The Lazy ADD Perfectionist

So what's more important? To do something right... or to just get it done?

I would have to say, "Yes"... and thus ensues the battle that is waged within me on a daily basis.


I want things to be perfect. I really do. I want to live in a well-organized, tidy home. I want my children dressed in clean, pressed clothes with neatly combed hair. I want to know where my car keys are at all times and never, ever have to look for lost mail. So far, my biggest success along these lines is learning to look past these details and not let them drive me crazy (most of the time). Because the truth is... none of these things will ever happen.

I actually don't think "lazy" is the right word. I'm not lazy... truth is, before I started to knit, I never sat down... I always had to be busy. I worked around the house all day and night 7 days a week. I was always busy doing "something" because I needed to be. Funny thing is, my house never looked any better and our clothes were still never ironed. I honestly don't know what I did all the time but I sure did look busy (everyone said so). So, again, for these reasons I don't think I'm lazy because the reality is I simply have no idea what to do with the stuff around the house except make stacks (which, yes, drive me nuts).



I am also driven by a strong need to get things done... checked off the list... and move on. So it is probably this drive that so often pushes me to rush to get a job done quickly instead of right.



So, when I knit, I am constantly battling these conflicting impulses. Does the finished product need to be flawless? Absolutely! Does it need to be done as soon as possible regardless of some shortcomings so I can move on? Definitely! I will frog back a whole sweater or weave back a couple dozen rows to fix one twisted stitch that nobody but me will ever notice. While the next day I'll accept a slightly crooked pocket misplaced on a great sweater so I can just get on with it. I know many people who can easily live with a slight knitting flaw and never look back. I, however, will be tormented by this pocket every single time I wear it... I was actually going to ask for your advice on my slightly off, floating pocket but just go ahead and say nice things... 'cause there's no chance of me changing it now.


Let me tell you... it's not easy being me!


On another note... I find something I want to knit in almost every Interweave Knits magazine but have yet to knit a single thing from it. What do you think of a KAL dedicated to IK in general encouraging members to get a project they love on the needles instead of merely day-dreaming about it until they're distracted by whatever new idea has come up?

ETA: Julie asked about the answers to last nights questions...

I did lengthen the body on Wicked, but the pocket will remain to give it that "charming" home-made look. As for the camera, if I had pictures, I would surely share them, but alas the Star Wars exhibit will have to live on in our memories.

What Would Tammy Do?

1. A pattern note (printed in red) says that I "can" do some blocking on a pocket before attaching to sweater to make it easier to "properly" seam down. Do I take the time to block at that point or figure it can all be blocked out in the end?

2. I take my boys to the Star Wars exhibit at the California Science Center for an IMAX movie and an opportunity to see original costumes, droids, weapons and technology from the 6 Star Wars movies. With 5 boys, this is no small event! Do you have any idea how many light sabers we own? So the question is... Do I take dozens of pictures of my boys with R2D2 and Darth Vader, or... do I forget my camera at home in my knitting basket?

3. After twice binding off the hem of Wicked, I realize that, while I LOVE the neck and sleeve... the sweater is just a bit shorter than I'd like. Do I rip out the binding again and add length, or leave it alone figuring it can be lengthened with blocking in the end?

4. Without giving too much away, if I were to lengthen Wicked, would I remove the pocket to place it properly along the bottom seed border, or leave it alone and figure most people who see me will never know where the pocket was supposed to be anyway?

5. Along the same line, if I were to notice upon completion that, for some reason, the pocket is a wee bit crooked, do I attempt drastic measures to fix it, or figure it will all block out in the end and get on with my life?

Wicked pictures tomorrow! Yippee!

Knitting too Late at Night

Monday, 2/12

10:00 pm - "I'll be right up hon, I have 2 rows of seed stitch left (on Wicked), then I want to bind-off."

Glance through directions... just says BO. How? Look further... oh, okay 1x1 rib BO. Now I'm a rather literal kinda gal (who is also involved in a TV mystery and starting to fall asleep) so I proceed with 1x1 rib as opposed to following seed stitch pattern which I'm sure is what they meant. Finish BO, weave in end.

11:00 pm - Whoa, not good! Way funky. (Note, this could have been caught after binding off the first half dozen stitches, but like I said, TV was involved.) It's getting late, the news has come on... I should go to bed. Can't. Undo, pick-up all stitches and proceed with proper seed stitch bind-off.

News is on... Plastic surgeons have come to the rescue of women who love high-heeled shoes with "foot-lifts" which re-pad the ball of the foot to extend their years of comfort in heels and cows in England are bathed in beer for more tasty, tender meat. Okay, not only do I not what to know these things but is this really news? Really? Oh yeah, and there were high speed pursuits in LA... again... of course.

Then, in some unexplainable yardage warp, this is what I end up with... about 1 inch of yarn where before I had 6. Hmmm... a good knitter would put this aside and deal with it properly tomorrow. Yep. But a determined, desperate knitter would tie on more yarn with a big ole' honkin' know and weave that sucker in. Guess which kind I am?

11:30 pm - Jay Leno comes on. I like Leno. I like Monday nights because he does "Headlines" which crack me up. This is bound to mean another hour of sitting here staring at the TV in a semi-coma messing up more knitting.

12:00 pm - Jay announces there will be no Headlines tonight so they can re-visit the Grammys... but before I can put away my knitting Nicholas Cage is out talking about his new movie. More comatose staring.

But that was last night. I just bound off the first sleeve of Wicked and I am not going to do the second tonight, but instead quickly run to bed before Leno appears on my TV.

Good Night!

BTW, This could be another lapse on my part but I ran into a problem with the sleeve stitch count on Wicked. I think they should be knit in multiples of 8 to accommodate the crossover repeats... but it is getting late so I may be wrong... maybe. Oh, and the knitted pocket is a way fun touch.

No More Excuses!

Today was not a normal Saturday. The boys were off playing basketball and my other plans fell through, so it was just JoJo and me for the day. Any other day of my life, I would've been totally content to hang out at home, but today was different... today I wanted to get out. What does one do when one wants to "get out" I wondered. I didn't really know because, truth is, I'm a major homebody. Well... it was me... and a 4 year old... hmmm... what were we to do? We could go to a park. JoJo would like that... or... even better... we could get in the car and drive 45 miles to a well-known, yet not very LYS! But of course!

The shop is well-known due to it's owner's book Knit 2 Together, but here you can see my main motivation for taking the trip. On that wall, the one behind my son who is pouting over the momentary halt to his video game and obviously unaware that he is practically in heaven... on that wall, hanging in multi-colored rows... is Koigu my friends. KOI - GU!! Now to some of you this may be no biggy, but having only heard of it's fibery goodness and never actually seen nor felt it before, I was overwhelmed with delight. (If he was a bit taller or could've subtly stood on that chair, you could see the upper rows too, but you know I would've looked silly snapping the shot without a child in the picture!)

Now, obviously, one doesn't drive 45 miles to a non-LYS only to return empty handed. As JoJo would say, "No way, Jose!" This was a field trip, worthy in all ways of at least a couple of souvenirs.

So first we have some Koigu KPPPM socks and Koigu Kersti mitts.

And here you can see the lovely IK Clementine Shawlette made of Blue Sky Alpaca Silk resting on top of a more-than-slightly overpriced (but very cute) cotton "project bag". I think the Shawlette just needs a good blocking, don't you?

At any rate, I had a fabu day and it was totally worth the $6.98 for the new Power Ranger that we picked up for JoJo for not touching any yarn for a whole hour!

And just to make it official... Stick a fork in me because I'm done! The sidebar button has been revised, I'm a free woman and I'll knit from my stash - no, my "collection", when I feel like it. So I am going to enjoy the moment... because I have a feeling that when my husband balances the checkbook, the moment will be gone.

A Bit of This, A Bit of That, A Bit of Flair

So, last night I had this great idea (well, at least I thought so). I feel like I knit so slow... it seems like I often get so little done in an evening that I wonder where the time went. With a big TV night ahead of me (Bones, Criminal Minds and the return of Lost!), I figured it was the perfect night to whip through the last 6 inches of Wicked (for the 2nd time - don't wanna talk about it). Here's the great idea part... In order to find out how much I can actually accomplish in an evening I snapped this picture of Wicked right before 8:00.

My plan was to then snap a picture after each show to record my progress (and speed). Ready... Set... Go!

Okay, here I should be I showing you the post 3 hour picture but I hardly thought the 3 rounds I had knit were worthy of a new photo. Yep... 3 hours, 3 rounds.

I learned (or at least confirmed) 2 things about myself:

1 - I am highly distractable.
2 - I rebel even against my own intentions.

I'm not kidding, Wicked sat there all night just nagging at me, "You should be knitting me... You said you were going to knit me... You can't do it can you?" I squirmed, brimming over with feelings of guilt and failure until I cried out in the immortal words of Jerry Seinfeld... "I choose not to knit!!!!!" (Actually, it's quite possible that he was talking about something other than knitting but it was close.)

Anyway, I will introduce you to my most beloved and worthy distraction...



Knitnerd was right. It is Wendy's new swing coat, Flair. And get this, I'm knitting it with Blue Sky Cotton from my STASH!! Yes, you heard me right, Stash! (I do consider this to be a fair and worthy distraction.)

And Knitnerd, I do think you deserve a prize. Not only did you get it right but you were the only one to guess. E-mail me with your snail mail address and I'll put a skein of sock yarn in the mail to you... of course you'll have to wait with my dad for me to get to the post office. Let me know what colors you like!


Finally, the new Interweave came today... insert band music and confetti here... and although I don't think I've ever actually knit anything from a magazine, I sure do love getting them in the mail. I think this is a good one too. I like several things especially the Bonsai Tunic (got SWTC Bamboo in stash which might work) and Clementine Shawlette. But most of all, I want to knit this...




Stefanie Japel's Cable Down Raglan.

I have Rowan Calmer in my stash that's the right gauge and a more appropriate yarn for our climate. (If anyone knows of a reason I shouldn't try this in Calmer instead of merino please speak now or, well, you know.)


BTW - the beautiful colors in the last couple of photos are brought to you by my new Ott-Lite purchased for 50% off at Jo-Ann's! (Thanks for the tip Lynda!)

Fetching help for friend

Seven stitches knit with waste yarn... Returned to left needle...

Knit with working yarn...

Finished look...

Does this help?

No Suggestion Box Please!

What does a suggestion mean to you?

To me it means that I might want to give some consideration to the offered advice but it is optional (and probably useless) as it is only a suggestion and not a rule. Well, with age comes wisdom, which is a good thing because most of my life I figured that there was either a right way (aka my way) or a wrong way to do something and I wasn't much interested in anybody's advice or suggestions.

Many (at least a few) years ago, they repaved the main cross street to ours. It had always been a two lane road, yet I was shocked to discover that when they repainted it, they had messed up and narrowed it into a one lane road at a nearby intersection. For weeks, I drove up the new "shoulder" of this road in disbelief that they had made such a foolish mistake. What was going on? Were they suggesting that I drive within the new lines? I didn't want to... (have I ever mentioned I have a rebellious streak?) This went on until I was in the car with my husband and he flipped out when I proceeded from the new turn lane across the intersection and along the new shoulder. "What are you doing?" he yelled. "Can't you see they messed up on the paint?" I exclaimed. He just looked at me dumbfounded. In hindsight, I suppose I might have been a bit, well, blind to the obvious but it seriously never occurred to me that I might be the wrong one.

Well, as I said, with age comes wisdom and I no longer think that I'm always right (actually reality has shown me otherwise) but I'm still not great with suggestions if they're unsupported by compelling evidence. So, I guess my main point here is that fortunately for me, knitting is much safer than driving.

You know how some hand-painted yarns suggest that you knit from alternating skeins to avoid color changes? That even if it's only 2 hanks and they look exactly the same, they might not be? Well, I'll be darned if they're not right! Check out the color change in this scarf... darker beige, sappier yellows and where are the reds? I swear both hanks looked identical.

I guess ya learn something new everyday.

Any guesses on what I've started up on top?