I'm pleased with the progress of the scarf so far. I'm at about 33" and though I don't think I'll have enough yarn to hit the suggested length of 55", I think I'll be within 5" or so. I wouldn't mind having more of the yarn, both to make the scarf full size and to maybe add a hat -- but this was a stash buster, so it ony gets what it gets. I like the scarf pattern so much, that I plan on making several others -- all from stash.

One thing about my stash, it contains very little "good" yarn. Most of it is, well, cheap. I have worked with "good" fiber on occasion, and there definitely can be a difference, so I've decided it will be my reward. When I clear out a portion of the stash, I can buy some really nice stuff. But I have to hold myself to at least a 2:1 stash clear to new purchase ratio or I'm never going to get anywhere!

If you start knitting a scarf because you're supremely frustrated with the socks you've been knitting (or more accurately, frogging repeatedly) and you use some old yarn that's been just lying there for ages so it really didn't cost anything and besides you had the needles and the pattern was free, that doesn't really count as yet another project that's not yet complete does it?

I didn't think so either.

I can't remember any project that has frustrated me more than these damned socks. I'm on the heel -- and turning it has just become one long nightmare. I'm using the pattern from here, but it just doesn't "seem" right. I know how a heel turns, but I'll be damned if this one works out right.

I suspect another partial frogging will be the order of the day tomorrow.

I've been looking for a "Baby's First Christmas" for Anna (my younger daughter's baby) but everything locally was sold out. And now, I'm a little bit glad about that.

I decided to search online and started with eBay. I had bid on an ornament, but lost the auction. Though there were others types (and even more of the one I lost), the cheapskate it me surfaced and I decided to browse a little and see what I might find. Eventually, I found a nicer one -- but still I waivered. It would be an additional $15 to have it shipped to Canada from the US.

So I browsed some more. And this morning I found this one -- which can be personalized -- at www.lenox.com . I ended up having my sister order it and she'll bring it up from the States next time she visits. I'm not a huge fan of kitsche and generally speaking, anything "personalized" doesn't do much for me. However, I make all exceptions for Christmas keepsakes.

As for my inner cheapskate? Once I saw this, I studiously ignored her.

You are Merino Wool.You are very easygoing and sweet. People like to
keep you close because you are so softhearted.
You love to be comfortable and warm from your
head to your toes.

What kind of yarn are you?
brought to you by



Awwww...nothing like a non-scientific, totally silly Quizilla for an ego boost. Although....it's surprisingly accurate.

The socks, they do progress. I've started the heel, using the contrast colour, and hope to have it finished tonight -- or maybe a little farther along if I'm really ambitious (or not really lazy). I'm alone for dinner -- Mom and Len are going to a hockey game (and I'd rather stick hot needles in my eyes than go to a hockey game), so for me it's a question of what siren call to answer....will it be knitting and watching tv, cruising blogs, or playing on EQ2.

Decisions, decisions.

As for the socks themselves, I don't know. I'm really not satisfied with the pattern, especially the jacquard sections. But I'm not going to frog it again. I tried several combinations of stitches to find the one that would line up the pattern best -- but this is about as good as it gets. It's not so bad -- and there's the slightest chance that I'm just too critical of my own work -- but still I'm not happy with them. I will, however, finish them. At the worst, they'll be nice to wear around the house.

I'm progressing on the socks -- in between stuffing my face with all sorts of Christmas goodies. I fear the scales.

But, for the socks -- I frogged them at least three times as I just wasn't happy with how the pattern was lining up. I'm still not, but I'll be damned if I frog again. I did get a contrast yarn, and settled on a k2p2 rib (which I think I'm regretting). Generally, I'm just not satisfied with the result so far. I will forge onward, I swear I will!

Since I'm kind of faking the pattern for these new socks, this generator might prove helpful:

http://www.princeton.edu/~ezb/sockform.html

Welcome to my little knitting niche.

The debut post deserves a debut picture...and that's it, over to the right. Another project cast on (the pending others will be revealed in due time). This is a pair of socks, or rather will be a pair of socks, crafted from self-striping yarn. Though it's been around for a few years, this is my first attempt with it.

I had actually cast on and begun the ribbing, but then three things occurred to me. First, I didn't like the k1p1 ribbing I was doing -- it seemed to conceal the pattern. And though it would show up when I got to the stockinette portion, I still didn't like it.

The second thing was whether or not the two balls of yarn would begin at the same place -- if they didn't, it seems to me the stripes would not match. So, it was frog the first try and then see if I could match up the patterns, more or less. I'm not sure how precise you have to be with this yarn -- I'm hoping for at least a bit of forgiveness. I've also switched to a k3p2 rib, over 60 stitches. I have an hour or so before bed -- so perhaps I'll make a little more progress.

The third thing -- I'm not entirely convinced the two balls of yarn are the same colours. Maybe it's the light in here, but one definitely seems darker than the other. But...I'm willing to tough it out a bit -- and in the end, it's only socks. I'm sure I'll find a home for them somewhere (mismatched shades and stripes included).