Frozen

You would think by my last post that I have spent the last 7 days furiously completing my mittens, and they would be fresh off the blocking pins in order for me to model and brag about here.

You'd, unfortunately, be wrong.

It's been a rough week over here at Chateau Nennie.  My little guy spent the better part of Wed night showing us the contents of his tummy.  Then on Thursday night my big guy, spared me the visual, but offered up repeated sacrifices to the Porcelain Gods.  Thankfully big guy needed 24 hours and was doing much better, I cannot say the same for little guy- who just kept getting sick.  SEVEN DAYS LATER I feel confident in saying "he's getting better"- but he's not 100% yet.

And so, as it goes with sick kids, I didn't do much other than hold him close and pray that he'd get better.  When he was sleeping, so was I.  Knit wise, I was basically frozen- I couldn't bring myself to knit even when there was quiet time... I couldn't concentrate.

Yesterday was the first day where, (knock on wood) his tummy seems to be settling down and I felt free to pick up my needles after he went to bed.  I'm pretty close...

BUT- I had to implement a new rule to stay on track for the hat goal.  Before each thumb is knit, I have to knit a hat.  So, once this blog post is done, a new hat is going on the needles and I'm going to curl up with a cup of tea and my audiobook and enjoy a little "me" time... because that's been less of a priority this last week.

Hopefully there will be some more FO's to show you before the end of 2012.... or the end of the world, if you believe those silly Mayans.

A Conversation With Myself

Brain: You're overdue for a blog post.

Heart: I WANT TO KNIT!

Brain: Yes, but it's been a week and you should update your progress.

Heart: I WANT TO KNIT AND NOT WASTE A SINGLE SECOND OF THAT TIME WRITING.

Brain: Can you just do something short at least?

Heart: I WANT TO KNIT ALL THE MITTENS IN THE WORLD!

Brain: You're not being rational.

Heart: That's your job sucker !!

Brain: How about a compromise? A short update using your iPhone ap?

Heart: Make it snappy... Must. Knit. Mittens.

Brain: happy now!?

Sucess! Glorious Success!

I will dispense with the niceties and get right to the meat of this post.  I HAVE SO MANY FINISHED THINGS TO SHOW YOU!  O. M. G.!!

(*as always, you can click on the Ravelry page to see more photos... you just need to be a member)

Thing 1: Diamond Cable Blanket

Pattern: Diamond Cable Blanket by Nancy Hearne
Yarn: Cascade Yarns Greenland Colorway 3501
Needles: US 8
Notes: There is absolutely nothing wrong with this pattern- just for whatever reason, (blanket ennui?) I just found this painfully dull to knit.  Lovely results- BORED. CITY.  I may have cast on less stitches and increased on row 1 of the pattern in order to have a less ruffly border- but otherwise everything turned out exactly as I expected it to.

This lovely specimen is off to my husband's best friend from high school, who welcomed a little boy named Elias, a few weeks earlier than expected.  The day I cast off this blanket, Elias was born- so I say that was some pretty swell timing!  (Thanks also to the MiL who helped with the whole blocking thing!)

Thing 2: Victory Mittens

Pattern: Fightin' Words by Annie Watts
Yarn: Koigu Premium Merino in Yellow (125122) and Blue (232950)
Needles: US 2.5
Notes: These were really cute and knit up REALLY fast.  I need to remember to "relax" when I knit mittens.  I knit these quite tight and even after a good blocking, they're "snug" to a hand.  Also I didn't love the different cuff she had me knit.  If I were to knit these again, I'd stick to good 'ole 2x2 ribbing.

These were intended for a friend of mine running a 10K... or was it half marathon?  I can't remember.  The point is, they were intended for her and the run, which are long past.  I'm not sure they'll fit her hands though- or if she would even like finger-less mittens.  So, I might sort of offer them to her, with the promise of attempting to knit a bigger size if they don't fit.  I guess we'll see.

Thing 3: Smitten Mittens Part 2 (THREE THINGS!  Can you believe it?  I hardly can!)

Pattern: Emma's Mittens by Minh Hoang (Ravelry download only)
Yarn: Jubilee Alpaca (remember when I bought this so long ago?)
Needles: Cuff- US 5, Mitten- US 6
Notes: I knit these for my sister who lost the original pair.  I made some changes to include a gusset- I've made that link available here.  I have told sister that there are replacing these.  These are pure and precious alpaca.  Blood or no blood- I will make her suffer should she lose these.  (I'm mostly joking... I'd be serious if this was cashmere!

So what am I doing with my unfinished object free time?  Mittens.  I am obsessed.  OBSESSED with mittens.  I want to knit ALL THE MITTENS. (From a blanket obsession to a mitten obsession... it's a good thing KNITTING is my choice drug!)  There was a scene from "That 70's Show" that basically sums up my mitten obsession.  I found it for you:

(Context: Donna suspects Eric of cheating when she finds panties in his car... this is a fantasy she has about confronting him about it.)

People- I am Eric... except replace PANTIES... with MITTENS.  GLORIOUS MITTENS!  I want to roll around in my sock yarn and make mittens.

And so... without a guilty conscience I cast on a lovely "wedding mitten" for a friend of mine getting married in January.  I thought she should have some lovely mittens and I've been wanting to knit this pattern for awhile.  I bought yarn... I cast on... and three days later I had this...

... a nearly finished mitten.  That is when I stopped LYING to myself and admitted that once again, I have pulled the tension tighter than a lady's face in Los Angeles (did you see what I did there?)- and there was NO WAY this mitten would fit a hand.  No matter how much I kept telling myself that my friend had "slender" hands.  Slender hands yes.... hands the size of toothpicks NO.  So a frogging I did go.

I've cast on again with bigger needles and have already admitted to myself that I need the smaller needles back and just need to repeat to myself OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN- R E L A X.  So yes- more mittens are on the horizon.

(I also knit on the sock one morning this last week and made a hat- but this post is already epic in length, so I will save boasting on that for another time.)

Also- today is my baby's birthday.  He is the BIG ONE YEAR.  I'm not really sure where the time went, but OMG, I can't believe how fast it went.  

But now I must get back to my mittens (and to my child... haha).  It feels so good to have the freedom to knit what I want again.  

Thumb Week

Nope.  I haven't blocked the blanket.  Maybe tomorrow?

Instead of focusing on the "what should be done" let's focus on what I'm going to do this week?

TWO MITTENS... who just need thumbs.

This week's goal is simple.  KNIT THE THUMBS.

I kind of hate knitting thumbs on mittens.  It's small work and piddly, with all of those needles in there.  I really need to just let it go because there really is such a SMALL amount of knitting involved to get myself over the finish line on both of these projects and it frees me up to knit something else.  Like socks... or potentially more mittens.

I had a chance to wear my Paris mittens the last few weeks (boo early cold snap!) and I'm so enamored and proud of them, I just want to knit more.  This time for a different coat- so um... more mittens are probably in our future.  (At least it's not blankets?)