Insomnia and tinking

I've had a few bad knitting days. I've not been sleeping well, waking at 3:30 am and fretting about this, that and the other thing. I'm sure it's mostly related to PMS, the start of the school year and all the attendant expenses that go along with it, as well as my own world of quirky things to be anxious and stressed about (we won't delve to deep into that dark world of weirdness today - I'm a little too tired and may reveal more than the world is really ready for).

But lack of sleep does not make for good lace knitting. Now, usually, having knitted for over 30 years and being somewhat experienced with lace knitting, I can figure out how to repair mistakes, even several rows back. But this is the first time that I've ever knit a pattern that works on a diagonal from two sides of a center "seam" and I have to admit that it has me a little kerfaffled. Invariably, on this pattern, I've either dropped a YO or forgotten to make a YO in the first place. And when you are within two rows of a YO, it's an easy matter to make a one and knit it up into your pattern. But this diagonal thing just makes me crazy because I cannot seem to find the right place between stitches to pick it up and work it up. So, I've had to tink back at least 4 times in the past three days and it's making me crazy. So there has been little knitting progress to show in the house.

I have managed to get a few more inches along on Samus, not having bought new needles yet, as I have not received a call that my size1 Addi's are in yet and I'm a bit stubborn. Besides, I'm on a fiber diet, and my LYS is a sore temptation right now, with a major sale going on. I'll have to put the blinders on to pick up my needles as it is. I did try a new photo location for Samus and I'm please with the outcome. I like the color of the foliage and lichen against the color of the yarn. Of course, I spent considerable time picking bits of lichen out of my knitting but that's the sacrifice free spirits make in the pursuit of their artistic vision.

Well, this free spirit needs to finish sticking little bits of labels to two different calendars (the big wall calendar and small, portable one) so that we can plan our daily school schedules. I bless the day I figured out that I could print pages of labels out for the different weekly activities we attend. I've saved hours of handwriting and potential carpal tunnel damage since that particular lightbulb (side note: spell check didn't recognize lightbulb and wanted to change it to lustfully - hummm?) moment. But it still takes time to stick the little labels on the pages and it needs to get done this week because I want to go to the fair next week.

Yes, it's STATE FAIR time. I haven't been for a few years and I'm so excited. I'll have so much to report. But until then . . . it's sticker time.