Lists

I am a list maker.  I make lists and sub-lists and sub-sub-lists.  I really only make to-do lists these days, but I also like to catalog things, which is why I love Ravelry.  I can list and catalog there.  Swoon.

My work lists (when I have a job) are numerous.  I have a top-level to-do list that outlines all the major tasks I could accomplish in the near future.  I don't keep long-term lists, by the way.  I'm strictly a short-term lister.  Then I have the middle-level to-do list that has smaller tasks that I should accomplish within the week.  Finally, I have a lower-level list that has three or four things I would like to accomplish that day.  Month, week, day.  I log everything I do each day (plus a phone log), and I save both the log and the to-do lists.  Then the next year I simply refer to what I was doing the same time of year and add those to my monthly list.  

On Ravelry, I currently have 1296 items queued.  These are things that I could knit someday.  There's a great feature in the advanced search that lets one "compare" projects.  So I star the things that I might want to knit next and then look only at those.  I wish there was one more layer (I seem to like three layers of listing) to pull out the things that I really want to knit and leave the things that I don't want to forget as near-future possibilities in the comparing section.  Sometimes I delete everything but the next possibilities and sometimes I just open them all in their own tabs.  I usually have my next project narrowed down to three or four before I settle on it.

18 of the 20+ projects with no homes

After moving to Reno, I found myself both bored and listless.  This lasted for a month or so until I started to make lists.  I realized there was a lot I could be doing, but I could never settle on anything.  Sometimes I couldn't think of anything to do.  Finally, I made a list.  The list had everything from "apply for a specific job" to "knit a hat" on it--both productive things and leisurely things.  These were all things I could do.  Then each day I made a list of three things I would like to do that day.  Since I'm not working a regular job, nothing on my list is ever that important, so if I didn't get to the laundry, it wasn't a big deal.  In fact, I still have a pair of shoes to clean that have been on and off the list since this summer.  This finally gave me some direction for my day.  I haven't been using the lists as often, but I don't feel listless anymore. 

So, in the spirit of lists, here is a catalog of the last few things I've knit.  I've also included a photo of April in the Essential Cardigan, but it's a bad picture from a dinner out at one of my favorite Reno restaurants, The Brewer's Cabinet.

April in the Essential Cardigan

Katy & Kevin cowl. It's a bit small.

 

Surplus Stripes

Surplus Hat (I used the striping method in the cowl pattern to make this hat)

Gaelic Warrior Hat

Stockpiling

I have quite the stack of hats and cowls and mitts with no home.  I'm thinking about finding a charity for the hats.  Then I know that they will be going to a good home.  The rest of the stuff, well, I guess I'll just keep piling up the stack.

Nouvelle

Lots of 1x1 Ribbing Hat for Brian

 
The sweater for April is finished.  I think it's a bit on the small side, but she looks good in it.  She looks good in most things, really.  I did not take photos of the sweater yet, though, so that will come later.

I was trying to think of a topic for this post, but I just feel like I'm whining a lot lately.  I can't find a job, even a retail job, so I'm getting stressed.  I had a terrible nightmare the other night about someone (who looked like Jack Nicholson in The Shining) threatening to shoot me.  I called 911, dropped to floor and started shouting the address, which was my Nana's address (now my cousin's).  I guess it's because that was the first address I had to memorize, since I went to Kindergarten at the school on her block.

I thought this post was going to be about all the cowls I've been knitting lately, but the truth is, I seem to be knitting a lot of hats.  The majority of the projects on my Ravelry page are hats, followed by things for babies (clothes and toys).  Cowls come in third.  When I'm searching for a pattern, I tend to save a lot of cowls.  I like the simplicity of the shape, I think.  A tube has great potential for all kinds of design details like cables and lace and colorwork.

Pretty Thing Cowl

Once I finish my current project (a pair of Foliage Mitts to use up some yarn), I think I need to knit another baby something for my favorite new guy.  It's been fun knitting for babies again.  Older kids are harder to knit for, for sure.  I do have a tunic in the queue to make for Renée, but I can't seem to pick up the needles. 

Left Handed Foliage