Monogamous Knitting

I have always been a relatively monogamous knitter - working mainly on one project until I finish it before starting the next.  Sure, if I'm working on a project that's too big to be nicely portable, I'll start some small thing to have in the car for those waiting times.  And if I'm working on something that requires concentration, like a stranded sweater or lacework or something else with a chart and lots of counting, I will usually start something stupid easy for in front of the TV.  But rarely have I ever had more than two projects going at a time - until now.

Somehow I managed to get not just these five projects going but two more that are hiding, in shame, in my knitting bag.  Those two aren't coming out right now because five is clearly more than I can handle and seven is just pure embarassment for me.

And it seems that something has gone wrong with almost all these projects.  First it was the spinning wheel glass mat I was tatting.  I wound as much thread as I possibly could onto the lacis shuttle (my bigger diamondwood one was in use and I didn't think about the tatsy shuttles) and then started continuous thread method.  It was going great until I ran out of thread and since I'm not halfway through yet, another fill on that shuttle won't do the job.  Plus all the extra thread (HDT from Yarnplayer) is wound into that nice little ball.

There was nothing to do but unwind the ball (No Way am I cutting the other thread and making extra ends to deal with) and wind a new shuttle full.  Of course I had to empty the diamondwood shuttle first so I could fill my bigger shuttle and actually finish in one more go.  Then I wound the rest of the ball back onto the little thread holder instead of a ball.  That took a lot of valuable tatting time, but it's done and I'm back in business now . . . for tomorrow anyway.

Then there is the Knitter's Brewing Company Mystery Sock Family Jewels Knit along socks.  It took a ridiculous amount of knitting just to get the right gauge.  First I knit an inch with the size ones (2.25 mm) called for in the pattern.  Then another inch with the size 1.5 needles (2.50 mm) and still not big enough. That meant another inch with the size 2 needles (2.75) and I finally got gauge.  Now I just hope I picked the right size from the pattern - hard to tell when you can't see it before hand!

I have the first clue finished and I have to say I think I'm really going to like these socks!  I really hope they fit.

The Annis that I'm making out of the Fiesta La Luz Multi Wild Oak is coming along nicely - I finally finished the 365 stitch rows and have started to decrease.  You might be able to guess the problem here when you look at the size of my ball of yarn.  Hmmmm . . . . 

The Totoro knitalong is coming along nicely, probably because I have had so much help with it.  The only problem is that I needed white felt to put behind the eyes and I didn't have any.  Strange as it sounds, Atlanta is still pretty much shut down from the snowstorm that hit us Sunday night and Monday morning.  Most of the roads are still pretty much impassable and most of the businesses are either closed or have reduced hours.  I can't really run out and get felt.  So I did the next best thing - knit up some white stockinette in a nice wool and tossed it in with a load of towels.  

I haven't touched the alpaca cable sweater but since all the others are now on hold, guess what I'm knitting tonight!

Teresa