We’ve got answers.  I just wanted to answer a few of the questions I’ve seen around the knitters blogisphere lately because I thought they were fun topics and because I’m working away on Christmas presents that I can’t show you!  I will show you one at the end of the entry, just because a blog without pictures can get pretty boring. 

First question, found on Chris Knits, what are your moments of knitting dorkiness?  I have so many that it’s hard to list just a few.  It seems that I’m a hard knocks kind of girl and have to make mistakes, and big ones, in order to learn and improve.  Probably my favorite ones are my Suki bag and my first sweater, Grover.  Suki is pure knitting dorkiness.  I wanted to make it a bit of a smaller bag, but didn’t take into account how things felt differently lengthwise and width-wise.  I decided just to make the bag shorter and left the circumference the same.  What I ended up with was a short and squatty Suki bag.  It was still cute, just not what I expected.  Grover is a sadder story.  I am not sure what happened but the arms ended up too tight, I made it in bulky wool and I live in Texas (which means it could be worn like twice a year), and I never could get the zipper in right.  A lack of sewing machine makes zippers rather difficult.  I’ve just been too sad to re-visit it.  It is living in the bottom of my yarn closet waiting for a second visit.

Second question, from Mind of Winter, What do you wear?  We all post these fabulous finished products and some of them that look great in pictures, like Grover, never get worn.  The two items I wear the most are my Audrey and Purple Penny.  I think it’s purely because I am learning from previous knitting how to make things fit me and how to pick patterns that I will like.  I do not wear my Ribby Shell because I made a mistake in the top left of it and it’s glaringly obvious to me, it’s a great tank and it’s sad that one mistake is stopping me from wearing it.  Well, and the fact that it’s black and doesn’t match the black of my black pants, so it looks faded which I don’t like.  I have a feeling that I’ll just be making this shell again and paying more attention to mistakes and the yarn color I choose because it’s a great pattern.

Third question, from Almost Felted, what kind of entries change or strongly affect you?  There are several types of entries on knitting blogs that affect me.  First, entries that show something spectacular, either a great pattern or a great twist on a pattern that I can incorporate into my knitting.  Second, entries that teach me something new, I’ve learned mattress stitch, how to pick up stitches and many other techniques from knitting blogs.  Third, entries that touch a cord with me from a personal perspective, someone facing a personal challenge or triumph that either I can relate to or empathize with.  Thank you to all knitbloggers to challenge and inspire me daily. 

If you want to see one of my Christmas presents, keep reading…

I am not going to tell you who this is for, but it’s a Harry Potter scarf in progress. It looks a little short but the recipient is shorter than I am so I think it will be quite long on them. I still need to weave in ends on the inside (it’s knit in the round), block it, and add the fringe, but the knitting is done. It’s a good thing, too, because it took me forever. It’s what kept my hands busy on the infamous American Idol trip in August and I didn’t bind off until I was in El Paso in October!