theknittyvritti

It's important to call things as they are. Much as we hate to acknowledge this, sometimes what we have is a near miss.

The near-misses that I think are the most important are the near-misses in love. I mean those "I wish this could work, but I know it won't" situations that are so tempting. To avoid loneliness, you might want to make do. Skipping over the fact that a wrong match is likely to be lonely. In the years that I call "eight years in the desert" (between husbands), I had a few of those. Between me and my near-miss counterparts, we managed to do the right thing and call the relationships what they were. In spite of all the pressures to do otherwise...the lure of companionship, the friends, even shrink, who not-so-secretly thought I was just too picky.

Operations Man and I are both relieved. Actually, Operations Man may be even more relieved that since I plan to frog the sweater, the photo shoot was belessedly short.

As I will be when I frog my almost perfect Akoya. The pattern is lovely, well-written and clever. The yarn is beautiful. I am holding up quite well for my years. But together, we just miss.

I can do better by this yarn. Its soft, drapy splendor deserves its perfect match, and I have already begun to search. Kind of like internet dating....

(I'm still counting this as IntSweMoDo #3......the rules don't say that you have to marry them).

still knitting

 

 

Yes, still knitting, even tho' I am not posting much these days......

Same old muse.........

She's got a new cousin. We'll be meeting him next week, after he's had all of his shots.

The sweater is from an Origins book from Bergere de France. Purchased at vogue Knitting Live, which was, by the way, a very useful experience. I learned a lot of new technique, and realized how much a self taught knitter may not teach herself.......

Are you still there?

 

 

 

 

 

red hot winter

The extra day off feels like a second New Years Day, and here's the cake I brought over to a celebratory dinner yesterday. It was as good inside as out...if you're in Brooklyn, check out Betty Bakery where it was just hanging out on December 31 looking for a good time. My kitchen is out of commission, as it's being rehabbed, so I've been doing quite a bit of food crawling when I might otherwise be unadvisedly trying this at home myself.

Not cooking has also meant more knitting. I waited until yesterday to put the finishing touches on this Wintry Mix sweater, made out of Cascade 220. That way, I got a good head start on IntSweMoDo 2012, which I am currently determined to complete. In no way should that statement be taken as a resolution.  I don't make them anymore, they seem to go against the essential grain of life.

The sweater is cozy, comfy, was super-easy to knit, and it's perfect for a skirt I bought without a plan for what to top it off.

Turns out to be perfect. Operations Man thought it was all a bit preppy, not my look at all, and he's probably right, but once in a while it's nice to go out in camouflage. I have a feeling it may unsettle people at work too, everyone jokes in the summer that I'm no longer wearing black, and this much color will be unexpected in December.

I don't know, I'm feeling very excited for the coming year, and kind of in the mood for a red hot winter.

 

 

 

tying up loose ends

It's been a busy year, too busy by far for the blog, or my knitting for that matter, to flourish.

I did have a burst of knitting energy over the last week. I have given myself permission to delay work on professional projects until next year. That has enabled me to focus on a few other things, reading, knitting, house projects. And most, happily, I have finally finished my pair of Soft Mit gloves.

When I made the last glove, the dog was still with me. That means it was over two years ago. I apologize, I know this is a bit sad, but around here time is measured in dog years as well as calendar years.

Now there is a new dog, with an impressive snout of her own.

Sorry, it took two of us to get even this picture.  I know it doesn't really show much of the  glove, but Op Man and the dog have limited patience for the camera. And even tho' I'm showing the same hand, there really are now two gloves. They are identical and conveniently interchangeable. And identically adorable and sensational-feeling on the hand.

Maybe 2012 will be the year that this style takes off.....it's brilliant, an elegant, mitten that provides some needed dexterity in the cold. I've never understood why so few people have been moved to make them.

 A short re-cap of the year:

IntSweMoDo 2011 was a total flop. I finished four sweaters and plan to frog two of them. I'm not sure how that happened, but I suspect it had something to do with also finishing two very impressive and time-consuming shawls, and more hats and gloves than usual.

I have signed up for IntSweMoDo 2012.

This last partly because of another failure, my really quite resounding failure to reduce my stash this year. Since I tend to buy in sweater quantities, IntSweMoDo may be a saving grace.

I will never make any resolutions about stash reduction again. In fact, I may never make a resolution again.

That being said, I hope that your 2012 is filled with promise and possibilities.....