stuff, Christmas knitting, and an update to the list of 5

Well, house buying continues.
This week's chapter: "A Very Long Addendum to Last Week's Brief Tutorial in Asbestos Testing and Remediation".
Subtitle: "HVAC Design Flaws: Do Not Lay Airconditioning Ductwork Directly on top of Insulation Which Contains Asbestos".
Additional considerations: "Why husbands should not be permitted to take week-long business trips to the opposite coast while trying to buy a house."

Coaching teenagers continues. This week's lesson: "Think before speaking. If in doubt, keep mouth closed." A good one for all of us to remember.

And the knitting ... that continues too, so that I can hopefully remain sane in light of the above items!

I am getting close to finishing my FIL's Christmas scarf. Hmm, I don't think I've showed this one before. I started it last spring, in April or May. I knit maybe 5" or so, and put it aside. I resurrected it recently, and it's moving right along.



I'm using a pattern from the 2006 "Knitting Pattern A Day" calendar (March 14-15, Intertwined Cables Scarf), and Cascade 220 in a heathery greenish-blue-purple. It's a seaman style scarf, with two wider tails joined by ribbing behind the neck. I've done the ribbing and one "tail" and almost half of the second tail. It will need a good blocking when it's done, as it's looking quite rumpled right now!

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Where does that leave me on my list of 5?

I'm doing a DAMN good job of finishing off WIPs and UFO's since I started keeping this list on August 11th. I finished the following items since then:

• a baby blanket
• 3 notebook covers (sewn) **
  
• eyeglass case (sewn)**
• a cardigan
• a headband (sewn, no pics) **
• a washcloth for charity (no pics) **
• 14 sets of stitch markers **
• a whack of baby food jar tops **
• socks for MIL
• bedsocks for Boss Lady (need to take a FO pic) **
• a scarf/hat set
• a charity hat **
• potholders (sewn)
• a pair of socks for me **
• a vest for charity **

Technically, the ones with the **s were not WIPs as they were both started and finished after August 11, but still -- NOT BAD!!! (And, many of those non-WIPs were "mental WIPs" as I had already planned the projects...)

I did a bit of storage exploration this weekend. Here's what's left for WIP's and UFO's:

1. The scarf shown above.
2. The poncho for grandma. I started it, but there is a mistake somewhere, and my stitch counts are off. I'll probably frog and restart, as I've not done too much yet.
3. A loooong time ago (2 years?) my mom bought some yarn for me to make her a Must Have Cardigan. I knit part of one sleeve and put it down. I'll need to restart this one entirely, as my gauge will be a lot different now. I now use Addi Turbos (not the bamboo ones I started with) and knit a bit looser. I'm counting this as a WIP, even though I'll need to restart the whole thing.
   
4. A single sock that needs a mate. It's the green/blue one shown here, but it's now finished. I guess I never took a picture of the finished sock.
   
5. A fair isle mitten kit that I barely started. If I frog it, I can take it off the WIP list, right?
6. A red cardigan I started for me -- sizing is not right, and I have a different idea how to use the yarn now. If I frog it, I can take it off the WIP list too, right?

Once I take care of these 6 items, I will not have ANY knitting or sewing UFO's or WIP's (just stash, which is another story entirely). I cannot WAIT until I get to that point!!!

So, here's the plan:

1. Frog the mitten
2. Frog the red cardi
   
3. Finish the scarf
4. Make the poncho
5. Add new WIP to list on or about November 14 (more details soon)
6. Once the poncho is done, cast on for the sock as my "on the go" project, as new WIP (#5) may not be a good carry-around project
   
7. Finish unidentified new WIP (#5) and then cast on for the Must Have Cardi.

Wow. Typing up this post made me realize that I've done a lot in the past 3 months, and that I have been pretty disciplined in sticking to my plan. Yay me!

When everything else in my life seems out of control, it's nice to know that I can still BOSS MY KNITTING AROUND! (Control freak? Me? Not at all!!)