Sorry About the Absence . . .

So, I've been MiA for a good little while - almost exactly a month, in fact, but I promise that it was with good reason . . . I'm now a member of ravelry.com, which I have been describing to people as a kind of "super-facebook for knitters/crocheters."
By the way, if you do any of those things, you might want to join up yourself - it'll blow your mind, but in a really good way.

I've got some knitting done - like my first hat and the first attempt on my Thermal, and I've gotten some frogging done - like the hat for my father and my first attempt on my Thermal, but all to the good, I suppose.

I've also organized my stash by putting all the skeins in their own separate baggies. As I was telling my friend, "I got tired of them fraternizing with each other."

As far as knitting goals still in mind, my mother wants bed socks, and my dad doesn't want anything, and so is probably still getting a hat. My sister may like a gift card better than a hat and I fully intend to enjoy knitting up my Thermal!

Apology . . .

Sorry I've been out for so many days - I caught death and have spent a good portion of my time in between posts fending it off. Having said so, I've also managed to get a little bit of work done. I'm four rows away from finishing a kind of cross between a knitted hat and a knitted headband I saw on Knitty.com called Calorimetry in this tweedy magenta yarn I found in the $2 bin at WEBS. Granted, it's a little hard on the fingers and not all that soft (at all) but I figured, eh, even if I never wear it, it was a little project that taught me about short row shaping and cost me two bucks - and gave me something to do while I was sick.

Pictures to come. I promise.

Halloween

So . . . Just thought I'd share what I did for Halloween.

(Sorry it's so late, but I just realized that I never posted this . . .)

But first I've got a bit of a confession to make: I didn't like my sweater. The Orange One. I had hung it in the closet and refused to wear it for anything. But then Halloween came, to my college town, and apparently, students here like to go trick-or-treating. Now, being a diabetic, I haven't even considered the yearly candy-run since around middle school, but what can I say? People in my house dragged me along. (I orginally hadn't intended to get any candy but this sweet old lady wouldn't hear of it and actually went in her house and brought me out a bag!!)

Anyway, I needed a costume in a hurry, and, flinging open my closet, I saw the orange sweater. My mind smiled.

Two black construction paper eyes and a mouth later and I was out the door.

The First Stirrings of Rebellion

I have spent the last couple of weeks in a seemingly endless search for the perfect sweater pattern. I have still not found it, but suddenly, that's okay, because I have seen a new horizon. That horizon is called "the wonderful world of design." I have purchased a book - the book is called Knitting from the Top and it is by Barbara G Walker. I have placed 13 balls of Elisabeth Lavold's Classic Al on hold at WEBS, to be retreived (most likely) on Tuesday. I'm thinking Henley-style - maybe with some wide ribbing for a hint of shapeliness. I might even consider tossing a hood on it . . . merely because I really like hoods. Or perhaps a little bitty pocket somewhere. The possibilities are endless, and what with my Christmas WEBS giftcard on the horizon, I think I'll get started right after the thermal.

Knitting Doldrums

So now I'm in this terrible of position of needing it to be Friday. The reason I need it to be Friday now is that Friday happens to be payday. (And I've been working sub hours, so . . . big paycheck.)

So I've been staring at websites, going to WEBS (even considered stepping into Northampton Wools) and generally staring hopelessly at my stash, wishing I could get some work done, either school-realted or knitting related, but nothing actually happens.
I did get in some yarn from Knitpicks on Saturday, which I will be reviewing soon, but apart from that, I feel completely paralyzed by lack of funds . . . Oh well, just two more days to go.

Alas . . .

I think I may have come to my senses at last. I've been having some thoughts about my Christmas ambitions and have come up against this terrible problem: I don't want to make things that people don't want or won't use. I have several male friends, and a female sister (of equal pickiness) as I have mentioned before, who don't like the idea of knitted gifts, and the last thing I want to do is force them to smile and accept gifts that they don't actually want. Many of them, however, have told me that they wouldn't mind receiving a sweater from me at some point, but as for this year, at least . . . s'just not gonna happen.

So my revised Christmas list goes more like this . . .

Mom - felted slippers
Dad - hat (my father's actually pleasantly easy to knit for)
Little sister -probably a giftcard to her favorite store in the world
Female friend - arm warmers or a scarf, whichever comes first
Boys:
Giftcard to borders and some other little thing for mister super-picky since I owe him from last year . . .
itunes giftcard for mister medium-picky
and for almost not-so-picky-after all, an anti-scratch case for his Nintendo DS which I shall diligently engineer. (unless, through secret espionage tricks, I find that he is perhaps a little pickier than I thought.)

And of course, my yarn-buddy of a cat is still getting his chinese-food themed toys. I might even try some Japanese thrown in. Maybe.

Anyway, that's how things are looking Christmas-wise. As for me and things for myself, I've got a list for that, too.
First of all, there's that Thermal sweater I want to make from Knitty.com, but I'm also in the market for a second, coarser-gauge sweater to be worn shirt-like in the coming cold.

I guess I should also mention that I fully intend to end this year with my very own ball winder and swift combo - since I just kinda need that sorta thing. (Especially since the yarn for the thermal [Knitpicks Gloss] comes in hanks and so must be wound up.)

It doesn't end there, though - I'm still working on my eggplant pattern - I started and then realized that I had failed to take a couple of things into account beforehand, but it'll be alright . . .

And for the springtime, I have a nugget of an idea for a hoodie cardigan knit in Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, one of my favorite yarns to work with. All this and more to come, folks!!

Start Your Engines

Now that I've been knitting for a whole year, I have a plan. With my yearling skill, I have decided that I need never brave a mall at Christmastime again. That is correct - I have decided to knit everyone's Christmas present this year. As a matter of fact, I have decided that I'm even going to be finished by Thanksgiving Break. I've got it all mapped out in my planner and I am determined to succeed.

Here's the list:

Dad's &%4!-ing hat
My cat's "Feline Dim Sum" (see knitty.com)
Mom's felted slippers
My sister's necklace and bracelet set (more on this later)
My female buddy's arm warmers (finerless gloves that end before the finger holes)

And then here's my problem . . .
I have some other buddies - guy buddies, and I have no idea what to make for them -they just don't do the winter bundling thing and I haven't the time to make them sweaters . . . I mean, what am I supposed to do?! belts, hats, scarves, socks - all rejected . . . and I'm running out of suggestions . . . what's a knitter to do?