Knitting vs. Designing

Slowly but surely I am awakening from my knitting hiatus.  Coffee has been involved. Design is still fighting for supremacy, but some knitting is finally getting done.  I've added an inch to the No H8 Mittens, and a few inches to the Guinan Hat.  The mittens are in Cascade Ultra Pima (white) and Cascade Pure Alpaca (burgundy), and so soft!  The hat is in Cascade 220 (turquoise) and Aslan Trends Bariloche (grey) and really warm.  I've decided to finish the hat in spite of occasional hives because it's easy, cute, and has been adopted by one of the children.  I started to frog it, and was asked to stop when a teen daughter realized she could never "borrow" it if it didn't exist!  And still lurking in the workbasket are the two-color brioche scarf, yummy socks, and the promised Girlfriend Gloves.  At least I don't have to start anything for an upcoming class right now!   I love that there are no deadlines.  Unless you want the mittens, hat, scarf, and gloves available this winter.

The rival of my knitting queue, my design process, often involves me knitting up a swatch of a small part of a design to check the look of a motif.  These side projects are a major impediment to getting UFOs into the FOs column.  I still can't choose one over the other as the priority, though, as I only want to design in spurts.  Trying to design when I'm not inspired is as futile as gift wrapping Jello. I need to get it down on paper while it's fresh, or it's gone forever.

I fuss over each design project a little every day like a doting mother.  There are some William Morris inspired mittens, Nursery Rhymes blanket squares, and a whole set of Arts and Crafts/Mission Style pillows, blankets, and towels.  The hand bone mittens are coming along, though ridiculously slowly.  I'll get there.  I think I have design ADHD.  Is there a cure for that?  Does it come in coffee flavor?

Mittens for the Mister

Things are at a standstill with the two color brioche stitch.  I'm not getting anywhere with the written directions, and I haven't yet found a friend who has experience in this to teach me one on one.

In the meantime, the Mr. really would like a pair of extra-warm mittens.  I shopped a little today, and succeeded in collecting what I believe will be ideal mitten materials.  The Mr. seems to have had a minor case of frostbite a few years ago, and now winter is very painful on his fingers.  I collected a Tahki Yarns Sedona hand dyed in a clear cool grey, and a really soft and lofty AslanTrends Bariloche kettle dyed.  Both are a heavy worsted, and I plan to knit them up of 6s or 7s to make a very wind-resistant, warm and lofty mitten which will also shed water if the Mr. uses them to shovel or make snow balls.  The AslanTrends has polyamid in it, making it a stable choice for wet work.  The Tahki is all merino which might grow a little if it weren't knit in a fair isle or blended colorwork pattern with something like the Tahki.

I'm looking at a variety of patterns from the Robin Hansen book, Favorite Mittens. I haven't chosen, but it will keep my fingers busy until I can talk to a few more knitting friends and get two-color brioche lessons. 

Another back-burner project which may finally get some attention is making me another pair of socks.  Since I fell in love with the Schaeffer Nichole sock yarn, I haven't made myself a pair of socks, though I've made two other pair that I have gifted.  I cast them on today, and will probably use them as my travelling project. (Waiting for appointments, killing time while travelling, etc.)

Between these, my monthly washcloth pattern, and designing an Andean Mountain hat for my youngest, my knitting future looks very busy.  Just yesterday I was all caught up!  It's my Karmic task to have perpetual knitting tasks.  Where else would I work to combine creativity, patience, and a willingness to trust directions blindly?  Bring it on!