May 4, 2007

Temptation strikes

I have some works-in-progress, and I feel almost no desire to knit on any of them.

WhatProjects1

Mostly, it's socks. One pair actually has one sock finished and a goodly start on the second sock, in the always-charming Meilenweit MegaBoots Stretch.

The other pair is only one half-started sock and a fun knit, but I've run into some serious pattern issues with the Interweave pattern (admittedly, this may be entirely me and not the pattern). Lengthy rant forthcoming, complete with incompentent basic knitting math and, most likely, a few f-bombs.

I also have a sweater. A sweater with a body and one arm, sans cuff. However, this particular sweater has been relegated to the corner, where bad sweaters that sink into the Knitting Black Hole go to think about the consequences of their misbehavior and hopefully learn to be better and faster knits.

Stupid, stupid sleeves. Why can't sleeves be more like socks, with a nifty entertaining bit in the middle to keep me interested?

Plus, it's spring time. And the entire world looks kind of like this right now:

Flowers3

How can I knit a heavy wool sweater when the weather is this nice? And why would I knit boring beigy-browny socks when there is yarn like this I could be knitting?

Tempting5

Cherry Tree Hill supersock in Potluck (Blues/Greens). AKA "The Temptress."

Oh, this yarn...I've been making goo-goo eyes at it every time I go to my LYS, but I have resisted, because I already have plenty of sock yarn.

But then I had a particularly bad week at work awhile back and decided I needed to "just visit" the yarn on Friday after work, without buying anything (ha!). Of course, "just visiting" turned into "being unable to resist the yarn's wicked charms," and - realizing no one but me is surprised by this - I ended up taking the yarn home.

Since then it's been lounging on my living room chair, just looking beautiful. Beautiful enough that it cheers me tremendously each time I see it.

But looking beautiful isn't enough for this yarn. This yarn wants attention. If it were an animal, I feel like it would be presenting its reddened hindquarters or puffing up its feathers or doing a naughty mating dance. However, because it's yarn (and therefore immobile and lacking reddened hindquarters), all it can do is sit there, looking all blue and green and knittable and delicious.

So why haven't I been knitting with it? I love this yarn. But I have two other pairs of socks in-progress (that I will admit to) and another pair I really should start for gift purposes.

Plus, The Boyfriend's sister just had a baby (welcome, Oscar!), a bit earlier than planned, so I'm way behind on baby gifts. And with work and school and, well, Season 2.5 of Battlestar Galactica to watch, I just don't have a huge amount of time for knitting.

I feel like my knitting time needs to be focused and productive. Not self-indulgent and silly. Please, please, convince me otherwise...

4 comments:

Unknown said...

I can't say that I really understand the yarnlust, but I can say this: no yarn belongs on the failure of the day list. Why let the stinky old protestant ethic spoil your fun? Besides, anyone you love enough to knit a gift for loves YOU enough to not waiting while you knit something else that gives you great pleasure.

Deb said...

Hobbies are supposed to be fun and self-indulgent. That's what makes them the anti-stress. Every time I tell myself I must knit this or finish that before I can do something else, I inevitably stop wanting to knit at all. I say go for it. Knit what makes you happy. There's nothing silly about that.

Also, that yarn is gorgeous!

Jenny said...

You don't have that fourth margarita when your taxes need to be done. You don't stay up all night watching a Degrassi marathon (orig, obvi) when you have to be coherent at work the next morning.

You don't, however, need to allow yourself to feel such crippling guilt over old socks that have no conscience, when you have NEW yarn that DOES have a conscience and is probably feeling a little left out and uninitiated, like the new kid at school. That new yarn needs to be brought into the fold and right quick!

Besides, that baby's going to grow a LOT, and VERY QUICKLY, so knit up a couple of booties in a few hours, say you're working on something for when he's a bit bigger and then git started on doing what you want to do. Deb is right, hobbies are supposed to be fun and self-indulgent.

You, by the way, have such a wonderful way with words. So fun to read! See you Wednesday!

Kristy said...

I'm glad you listened to all of this sage advice. As for sleeve hell... maybe we should start a fancy elbow trend? I think it could work!