Carnival of the Colors...

Peg ...

It's been so very long. Close to a month, even. Over a month, actually. I had been doing so well with the posting/school/knitting, but that all disappeared with the appearance of a certain someone for a week. After that, everything went to hell, so to speak, and all I've been doing since he left is knitting and studying. More knitting than studying, as usual, which is probably why Wee has made the top 30% of our pharmacy class and I ... haven't. To be honest, I wouldn't deserve it anyway because I don't put near as much time and effort into pharmacy school as I do knitting. Big surprise, right? You would never think that of me!

Anyway ... congratulations to Wee, we must have a celebratory party for her and force her to knit. What do you think? A plan in the making?

On to the knitting ... and there has been much to speak of ... there would be pictures if I hadn't spent all my money on yarn, birthday presents and clothes and not saved any for a new battery charger, but we'll skip over that part ...

1. Icarus is on hold. For awhile. I just don't have the time for lace knitting when I want to get sweaters done. And Christmas scarves. And Christmas dishcloths. And even a Christmas wreath, knitted! And felted! Feel the excitement building ...

2. My Atacama cardigan ... it was on hold, then I measured it for no apparent reason and realized I only had to do about 15-20 more rows before I could start armholes. Now, 1 row is 232 stitches, so that was no small feat, but it was heartening enough for me to actually pick it back up and work on it some more. I am now at the point where I am decreasing for the armholes, then I'll knit up to the shoulder shaping and then I can start the sleeves. I will have this thing done before I go to England. I will.

3. The new Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino cabled scarf in cream. The boy brought this over from England (8 skeins!) and I decided I'm going to make a cabled scarf to wear over there. The Eiffel Wrap is going to be saved for Paris, but this is going to be worn as frequently as possible. Like, every day that it's cold enough. And even when it isn't cold enough I still plan to wear it. I have almost 2 skeins finished, then on to the 3rd. I think 5 will make a long enough scarf, and then I might try to make a beret-type hat. I'll be in Paris, France ... I should be like them! However, I think that might take quite a bit of yarn, I need to find a pattern for one first. A cabled scarf I can design ... berets? Not so much. And would it be acceptable to make a stockinette stitch beret hat with an intricately cabled scarf? I think so, but I need your opinion!

4. An unbegun project. A scarf for my stepdad. He goes to Europe all the time, so I'm not getting him anything from there, he wouldn't care about it. I think he'd appreciate a new scarf much more. I'm making one from scarf style, but the book is currently at my house, and I'm in the 4th floor computer lab so ... I'll have to give the name of the scarf next time. It's knit with 2 colors, and each side is one of the colors ... a very unique concept, hopefully he likes it. It's considered a man's scarf, and I got very masculine colors, so it should work!

5. Endless amounts of dishcloths. As soon as I finish one, I start another. These are the presents for the rest of the boy's family who aren't close enough kin to warrant their own scarf. They get dishcloths. I think it's a pretty good substitute ... I want to make everybody something because that's just what I do. I make stuff for no apparent reason (like Icarus ... do I really need another shawl? Probably not, but I still make them ....)

6. Hmmm ... there aren't really any other projects that I'm really working on or planning to work on lately. Oh yes, the Steeler scarf for my best friend's boyfriend ... poor guy, I've been promising to make him a scarf for over a year now, and I just make stuff for his girlfriend and myself. I have the black yarn ordered from (yikes!) DCE ... but I'm going to visit there every so often just in case it comes in and she doesn't call me. Besides ... she has a GORGEOUS lace mohair and that's my absolute worst weakness. As soon as I find an appropriate pattern and can justify it ... that yarn is mine, baby. It's perfect ocean colors, albeit a darker ocean. Like an ocean during a tropical thunderstorm, the dark blue-greens all swirled together to make it more dramatic and romantic. It's simply food for the soul, making everything fade away as the imagination gets lost in the colors ... Ok, getting a little philosophical here, moving swiftly on ...

7. I just remembered ... this is the aforementioned wreath from 1. It's in KnitSimple (I think ... don't quote me on that) and is absolutely adorable. I won't have time to finish it for this Christmas, but for next I would like to have it done to hang ... somewhere. On a door, perhaps, or in a window. The ideal thing would be to make enough for ALL THE WINDOWS IN THE FREAKING HOUSE. But my mother would probably be like, what is wrong with you? Are you on drugs? And I would respond ... no, but I can tell you all about the drugs I COULD be on, and then she'd leave and mutter about the thousands of dollars wasted on me being in this pricey university. I would then proceed to hang up all the wreaths the day after thanksgiving, while blasting Christmas carols from my computer.

That brings up a very good point and a problem I have with stores. WHAT IN GOD'S NAME HAPPENED TO THANKSGIVING, PEOPLE?? It's been lost. The stores, in the name of making more money, have decided to give thanksgiving a complete miss and get completely decorated for Christmas immediately after Halloween. Starbucks even brought out the red Christmas cups. Now, I adore those cups and I especially adore the peppermint mocha (so much so, that I ask for it at various times throughout the year) but come on. It's November 15th and for the past fewweeks I've only been getting the red cups. Sigh. What has this world come to? Thanksgiving is a great holiday, too! Look at all the food!!

Wow. This is seriously long. And I've been sitting here typing for over 1/2 hour. Right. I'm going to read some knitting blogs and get on with the business of finishing the second skein of the cable scarf. Have a fabulous week and Thanksgiving break (look, it is still remembered by some ...) and best of luck with the moving of apartments (finally). After thanksgiving, we are getting together and having a party. And congratulations again, Wee. You're awesome.

Love,
meg