Personally, I Blame the Chair

I think there may be something wrong with my physical knitting environment.  Some ne'er-do-well spirit, lurking about the joint that makes me knit the same thing wrong, over and over again.  It's not the first time I've noticed this phenomenon:  The less time I have to get things done in, the more times I have to do them over.

I know what you're going to say, but it couldn't possibly be User Error, because I have exactly the same number of skills as I did yesterday, when I was knitting perfectly.  So I think it has to be caused by some external influence.  The pets are minding their own business, so I can't blame them.  The lighting is fine.  The temperature is appropriate.  I'm fed, watered and rested.  There is absolutely nothing wrong here, except that today my knitting has been like applying mascara wearing boxing gloves: Destined to end in tears.  The fourth time I gutted the same stinking 7-row band of peeries in the Fair Isle vest, I realized that I'm in a suck-spiral.  I can't knit right, and then I tear it out, and I can't knit right again, in a whole new way.

This would be the sort of day one takes off from knitting, except that I don't have any extra days in my current knitting schedule.  Even if I only get three stitches right today, I still have to have something to show for this day, so I'll spend the next 4 hours in pursuit of those three stitches. 

I need an exorcism to rid me and my knitting of the demons of miscounted and split stitches.  Some ritual chanting to cleanse my space of jacked-up steeks and lying gauge swatches. 

Send me your good vibes, and I'll send you mine.  I'm looking for them under the chair.
 

Speechify

Tonight I am honored to address the Seattle Knitters Guild.  These delightful knitters have invited me to share a few words with them, so I thought I'd give my perspective on a topic we all share interest in:  Making Time To Knit.  Please stop by, if you're in the neighborhood!

Counting Crows, Counting Friends

This morning, the Fed-Ex man brought me love in a box.  The dear sweet friends over at Knit Picks had this sample made for a catalog shoot a while back, and thought I should have it as a replacement for the original red one that was stolen.  I really can't express my surprise and delight.  It's yet another example of the kindness and generosity of Knitters.  What a very special gang we are.

The Counting Crows pullover was the first design I made for The New Stranded Colorwork.  I knit it before there was a book, or even an agreement to write one.  I remember announcing to the Smallies that I was going to make a sweater with crows on it, and asking them to decide who it would be for.  They bickered for a while, and then between them, came to the realization that if the older one got the sweater first, then the younger one would get it as soon as it was outgrown.  Not a bad bit of logic, and I remember being proud, both that they were clever, and that they both liked the sweater design that well.

Neither kid ended up wearing Counting Crows.  It was away at the publisher, and then rolling around in my sample case for so long that they both outgrew it before either one got a chance.  But they both still love it, and were delighted to see this new incarnation of it coming home to roost.

Thank you Kelley, Alison, Melissa and Stacey.  Today I'm counting my blessings, and I'm counting you each, twice.