Monday, April 16, 2007

I stayed up late last night.

Knitting. I feel like this should be some source of shame, but right now, I only wish I had gotten more done last night, and I wish I were knitting right now. Which is not to say that I am not aware of the fact that my hands (more specifically, my fingers, wrists and forearms) are sore, and they were sore last night. But that does not matter to me (okay, I suppose that was obvious). I mean, were I a rational being, I would have stopped last night, when my hands started hurting. Carpal tunnel (yes, I have done the research) is mostly based on genetics, but prolonged work with one's hands (like, say, knitting) can exacerbate or encourage its development. Knowing this, my behavior over the last thirty-six hours is either incredibly stupid or based on the hope that carpal tunnel is not in my genes. Then again, I am still at risk for arthritis, and, based on the way I use my hands, I would be incredibly surprised if I did not develop arthritis at some point down the line. At least, I argue, I cannot be faulted for not having lived my life, even if I was a bit reckless (yes, knitting is reckless) along the way.

I have unofficially given myself a deadline with this project, and that is a big factor in my impatience to knit it. Last year, around this time, I knit a sweater. It was finished two(?) days before my birthday, and I called it my birthday present to myself. I like the idea of knitting a birthday present to myself, and, since the sweater I made is one of my favorites (really, I live in it when I'm too tired to go digging through my drawers), I thought I would repeat the tradition. Besides, I am unlikely to get a similar present from anyone else - a handknit garment (and all the time and effort that implies), made exactly to fit my body. And I could hardly expect such a birthday present from anybody but myself. I started this project significantly later: the last sweater was knit in ten days, and I began this one on Saturday (though I did so little work on it then that, effectively, I started knitting it Sunday). Still, I am optimistic about finishing it by Thursday (my birthday), based on my progress so far.

Remember that sweater I showed you so long ago? I had not gotten any farther than that last picture, mostly because I had other things on my knitterly plate (and I still do). But the main reason I did not knit more of it was, I believe, that I was not thrilled with the pattern. I like the pattern, and I think that I would still like to knit it someday, but right now, it is simply not what I am looking for. So I ripped out the part I had knit, and I am using the yarn for my new project. I am excited about this pattern, which I have thought about ever since I first saw it. I mostly did not use it earlier because I am cheap, but then I realized I was holding out for seven (seven!) dollars, and I took the plunge.

Like I said, I have other things on my (formidable) to-knit list (the Dead Elmo Vest comes to mind), but the whole point of having a birthday is to spoil myself. And, this being my twenty-first, it is, essentially, the last birthday I am likely to ever look forward to, so I want to make it a good one.


Sahara In Progress, originally uploaded by rubychan4.

Remember that white lace shrug I mentioned so long ago? The first blocking, as seems to be a trend with me, was mostly ineffectual - unpinned, it remains ripply and a little odd-looking. I would say this is mostly because I feel uncomfortable giving my hand-knits a decent soak, given that I am sharing a bathroom with half my floor and there is no plug to stop up the sink. All the same, when it was finished blocking, I had a little photo shoot, and I did not like most of the resulting pictures, and could never take a picture of the back (taking a picture of myself is hard enough). But here is the one (and relatively blurry) picture I deemed "sort-of okay" from that day.

I Do shrug, originally uploaded by rubychan4.

Quote of the Day: "
You know you are getting old when the candles cost more than the cake." -Bob Hope