Still here, and still knitting.

I guess I took an unplanned three-week hiatus. Not long for some, but definitely more than I’m used to. I’ve been feeling a bit abstract, lately–almost like I’ve lost the ability to convert thoughts into proper words. By “proper”, I just mean words that make sense outside my own head.

Blasted words, anyhow. You know, I have a collection of journals. Various shapes and sizes, all hardcover, all gorgeous, all lined up on a shelf. All empty, with spines that still crack with newness when opened. I’ve always wanted to be one of those people who keeps a written journal; one of those people who can scribble page after page of rambles and thoughts, of real life and fiction, and who doesn’t discard the books once full but doesn’t re-read them, either.

I’m not. I tried to be, though; in my teens and early twenties, I’d keep “starting fresh” with a new book, but I’d never get more than ten or twenty pages in before giving in to frustration, and it’s all because of the damned words. I agonise over them whether I’m writing fiction, blogging, replying to forum posts, or even just scribbling a quick (ha) note for someone at work. I’m doing it right now–rewriting the same sentences until they’re acceptable. I didn’t realise it for years, but this constant need to edit and rephrase and make “right” seems to be one of the main reasons I have journal issues. One of. The other is that I’m extremely visual and just a little OCD, and words have to look right as well as sound right.

Sometimes I think that it would all be worth it, and that I wouldn’t mind not being able to journal, if I could at least produce compelling fiction. I’d need ten more hands to count the number of short stories I’ve written (and finished), but just one hand, period, to count the ones with which I’m satisfied.

I’m sure I had a point when I started this ramble, but I think I’ve lost it along the way.

So. Well… hmm. Let’s talk about knitting. I suppose that’s what you lot are here for, anyhow; the mojo’s been behaving nicely, so I even have a couple of (small) FOs.

Pattern: Ridged Lace Cowl
Yarn: 1.5 skeins of Elann Superwash Bamboo in Copper Gold
Needles: 4.5 mm

This is the fourth cowl I’ve made, but the first I’ve kept for myself. I like being able to pull it up over my chin when the wind really bites, or scrunch it down around my neck when I don’t need quite so much warmth. I love the yarn–it’s squishy, soft, and warm, with a nice sheen. The photo looks more orange than copper, but I took it in questionable light and colour-correction didn’t work as well as I’d hoped.

I expected some growth since the yarn is 35% bamboo, but it kept its shape through a soak-and-block far better than I would have expected. Rather than pinning or stretching, I just smoothed it out onto my shiny new interlocking blocking pads; it did take a little longer to dry than pure wool, but not an unreasonable amount of time.

I knit one fewer repeat than the pattern specified, because I didn’t want it to be quite so tall. Also, there was a ridge and jog at the end of the round that seemed rather inelegant, so I altered it to make it seamless.

Pattern: Bathing Blossoms from Fiber Trends
Yarn: 1/2 a ball of Patons Grace in Apricot
Needles: 4.0 mm

Hooray, it’s a washcloth. Not a dishcloth, a washcloth. Mercerised cotton doesn’t absorb water well enough for dish-washing (plus, it’s too smooth and slick), but it feels nice against the face. The pattern leaflet has three different washcloths in it, and this is the second I’ve knit. I must do the third, sometime–I certainly have enough Grace in the stash.

I don’t particularly care about speed–this isn’t a race, after all–but knitting little things like this makes me realise what a slow knitter I am. I know people who can complete entire dishcloths in the time it took me to knit two of the eight short-row wedges on this little project. Yeah, sometimes it does seem that I turn out projects at a faster-than-average rate, but that’s only because I’m not working full-time hours yet and I therefore have a lot of time to spend with needles in hand.

It’s been about a month since I said I was going on a mitten jag and… I’m still wearing a pair of craptastic store-bought synthetic gloves. I do have a (singular) mitten knit, if that counts for anything. The photo to your right is obviously not a mitten, but it’s what I’ve been working on instead of handwear–the Nederland Vest from Knitscene’s Fall 2008 issue.

I chose brown, gold, rust, and green because I wanted something autumn-y, but I’m not altogether in love with the combination at the moment. I don’t think it looks terrible… but I’m not sure it suits me. I think it might be the rust that’s dischordant; perhaps I should have used a dark green in its place. Rather than ripping, I’m going to keep knitting for now and see what I think of the colourwork panel once it’s finished. I might be more pleased with it once the top border is done and the panel is more symmetrical. Who knows.

I’ve put it aside for tonight, at any rate. Instead, I’m going to find my Carnivale DVDs and start that second mitten.