Ahem.... Is this thing on?

So... ummm..... Nothing posted here since January. Well. Blast.

I did the color work hat, and it came out very wonky, so I guess I got discouraged. The bottom of the hat is too floppy and the color work is very tight, not a bit of stretch near the thing. It's kicking around here somewhere.

It was a learning experience though. At least I know now to go up a needle size when I start the color work. AND.... I think I'll stick to two colors instead of the three. It looks very cool on the outside, but a float going across 15 or 17 stitches, may be pushing the boundaries of what a newbie can pull off.

I can't find any completed pics, but at least you get an idea of how it looks, plus the floppiness is fairly obvious.

Everything else? I think things are mostly ok. One kiddo recovering from the flu and another with an odd cheek/gum pain. The Doc couldn't figure it out any better than I could, but Ibuprofen seems to help for now.

Hopefully I'll get back into the spirit of blogging pretty soon. I think it goes this way. When I'm sorta down I just don't post that often, because even if I'm not posting about my feelings, my voice as I'm typing in my head sounds all dreary. Anyway, one way or another things are going to get much better and I'll stop sounding like Eeyore in my head. lol

Sun in the sky,

you know how I feel.

I meant these pictures to be in reverse sequence, rather than how they appear. Knitting first, personal stuff last. However, since blogger refuses to do their uploads in a way that takes less deliberate thought, we will just go with the flow today, because my head hurts.

This is an orchid. I bought it for myself at a grocery store. They are a visual reminder of a sort of promise I made to myself. Putting into exact words is a bit difficult. It has something to do with a certain repulsion I feel when I receive cut flowers as an apology. EVER. When it's on the heels of a ridiculous act of vindictive power tripping, let's just say, that if I didn't feel sorry for the flowers they would have met the garbage disposal. It's the same stupid story as before, and deep down, I think I knew it would be. In a way, I feel like a complete idiot to have let my guard down and give him that power he had before. The power to hurt me again and again. In another way, it was something I felt, I had to do, to prove to myself that I did absolutely everything in my power to give it a chance. Of course, (and I say "of course" because most people will understand this) in no way does this mean I'm on the market, or interested in dating anyone, or wish to talk to anyone about eventually dating them. It's not an invitation to opening any doors to any part of a past I've left behind. It just means, what it means, that my current relationship is bunk and has been for some number of years and it's not in my power to change it.

So.... what in the world is this orchid about? By now, I'm jaded. The orchid, though, is about only letting myself get jaded to a certain point. If being jaded protects me from investing in a load of bull, it's working to my benefit. If it keeps me from being happy and open, it's too much. It's all about playing my cards close to my chest. My mom used to say, "You wear your heart on your sleeve," and it was very true. I've always been very open and artless, honest and trusting. I don't want to completely lose those things about myself, but at the same time, not everyone deserves to see that side of me. That is a difficult lesson to learn, and it doesn't come easy to put it into practice. Thus, the outward symbol of that is embodied in my pretty little potted blooms.

On a more knitterly note, my Knit Picks order arrived a couple of days ago, and here it is.

Harmony interchangeable needles that beg me to pick them up and start using them.

The yarn for the coolest hat and mittens,

and the pattern for them.

Yaayness! Maybe there will be knitting in my future after all.

Insert Interesting Title Here:

My new interchangeable needle set is on it's way, along with THIS beautiful kit. I have to say, it's going to be nice to actually use the yarn that the pattern calls for, and also to follow a pattern that someone else has made up.

I have yet to start my 3 projects that are mostly just rolling around in my head and making a nuisance of themselves. (among many many more annoying and troubling things that are doing the same) Isn't that how it goes?

Anyway, one day, I'll have all those things more in order and have some sort of direction to be headed, and that in turn will give me something more interesting to talk about.

It's Time

Options Interchangeable Harmony Wood Circular Knitting Needle Set from KnitPicks.com - Colorful birch needles kit with case & cables

Time for me to buckle down and get this set of needles.

Time for lots of things to change.

Time to get to working on all these projects I have swimming around in my brain.

Time

Spirals to Snakes

My son decided he wanted snakes in his hat, so I searched Ravely for spirals and this is the chart I'll be basing the color work on.

And here's my variation on it. All the kids think it's "AWESOME" =) At least I can still impress them, wonder how long that will last? hahaha

Not the greatest picture ever, but it IS past 1am, so I had to use the flash. The color that looks reddish orange is actually going to be tan.

I always have to do at least part of the next repeat of the chart when I'm drawing it out because it's not always easy understand how the next part goes with the first. I should be more trusting, I know, but... sometimes you just have to see something to understand it.

What do you think?

The Planning Stages of Planning

Paging through books and books of Fair Isle charts can get to be somewhat overstimulating. (for me anyway - it's like shopping, too much input) Everything is either too girly or too... I don't know, I think I don't have the right books. Which means, as usual, I'll just make something up with my own colors and graph paper. I'm sure it won't be anything ground breaking or original, I doubt there is anything out there that is. However, I can't find it among my sources.

While I think and plan and stuff, I'll be finishing up Wuthering Heights. It's my first time reading it (I think) it seems oddly familiar, and not in the "I saw the movie" sense. I used to read all the time, so it's possible I read it when I was in high school and just don't remember. Anyway, it's made me cry a couple of times, which doesn't happen that often in books.

Well... my ADD kicked in and I started looking through Ravelry (which I should have done before I started this post) and I think I have found something I can use with some alteration. Yaaay - stay tuned for updates soon =))

And the Mind Goes Blank

For some weird reason, I didn't remember that I posted my finished socks. WHA? I guess I didn't really feel they were finished until I weaved in all the ends. I must be growing up as a knitter. I vaguely recall mentioning that I didn't weave in the ends because my tiny crochet hook has gone missing. I finally got to the store and purchased a package of them. (naturally, I blindly picked up a package that had one stolen out of it - duh)

ANYway, I weaved in the ends, wore the socks to work yesterday, and they were very comfy. I took pictures of all the ends still sticking out everywhere, but... it looks much less dramatic in the picture than it felt like in my head, and it didn't really take long to do it. Although I stretched it out over an evening and the next morning. (exciting stuff, right? ha)

One interesting thing this year, the Autumn leaves have really held on, and they keep changing and changing, so it's been a really pretty experience. I took a few pictures of my Crepe Myrtle against the clear blue sky. Otherwise, I've been completely remiss in taking Fall pictures. Just enjoying them with my eyes.