Crushed by the wheels....

For the first time ever (when it's not two weeks before Christmas with a stupidly overambitious list of projects in front of me, anyway) I'm feeling ever so slightly oppressed by my knitting.

I think I know why - on the 1st February I was working on 4 knitalong projects, and this situation obviously doesn't agree with me. One of those proejcts is finished, but I think the recipient calls in here every now and then, and one of the other non-KAL things I finished needs blocking...

In addition, I have finishitupitis. The Yarn Harlot recently blogged this and I realised that was exactly what it was. Normally, not a problem.

It might be having 6 WIPs on the go just after Christmas. It might have been starting KALs when actually, I still had a Christmas present to finish until about a fortnight ago! It might be something else entirely. Such as setting off from home and the temperature being 20C below what it's going to be in the office 2 hours later, and not having enough cardis. Whatever it is, it's sending me into paroxysms of indecision.

Everything I'm working on is, as far as I remember, enjoyable. Everything I'm working on is currently for me. (Maybe that's an additional problem; those usually end up at the bottom of the heap. It's fairly striking that everything I've finished since Christmas has been for other people...)

So I thought I might just blog them, and then blog progress on them, and maybe feel better about them...

WIP the first: Hedera

Started because: knit.sock.love. knitalong on Ravelry

Yarn: Legolas, dyed by Wibbo as a Christmas present.

Needles: 2.5mm KnitPro Harmonies

Reason I'm enjoying these: Lovely simple lace pattern, beautiful colour in the yarn (also, gift yarn which means I get to keep the result).

Oppressive because of the whole KAL ethos - there are always some people who will finish this project on day 1 - normally this is no problem. I'm sometimes one of those people. This time, not so much...

Progress: about 35% on this photo, but progress has been made since.

Theoretical deadline: end of February for the whole competitive KAL thing.

WIP the second: Monkey

Started because: knit.sock.love. knitalong on Ravelry

Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, in colour Franklin's Panopticon.

Needles: 2.25mm; combination of 3 Colonial Rosewood needles and one KnitPro Harmony to make up the set.

Reason I'm enjoying this: The yarn was a gift from Franklin (so I get to keep the finished object); I am very intrigued as to how it will knit up; I'm using my favourite needles.

Oppressive because: see WIP the first...

Progress: well, there you see it....

Theoretical deadline: end of March for the whole competitive KAL thing.

WIP the third: Lanthir Lamath scarf/hood [Ravelry link]

Started because: Ann Kingstone knitalong on Ravelry

Yarn: Bergère de France Baltic, in Tourmente

Needles: 5mm Addi Turbos

Reason I'm enjoying this: Nearly every stage has had something challenging in it - Ann is a superb technician as well as a really interesting designer.

Oppressive because: the KAL thing, but also I'm not getting the short rows neat enough at the top of the hood. Hence the rather odd photo - normally I'd take a picture at the end of the row. So I'll have to go back and study the directions. It's probably unfair to label this oppressive given that it's just technically challenging and that's always a good thing!

Progress: about 52%, unless I rip back to the turning point, in which case 50%

Theoretical deadline: end of February to keep up; and it'd be nice to wear it this winter.

WIP the fourth: Botanical Lace cardi

Started because: Need for work cardis...

Yarn: Combination of Cherry Tree Hill Laceweight in Forest Fire and Artesano Alpaca 4-ply, colourway unknown at the moment but basically aubergine.

Needles: 4mm Addi lace.

Reason I'm enjoying this: You know, I can't remember; it's so long since I knitted on it. But I do love the colours. The laceweight was almost impossible to knit into lace on its own so I took a leaf out of blogless Jackie's book and combined it with something else.

Oppressive because: it's still not finished, and I still need a cardi. And I can't find the pattern, which has the modifications I made scribbled on it...

Progress: about 60% - the body is done and one sleeve is started...

Theoretical deadline: well, none really; but I'd still like to wear it this winter!

WIP the fifth: Alpaka Tunic

Started because: liked the pattern...

Yarn: Rowan All Seasons Cotton - I think the colour is called Paprika. It's more orange and less pink than the photo.

Needles: 4.5mm KnitPro Spectra.

Reason I'm enjoying this: Uhm. Again, it's been too long. But I still want the finished object...

Oppressive because: Actually, this one isn't. It could be worn at any time of the year...

Progress: about 15%; one tiny sleeve and about a third of the front done.

Theoretical deadline: n/a really

WIP the sixth: Asteria cardi [Ravelry link]

Started because: NEEDED a cardi!

Yarn: Debbie Stoller Full 'o' Sheep, in black.

Needles: 5.5mm Addi Turbos

Reason I'm enjoying this: The way this pattern is written is really interesting - there's a chart for which decreases kick in when, and it's exactly the sort of guide I'd write myself if things started getting too complicated (it's set-in sleeves, knitted in the round from the bottom up, so you've potentially got underarm, sleeve, neck and back neck decreases going at the same time).

Oppressive because: it's too damned heavy to take anywhere, but I don't have enough knitting time to do it at home...

Progress: 75% in yarn terms, probably 40% in effort terms

Theoretical deadline: NOW!

So, there you go. Not sure what I'm hoping to achieve by this...

Anyway, if there's a lesson to be learned from this post, it's that things don't get knitted if you don't knit on them. I'm off to crank out another few rows on Asteria, and hope the people with control of the window in our office don't open it too far in the next couple of weeks...

And if you're either too old, or too young, or too cool, or too wise to know where the post title came from, I offer you this hilariously typical example of kulcher from my teenage years. Isn't it strange that the songs you actually like have completely escaped you, while this sort of thing burns itself into your head forever?...