Monday I lost my car key. since it’s one of those bizarre keys that flips out of the remote and can’t be easily copied at a local store, I only have the one key. (I really should get a copy made, shouldn’t I?) where was it? in my purse. boy, did I feel stupid when I found it. (in my defense, the purse interior is black and the key is black. but still) so I stayed home (by the time I found the key, it really wasn’t worth it to drive and park or drive and park and bus since I work part time).

I spent much of the morning feeling a bit lost and overwhelmed (and downloading podcasts). at some point, I felt compelled to knit, so I worked on the strap of the Tasha bag a bit. (boy is that braided cable fiddly - I did get it memorized by the bus ride home last night, though.) I contemplated resuming work on the Sockamania River socks, but just couldn’t get the required mojo for that. meanwhile, the armless & faceless Mother Bear lay there staring at me (which I imagine must have been difficult for her, considering the lack of a face).

as an aside so that you may fully understand the way my knits can stare at me, my desk is angled to fit in a corner, with the computer in the center and space on either side. currently, on the left are about 4 WIPs and on the right side just out of the way (but barely) of the mousing zone are another 5 WIPs (which included the bear up until Monday). let it also be noted that there are more WIPs floating around the room in various places.

so yeah, the bear is now finished:

Started: Summer 2005
Finished: 2 July 2007
Pattern: Mother Bear Project - can be ordered from their site or found in Knitting for Peace
Mods: I knit it in the round. worked ok, though I think I’d prefer knitting it flat next time. also added the skirt.
Needles: Size 7
Yarn: Various worsted weight acrylics from the stash

I also finished sewing up the dh’s stripey pajama pants of blindness:

just in time for his trip to Ohio for Origins. he left yesterday, so I am home alone for a week.

in other news, nothing says summer like fresh berries. one only needs to walk about 3 steps from the front door to get them:

yes, they’ve taken over the front deck. we also have some along the edge near the neighbors horse fence and in the back woods somewhere.

the nice thing is, they don’t all go ripe at the same time - I think I’d go nuts if they did. (it’s bad enough trying to harvest and eat them daily)

we also have a little friend in the pond bucket. anyone know what he is?

I’ve been in a great cleaning/organizing mode lately. I still don’t get much done, but I’m making a bit of a dent. I managed to return the contents of one box to their file cabinet drawer (it’s been how many months since we moved?), I put up my bulletin & white boards, I made a list of WIPs to hang on a clipboard on the wall (so it can threaten remind me what needs finishing), and I cleaned up the top of the yarn-case where knitting gadgets (needles, stitch-a-day calendar, i-cord maker, notions, etc) live. I’ve also been going through the knitting library a bit, trying to decide if I really want to keep all my Half-Price Books finds.

I was getting close to going through the basket o’ WIPs (not to be confused with the crate o’ WIPs, which also needs going-through), when I discovered the Mother Bear in-the-round attempt. Nearly finished, just in need of her head and arms (well, and her skirt and scarf too - the Build-a-Bear’s I bring home can be nekkid, not so for the Mother Bears I make). So I pulled it out and got to knitting. The head is now mostly finished (need to seam the other side and give her a face), but we got stalled when attempt one at adding an arm failed miserably (too few stitches picked up - it would have looked like the Ernie doll I had as a kid). The goal is to get this finished by the weekend so I can drop it off at one of the shops while I’m treasure hunting.

Socktoberfest has now officially begun. Amelia’s socks are progressing nicely - I turned the heel earlier this weekend and finished decreasing the gusset stitches on this morning’s bus ride.

There are also more pumpkins to be made. I also want to make the pumpkin basket from the new issue of MagKnits. I see lots of orange yarn purchases coming up…

I finally inventoried my WIPs last night. not as bad as some. ;)

1. HP scarf for DH. I’m on stripe 13, I think. pattern says 19, but we might decide to add more.

2. SW “Thing”. I joined the Thing-along at the beginning of the year. I started, and hadn’t touched it in forever. decided not to start something new and took it with me as my bus knitting this week - making nice progress now.

3. mini-skull tote. my first foray into intarsia & felting. except the intarsia isn’t going so well (too many yarns!) so it hasn’t been touched in a while.

4. cat bed from SnB. the base is done, I just need to work on the edge thing.

5. baby cardigan. it’s in pieces. need to redo one of the button bands (too big) and add the collar and sew it all up. and add the buttons. before Eli outgrows it.

6. legwarmers. I got stuck at the calf increase area. I’m sort of making it up as I go along. too much thought, so I paused.

7. tank top for my niece. the tank top itself is finished. need to figure out how to add a crochet border and add it, and also add a ruffle to the bottom. not too difficult. just need motivation to do it.

8. charity project #2 - a 2nd mother bear bear. I’m attempting it in the round this time. I have a leg and a half.

9. charity project #3 - a bunting for Bundles of Love - a local ‘baby’ charity. I think I’m past buttonhole 1 of 4.

I think that’s it. I’ve decided that the only new projects I can start prior to finishing these items are Samus (just ordered the yarn, and haven’t made a sweater for myself yet. and I need some for work), socks (plenty of sock yarn, and I’m taking a class this month), and snowflakes (potential holiday decor/gifts. and super quick to make). after I finish something above, then I can cast on for holiday gifts (I still need to make a list of who’s getting what)

oh, and a non-knit WIP that’s knitting related - a needle roll for my dpns. it needs the top and bottom edges seamed. really that’s it. but my sewing table keeps getting buried and it gets neglected

Finally finished my bear today. got the arms added Wednesday & Thursday, started stitching him together, and today he’s all stuffed and fully seamed. yay! now I need to head to Coldwater or Needleworks and drop him off.

I’m heading out to the Minnetonka area in a bit. I need to figure out how to add the arms to my bear, and Coldwater Collaborative is having one of the Mother Bear classes/meetings today. on my way, I plan to stop at Skeins and see how it is, now that I know how to find it. ;) and I might stop at Yarnzilla while I’m out there as well - see what’s new there.

tomorrow we have a big rehearsal for our St Pat’s performance that’s coming up on Sunday, so I’ll be there most of the night. I’m only in one dance and after rehearsal we have a parade-info-meeting, so I’ll be there at least 2 1/2 hours - plenty of time to knit! (I’m either reknitting Nakiska so I can wear it in the parade next week, or else I’m starting my legwarmers). since classes are in St Paul, I plan to stop and check out some of the ‘downtown’ St Paul shops - I know Yarnery & Borealis are down there, and I think the Textile Center (where the Guild meets) is really close to where my dance school teaches! how convenient!

in other news, I have another ‘pelt’ finished… this one is for, well, I can’t say yet on the off-chance my SP stumbles on my blog… but I will say the pattern knit up really quickly! I bought the kit at Clickety Sticks last Thursday, and finished it up on Tuesday. granted, I didn’t work on it continuously - I’d say it took me maybe 6-10 hours total though. and it’s SO CUTE! I’ll post a pic of it finished (once I figure out how to finish it) after we reveal ourselves.