Can't Sleep

Have you ever been so excited about starting a project that you can't fall asleep? While it can be a problem on a night when you have to get up and go to work the next day, on a weekend the only solution is to get back up and knit until your craving is satisfied. Such was last night.

First, how the yarn found its way into my heart and yarn basket... My mother lives with us (as does my husband's mother. No empty nest syndrome here). Mom had been homebound for more than a week and it was time to get her out of the house. A ride would be nice but my destination? The LYS, of course. Mom would be content to watch people skate on icy sidewalks and scale evergrowing snowbanks while I popped in to see what was new and enticing...I had in mind those beautiful multi-colored mittens lots of knitters are making as a possible next project. Let's not talk about the yarn I bought two weeks ago or the mound right next to the sofa, enough for at least a dozen pairs of socks. (Does anyone else suffer from yarn compulsions like this?)

Two books, six skeins and two sets of dp's later, I trooped back to the car, anxious to get home. Not yet however. Mom hadn't had enough of a drive. Hmmmm.... up the coast about a half hour was a seafood restaurant where we could get a lobster roll, her favorite lunch out. It was still a little early to have lunch when we crossed the city limits, even by her standards, but never fear there's another LYS, uncharted territory, yet to be explored. I found a fingerless glove sample that felt so good when I slipped my hand into it, I HAD to have a pair for myself. What the heck, two pairs...well, maybe I'll give one pair away....maybe. The sample was made with J Knits Superwash Me--Light. I picked out the two colorways shown in the photo, remembered to ask for the free pattern and instantly decided this had to be the next project.

Fast Forward: Home at last and time to let my new yarn wrap around my fingers. No...no...no...show some self-restraint for heaven's sake. At least finish the second sock of a pair that has been on the needles far too long. A struggle ensued, at least in the mind. Usually socks don't languish on my needles as long as these have but while the colorway was wonderful, the yarn wasn't enjoyable to handle. Whether it was dry or the sheep was having a bad hair day on sheering day or it was the dyes used, the best way to describe it would be to say it was like knitting with young cactus. I have high hopes that it will soften up with a few washings, although it can't be any rougher than my winter feet. I picked up the needles and finished the sock.

Before I knew it the clock said 9:30 and time to go to bed. What happened to my day? The new yarn had made it from hank to ball to cast on stitches. Alas, the real knitting would have to wait til morning, or so I thought as I headed upstairs. After two hours of twisting in the blankets much like a fly caught in a spider's web I surrendered to the call of the yarn. Two repeats of the four rows of the pattern and my brain was ready to shift out of gear for the day.

Today, I've promised to start gathering receipts and figures for the taxes but maybe just a few more rows before I start...