I am Julia Julia Julia

I have decided that I'm going to pull a Julia whatever and knit one swatch from my Super Stitches Knitting book each day. I haven't decided when I'm going to actually start doing this. (The indecision probably stems from the first three swatches being Stockinette Stitch, Reverse Stockinette Stitch, and Garter Stitch. Not to mention I have no yarn to spare, in spite of having a lot of yarn.)

Speaking of yarn, here's some now:

I actually spent a good chunk of time with my swift, winding these into glorious little balls of goodness.

Yep. That's my swift.
(The yarn is Valley Yarn's Huntington for some upcoming gift socks)

Also, although I'm barely posting about this now, I actually did this quite some time ago. You can tell because my (really tasty looking) solo hank of crock-o-dye has already gone through this transformation:



These are a pair of Tadpoles that are actually going to make it to the Christmas Present Pile. The last pair I couldn't resist and are in my drawer right now. I should have held out for this pair: they have silk.

However, it is a fine feeling to know that I have 2 Christmas presents done already for March.

Oh? I didn't tell you about my other Christmas present? Maybe that's because it turned out so hideous.

I really don't know what to do with it. On one hand the Hurricane hat base pattern is truly lovely and will complement the recipient's skin color perfectly and she loves big flowers a lot too. But on the other hand that flower is really flippin' big and looks, from the side, like someone just shot a bullet through the wearer's head and it's the grotesque blood splatter you'd see if you stopped time right at that moment. But all that aside, it's still DONE. Which is better than not having an early present. Besides, the flower is made of wool and maybe I can get away with sending it on a trip through the washer and dryer. If it is utterly ruined then I can take out my (dreadful) sewing and put something else on there. I mean, hey, they sell big flowers at Michael's right?

As an aside, that is my face without makeup and by that I mean that is my I-just-finished-a-hat-what-the-hell-does-it-look-like-on-a-head face. And by that I mean it's also my I-have-to-get-to-class face. And by that I mean it's just my regular face so that's actually a damn good representation of what I look like. Except I don't usually have a giant flower on my head. It's really too big, isn't it...So I don't know. I'm really on the fence with this one.

Upcoming:

• A photo of all of my WIPS. I plan on digging them all out of their hidey holes and setting them up in good lighting so I can remind myself with this one photograph that I need to get to work lest they overwhelm me entirely.
• A photo of all my yarn. That's right, I'm totally playing Flash Your Stash 2011. I figured since I'm putting it on Ravelry I might as well put it here too. It's going to be kind of embarrassing, like if you're at a party and everyone's showcasing their Victoria's Secret bras and you're wearing a stained sports bra. Also, all my good stuff has been ripped from the glorious hanks and tags and been made clumsily into tightly wound balls. I'm just saying.
• A photo of me slicing a nice sharp pair of scissors through my beautiful fair isle. It's true. I'm going to steek. I'm going to steek something very small, but I'm going to steek nonetheless. Is it odd that I actually procured wool for this very purpose? But, I have to learn and I'm going to do it. I've been spending a lot of time with Alice Starmore's Fair Isle book, and Meg Radcliffe's colorwork book as well and  it is looking more and more interesting. I still cringe a little at the graphic photos in Mrs Starmore's book. Honestly, they make me sick. But I can imagine myself doing it. Although I'm admitting freely that it might take me a really REALLY long time to finish the knitting itself. I'm going to make a little tiny vest or something. It helps that I have a kid, otherwise people might think I'm crazy: knitting a tiny vest so that I can cut it up... Maybe I am crazy.

Also, I've cast on for a new pair of socks. But you'll have to wait and see how they look because I am too lazy to get a picture and besides, I have already given you 6 pictures today. So there!