Tempus Fudge-It

Why am I feeling like the days are just flying by on really fast wings? Every time I turn around it’s another week gone by. I measure my time in things that I’ve accomplished but since I do so many things at the same time or more correctly, alternately, that it’s hard to see the progress. I keep my List of Finished Objects but where’s the list of housework: dishes washed, meals cooked, laundry done, toilet cleaned, dusting, vacuuming, ironing, grocery shopping? Or the list of gardening: planting, watering, weeding, pruning, digging, bug squishing, deadheading, harvesting? I’m continually reminding myself that life is every minute that you live and it’s not a race to see how much you can accomplish before you die. Accomplishments are good and all, but there’s a whole lot more life in between them that needs to be lived too: spending time with my sweetie, babysitting the granddaughter, reading a book, taking a walk, watching a movie or good TV show. If you “keep your eyes on the prize” you’ll miss a lot going on around you. At least that’s what I keep telling myself. It works most of the time.

I think my biggest problem is the sheer number of things I’d like to do and how slowly I do them. I’m trying to just enjoy the process: each stitch formed, each twist of wool becoming yarn, each bead attached to the next. Concentrating on the process is very soothing but my mind continues to leap ahead to the next Big Thing I’m planning. It’s hard to stay focused on the task at hand. I also have to take into consideration my personal biorhythms. I can only do complex thinking in the mornings, repetitious or less-complicated stuff is for the afternoons, and by early evening I’m even making mistakes in plain knitting. I have no idea how people get anything done in the evenings because I’m usually fixing my evening’s mistakes the next morning.

So since I finished my Lace Leaf socks yesterday, I decided that today I’m going to give myself permission to start a bunch of new things. What? You thought I’d only start maybe ONE new thing? Hah! How little you know this Damselfly. Nay, I have started 3…count ’em, THREE new things!

First up is the next pair of socks for the T-Man who has actually been wearing the two pairs I’ve made him in the last year. Therefore he totally deserves another pair. So I’m using good old Sisu in a light grey/dark grey marl. Very manly colours. Plain socks. These are going in the new Copper ’n’ Decoupage Lunch…er, Knitting Box for portability.

Next up we have a sweater that I’ve been swatching for a couple of days now. I’m still way off gauge, but I just might soldier on regardless. I’m liking the fabric too much to mess with it further. I’m not sure yet whether I will change the pattern or just adjust the numbers to fit my gauge. The jury is still out on that one. What’s the actual sweater pattern, you ask? It’s Little Squares from Sally Melville’s Book 3: Color. A very loose jacket with fold back collar — think shawl with sleeves. The pattern pieces are very simple so it wouldn’t be at all difficult to reshape it to fit my knitting. I might even go with the pattern as it stands and it will just be narrower but I’ll probably have to re-jig the sleeves at least. Meanwhile I’m knitting one of the front bands which is an inch and a half narrower than it should be. Hmmm...that's a lot, isn't it? I haven’t tried washing and blocking it yet though so something might happen then. Oh and what’s the yarn, you also ask? My handspun Aurelia wool in the Tamarillo colourway and a variegated ribbon (Lion Brand’s Incredible in Copper Penny). So far I’ve only spindle spun a small ball of the wool, so I can’t get very far without more spinning. More on this one to come.

And lastly (well, not last but you know what I mean), the item I’m feeling a little guilty for starting because it’s just One Thing Too Many: the Denise Needle Bag from Cat Bordhi (she of Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles and Magical Knitting fame). It’s in her free patterns section. I’m doing the Charcoal one with 2 zip pockets in black/navy, red, green, and lime Quebecoise wool doubled which I know fulls up really well. The Cascade 220 she recommends isn’t available around here but Canadian-made Quebecoise is similar weight, cheap, comes in a zillion colours, and makes great bags. It’s what Pearl, knit instructor at Birkeland Bros. Wool uses in her classes. (*waving* Hi Pearl!) If I run out of navy or black (I’m using one strand of each because I have it) I just have to stroll over 3 blocks to get more! Yes, it’s too convenient.

Speaking of my LYS, I was quite happy that my sock knitting class that was supposed to begin last night was cancelled due to an insufficient number of people. It’s a difficult class to teach and I have to have my patience quotient up to its peak for it. I’m not sure how to make it better. There’s pros and cons to every idea. Well, there’s time now before the next one is scheduled to think about it. Or not.