Back at School!

So, I can finally blog about this because the day has ended.  11/28/2010 was the birthday of one of my best friends, Melissa.  Depending on the source you refer to, she is anywhere between 20 and 22 years old.  For her birthday, I knit up Ysolda's Snapdragon Tam in a bright cherry red  (color 509).  I was shocked by cotton supreme- it's incredibly soft, compared to the cottons I'm used to working with, and the color was absolutely stunning.

The hat pattern was also fabulous.  It will become increasingly evident just how enamored I am with Ysolda- I think she's a genius designer, and I love all of her patterns immensely.  Of the few things I have knit, the proportion of Ysolda patterns is indicative of the bias I hold toward her.

Snapdragon Tam was a pleasure to knit, despite the self-imposed pressure.  I am a procrastinator of the worst sort, and I thought this quality only applied to my schoolwork, until this weekend.  I did not cast on for Mel's hat until two days before I had to hand it to her.  Now, this is no indication of how much I love Mel, or how intricate the hat was.  It was intense.  I spent most of my weekend working on the hat furiously, and as those of you who have worked on a smallish gauge, with cotton, nonstop, for an entire weekend can attest to, my hands are not thanking me.  But the finished project was worth it.

I just finished in time.  Well, depending on your definition of finished... I  cast off in time.  But I did not block. In fact, I did block, but not in time.  Melissa received a dripping wet hat, stretched over a plate, with another underneath to press and straighten the rib brim.  So she got the hat, but it wasn't wearable.

I wonder how many knitters are effected by procrastination in this way.  I often find myself struggling against a deadline far too close for any sane knitter, and far too close for me to enjoy working on the project.  It's all about the finished project, getting it done in time, gifting it on time.  With other projects, ones for me, I can count on both hands the works-in-progress draped over every surface in my room, and I feel no pressure to get these done.  An entrelac blanket is rolled up on top of my dresser, an incomplete Manu is in the inner corner of that same dresser, Bella's Mitts are set aside on scrap yarn in my knitting bag (to be fair, I'm still trying to figure out if I want them to be flip-top... almost a year later).  I'm working on a 'sweatshirt' sweater to 'schlump around' in, and am working in every spare minute on hats for the homeless.

I think tomorrow I will detail my charity knitting project, especially since I am excited to announce that I will be making a guest appearance on the Knit Knit Cafe, a podcast which I greatly enjoy, and encourage you to subscribe to!  I will discuss my internship at Vogue Knitting, and my charity knitting project at college, and I hope you will all tune in.