I’m not sure what’s going on.

As I mentioned, my 3 big projects going on right now are 1- school, 2- the pillow I’m making for my sister-in-law, and 3- the pattern for the knitting magazine.  I’ve been making the effort to catch up on my schoolwork during the day while at work, or in the background while my kids play on the weekends, so that I’m free at night or during their naptimes to work on the knitting stuff.

The magazine pattern is sketched out and swatching is in progress, but the pillows are due first since B would like them by her birthday, and I think that’s only fair considering she gave me the yarn and chose a couple of cable patterns LAST May.

Last week I swatched the 2 cables that would be incorporated into the 2nd pillow.  It took longer than expected, because I hadn’t properly prepared my chart or my knitting.  I figured- it’s a swatch- who needs stitch markers or anything?  Turns out that I do!  It’s a pain to try and find your place in a complicated cable with a 32 st x 20 row repeat while watching TV and trying to get an inventive 4-year-old back in bed.

Once the swatch was done I was able to take the measurements and do all my calculations (math, how I love thee) to figure out all my repeats, etc.  Plus I wanted the pillow to look good, plus there’s going to be a button band, plus I’d like it to match the first pillow in details…so that took a day or two of charting the whole thing out in Knit Visualizer, reorganizing in Excel, writing out the pattern in Word, finalizing a repeat in Excel, making the proper repeats in KV, then putting it all together in Word while it was still fresh in my head.  I’m thinking of publishing the patterns for the pillows once they are all done, so this saves me the trouble of trying to remember what I’d done, after the fact.

I finished finalizing the pattern on Sunday.  We had a funeral to go to in the morning, then when I got back I went with my inlaws (who were babysitting) and the kids to McDonald’s for lunch.

Unfortunately a birthday party group started 5 minutes after we sat down in the play park to eat…and it got VERY loud.

While the kids napped in the afternoon I went over every last step of the pattern, double-checked my repeats and was completely done.

I printed it Sunday evening and put it with the yarn on my couch, ready for night-time knitting.

I had dinner with Yannick.  We had steaks and veggies and literally jumbo shrimp.

We watched an episode of America’s Got Talent.  Or three.  I sat there with my empty plate on my lap, and the knitting bag next to me, and I could NOT bring myself to touch it.

I thought about casting on.  I wanted to cast on.  I didn’t cast on.  I just couldn’t force myself to do it.  When Yannick left to go study a bit, I got into bed with my laptop and did my nails.

On that note- I’ve been doing my nails a lot lately.  I’ve always been a bit into funky techniques and stuff, and had even bought a big kit of the Konad nail stampers when on my honeymoon in 2006.  My friend and neighbor is also into nails and she invited me into a group that posts photos so I’ve been putting more of an effort in lately.  I haven’t posted photos here ‘cus I didn’t know if anyone would be interested, but I’ll show you this one ‘cus I think it’s so cute.

These were my nails last week.  I’ve seen the “newspaper nails” technique online in various places but when I tried it I decided to use the crossword puzzle instead.  🙂

So back to the knitting.

Yesterday, I did my day’s worth of studying at the store.  I picked up the boys, gave them dinner, played, bathtime, then by 7:30 was done- kids in bed, I’d already eaten, nothing left to do but sit down and knit.

So I made a huge Greek salad to have for lunches for the week.

By 8:15 I was done- ready to sit down and finally cast on for the pillow.  Then a friend called and had to stop by and show me her glasses so we could see about getting her a new lens.  And I invited her in to chat.

By 9:00 she left, and I sat down, ostensibly to knit.

At 9:30 I gave up and decided to go upstairs to bed and do my nails.  I just COULDN’T bring myself to touch the knitting bag.

I don’t know why.  It’s not like it would be hard- all I had to do was cast on.  But for some reason just the thought of starting was too much for me.

I actually did go upstairs and get out my nail stuff.  Three times I sat down on my bed, then got up and walked back to the stairs…I knew it was only 9:30.  I could knit for 1.5 hours, and still have plenty of time to get into bed, knit and blog-read until my nails dried.

I forced myself.  I made myself get back on the couch, pick up the knitting bag and cast on.

Once I’d cast on, it was easy.  It was the usual- knitting flowed and I watched tv until 11 while working up my set-up rows on the pattern.  I don’t know what the mental block was that I had to get through, but I’m glad I made the effort to do it, ‘cus now it’s done, and I don’t have to do it again.

My plan for tonight is to keep working at it, while doing 5 or so loads of laundry.

On an unrelated note, I took a self portrait with my iPhone on Sunday and was wondering if it is better then my current Ravatar.  What do you think of this pic?

And COMPLETELY unrelated, here’s a pic of Jakob posing with his favorite vehicle.  (What’s it called, by the way…back hoe?)  We went to the dep for freezies on Saturday and they had one parked in the lot, and he was SO excited to get a chance to get up close and see it.

 

At