drought

So yeah, I'm having a huge creative block. I really have no idea what I want to knit next. It seems to me that my knitting life is sort of a "when it rains it pours" kind of thing. Usually, if I am excited about a project, I'm also excited about 20 projects and have a serious case of starter-its, followed by.... well a drought.

I have new needles, some spiffy knitters pride Carbonz dpns, in size 1.5 to replace my harmony dpns. And I love them, but....
they are a little off size wise. I mean I get that 1.5 is tricky as it is technically 2.5mm diameter, but these are closer to a US size 2. I don't use size 2 very often, as I like tighter knit socks usually. And I would have gotten straight US size 1 except my LYS was out. I do have birthday money though, so I may go back. And I have US size 1 needles so this in itself isn't holding me back. In fact I even have another set of US 1.5.

It is just I kind of wanted to use those new needles.

Except I don't want to make socks.
I should because I love hand knit socks, I wear hand knit socks 95% of the winter (exceptions being when I run, and when I need to wear my tennis shoes--like this volunteer stint I have caretaking butterflies with my knitting/running friend. That's my hand holding the orchard swallowtail). So you'd THINK I'd always need more socks. And I kind of do, I just don't want to make any right now.

See I'm kind of bummed at some of my socks and how fast they are wearing. I mean I fixed actual HOLES in a sock that I've only had for two years (I checked my ravelry link. Or here's the flickr link ). And I put a lot of work into those socks. And even though I KNOW that was a case where I was blinded by the pretty colors into not noticing that it was essentially knit picks sock yarn (which don't get me wrong, I like, but I don't put that much work into knit picks sock yarn anymore), I just feel all mournful about socks.

I did dig out some stash Lorna's laces and wound up a skein (and tried out my new needles and SWORE at how loose the stitches looked) and I know Lorna's laces last for freaking ever, because the very first socks I ever made were Lorna's laces and while I have repaired them, let's just say it was more than 2 years later and was not nearly that damaged. And I may get back to those because I did walk past it this morning and think "oh pretty. Oh lovely. pretty pretty yarn." (yes, it was as creepy as it sounds)

I also have some really nice yarn. I won some buffalo gold earth lite in red. I intended to make a cowl or something but I wore the skein around my neck for a while (shut UP) and found it to scratchy for my neck. And I dug it out this week because the newest Interweave knits has a pattern for a set of fingerless gloves that I thought would be perfect for this yarn. It was Inlaid lace mitts. But the gauge is wrong. Really wrong. Like I don't think going down a few needle sizes (I think we'd be talking US 00) is going to help.

I also have some nice laceweights hanging around the stash. Some Helen's lace, sea silk and one whose name I can't remember and I'm too lazy to dig it out and look--but trust me same category. But I'm a little burned out on lace. I need a project I can carry around.

And so I thought sweater. I bought some yarn to make a red sweater after seeing a red sweater that I LOVED in Knits that Fit, but before I buy the book, I'd like to look at it again and make sure, and maybe swatch. The library has it, that's where I saw it originally. But it is checked out and not due back for two weeks. I have a hold though so maybe it will come in faster.

I also have yarn to make that pesky dollar and a half cardigan but I'm afraid that if I knit this it will be: a) a pain and b) not a sweater that will magically transform me into the model.

I have a few more chunks of yarn in sweater amounts, but nothing that excites me. I guess I'll just keep thumbing though my books and magazines until something strikes me.

What do you do when you hit a knitting drought?