The weather has been so variable, I don't know what to hope for. First I was so pleased that it was warming up, and the grass was growing and the flowers were exploding everywhere (can you tell I don't have seasonal allergies? I am sure if you do you must hate me now. Especially because I like seeing the huge piles of pollen on the ground and drawing in pollen on peoples' cars. I mean, I like the flowers, of course--but I like the pollen too!). Then it got up to 90. "Whoa there!" I said to spring. "Slow down, buckaroo!" Except I don't actually talk like that. But we (the astronomers) all agreed that it was far too frickin' hot and we declared the weather "stupid".
Then it rained. For about a week. And was grey.
And then the sun came out.
And then it dropped to the 40s over night.
And then it rained again. It was less miserable than winter rain, despite the greyness, for two reasons. First of all, there was more daylight, even if it was an insipid and dull daylight. Secondly, every day of rain made the spring greenery all the more vibrant--like the grass was just saying, "bring it on!" as it lifted weights and ran cardio. Or whatever.
So, overall, it's been kind of crazy. In response, I have been---working. Okay, and knitting, I won't lie :).
My April goal was to knit a baby-thing out of that pink Grignasco Champagne that I first show-cased in this blog, and that I've had in my stash for years. I don't like pink, and I especially don't like insipid pale pink yarn. It's just not my thing! I mean, sure, it's also similar to a pale rose, and that sounds rather pleasant, doesn't it? But I don't wear it, and it's not that exciting to knit with.
Fortunately this stuff made up for its color in drape, slink, happy silkiness. Also, I have a friend who enjoys dressing their offspring in very girly pretty colors. So I made a little dress, and it might even fit. I'm not really good with child-like sizes, but it looks about right. I am debating sewing on some cute flower buttons that I've got in my button jar. On one hand, this is perfect for them. On the other hand, babies like to chew stuff and have been known to swallow buttons.
So, aside from buttons, that's finished. The downside? I STILL HAVE A BALL OF YARN LEFT. I can't move it from "stash" to "all used up" on ravelry. In desperation I've put it in "will trade or sell" but no one wants it and I don't blame them. Plus, not that many of my friends like pink! I should really use it up on another baby item of some sort. But I am sick sick sick of knitting it.
Promptly ignoring that dilemma, I've been churning away on my Hitchhiker out of my own handspun. I didn't finish it swiftly enough to enter it in the prize drawing for geeky knits that one of my podcasts did, but that's okay. I worked very hard on it for several days, and after a careful calculation and one late night, I have figured that I have three rows and a bindoff left, and that it should take less than an hour to finish.
However, I can't finish it yet because I'm on a trip and I Left It At Home. It wasn't worth the investment of bringing with for less than an hour's worth of knitting. *sigh*. It's also delicate and I don't want to risk the thin lace yarn on travel. But it is going to be the FIRST thing I finish when I return in a week.
I finished my twin sister's birthday socks. Well, I just tested them out and the bindoff on one of them is too tight, but that's quite easy to fix, so I'm counting them as finished. One 262 yard ball made two 10.2"-foot socks with 3-4 inches of a ribbed cuff; I am impressed! This is a complete reassessment of what type of yardage is necessary for socks. And that's an entire ball of yarn out of stash! Good work, me.
I immediately cast on for a pair of socks that I have long been desiring--the Leyburn pattern from Ravelry, in Green Dragon Yarn Sock based in the Somerset colorway. I've been working for less than a day, off and on, and I'm almost done with the foot of this toe-up sock. Sizing is a bit challenging but the result is amazing and I can't stop knitting it.
Slowly, when I am at home, I churn away at the Badger Gift Set (red scarf and hat with a band of white in each) for one of my oldest friends. The problem is that the red coloring comes off on my fingers as I knit, even though I soaked it four times and even tried adding vinegar to the bath. It bleeds. A lot. Fortunately it seems to only bleed when it rubs, but it makes me question whether or not I should bother finishing something that would go around a neck and be exposed to both rubbing and to damp. Still, it gets some work because it is easy and mindless at this point in time, and late at night that's what I turn to.
Finally, back home I started a pair of Nutkins in Little Red Bicycle Spark Sock in the Dagon colorway. I'm on the second sock and I've gotten past the fiddly little hem on the cuff (it's... not that bad, really. I'm just impatient). So with the right amount of work I will soon have TWO pairs of new socks for me. Delightful.
In order of how I will work:
1) finish 1 Leyburn sock
2) re-bindoff twin sock
3) (on the train ride, probably) knit my second Extragalactic mitt (Strawberry Victorian pattern in black and sparkly blue). It's rather fiddly colorwork and I've been ignoring it for a solid year, but I bet in a six hour train ride I can make a lot of progress
4) Finish Hitchhiker when I get home
5) knit a child's shrug out of that pink stuff GAAAH MAKE IT GO AWAY
That'll take me up to the end of the month--I am participating in the cold sheep knit-and-spin-along to use up stash, so I'll re-total my stuff then.
My goal for May (besides moving, having surgery, teaching a graduate-level lecture, and presenting actual research findings at my committee meeting) is to knit my coppery laceweight linen yarn. This will undoubtedly be complicated by all the socks I have on my needles, but my goal is to not cast anything on in May except that linen. If I finish it quickly, I have at least five lingering hibernating UFOs that can be poked at, but I don't need any more distraction. This includes, alas, a limit on spinning (but I have three fiber halves that are UFOs/waiting, so it shouldn't be a problem). But the spinning progress and thoughts and plans and finished yarns--those are for another day.
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