I was getting ready, late last night, to prep some stuff for shipping before Christmas - namely the three market bags I crocheted for my aunts in Pennsylvania. But I couldn't do it. I just could. not. do. it.
The reason? One of the market bags I made was so hideous, I knew I could not, in good conscience, give it away as a gift. It would be borderline insulting.
I made it using the same pattern as the other two, but the yarn seemed to sag and grow with every row. By the time I finished, I realized the thing was almost as long as my body! But it took just enough time to make that I was reluctant to rip it out. So I did the next best thing: I stashed it in my closet and didn't look at it for a month.
Yesterday I pulled it out again and realized that time did not make the heart grow fonder. It was just as awkward and elephantine as I remembered. Plus, it looked really plain... it was just a blah tan color with a dark brown rim and strap. It definitely wasn't as cute as the other two bags I made.
But, rather than face the problem for what it was, being: the bag was just too big and saggy, I decided to attempt to cover it up by embellishing it. And let me just say that embellishing is not my strong suit.
I crocheted some scalloped lace edge to go around the rim. Let's just say it looked more elegant in my head than it did in real life. Still not satisfied, I figured it just needed more bells and whistles. So I crocheted 3 different sized flowers and sewed them randomly on the bag.
I then took photos and couldn't fight the nagging feeling that I perhaps made it even more ugly with my embellishing.
I tried to justify it by reasoning that the intended aunt is eclectic and has a funky style, so she would probably really like the bag, though deep inside I knew this was a lie.
And my husband only confirmed it when I showed it to him later and he whistled through his teeth and said "Sorry... but that's really ugly."
"But my aunt will like it, right? She's got a sort of cool, mismatched style! Right?" I replied, desperate.
"....Sure..." my husband replied tentatively.
So that sealed it. I knew I could not send the bag to my aunt like this. And even though the Priority Mail deadline for Christmas is tomorrow (talk about last minute), I knew I had to fix it.
So I sat down and took the time to rip out half the bag, add a new border and strap, and add one new flower made of the 3 previous flowers to make a bag that was smaller, simpler, but much better.
I'll admit ... it's still not my favorite crafted item, and the yarn is still saggy so it's still bigger than I wanted. But at least it looks like a bag I can see my aunt using and not like a deflated dinosaur bladder!
And now: Comparison photos!
I have a short attention span. I think I have more projects in-progress than I do actual completed projects. The projects that I have completed tend to be one-shape deals. A scarf, a baby blanket, a coffee cup cozy. As soon as extra elements such as sleeves, shaping, seaming, and especially pairs are introduced, the chances of my finishing the project drop dramatically.
However, I've decided to take a stand and start taking care of those un-finished objects (or UFOs in yarn-speak) and get them done, if only to free up some of the needles they're resting on. And so far so good! I think it's a promising sign that my knitting is getting more proficient because finishing my projects seems to be taking much less time than I anticipated.
Last February I knit a cozy orange neck-warmer and wanted to make arm-warmers to go with it. I completed the first one, but lost motivation to finish the second. Well, I picked it up the other night and was amazed that I was able to finish the second arm-warmer during a few episodes of 30 Rock. That wasn't so bad... and now I have a cozy neck and arm-warming combo to wear just as the weather is getting more nippy!
Emboldened, I dared to face a project from my very distant past. Almost 2 years, to be exact. That's right... my first sock. I was so proud to have finished the first one, but also traumatized and I couldn't bear the thought of repeating the experience. I even dabbled in other sock-knitting, but as I mentioned in my last entry, socks are just not for me. But that one single sock has been a spot of bother in the back of my mind for the past 2 years now and I decided I wanted to be done with it once and for all!
My poor neglected first sock and the accompanying ball of yarn were buried in a basket and somehow coated in dog hair. I spent a good amount of time picking these hairs off as I contemplated my mission. Then I began, feeling somewhat reluctant, like it was a chore.
But then, something funny began to happen.
I began to enjoy myself. The sock seemed to fly off my needles (it is worsted weight yarn on size 6 needles, after all), and it seemed like I was done in no time at all. And even though the socks were made of basic acrylic yarn - nothing fancy, when I slipped them on my feet (which are perpetually cold, by the way), I experienced a sudden blissful feeling of "Aaaahhhh". I'm wearing them now as I write this and my feet feel so cozy. I'm usually always barefoot in the house - I don't like wearing socks indoors...but I'm changing my mind!
In fact, I've decided to give socks another try. I'm now working on a "real" pair of socks using real sock-yarn and tiny needles for my husband's huge feet. I'm almost done with the first. If I can finish the pair I'll know I have beaten my second-sock-syndrome for good!
It isn't just knitting projects I've been finishing. I also weaved in ends and embelleshed three market bags that I made for my aunts for Christmas. I'm feeling quite good about getting all these things out of my way!
I still have projects left though.
The main one that's bugging me is the second Beer Glove to match the first I made for my husband. I learned that if there is something I like less than socks, it's making individual finger holes. But the first turned out fairly well and I would really like to get the second one over with. That's next on my list.
Next, is my Avalon Hoodie. I fell in love with the image in the magazine and I really should have held out for the kind of yarn shown in the magazine (Lorna's Laces Swirl in Pewter).....
...BUT... I was impatient and bought what was immedietly available at my LYS, (Lorna's Laces Swirl in Black Purl). Now, don't get me wrong. I like the color - it reminds me of my favorite time of day - dusk. But I'm not sure I like it on me. I very rarely wear purple and as I've been working on the hoodie (I've got the body done, just need to finish the sleeves and hood), I'm not sure I'm digging the stripey effect of the yarn.
I'm having a hard time seeing myself wearing this, and from trying it on so far I fear the bottom edge isn't as long as I would like so I'm already wondering if there's a way to knit from the cast-on edge to make it longer... As if that weren't enough, the LYS only had 5 balls of the yarn, not 8 like the pattern called for. But I was too impatient to worry about it (else I would have ordered the color I really wanted and waited for it to come in), so I bought the 5 that were available and knit until they were almost gone and ordered 3 more online. And, of course, the dye lot is different. Luckily it seems very similar, if not for the annoying shades of pink in the new lot of yarn that were absent in the first skeins. Sigh...
As a result of all these annoyances I haven't been working on the hoodie much of late, which is a shame because I do have so much of it done and that yarn was not cheap!! So that will be next after the Beer Gloves.
Lastly, I have a crochet afghan that I started enthusiastically when my good friend Cecily was asked to host a Crochet-Along for Lion Brand. I started using all the random acrylic colors in my stash just to get rid of some stuff I wasn't going to use ever again. But the damn thing was just so ugly!!! And when I saw Cecily's blanket which was in lucious shades of purple, and crocheted with a much bigger hook so the blocks were large and springy compared to my tightly-wound curmugeons,
So I basically got yarn-envy and ripped out all my blocks in brown and orange and god-knows-what-other-random-pukey-color and ran out and bought a bunch of puple Lion Brand yarn and started over. And I got like 6 blocks done! But.....then I sort of lost interest and I currently have a bag full of blocks and heaps of yarn that I bought in desperation.
I'll have to deal with that later...
I also have a gray boatneck sweater that I've barely started. I may just rip that out and pretend in never happened. (Anyway, gray boatneck sweaters are so two years ago.)
I think that's all of my UFOs...though I'm sure if I went digging I would find one or two more. I'll try to pretend that isn't the case while I get my current list tackled.
I'm already forming a resolution for next year and that's that I will not start a new project unless I finish another one first!
We'll see how long that lasts!
