Choosing contentedness

I haven't had much to post here lately, since I've been working on the same sweater since--I won't even look it up--about April, and messed it up more times than I can tell.

But I have done some things. I started and finished a cute little stocking ornament for an ornament exchange on my April 2000 Playgroup bulletin board (we were in an Expecting Club when we were all due in April):



I also started and finished an ice cream cozy for a good friend who's going through trying times. (She also removes the lid to Ben & Jerry's or Haagen Dasz and throws it away. I know.)



I tried it last night on some Haagen Dasz (I had to make sure it fit! and it was on sale. Coffee, and mint chip). Fit great.

And I did finally finish the sweater from ... well, I love it, so it's not from there. I think I do want to pick up stitches and knit around the collar and v-neck. It wants to fall off my shoulders all the time. But I was afraid I'd hate the color after all that blasted work, and... I adore it. Chilis and chocolate, it's called.



Hem looks a little weird in that photo, and yep, it's big, but I can wear it right now, and did you notice I got the sleeves to match? No mean feat there. By pulling out yarn from the balls to make the long repeats match, I now have like 10 small balls of yarn. And one full ball left. If you make it, you'll probably want to buy as many balls as they say, just to be safe.

I'm finishing up a rolled-brim hat for my son's Y-Kids teacher, my favorite one. And of course, she tells me last night that she was given a box full of knit hats. *sigh*! But I hope she'll like this one very much. It does seem her style and is a lovely teal. No pics yet; soon.

After that, I think I'll finish this tea cozy, after a pattern that's supposed to be a hat and more than half the knitters said it was big. Yep, it's big--much bigger than my teapot. I'm going to try to felt it down and cut steeks to let the handle and spout through. We'll see. I'm pleased with it anyway. It was my first attempt at Alice Starmore-esque stranding. I left the white as a solid and graduated through shades of red, with a splash of accent green, for the rest.



The white is Elsebeth Lavold's Silky Wool, and the rest is sticky/itchy Rauma Finullgarn from our LYS that closed.

I also picked up some Patons Soy Wool Stripes at Micheal's and started making cozies for the coffee cups at church. They're quick (crocheted) and really pretty, I think. These are to discourage people from taking two cups, as the coffee is very hot and it's sometimes hard to hold your cup. They can use these and return them afterward. I think I've done four. Here's the first one:



As for the title, I've been wrestling with "I don't knit fast enough!" and trying to get to the point of "however fast I work is good enough, and I love what I knit." I'm even looking forward to picking up set-aside WIPs and finishing them. I have 3 (maybe 4) balls of Cracksilk Haze for a Rowan shawl I've wanted to knit forever. The cast-on is 299 stitches and it's challenging, but I decided if I have to put stitch markers between every 8-stitch repeat, so be it. The grey of the KSH is so gorgeous and the silk adds such a lovely sheen.

And, after I finish the hat, that's IT for the due-on-Christmas knitting.

Unless I make soap for the other Y-Kids teachers and want to wrap them in dishcloths...