I'm still here!

There have been some pet related crises in the past week chez CraftNinja, so appologies for the lack of blog. I just haven't been in the mood. Also, you know, we are in that Christmas knitting period where it's difficult to talk about things because you become paranoid that the recipient might run across your blog. Like, they never read blogs, and barely even know what a blog is, but you know, you KNOW, that if you put a Christmas present for them up on the blog, somehow they will find it. So some of that is going on.

So the stuff I can tell you:

--I started a sock out of Schaeffer Ann, which I have never used before, and had to frog it because there was this funky twisted stitch thing on the top that looks really cool but made it too tight. Considering whether to try again or browse around for a different pattern.

--I am still working on Flamenco, in the hopes that I can finish it in time to wear at Christmas, since it is really, really red. However, since I have Christmas presents that also must be worked on, I feel this deadline is kind of tight. I'm on row 26 of 75, but the rows get progressively longer and then there is the ruffle. I don't know why I persist in knitting things with ruffles since ruffles invariably mean that either the cast-on or the cast-off is a nightmare, but I am apparently ruffle-addicted. (Yes, I know of the flirty ruffles shawl from Fiddlesticks, and also the Musetta shawl, and many other ruffled shawls I am trying desperately not to remember)

--I bought a skein of the mink/cashmere yarn that has been making the blog rounds that I intend to make into handwarmers for my mom to put in her stocking. I wish there were some way of verifying the claims about this yarn, but either my OOH YARN impulse or my general tendency to believe people are telling the truth led me to go ahead and purchase it. Angels did not sing and there was no light from heaven when I opened the bag, as I had been led to believe, but other blog readings have convinced me that in order to get the angel choir, you have to add water. So we will revisit this when the mitts are knit and washed, and I will let you know whether there is any angelic apearance. (My mom is the one person who I am dead certain would never find this blog nor read it if she did, so I can say this safely)

--I am working on <censored> from <censored> for <censored>, in <censored> as a Christmas present for <censored>. I also plan to make <censored> from <censored> but I haven't picked the yarn yet. (The great thing is, this bullet point can actually cover multiple projects depending on what you fill in for the censored spots. Saves me some typing!)

--The Rogue sweater is in time-out until I get over my bitterness at these cabled increases along the ragland seams. I really hate knitting them. It galls me that this sweater will fly by when I get through that mess, but that I have to get through it first.

--I finished the first sock in the raspberry black forest yarn and am on to the second. I still don't like the fiber blend very much, but the finished sock is absolutely lovely. I'm through the cuff and into the patterned part of the leg, and the nice thing about this pattern is that it is easy to look at the sock and count repeats, so I know how many I have to knit in order to get socks of the same length. (I know, I could count rows or weave a thread back and forth or whatever, but I'm comfortable with eyeballing it and accepting that there may be a row's difference in the length between my socks. I am pretty confident no one else is going to measure.)

--Veronique and the Featherweight cardigan are advancing a row at a time. This is a consequence of having too much stuff on the needles. I think I'm finished with the collar on the Featherweight collar - or, to be more accurate - I'm done with it. I'm totally done with this stupid collar. I can live with it being maybe a teeny bit shorter than it was designed to be. So when I get around to casting it off, I should be able to knit the sleeves which I desperately hope will go quickly, because I could really use a dose of 'finish-it' self-esteem.

--I can't show you pictures of any of this because Photoshop Elements 3 is not compatible with Vista and I am still waiting on my new copy of Photoshop to arrive. Woe.