And the Countdown begins!

Today is September 1st, so there are, including today, 116 days until Christmas. I finished the two November birthday presents, so that just leaves 10 (maybe 11 if I knit for Siddhartha instead of buying him books, still undecided) presents to knit. That means I have 11-ish days to devote per present.

Yesterday I got a head-start on Natalie's scarf. I had 85 rows of it already knit, but I'd lost my stitch count and had already spent a lot of time trying to fix the problem with no success. Then I made a radical decision. I ripped out the whole thing. I decided that by that point the scarf had soooo much negative energy about it, it would be better to start over. When I had started the things my stitches were so tight it was hard to knit, I was having trouble keeping track of the pattern, and it was just an arduous process. I began to resent the scarf and resent the fact that I had to keep knitting because it was supposed to be a gift. It was supposed to be a Christmas present last year. Then it was supposed to be a birthday gift to Natalie in March. Now it's been reassigned to this Christmas.

So I took the plunge, ripped out my 85 hateful rows, and started over. In one day, not only did I re-knit those 85 rows, but I also knit 25 rows beyond that. Over 100 rows on this scarf in 1 day, a feat that previously would've taken months. My stitches are much looser and easier to work with, and now I'm actually enjoying the pattern. It's a completely different scarf.

I also blocked Lianne's hat. It's a little smaller than I anticipated, less beret-like when actually on, but still way cute. I think she's going to like it, and I think the colors will look beautiful against her dark hair. I'm so envious of her hair. Actually I think overall she's just absolutely gorgeous and she and Lucid and even Siddhartha make such an aesthetic family. Ooh, there we go, maybe I'll make Siddhartha a baby hat. That will be fast, easy, still cute, and unlike regular baby clothes he won't outgrow it by next week. I must investigate baby hat patterns.