Decisions...

Decisions...decisions.  I'm in such a quandary.  I thought I was being smart, I really did and I'm blaming this all on Alice. It's all her fault because this was her recommendation and I've lost all free will and have become a total joiner.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.  You see there is this really neat group that was started on Ravelry by a lady (and fellow blogger) named Carole (Gingerbread Girl is her blog).  The group is called One a Day and the idea is to create one motif a day for your project.  That way you can still work on other projects and not be overwhelmed, but still complete the project in a timely fashion.  Sounds great, right?  Wrong!  I have so many things I need to make for gifts, and I thought this would be a great motivator, but I don't have a clue what I'm going to make, what yarn I need, what's in my stash, blah, blah, blah.  Now I've worked myself up into a dither over this and it hasn't even officially started....So it's all Alice's fault.  If she hadn't made it sound so wonderful, I'd still be in ignorant bliss.  Of course, if this works out well (and let's face it, it probably will) it was all my brilliant idea....even though I didn't start the group....but I just didn't have time....I meant to start it.......And I will be eternally grateful to Alice and Carole :)

Now that I've gotten that out of my system, let's move on to what's on my needles.  I think it's rather appropriate since so many ladies in blog land do WIP posts on Wednesdays.  I've never subscribed to that idea because, let's be real here, if I get all worked up over joining a group on Ravelry, imagine how I'd react if I put the pressure on myself to post every Wednesday?! It wouldn't be pretty.  So here is my unofficial WIP.  These are gifts, so I'm not telling who they are for, you just get to see them.

A while back, when I was first learning how to knit socks, I found this wonderful book and it was ON SALE!  It was only $3.99 on the close out rack, so I had to have it.  It has all these different patterns for the cuff, body and foot of the sock and you can mix and match.  It even has split pages to you can kind of get an idea of what the finished product would look like.  Well, I had a special request for a pair of socks and because I love this person very much, I am making a pair of socks. I don't want to show too much, but here is a glimpse.

Please notice the ruffled cuff and eyelet pattern.  I have to admit that I'm very thrilled with the way this is turning out. Learning how to knit is such a fun and frustrating process, but when I get something right, (and carefully read the pattern!) it's wonderful. I will admit that I got a couple of inches into this and it just didn't look like the picture.  That's when I realized that I had the pattern repeat wrong....Rip! and start all over.  I just have to keep reminding myself that this is a learning process.

http://www.vogueknitting.com/free_patterns/tilli_tomas_symphony_mantilla.asp

The other request I had was for a lacy shawl/wrap/stole.  Again, because I love this person very much, I am knitting (that's right, I said knitting) a VERY simple lace shawl. You can get a copy of the pattern at Vogue Knitting and it's free! The pattern I'm using is by Tilli Tomas and is called Symphony Mantilla # 248. This is just a small example from the pattern. It really is an easy enough pattern for a newb like me, but it does look so delicate and airy.

As you can see, I haven't gotten very far.  I had to cast on 200 stitches and that took forever.  For some reason I was having issues with my tension being too tight and I had to start over a few times.  It was really weird, because I usually cast on fairly loose.  We'll see how this one goes.

Well, this weekend is a long one because of Labor Day, so we are heading to the beach house to make sure Irene's visit didn't cause too much damage.  From what I've heard, there were mostly just some branches down in the yard, so hopefully the weekend won't be all work and no play. But let's face it, we'll be working at the beach, so it can't be all bad. 

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week so far and I'll try to pop back by before we leave. Bye for now....hmm....now where was I.....should I make a baby blanket for the One a Day project....or perhaps a Christmas gift...or maybe........Poor, silly woman wanders off muttering quietly to herself as she scratches her head in thought and  ignores the sympathetic looks from others......