After some serious consideration...

...I've decided to restart the blanket. I feel a little foolish, and a little shot down, but I'm trying not to let that get to me.

It's not really because of the dropped stitch, either. In fact, I'm feeling pretty sure that I'm going to kick that stitch out of the pattern anyway...it just seemed to complicate the work with no noticeable benefit to the overall beauty of the blanket. Made it harder to remember as I worked through pattern repeat #2...which I never did finish.

No, the real reason I want to restart the project is that I messed up one of the cables on the side. Would Kristen notice? Probably not. Would Abby notice? Definitely not. But would I spend the rest of my time not only while working on this piece but AFTER finishing it concerned about this silly inch of cable that didn't match up...well, the truth is, yes, and I don't want to feel that way about it.

I'm going to try and frog back to the end of the first pattern, but I'm not holding my breath. Plus saving 190 (maybe 191 by that point? :-P) stitches is probably going to be more hassle than it's worth. There are just too many slipped and cabled stitches...I could re-knit most of what I have in the time it would take to try and save the work I've done. Plus everybody knows that when you restart you feel way more comfortable about the pattern. :-) I think it could turn out better if I restarted with 190 stitches anyhow, and I would feel more confident about it.

In other news, I've decided to take on a new project (like I need ANOTHER one on my needles...I'm fairly overloaded as it is...and still avoiding the backpack I started in February...:-x). It's a bag dispenser I found on Ravelry (in my queue). It's adorable, knits up really fast and with very little yarn. The pattern calls for some fairly enormous needles though (10.5 and 17 US). This is okay, but I'm going to have to buy them, and I don't know when I will ever use them again. Maybe when I need to knit up some quick scarves or something? :-P Those chunky fuzzy ones?...haha, I've never been able to wear those seriously. This project is still in my queue, however, and I'll try and leave it there until I get back up to speed on the blanket. Or maybe I should promise to myself to start it if I finish that darn backpack...maybe that will be enough of an incentive.

I think I'm avoiding the backpack because I decided awhile ago to redo the front using fair isle. It seems a little silly....I finished the darn thing with intarsia, and I absolutely hate the idea of starting the SAME piece over again with fair isle. It looks so cute....but the excess yarn on the back is just..wow. It is more than I can fathom....and I keep telling myself I'll weave all the ends in, but I spent some time on it and it is an impossible task.

It's tough sometimes to work through these stumbling blocks because it can make you frustrated. I remember trying to teach myself the seed stitch when I first started, and I got so angry I quit knitting for a month. It wasn't about the knitting of course; I was frustrated about a lot of school stuff at the time...and we all know the seed stitch isn't really THAT hard. ;-) But it sure can be a slippery slope. I tend to throw myself at tasks and drown myself in them, but I'm trying to take it slow so I don't suffocate and want out.

Oh, the bag dispenser, by the way, uses i-cord, which I have never done either. Maybe I would benefit from a list! ;-)

1) Learn the fair isle method for backpack
2) Learn i-cord for bag dispenser
3) Restart blanket (try not to cry, and a get a little coffee before this)
4) Finish backpack (at least START on that darn front again)
5) Start bag dispenser*
* - only if backpack is DONE (or has at least been STARTED!)

As it stands, my pal Malorie is one of the few people that I can find solace in for my knitting. Which is okay, but I'm starting to feel like I need to find a knitting group of my own. The trouble is that I live in Moscow, ID. Let's face it...it's a college town (on SUMMER break!), and I can't seem to find any group. The closest that I've seen is in LEWISTON, which is a good 45 minute drive south. And with gas prices the way they are...well, I'm trying to SAVE money for school...not spend it all on driving so I can knit. ;-)

There is this adorable group of women that hang out in one of my favorite coffeeshops and knit for a few hours (some of them spin, even!). I would love to just sit with them and ask questions if I get stuck or something...but I feel creepy just jumping in on their group. I've had little ideas of just 'happening' to be there around the time that they are (which would be oddly convenient, since I'm not sure when they meet) and having them be interested in what I'm doing.

I swear I'm not a lonely person! But I am one of the few knitters I know. It's nice to feel included and accepted among peers. :-) Knitting has become a solo hobby, but what I like about it is that it doesn't have to be! You can chat and knit...simultaneously! And...well, I love Mal for being there for me...but I can't type and knit at the same time. :-) Neither can she. Though I have genuinely enjoyed the times we have knitted together (she at least lets me complain and cry a little :-D). And I'm running out of movies to watch while I knit.

Tonight, I suppose, I christen the blog title...'Knit 'Til Dawn'....I put it because I know I'm a bit of a night owl, and I liked the idea of knitting for a long time...''Til Dawn' seemed like a good representation of that at the time. It is 4:30 AM here...maybe it's time for me to stop complaining about my silly knitting issues. I love it...whether or not I fall on my face from project to project. I learn something every time I pick up my needles. :-) It will probably look better after a couple hours of sleep.