Knitting blahs!

I've got the knitting blahs. I had a plan. I was on a roll. For the past couple of weeks I've been cranking out those Christmas knits. But now, with 19 days to go, I'm feeling the pressure and can't seem to knit anything right.

I've spent the last 3 days trying to knit some purple mittens for my sister to match the cabled scarf I knit her last year (I think I have just the right amount of yarn left over). The first mitten I knit ended up looking like a fish. No really. A fish. I had inserted the same cable as in the scarf in the back of the hand and hadn't accounted for the extra tension created by the cable which made the mitten curve out. While it was hysterical, it was a wasted day and a half of knitting.

So yesterday, I started fresh. I decided to knit 2 strands together and follow the Fleece Artist mitten pattern I used for my mommy mitts: a no-frills quick knit. It took a while to get the gauge right but it finally looked like it was going to work. I decided to get creative and monogram the back of it by purling the letter "H" in the otherwise stocking stitch mitt. It also puckered and looked awful. So I frogged it back and knit it straight to the top this time. I decided to get creative again and try to knit the top in a point like my grandma used to. It kinda worked. I got excited. Trimmed the yarn and weaved in the ends. Then, I tried it on...it was too short. Another day wasted.

This afternoon, I decided to use the Lopi pattern for those great fingerless glove/mitts since the gauge I was getting with the double strands of worsted weight looked about right. I got the cuff done, tried it on this time and found it way too big. Argh! I quit. She doesn't even want mitens anyway. She wants socks. I want to get rid of the purple stash. Doesn't look like either's gonna happen before Christmas.

Sat down to a nice dinner with my hubby and Jujube and felt a lot better. So after dinner I decided to edit my Christmas knitting list. No one on my list expects to get knitted gifts, since I've never really gifted anything for Christmas before. So why did I put all that pressure on myself anyway. I decided what mattered most to me was to finish the sweater for my husband and knit the initial baby blanket for Julian. Those are the two gifts that matter the most. Oh, and maybe also a Christmas sweater for the little guy...it being his first and all. More reasonable. Less pressure and love in every stitch (much more romantic than all the resentment that went into those stupid purple mittens).

So I cast on for the baby blanket using the great yarn I ordered from Elann for this very blanket. It was the right colour, right gauge, right price. Plus it's merino...yum! Alas, it is S-T-R-E-T-C-H merino and after casting on 130 stitches and knitting and evening's worth, it occured to me that not only do I hate knitting with the stupid stretch yarn but it also looks like crap. So I frogged it. I've got nothing.

Blah.