OMG. It's true. I'm not the only one. Thank you, Harlot!

However, I pressed 4, hoping for guidance in my belief that I may actually get all my xmas knitting done, but...I don't have troops. I have cats. It's a spinster requirement, you see.

I was still encouraged, though, and ordered the yarn and pattern for my Grandmother's xmas wrap. Cross your fingers.

I haven't touch any knitting project for over a week. The pressure of xmas gifts was too much when combined with the pressure of work right now. I had to just let it go. Though, to be honest, it was too hot this weekend to knit anyway, so I spent my time playing "Harvest Moon" on my gamecube. The rituals of farming, the daily tasks, the slow but steady rise in income, and the changes of the seasons in mere hours are very soothing. I highly recommend it.

P.S. Friday is the 11th anniversary of my 26th birthday. I have 1) no money and 2) no plans to do anything, so it looks like I'll be at home with a bottle of wine, struggling to keep the kitties away from the roses my parents will send until I give up and hide them in another room. So I can either play video games or knit. Anyone taking bets?

Here's part of the first 16 inches or so of Mom's Christmas Wrap. I'm averaging 6 hours per ball, with 21 more balls to go. I did nothing all day Saturday except watch Japanese television and knit. And knit. And knit. The other women in my family are going to get much looser, lacier, simpler wraps. There's no way around that.

It's become apparent that there's absolutely no way I'm going to have the Monk-in-the-Desert afghan done by xmas. This is really disappointing to me. His b-day is in March, so I'll shoot for that. I can send him the fingerless gloves for xmas.

Fletching has to be done by November for me to wear it on my trip. That should be doable, but I'm not taking any bets on it.

When did knitting get to be so much like...work?

Wow, I can't believe it's September already. This summer went really fast - too fast in fact, as I still haven't gotten my spoilee's last package out. I keep adding little things to it, and getting to a P.O. during the day is really difficult lately.

Anyway, last Saturday I finally plunked down the cash for Mom's Christmas Wrap. Even though I have to pay for my Peru trip this month, I'm running out of Christmas Knitting time, so it had to be done. Beth at Knitorious was really helpful and I was glad I finally got to meet her. She was wearing her Ribby Cardy too, and it's gorgeous! I really wanted Debbie Bliss Cathay because I liked the sheen from the silk, but they didn't have enough, so I bought Lavold's Cable Cotton instead. Mom had exclaimed, "Oh, that's a nice color!" when she saw me working on Fletching, so I picked one that was close, but a little more blue to match her eyes. She doesn't want a lacy one either - something more solid - so after swatching and finishing one ball I realized I was going to need a lot more. I called the store and they had 10 more, so that should do it. 25 balls of Cable Cotton! Yikes! Good thing she's my mom, or I might have bailed on the pattern and tried something else. I'll post pics this weekend. It is turning out really pretty, and I'm glad I'm doing it for her. I think she'll really love it. I'm trying to get a good start on it so I can go back to Fletching guilt-free.

So, after all that planning for knitting for other people and feeling a little deprived, I got home and found this - my last package from my Secret Pal (5). You may not believe this, but I've never had hand-dyed yarn before. I look at it, pet it, covet it, but I've never bought any. Elizabeth had noted a Domino Knitting book on my wishlist and sent me this absolutely gorgeous yarn with some patterns to try with it. I hope you can see how great these colors are. It's Malabrigo in Verde Azule and Red Java. I love those names. The green/blue one looks like someone took Black Watch and put it in a blender. The red is how I think clay roof tiles look at sunset. Soooooo gorgeous. I feel so....spoiled! This was my first Secret Pal and Elizabeth made is such a great experience. Thanks so much!

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you? It depends on what it's for and if it needs to be washable. But, yeah, kinda.
2. Do you spin? Crochet? I can crochet, but haven't since I started knitting. I don't spin....yet.
3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.) No allergies, but I really don't like smoke or perfume.
4. How long have you been knitting? Since last Halloween.
5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? Yes, it's on my main blog.
6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.) I like earthy, green scents: lemongrass, verbena. I don't like anything that smells like food because it gives me cravings that I DO NOT need.
7. Do you have a sweet tooth? Yes, absolutely. I don't like hard candies, but anything else is cool.
8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? I make stitch markers now, and there are lots of other things I'd love to do but don't have time or space for them (i.e. quilting.)
9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I'm going to get an mp3 player next month, hopefully. I LOVE the Black Crowes, and I must admit I'm getting into Rockstar INXS. I like the whole singer/songwriter genre: Fiona Apple, Jewel, Alanis, Neil Young, Nick Drake, etc.
10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand? I like muted earthy colors and black. Tropicals are definitely a no-no.
11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? Spinster. 2 cats for roomies.
12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know) To travel, to have another career that involves saving the world. To be interviewed by Terry Gross and photographed by Annie Liebowitz. To finally meet a decent man who think I'm pretty cool for longer than 6 weeks.
13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? I like anything by Knitpicks. The softer the better. Bliss and Lavold don't suck either.
14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? Anything scratchy. I don't like novelty yarns very much. Not into the shiny.
15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s? Christmas. I'm hoping to do 4 wraps by Christmas, plus one that I'd love to wear sometime soon.
16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? I haven't hated anything yet.
17. What are you knitting right now? 2 wraps, a monster afghan, socks, several scarves, etc.
18. What do you think about ponchos? Nah.
19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? I seem to use circs more for my current projects, but I love my Lantern Moons.20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? Addi Turbos or Lantern Moons.
21. Are you a sock knitter? Yes, but I have big feet (sz 11) so the 50g balls sometimes aren't enough.
22. How did you learn to knit? Out of a book first, then from friends at Urban Knitters.
23. How old is your oldest UFO? A sweater hoodie for me, started last fall sometime. Stuff for me always seems to fall by the wayside for gifts or charity knitting.
24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird? I love Fruits Basket!25. What is your favorite holiday? Don't really have one.
26. Is there anything that you collect? Yes, but I'm trying to cut back. Most of my good collections (depression glass, '50s barware) are in storage to keep them safe from the kitties. I do collect plushies from Japanese anime that I like.
27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? None. Looking for new issues gives me an excuse to go to the bookstore.
28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on? I'd love a book on estonian or latvian mittens. Charts for double-knitting and fair isle would be great too.
29. Any patterns you have been coveting, but haven't bought for one reason or another?? Not that I can think of.
ETA: 30. What are your foot measurements, and what kind of socks do you like? 10" long, 9 1/4" around. Big.

The Un-named Wrap has been christened. I finally got around to googling for the official name of the feathers on archery arrows. Turns out they're called "fletching" and consequently so is this wrap.

Rumor has it that there's a sock that goes on bookbookbook tours. Turns out this sock has groupies. This sock needs security. It's on its way.

After being inspired by Mai (fellow Urban Knitter), I've dived into Double Knitting. My first project is this checkerboard cap. I've had this Peruvian Wool from Elann for a while (turns out it wasn't enough of each color for what I wanted it for) so stashbusting is also a welcome benefit of this project. Here's the pics:

Where's the trouble, you ask? Well, I didn't bring along the yarn for one stitch on the inside, so there's a red dash in a field of blue. There are a couple of holes. The laddering at the dpn splits is concerning me. But most of all, if you read the pattern as I did when I had gotten this far, there are no instructions for how to finish it. None. Nada. Not a clue is granted as to how one decreases a double knit hat. I've e-mailed the author; hopefully she gets it and can help me.