Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Startitis

I've had a really bad case of startitis lately.

Startitis n. the habit of starting new knitting projects before the previously started projects are completed.

If you're a crafter, you know what I'm talking about.


It all started with my new Lonesome Skein project



which was this scarf knit from Red Heart Strata self patterning yarn, and using a pattern I found on the Yarn Harlot's blog:

Then I found this pattern, and couldn't wait to start knitting it.

Everything was going along really well. I was enjoying knitting this beautiful scarf from some leftover fingering weight yarn, when I realized how close Christmas has gotten. I decided to make my brother in law and nephews matching hunter orange sock hats as part of their Christmas presents, since they live in Alaska. I only got this far

on my brother in law's hat when I received the news that my cousin had passed on. So I started a prayer shawl for my aunt. There is a specific Prayer Shawl pattern out there, which has repetitions of stitches in multiples of three. As you knit each group of three, you are supposed to pray, "In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit". I liked the idea of that, and to add to it I could pray the names of my cousin's three children, or of his mother and two sisters. However, after only a couple of rows, I realized that I just didn't like how it looked.

So I decided to start over. And of course, the first step to that is finding a pattern I did like.

Finally, after much searching, I found this beautiful pattern that I could knit from stash.

It didn't take me long, however, to figure out that knitting this would take longer than I wanted to wait to give it to her. I still love the pattern, and want to finish the scarf eventually, but I needed something that would knit up more quickly.

Thanks to one of my fellow Lonesome Skeiners, I started this Simple, Yet Effective Shawl:

It is knitting up fairly quickly--I just started it last night, and the pattern just seems to fit. The randomness of the stripes represent the uncertainty of life, while the warmth and softness of the shawl represent God's love surrounding us during the difficult times.

So, that is five projects started in the last three weeks, with none of them even close to being finished. I'll bring you updates as further developments occur...

In other news, I went to the dentist to get my tooth fixed this afternoon. It was a very deep cavity/break, and he put what is called a sensitivity filling in it. He said that hopefully this would fix my tooth, and in about 5 weeks, he will put a permanent filling over that. If it doesn't, my options are a root canal or a tooth extraction. That is a worst case scenario, but we have to keep in mind that it may occur. He told me to start thinking about what I wanted to do, just in case we had to go that route, but I don't have to think. If this filling doesn't work, I know what I want to do.

My mind is already made up.

The tooth has got to go.

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2 comments:

omly said...

How does the Red Heart Strata self patterning yarn feel? I have noticed that some of their newer yarns are actually not that bad in terms of softness and those colors are great.

Becky G said...

It feels crunchy. Seriously, that was my first thought when I began working with it. It is much coarser than other Red Heart yarns I've worked with. I'm hoping it will soften up when I wash it. I've bought three different colorways of the Strata, and they all have the same coarse texture. I like the pattern this one is making, I just wish it were softer.