viva la schmezolucion!

I never make New Year's resolutions.
Resolutions, schmezolucions.

But this year, I am offering myself a challenge.
I'm going to knit 1 pair of socks every month this year.
Why?
I dunno.
Cuz I feel like it, damn it.
If I had to come up with logical reasons, I'd probably tell you:
I like knitting socks!--mindless in places, challenging in others; double-pointed needles, for some bizarre reason, soothe me; I want to experiment more with color and lace, and doing it on smaller projects seems wise; the yarn isn't expensive and I'm on a yarn diet; I forsee the need for portable knitting projects this year; I looooove wearing hand knit socks; and I realllly looooove seeing them on the feet of people I care about (and not all twelve pairs will be for me).

This challenge isn't a ridiculous stretch...I can certainly knit one sock in two weeks. No sweat. The question is whether or not I can do it and still manage to get other knitting done. That will be the real challenge. From where I sit, 2006 looks pretty damn busy, and I have a feeling I'm not going to have much time for taking up the needles.
-----------------------
So here's what I have been knitting since my last knitting post:

* I finished seaming "Under the Hoodie". I'm very pleased with it. It fits great, which I suppose isn't saying much because it's not a fitted garment....it's an oversized/drop shoulder sweater. But it really does fit great. It hangs great, it lands on the body correctly, has a nice drape, etc. And it's my first sweater. It looks handmade but not homemade, so goal accomplished. A deep bow of thanks to Merrily from my local Stitch-N-Bitch for pushing me to wash the swatch before casting on. That swatch got surprisingly shorter and wider once it hit the water. Significantly. And if I hadn't known that, I'd look like a clown in my $100 sweater (yes--$100 worth of wool/merino, a joint birthday gift from Michael & Pam--thank you guys!!...because no time lately have I had that kind of dough to plop down on stash). I haven't had a (decent) picture taken of the finished product yet, but when I do, I shall post it.



* I finished my mom's sherbert socks. I know the stripes don't match. Shut up. I tried. Every time I knit something new, I learn something new. Guess what I learned this time? Yarn and zippers are not friends. The yarn got caught in a zippered bag and had to be cut. I lost track of what the self-striping pattern was doing right in the middle of turning a heel. Whateverrrrrrrrr. Oh well. The legs/calves still match. And the instep and toes are going to be inside shoes anyhow, right???



* I knit Boogeytime for TheMIG. I made it out of the left over sock yarn that he chose himself for the pair I made him last year. What you can't see from the photo is the super cute watch face. It's a kid's Timex with a rocket that flies around on the second hand. Wheee! Even though I thought this pattern mades great use of those little leftovers, when I first saw it on knitty, I thought it was pretty silly. But about two days later, I was knitting while TheMIG was playing tennis against a backstop (his new choice of exercise), and he kept asking me every five minutes how long he had been playing....so a watch on a sweatband made perfect sense to me. I am actually quite pleased to see that he wears it around even when he's not playing tennis...especially because he hasn't played tennis again since the day I decided to knit it. So much for exercise... heehee! But truly, I love that he wears it, and it makes me warm and fuzzy to see him warm and fuzzy. It's been cold here, and it's been doubling as a wrist warmer. He's a vegetarian who doesn't wear animal products, so leather watchbands are out. I'm going to knit him one more that can pass at the office (less wide and solid black or charcoal).


* I started Latifa, and this picture was taken as we were leaving for about 8 hours of road tripping. It's now more than half way done, and I've been ruffling and sewing in ends as I go. I like it a lot, but it feels like it might belong on someone else's neck.

* Socks...para la schmezolucion!. I'm on Sock#1, top down, past the heel and now working the gusset decreases. Still no elves, and still no digital camera, so close your eyes and use your imagination.
I'm not following a pattern this time, as I'm testing myself to see if I can take everything that I conceptually understand about making socks and just wing it. This, of course, would be totally feasible if I was making the same simple stockinette socks I always make. But nooooooo....I have to not only try to make socks without a pattern, but I have to also add a pattern stitch for the first time. It's just a simple mock cable rib, but it's one more thing to think about. And just to be fun and add another variable onto that, I decided to try out using two circulars, instead of my regular soothing dpn's. The sock is coming out great, but I'm having to think about things more, which stinks, because I caught TheMIG's head cold, and, as I write this, MyFK just woke up with a fever of 102. I need eeeeasy knitting. Nooo thiiiiinking please. The sock is now on two ciculars "in profile", which has the instep pattern split up and the gusset decreases in the middle of the needle instead of at the ends, and I keep forgetting that.
I am not having fun.
Maybe I should go back to knitting a square or two of garter stitch on the scarf for awhile.
--------------------------------------
I have really been thinking the past few days about "getting back to the grind" now that the holidays are over.....
But I'm looking at the calendar, and "the grind" I have ahead of me in January is about three times as great as the grind I set down mid-December before moving into holiday mode.
What is up with dat??
I hope I can handle it. On my plate this month are depositions and legal issues, financially adjusting to not having a housemate as of this week, learning to walk with the prosthesis on (which means lots of physical therapy appointments and about double the time or more to get around and do things because I move slower), and a shit load of dancing (teaching my own class/bellydance, taking up an 8-week class series with Axis, and Dandelion Dancetheater related rehearsing 1-3 times per week).

Can I get back to the old grind instead, please? This one looks a litte bit too busy.