Useless esmerelda

Oh, dear. I seem to have fallen into a funk lately. Everything takes a supreme effort. Work is long and hideous. Despite the increased sunlight March is pushing our way, I see as little of it as I did at the beginning of February. Something hidden in our kitchen smells repulsive and I cannot for the life of me work out what it is. And I seem to have turned into Eeyore.

ETA: I worked out the smell, at least.  Should have taken out the rubbish bag ages ago.

Look, another finished knit:

Specifications -

Pattern: Herringbone Mittens (sans Poms) Ravelried

Author: Elli Stubenrauch

Yarn: Wensleydale Long Wool Aran in Blue & Purple

Needles: 4mm Addi Turbo circulars, worked in Magic Loop

Moderations: I could not find a suitably sized smaller circular to work the cuff, so I CO’d 45 stitches and increased in round 13. I also, you will notice with your clever deductive cleverness, buggered up the thumb increases and therefore the striping, although I hear all the cool kids are calling this sort of mistake a ‘design feature’.

The problem with these mittens-and I hasten to add that the pattern is precisely written, simple, and elegant, and the wool lovely and sticky, making it perfect for colourwork, yet soft due to the long staple length (is that what it’s called, spinners?)-is that they are two months overdue. They are destined for my swap partner in the No-More-Humdrum-Mittens Swap, Round 1. Yes, that’s right, lads and lassies, the swap progressed to Round 2 whilst I remained firmly rooted in my ridiculous mental blackout about the first one.

Quasi-mandatory innards shot. I must say I quite like this side. These will be going in the mail tomorrow, provided I can sneak out of work for a paltry twenty minutes without them rearranging my project again. I don’t think I shall be swapping anymore, and frankly after this public declaration of incompetence, who would want me as a partner? I can never manage it to a level that I would call acceptable, and I seem to be permanently late these days, in all walks of life. I just don’t see the point anymore.

Deerheart

When I was going through my Noro phase, I decided to give one of beanies to my ever-patient husband.

esmerelda: “Here you go, Best Beloved.  A hat to keep you warm this winter.”

Timmy: “Thanks.”

Pause

Timmy: “Is this really for me?  You mean, I get to keep it?”

Poor man.  Clearly I had neglected my knitterly duties and had been clothing the rest of the world before turning my needles to the warmth and wellbeing of himself.  Just as the cobbler’s children have no shoes, this knitter’s beloved had but one pair of socks to call his own.  Truly, something had to be done.

As you will recall, I proceeded to cast on, knit, discard, ignore, and finally finish a cardigan for himself, all in the record time of three point five months.  Fair dos, but would that be enough?  Not in my eyes.  I cast around for another project to gift to him, some other way to demonstrate my love in wool.

Then it came to me: socks (not original, but nevertheless).  I would knit a pair of socks for my darling to give to him on our wedding day…so that he didn’t get cold feet.  (It’s alright, you can groan.)  The fact that I cast on the first sock a mere two weeks before the wedding day did not raise an alarm with this determined knitter.  Oh no.  Nor did the realisation that at a hefty size 11 (UK), my record of a week to complete a sock for my own dainty size 6 (UK) feet was unlikely to hold true for this pair of socks (the socks are my Tube knitting and very rarely get a look-in at home, as I always have a larger project (or eight) on the go as well, hence why it takes about a week to finish one).

What was it that finally clued me up to the fact that these socks were not going to be ready for their deadline?  As I sat in the hairdresser’s chair on the morning of my wedding, turning the heel on the second of the pair, I was overcome by the realisation that maybe, just maybe, failing some huge distortion of the time/space continuum, these socks were destined to go the same way as the sweater. 

But they are finished now, and they fit mighty fine.

Specifications -  

Pattern: Deerheart Socks (my own) – so named because the stag’s antler-style cables on the leg look a little like hearts.  In a very masculine and not-at-all frilly way, o’course!

Yarn: Posh Yarn Helena in ‘Drake’

Needles: Addi Lace Circulars, 2.5mm

Avast at last

There are those who would call me flighty.  Who would point out my tendency to rush into something fullsteam, almost to the point of obsession, until the novelty wears off and I tire of the thing, then drop it in the first flush of enthusiasm for the newest toy/hobby/fitness fad.  And, ordinarily, I would be the first to raise my hand when the call for persons lacking in stick-to-itiveness went out.  I make no bones about my inability to persevere with a pursuit where I feel that the effort required surpasses the potential outcome.

But not this time, my friends.  Oh no.  This time, I was committed.  I endeavoured, I persevered, I had stick-to-itiveness coming out my ears, and I have been victorious.  Ladies and gentlemen, I give you my nemesis: Avast!

Who’s a handsome husband, then?

Please ignore the dodgy sewing and marvel at the tight line of raglan decreases and rather natty collar hem

Gratuitous bum shot…er, I mean, look: cabled band with neatly picked up stitches, ooooh!

Industrial zip from ‘Nam

I say, do you have the time?  Ooh, what a loverly contrast hem you have there!

Honestly, there wasn’t a cat in hell’s chance of me finishing this for NaKniSweMo.  The knitting alone took me forever, and the hems.  Those damned hems nearly finished me off good and proper.  Which is probably why this cardigan spent from Christmas Day to the beginning of February languishing in a bag while I studiously ignored Tim’s pleas to finish his sweater.  So, yeah, I’m not so much with the hems in future.  But overall I’m glad I knit this, if for no other reason than now I can knit anything (and also he looks darned cute in it).  There are some fit issues – the underarms sag about two inches away from where they should sit, and I am not so keen on the billowing above the cable band – but it should make for a great weekend cardi.   

Specifications –

Pattern: Avast by Jesse Loeberg (who just made a comeback to blogging not so long ago – Hi, Jesse!)

Yarn: Cascade 220 in Charcoal Grey  and Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in Teal for the lining.

Needles: 3.75mm for the hems, 4.5mm Addi Turbos for the rest.

Mods: Lengthened the sleeve hems and added a slip-stitch border to the cable band by moronically slipping the stitches, then realising that you can’t pick up two stitches in a slipped stitch (or at least not the way I tried to), then finding a clever way to incorporate the slipped stitches into the design and feeling just a wee bit smug (conveniently glossing over aforementioned moronity).

All-in-all, a success, I reckon.  Would I knit it again though? You’re frackin’ kidding, right?

Out and about

A very late birthday present for an awesome blog-friend.

More gorgeous trim than you can shake a stick at.

And possibly the world’s most lurid cupcakes!

Fantastic Saturday afternoon.  Thanks, C!

To my love, on a Friday

I wasn’t going to do a Valentine’s day post.  I would have preferred to direct to your attention to this post, which says more succintly, smartly, and wittily than I ever could have everything I want to say about love and relationships and why one Day does not amount to a hill of beans when compared to the day-to-day moments. 

But then I got home last night, and he had bought me flowers.  Despite my telling him that Valentine’s Day was off from now on because when your wedding anniversary is only twenty days beforehand, the other thing fades into the background like the mouldy roses sold to desperate suitors.  Despite my agreeing with him that we love each other every day, not just on some arbitrary day in February chosen for some saint neither of us believes in.  He bought me flowers anyway.

I still wouldn’t have posted anything about the flowers, or the commercialisation of love, or about pink hearts and butterflies, except.  Except we are having a tough time at the moment.  This first month of marriage is turning out to be way tougher than either of us would have wished for, and through no reason that we can control.  We are still us, as we have been, as we always will be, but external forces seem to be testing our resolve.  And so I just wanted to say this to my love: I will always be by your side.  The words we said three weeks ago my heart repeats every day to your heart.  The promise we made I will always keep sacred. 

There is a song my love sings to me from time to time, that is particularly apt in this difficult month.  My favourite lines are these:

“I had no reason to be over optimistic,

But somehow when you smiled

I could brave bad weather.”*

I love you, Tim.  Happy Friday, my darling.

*From “1921″ from the musical ‘Tommy’.  Admittedly not the most traditionally romantic of musicals, dealing as it does with bullying, sexual abuse, hallucinogenic drugs, cults and pinball, but these lines work for me.

I have closed the comments for this post.  Although I love to hear from you all, this is not a post seeking conversation or affirmation.  Just something I needed to write.  Thank you for understanding.

Noticing

Using my new eye to notice the little things.

Gentle light, quiet flight

A Corner of My Home :: This pelican has been hanging here since we moved in two years ago, but it’s really much older. In fact, my parents bought it for their porch when we lived in America in the 80s. The lamp’s new though.

Project Spectrum I :: Red

Cabled

Top: baby cables for G :: Bottom: bigfoot cables for T

Sunday sky

Down by the river on a Sunday afternoon date with my sweetie. After our beers, we went to see “Sweeney Todd” – and it was bloomin’ marvellous!