Castonitis

I have a serious case of “cast-on-itis”. I ferret out all these cool little projects that I simply must cast on right this very second or I will die, my heart pounds, my fingers tremble, I swoon. Then I take a few breaths, chant and the terror passes. Let me explain what I have going on (“no there is too much, let me sum up” bonus points if you, Dear Reader, can NameThatQuote!)

OTN (On the Needles)

The Punk Shrug: Status – Hibernating.
This was started for baby sister and is on hold until I find her measurements so I can see if it will actually fit. I’m hovering in this looooong section of stockentte and well frankly it gets a tad boring after awhile.

Jawbreaker Cardigan: Status – Unknown.
I am filled with deep dark premonitions that this project will soon find its way to the Frog Pond. I adore the pattern. I adore the yarn I bought for it… however…. After skimming “More Big Girl Knits” in the bookstore a while back – I am coming to the conclusion that Chunky Knits + Chunky Girl = Not So Good. I absolutely refeuse to knit a garment saying to myself “well, I’ll lost 40lbs and look perfect in it!”. I’m going to hold off on final judgment after serious conversation with the Mamajama… and after buying and devouring “More Big Girl Knits”.

Midnight Surf Scarf: Status – WOW.
I can’t stop knitting on this. It is so very awesome. The pattern is sooo much fun to work with and of course I love my Inferno Monster Yarn. I actually have to start holding back and savoring the experience!

Recent FO (Finished Objects)

Branching Out AKA Spring Mix Leaves Scarf
I’ve actually made some great progress in the finishing category, because you see, it is finished completely. AND I BLOCKED IT! Yes, I actually blocked it. That is a big deal to me. Usually I burn out of big projects by the time it comes to the finishing details like sewing on buttons (see “I’m a little teapot Cosy”) and sewing in ends. I have a horrible terrible confession to make. I don’t sew in the ending yarn in the toes of my socks. I know. I’m a terrible knitter. I should shun myself from knitting society and live a solitary life of penance…. But I digress… So this is why I’m so proud of the Branching out scarf… I SPUN it from roving. I PLIED the singles into a 3-ply yarn. I KNIT it into a lovely LACE pattern. And I sewed all the ends in AND BLOCKED it. Proud. Proud indeed.

Stretchy Sport Socks
I am not a fan of these socks…. Fade to black with telltale flashback music. The Mamajama and I were on a yarn-crawl thru the smaller yarn shops of The Isle of Long. There are times, I have to admit, that I get this pang of guilt in my gut when I just browse in smaller local shops. I know very well how hard it is for LYS to stay afloat so when I pop in, I feel obligated to buy something… so anyway… in this LYS the were some balls of this candy colored cotton stuff with elastic. And the shop gal assured me you could get two socks out of the tiny ball. I think it was under $10 so I could satisfy my guilt and have a pair of socks to boot! I figured the color would grow on me. Well, I might have been a touch “glass-half-full” on this one as the color didn’t grow, actually it kind of shrank and shrivled… now add that to some serious pattern frustration, makes for not a happy project experience. I did manage to finish them up during WWKIP Day. So they are done. Done! They will probably never see the light of day, but they are done.

What I WANT on the needles

Oh, I’m in such dilemmas. The Mamajama has roped me into not one, but two, count ‘em TWO sock knitting KALs – The Sock Knitter’s Pentathlon and The Pair-a-Month Challenge. SKP2008 I’ve talked about before (to sum up- a speed knitting challenge of 5 socks over the course of the year, quickest overall knitter wins). A sock is released every two months. The Pair-a-Month challenge is well, pretty self explanatory and if you need me to explain, let’s talk. Now, the Mamajama and I have agreed that we can double count the SKP socks for the Challenge. Now here’s my dilemmas… THERE ARE TOO MANY COOL SOCKS TO CAST ON! The Summer Knitty just came out and the nanosecond I saw Ziggy, I was balling up my skein of Noro. I cast on and knit a good portion of the annterloc sock in the Brooklyn Handspun Sprinz but HATE how it’s coming out. It’s far far too poofy (Yes, that is a technical term). So, to the frog pond it went and I found the Rainy Day Pattern to cast on that should match up nice with the yarn weight. Picot edge, people! It has a Picot edge!!! And then there is the Bellatrix sock. MUST MAKE HARRY POTTER SOCKS! And I LOVED the, but I just have to find a suitable yarn. But I know myself, if I cast on all these projects right now, I will run out of steam before the pair a month challenge is up. And there is NO way I’m losing to the Mamajama. Not happening. Nope. Never! So I’m booked up on socks for-like-EVA. July will be the SKP Sock3. August will be Ziggy. September will be SKP Sock4. October could be The Romantic Lace. November is SKP Sock5. And December is Belletrix. January is Anntreloc????? How crazy is that?