Spring Round Up

Springtime is always a good time for throwing open the windows, emptying the cupboards and reorganizing. I guess the urge to do this must be buildt into our DNA. Lately, it seems as if the blogs I read and the people I meet are all singing the same song. People are despairing about UFO's, swearing to use up their stash and trying to make some sense of the books and patterns they have collected over the past year. I'm no exception. Sick with a cold and tired of buying new needles and yarn when I know darn well that I have too much of both already, I actually forced myself to clean up a few outstanding odds and ends. Yesterday I finished 3 projects that have been in the wings. OK, they are small, but they are meaningful as well. (Two are for children and babies in my life.) The third is a scarf gone bad - It was supposed to be a vest, but it came out a little too narrow so it's now a rather spiffy looking (if I do say so myself) moebuis strip with curves.
Take a look at the fruits of my clean up and what can be accomplished if one gets sick enough to warrant staying home:
Don't get me wrong. I'm not bragging about the projects - they're all relatively fast and simple. It's the idea that I actually finished something besides my last bowl of cornflakes that's got me stoked - god, do i date myself with words like "stoked" , or what?












Here's a bit of sobering news for all my fellow knitting enthusiasts - and proof positive that one should never be too cocky about one's abilities - knitting or otherwise. Remember Hanne's Mermaid? The beautiful jacket that I've been prattling on about forever? The one that I have been knitting since Betsy Ross stitched up the flag? Turns out that my gauge was not what it should have been. How did I discover this? I made the first sleeve and it was too tight and too short! I hadn't really noticed this problem in the body (which has been finished for a few weeks) since it was knitted sideways, and with all the "ease" in garter stitch, it didn't even occur to me. The truth lied in the sleeve which is a much more contained and finite piece of knitting - being just a sleeve. So, rip it out I did. Just the sleeve, I might add. (If I had ripped out the whole sweater, I'd be writing this from the bottom of the East River, believe me.)
I can con the body, but I can't fool the sleeve. I'll start reknitting that some time soon - on needles two sizes larger than I used for the body - we're talking going from 0 to 2 - hope it works. If not, look for the next post to be a little water logged.