S-S-S-L-L-L-O-O-O-W-W-W

OK, I ditched housework completely on Monday. Didn't do any grocery shopping, didn't bother making dinner. So why is it that all that effort has only produced about 4 inches (10cm) of 5x3 ribbing?





Don't get me wrong, I think the ribbing looks great. The fabric will definitely work with hubby's coloring. The simplicity of the finished object will only highlight the beauty of the yarn. However, I am displeased with the lack of progress. I would like to lay blame on the fact that I still have not mastered the Continental style of knitting (although by the time this sweater is done, it should be second nature). I could even claim it is the size 4 needles. (At some point in my life, didn't I say that I wouldn't knit something large on small needles again?) Could it be that I am working with two dye lots and have to switch yarns every two rows? Although all these things may be partially responsible, I think the sad truth is that I am a slow knitter.

It is difficult to accept this reality. There are many projects that I want to do, projects where the yarn is patiently waiting for me to finish the current object so that they can take their rightful place in the spotlight. And what do I do? Spend several hours doing a 5x3 ribbing to only achieve a length of 4 inches! (We won't talk about the fact that I have actually worked on this ribbing before.) This is probably the real reason that I didn't participate in the Knitting Olympics. I am quite competitive with myself. I have very little patience for not meeting my own personal goals and get frustrated when I don't immediately master something I think I should be able to do easily. Which brings us to the current status of the sweater. I'm so annoyed that I haven't bothered to work on it. Makes sense, right? Its moving slowly so why not just ditch it for a while? (Hey, I never said I was logical in my quest for immediate gratification.)

On to more fulfilling knitting progress, here is the finished felted purse.


I thought I would add a little visual interest with the seashells in the backgound 

One would never know by looking at the innocent fun furriness, but it is a sneaky thing. Once the fun fur was trimmed so it wouldn't take up the whole interior of the bag, some of those newly liberated furs have made their way through my home. I knew it was bad when the dog got up and had fun fur stuck to her. I guess I will have to go buddy-up with the vacuum. Now if I could just vacuum the dog too...

For those of you participating in the Knitting Olympics, keep up all the good work! It brings tears of nerdy joy to me to see everyone's stats: average stitches/rows per hour, stitches per inch, cummulative stitches, and percent finished. It will be truly awesome to see all those finished objects.

Hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day!