Whiskey Tango Wednesday*

The other day the FoUI and I had to run out to the grocery at the last minute because we were out of milk (this is a tragedy of epic proportions around here) we arrived less than a half hour before closing and the parking lot was pretty near empty so we parked in the spot closest to the doors and headed in. When we came out again (with our milk, and naturally some chocolate) there was a car stopped in the middle of the parking lot aisle. We crossed as fast as we could but the car just sat there. The FoUI said, "he's vultching** our spot." And idea which I pooh poohed. But chalk one up to my DH because once we had pulled out of the spot and gotten out of the way the other car did indeed park in the spot we had come out of. The lot was nearly empty, people, not a single other car in the whole aisle, left or right. Nor one in the next aisle either.

That little "whiskey tango" moment, courtesy of the driver that had to have the exactly perfect spot and only the exactly perfect spot, got me thinking about my own whiskey tango behaviour vis-a-vis perfection. To avoid going on too long here I'll limit it to my behaviour as regards knitting. I have a lot of yarns I haven't knit up because I feel a need to use the "exact perfect" pattern for them. Likewise I have a lot of patterns for garments I'd like to have but I'm either still hunting for the "exact perfect" yarn or I am waiting for my physique to become the "exact perfect" one for the pattern. That last is hopeless so you'd think I'd stop thinking like that but I still catch myself thinking "when I've lost weight" or "when I'm in better shape".

Whiskey tango? It's knitting! If I don't like the way a pattern is fitting/knitting up/looking in that yarn, I can just rip it back out. It's not paint or ink where I've used it and I can't pull it back off the paper/canvas. It's not even like fabric where once I've cut the pieces I can only make something I can get out of the smaller sizes of fabric I now have. Unless I've steeked (or am using frog-resistant yarn) I have great long swaths of raw material easily reclaimed for another go.

So all that time I've spent looking for the exact right yarn for a project (cough Mystic Light cough) or the exact right pattern for a yarn (cough pretty near all my sock yarns cough) is time I could have been knitting, and yeah maybe sometimes ripping the project. But since it's fairly likely that through the law of averages, if nothing else, I'd have eventually managed to knit something that was a keeper on the first go, that means I'd have more knitted items to wear if I just jumped into the deep end instead of doing this toe-tip-dip dance I've been doing.

What's funny is that I often do jump into the deep end. Even in crafts. But in more theoretical ways perhaps. I'll decide I'm going to try something and off I'll go diving into the middle of whatever it is.

I need to embrace the experiential. So, May will be about doing a possible option without worrying about finding the perfect option. Maybe I'll get more knitting done.

I'm between computers at the moment (minor drama involving the laptop acting like it was gonna croak has at last gotten me going on moving everything over to the new iMac but it's slow going) so no photos today but I do have a FO or two to show you next time. Which I hope will be sooner rather than later.

*I don't suppose it will be every Wednesday but on a semi-regular basis I think Wednesdays will be for "what was I/she/he/it thinking?" posts.

** I don't really have to explain "vultching" do I?

And I'm out...

Well, I came close but I'm out of the competition now for Sock Madness2. As of the time the 12th place finisher in my division posted their photo I was not quite to here:

Missed it by that much!

(Please excuse the ugly toes - I usually wear socks well into May so don't need to worry about pedicures. Maybe I should get one... For sure before I do any more partial sock photos.)

The FoUI* and I have already had our post-mortem and have a better plan of attack for next year. In the mean time I now get to knit the rest of these socks, and the future patterns in a much more leisurely way. I've had a lot of fun competing but I think really, I'm at least as much relieved as disappointed if not more so. I know the FoUI is more disappointed than I am which is super sweet of him.

I'm off to chill out for a bit now. I'll be back with other knitting in a couple of days.

*The Fount of Useless Information aka my DH. Also known by the longer name "The FoUIaaP" (The Fount of Useless Information and also Puns) at times. He really does know all sort of random, generally useless, info. It comes in handy every now and again though. The puns, not so much...

Blogging Dragnet Style

Quick, "just the facts, Ma'am" update:

I'm still, still knitting socks. I got the flu from the kid who got it from her piano teacher. I got over the flu just in time.

I finished the Reversai in time to make it into Round 3 of Sock Madness.
Gave them to my Mom (that's her in the photo - well her feet).

Round three is a fantastic sock knit in two strands of laceweight and if/when the pattern becomes available I highly recommend it. These are gonna be seriously comfy socks.
I've done the heel turn on both socks but I don't have time to take another photo. I don't have time to do this post even but I'm way over due for one.

Ok, Gotta get back to knitting now. Catch ya later!

Still Madly Knitting Socks

Round 2's pattern came out yesterday so I've been madly knitting socks while trying not to succumb to the stomach flu that my daughter had last week (over spring break - how unfair is that? poor little Remembrall).

It's a clever completely reversible sock so I suspect strongly I'll be making it again in a size that will fit me rather than my mum.

Progress only at this point. But my competitive streak means I won't be blogging or blog reading for that matter until they are done or I'm out.

This is a very stretchy sock.

the sock on me (size 7.5 wide at the front narrow at the heel try finding that in a shoe)

the sock on the FoUI (6'2" nearly 200lbs size 11 1/2 feet although admittedly, narrow)

Other activity in the interim is either stealth knitting or boring so I'll not subject you to it. Besides, I've got to get back to knitting. There were people who finished in just over 15 hours clock time!