04 January 2008

Mon Dieu!

Ladies and gentlemen, and children of all ages, I give you the first FO (finished object) of 2008:

Pattern: LeSlouch by Wendy Bernard
Yarn: Crystal Palace Yarns Merino Stripes; all but about 4 yards of one skein
Needles: US 8 and US 9 double points
Started: December 30, 2007
Finished: January 1, 2008

Who'da thunk it?? Never, ever (really not ever) have I even been close to finishing something this early in the New Year! I received two skeins of the yarn as a Christmas gift from my friend Sharrie (also a knitter), and decided I would make a hat, or mittens, or something else for cold weather over the Christmas break. Of course, best laid plans and all that - I got sick, and didn't even feel good enough to knit (mon Dieu indeed)!

A week ago today, I decided I felt good enough to at least start something, so I initially started to make mittens. I made it pretty far through the first mitten too, but I just didn't like the way it looked. So I ripped it out, and started poking around for something else. Now if you are like me, you come across free patterns, and you save them "for later" and then either don't remember you saved them in the first place, or never go back to even see what's there. I decided to see if any of my saved patterns looked appealing, and that's when I was reintroduced to Le Slouch.

Of course, I didn't have the right needles, so I had to wait to get them. Then I got sidetracked doing some things around the house, so it wasn't until Sunday evening that I even got started. I worked on the hat most of Sunday evening, a little bit during the day on Monday, and in a couple of long spurts Tuesday, weaving in the ends during the 10:00 news. I am thrilled with how it turned out, and the best part? It even fits my [apparently freakishly huge] head! I'm so proud of myself I could just spit, you know?

Here's a side view. The colors in the picture above are truer than they are here, but it gives you an idea of how much it actually slouches ...



The Garden Kitty approves, and thought it also smelled pretty good. (I'm not going to pursue that.)

The successful completion of the hat also was somewhat comforting, as also on Friday, I ended up ripping out the small amount of my Clapotis that I had already knitted. I failed to write notes to myself so that I would know what I had done, as far as twisting/not twisting the stitches in the pattern, and when I picked it up again after about a month, I could not figure it out no matter what I did. I knitted, ripped, and knitted and ripped, the same six rows on three different occasions, and they just did not in any way, shape or form match up to what was already there. Grrr!!

So I shall start again this weekend, and will definitely write notes to myself on the pattern so that I know what I was doing. (This is all particularly lame, seeing as how I'm the one who organized the KAL ...)

But enough about me and my knitting - this amuses me greatly. I think "Choking" is my favorite ...

12 comments:

mary said...

Your LeSlouche is beautiful! I love the colors. And finished so early in the New Year. I think I am at least a month away from finishing anything.

So sorry to hear about your Clapotis. I have been using one of those stitch and row counter circular "things" religious while knitting mine. I'd be lost without it.

Hum, I think head butting is my favorite - but I bet it would hurt.

teabird said...

The hat looks great! Congratulations on such a quick first project of the year!

Anonymous said...

Your LeSlouch is beautiful! And an FO already! I am so jazzed for you.

Oooh, I can't decide between "raining blows down on you" or "headbutt".

Anonymous said...

Congrats on your FO, love the colors. And poor, poor clapotis...of course, I set mine aside about 2 months ago to work on holiday knitting. I'm still working on holiday knitting, but did take copious notes on Clapotis. BTW, Happy New Year!

Maureen said...

Not even a week into 2008 and a finished object - mon dieu indeed! Très beau aussi!

Ann said...

Grand chapeau! Very auspicious start to the new year, no?

My favorite is impalement ...

Mistrmi said...

I'm sort of an "Impalement" girl, myself. . .

Beautiful work, as per usual, my friend. Glad you are back to full strength.

Carol said...

~snort~ I like impalement myself ~snort~ LOVE your new hat and wow, that was fast! Nice to hear you're feeling better too. You'll look so adorable spitting with your new hat ;-) It's been so long since I heard that :)

Anonymous said...

I'm betting GK found it moan-worthy as well. :-)

Mr Puffy's Knitting Blog: said...

No way...... I can't believe you ripped it out! How heartbreaking. I'm cast into a dispondancy at the thought. Give yourself a little break and then go back to it. The timing was terrible with your hand surgery and the holidays. I do love your LeSlouch Hat it is very cute and looks incredibly warm. Thanks for the link - that made me laugh too!

Brigitte said...

Hee hee, I like the Head Butt...

Lovely little Le Slouch! What is it with kitties and some yarn??

Anonymous said...

Le Slouch looks lovely! I was considering making that one around the same time that I made my urchin hat- but I just happened to have a bulky yarn on hand that suited urchin better. Thanks so much for visiting my blog! I'll definately be adding yours to my bloglines :)