Jul 27, 2005

Thought I Disappeared Again?

Well, I guess I did disappear again, sort of...it is amazing to me how much harder it is to blog during the summer. It probably doesn't help that the desk and computer are now in our bedroom in the new place, so I don't get much of a chance to be a late-night blogger anymore. Now you've found my secret, I prefer sneaking in knitting time to blogging, I'm sorry.

Honestly, I think the summer days just aren't as conducive to desperately seeking connection with others. Between the sun being out in all its glory, and all the vacations tucked in here and there, I've noticed many a blogger go MIA, I'm sure we will all be back to our regular posting once the weather locks us back inside ;)

Lots of knitting has gone on, along with some fidgeting with our "stuff" to try to get it to "fit" better into this place. When we 1st moved out here last year (yes, Grace and I have officially been out here in Chicago-land for a year now) I had no choice but to pull the "1st time mom" card, so we just dealt with our stuff being all around us at the old place and since the baby couldn't get into things, that worked out ok as long as we didn't really want to move around ourselves very much. Now with our 1 year old tornado, I devote much time every day trying to keep up with the wreckage in the wake of her fury of discovery as well as try to find "better" places to put things - ie: out of her reach, ha! Plus, we of course have poker night this week, and since they were the guys who helped us move, I want to show that I am making better use of this place than we were able to get out of the last one.
~but I digress again...

I finished the 2nd attempt at the Lace Up Camisole from Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 05, and I'm not sure if I knit tighter than my swatch - honestly I swatched this time! - or if the pattern just wasn't written for a body that is not "flat chested" the measurements had me wondering in the first place, but I figured I was just not reading it right or it was a typo or something...and I'm still not sure, I now have a very pretty lace top that might fit if I had the proper "propping" undergarments ~ the intended victim does however, so I'm trying to be patient, figure I'll let her try it on and then go from there instead of rashly frogging something that may be just fine after all. My biggest concern came as I finished with a skein and a half left over. I had to re-read everything a couple times to make sure I didn't miss something somewhere, but nothing has popped out yet...so I guess time will have to tell.

Joann's is having a pretty awesome run of clearance yarn (in store) so I am finally accumulating quite a stash of cotton yarn...I have the rest of the week to decide if I'm going back to snatch up some more - if only I can find the justification for it, it is pretty hard to resist $2 skeins.

I've also recently become quite torn in the debate of continue to buy needles on an "as needed" basis (especially since my Grandma did help out greatly in the accumulation process), or whether to jump in on an interchangeable needles set which adds the great debate Denise Interchangeable vs Boye Needlemaster. There are so many pluses and minuses for both, I had nearly given up until I got home tonight, and got excited about starting Tempting or Lelah, and discovered that my size 8 circs are too long and I don't have either of the needles Lelah requires. Oh, what do I do, what do I do?

I'm really considering just working on some baby blankets and getting over myself - but that is no fun :)

I guess I'll just have to sleep on it - again! - and will probably wake up just as confused. I think I'm going to go to my LYS tomorrow and see what she suggests/and if maybe they have a Denise set that I can touch and feel and maybe then I'll be a little more comfortable with this decision...I've really been reading as much as I can find on both since I heard of them - well, first I was saving up for the Needlemaster set, and then I heard about the Denise set and that's when the frustration over the "right" choice set in. I am not much of a product snob, as long as I get the quality I expect for the price I spent I am happy, so the aluminum/plastic debate doesn't sway me much - my biggest deal is why did the Denise come up with non-conforming metric sizes, will this make much of a difference, and do I really need the convenience of interchangeability for my needles less than size 5 US?

ugh, well it is way too late (yes it is after 1am - DH is on a short business trip), I'm gonna get some much needed sleep so I can keep up with my tornado tomorrow.

Until next time, happy knitting! :)

1 comment:

Kathy said...

I also found the Joann clearance yarn! Gotta love it! Did you know they've having a sale this weekend? 50% off already marked clearance items. I'm going to stock up!

I have both the Denise needles and the Needlemaster. I like the Denise better. They are easier to put together and the cord is easier to work with. They're also cheaper. :)