Finished my Baby Surprise Jacket tonight

My local knitting group has several members working on these sweaters right now, and it was fun to knit along with them.  I'm finally done with mine, and I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.

I'll post a picture later on.

Another identity crisis

I finally settled on a name for my fiber based identity, Dancing Starlight.  Unfortunately, I had used up all of my "change your name" chances on Ravelry, so I asked the powers-that-be there to change my user name for me.  They said it would take a couple of weeks.  I waited over a month, to no avail, so I went ahead and created another Ravelry account with the name I wanted.

It will take time to fix everything to reflect my new name, but it will work out eventually.

To all of my friends on Ravelry who are wondering what the heck happened, I'm sorry for the confusion.

Knitting away the day

I've spent a lot of time knitting today.  However, all of it was being done while watching documentaries on Yellowstone National Park, about which I am giving a presentation during Labor Day weekend.  I guess you could say that I was knitting while studying.

I'm getting close to the heel of my Charybdis sock, and I'm a few rows into the pattern of my July Rockin' Sock Club sock.  I've been switching between the two today, just to keep from getting bored.

Unfortunately, I have to leave my TV and knitting behind for a while.  I need to fix dinner, then I desperately need to get upstairs to finish some customer quilts.  I do miss quilting, whether I want to admit it or not.

Regarding the affliction known as "cast-on-itis"

I have a very bad case of cast-on-itis right now.  For you non-knitters, this is basically an overwhelming need to cast on as many projects as possible, usually filling up every spare set of knitting needles in the house.  In severe cases, knitters have been known to lose their minds temporarily if they are not allowed to continue starting new projects.  (And those that do continue to start more projects often suffer from insanity, too.  It's a vicious cycle.)

There are no less than six socks on my needles right now, plus three baby afghans and two stuffed monsters.  All I want to do right now is buy more needles, so I can start more projects.

I think it's stress related.

Over the weekend, I slipped on a puddle of water in my bathroom and slammed my littlest toe into a corner of the wall.  The impact tore off my entire toenail, and the fall left me bruised and sore all over.  Add this to the stress of midterm exams and other college-related stuff, and you might be able to understand that I'm not feeling too wonderful right now.

Knitting makes me happy.  When everything else is getting me down, and when I just need a pick-me-up, knitting is there.  There's something soothing about picking up my needles and yarn and working with my hands.  I can't explain it.  It just works.

I'm running out of needles, though, so I need to slow down on my burning desire to start new projects.  Either that, or I need to buy more needles.

Thank goodness for good news!

Princess is fine.  She just needs some very strong eyeglasses.  What a scary weekend, though!

My Rockin' Sock Club shipment is due to arrive in the next day or two.  I can't wait!  I've been totally spoiled, so I know what it will look like, but that doesn't compare to the fun of actually fondling the yarn in person.

I am such an addict.

I broke down tonight and ordered another set of 2.25 mm Addi Turbo Lace circular needles, since my local yarn shop is completely out and isn't expecting more anytime soon.  I do all of my sock knitting on two circulars (16" and 24"), and that size is perfect for making socks with Blue Moon Fiber Arts' lightweight sock yarn.  I have skinny feet, so using that yarn, those needles, and 64 stitches in circumference makes the perfect sock for me.  At least it has so far.  I'm sure something will come along and completely throw that formula out of the window.  For now, it works.

It would help a lot if I had the willpower to finish one project before starting another, but I don't.  Some socks require too much attention to work on during my social knitting nights, and sometimes, I just get tired of working on the same sock for days on end.

I have four size 6 circular needles, too.  All Addi Turbos and all 32" long.  Three of them have baby afghans on them right now.  Those are for babies (my future grandchildren) who aren't even conceived yet, much less in need of afghans.  In my defense, I'm making them using my own patterns, so I'd like to be able to show off my own finished product at some point (other than the close-up of the stitch pattern that's posted online right now).

Time to get back to my Charybdis socks, for July's knit-along.  Only a few days left in the month!

A long day

One of my little princesses woke up with crossed eyes this morning.  She complained of eye pain and a headache, and she kept squinting.  This was not normal for her, so I took her to the local children's hospital emergency room to be checked.

I left with no answers and a lot of fear.

Something is not right with my little girl.  She's only four years old.  I don't want anything to happen to her.

We have to wait until Monday to see what the eye surgeon has to say.  Until then, we make her as comfortable as possible.

And we wait.

Crazy Knitting Days

I've been knitting a lot lately.  I wish I had more hours in the day, because I do have other work that needs to be done.

Knitting is just so relaxing.  And I need that right now.