Misplaced Mojo

I haven't been knitting at all lately. I have seven projects on the needles and I don't want to work on any of them.

The root cause, I think, is this hideous balaclava that I agreed to make for my 13yo. The pattern is a pain, my row gauge is off (and row gauge matters, which always vexes me), the seaming is going to be a drag, and I am really just mentally done with it. Also, I feel guilty that I didn't get it finished before spring, which perversely makes me less willing to work on it. Ugh.

I am tackling my first double-knitting project as well. It's pretty and fun but it's also s-l-o-w. I've never before held two colors with the same hand and they just won't stop tangling. 

There's a lace project that's going to be pretty, I think, but it requires concentration.

I have about ten minutes' worth of work to do to finish my felted French press cozy, but I've been stalled at that point since early January.

Plus I have three pairs of socks on the needles: one for my mom (the least intuitive pattern I have ever attempted, and although it might be heresy I am not loving the Madelinetosh sock yarn), one for my pal Amanda that was ticking along fine until I was ambushed by ugly gussets, and one that was intended to be my fun brainless project until I discovered that the green and purple and blue yarn hurts my eyes. Can't have a fun project if you hate the yarn, right?

I've been wanting to cast on a sweater with some yarn I bought on deep discount, but I feel I ought to finish that rassafrassin' balaclava first. And I don't want to pick up the balaclava, which means that finishing it will require me to develop telekinetic knitting skills. 

Last night I finally picked up the purple socks and smacked the gussets around so that they are 80% less ugly. I'll take it. Six rows up the leg of the first sock, she said with a sigh.

Probably the solution to my knitting doldrums is not to buy more yarn, huh?

Comments

[Celeste]

Sometimes just doing one thing begets mojo. I think if you could give the cozy it's 10 minutes, and not think about the balaclava, it would help. I might also frog the yarn for the fun project and hold re-starting it in better yarn as a reward for finishing something else. If it was me, I'd set the balaclava aside for the first chill in the air of fall, and knit like fury then.

[Carolina]

I found with double-knitting its easiest to hold each color in a different hand. It requires knitting both right- and left-handed but prevents all the tangling. Since double knitting goes so slow (for me at least), it doesn't take that much longer holding yarn with the hand you're not accustomed to use.

[Kristin]

"Probably the solution to my knitting doldrums is not to buy more yarn, huh?"

That's crazy talk. Buying more yarn is ALWAYS the solution.

[Lilian]

YIKES! That balaclava is hideous and looks SOOOO hard! I'm not a knitter, so whatever I say won't make too much sense. ;)