Knitting Ambivalence

I'm jumping between a lot of new projects that I'm not thrilled with and avoiding some current works in project at the same time.

Unsure What To Do Next
I'm not sure I want to start another sweater at the moment, but small projects are feeling very satisfying either.

I started a pair of socks using Carol's gorgeous yarn.



Then I decided to use up some scraps of Cascade 220 to make a Tychus Hat from Knitty.





Finally, I started a pair of mittens using the David and Mel Alpaca Herd yarn.



I can't bring myself to pick up the crochet tablecloth and figure out where I made yet another mistake and extract it from the fabric.

I should really finish the cable sweater I started a while ago.

Maybe I'll just focus on the kid alpaca bedspread/coffin cover until I figure out what I want to really knit when I grow up.

New Books
Part of the order from Amazon were three new books I ordered for myself.





Knitting For Him by Storey is a beautifully edited book with lovely models. Most of the sweaters and scarfs aren't items I'd make. Many of them are either impractical (such as scarfs you can only show one side of) or require a certain style to be able to get away with wearing them, or are just plain boring.

I love the Kaffe Knits Again book. It brings back tons of Kaffe's best designs in current Rowan yarns. Like they were in the past, however, they are for very slender men, unless you modify the pattern to make them for someone more my size. He also includes a few one-side scarves in intarsia. What does the other side look like?

Finally, I also got Kaffe's latest quilting book, Kaffe's Quilts in the Sun. I know it's not knitting, but it is truly spectacular. Liza has a quilt in the book called Perkiomen Valley that is breathtakingly beautiful There are 20 designs in this book and all of them are amazing to look at.

A New Zealand Flavored Christmas
Finally, big thanks to Kiwi friend James for his wonderful knit-bag full of gifts (yes, I did wait until Christmas to open it this year).



New Zealand pencils and a pen, a sheep pencil sharpener, a beautiful bookmark, the ever-useful New Zealand 2008 picture calendar, and of course, the huge bar of Kiwi Fruit Chocolate. There is some water-expandible object I haven't figured out what it is yet.

Many thanks.

Readers' Comments/Questions
About the Alpaca Herd Jacket, Seanna Lea asks, "Will it be too warm to wear on a regular basis?"

I wore it to my mom's house at Christmas, and it was to warm, and yet I wore it all day in my house yesterday, and it was fine. It will definitely be handy to have around for use when I need it.

Adam Spector Hodgkins Memorial Fund