Travel, a Quest, and Superstition

First, about last Friday's eye candy: It's one of the clocks on the Musee D'Orsay. Too bad about the scaffolding behind it...

Vacation was WONDERFUL! I don't even feel badly about not going to Rhinebeck. Of course, that may be a bit easier for me than others because:

1. I just got back from Paris
2. I'm going to Disneyland in a few weeks
3. I'm reasonably new to knitting (at least as an obsession. This is perhaps material for another post)
4. I'm really new to the whole "knitting community" thing, and a bit shy
5. I've never been to Rhinebeck
6. I'm really afraid I'd come back with a spinning wheel--and I don't spin (yet)
7. I have no money (see numbers one and two, above)

Upon my return from vacation, I found this in my stack o' mail:

Although very excited at first, I was pretty disappointed after leafing through it. The only projects that even mildly interest me are the "Think Pink" sweater (though I doubt I'd do it in pink), the Seeds of Change jacket (WITHOUT the ruffles!), and Sophia & Scotty (although I don't know about making kids' clothes that can't be tossed in the washer and dryer. If I make it for my niece, I may try Knitpick's Swish superwash wool and a coordinating fabric for the appliques). The Cabled Duffle Coat is kind of cute, but I just don't see myself knitting that.

So, in a very lame attempt to get that knitting mag fix, even though I don't need any more projects, currently having enough to last me the rest of my natural life, I bought this:

I had been thinking long and hard about this one (seriously--I've been contemplating whether or not I should get it for MONTHS--you could pre-order it on the Interweave Knits Website). Here is my dilemma: Although there are a number of patterns I love in this magazine, I already own many of them.

The "Backyard Leaves" and "Misty Garden" scarves are both in "Scarf Style". The "Heart Sachet" is in an earlier issue of Interweave Knits. All of the stockings from "The Season's Stockings" are from "Christmas Stockings/18 Holiday Treasures to Knit". I can't put my finger on it, but the "Lacy Kerchief Scarf" looks really familiar... (If you want to see what I'm talking about, check out all the projects in this issue.) I understand re-purposing some amount of content, but this seems extreme!

But the lame part is my motivation for actually buying the magazine. Two patterns. "Best Friend Bears" and "Charcoal Ribbed Cardigan". I am nuts.

The bears are really cute, but I already have the patterns for Blue Sky Alpacas' "Bobbi Bear" and "Baby Bobbi Bear" (I've had the patterns for over two years and still haven't made them...) I wanted to make these for my nephew and niece. We'll see which I wind up going with. (If it turns out that I actually make these soon, and they're fairly easy, I might also make one for a friend's baby. Again, we'll see. I'm a pretty slow knitter.)

However, the really bonehead part is the attraction to the Charcoal Ribbed Cardigan. I thought it would look nice on my dbf. (Okay, as an aside, I don't think I like this whole "dbf" thing. While he truly is my "dear boyfriend", it just seems so... I don't know... high school? to put it that way. And I've been out of high school a LONG time. I want to preserve his privacy--although, he may be the only person who reads this blog, so I may be worried about nothing--so I don't want to use his name, but I'm definitely going to talk about him, 'cause he's an important part of my knitting and non-knitting life. I like Lee Ann's idea--she calls her husband "Spiff" after Spaceman Spiff in Calvin and Hobbes. (As an aside to this aside, her blog is hilarious! A definite "must read.") Perhaps I should consult my dbf and see if he has any ideas. There's a novel thought...)

Anyway, it's not that the Charcoal Ribbed Cardigan wouldn't look nice on him--I'm confident it would. The issues with even considering making him a cardigan (or sweater of any sort) are numerous. Let's think about this.

1. Have you seen how slow my progress on his sock has been? Dismal.
2. After the sock, and before it gets cold (so, I've got about a week...) I need to not only finish swatching for his scarf, but actually make it.
3. He can be a little picky, and I don't even know if he likes the sweater.
4. And here's the biggie: The Curse. I love him more than I can express, and I don't want some stupid Curse to mess that up. Not that I necessarily think it will, but I don't like to tempt fate, and this is too important. Now, we've survived wrist warmers and a hat, and obviously I'm working on socks and a scarf, and I think we'll be fine. A sweater's just tempting fate, though. It's a big old sign saying "come and get me if you can--I dare you! Neener, neener, neener!" I try not to taunt higher powers. They can be vengeful. (Okay--I'm a little superstitious. Sue me.)

So, in my quest for knitting pattern satisfaction, I bought something VERY COOL. I'll have to blog about it later, because Blogger doesn't seem to want me to post any more pictures right now. Plus, I need to get ready for work... Grrr.

In the mean time, everyone should leaf through the latest Vogue Knitting. I just got mine on Saturday!