How did it get to be Wednesday already?

This is the one, big problem with having Monday off as part of a national holiday. As nice as the long weekend is (and it is), it always throws me off for the rest of the week. And, to make it worse, by the time we reach Friday, it never feels like we had a long weekend at all. This is the main reason why I prefer to take Fridays off from work, rather than Mondays. Then, it feels like I’m just having a normal week and then, boom. Surprise! I can start the weekend a day early!

But, seriously, I’m not complaining about having had an extra day off this week. That would be silly! I’m just explaining why I’m having trouble wrapping my head around the fact that, despite the fact that my head firmly believes it is, it is not in fact Tuesday.

I’m not actually sure that Chappy even noticed that it was a long weekend. He was so exhausted on Monday from all that partying on Sunday, he slept. And splept. And splept. And slept. Then he woke up, ate some supper, and slept some more. I think the whole day just went by in a blur for him.

This was unusual because it wasn’t exactly a high-energy kind of day. We drove to my sister’s and then basically sat in the living room, smiling fondly at Caitlyn, ate some food, and then drove home. No walks. No romps in the yard. No extreme heat. Just … no napping. The fact that that visit wore Chappy out so much was surprising! Tired the next day, sure. We all were. But that level of exhaustion? Unusual. Though on Tuesday (or the day that claimed to be Tuesday, otherwise known as yesterday), he was his normal self.

Otherwise? Yes, I DID start a swatch for a new project, but I’ve got two things holding me back from diving in.

One, (this is a shocker, I know), I can’t get gauge. I found yarn in my stash that, if anything, claims to have a smaller gauge than the pattern, but, well, this is me. The yarn claims I can get 22 stitches over 4″ on size 6 needles. The pattern calls for 20 stitches. I’m getting 18. On size 4 needles. I’m wondering if there would be a noticeable difference between the wooden size 4s I swatched on (which have the faintest amount of friction) and an Addi Turbo size 3, which are smaller, but slick. I’d try an Addi Lace needle, but don’t have them in size 3.

The other reason? Except for having socks in my purse, I’m a fairly monogamous knitter. Right now, I’ve got the lace shawl (that looks like a ruffle), that’s taking me forever to get started. (I’ve been working on it for a week and a half and just finished row 10 last night.) I’ve also got Chappy’s little blanket, made with leftover yarn from my afghan–this is handy because it’s a no-thinking project and nicely fills in my hour of knitting time when I’ve finished that one row of lace I’m getting done per night.

If I throw a third project into the mix, I’m afraid I’ll end up ignoring one or both of these other projects. I really shouldn’t start a new one until I’m at least halfway done with the lace. Or maybe a third. But, you know, a big chunk of “completion” should be done before I risk distracting myself.

So, what’s the problem? You’re wondering why, with all these road blocks, would I even be considering starting something new.

Well, that’s because I saw this sweater in the bookstore last week. The Gray Cardigan from the new Mother-Daughter Knits by Sally Melville and her daughter Caddy Melville Ledbetter (review here). I flipped through this at the bookstore last weekend just because I wanted an idea of what was in the book … and I liked it so much, I ended up buying it. (Well, going home and buying it from Amazon, because that was cheaper.)

When the book arrived and I took a really good look at it? That’s when I started browsing yarn websites, looking for yarn, because I really, really wanted to make this sweater!

Then I realized that I had some Jo Sharp DK Wool in my stash in this great gray that’s got just a hint of blue to it. (The color’s called “Ink.”) Yardage-wise, I should have just enough, assuming I can get the correct gauge. Which means that my bizarrely relaxed knitting style is the only thing standing in the way of my starting this gorgeous cardigan.

Well, that, and the fact that I don’t want to get distracted from working on my lace…

Which reminds me, I don’t think I ever told you what pattern that was, did I? Maplewing by Anne Hanson. Such a pretty pattern! I admit that I rather miss the plain, “purl-back” rows–this is the first lace shawl I’ve ever done that didn’t have those, and I think that’s part of what’s slowing me down–all concentration, all the time gets tiring.

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