FlightyGirl

OK, I know this blog is called DomestiGirl and I try to maintain some semblance of superhero-osity, but some days I feel like a flailing buffoon.

Remember the Continental Dishcloth? I frogged it. It was too boring. Stockinette stitch just can’t hold my attention, even if I am learning a new way to hold the string. Perhaps it will become another kind of dishcloth. I really like the *idea* of working on stitches with dishcloths but I can only stay interested for about 3 inches and so it’s more of a doll-wrap than a washcloth or dishcloth. Alas. I am a flibbertijibit.

Anyhow, seeking an actual project, I cast on for the cute sherbet sweater. And I felt very grown-up about it too – the tape yarn (yes, I know I called it ribbon yarn before, but it’s tape yarn) was too thin to hold gauge, plus I didn’t like how open the stitching ended up so I doubled the yarn and am knitting with 2 strands held together. Of course it’s a striped sweater so that means 4 balls being toted about with me, but I can handle that. It’s coming along pretty well and I’ve even managed to make the Continental stitch thing work.

That light yarn is actually a super-light purple. So the sweater will look kinda like a bowl of rainbow sherbet when it’s done. I’m actually contemplating lime green buttons to finish the look – but I didn’t buy any buttons yet – I figure I can buy them when the rest of the sweater is available to hold them up to.

I even got to go back to Knitting Arts yesterday to get a few more balls of yarn (since I have to hold it double, I need extra and it’s sale yarn so likely to evaporate!) It was a nice trip, I bought 4 more balls of the yarn and SNB Nation and chatted about my sherbet sweater with the nice knitting ladies. And, uh, apparently I’ve already spent $200+ there because my yarn stash card was full so I got $20 off on the purchase – effectively making SNB Nation free. Neat.

So why do I feel like a lame-o? Well, obviously I’m working on a sweater which is a decently difficult knitting project. But then I have to ask a friend “how does 2×2 ribbing work?” Duh. When you turn the work the knits become purls and the purls become knits and it works out fine. And I am *so* proud (and a little embarrassed) to say that I can now correctly identify the ‘right side’ and ‘wrong side’ (and I even know where it should be in relation to my knitting!) Also, when preparing your yarn for continental knitting, it is apparently not necessary (or even a good idea) to take a foot of yarn and wrap it 4 times around your pinky and then twice around your index finger. Yes, you have lots to work with. But if you start with less, you can feed better from the ball (or in this case, balls).

I’ve gotten to my 3rd stripe now and I can say that I feel *much* less lame. So much wisdom from just a few rows of knitting. I also look less like a mad scientist while I’m working. Which can only be a good thing… no offense to mad scientists but it’s really not a good look for me.

I have many things on my to-do list for today – mail SP gift, write Girl Scout meeting agenda, go to cooking class to learn how to make better pastry, do some actual work… but the sherbet sweater, it calls to me. My husband says I shouldn’t knit in the car because it’s dangerous. Not when I’m driving (duh!) but when I’m riding. That seems silly. Especially with Denise needles. I think the dangerous thing would be actually telling him that I’m going to knit in the car, so I’ll just avoid that – the cooking class is 1/2 hour away, my friend is driving, I am bringing the sweater, so there!

Oh yeah, in the spirit of frugality which seems to be sweeping blogland, I’ve decided to have a spending diet too. I suggested to my husband (what was I *thinking*) that we each get a spending allowance for lunches, movies, book purchases and whatnot. To help us try to manage our expenses better. Ack! A book allowance! The very thought makes it hard to breathe. Fortunately, my friend suggested that I start selling my old books (the ones I don’t tend to use) on Amazon so I can buy new books with that money. Ah, a very good plan. Sell stuff, buy new stuff. My breath is returning, thank heavens. The allowance starts tomorrow, perhaps I should run down to the bookstore today, just in case there’s anything I need there.

I won’t worry too much about yarn. So far my stash is pretty manageable. Of course I haven’t bought any yarn for big projects yet…