Still Struggling (warning: Longish Post)

So, the knitting pace has improved slightly, but I’m still struggling with finishing things. Just for the record though, the last week or so, I finished the Bye Bye Baby Bunting: [Pattern "Bye Bye Baby Bunting" by Dorcas Sokalow, available only at Prarie Arts and Fibers, Yarn Claudia Handpaint in Turquoise Jeans and Copper Pennies; Size 1 needles.] This was a “test” pattern I was working on for another knitter at the shop. It took me far too long to knit and seemed to be the source of some of my knitting frustrations. I just couldn’t stay motivated to work on it. I really liked the yarn choice for it, but due to my dislike of working things flat, combined with a very simple pattern repeat, I just couldn’t “love” working on it. Don’t get me wrong… It’s a cute pattern and would be a nice gift for someone expecting in colder climes or the winter months.

And I finished my Unbiased. I really like how it came out. This was sort of a whim to knit and the only problem I found was I just had too many other things going to work on it.

Pattern: Unbiased by Frabjous Fibers

Yarn: Frabjous Fibers Recycled Sari Silk

Size 9 Needles

It really shouldn’t have taken as long as it did.

Of the two pair of socks I’ve been working on, well, progress has been entirely too slow for my happiness. I am almost done with the first sock of the Bavarian that I’ve been doing for my advanced class. I really like this pattern, love the yarn choice and again, find it’s the distractions, and other knitting projects that are really keeping me from making progress. One thing about these though, there was a part of the pattern that just didn’t seem to be looking right to me. I just wasn’t sure and had to rip a couple times to make sure I wasn’t doing something wrong. I was knitting it exactly the way the pattern/chart was written, and still, something about it just didn’t seem to look right. I checked the errata for the pattern, no errors listed. Okay, I kept knitting. But that little voice just wouldn’t be quiet. So, I paid closer attention for a couple repeats and “click” the light went on. The chart is wrong. I tested my theory… yup! After 9 repeats of the pattern, I figured out why it looked wrong … the twist on the left should mirror the twist on the right… instead it is identical, which means the crossing comes out looking like a tangled branch instead of a smooth crossing the way it is on the right. Since I was in the 10th repeat and that error was done on the front and the back of the leg (15 times if you are counting) and nearing the toe shaping, I decided this is one time to “love the result” anyway. So I’ll knit the second sock with the same pattern error. But I made a note on the pattern for future reference, because I’ve decided I’d like a pair in another color as well.

The other pair of socks I’ve been doing has been pattern and size resistant. I swatched a couple different patterns before actually casting on, because I couldn’t find a pattern I really liked with the yarn. After settling on Undulating Rib, I worked about 2 inches of the pattern but didn't like the way it looked, ultimately, I ended up going with the Jaywalker pattern. So far I am happy with the result, but I’ve had to do some adjustments for the sizing. I’ve decided to name this project “Goldilocks on a Fall Walk” The first time I cast on they were too big, the second time (I knit almost the whole leg!) they were too small, third time they are just right (so far). The striping is beautiful though…. Fortunately, Jaywalker is an easy pattern to memorize and knits up quick once you figure out the sizing. These should hopefully behave now.

In addition to these projects, the swallowtail shawl is waiting patiently for me to find some knitting time for it and I started on a little class sample for a class I’m hoping to do in December, the Heart Sachet by Vicki Sever.

It only needs four more squares. This is actually a really quick project if you can clear your knitting decks and work on it exclusively.

Besides knitting, we did a little traveling over the weekend and got to spend Halloween with the Michigan kids. We went trick-or-treating and had a nice visit. Here are a few of the pics we took: I tried, but really couldn't get all four costumed kids together in one shot. The twins were dressed as Count Dracula (Aidan) and a Knight (Braylen) the baby was Marie (from the Aristocats) and Jason was a Transformer. We had fun and it was much more satisfying than the trick-or-treating we had here at home last Sunday when only three kids rang our bell.

And finally, I think the biggest distraction of all the last couple of weeks is that our sweet kitty girl Saucey was just diagnosed with feline diabetes. She is not the first cat we’ve had with this problem, so I’ve been a little down. She’s still a youngish kitty, so it is just really hard to accept that she may not live as long life as we’d hoped. She and I have been through a lot together so we have a very strong bond. I just don’t want to think too hard on it right now. We started her on insulin injections yesterday after we returned from our trip. It’s too early to say if she is responding or not yet. I’ll have to take her to the vet for follow up later in the month.