Finishing is Hard

It's been really foggy lately, even though it's been a littler warmer. Daffodils are even blooming, although I can't remember where I saw them. Spring always seems to come earlier than I expect it to. I guess that's because of the extremely long growing season in the Northwest. I've been finishing up writing a pattern, and debating whether to finish some of my unfinished projects. Sometimes it's hard to tell whether it's worth it. Mostly I have this problem with sweaters, and I am not sure whether it'll look good, and if it's worth my time. A lot of times I'll finish something and I still can't tell if it looks good or not. I can always spot things that I'd redo. Hopefully, that's helping me become a better knitter, and not just being a better perfectionist.

First Year Socks

I finished these Spey Valley socks, using Knit Picks Essential tweed, in Inca Gold. I also have the blue tweed, and the brown feels more substantial, which is weird. I hope the Essential holds up well, since I have a bunch of it. I don't care if it pills, just that it doesn't wear through. I don't think I'm that hard on socks though, since even my cheap store bought socks last for years. I've started the other Conwy sock, and now I remember why I didn't want to do the other one. The pattern turn out nice, but it's annoying to do the twisted stitches. I have to finish 3 more single socks before I'm allowed to do anything else.

Short Sleeved Winter Cardi

I have been working on designing a pattern for a while, so most of my other projects have been put aside. But I was tempted into starting a new one, as a quick project. I started the Short-sleeved Cardigan from Fitted Knits, in Patons Shetland Chunky Tweed. I'm not sure about this yarn, because it has acrylic in it. But I thought a bulky 100% wool sweater wouldn't be useful for more than a month or two in my climate. I just need to make quick, simple projects when I working on more difficult stuff. So far, I added short rows to the back, so it will be a little longer. I've noticed the front always sits too high and the back too low, with the top down raglans. I also didn't want to use the yo increases. I had plans to make some socks as a Christmas present, and ordered yarn in October. But I guess it was on back order, because I still haven't heard anything from the online store. I wanted that particular kind of yarn, then I ran out of time, so even if could choose another yarn, I wouldn't be done in time.
I don't really like to celebrate Christmas anyway. It would be nice, if there weren't the frenzy of buying presents. I like the idea of a winter holiday to celebrate the solstice, and to celebrate with friends and family, but I hate that it only seems to be about a shopping frenzy. A week after Christmas, the same products and sales are still there, and they are coming up with new reasons for us to shop again. Valentine's Day, Easter, etc. It cheapens the whole holiday. I guess I would feel differently if the traditions of Christmas were ones my family had practiced, but we didn't, so I don't associate them with my own life. I only see them in the media, as an advertisement, so I don't relate to it. Other people might see the whole thing differently, and not be so bothered by the media advertisements. I don't like that the media seems to tell us what we should be doing, and we all have to do the same thing, and decorate our houses and everything in the same way. I wish there more regional holidays, where each state or area celebrated a holiday differently, and there was a lot more diversity. That would be really interesting.

Unintentional Christmas Socks

I started this sock in October, I think, and was making pretty good progress on it. I'm halfway down the foot by now, on the first sock. The pattern is Roza's Socks from Spring 2007 Interweave Knits, and I'm using Knit Picks Bare. I dyed it with Kool aid, using tropical punch and lime green, and a small amount of lemonade. I like the way the colors are coming out. It's difficult to see in a photo, but in each color section, there are bits of the other colors too. I'm working on another project that due on Christmas, so I haven't done anything else lately. It burns me out to work on one project exclusively. I don't even like reading one book at a time. Another exciting thing is that I finally got the Knit Picks Options needles, which are much better than the ones that I had. I tend to use a lot of cotton, and it's so much smoother with the metal needles. Using bamboo with cotton is just too hard on my hands.