Et voila! Finis!

Kelly's scarf is done. I packed it off and mailed it yesterday, and Mom's going to give it to Kelly tomorrow.

When I was at the post office yesterday, the counter worker asked me if I wanted insurance (I was mailing a book on CD as well). I thought about it and replied, "Well, I have a book on CD from the library in there, so maybe I should..." It wasn't until I got home until it hit me: why didn't I insure the scarf as well? If I were a philosophical person or a person good with words, I would wax eloquent on my tendency to undervalue the things made by my fingers and cleverness. I could go on about how society teaches us to discount items typically made by women, or how the big box stores have mass-produced so much that handmade gifts aren't nearly as valued as they should be, but I'll just say this: that scarf took up four skeins of Lamb's Pride bulky and 14 buttons at $1 each, plus $7 worth of ribbon to lace it up with... That's $50 (well, $51.40 plus tax).

Anyways. The package reached its destination safely, so I guess it's a moot point. Va bene, as Kelly would say.

What I should be working on:
Mom's sweater (about 5" of the back finished)
Katrina's stockings (cast on yesterday)
Fingerless gloves for April, Jen (merely gleams in my eye)
House socks for Katie (forgot about them until just now, when I looked up my Christmas list)
Jenny's socks (I cast on one cuff- a year ago)
I think I still owe Lizzie and Katie pillows
Silver necklace for Lizzie, who's apparently not a werewolf

What I want to be working on:
Two-color mittens for me
My idea. I don't want to say anything more for fear that I'll jinx it.

So here's what I'll do. I work for a few hours on old Christmas presents, then I reward myself with fun stuff.

Miscrossed

See the difference? I was toddling along, weaving in ends and sewing on buttons, and I noticed the cable on the right. The /bad/ cable. I may have fainted.

Fortunately, there is the internet. I searched and found the trusty Yarn Harlot and a post on fixing cables. A few runs of the sewing needle later, and I had this:


Not the most elegant, but it'll do.

Curiosity

My dad has got to be the least curious person ever. (Yes, I live with my dad. I'm working a halftime temp job and I prefer not being homeless - what would happen to my yarn if /that/ happened? I don't think it'd all fit in my car anymore) Anyways. I told him I'd be working on stuff this afternoon and disappeared downstairs into the study/laundry room. Three hours he comes down to find me up to my armpits in soapy water, scooping out felt turds with a kitchen strainer, surrounded by the stench of wet wool, and Kelly's scarf pinned to the futon in the study (Holy Phil, that thing smelled /hideous/. I've bathed my mom's dogs after they've rolled in dead animals, and I was unprepared for the stench), and all he says is, "The driveway is slippery, so be careful going down the front steps."

Then again, my sisters and I were weird kids and even weirder adults. He's put up with me lacing up my sisters into bodices before Ren Faire, he's put up my sister smashing mirrors in order to grout them onto a end table, felting and blocking is probably a piece of cake to him.

Behold! I have returned from the abyss!

Back to knitting, after a long break playing with beads and wire and those french hooks that I can never wear, despite the fact that they're /supposed/ to be hypoallergenic...

So what am I working on?

1. Versatility. I am so close to being done with this that I can taste it. It tastes good.


This is a present for my sis Kelly. Somehow I don't think she'll wear it this way.


That's more like it, no? The color's lighter than the pictures indicate, a sort of sage green. It's gorgeous and I've totally forgiven it for sucking up an extra skein of yarn. All that's left for me to do is to block it and weave in ends and sew on buttons.

2. Celtic Icon I shall not post a picture of this because I have my pride. This and Versatility were originally intended to be Christmas presents. Because I am poor but know how to knit, I persuaded my sister Jenny, who is not poor and doesn't know how to knit cables yet, to buy the yarn and I'd knit them up and easily have them both done for Christmas.

I fear that if Jenny finds out how little I've accomplished on this, she'll garrote me with some worsted-weight and a cable needle. To add to the insult, she'll kill me with Red Heart.

3. Quilt thingy - A while back, the church where I work asked for volunteers to make stuff for their quilt show fundraiser in April 2009. I volunteered. Again, the "I've got plenty of time and inclination to knit!" hubris. The lady who runs the quilt show just asked me if she could have the thingy by the 15th. As in less than two weeks. Ruh roh.

4. Idea - I have an idea. I don't want to say anymore because I don't want to jinx it.