clogging towards bethlehem

Posted on Posted in projects, Uncategorized

phew, i have been gone too long—i know it.
but i have been doing some MAD knitting. i feel as if i’ve been eating too much chocolate. i feel like i’m waking up after a drinking binge. i have a knitting hangover.
BUT, i have a lot of knitting done, too.

many clogs have been knit (although not felted, so technically not done). several pair of ragamuffin mitts done and in the mail.

everything i wanted to get done for christmas day is done. YAY!

i still have to finish all the gifts for my brother’s family—this box will go out between holidays. i will have to keep up a strict knitting schedule to accomplish even that, but the executive decision to get it done by new year’s instead of christmas will ease the stress a little.
they got a gift card , too, so i can’t feel bad about it.

i just want the knitting to feel fun. between the gray weather and being wa-a-ay too focused on deadline knitting, i was starting to feel glum. throw in the fact that my house looks like a firestorm ran through a yarn shop, and, well, i’m sure you get the picture.

i’m a little bit sick of knitting, in fact. there, i said it.
just a little, really, but the reality finally hit me yesterday morning.

i miss designing.
i miss blogging, cooking, decorating, too, but i miss designing a LOT.

i’m not satisfied any more with knitting from existing patterns for any extended period of time, unless it’s to try out something i haven’t seen before. i need to be making stuff up.

when i am working on something completely new, i really, REALLY dig it.
i just constantly need to be transforming my ideas into objects, and when i go without, i have withdrawal symptoms.
this realization thrilled me—knowing that the joy has not gone out of knitting, but just changed to a new level of knitting has given me a completely new outlook on things.

to celebrate, i went back and picked up the lace mitts i was working on for my niece, which i was thinking would be a great companion to the fine cabled mitts i made earlier in the month.

i know this photo doesn’t do it justice, but it’s pretty! i found that errant ball of taj mahal that has eluded me on previous searches (of course, it was in the very LAST box i checked for the third time). i love this yarn—it’s a merino, silk, and cashmere blend. it comes in two weights and this one is the fingering weight. i think these might be wonderful—i can’t wait to get them a little further along.

i still have 3 more clogs to make—one car and two dinosaurs (still don’t really know how i’m gonna make those!). then i have a hat and a few more mitts, and THEN, i’m done. for this year, anyway.

i can’t wait to dig right in after christmas on one or two new shawls that have been positively nagging at me. and i have a couple of sweaters on the needles that i desperately want to finish too. my heart is dancing just thinking about it.

18 thoughts on “clogging towards bethlehem

  1. OMG I am just DYING over those bumble bee and car clogs…can ya’ll say CUTE!!! Anne, you certainly get originality Kudo’s for those. Theyare just so flippin adorable.

  2. I’ve never seen that Taj Majal yarn in person – beautiful stitch definition on the lace. Just gorgeous!

    However you end up making the dino clogs, I think a little boy might appreciate a tail protruding from the back of the clog. And if it involves adding a head, teeth seem the thing to make them more dino-like.

    Good Luck!

  3. The car clog is SO CUTE. Adorable bumbly bees, too – can’t wait to see the dinosaurs!

    You are so prolific – I am only giving about four knitted gifts, and two are in the mail but two still need some work!

  4. What about the spinning? Aren’t ya missing the spinning??? 😉

    The car clog is really cute! And I think I have some of the Taj Mahal in the worsted weight in a gorgeous red that is earmarked for a large scarf or medium shawl.

    I dunno how you whipped out all those knits so quickly, but I’m not at all surprised that you’re tired of knitting. I would be too. Last year’s holiday knitting wiped me out for at least a month afterwards. This year I took it easy.

  5. Goodness! Give yourself a break. No one seems to remember that there are 12 — count them, 12 — days of Christmas. So you have till January 5 to make good on your Christmas presents, etc. Spread out the pleasure and celebrate with different groups of family and friends every night — and destress yourself. And happy dreaming of new patterns!

  6. How about some eyes and a Triceratops jaggedy spine along the instep? I’d avoid a tail — sounds like “tripping time” to me.

  7. Love the clogs! I just got a copy of the FiberTrends clog pattern and haven’t tried it yet. Hope by next Christmas I’m proficient enough at it to make the creative variations you’ve done!

    Here’s hoping that the New Year brings you lots and lots of time to design wonderful new things.

  8. Anne!! Missed your blogging, but I knew you’d have tons to show for it!!! I am glad to hear you will be back to designing; you need to do creative knitting for a change, not pulp knitting (although you’ve got some great pulp going on girl….I just meant your mind needs the creative release of designing….).

  9. Hello! Hello! So nice to see you back!

    Love those clogs, you crazy lady. The inside out ones are really creative.

    Here’s a suggestion for the dinosaurs. Turn them backwards. A tail could emerge from the toes and be tacked down onto the top of the foot. The face could come out of the heel. You could embroider the suggestion of legs on either side, or actually knit some that stick out a bit.

    I’m with you on the creation bit. But my creative energy has been absorbed by work lately! Bummmer. I’m really looking forward to my time off because I hope to get my mojo back.

  10. Oh I know that feeling. It’s not being unfaithful, truly it isn’t, to feel you’re sick to death of knitting. You need a rest. And we do move on, change from the things we liked doing last year, last month, last week. We progress, that’s the fun of it. I remember a time I hunted for balls of yarn. Now I won’t look at anything that isn’t unusual, impossible to find, on a cone. We change. But you’re great.

    Love and Midwinter blessings

    Jo at Celtic Memory Yarns

  11. Sooooooo much knitting. No wonder you need a bit of a break! But I’m sure it was entirely worth the mad sprint of flying needles toward the finish line, as I have no doubt that all of the recipients will be absolutely delighted!

  12. Wow, that’s a lot of knitting. I’ve so enjoyed your blog this year. Thank-you Anne for all the pleasure you’ve given me and inspiration too! Have a very Happy Christmas and New Year too.

  13. The clogs are adorable. That’s a lotta clogs. Thank goodness they are small sizes. I knocked off the largest pair I’m knitting on tonight, and may yet throw them in the wash. Finished three scarves. Postponed a couple of my projects to New Year gifts. That’s OK. Now I’m just itching to knit socks again, and some mitts. Just love your new ones. Glad you found your yarn. Story of my life. I have the perfect yarn, but where?

  14. Love that ragamuffin set with just a wee touch of fluffiness. And the clogs are going to be adorable, I hope you post a post-felting pic.
    I’m with you about the design thing. I spent two months getting ready for and selling at craft shows and I felt decidedly unbalanced until I got a chance to get back to my sketchpad.

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