Affliction

I have decided that I have an affliction.  It even has a name:  Startitis.  I don’t know about you, but for some reason just having a name for something makes it start feeling a little better for me.  Although, this particular one is rather disconcerting, because always before when I have headed in the direction of casting on more than two projects – one for the house, and one for the car – I have successfully just “willed” my way out of it.  This time, it seems I’m helpeless to it’s power.

Actually, I have finished a few things.  Since I seem to be “the accessory knitter” fortunately most of my projects are small.  The Marsan watchcap was a quick knit and likely one that I will be doing again.  It’s got a twisted rib used throughout, and is a great TV-watching project.

I had promised a friend some hand-warmers last year, and since I had this yarn out, I went ahead and improvised some fingerless mitts using the Subway Mittens from Interweave Knits Winter 2007 for my guide (and to get the thumb gusset somewhere close to correct). This will be another pattern I’m going to knit again.  I love these for myself, but there are a couple more elderly sisters for whom I want to make some.

The yarn I used this time, was given to me by a friend whose mother died and this was part of her mother’s yarn stash.  Most of the stash is acrylic baby yarn, since she crochet’d beautiful doll clothes from sport weight acrylic, but there was also a bit of navy blue worsted wool in there.  (Amazing how fast mittens knit up using worsted weight yarn.)  I tapered the tops using randomly placed cables, and then ended with a K2P2 rib.   I guess they would look a little better “modeled” since they just look all kind of rumply here, but I don’t have them anymore.  They’re warming a friend’s hands.

Meanwhile, I’m swimming upstream with a flood of ideas and me trying to cast them all on at once.  It must be the season.  It’s a good time for making warm things, and this summer was so hot it really wasn’t all that conducive to getting enthusiastic about hats and mittens and shawls and socks and sweaters and more hats, and more mittens … stuff like that.