Thursday is usually the busiest day in my week and I tend to feel rather hassled by the end and eager to collapse in the creative social wonder that is Thursday night knitting group.
Now I do realize that part of what makes Thursday crazy is just my own impetus to get everything done so that I can get to knitting night and my own obsessive personality that makes me think I need to leave a full dinner at the ready for my spouse before I go -- a meal that I am not going to eat because I am never hungry at 5:30 or 6, the time I would have to eat before leaving for knitting. Goodness, the "day" is rarely done before 7 and dinner is usually around 8 except on those days when G comes in late when he tends to eat around 10:30.
When I think about this I realize that this is why I sometimes feel harried, and why I wonder how other people get so many creative things accomplished. Goodness I am just starting to cook when most of my friends are done with their dishes and are settling down for the evening. If I am in front of the TV by 10 (or the computer for that matter) I figure it is a good day.
But back to knitting.
Yesterday I took a personal day. I was supposed to be in Tucson, where it is warm and in the 70's during the day, but we canceled our trip and although the rest of the week has been fully rescheduled Thursday was not. I thought I would spend the day at home, knitting, sewing, and generally relaxing and then I would head out to knitting group.
It did not work out that way. I did knit. I finished Bombolo and pictures will hopefully come soon. And I worked on my swatch for the cashmere cardigan. And I worked on my swatch for the cashmere cardigan.......
I do wonder how people manage to knit garments without gauge swatches. I know people like that. I could never do it. I have been lucky lately, have knitted several sweaters in a row where I got gauge in one or two tries. Not so the Karabella super cashmere.
First swatch with the needle size recommended for the pattern adaptation using this yarn. The results were way to big -- 5x5 instead of 4x4. Hmm.
Down two needle sizes, from US 9 to US 7. A slight improvement 4.75 x 4.75.
At this point I am really having trouble believing that I need to go down two more sizes, that is unusual even for me. But I do.
Another bad result on size 5 Addi turbos: 3.5 x 3.5 and it looks and feels tight. I decide the difference is not entirely in the needles but in the fact that I am probably tense. I must be tense because my hands hurt and my fingers are clenched up like little bird claws.
Time to go to the gym followed by a trip to the office and to the mall to check out the lingerie department at the new Macy's. I am hoping that Macy's sells better quality bras than Feline's did (they do) and that I will find something that fits because my size has changed and I am currently desperate to get out of my chest-binding device long before I get home most days. Success. Home
I make a lovely soup for dinner combining some carrot tops, and a bunch of celery and parsley that have frozen in my crisper tray with chicken stock and a few other odd vegetables.
While the soup is cooking I work on the swatch. I really want to finish this before I go to knitting group because I don't want to carry my entire needle collection and I am beginning to feel that the case is hopeless. I try size US 6. The results are 4.25 x 4.25.
Bah!
I consider rewriting the pattern for this gauge, but there is some part of me that refuses to give in so easily. It is time to go to knitting but I am feeling really pissed at knitting right then, and frazzled because there is still a bunch of stuff that was left piled up the day before when G was home that I haven't gotten to yet, and it is cold outside.
I am good at making excuses. And I know that when I am feeling particularly frazzled I tend to want the world to go away so I can just deal. This isn't always a good plan, as I can isolate myself which makes me feel more frazzled, but last night it worked. So I curled up with a cup of tea and finished my novel -- Almayer's Folly by Joseph Conrad. And then I did laundry and cleaned out the freezer and then I picked up those pesky size 5 needles and knitted my swatch, again.
Perfect.
Now that the knitting is in balance, life is balance and we can move forward. Which is good, because given how the day has started, it's going to be a long one.
I am glad you found your balance and hopefully feel less frazzled. You were missed (as you always are when not at knitting), but it sounds as if you really needed to just relax and curl up at home.
Posted by: Gina | Friday, February 09, 2007 at 12:26 PM