Amnesia of the knitting sort.

I picked up my unfinished Pumpkin socks today while waiting for treatment on my knee (the third and final injection of synvisc), and was a bit shocked to find that I really didn't remember where I had left off.

There, in my hands, was one almost finished sock (wait? I thought I kitchenered this one already?) and its mate, which featured the beginnings of the cuff. I could have sworn I was further along! Then, to make matters more confusing, I realized that I didn't actually have the pattern with me - because by the time I had set this down, I was knitting from memory.

Now, had the elapsed time been several months..... but, no. I put these to the side the beginning of December, as to finish the spouse's sweater.

It amazes me how memory, especially knitting memory works. There are times when I'm able to store rather complex cable arrangements in my noggin... while at the same time I cannot remember how to begin the kitchener stitch. It's a peculiar form of amnesia, I believe.

Heh.

Now... what size needles was I using on that other pattern?

When knitting strikes back.

I'm a decent knitter.

Not a phenom, by any stretch of the imagination, but I can do almost anything. I'm also willing to try just about anything - and enjoy learning a new technique almost as much as finishing a new object.

Every once in a great while, however, I run into trouble.

The usual recommendation is to trust the pattern.... which, alas, is much easier than trusting the knitter.

I've been working, off and on, on this gorgeous shawlette by the wonderful Jesh (who IS a Phenom, in my opinion). It is called Misselthwaite, and is constructed in such a way that the edging is done first. A few others in our group have finished it with no issues whatsoever.

Enter the mental block.

I've picked this up several different times - and each time have screamed and ripped it out. (A slight exaggeration on the scream... more like a whimper, but 'scream' makes me sound so much more passionate, no?). I even had the designer (the ever-patient designer) sit on my right hand and walk me through step-by-step.

Today, I picked it up again and knit it somewhat successfully. The qualifier is there because this time I trusted my knitting ability... and began to doubt the pattern. I finished the first section, and although I acknowledged to myself that I was a bit closer than before, I ripped it out. Again.

After tweeting with Jesh (ever patient, ever kind) I was reassured that indeed the pattern was written correctly.... and to my horror realized that I had ripped out perfectly sound knitting.

The only thing left is to knit again. And so it goes....

January - the two-faced month.

January gets its name from Janus - the Roman deity of gates and entryways. He governs the beginnings, as well as the endings of things (and therefore is a bit, well, tw0-faced).

As a nod to Janus, I hope to embrace a bit of both beginnings and endings this year when it comes to yarn: endings - in that I hope to finish my UFO's, and beginnings in that I'm planning on casting on a few new projects this year.

My ratio? Why, 1:1, of course! It is 2 0 1 1, after all!