Can it be? WIP Wednesday!

Check it on out -- I'm actually doing one of those "blog things" -- in this case, WIP Wednesday. This is total coincidence, I promise you, but I'm going with it anyway.

You haven't seen The Swatch in a while! This is what he looked like the last time we saw him:Well, last night I decided that it would be more fun to waste my Dr. Bronner's soap and scald my hands than to knit another row of boring, BORING Swatch. Here he is after his first bath:He shrunk a bit, which is to be expected in the fulling process. I'm still debating on whether to give him another bath or to start turning him into something else now.

And now for a true WIP (this being WIP Wednesday and all,) the Komi mitten from the other day has grown a bit:Ohhh, Mitten. You just might not get abandoned after all.

To oblivion (and beyond)

The swatch (from yesterday has grown. It might even be uglier than it was yesterday.I keep telling my brain to shut up about the aesthetic value (or lack thereof) of the swatch. There is no point in getting attached to how it looks at this point in the game, since when it's all over it'll look nothing like this (hopefully it will look like a handmade bag that you would be happy to carry on your arm. We'll see.) All I know is that I have to knit it BIG so I have lots of "it" to play with once it's fulled to within a half inch of its life.

That's the part I can't wait to see -- the post-fulling. I want all those crazy slip-stitch garter stripe ridges to meld into each other until the finished fabric looks like a tangled, tweedy mess, and just thinking of it is exciting. Now, it's been a long time since I've messed around with fulling garter stitched fabric, and I just hope it works as well as I remember. I can't see why it wouldn't, really.

All I know is that whatever this swatch comes out looking like, either pre- or post-fulling, both my brain and I will make do with what we're given. Yes, we are throwing caution to the winds and knitting A Something that might turn out to be Nothing Like We Pictured It Would Be. This is half the fun, right?

The other half of the fun is the fact that we're using up the bits of yarn that aren't large enough to do anything else with, meaning we're going to have to repopulate the stash with new utility yarn. I think we can handle that.

Procrastinatin'

What I'm supposed to be doing:Clockwise from top: sewing the ends in Helgi's mittens (aka. Nana's birthday present this year, and I'd better get moving since the party is in a couple of hours;) finishing that first Wurst mitten; sewing the ends in and writing up the pattern to Bavarois.

What I'm doing instead:Knitting a large, random swatch that I am going to abuse in several interesting ways until it does what I want it to do (and I'm still not quite sure what that is, but I'm fairly sure it will be some sort of bag, case or pouch.) The results will be liberally applied to my Etsy shop. This is serendipity at its finest!

Now I have to go sew ends in. Fun.

It's a Something!

There's been lots of starting but not too much finishing round these parts lately. Here's the most recently finished Something:It's a...swatch, but it's a special swatch! It's made from an odd ball of Heather's handspun, and while the wpi and exact yardage remain a mystery, it matters little because it's gorgeous. My fingers are crossed that I get the chance to play with more Heatherspun one day soon. Now the question is, what to do with the swatch? Do I leave it as is, and sew it up, line it and give it a strap and call it a bag? Should I turn it into a clutch or a pouch? Should I felt it to within an inch of its life and then turn it into a similar accessory? I suppose I could leave it as is, wait for more Heatherspun to drop into my life, pick up the stitches and continue on as an amazing, eclectic and totally random scarf. I have no idea at this point -- perhaps I should just stash it away and go back to it later.

The other main finished object around here is the first of the FroggySox: It's green, and it's fuzzy, and BOY, does that bit of alpaca make for a warm, soft sock. Number two's been put on hold, because I've had a Visitor from the Bottom of the Basket.

Remember this? You might not, because she appeared a while back and then disappeared almost as quickly. She did have a brief appearance in my last post, but she didn't really get the attention that she deserved. Her name is Penelo (Ravelry link): All she needs is a foot and she's done. The pattern will follow shortly.

And here I am, mired once again in the middle of purple and green. There's another very special purple-and-green offering on the way, if I can ever get around to working on it. Must keep on track!