Reality is a bitch.

And the reality, right now, is that on the two years I left the Christmas knitting until September, I lost my mind. The one year I drove myself crazy, and the other year, one gift wasn't done until February. (You can read up on the last days of the Dale of Norway pullover in the February 2006 archives.) Technically I've got three sweaters to knit this year; both in-laws and the husbeast. But the husbeast is willing to wait until after the holiday, so I really only think of it as three. I also want to do a baby sweater by November. (A Baby Surprise, those are fun and quick and easy, but they still take time.) Not to mention we're talking about a Strikke-Along in October that means knitting an entire sweater for that. Finish one sweater and knit three (four counting the husbeast) more by December 25. Hm. I thought I'd sworn off stupid deadlines.

Honestly, I'm going to do what I want, and if I run a little late on Christmas, the in-laws will wait. They love my knitting. And since my mother-in-law learned to knit, and my father-in-law has WATCHED her, they're both all impressed with me. Heeheehee. Life is good.

What all this means is, I need to finish up the original design I'm working on right now (Tut Tut), so I can start the one I have in mind for my mother-in-law (current working title, Celtic Sage. It's not that original, another percentage-system deal.) Last night I put aside the edging for the Pinwheel (I've got a bad feeling that's going to take forever), and got back to work:

That's the bulk of the decreasing for the bell cuff; after that it's a straight shot up the arm. I can read and chat (yes, I hang out in an on-line chat room) while knitting it, so it should get done pretty quick. Then I'm trying a new-to-me shoulder decreasing system which will require knitting a SECOND sweater at a different size, to make sure the system works... But the pattern will have been test-knit twice, so it's all good. (And likely, the Baby will gain a sweater.)


Apparently, judging from the VK review comments, you all like gray. So fine, I won't complain about it in the future. Much. But I still think they overdid it. Several of you have mentioned you'd like to make one or other of the sweaters but they don't come in your size... if you're serious, e-mail me and we'll see about help on re-working the pattern. Sometimes it's not that hard. I'm still (MONTHS after the summer issue) boggling over the idea that 38 inches/98 cm for the bust being LARGE, and that being the biggest size offered. It's like they're stuck in the 1940s. No, the 1880s. When women still wore corsets.


Anyway, I'm gonna go knit. And try to remember all the details about the museum so I can do THAT post. I got kinda sidetracked when I bought the VK magazine.