Swiftly on!

I ordered a swift from Joann using their monthly 40% off coupon. Yay! Now I can make all of the various skeins I have around into lovely little cakes of yarn.

I have not been knitting, which is bad, because I really want to, but so much ends up getting in the way in the evenings. This weekend, maybe. I really want to make the hat with the Manos, especially since I was just reading something on someone's blog (no idea who) about how great Manos is to work with.

I haven't decided what to do with the baby jacket yet. I think I'll finish it, and also make some smaller things, washcloths and such as suggested, and make my decision when the time comes.

I just found out about Spark Crafts in Davis Square in Somerville. I'm not sure how I didn't know about this place before, but now I must make a pilgrimage across the river. I am seeing visions of taking a pair of jeans that I love but are falling apart and making them into something that I can keep wearing with a lot of pizazz. What I really need to do is hem all of those pairs of pants that have been patiently waiting.

I think I'm being selfish

The more I think about it, the more I worry that if I give the baby jacket to the friend for whom it is intended, I am setting myself up for lots of work. This is the first friend having a baby. I was inspired, I wanted to make a little jacket. True, it is much smaller than making something for an adult, but it's a lot of money, and still a good bit of time. Do I set myself up for this for each friend who has children? Or do I make something smaller for this friend, and save this jacket for a future niece or nephew, or even a future child of my own? And is that selfish? Given that this baby isn't due until the end of December, I should really stop obsessing about it and knit the hat with Manos for the dear friend whom I promised would have her hat for the fall. Oh, dear. I will knit while I watch ANTM this evening, but I just don't think I can knit through Lost. I may miss something, and that's not good in that show. I'm glad it's getting more fall like, it makes me more likely to actually work with the wool.

Organizational Behavior

I may have been cursing the Container Store during the hours that we were there, stressing out, designing closets, searching out storage, and waiting for pickup. But now that we have done some of the instalation, I am amazed. I have not been knitting because I have been in total organization mode in my apartment. Which of course means that right now, it looks like a bomb went off. But the closets are amazing. I was realizing after it was all done that I should have taken before pictures, but I will definitely have to take after pictures when everything is loaded back in in an orderly, easily accessible manner. The only problem is that it is so airy and well organized that the cat is complaining that there are no dark hidden places in there for her to go hide in anymore. Well, that's what her kitty condo is for.

Now that we've gotten the closets finished, the next thing to attack is my craft corner. When you have two people living in a one bedroom apartment with only a living room, kitchen, bedroom and very small bathroom, it really does matter that the craft area has exploded to take over half of the room. We currently have the computer and tv and some bookshelves against one wall, the couch in the middle of the room facing the TV, and everything behind the couch is out of control craft mess. Well, the new "system" that I have should actually harness it. I have bins. I have a new craft table. I have drawers. I have shelves. I will be the most amazingly organized crafter in the world, for at least a day. :-P This I will b sure to take before and after pics of. Although I will be *so* embarrassed to actually post the before pictures on the internet.

Currently the baby jacket is stopped at the place where the pockets should be added (should pockets be added has yet to be decided). I have three pairs of pants that need to be hemmed for my lovely, yet very short, great aunt. They take priority over the knitting. And although I am loving the class I'm taking this semester, it is a participatory kind of class, so no knitting there. Ah, well. Sometime before next spring I will finish the hat I need to make, the baby jacket, and a tank for myself. And maybe even some other projects. Riiiiiight.

I *want* to like the Container Store

I really want to like the Container Store. And for the most part I do. We got all kinds of good stuff, but their method for actually getting your order to you is really bad. We went to try to get some things to organize my craft corner. Which is really more than a corner. And it's out of control. Currently, I have what is really a buffet type side bar thing from Ikea as my sewing table. It doesn't work out because it is really shallow from front to back, so there's no real room to work. I also have all of my yarn and fabric and whatnot in big rubbermaid containers, so I end up digging through every time I need some supplies. I had gotten some wall mounted shelves to put craft supplies on, which worked for a little while, until they came crashing down. So I went to the Container Store. I bought some clear plastic drawer things. I got a little file box. We went back yesterday to try to find a little desktop for me, and maybe some stuff to organize our two horrible closets. Hours later, and way, way too much money later we'd bought all of these "systems" for the craft are and the two closets. Then we had to go back today to pay and pick the stuff up, and we had to wait again. Now we have boxes and rails and table tops and drawers in pieces all over my craft area, waiting for next weekend when we can actually put it all together. I'll be lucky if I can find my yarn and needles in the piles in the next week. Myabe next Sunday I'll go find the Knitsmiths in Brookline so there's someone to force me to knit. Not that I should need to be forced to knit!

why do babies need pockets anyhow?

I am working on the front of the baby jacket, and I have gotten to the place where the pocket it to be placed. In very helpful Debbie Bliss style, the instructions say "Place Pocket" and then go merrily along telling you what to do after that. That's it. Place Pocket. No diagrams, of course. Um, huh? And now I'm thinking, it didn't take all that much yarn to make the little pocket liners, and why the hell would babies need mini-pockets anyway? I may just leave the pockets out. The moms will be none the wiser, I'm sure.

There's a chill in the air

Today, for the first time in a while, I needed a light sweater to walk to work. Knitting season is coming back! I broke from my normal tradition and did knit through the summer this year, but it was so damn hot a few weeks ago, that while I was planning projects, I haven't been knitting. I wish I didn't have to go out tonight because I'd totally want to go home and work on my baby jacket. I need to find cute buttons that a baby won't choke on to use before I can knit up the side with the button holes. And I need to get some Addi turbo 8's and teach myself magic loop to start the pageboy hat with the manos yarn I got. Yay, fall knitting!

I work right near BU's campus, and the students are back today. I love fall. Although we do still technically have 2 more weeks of summer.