stalled

So a funny thing happened. First the not so funny.

I decided to rip back the sock I was knitting because it didn't fit anyone. I usually just eyeball socks because I knit toe up and maybe I'm stupid or whatever. Anyway no one in the house could get it over their heel. Rather than leaving it as a Cinderella sock, I ripped it and made it bigger. Then i was knitting along during a baseball game when suddenly the DPN I had in my hand fell apart.

It is my weekend for broken things.

A post shared by Jodie (@ja_gardner) on Jun 3, 2018 at 12:48pm PDT

I mean it isn't the end of the world, I know some superglue will fix that right up but MAN. Not so the second thing broken--our windshield experienced some major damage either during that game or a chip that we hadn't noticed decided to majorly expand in the night. No superglue in the world will fix that.

But on to the funny part--the knitting.

So, when I last wrote I was considering a scrappy sweater. I dug out like almost all of my scrap yarn and weighed it and approximated measurements and.... decided I needed more yarn. Sigh. But in the deep stash dive I also emerged with enough Knit Picks Comfy sport in a bright red that seems to be discontinued, to make a short sleeved or lacy sweater. And so I spent many a long day searching ravelry for just the right project. And I also swatched to see what type of gauge I'd be dealing with.

Swatch is still drying from it's run through the washing machine, so I haven't measured it yet. I also haven't picked a pattern either so that works. Here is what I'm thinking though, so maybe if anyone has any suggestions, or opinions they can weigh in.

And I'm sorry, I can't figure out a good way (without stealing every image and plastering it on blogger anyway) to show thumbnails of what I'm thinking.

First up is this beauty from DROPS. I don't love DROPS patterns, they seem overly fussy to me. But I really liked the lace detailing on this one.

Low tide is a little bit longer than I was imagining, but again, that lace detail is divine.

I'm actually leaning really heavily towards CeCe by chic knits. It seems to have everything I'm looking for: lace, 3/4 sleeves, and looks good on nearly everyone. I'm torn because the pattern calls for thicker yarn than I have.

Also in the running is Miss Lemon I love love love the lace on this. I worry about the snug fit as I wasn't looking for such a fitted piece.

Another one that I like is Greensleeves, but I'd have to adapt it to make it shorter sleeves and ironically I hate the pockets. Even though I love pockets, those look a little out of place. Plus, I don't have quite that quantity of yarn.

My real issue is finding something in a sport weight and an adult size. Most of what I found is DK weight. And I know this is my fault because I searched either DK or sport before I did my swatch.

So that's where I am--still knitting the same sock as I was a month ago--trying to find a sweater to knit. Feels like I've made zero progress.

Do you have a favorite lacy summer cardigan that would look good in BRIGHT red? Tell me about it in the comments.

thinking

I must confess that if the ONLY item not crossed off my weekly to do list was "blog" I would probably not be writing this.

My knitting is going eh. I am nearly done with a sock and I tried it on and because I do not ever swatch socks and just eyeball my toe up numbers it does not fit. It fits my foot, but I struggle to get it over my heel. In fact it doesn't fit the smallest feet in the house even. I KNOW I need to rip it out. Or more likely since that section had two knots that were a pain to deal with, I'll rip and probably use that section of yarn for leftovers and just start a new sock. Except I find myself a little tired of socks.

Instead because the heat is nearly upon us and I am starting to very slowly wash out my sweaters for storage (And then I'll start washing the cardigans I keep out all year long--also must remember to buy more wool wash*) I really really want to start a sweater.

I was initially thinking that maybe I should FINALLY tackle the dollar and a half cardigan. Which I KNOW I say that at least 3 or 4 times a year every year since the pattern was published which means I've had that in the queue for um maybe 10 years. But the reality is that every time I look at finished versions of that sweater on ravelry, I see women my shape wearing it and I just don't like the look. I will never be that shape, even if I diet myself to that size. And while I think I can look good in a lacy sweater, I'm not convinced that is the one.

But, I do own a sweater's worth of brown cotlin and so I was thinking a brown cotton linen sweater would be nice. Also I could wear it on the chance I finish it before fall (assuming I start it before fall).

I also own a sweater amount of leftover yarn. I have a baby blue ultra alpaca from that time I tried to adjust a pattern and failed. I have some green Quince and Co Lark leftover from a green central park hoodie I made. (as an aside, I wish I could write out in the open the longer story of that sweater and how it has come full circle for me, if you know me--ask me about it sometime). And some of the same yarn in purple from Estelle. I wondered if I got out all those yarns out and weighed them if I would have enough for something striped.

But trying to find a scrap yarn project on ravelry is HARD. I think made harder by what I ALWAYS do. I always seem to have a picture in my head about what I would like. In this case I want:
a cardigan
probably raglan
with a zipper
long sleeves
ideally knit in one piece so I will be SURE of stripes matching on the body
I don't mind paying for a pattern, so that's not a problem, although ideally free or already own the pattern would be a plus. Of course I may be going about the searching all wrong. I could probably try just looking for a zippered raglan cardigan and then making it striped--instead of looking for patterns specifically designed to use scraps. Or I could go the disaster in the making route and just cobble together my own pattern.

So to sum up: I'm sick of socks, I'm giving up on ever making the dollar and a half cardigan and I could make a summer cotton/linen sweater instead OR a scrap yarn cardigan. It's like a cliffhanger as to what will happen! * I prefer Soak. I realize this is controversial. I use it for non-wool items too.

rainbow socks

I am steadily working on my weekly to do list. Last week the only thing I didn't get to cross off was "new blog post." This week I'd like to finish it, although "sign children up for Driver's ed" seems to be the one that may be beyond my control.

Anyway. Last time I wrote, I had a sweater pattern and yarn and had decided to take a break from the sock I was working on and tackle the sweater. Like all good things, this was maybe too ambitious. I looked a lot closer at the pattern and realized a few things:
* The yarn called for is a worsted weight
* The yarn I have is maybe sport
* I have no idea what size to make
* I don't know if I have enough yarn to make the longer sleeved version I was imagining.

Clearly there are solutions. First solution is obviously to swatch. I have started this, but I feel like maybe my swatch isn't nearly large enough. The second is of course to measure me and the swatch and do some hocus pocus math and just figure the dang things out. As far as having enough yarn? I don't really have a solution other than maybe don't make long sleeves. The one part I was most worried about regarding the pattern itself was the actual stitch pattern, but the swatch has shown me that it is a relatively simple pattern--as long as I follow the cart. And boy am I ever glad I learned to read a chart.

So, instead of deciding any of that, I decided to finish the rainbow and clouds socks. Just because I feel like they may be knit a little too loosely doesn't mean that I don't love them and won't wear them. If someone wants to buy me the sock monkey colorway, I'll knit those at a smaller gauge.

Sock 1 done. ✅ sock 2 begun.

A post shared by Jodie (@ja_gardner) on Jan 31, 2018 at 9:57am PST

I've even started the second sock. And yes, I did actually try really hard to start in roughly the same place in the color run.

In which I am bored

First, I just want to start by saying, I am LOVING the socks I'm wearing today. Which happen to be socks I designed my own pattern for and knit this summer. I keep seeing them on my feet and it is really brightening up my day--way more than usual.

That said, the socks I'm knitting now, while I am loving the yarn, I am being really worried that I didn't knit them tight enough. So, I want to set them aside. Because somehow continuing to knit them--and I am nearly done with sock #1 is just making me more anxious. And of course it is cold outside. Which you know what that means? Sweater time.

I remembered that I had a shrug pattern and yarn for it that I was going to make a "while back" and thought I'd dig that pattern up and see what it entailed. So Tuesday night, I decided I'd do that. An hour later....

Ok, I knew the pattern was in my "yarn cupboard" so I started there, but boy howdy was that a mess. I found the yarn first--still in its bag from the yarn store with receipt and everything, but I could NOT find the pattern. So I dragged lots of stuff out, threw things away (including ball bands from socks I no longer own and projects I can't remember and swatches and gasp even some small bits of yarn (because honestly, do I need 10 yards of dishcloth cotton or 5 yards of some sock yarn that I don't even have the socks anymore?). I even recycled a few patterns I had printed from the internet and will not make (toddler sweaters!). I put yarn all away (some in new bins because I had outgrown the cupboard) and have a library box full of magazines that were loose and FINALLY, I found the pattern. It was shoved between the yarn bins and the wall. Or maybe it had fallen. I don't know. All I know is that I had found both the yarn AND the pattern (and 6 other sock yarns I had forgotten about).

Of course after I found it, and looked at it I was so overwhelmed with having spent an hour digging through things and casually discarding things that I didn't have time to look at the pattern. Then last night I was way too tired to tackle anything new. So today, I got it out and thought I'd write about finding it. I started by taking a picture all artfully arranged.

I think this might be next in the queue. You know 3 years after I bought the yarn.

A post shared by Jodie (@ja_gardner) on Jan 18, 2018 at 10:35am PST

And the receipt, as I said, is still in the bag. So, after arranging the picture and taking the picture, I dug out the receipt. I bought that yarn on 1/23/2015. Almost exactly three years ago. The yarn (Classic Elite Magnolia) is discontinued.

I feel like I should start this project on the 23rd. Perhaps I'd best get swatching.

Finished scarf

Maybe I should lead with the sort of good stuff. I finished something! First, before I get into the picture, or how I feel about it--let me just say that this is HEAVY and WARM and the weather is unseasonably warm for late October and so my plan for wearing this to show school pride on the big crosstown rivalry game is also in question. I'm sure no one sweats to death in the stands at late October football games and I don't want to be the first.

Scarf! Finished but way too heavy

A post shared by Jodie (@ja_gardner) on Oct 19, 2017 at 5:33am PDT

This is a scarf that I started as football knitting. I wanted a scarf on school colors but As I said in the last entry, this isn't quite the finished product I was envisioning. Yarn choice was really the downfall. And here's the kicker--I really don't have any desire to make the scarf I was envisioning. I mean I COULD go back to the big box craft store (or another one--we have two) and find more appropriate yarn for the project and crank out another scarf. But I'm feeling very eh about it.

Which brings me to kind of the bad news on the blog front. I haven't started knitting anything since I finished this over the weekend.

Seriously.

I'd like to say that it's because I'm so busy with other things, but the reality is--I don't have anything I want to knit. I mean I do have other things too--halloween costumes, which are going to be a major crunch this year as the costumes were decided upon late and I'm making an extra one for a friend so they can all go as a group. But by in large, I am just feeling very uninspired.

I poked around on ravelry for a bit the other day, but it felt like everything was a shawl or wrap and I just wasn't feeling it. I have a small metric ton of sock yarn I could dive into, but after knitting socks all summer, I'm wanting something different. I have yarn for a sweater that would be perfect to knit if I could focus on it (the infamous dollar and a half cardigan that's been on the to be knit list for nearly a decade). Maybe I need to stash dive. Or maybe I need to go the craft store and get the yarn to make the scarf I want (for next year? for playoffs? For basketball season?)

Or maybe I just need inspiration from you--Tell me about what you are knitting!

scarf

I know, I said in my last entry that I had another knitting conundrum and I was going to write about it the very next day. HAH! That is like the funniest thing ever that I would think that I would have time.

First, I do want to mention for future me that I did manage to buy the peaches from the orchard I prefer and I did get them all canned in early September. I've also been worried about tomatoes since I didn't join my usual CSA this year. I've been doing ok with vegetables at farmer's market, but I really miss their tomatoes. I did find a tomato vendor the day after my last entry who had bushels reasonably priced that looked a) ripe and b) delicious. They were good but small and somewhat watery. I canned them as regular crushed tomatoes. I didn't pressure can as the drop in liquid of those wigs me out. I still have a few pints from last year to use up so I think I'm going to be happy with having canned less this year.

Ok, so the conundrum. You see it got cold here (and then hot but that's a whole other story) and I got this brilliant idea in my head: What if I knit a scarf (or two) in gang school colors for the big cross town rivalry game, which is the last game of the season?

I had in mind a scarf in stripes, done in the round. Basically you knit a really long tube and then make it flat by putting fringe on the ends to hold it shut. So off to Joann's to find the right yarn.

I don't know about you, but when I go yarn shopping be it at a LYS, or a craft store, I get a little overwhelmed with all the choices. Craft stores are generally easier for me though because I don't get so distracted thinking about other projects, but when your project calls for something that is in abundance.... well usually that does me in. Joann's had SO MANY different choices. There was already striped yarn, there was novelty yarn, there was just plain red heart in the right colors, and there was Hometown USA which is a bulky but very soft acrylic.

Yes, I did basically choose it because of how squishy it is.

The more astute of you may actually see my problem coming before I even tell you.

Yes, a double thickness in this yarn was WAY too thick.

Yes, I did knit about 8 inches before deciding that

Yes, I did set it aside for nearly a week

Yes, I did rip it out and start over.

So here was my problem. I really really really wanted this yarn. I really really wanted a scarf that looked like stockinette stitch without the curling. I really really wanted stripes that looked effortless.

I could not decide what to do. My choices seemed to boil down to a) continue on and be unhappy b) return unused yarn to the store, get different yarn and be unhappy or c) start over with a garter stitch one layer scarf and be less unhappy. So I chose C. I ripped, and I started over with a garter stitch scarf that isn't perfect. The back shows the color changes, my stripes are so wide, I can't carry up the yarn and am having to do a lot of end weaving. But, I am going to have a scarf that I can knit at the next two football games and wear at the "big game" and it's going to be soft and squishy.

I probably won't make two though. If I decide a second one is needed, I'm getting thinner (scratchier) yarn and making the tube.

School color scarf (no not u of m thankyouverymuch)

A post shared by Jodie (@ja_gardner) on Sep 25, 2017 at 6:18am PDT

What I've been up to

Well this has quite the week.

I'm sure you've probably heard someone say this this week--or perhaps you said it yourself.

Monday the 7th--which feels like a REALLY long time ago, I went to a meeting/baby shower. It was to be a book shower, but you know--I can't resist knitting for a baby. So I threw in a sweater and a hat with my board book contribution.

Baby sweater and hat #gifts

A photo posted by Jodie (@ja_gardner) on Nov 6, 2016 at 5:22pm PST

I had such fun knitting these. The hat is just a basic hat--figured up from the Handy book of patterns by Ann Budd and the sweater is a Kimono baby sweater from Mason Dixon knitting.

Then, I admit that the US election did not go exactly how I thought it would, and I'm realizing that I probably live in my own bubble which would seem weird given I live in an area where the democrats don't usually even run anyone. But there it is.

At any rate, I barely had time to process that when I got word that a former co-worker and knitting friend had passed away from complications of brain cancer. She was an extremely special person. Even saying that feels like an understatement. You know that one friend or relative you have who everyone turns to for advice and help and hugs? That friend or relative who you'll go months without seeing (except on facebook) and they'll ask after some concern you posted or talked about? Sally was that person and more. I feel like our community has a Sally shaped hole in it, and it will take a while to stitch up.

I confess, I started this sock simply so I'd have something to knit at the visitation. I do need some new socks though.

Tiny start to a #sock

A photo posted by Jodie (@ja_gardner) on Nov 14, 2016 at 4:36pm PST

I wrote the above a few days ago, but didn't have time to finish, because the week suddenly got even longer. However, work progresses on the sock, but I'm starting to worry that it is turning out to be too big for my stupidly narrow feet. It's like al of a sudden I can't make socks that actually fit my feet. Because yes, I did finally finish the second baseball sock, but am too tired of that yarn to rip back the first too small sock and re-knit it. So basically I have one sock that fits. Well lesson learned, I'm going to knit another inch or two on the current sock and try it on (toe up for the win) and if my suspicions are correct I am ripping IMMEDIATELY.

Meanwhile, in an effort to DO something, anything really to mitigate the feeling of helplessness I feel, I decided that I could actually do something small for someone who is collecting all the smalls and turning them into a big. Carry the Future, which is a great non-profit organization attempting to provide baby carriers to refugees in Greece is having a blanket drive. They are asking for blanket donations, both twin sized and baby sized to help a group of refugees in Jordan stay warm this winter. Blankets I can do. Baby sized ones in particular. So I started this:

Just a little something I started today.

A photo posted by Jodie (@ja_gardner) on Nov 15, 2016 at 4:37pm PST

It is entirely scraps from the PJ pants of the last few years. And it turns out I'm probably going to miss their November 30 deadline. BUT, I saw an article the other day that said an organization here in Michigan was looking for blanket donations too in order to assist refugees settled in Michigan. Evidently, if you come from a warmer climate Michigan winters (even the mild one we are currently experiencing) make you wish for many many blankets to snuggle under. In some ways that's even better. I'll get to give a happy baby sized blanket to someone who is just getting to America and let them know that not everyone hates them. Better yet, I think I probably have enough scraps to make a few more. And I get that same satisfaction I always get with the thrum and hum of the sewing machine.

halloween 15

Ok. So at this time of year, I usually take much needed sewing breaks from my making of halloween costumes to blog about sewing on said costumes. This year? Ok this year was both easier and harder.

It was easier because one girl decided to be sadness from Inside Out. And if you follow that link you'll understand the ease of this. We found some blue leggings at Kohl's for $7 and a fleece blue cowl necked shirt at the thrift store ($3!) and I bought some blue and white face paint and a blue wig. Due to my policy on not showing kids faces on the blog, I may not actually post the finished photo here. In essence this costume is more about the face, than the clothes.

But it was harder because the other girl had trouble making up her mind. First she wanted to be a three headed monster, than a princess, then finally a minion. But not just any minion--A cute minion. She declared a need for goggles, a tutu and overalls. I'd love to say that hey I have all that done and am basking slightly in the glow of the tealights in the pumpkins.

No

I have in fact purchased at thrift store a shirt the right color and was told it a) smelled like old man (Before I washed it--I wanted her to try it on so I could return it! if it didn't fit) and b) had a turtleneck. So I washed it and removed turtleneck. Then she said she wanted to wear her blue leggings so ok. But then she wanted a tutu that "stuck out" and overalls with a Grue symbol.

This is what I have come up with:

A photo posted by Jodie (@ja_gardner) on Oct 29, 2015 at 11:11am PDT

I created the overall part, managed a buttonhole! and used fusible web to create a Grue eymbol. She thinks the tutu is too long but eh.

Goggles might be the end of me. I saw a tutorial on Pinterest that used canning lids and wiffle balls, but I thought I'd use very large googly eyes instead. BIG MISTAKE. Those googly eyes are too big for ANYTHING. and nothing I've been able to work out has satisfied her.

So basically I am waiting for her to come home from school and approve the latest incarnation which is a wide mouth canning lid and said eye. She can go as one eye or I can glue a second one on. Maybe. I don't have the rivet tool from the pinterest tutorial I found, and so I bought elmers brand super glue and I'm hoping there is enough surface between two lids to glue.

A photo posted by Jodie (@ja_gardner) on Oct 29, 2015 at 11:11am PDT

So here I am basically last minute (wearing these to school Friday) throwing stuff together. I hate that feeling! But I have a coffee date planned for after everyone is off and I plan on sleeping that extra hour out over the weekend, and come back with more knitting in November!

fall

I used to really love fall, the leaves turning, the apples, the digging out of handknits. This year I find myself hating it: the mornings are darker, the days are colder and I put off digging out the handknits. I'm trying really hard and the days lately have been helping. Spectacular days with colorful leaves are making the morning exercise go much smoother, but still, I'd rather go back to summer. A lot of people hate knitting in the summer, but I love it in part because when you finish something you can put it away almost like a Christmas present to yourself when colder weather gets here. Which I guess is a long way of saying, I pulled me new socks out of the drawer the other day and it made it a little easier to get going on a cold morning.

I finished the last of the "summer socks" and will take a picture later when the recipient can model them. I was very close to finishing them last week right before we decided to go on a short trip. I didn't want to take them along and finish them on the road and not have anything else to knit, so I decided to do that really stupid thing that always gets me into trouble and bring yarn, needles, and pattern and start a new project.

I picked this yarn that my mother in law gave me. She had bought it and a pattern at her quilters lock in. And someone told her they went together. The yarn is Linaza and the pattern is Dragon Hide Mitts. The pattern calls for a DK weight yarn and as I discovered 1/2 hour down the road, Linaza is not DK weight.

So I swatched. And I swatched again. I ended up never getting guage, never even getting close, but getting to the point where if I made a bigger size, i could stand the fabric I was making on size 1.5 US and even then, it was a little airy for mittens. But I started anyway. About 4 rows in, I realized I was doing seed stitch instead of 1X1 ribbing and I just gave up. Perhaps this yarn is not going to be THIS pattern.

But it does leave me at loose ends.

I have the socks that were on the needles done. I have, I think, gotten a little tired of socks, and I'm not wanting to dive into the other sock project I have. The girls have not decided on colors for the sweaters I want to make them--which is getting old. So what should I make?

While I decide, here is a picture of me on a turtle from our trip. My handknit sock is sort of peeking out.

peaches, socks, and school Oh my!

I felt like maybe I should title this post "what I did over my summer vacation" because I think that would make me feel more accomplished than a list of things I put off that I need to accomplish in September or even this week.

The kids went back to school and OH the list of things I put off while they were home is long.

Last year I did this whole write an entry every day as I slogged through my canning of both peaches and tomatoes. This year, I finished tomatoes so early. They were abundant this year instead of moldy. And then, peaches started coming in.

So here are the peach statistics so I don't forget. I made two batches of jam, one regular and one peach vanilla. I didn't really have enough fruit for the regular and so it is a little grainy, but the vanilla is OH MY. Then I managed to buy a half bushel of peaches from my regular orchard, even though they technically weren't selling them, And then a few days later I bought another (and they were selling them). So it worked out well and I ended up canning 24 pints of peaches. I didn't do any honey spice because it turns out that I'm the only one who likes them. I actually have enough peaches left on my counter to do another pint, but I think I'm going to smoothie them up instead. Maybe freeze them too.

I have been slowly slowly working on socks. at least the plain socks. until I ran into this

Yarn barf

A photo posted by Jodie (@ja_gardner) on Sep 8, 2015 at 5:02pm PDT

And so now I am busy untangling yarn so I can knit. It should have pushed me to work on the complicated socks, but I am having complicated feelings about them. I'm sure that once the newness of school wears down, and my kids get healthy again (yes, school started yesterday and my kids have head colds), I will not feel like such a zombie all the time and will actually (gasp) maybe even have time to knit during the day every once in a while!

And yes, Halloween is on the horizon. I think I have a plan. One girl picked something I can easily scrounge around at second hand shops and find (she wants to be "Sadness" from Inside Out), and while the other one was more complicated (she wanted to be a three headed... something), she has decided instead upon being a pink sparkly princess. The pattern I bought is a generic Glenda, but we are going to "un-Glenda" it by maybe choosing some fushia and gold or silver. Stay tuned on that one.

And in case you were curious--all the caterpillars are now cocoons! It was a fun process, and now one of my many September jobs is to get them set for the winter, safe so animals don't eat them, and exposed to weather. Then we wait.

Last of the birch eating #cercopia #caterpillars has pupated

A photo posted by Jodie (@ja_gardner) on Sep 8, 2015 at 4:11pm PDT

not much to report

Since it has been a while since I updated, I figured I might have some new project to report.  Alas not.  I'm having a really hard time getting things done lately, I'm not sure exactly why.  The last two weeks have found me with nearly uncompleted weekly to do lists.  Last week was an obvious one, my kids had two days off and my husband had a different day off.  So I only had two days in which I did not have other people distracting me.  (Clearly, I want to be distracted).

And my kids, well they just sucked the energy right out of me.  I don't even know why except that as nearly 12 year olds, they've reverted back to some of their toddler like ways--except this time around I can't put them down for naps (even when I know they are tired). It means that when my knitting time rolls around, Im just too tired.  Plus, they've started this thing they never did as little bitties and get out of bed like 10-15 times a night (usually between 9 and 11) and they neeeed something. It makes it really hard to knit, when you are constantly getting up and saying--go back to bed, stay there.

I did start a small project that I know would be done by now in the hands of a more dedicated knitter. It is a gift though, so I don't want to say too much about it.  It is from a book I managed to score for majorly cheap ($1 at the Friends of the Library Amigurumi Knits ). So basically now I want to knit a bunch of vegetables for all my friends.

Even this small project has me stalled.  Because seriously, how long should it take to knit something small like that?  I've been working for over a week--except not really because too many nights I just fall into this exhausted despair.

This week, I have set some craft goals though and will push through them by golly. I've got 3 pairs of pj pants up . (PJs are fast becoming a never ending project--I recently discovered one child claims that she doesn't have enough to go all week and she hates re-wearing) One pair is for me, and is cut out.  The other two need to get done--the fabric is washed.  (The fabric was clearanced out at Joann--so score!) and just need to get done.  As I have proved other times, none of these will take me longer than an hour.  I should just get them done.

Other goals--swatch for one project--maybe during the day so I have focus.  It doesn't matter which of the THREE things I want to make I swatch for--just SOMETHING. So that when my Amigurumi gift is done, I can get going on something else. And get whichever patter I pick read through, and set so it can be knit in between the "mom--what if no one else wears pajamas at pajama day!" crises that happen at 10pm, as I am TRYING to knit.