A late start...

I had big plans for this January; blogging, crafting, getting fit, trying new things, and generally living a wonderful life. I underestimated the impact that major tragedies in my friends lives would have on mine, and I have spent January mourning and comforting, getting sick, and watching the structure in my own life disappear as I lose sight of my goals.

I need to treat February as my fresh start. February is usually the toughest month for me. It's the bleakest month. No end to winter in sight, resolutions abandoned or broken, no more holidays for a long while (none that I celebrate anyway - we don't have to talk about that pulsating pink target in the middle of the month) and it's harder than ever to get out of bed and get things done.

Not only that, but it seems that the knitting callus on my left index finger is disappearing from lack of use. Come back! I didn't even know I had achieved a knitting callus! I can't imagine what else it would be from that I'm not doing at the moment...does reading cause calluses? I'm not doing much of that either.

I still have my yearly goal of reading 52 books in 52 weeks, but I'm off to a bad start this year.

Still, I have a bunch of knitting projects in the works, and am planning on spending the rest of February working on my knitting. I need to start and finish two items for a friend's baby shower in early March.
I'm making the Etanapipa - Snail hat in a wee size and Saartje's Bootees by Saartje de Bruijn. I've had both of these in my Ravelry queue since I learned to knit a few years back and haven't tried them until now becuase I was intimidated. Why? They aren't difficult items in complexity or difficulty. And they're small. It should take me a week or less for each item.


Citron update - I knit and knit and knit, and still I have not reached the end of the first ball of Malabrigo. I brought this project with me on my trip to Las Vegas, small, light, and not too complicated. I knit on it during my flight across the country, but was way too busy to knit a thing once I got to my destination. Still, I managed to knit 10 rows and listen to all of my downloaded podcasts from Sticks and String.

Other knitting updates and many more posts to follow. I have a bunch in draft form that are waiting for completion. Maybe this weekend...

Slog along...

So, I was reading some posts by Mooncalf and trying to catch up so that I've read and seen all of her lovely knits, when I started reading a post called Slog Along 2010. In it she references a podcast by Stash and Burn as her inspiration, and it seems to have something to do with working on hibernating WIPS, so of course I want to know more. Didn't I just pull Babette out from the darkness and see what was what?

But what is this Stash and Burn? I typed it into Google and found a website with NINETY-SEVEN podcasts, ready for listening. How have I never heard of this before? I have only listened #97 so far, which prompted me to pull out ALL of the Babette mess that is on my yarn shelf...

Yes, that's 4 plastic shoebox-sized containers of yarn or squares and a bigger showbox, and a project bag of current squares and yarn. It looks like a lot but hey, if it's going to turn into a full/queen blanket then there had better be a lot of yarn! I bought the yarn in two stages. When I first committed to the project I waited until a sale at AC Moore and bought 20? skeins, in 17 colors. Then a long while later, the Vanna's Choice line was expanded to include brighter colors, and I went out and bought 5 of those. Doesn't it look nice with my blue couch?

On another note, the handle end of my Babette crochet hook is nicked and is bothering my hand something terrible. Any thoughts on how to fix? I wrapped the end in medical tape, but that's now a bit sticky and irritating. I know there's Plasti-Dip, cool handle dippy stuff, but it's probably cheaper to just get another hook right? Anyone has a spare round-tipped J hook that they can't stand the sight of and want to get rid of it?