I'm weak.

I said I wouldn't touch it.

I said I'd finish the socks first.

I said I'd have leftovers for dinner. (well - at least I got one right!)

Here's that amazing skein of the cotton/rayon blend that I was gushing about yesterday. Remember how *in love* I was with it? Those gorgeous colors - amazing hues - just crying out to become a Clapotis?



It looks so innocent there, doesn't it? Foey. I have never, ever, EVER had such a nightmare winding a ball of yarn in my long and checkered life! Great googley moogley, Batman - it just kept snagging and knotting and twisting and generally making my life hell. The only up side is that the cats stayed off the table (I think my negative energy got to them) and the ball winder did as well as could be expected. The yarn cake is HUGE (the skein is 1/2 a pound, after all) but it's not complete. I got to about the last 30 yards or so and that part of the skein is a hopeless rats nest. I even started winding from the back to try and slow down the madness - but to no avail. I had scissors on my mind, folks ... SCISSORS!!! Nevertheless, I resisted, and I managed to coax the mini ball and the disaster into a plastic bag for a future untanglement session. I suspect my hubbie will get roped in to the business.

Secretly, I hope that the scarf will not consume the entire yarn cake and I can just ignore that little slice of hell for the next decade.

Wow. I haven't been that angry in a while. Maybe I need to go for a run. :-)

Oh, and I did cast on last night and was struggling a bit with pattern until I had knitted a large enough piece to get some flexibility in the knitting. I can see why stitching with a yarn that has some elasticity might be preferable to what I'm using. The colors are GORGEOUS - and I this will be beautiful when it's done; it's just that cotton yarns require a different knitting discipline (more focus on tension and gauge) than the simplicity of wool ... and I have to remember that. I've gotten through the setup and two repeats of the increase section. Five more to go and then it's just mindless knitting. (so much for saying that I can't start this until the socks are done)

No updates until next week - it's Memorial Day weekend and I'm off to the mountains. Woo hoo! Vacation! Gosh ... I sure hope my Coffee Swap package doesn't come on Saturday. That'd stink. I should be able to finish the Monkey socks and (maybe) cast on the Grasshoppers this weekend so that I'm not a total loser at the Sock Club Knitting Night on Thursday. Then again, I might be having too much other fun to knit. Wouldn't that be a shocker? ;-)