Procrastination

Yesterday was GCSE results day, so I went in to see the kids and how they did in their exams. It was nice to see most of them again. There were no tears or tantrums, so I guess everyone got what they thought they would. We only had one student fail everything, which at our school is almost good!

My swap package is progressing nicely and I'm hoping to send it out tomorrow - if I don't then I'll be stuck for a few days as it's a bank holiday. Almost everything is wrapped, I just need to finish assembling the handmade item (which I'm still worried is a little lame).

At the moment though I'm sturggling as I've got to the end of all my projects and seem to have so much finishing to do. And I hate finishing. I mean, HATE it. I've been known to wear swaether with the ends not sewn in because I hate it so much. The hooded blanket is blocked, but I need to attach the hood and do the edging. The lacey blanket still needs to be blocked. I need to bind off my other sock and sewn in the edges on both, and block them. The only real project I have still on the needles is the Crofter's Cowl, of which I have done the first half.

However, the only way it's going to get done is if I stop procrastinating on the internets and actually get on with it *sigh*.

Updatey

Decided to use the Lorna's Laces to make another baby blanket (you can never have too many of those, right?). This was mostly because the yarn has a little pink in it and I wasn't sure that Stef and Neil would want to be putting a baby boy in a jumper that had a little pink in. So far it's a simple 5x5 squared pattern using stockinette and reverse stockinette which looks quite effect. It's upstairs being blocked at the moment. I've also made a little hood which I will block then attach and then I've bought some Debbie Bliss Rialto in order to make a border. It's based on http://thriftyknitter.com/?p=293, which as a pattern allows for a lot of different interpretations - something I like now I'm becoming a little more experienced.

I've also cast on for my Crofter's Cowl. I'm using the most beautiful Malabrigo ever which is in gorgeous autumnal colours. It's going alright so far, but I keep making mistakes in the lace patterns and having to tink back. Possibly I should just pay more attention and stop having a glass of wine or two while I knit.

Also, I cast off one of my Blackrose socks yesterday. Haven't quite got round to doing the other one yet, but I have one sock. Wooties. I'm not convinced it's a perfect fit, but I'll have to see how it fits when I've blocked it. Mostly I've been feeling too lazy to do the finishing.

Life stuff has been a bit harder lately as one of my (two) uncle's died very suddenly about two weeks ago of a heart attack. He was 60 and there was no apparant reason for it. I guess sometimes these things happen. Last week was spent in a caravan in Cleethorpes in order to atend the funeral and visit with family.

I have another week and a half left of the holiday. At the moment I don't feel like I've spent it particularly well, but I'm not sure what I could have done differently or how to change this in the next week and a half.

Still, my housemate's cat just bought a frog in and I rescued it which made me feel good.

Baby Blanket

Well, I went to Stash Yarns on Tuesday and managed to pick up some Dream in Color in the colourway Black Parade. It's a beautiful black with flashes of greens and browns that kinda reminds me of a blackbirds wing. I know it's a slightly odd colour choice for a baby blanket, but as I keep reminding myself, baby's Mum (my friend Steph) is a trad goth.

So I cast on that day and managed to get a whole two repeats of the lace pattern done (it's a 20 row repeat) and it was looking much better than my first attempt. Less busy anyhow. And I've carried on at the same kind of speed right up until today (Saturday) when I finished it. I still need to weave in ends (but this process makes me mad as I just can't do it right) and block it somehow, but it's finished. Already.

I even used a new (for me) bind off - the Sewn Bind Off - as I don't like how a Basic Bind Off looks. The Sewn Bind Off is a lot more time consuming, but I liked to edge much better. If I use it again (which I probably will) I will probably do it on the wrong side row though as on this one it has added an extra row and the edge will look much neater.

I have also (in my 'I'm on holiday and am therefore knitting like a crazy thing' state) have done part 1 and 3a of my swap project. I will post about what it is when my partner had received her project, but I don't want her to find out in advance, so make of this what you will.

I have also decided that I really really want to make the February Lady Sweater (http://www.flintknits.com/blog/?p=151) and even started looking into yarns before I realised that I still need to finish the swap project, my Blackrose socks, sort out my Juno Regina stole and start off two other projects for which I have already bought the yarn (some beautiful Malabrigo Worsted that will be a cowl and some stunning Dream in Color Starry which is burgendy with silver fibre) as well as use the yarn originally intended for the Baby Chalice blanket for something else (probably baby related).

Oh, and I've just found out I have left my needles in Norwich...