Making Up For Lost Time

I hadn't realized how much of a toll my job had taken on me though until this past holiday season when I had the luxury of an extended break. I didn't bring any work home. I didn't check my email. I didn't check my voicemail.

I read.

I knit.

I slummed in my pj's.

It was wonderful.

In indulging in these hobbies, I've rediscovered how necessary they are for me in order to keep my center. Sure, I was exhausted every day and didn't really have time for anything other than work, but I think that during that craziness, a part of me also just lost interest.

So now, I'm making up for lost time. Or something. I've been knitting like mad.

I finally finished the Central Park Hoodie and I'd have to say I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I had some problems seaming around the armholes, but I think I fudged them well enough to get away with this time.

Even after blocking the pieces, I seemed to have some extra stitches here and there, but that may have had more to do with the interrupted knitting during this project, as I wasn't quite as diligent about marking where I'd left off as I usually am. Then there was my button dilemma - I must have bought about 5 different buttons before ultimately narrowing it down to two.

I forced myself to just pick one. So, little more than a year after it commenced, my cozy hoodie is complete!

I admit, I do have button issues. As such, I've been wearing my more or less complete Broad Street Mittens after whipping through them in just a few short days (of uninterrupted knitting while being snowed in).

I haven't yet chosen the buttons that will eventually go on the cuffs to keep the mitten flap down, but I have been happily donning them around town. I love these gloves. I might need to make another pair. While I love the pattern this sock yarn makes, the wool could certainly be a little cushier. I'm thinking a cashmere/merino mix. So I'm on the hunt for the perfect yarn. In the meantime, these will do.

I've also started up this Seamless Baby Kimono. She's got two different patterns for this -- one with a worsted weight yarn, and one with a bulky yarn. While I usually prefer worsted weight or lighter for garments, I liked the bell sleeves on the bulky yarn version, and was feeling too lazy to figure out how to alter the other pattern. It's nice because it's seamless, but I'd forgotten how quickly bulky yarns can knit up. I'm using Plymouth Encore Chunky (Plymouth Encore has become my favorite baby yarn to work with -- a soft wool/acrylic mix with a great color palate) in this very happy pastel green.

The problem though is that I've gotten to the part where I need DPN's and while I seem to have them in every other size, I guess I don't have them in 10s, so this will be put on hold until I get to the LYS to pick up a set.

No worries though as I'm having fun working on the Scrunchable Cowl -- and getting rid of leftover yarn to boot.

The bottom is worked up in Odyssey I had leftover from a pair of Voodoo mitts I made for a friend last year, and the remainder is being knit up in the Wool-Ease I have leftover from this. I'm pretty happy with how the colors complement each other. And talk about a fast knit -- the perfect mindless knitting for watching TV (this weekend, that would be the wild card playoff games).

I've been reading like mad too but I'll save that for another post.