Bad Blogger

That's what I am.  I guess it's because I don't think that I'm very interesting.  And lately I've been feeling very scattered. I have a bad case of startitis.  That's not my usual.  I usually finish what I start before going on to the next.  Or at least, I have only one type of project going at a time.  Like I have only one lace project, one mindless knitting, one heavily patterned, you get my drift.  Right now I have at least 5 lace projects, a pair of socks, the gift for my nephew and at least one charity knitting project.  And I got another charity project off the needles last night.  Then there are at least 5 other projects that need to be blocked and finished.  Only one of the lace projects has any business being on the needles, well maybe two.  I'm doing Bad Cat Designs' Summer Swatch Me Knit Along. It's still in progress since summer isn't over.  I'm up to date with the clues despite starting late.  We have 4 or 5 swatches left to finish the sampler shawl, just the edgings.  The second lace project that has some rights to be on my needles is the MMario design, Ylenore.  I would have finished this, but ran out of yarn.  I thought the 1000 m I had of a lace weight 70% silk/ 30% cashmere blend I had would be enough.  I need at least 500 m more. So I went back to the seller on eBay and got 1000 m more (2 balls).  Now I'm waiting for it to come from China.  They said it could be here in as little as 7 days or as many as 21.  I've been really surprised by this yarn.  I haven't had a knot in either ball, it feels wonderful in my hand, and it was really inexpensive.  I got it for $0.99 and $8.95 shipping for the 2 balls.  A silk/cashmere blend for less than $5 bucks a ball is pretty good.   I know telling you about this bargain might not be wise as I may not get this yarn for the minimum bid any longer, but they have quite a few listings, so I'm not  overly worried.  And I want to share with my friends.

So now onto the other UFOs that shouldn't be hanging around.  I have the Moonfleet shawl Knit Along still hanging around.  And two Goddess Knits Knit Along shawls languishing, one since the Fall of 2008 or 2009.  And MMario's Mystery Knit Along from earlier in the year is sitting waiting to be finished.  Then there are the socks for my friend Angela.  Part of it is the pattern, it's a bit fiddly. The ribbon and hearts pattern is different than any other I've done.  I have maybe 2 more repeats to finish the leg on the first sock.  I think it's just a tight knit for some of the stitch manipulations needed for the pattern.  But it's what I need to make sure the sock will fit.  My nephew's throw is big now and hot to have on my lap, so I'm not inclined to work on it. I should get it out and measure it.  I have 5 or 6 balls left so not too much left.  I guess I should do one big push and get it done.  The charity knitting deadline is in mid-October.  So I have some time for that.  But I would like to get a few more pieces done for the hospital.  We'll see, but at least I have 6 things to donate already done.  Maybe one more.  Then there are the 3 sweaters for me that need to be blocked and finished.  That's all they need, seaming and blocking.   Not a lot, but I'm not in the mood.  And I could use 2 of the sweaters now.  They are summer weights, one I designed for myself using a ramie/silk blend from ColourMart.  The other is a bamboo tape yarn made using a sideways pattern off Ravelry.  It really can go 3 seasons so it would be useful too.  I won't use the tape to seam it.  I think it might add bulk to the seam.  I'll use some embroidery floss that matches the main color of the yarn.  Not that it matters that much since I use mattress stitch for these seams and it's invisible.  The third sweater is a vest I made last Feb but haven't seamed up or blocked yet.  It's out of Debbie Bliss Chunky Donegal Luxury Tweed, a winter vest.  I'm in no hurry to do that.  But should get it done and out of the way.  Then I can take stock of what I have for me and plan my knitting accordingly.  I do have yarn to do another Vine Yolk Sweater from the Fall 09 Twist Collection.  I made it in Whisper, an alpaca blend (now discontinued) for winter use.  I want one in a cotton blend for the rest of the year.  I got some Rowan All Seasons Cotton in a dark olive green for it.  Then I have some hot pink Gedifra Top Soft for  Lorelei from that same issue of the Twist Collection.  There are about 3 or 4 sweaters I want to make in the current issue and have the yarn in my stash.  But I won't start anything else until I get this UFO list down.  I promise.  I have a big lace project planned.  I'm going to tackle the Queen Susan Shawl.  I have ordered some hand dyed yarn from Knitivity in Pearl for this.  This pattern is available on Ravelry.  It's an old Shetland shawl that a museum in the UK had published.  A group on Ravelry was interested and made some inquiries.  They wound up working out the pattern and published it with the museum's blessing.  Last time I checked, no one had completed knitting it but quite a few had started.  I haven't gotten the 10 skeins of Dura-Lace from Ray yet.  The shawl is quite big.  I figured out I would need 9 for the estimated amount given in the pattern, but chose to get 10 just in case and since it hasn't been completely knitted.  Queen Susan will be a massive knit on fairly small needles so I need to clear the decks.  So I'm off to knit.  Bye.