A consequence of WIPdown

I mentioned #WIPdown in my last post – an “initiative” started on Twitter by @SineadR (a.k.a. Sinead on Ravelry), whereby we finish off all current WIPs so as to start the New Year afresh. A few tweets later and the deadline was extended to January 6th: include the 12 days of Christmas.

I believe I may have mentioned it in the context of a bandwagon. Knitters seem to be particularly susceptible to band-wagons. Whether it be knitting patterns such as the Clapotis or Jaywalker or Monkeys; or getting their mitts on a skein of Brooklyn Tweed’s “Shelter” or Manos Lace – whatever everyone else is into, we want in too! 

So the #WIPdown started as a simple enough thing, for me – bit of lip-service to the concept if I’m being perfectly honest: a round or two on a wrist-warmer here… a segment on a side-ways hat there… (frog a few others while no-one was looking…!) I was engaging with the spirit of the occasion without getting carried away.

Until…

Until the WIPs themselves started climbing out of the wood-work; calling to me, asking to reach their ultimate destiny as FO.

First off was a Chemo Cap #1, that I’d long abandoned because the yarn (Wendy Happy) was getting on my wick! I literally had a dream about it and the intended recipients – even the most cold-hearted amongst us couldn’t resist pulling it out of hibernation. But more about that in a future post.

More surprising still was to hear from a complete blast from the past – GlenvArgh! That long-forgotten UFO – my second attempt (of three!) at a cardigan for DH – was suddenly speaking to me and asking for another chance. Still basking in the delight and glory of successfully finishing the third attempt, I actually listened!!! Even the knitting buddies I met at the Central Hotel – regular readers here, like BionicLaura and Sinead – couldn’t believe their eyes. For fans of Sex in the City (the series), it was like when Carrie has the affair with Big after he gets married: all her friends are worried for her that it’s all going to go horribly wrong and end with her in tears.

I tried it on at the Central Hotel and some tried to convince me that I should just cast-off right then – that it would make a great bolero top with short-sleeve. I’m thinking it needs to be longer – like, mid-thigh or so. Since it started life as a cardigan, I’m continuing to knit it over and back; but ultimately, my plan is to sew it up the middle – and make a second sleeve (natch!).

It's the Second Coming!!!

So folks, save me from myself if you think I need it… but right now I think that me and GlenvArgh! are making beautiful music together – or at least, a short-sleeved tunic-top for me!

It is accomplished

Where Oh Where have I been?

“It is accomplished” – a Death

On the 24th June last I got some devastating news. A dear friend of mine died suddenly while he was on his holidays in Lanzerote. I’ve been wondering about how to blog about this for ages. I wanted to be able to give you all a feeling of what this man was like and how much he meant to me. But words fail me. I don’t have the eloquence to convey his brilliance. 

He was a shining light snuffed out too soon and I’m still foundering in the dark. 

Once I realised that I’m never going to be able to give an adequate impression of him or what his loss has meant for me I realised I just have to blog-on regardless. 

Why Oh Why am I back?

“It is accomplished” – an FO!

It would have to be a biggie that would get me back to my blog again after such a hiatus, wouldn’t it? Yoouuu betcha! 

One happy customer!

“It is accomplished” – an Achievement!

The completion of this cardigan signifies the huge journey that I have made in my knitting knowledge and ability. A journey that started over three years ago. 

When I knit this cardigan the first time I spent two months knitting; slavishly following the Glenvar pattern as written. The pattern itself posed no challenge: knitting on-the-flat using cables, increases and decreases was very familiar to me. So I spiced things up by learning a few new techniques: 

• As I came close towards the end of all the knitting I learned about spit-splicing from Lisa in TIK – very effective in the 100% wool Kilcarra I was using.
• When I had all the pieces ready for sewing, I discovered, through the power of d’Interneh (Knitty’s coffeeshop mainly) a concept I had never come across before: blocking. I did this fastidiously, measuring out all the pieces according to the schematic and waited days for them to dry.
• When it came to sewing-up all the pieces, I researched widely, bought “Knitting for Dummies” and became adept at invisible seams. I was very impressed with all my attention to detail: you couldn’t tell where the seams were and the sleeve caps melded beautifully in to the armholes.
• Then when it came to the zip I bought “Domiknitrix – whip your knitting into shape” by Jennifer Stafford and followed her instructions to the letter. Steam it? Check. Pin it? Check. Fit it on again as a double-check? Ah… disaster.

The Behemoth of Epic Proportions

I learned the harsh reality that many a knitter learns only the hard-way: pieces knit to the correct dimensions does not guarantee a well-fitting garment. Later I learned why it is that so many patterns are written in pieces rather than maximizing the benefit of construction through knitting: editors of ladies magazines, where patterns were published, had more understanding of sewing-based construction for garments. Hence all the pieces were knit into the fabric shapes rather than the knit stitches being manipulated to mould the fabric.

Enter: Elizabeth Zimmermann and Barbara G Walker into my life and my knitting. Enter: radical new ideas such as knitting-from-the-top, calculating gauge, charting my own design, customizing my knit to fit. Oh! and with a few short-rows thrown-in – always with the short-rows! 

The subtle benefit of Short-rows

This project has tested me at every turn. I have documented before how much more it and my knitting conspired to teach me – whether I wanted to learn or not. Even at the very end, when all the knitting was done and all that was left was the zip, I was very nearly thwarted: the original zips went AWOL and a special trip into Dublin City Centre was made to buy a long-enough zip.

And I’m still learning. Even now, as DH is giving the cardigan its first outing in public tomorrow, I’m still thinking I might re-do the cast-off on the cuffs because I’ve just learned Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Cast-off  (JSSBO) from my latest Cat Bordhi book. However, Bootie (the Ever-wise) pointed out the more likely explanation is that – after three years – I’m not yet ready “to break-up with the cardigan”. 

But, let’s face it: The Behemoth has been vanquished. Debbie Bliss’s Glenvar pattern has been conquered. And what’s more: 

I did it MYYYYYYY Waaaaaaay!

WIPs Wednesday: GlenvarAgin BeginAgin

Body Done!

Originally uploaded by UnderMeOxter

You haven’t seen it in a while, so I wanted to reassure you that I had made some progress in the past while. I finished the body in mid-May but only this evening got DH to try it on so that I could confirm this. All I’ve left to do now is the sleeves, sew in a zip and finish the collar.

I’ve oooodles of incentive to help me over the line:
For starters, I wouldn’t let myself cast-on for any of my planned projects until I finished this. This has meant I didn’t do

• a cardigan in variagated blue Lamb’s Pride for DD in February;
• a brown cotton jumper for DS in March or
• my lacy shrug in Manos Silk Blend for me in May.

So much for plans, eh?

In addition, This Is Knit are planning to knit Annis, the Knitty Surprise in the latest issue, as their Summer KAL. Cast-on is scheduled for 13th June. There’s nothing like a bit of a deadline to get me to focus on finishing a project – just ask my latest socks!

It’s been 6 weeks since my last confession…

I did not love Blog when:

• I promised to write specific posts and then completely …eh… didn’t!;
• I did all these fantastic, blog-worthy and craft-related things and never told you about them;
• I allowed real-life time-pressures to get in the way of blogging time…

 

For these, and all my sins, I am truly sorry.

For my penance I will try to write circa 20 catch-up posts over the next two weeks!

I have to apologise for my prolonged absence from my blog. It all started when DH got stuck in San Francisco because of the Ash Cloud. I was due to write a blog post all about my adventures to The Yarn Room in Wicklow the previous weekend, and meeting Irene Lundgaard for the first time – and being taught by her – but the heart just wasn’t in it.

When DH is away I still work full-time and have to get myself and the three crazies up and out the door in the morning; and fed and put to bed each evening. It’s a bit like living on a treadmill but I can do it by just getting on with it. I cut myself a break or two by easing off on household chores, such as laundry, for the duration. My knitting buddies are a great help too, as they often “bring the Mountain to Mohammed” as it were, by coming over to my house for Knit-night.

I have huge admiration for single parents, let me tell you; I don’t know how they keep themselves going. I know I only have to hold it all together until DH is home again and usually we’re only talking one week. I liken it to running a marathon: it’s a hellish run but you keep yourself moving, knowing the finish-line is in sight.

On Thursday 15th April the world woke up to the news that a certain, unpronounceable Volcano in Iceland was – quite literally – hell-bent on wrecking everyone’s plans. DH had been away since the previous Sunday and was due to fly home on Saturday afternoon. Sure enough, Mother Nature had different ideas. From my perspective, it was like someone had taken the finish-line and just run off with it. I had no choice but to keep running the marathon; but there’s something disturbing, psychologically, about not knowing when it will all end.

On Saturday night, DH suggested that he could be stuck for another five days. Strangely, rather than being horrified and distraught at the news, this was exactly what I needed to gather my energies and keep myself moving. He had given me a glimmer of ribbon that I could focus on and move towards. As it turned out, his prediction proved correct and he flew in on the second flight into Dublin Airport on Wednesday 21st April. It was amazing to see a single con-trail in the sky while simultaneously listening to a news headline reporting its arrival. We were thrown back to the early days of Flying!

So he’s been home now for a month… how do I explain the past four weeks?!?!?! Hmmmmm!?!?

The problem, for a change, was not having nothing to say (if you follow me). The problem was absolutely, over-indulging in crafty, blog-worthy adventures; to such an extent that I’m spoiled for choice. The problem with this is that I haven’t yet learned how to make time – I can only make the most of it; and I’ve certainly been doing that lately, as you can see below!

As it’s Sunday Miscellany, I’m just going to list all the excitement, somewhat in chronological order. These are potential blog-posts that you can look forward to. I have a plan for when I’m going to write each but I’ve learned from my mistake – I’m not going to tell you when to expect them in case I don’t follow through and disappear from my blog again out of shame!

• Trip to the Yarn Room Co. Wicklow
• Met Irene Lundgard
• Learned Tunisian Crochet in the Round
• Made a pair of wrist-warmers using what I learned
• Went to the April Spin-in at Powerscourt
• Stash Accumulation after the April Spin-in
• Chose between finishing my April Socks and making a hat for a co-worker
• Attended Combination Knitting Workshop by Annie Modesitt at TIK
• Met Samsaradh and had great time catching-up with SusyMcQ
• Stash Accumulation after the Combination Knitting Workshop
• Met Averil
• Stash Accumulation to celebrate meeting Averil (yeah, I’m totally out-of-control, by now!)
• Choosing Crochet over knitting lately
• Some Chemo caps I’m making and why
• Choosing not to cast-on until current WIPs are whupped
• Progress on Better Mousetrap socks
• Progress on GlenvarAgin
• We get Broadband means Spinning Tutorials on YouTube
• Stash Accumulation from The Yarn and Fiber Company
• Getting into running, the “Couch to 5K programme” and The Flora Women’s Mini-marathon

That’s kinda enough to be getting on with, I think you’ll agree!

WIPs for DH

It looks like April is going to be all about knitting for DH. I decided my socks for this month should be socks for him since my last two pairs of socks were for me. Apart from which, he recently discovered where I’ve been hiding all the socks that need darning and has been taking them back into circulation. Yes, definately a new pair of socks is called for. So I cast on yesterday: 

Better Mousetrap Socks by Debbie New from Unexpected Knits

 This is going to be a fun knit. The socks are knit sideways in one long strip, with mitred decreases shaping the toe and heel. You then fold at the toe and heel and graft one half of the stitches to the other. 

When DH enquired what I was knitting it this morning, and I told him his next pair of socks, he replied: “They start out that big?” he asked in alarm. “Yes”, I told him, “you have very big feet!” I’ll tell him they’re knit sideways later; maybe after I knit the first strip and ask him can he make a sock shape out of it. (Heh, heh, heh!!) 

I want these socks to be quick to knit so I’m bulking up by stranding two sock yarns together: Berroco Sox with Bergere de France CH’07. This dove-tails well with my recent drive to bust-down my stash: two pairs worth of yarn get used up in one go.  This is a real turn-around for me. I’m usually really frugal with my yarn and would never consider doubling-up on yarn as it would feel like paying twice over for a project. That’s what the realisation you’re at S.A.B.L.E. does to you!

To figure out how many stitches to cast-on I had to knit a swatch and do a bit of algebra. My grand total of stitches is 246; however I’ll only have to knit about 14 ridges of garter stitch. The high quantity of stitches is a giving me grief at the moment though. The only spare cable I can find for my 3.5mm Knit-picks interchangeable needles is 40cm long. It hasn’t stopped me from starting but it’s getting a tad annoying.

I already know that when I start sock 2 I’m going to cast-on to two cable needles using Judy’s Magic Cast-on. This will keep the stitches live for me and save me picking up stitches for the second half. I just need to get me to a half-decent yarn-shop that sells cables for interchangeables.  

His other WIP, GlenvarAgin, is still moving along and growing: 

Four more inches to go on the body

Unfortunately, it would appear – so is he! 

Breathe In! Hold it!

I’m kinda at a loss to explain why this cardigan fits him so well on the back and looks like it’s a foot too small on the front. The fact that it’s still on the cable needle may contribute to some of it; and perhaps when the zip is added there won’t be an issue; but I fear there’s only so much “negative ease” can do for me. Sigh! 

Go back up an look at the Rear View some more, there. Just admire those short-rows around the sholder-blades. Can’t see them? I know, isn’t it fabulous! 

If you remember my knitting plan for the year, you may recall I had planned a cardigan for DD to be done in March and a jumper for DS1 to be done in April. In fact, I’m not letting myself cast-on for either of these until I’m finished DH’s cardigan. Only four more inches to be added to the body and then the sleeves and I’m there. 

(I did sneak in a Brioche Shawl for my mother last week but it was her 70th last Sunday so a special excemption was granted by the Knitting Police.) 

And – mark my words!!! – DH can go on a starvation diet if this doesn’t fit him – I’m NOT knitting this one again! Ha ha!

Such a Perfect Day

Today couldn’t have started any better. While DH and the kids were frolicking in the swimming pool I snuck off to the Post Office and collected two parcels.

The first, emblazoned in Amazon logos, was no surprise. It contained “Knitting Brioche” by Nancy Marchant, which I had pre-ordered last September after seeing some samples of her work on the Dutch Knitters Stand at the I Knit Weekender. If the contents of the parcel were no surprise the contents of the book certainly were. I’m going to dedicate Monday’s Musing post to a more detailed review of this fantastic book.

Mmmm Brioche...

 The other parcel I collected was completely unexpected and it turned out to be a present from Fourboys. I want to give this more dedicated attention, so here’s a snap-shot of the contents for now and tune in again next Friday for the full “reveal”. In the meantime: check-out the cute crocheted amiguri animals on her cards.

Mmmm Goodies...

 So, as if that was enough to have me on a high, after swimming lessons we proceeded into Dublin City Centre “en famille”, where I was dropped off for a rendez-vous with the City Centre SnB group. I spent the next two hours in the delightful company of Diane, Karen, Harriet, Bairbre, Megan, Rosemary, Bríd, Ger and Ulke (? I’m sorry, I didn’t hear your name very well, and I’m sure I’d mis-spell it even if I had – Lacedup17 on Ravelry). What a thoroughly delightful bunch of women.

We were meeting for the first time in Café Bell, which shares a courtyard with a church: turn left at the Piéta (you think I’m joking, don’t you?!). Probably because of being located adjacent to a church, it is frequented by many elderly ladies – presumeably after Mass. They were obviously fascinated at our appearance and many came over (all of them making a bee-line for Ger, for some reason) to pass comments of delight and nostalgia at our endeavours. One be-skirted individual (an Alb, I’m reliably informed) commented that we looked liked nuns, minus the veils. Thankfully, he didn’t loiter for too much longer and we could reclaim our eyebrows from the ceiling. Anyway, the group meet on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of every month. I have visions of the ladies who showed such an interest, turning up next Saturday with their WIPs, wondering where all the “young-wans” have disappeared to.

And as if I hadn’t completely over-indulged myself already today, after we all packed up our things and said our good-byes, I waddled (somewhat Jabba-the-Hut-like, from all the self-indulgence) to This is Knit for a date with a skein of Malabrigo Lace. Oh yes!

In recognition of the panic-buying that was evident on the TIK thread on Ravelry – dedicated to the arrival of Malabrigo – I pm’d the Lovely Lisa of TIK and asked her to set aside a skein of (say it with hushed tones, in a gravel-ly voice) Amoroso. Terrible enabler that I am, I bought a skein for each of my knitting buddies too: Applewood for Bootie; and Emerald Blue for Clarabel (unless she prefers the Amoroso – I’m easy!) I kinda fell in love with the Emerald Blue when I saw it too. Post-rationalisation, anyone?

Mmmmalabrigo....

I also made the acquaintance of Kneehigh, Timiat and Iontach (Ravelry names), while I was loitering (yabbering) in TIK. I have no idea what it is like to take mind-altering drugs but the mental image I have of myself in TIK is similar to Spud from Trainspotting during his Interview. Blame it on the Malabrigo fumes and the confluence of so many fantastic knitterly things happening to me in one day.

Now before you start to sympathise with poor, long-suffering DH please note that he spent the time indulging on his own stash enhancement expedition… at a wine ware-house:

Mmmm Wine

 And on top of all of that, I made fantastic progress on his GlenvarAgin Cardigan over the course of the day – no wonder he induldges me!

“Oh, it’s such a perfect day
I’m glad I spend it with you”

 

from “Perfect Day” by Lou Reed, 1972

January Round-Up

How fortuitous that the last day of the month falls on a day scheduled for a blog-post? And it’s a Sunday Miscellany too, serendipitous!

Overview of January:

• 3 F.O.s – more below
• 1 WIP not whupped – GlenvarAgin!
• 1 bout of startitis – full recovery made
• 2 Swap packages!
• 3 four-day business trips by DH to Asia
• 1 Major House task – complete (despite the above)
• 2 other rooms in the house – re-organised
• 1 little lad now sleeping in a big-boy bed
• Gardening tasks – coughcoughcoughcoughcough I think I’m allergic!

The three F.O. are, in order of appearance: 

• Gherkin Mittens;
• Two Ho(o)t Coffee Mug-cozies;
• Ziggy Socks – finished just in the nick of time for DH to wear them on his latest flight to Asia and for me to get a January credit in the Sock-a-Month 9 KAL

Two-Hoots!

Meet Jealous-Owl and Angry-Owl

I was being a bit cloak-and-dagger earlier in the month about my sudden urge to cast-on for a pair of Fetchings and then a pair of mug-cozies. The reason being – it was Fourboys’, my down-stream pal’s, birthday yesterday. I originally thought of knitting her a pair of Fetching because she had gifted SusyMcQ a pair for her Swap Pal Package. She noted that her Greed sin was wearing them out herself one night and that her Envy sin was wanting to keep them for herself.

What a Hoot!

Shortly after I’d cast-on, though, Mairead mentioned, on another thread on Rav, that she had knit a pair for herself after giving Susy’s away. I had to go back to the drawing board: I needed a quick knit but also something with some resonance for Fourboys. By chance, I happened upon the Ho(o)t Coffee pattern by Dixie Norton (Timiat on Ravelry), which is a humourous reference to the O W L S sweater. I remembered that Fourboys had taken part in the OWL-along on the This Is Knit group on Ravelry. Bingo!

The last time you saw these I was at an impasse – exactly at the half-way point I wondered whether I should rip back or go on. I decided to go for the rip and I got on much better / faster. Of course, the reason I was getting mired was I was over-complicating things for myself, not because of any problem with the pattern as written. I was delighted when I got these finished (and when I managed to find a cup that they fit perfectly) and off in the post to arrive in time for Fourboys birthday. She’s pm’d me to say they’ve arrived so no more secrecy required.

Now that I’ve got my Karma re-balanced I’m back at my GlenvarAgin… again. And (fingers-crossed and touch wood, lest I hex it again) it’s progressing nicely. I’m going to give it all I’ve got for the next two weeks, before Ravelympics begins and it has to hibernate again.

Choosing Temptation

I love making lists. I guess you might have noticed. Making up a list is my first step towards getting things done. My next step is similar to many people’s approach to getting exercise, especially if their first step was to buy an exercise bike. We all know what happens to exercise bikes, don’t we? Yes, they gather dust  in the garage / spare room / under the stairs. Similarly, with my lists. The effort of making one is so great and so self-satisfying I blithely assume that somehow the stuff is getting done – by someone, somewhere!

Making lists is one thing. Sticking to them is quite another. Ignoring all the shiny distractions that have nothing to do with the list  – such as… oh… joining Sock-a-Month KAL 9 – takes much determination. I mean, you’d have to be bloody-minded and stubborn – to always stick to your guns like that.  Does that sound like me? Don’t answer that!

Should I stick to the list? Do I have the will-power to resist temptations? Such was the little debate I started with myself when I read Zonda’s blog and realised that invites were open for Sock-a-Month KAL 9, which runs from January until June 2010. And then I realised: what if the shiny distractions and the list can meld in some way? After all, I’m planning to complete my Adirondack Socks in February during Ravelympics. Plus I’ve a pair of socks that just need the legs done – they could be my January socks without impacting on my plan to complete GlenvarAgin. My planned projects in March, April and May are all small – for my kids or a cropped cardi for me. I might have a problem with June, though. It may not be feasible to knit a present each for two teachers in four weeks as well as a pair of socks.

Then Diane (a.k.a. Chicwithstix) posted on Ravelry that she’s setting up a Sock Club for the Dublin Knit Collective. You set your own goals for the year. That sounds more like my cup of tea. Let’s not forget, I want to knit DH two pairs of socks before his birthday in August. I’ve decided to aim for literally a sock a month i.e. 6 pairs. That’s do-able.

Of course, I’ve also sent an email to Zonda to see if I’m not too late to sign up for SAM9. Shiny-shiny!

Sado-Maso-kNit-stick

Would ya take a look at this…?

Yup, I’m at it again! Only this time, I’ve got the colour purple juuuuust right. In fact, it was finding the correct colour purple, at the Knitting & Stitching show at the RDS, that started my down this road – yet again. They say, third time’s a charm. They also say that the definition of madness is to do the same thing repeatedly – in the same way – while expecting a different outcome.

Quick re-cap, shall we?

First there was the original pattern – Glenvar by Debbie Bliss which looks like this.

Glenvar by Debbie Bliss

Then we had what it became in my hands:

The Behemoth of Epic Proportions

Then we had the drive to Rip One / Knit One – and GlenvAaaargh!!! came into being.

Rip One

Knit One

Unfortunately this – by a quirk of gauge (a.k.a. a learning experience) – turned out to be of Petite proportions. You can see from the picture, as it lies alongside the left front of The Behemoth. I thought I had learned everything there was to learn with GlenvAaargh!!!.

But no!

Did you know that the gauge of knitted items, which have been sitting around and relaxing for a while, is markedly different from what you’ll produce with the same yarn and same needles after it’s been frogged? I do – now!

I was willing to overlook the fact that GlenvAaaargh!!! only fit DH – at a stretch. I even worked in an extra two inches along the button band. I did this very cleverly too: vertically, row-by-row, in pattern. Elizabeth would have been proud. She might even have apreciated my wish to overlook the small question of completely forgetting to create a neckline! At all costs, even to dignity itself, I was not willing to admit defeat.

That is, until I encountered the right colour purple. Very quickly – in the time it takes to whip out your wallet and buy 30 more balls of yarn – I decided to give it another go. I also decided that GlenvAaaargh!!! will be mine; afterall, it fits me! I decided that a different neckline – something more crew-neck – will be fine.  Most of all, I decided GlenvAaargh!!! will not be frogged – that much is certain.

And in the meantime, my new top-down version of Glenvar, using just the right colour purple, is progressing very nicely. As before, I’m using instrutions from the class I took at TIK on Knitting a Set-In Sleeve garment from the top-down. However, the hard lessons I learned while knitting GlenvAaargh have paid off:

• I didn’t lose track of my short rows;
• I didn’t forget the neckline;
• I didn’t rush to complete the underarm increases
• I worked out the pattern repeats so no fancy cabling is needed underarm.

I can’t believe how fast this is knitting up… er… down. The best thing about this method is that all the fun and interesting stuff happens at the beginning: first the short-row shapings for the sholders (try saying that quickly!); then increasing for the neck soon afterwards; and then – since I’m trying the version with the Simultaneous Set-in Sleeves – the increases for the sleeves start soon after that. None of these “events” take too long and there’s nice intervals of following the pattern straight for a while. I’m nearly at the point where I separate the sleeves from the body. At that point, all the hard work of figuring things out is over and it should be a straight-forward, enjoyable knit – all the way to the end.

Here I go again

So, am I’m a sucker for punishment or am I tenacious? If it fits DH, then all of the trials and tribulations – and all of my perseverence – has been worth it.

If it doesn’t… let’s just not go there!

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

There’s nothing like public proclamations to make one accountable. Just this evening, on the Irish Knitters Group on Ravelry, Aileen started a thread where we set out Ten Goals for 2010. I knew I had a few aspirations floating around in my head; but I surprised myself when I reached ten with some to spare. Here’s my “Ten for ’10”:

1. Finally knit a cardigan for DH that actually fits him (I’m on attempt no. 3 by now – not counting all the frogging)
2. Design and knit a cardigan for DD with variagated-blue Lamb’s Pride bought in TIK last WWKIP!
3. Knit jumper for DS1 using Brown cotton bought at Knitting & Stitching show
4. Review sock yarn I’ve used to date to establish one or two preferred makes so that I can…
5. … set up template for socks for DH using Cat Bordhi’s Personal Footprints Method
6. Bust a lot of my stash by using Tunisian Crochet to make a few shawls & scarves as gifts
7. Knit something lacey
8. Go to at least one Knitting Meet-up so I get to…
9. … Meet some more online knitting friends in the flesh
10. Publish a pattern on my blog / get a pattern published

I also should have listed “learn how to darn”. I’ve put at least four pairs of socks out of circulation until I figure this out. If I don’t do something soon I might as well adopt The Yarn Harlot’s method: Shout “Darn!” and promptly throw them in the bin.

What hasn’t even made it to the list is “making progress on the Fair-Isle Ouroborus Cardigan“. Hmmmm… is that telling, I wonder?

Now, dare I set down in writing a few goals I have for this week?…

1. I’ve tomorrow off. I’d like to finally sort out my weekly meal planners / grocery shopping list so I can get back into grocery shopping regularly. Recently, we’ve been doing it in an ad hoc manner and I never know what there is in the fridge.
2. Start writing Christmas Cards
3. Actually do something from my list of gardening jobs for December
4. Knit some Christmas Ornaments for a Sale of Work in our office
5. Post off my Secret Santa Swap parcel (yes, I can see this one getting done anyway!)

So now I’ve said it – publicly and openly. You are all now not only my witnesses – you are my accomplices! It’s up to you to keep me honest.