I’m Knitting As Fast As I Can

Despite my abysmal record at following through with -alongs, I couldn’t stop myself from signing up for Vicki’s 2008 ABC-along.

I participated in the 2006 ABC-along when Anne hosted it, but true to form I never posted all 26 photos. I swear I’ll do better this time. Really.

And speaking of Anne, she’s been diligent about posting a WIP report every Wednesday. I toyed with the idea of joining her and blogging my WIPs every Wednesday but then I realized that would involve actually determining how many WIPs I have and locating all of them. Um, probably not a feasible goal.

Instead, I hope to unearth one WIP each week and then decide whether to frog it or finish it. Feel free to weigh in on the decisions.

Here are the first of the WIPs.

Frog . . . or . . . Finish??

These project both fall squarely on the “finish” end of the spectrum.

The hat is for my long-suffering husband who has been waiting patiently for the holiday knitting to end so he can move to the top of the knitting queue. It’s been c.o.l.d. as hell here so I feel a bit of urgency to finish it.

The green scarf is for a one-skein swap I’m participating in with my Stitch ‘n Bitch group. I’ll divulge more details when it’s finished and I’ll be posting the pattern at the same time.  But the swap is next Tuesday so I better get my arse in gear.

On Monday I received a very nice email from my Sockapalooza pal telling me she’d received the socks and, best of all, they fit! So, who was my pal? None other than Jennifer, the designer of the awesome Counterpoint Scarf from the December ‘06 issue of Magknits. The person knitting for me hasn’t revealed herself yet and my socks haven’t arrived so the Sockapalooza excitement continues. In the meantime, I can become better acquainted with this lovely skein of Mountain Colors Bearfoot that found its way into my mailbox.

I won a contest Lisa held to celebrate her new blog and this was my prize. Lucky, huh. And check out the adorable needle case that Lisa included in the package. Very cute and functional. Thanks, Lisa.

Sitcom Chic; did someone say Sitcom Chic?

I guess I never did take and post photos of the completed Sitcom Chic sweater. That would be because I still haven’t sewn the button on yet. Yup, one single solitary button and I can’t decide on how to affix it to the sweater. I worked the front edges in an eyelet pattern and I haven’t had time to really think through the best way to secure the button. So to distract you from the absence of finished Sitcom Chic photos, I’ll instead post a photo of my current main squeeze WIP:

A Baby Surprise Jacket.

This one is for a class I’m teaching at the Wool Cabin in September so I intend to add all the bells and whistles to it: ribbed cuffs, I-cord edging, and a collar. I’m also working the increases and decreases in stockinette stitch instead of garter stitch.

I like it. My BFF hates it.  You be the judge.

After some well-documented false starts, I finished the socks for my Sockapalooza pal this past weekend.

Here they are, tucked neatly inside the felted bag that will carry them safely on their journey west.

But you probably want to see the socks themselves, right? Here they are with all the goodies I’ll be including in the package (note cards, hand-dyed yarn, cat stickers, the bag):

My pal likes cats so I actually bought the stickers and the note cards before I even started knitting the socks. Then I saw the yarn a few weeks later and knew it was destined for the socks. See what I mean–the colors are a purrrrfect match:

Tomorrow is the mailing date and I’m crossing my fingers the 24/7 machine at the post office is operational tomorrow night. Well, and I’m also crossing my fingers the socks fit my pal!