It's Frog-day, Frog-day, gotta get down on Frog-day...

First, apologies to everyone for getting the horrific Rebecca Black song stuck in your head, but it's been in mine for a day and a half, so if I have to suffer, I figured you do too.

My knitting has been rather unproductive lately. It's not for lack of trying, but rather my fickle, fickle nature and a desire to truly love my finished product. With my first few sweaters, I made the pattern exactly as written and ended up with finished projects that I liked, but that didn't fit me very well. My Slanting Gretel was the first sweater I knit that I really, truly loved. My first few efforts taught me a lot about sweater construction, and I finally felt confident enough to try some modifications. I put a ton of effort into the Gretel, ripping back and modifying to make a sweater that fit JUST the way I wanted it to, and it was totally worth all the work.

Until this happened.

I will not go into the details, as it still hurts my heart too much to talk about it. Let's just say that my sweater, my 100% wool sweater, was introduced to the washing machine (by someone other than myself) and their relationship did not go so well. It is felted beyond recognition, and would barely fit a four year old. It's placed on top of my Rosamund cardigan to give you some perspective on just how much it shrunk.

Anyway, despite its early demise, the Gretel really underscored just how important it is for me to really like the projects I'm making. Why put all that time and effort (not to mention money) into something that you not TOTALLY in love with? With this new perspective, I have been a frogging machine.

My Pole? I got about 220 yards into it before I admitted to myself that I wasn't really digging it and would probably never wear it.

FROGGED.

It is now becoming a Que Sera.

My Strafford tee? I had the back panel about 90% done before I acknowledged that it was turning into a shapeless sack, wasn't flattering, and I would probably never wear it.

FROGGED.

It is now becoming a Coraline.

Though I'm bummed about the countless hours of knitting I just ripped and rewound into yarn cakes, I'm hoping it will be worth it in the end. I'm in the mood for cardigans, and I've coveted both these sweaters since I first discovered them. I think I just need validation from someone that it was worth it...

And I haven't been TOTALLY unproductive. A FO post is coming soon. Until then, here's a taste.

Distractions, and yarn porn

Since the beginning of 2011, I have been working hard to keep my number of works in progress minimal (three or less). I havealways suffered from startitis, and found that when I limited the number of things I was working on, things (GASP!) actually managed to get finished. Imagine

that! I was successful with this goal for an admirable four months. Up until last week, I was humming along on my Endpaper Mitts, and my Strafford Tee. Not quite monogamous, but as close as I get, and I was making considerable progress on both.

And then... this happened.

Last weekend, I went over to a fellow knitter's house for an evening of pizza, knitting, wine and Harry Potter. I already had the four most important ingredients for a fun time, but then this knitter upped the ante. She busted out her stash.

As someone who has only been knitting seriously for three years, my stash is rather paltry. Oh, sure, I have a basket filled with single skeins of sock yarn that were too pretty to resist, and a LOT of Cascade 220 in various colors. However, if required, I could combine all my piles of yarn throughout the house to one medium sized container. This was not the case for this knitter.

In addition to a respectable stash, this knitter has also a generous spirit, and she encouraged me (and the other knitter who was there) to have at it. There were very few stipulations on what we could or could not take, and I ended up making out like a BANDIT!

See that? That's about 900 yards of Dream in Color - Smooshy. It is squishy and fluffy, and the colors are beautiful. I already have big plans for it - it will become an Audrey in Unst.

And this? Three skeins of 100% alpaca, which is so soft I just want to rub it against my cheek (and have often been found doing just that). This is telling me it wants to become a hat and mitten set. Pattern still TBD.

And this - this is the coup de gras. This I felt so guilty taking that she had to reassure me no less than five times that it's been in her stash for years, and that she'd rather see it go to a home where it it would be used and loved and appreciated.

That's over 1,000 m of Wollmeise. 1,000 meters. Of WOLLMEISE. I carry a skein of it around with me everywhere I go, like one of those horrid women with their 2 pound chihuahuas in their purse. I take it out from time to time, just to tell it that I love it, and to admire its vibrant, beautiful colors.

So instead of monogomously plodding away on my sweater and my mitts, I have spent countless hours on Ravelry, dreaming of what these yarns will become. I am using them as motivation to finish my projects, and it's working so far, but all I want to do is start turning them into something amazing.

You know what? Monogamy is overrated anyway :)

I did something bad...

So, as the title of this post indicates, I did something bad...

No, not just the bread bowl of cheesy crab dip that the boy and I devoured tonight. In addition, I kinda sorta did this...

Yarngasm.

I received a gift card to Kinpicks from Pete's mom for my birthday, and kiiiiiiiiind of went crazy.

Let me explain...

My knitting group, the Boulder Knitting Collective, has decided to do a KAL. Having never participated in one, I've decided to join in. So with part of the gift card, I ordered some yarn to make the Pole.

And then yarn for another sweater.

And a scarf for Pete.

And the dog.

And maybe some sock yarn too.

DON'T JUDGE ME!!!

I got this glorious box the day before the "Cast-on" party, and discovered that much to my dismay, I had accidentally ordered the DK yarn when the pattern called for worsted. So I dug through my stash, and found some tweedy Cascade that I thought might work.

At the cast on party, I began knitting with the tweed, figuring I'd stop at our LYS on the way home and pick up a few more skeins of it. I mean, it's Cascade 220! And it's Shuttles! Their selection of Cascade is rivaled by few. Sadly, however, they only had one skein that even slightly resembled what I was looking for. So, alas - I was FORCED to purchase more yarn!

My life is so hard.

So, too, it appears, is the life of this poor Pole.

This is already it's third iteration, and I didn't start working on it until yesterday. From left to right, we have the Knitpicks Swish DK, the Cascade 220 tweed, and the new color of Cascade I was FORCED to purchase. Here's hoping this one sticks.

P.S. Hoping to jump back into regular blogging! FO update soon, for anyone who cares :)

I'm sensing a pattern here

The boy is out with friends tonight, and I have a solid line-up of a Fight Club/Godfather double feature and New Belgium Brewery going on. I also thought it would be a good opportunity to update my Ravelry page. As I was doing that, I came across something very interestng.

I like to think of myself as an eclectic person, as someone who mixes things up. And yet, all five of my latest completed projects contain some iteration of the color scheme of pink and white. Pink socks, cream gauntlets, white cardigan, pink (and grey... shhh!) scarf, and burgandy sweater. They all go very well together. And then I looked at the five works in progress I have, and was taken aback at how monochromatic they are as well. Green-blue sweater. Greenish-blue scarf. Blue swallowtail. Blue hat. And blue/purple socks. It seems as though I have entered my "Blue Period." Just call me Picasso.

OH. MY. GOD. PACKERS. WIN. (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

No words for this excitement except for this:

I have been a Packer fan since before I knew what being a Packer fan meant. The last time the Packers were in the Superbowl, I was 12. TWELVE. So. Yeah. I'm pretty pumped about this victory. Also, I finished my fingerless gloves.

Somehow, in comparison, it doesn't matter that much. However, they are very pretty :)

Out with the old and in with the new

As 2010 drew to a close and the panic induced by Christmas knitting slowly subsided, I embarked on a stupendous run of selfish knitting. After months and months of knitting for others, I went a little crazy with the excitement of being able to make something for myself.

Or should I say some things...

I'd hoped to complete my Rosamund cardigan in time to wear for the Christmas celebrations, and eeked it out, sewing on these fantastic buttons Christmas morning.

Overall pretty pleased with the way it turned out. It looks nice from the front but bunches weirdly in the back. Blocking probably would have helped, but for a last minute finish, it turned out well, and I get many compliments on it when I wear it to work. Not bad for my second sweater!

Speaking of sweaters, in the past month, I have tripled the number of hand-knit sweaters in my wardrobe. I've coveted the Betty Minisweater for almost as long as I've been on Ravelry, and had hoped to pair this with a summery dress at a Arizona wedding a few weeks ago. True to form, I sewed the sleeves in the morning of the wedding, but was disappointed with the way it looked with the dress. I ultimately opted to wear a different cardigan, but can see many uses for an adorable cropped white cardigan as spring approaches, so it wasn't a total wash.

My favorite recently complete object is my Daybreak. It works as fashion or as a kerchief while skiing, and I'm already planning the color scheme for my next one. Sadly, I might not get to pick the colors, as the boy has requested one of his own. This is the ultimate compliment, as he's normally not that into the things I knit for him, so I'm fully embracing his desire for knit goodies.

For one glorious moment, my cue was cleared. All my objects completed and in use, I sat back and thought, "What shall I knit now?"

This was my answer. Two socks, a scarf, a sweater, cabled gauntlets and Spillyjane mittens. Oops :) It's good to know that in the new year, some things remain the same.

"We Wish You A Merry Stitchmas"

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Pete and I had a ton of fun decorating our place this weekend. We put on A Muppet Christmas Carol, made hot chocolate, and spent the evening decorating our tree with both of our ornaments, which I'm hoping will become a tradition.

Adding to the holiday cheer is our stockings, which I finally finished. I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out, and even happier to have them done! They're hanging on either side of our fireplace between some of the "unconventional" ginger men we made when my mom was here visiting. I'll add some detailed pictures, once I've taken them, as they are too hilarious not to share. Among others, we have a Rabbi, Lady Gaga, a mad scientist, the Pope, a leprechaun, and Jimmy Buffet.

I'm pretty sure they're not exactly what the creators of the craft kit had in mind, but they're bizarre, hilarious and weird - perfect for a Pete & Millie Christmas.

Luckily, I was spared the need to make a third stocking, as we found one filled with dog toys at Walmart. Since

<--THIS is what Mac does to his toys within minutes of getting them, we're reluctant to drop a lot of money on them. This gem has 8 toys for 9 bucks, and a stocking to boot. No more intarsia with Caron Simply Soft for me, no breaking our bank accounts, and hours of fun and domination for our boy - everybody wins!

Still hammering away at Christmas gifts, but almost everything seems attainable at this point. I've finished Pete's ski hat. The simple pattern of knits and purls were quite cathartic after all the lace, cables and colorwork I've been doing. I also finished my sister's socks, a pattern I'm glad to be done with. Not totally sure what it was about this pattern, but I never seemed to be able to get into it. They turned out nicely, however, and I hope she'll be

happy with them. The tiny sweaters are humming along - I've only got 5 to go, and hope to be mailing those out soon. Now to just write all those Christmas Cards. Le sigh - it seems as though every time I finish something, two or three more projects pop up. I should really stop doing that to myself. And on a totally unrelated note, I just cast on for a sweet little cardigan. Ahem. Where's the nearest Knitters Anonymous?

"Hello, my name is Millie, and I'm a Knitaholic."

(All together now): "Hi, Millie"