The only exceptions are books and knitting. I am usually reading two books at a time. I don't know why; maybe it's a remnant from grad school. And I usually have a bunch of knitting projects on the go. I have two blankets — a Moderne Log Cabin, and a mitered square (made out of remnant sock yarn) — I've been working on both for three or five years, respectively, and they're too big to be portable anywhere, so they stay at home and get worked on during long winter evenings.
Actually, I thought the sock blanket would be done by now. I'd say I'm about a third of the way through. Part of the slowdown was that I'd stopped knitting socks for a while, so I didn't have any new yarn to add, and I have a thing where the same yarn can't be too close to each other (OCD, remember?) and the problem-solving was driving be mad. I am really hoping that it's not going to take another 10 years to finish.
I don't really count those as "projects." They're just ongoing things in the back of my mind. Actual projects right now are my Fino sweater, which is coming along (but also not, because it's a full-size adult tunic in fingering yarn; I'm small but not that small) and another sweater for the Spanish Inquisition.
I may have panicked a little when the cold weather came. She had a big growth spurt in July, and I think she's having another one now, the upshot of which is that none of her old, pre-summer clothes fit. Which is fine, but I wanted to make sure she had sweaters. This is Olivia Petit, by Connie Chang Chinchio; she got one last year, too.
(Her father destroyed that one in the wash. Fun fact: Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend felts like a dream. The thing went from fitting a one-year-old to practically doll-size. The buttonholes were so small that there was no physical way the buttons could get through. Pd felt bad about it, but it really was awesome, in the traditional sense of the word. And anyway, she'd practically grown out of it by then. But she'd loved it, and it was well used; that's why she's getting another.)
This one is Cascade Eco Duo, an undyed 70-30 merino-alpaca blend that's also not machine washable, but Pd says that he's learned his lesson now. I discovered it last winter and it's become one of my go-to yarns for toddlers — super soft and warm.
All this is to say that I'm not big on knitting monogamy, although right now even I am having a little trouble juggling all of my projects. I keep my number of projects in check by keying it to the number of available stitch counters. This is feasible because I very rarely buy knitting notions; I tend to feel guilty about the amount I'm spending on yarn, and the easiest way to lower my total at the cash is to drop the knitting notions. Right now, I have three. Two are being used in the projects above, and the third is with a shawl project that's been ... "resting." (It begins with an 8-stitch lace border that's repeated 70-odd times. I crapped out around repeat number 40.) I can't remove that marker because there really is no way to recover if I lose the number of repeats I'm on.
So I shouldn't start anything, is what I'm saying. No stitch markers, no new projects. I only have two hands, Christmas is coming; I want these sweaters done before the snow hits. How much knitting time do I even think I have?
But it's starting to get cold now, especially in the mornings, and I have this beautiful skein of Alisha Goes Around Richness of Martens that I've been saving up, and I finally found the perfect fingerless mitten pattern for it, and ...
Oh, screw it.
Happy Thanksgiving weekend, everyone!
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