Four

I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed right now.

First, we have the beagle blanket:

I have a large stash of leftover Paton’s Canadiana in a nondescript shade of brown. I can’t bear to throw it out, even though it is old and fairly cheap and I don’t like the color very much. I have already knit two smallish blankets for the dogs. I figured that this is yarn they can be rough with and that I can just throw in the wash, because I don’t care how they look and neither do the boys. They seem to appreciate having something snuggly in their dog beds to help keep them warm at night.

This latest blanket was meant to use up the remaining brown yarn. It’s going to be afghan squares in assorted stitches, with garter stitch in between. I don’t care about gauge, and I did the math so my stitch counts would come out OK. I thought varying the pattern would make it more interesting to knit. I was wrong. Plus, at the gauge I’m getting, I am going to get to the size I want way before the yarn is gone.

We also have the monsoon socks. Once I get the short-row heel turned, this should be smooth sailing. However: boring P1 K2 rib pattern. Yawn.

And then there is a fair isle dog sweater. As usual, I bought way too much yarn for this, so when it’s over, I am going to have neurotic compulsions to use up the yarn. I really like working the fair isle pattern.

This is my first fair isle project and I thought a dog sweater would be a good experiment, because no one will care if I mess it up, which so far, I haven’t. Please note here that I bypassed the opportunity to use my potty mouth in deference to my mother, who is no big fan of the curse word. If I’m going to be good, I want credit for it.

Looks pretty good, doesn't it?

And over here we have the next sock club socks. I have made huge headway here, knitting one whole repeat of the lace pattern.

Did I mention that I have a lot of leftover yarn from The Man’s raglan sleeve sweater? I think I called that a “bonus.” Moron. It’s a curse. I am starting to hate on myself for not having used it up yet. So this is going to become socks and mittens.

By the way, when I say that GK follows me everywhere, I mean it:

I can’t possibly reveal the extent of my entire stash, but I will show you the (yarn) contents of my knitting bag:

These are the projects in the on-deck circle. There’s a pair of fair isle socks in there; some ribbed socks with contrasting cuff, heel, and toe; some tofu sock yarn that will probably be plain socks; and some Lorna’s Laces that have already been acquainted with YB. I have no idea what to do with Lorna. This yarn is laughing at me. Its continued existence as yarn, rather than as socks, is a monument to my inadequacy, and a constant reminder of the injustice of having been born into (and married into) the class of those who have to work for a living.

This, however, is causing me the most angst of all:


This is a secret project for which it is essential that I get gauge. I am not getting gauge. I have gone down four sizes on the recommended needles. This is my third attempt. It isn’t happening. I despair.

Isn't knitting supposed to be fun?