Broken

I'm at a loss- I don't know what to do. I think my knitting mojo is broken. Like super, mega, totally broken... It's not that I don't WANT to knit... oh god I want to knit so badly, it's that when I DO knit... I fail. Epically.

When last we last left this blog I was suffering a blow on a decrease gone awry. I made myself two promises after trying to soothe my battered knitting ego. 1) I would rip back the sock but not knit it in Maui and 2) I would allow myself something new and fun to knit in Maui. (We were in Maui last week.) And so, one day during a nap time, I had a glass of wine, sat on the lanai, looked at my view...

and ripped back the sock. I achieved zen- or close to it. I frogged those stitches carefully to where I believe the error was, counted the correct number of stitches, knit one row to get me back on track and then I tucked the sock away pleased with myself that I corrected the issue and could start fresh when I got home.

We came home on Sunday, and by Sunday evening, I took advantage of a sleepy/early to bed baby and I decided to revisit the Neubula sock and begin again. I knit the entire cable decrease section over. I counted the stitches again. I was 5 short. FAIL. I don't know where I have gone wrong, but the only answer seems to be rip back to the HEEL and begin again. *sigh Behold Nebula, before I frog it for time #2. (I'm going to need a lot more than a glass of wine!)

So yes- Nebula is killing me- but at least I had my new and exciting project to turn to. Spring Fling in my shiny new Madelintosh was the perfect sock to take with me to Maui. A picot cuff, a pretty lace design, it had everything I wanted in a perfect distraction project. Except there were two problems; 1) by the 3rd pattern repeat I was frustrated that it looked nothing like the pattern in the picture and 2) it was knitting up huge. Instead of stopping myself, admitting there was an issue, I soldiered on.

It wasn't until I came home did I really start to second guess myself. Trust me when I say that this sock, while pretty looks nothing like it's finished picture and would fit loosely on the ankle of an elephant. I mentioned to the MiL that I was going to email the pattern author and let her know that something has gone terribly awry in her pattern publishing and she should fix the pattern. MiL agreed that a) sock was enormous and b) the stitch pattern looked wrong. It wasn't until MiL offered to look at the pattern to find where the author went wrong did the real problem present itself. I had been knitting this stitch pattern as a 4 row repeat. It's actually a 12 row repeat! The remaining EIGHT ROWS were on the next page. DUH. FAIL. So guess what I frogged this afternoon? We also agreed I had to go down a needle size also to get a better fit.

Two projects. Two failures. My knitting ego is suffering. I don't know why I suck at knitting right now- but I need a WIN in the worst way. I don't know what to do next. I can tell you that I'm not going to attempt the sweater... that requires genuine thinking and attention paying and apparently those are two things I am not good at for the moment. I could pull out the baby dots blanket and try and revive that? I just need something that I cannot, no matter how hard I try, screw up. Not even Don Music and his version of "Row Row Your Boat" can save me now.

And so- because there is going to be some time before we see something finished on this blog again- I will show you my favorite picture from Maui, which has nothing to do with knitting but may be a reason I'm not paying the closest of attention these days:

He's a cute distraction, isn't he?

Son of a....

Alternate Blog Title: How Don Music Saved the Night

%^#*(&@(*%(*@**#*%(#*@*&^$!)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I AM SO ANGRY AT MYSELF RIGHT NOW. SO ANGRY.

Determined to finish the sock by the end of day tomorrow I stayed up and I knit like a little fiend. I got all the way down to the start of the toe decreases. I figured I could probably squeeze in the final 18 rows tomorrow and then VIOLA... sock.

No Viola. No sock.

There are an uneven number of bottom of the foot stitches (16 one side, 17 the other). I decided to count right at the end to make sure that I had 33 top of the foot stitches since it's easy to fudge if you're missing a stitch for some reason. I'm not missing A stitch. I am missing EIGHT stitches. I had 25 stitches. 25 stitches!!!!! HOW DID I DO THAT?

I immediately emailed MiL in a torrent of fury at myself. Like really- how could I do this? And more importantly where!? How many rows do I have to go back?! After much thinking and muttering and okay, (sorry Puritans), CURSING, I think I know where I have gone array. Somewhere around the middle of the foot, at the cable decreases. It is going to kill me and pain me in every way imaginable to tink back row by row until I get back to a position where I am right again. Oh god just thinking about it makes me want to curl up in a ball and weep.

Venting at my MiL wasn't enough, I decided to also tweet my anguish. Remember that muppet on Sesame Street who used to bang his head on the piano when he made a mistake? That is what I wanted to do. I was worried that no one would remember the, in my humble opinion, GREATEST MUPPET SKETCH EVER, so I decided to link it up to youtube.

And dammit- watching "Don Music" screw up and bang his head on the piano made me feel better. In moments I was laughing. Please, do yourself a favor today and enjoy Don in all of his brilliance, because without Don I'd still be in a corner weeping.

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

ABC Song

Mary Had a Little Lamb

Apparently Sesame Street had to stop airing this sketch because too many children were emmulating Don on the piano and hurting themselves. (This in itself makes me giggle... because I'm a little bit sick that way.)

Is fixing this going to hurt? Yes. A rather lot. But I think I'll download some of Don's greatest hits to watch while I plow through. Thank you Don. Thank you Jim Henson- 30 some odd years later your stuff can still take a really crappy moment and make it better.

Extra Days are for Blog Posts

Well- I was hoping to be on here showing you a completed set of socks but it's just not going to happen that way. I was hoping to complete the Nebula socks for the end of February and I have to say, I came pretty close.

I'm slowing working my way down the foot. SLOWLY but I do hope that soon there will be a finished glamour shot in our future.

I'm on day two of taking a harder line with the baby on napping and so far (KNOCK ON WOOD) that is actually going well. Yesterday I was able to knit 10 rows on the sock uninterrupted! I nearly WEPT from the joy of it!

If I can get the baby on a more regular nap schedule not only will I have a HAPPIER baby (which is so much easier for everyone) but I will also be able to make more steady progress on the items I had hoped to finish since I can actually have some "mommy has her hands to herself" time. I'm trying to decide what I will tackle next... Pink Baby Dot blanket or the Fireside sweater. Let me know what you'd like to see next in the comments!

Parker's Blanket

It's done! It's done! It's DONE! Parker's blanket is done... nearly 3 months to the day AFTER he was born. But still... focus on the positive. IT'S DONE.

Pattern: Baby Bricks by Kay Meadors.

Needle: US 7

Yarn: Berroco Vintage in 51103 (Green), 51104 (Teal), 5103 (Brown), 5113 (Light Blue), 5100 (White)

Notes: I have made this blanket twice before and so I obviously like the pattern. What I appreciate is that it always looks stunning no matter what you do for a color scheme, and it's simple. It's also simply deceptive because people always think it's harder than it looks. (It's not hard!)

And now GLAMOUR SHOTS... because dammit you deserve it for waiting so long!

Look how nicely it matches the nursery bedding!

Look how nice the back looks!

Look how nice it looks with an ACTUAL BABY!!! (I keep staring at him and thinking "How did I end up with such a cute kid?!")

Okay- this blog post is getting too exciting... let's all take a moment to collect ourselves. How about something more somber? A sock in progress?

Hey is that leg nearly finished? Why yes, it IS nearly finished. I'd really like to finish this bad boy for February and move on to the next project that needs to get off the needles. It feels good to wrap some of these items up!

I feel I need to wrap this post up with a bit of an explanation...

The good news: Parker is essentially sleeping through the night. (10 pm - 6 am!)

The bad news: Parker hates to nap. HAAAAAAAAAAAAAATES to nap- meaning while I am getting a great 8 hours of sleep, I cannot put him down long enough during the day to knit my single row. (Or for that matter write a blog post, write the thank you cards, order the pictures or the 98 zillion other things that I have not accomplished on my "to do" list.) Progress has slowed to a pace best described as "snail". So your continued patience is most appreciated!

2 Down!

Okay, so it's not the end of January as I originally hoped to finish Parker's blanket but it's close and I'll take the win!

Parker's blanket is currently blocking and should be ready for a few glamour photos later this week. (Bonus... the baby will model it!) Special thanks to MiL, who came over Wednesday afternoon to hold the baby so I could get a little uninterrupted knitting time. Then she brilliantly suggested that if I could finish it (I made it to the border) by Saturday we could block it at her place when I was there for lunch. BRILLIANT. And so, with special thanks to MiL and cousin Kim I now have blanket pinned and drying!

Saturday was also awesome as FiL was looking for a little baby time while we were visiting- so HE held the baby (and expertly put him to sleep might I add) and I got to pick up project #3 in the finishing pile. Remember the Nebula socks?

I'm so excited to get back to working on these- they are just STUNNING, plus I want something small to knit for a change. (Extra bonus- it's Wollmeise!) I'm hoping that I can finish these in February and tackle the very daunting sweater next.

I must admit there's a little part of me that wants to abandon the finishing plan, pull out the sock yarn and have a sock knitting marathon- yesterday's knitting session was just so SATISFYING. But... this is the year to get some things off the unfinished object pile and feel good.

Finishing feels SO GOOD people! Stay tuned for glamour shots coming soon.

It's Something

Good news... there is progress!

Because the weather was so cold here my lovely knitting group made a last minute location change and came to my house to knit, and meet the baby. They held the baby and my fingers flew- cramming in as much knitting time as I could muster- hence the progress we see today.

What's funny is that I am DYING to work on something new, but I have to finish this first. Next I'm going to pick up the sock since all I want to do is start a million socks. BUT, finishing is the name of the game and so, instead of being all willy nilly- I'm going to stick to finishing what I need to finish. I'm hoping and praying to the patron saint of knitting that I can get this blanket done before the end of January so we can begin February with something much more interesting!

Because there really isn't much else to show you, I will placate you with a smiley pic of my kiddo... which I'm hoping will gloss over the fact that there isn't much else to show you. SO BEHOLD... my happy kiddo! (Who you are welcome to come and hold if you will let me knit ;-0)

Progressions

With the Teddy blanket off the needles I'm moved my devotion and attention to getting Parker's blanket done next. However it kind of looks the same as it always has since progress is quite slow. SO, in order to convey some sense of completion and because some days it IS just a row done- I've decided to snap photos with a tape measure so we can at least that there is some progression. (This is as much for me as anyone.) So here we go- 24" on Parker's blanket. I will either knit to 40" or until I run out of yarn, whatever happens first.

Also- because there are looky-loo's who like this sort of thing, my yarn gifted to me from my inlaws arrived this week and it is lovely. OH so lovely. Behold- Madelintosh Tosh Sock in "Logwood". It's this lovely light purple color and I am just itching ITCHING to work on it. (But NO... I am being strict with myself, there are items that need to be finished first!)

So that's what happening around here this week- slow and steady progress on the blanket for the baby. SPEAKING of the baby... I thought we could all enjoy this cute photo of him. My cutie smiles and "talks" a lot more these days... charming the pants off of everyone he meets. Tell me- can you resist this face?

I cannot... which is why progress is happening at snail's pace. But at least it's some progress and we'll take it.

A New Year... New Challenge

Happy New Year!!

I'll be honest, I did my damnedest to finish the Teddy Blanket for 2011... there was crocheting an hour before the clock told us it was the new year, but I also had a fussy baby (booo exczema!!!) who wanted my attention more. Alas- Teddy was not finished for 2011. However, fear not because I did finish it for 2012!

Pattern: Teddy Bear Baby Blanket by Barbara Breiter

Yarn: Mission Falls 136 Merino Superwash in colorway 006 (Discontinued yarn)

Needles: US 6

Thoughts: This pattern was actually inspired by a Ravelry member's project AleNochka (Rav link)- when I saw what she had done I decided to use her same modifications and knit a version myself. It's not a thrilling pattern but it did knit quickly and it was ideal to haul around with me when I just needed something easy and quick to pick up and knit. (Other projects aren't as simple.)

You'll note I sucked it up and crocheted (yuck) a border. God help me, but I actually enjoyed my crochet time! (Sensitive knitters will want to pass over the next photo as it's an extreme CROCHET CLOSEUP... I'm getting a lot better at crochet!)

So with Teddy off the needles it's time for me to take stock and plan for the New Year. The truth is, I have a lot of unfinished things that need to be cleaned up. A lot of projects that got abandoned last year for one reason or another. They kind of hang over my head reminding me that I need to "close a few circles" and move forward. So, without further ado I present to you my New Years knitting resolutions.

1) Parker's Blanket

I started this on mat leave and had the delusional idea that I could knit it in a week before Parker's arrival. This is just a little over half finished and I want to get it done for my kiddo.

2) Pink Baby Dots

I still love this blanket a lot- but it's not an easy one to cart around- it's a strictly "at home" project.

3) Nebula Socks

I have a metric butt load of sock yarn and recent stash acquisitions mandate that 2012 be about knitting socks, meaning I need to get Nebula off the needles and on my feet!

4) Kevin's Sweater (Now known as Project Kevin & Kristian)

Remember when I was knitting a dog sweater for a friend? I hardly do... and for some reason I abandoned this project when I was so close to being done. Poor Kevin is still cold! Thankfully it's been a mild winter so far! Kevin's mom recently had a baby (Christmas day) and I think it would be funny for Kevin and baby to have matching sweaters. So- Kevin's sweater needs to be done and a little baby sweater needs to be made in order to consider this finished.

5) Fireside Sweater

I abandoned this project when I found out I was pregnant because it felt futile to knit a sweater that I wouldn't be able to wear as I got bigger and bigger. I'm so close with this one... SO CLOSE. It needs to be done and now that I'll fit it again it REALLY needs to be done. So finish it I will.

These are all diverse projects in all various states of completion. There's enough representation here that if I bore of one project I can move on to something completely different, but still focus on finishing. As the baby gets a little bit bigger and begins to find a more regular schedule (patterns are emerging!) I should find a few more minutes and opportunities to pick up the needles. So that's what you have to look forward to this year.

Once these are finished (hopefully in the first 6 months) then I'm going to move my focus to small projects. Baby sweaters... socks... little items that have a short completion time. Should be a good year! Thanks for sticking with me despite the light blog posts this year- I'm still here, I'm still knitting and will hopefully I'll keep finding the time to talk about it!

Happy New Year!

Christmas Round Up

There are some Christmas traditions that you just don't mess with. Certain music albums, baking items, silly things just have to occur on Christmas... they may be modified if you have, say a 6 week old who takes up a lot of time, but you still do them. This Christmas is no different. Thanks to some challenges early on in our attempts at nursing (resolved for the most part now... whew!)- my boy takes a bottle which means mommy can slip away for an hour or so if the opportunity arises. Thus, I was able to observe the Boxing Day tradition I have had with my Mother in Law for the last few years- and hit up the yarn sales at the local shops. Behold the spoils!

Lana Grossa's "Meilenweit Men" sock yarn from Pudding and Colinette's "Iona" from the Loop. The Loop was a last minute addition and had me very impressed... I'd hit their sale again. We decided to skip Gina Brown's this year, as it's usually MOBBED and we never get there in time for the really good sale stuff. (Nor do I have the patience to wait in the never-ending line up.)

In general this was a very good yarn year for me, as many family members decided to spoil me with yarn. Both the inlaws and husband bought me lovely colorways of Madelintosh Tosh Sock and my brother in law also got me some great sock yarns, a self striping I wanted and some Jitterbug that I've had my eye on for awhile. Rounding out the knitting related gifts I also went home with two books I had put on my list.

Lest you worry about my stash growing again, there have been a few more stitches knit. In fact- enough to get one blanket off the needles. Teddy is ready to be blocked, and then it will receive a crochet (yuck) border to help keep it's shape.

My goal is to get this blanket done prior to 2012 (even if it means at 11:59 on Dec 31st I am crocheting with one hand and feeding a baby with another). Progress does happen, even if it's 2 rows a day, I am trying to fit a little bit of knitting in- just so I don't go crazy. (I love my kid to pieces, but mommy is beginning to miss her knitting time... so I'm trying to get at least one row in a day. Even if it's just ONE row, I still feel like I've accomplished something.

I've also been meaning to show this off prior to Parker's arrival- the "Waiting for Duane" dishcloths for 2011. I leave a dishcloth at the front door so I can just pick up and knit a few rows while I wait for the husband in the am. This year I managed to knit 6 cloths waiting for him!

And lastly- it's not knitting, but I thought you might like to see- here's my "little" guy at 6 weeks. His last weigh on the 23rd he was 12 lbs 4 oz... so let's all use the term "little" loosely. :-)

Good Excuses

So- last we left this blog post I announced that I became a mom to an adorable little boy and that I planned to continue to knit.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

It's funny to think that I thought I could squeeze in some knitting during this time. I have knit exactly 2 rows on the Teddy Bear Blanket. 2!! Otherwise my life has been very busy looking after my little man.

I do think the knitting will return- daddy will be home over Christmas and I see the makings of a routine coming to life, and soon I will pick up the needles and rejoin the knitting world. (The last of my worlds to return... welcome back pre-maternity pants! How I missed you!!)

In the mean time, lest you think I'm just twiddling my thumbs over here- I've got a few photos of my little guy to share. My big boy continues to get big... or rather HUGE. (And no, for those of you who have suggested I knit while I nurse, I cannot- he moves his arms and head so much that I need both hands to keep him focused on the task at hand)

(Most of these photos are iPhone or Blackberry shots)

At 2 weeks...

Barely fitting his "crabby outfit"

3 weeks... and ready to shave!

Christmas outfit- 4 weeks (or 94 years?)

I think he's pretty cute... but then I again I tend to be bit a biased on this one.