And the Knit Goes On

I've had a busy week at work and home. The NW Twin Cities Burbs Knit Night was last Thursday (first Thurs. of the month). It was our 2nd time getting together so the group is still "finding itself". It's a very mixed group of people and everyone is very friendly. We've got new knitters and old timers like myself. Then there's our token guy (his term, not mine!) He has been knitting about 2 minutes and has made several felted tote bags (lined) and working on a fair isle hat. This guy had knitting mojo coming out his ears!

I worked on a top for my cousin's daughter's wedding in June. I had some Berroco Denim Silk in the stash and found a lace top and shrug to make. It's not too far along and is knit from the top down so the picture is more of a gray blob but here it is so far...

The 1x3 rib Fire Socks are still coming along. I swear my SIL will retire as a fire captain by the time I finish these. It has nothing to do with the yarn - Maizy is great. I just am bored with the design (or lack of design) and the length of these socks. In case you forgot - they are Maizy because it will wick and being a fire captain my SIL has hot feet a lot. They are also going to be super long to go over her fire boots to help prevent the chafing from the boots. So far each sock is 1 skein of Maizy.

It has a lot of yardage. I'll be splitting the 3rd skein and making them as long as it allows. The design is just a simple 1x3 rib. In the back I changed the ribbing every 10th row to slowly increase the ribbing at the calf to 1x4 for extra fabric. The front stayed 1x3.

I found a pattern for crocheted sponges and made one. I actually made this on Earth day but forgot to post a picture. I decided to play around with a knit version and will test it out a bit. If it seems to hold up well I'll write my directions on a future post.

Well - it's Sunday night and that means I have to go back to work tomorrow. The new work situation is nothing to get excited about and more something to endure so - I have to start a countdown till next week.

Speaking of next weekend - Saturday is the MS 30/60 bike ride. If you want to donate the link is on the right. After the bike ride I will be randomly picking someone to win some knitterly goodness. It could be you!

Seasons of Knitting

I’ve been reading a lot of comments from other blogs about people having knitting problems. They’ve lost their knitting mojo. I’ve been thinking about this the past week. I think crafts are like the rest of our lives. They need to have seasons. How boring would it be if it was always the same sunny day, never a cloud, never snow, never the beauty of fall with the changing leaves. Or what if we always had to eat chocolate. You may like chocolate but what if that was all you could ever eat was chocolate. Never taste a nice juicy apple again. No more fresh baked bread. No more ice cream. Just chocolate.

I think losing mojo for something is a brain’s way of taking a break to regroup and get ready for the next burst of creativity. Kind of like winter when the earth gets a chance to rest and get ready for spring. So – don’t lose heart, take the time to look around at other things and get ready for your next spring. If you live in the Twin Cities you may want to head over to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and check out the Georgia O’Keeffe exhibit or the American Swedish Institute Sunday for a special Swedish Smörgåsbord. Maybe a walk around the lakes checking out the fall leaves (if they don't all fall this week from the rain).

If you really want to do something that will make you long to get back to knitting, you can come over here and help me move a boatload of junk from the basement so the contractors can get at the basement to water proof it next week. Trust me, the thought of having to move 3 piles of firewood, move a full wall of books and removing the paneling on 2 wall is just what it takes to get me desiring the knitting needles! My knitting muse is found in hating to doing this chore - I wish for all of you to find your knitting muse in a much more pleasant way!