Argh and urgh, the boughs of holly

Well, I am still procrastinating about getting started on my Christmas knitting - I've only made one article so far. And yes, I appreciate it's the 9th already and that leaves me with, what, 16 days, 12 days of which I shall be in full-time employment, and half of which I will be asleep. In bed, that is, not at work, although my colleagues might disagree. Ha! Next Saturday is out, too, and possibly next Sunday if I have a hangover. But it's machine knitting. I can run it to the wire, right?! Right?!!

It doesn't help any, that handknitting by the fire, with my beloved and a decent programme on tv, is far more attractive than toiling away over a knitting machine. And I'm on the 12th flare of my skirt - which may or may not be the last flare, if I can get it around my ample hips.

I managed to figure out why my music fairisle was coming out with a blank stripe. I had, for some reason, told the knitting computer that it was 72 rows high, and not 65. So, of course, it was adding blank rows. I wouldn't mind, but the original print I did from Ingrid (charting program, company since gone defunct), even SAID 65 rows. Sometimes there's just no helping my brain!

I started to make a scarf with the corrected pattern. White, with black notes. Until, PING, the white ran out. Luckily I stopped in time, and didn't run the thing clean off the machine. Ummm.... no, that was the last of the white acrylic. Plenty of white industrial, and plenty of 4ply that is not white. Ok, so it's a short scarf or possible a tippett/fidget neckwarmer. Bother! Decide to knit 10 rows black, to end the scarf thing - but forget to switch off fairisle, and forget to put the black yarn into the correct place on the carriage. Spend 20 minutes rehanging dropped stitches.

Oh well, let's have a go with 4 colour fairisle and the colour changer - I fancy making something with random colour changes in the contrast yarn, and I have plenty of 4 ply oddments - a charity tee, perhaps? (You can see why I'm not getting any Christmas knitting done). Thread the 4 yarn mast up. Oops, the background yarn is supposed to be right-most. Oh, what the heck, it should still work, right?! The instructions for my colour changer don't really explain the process for an electronic machine, but the previous owner has pencilled in some tips. E-wrap with the brown shetland. Knit a few rows. PING! it snaps. Knot it on, carry on, prepare to swap to fairisle, but do it in the wrong order, and get a row of stitches (very tight) with two ends. Get tangled up in the colour changer. Fix that, and the main yarn snaps again. The yarn is rather elderly - perhaps I should put it in the freezer, as punishment (and also to add moisture)? Hmm.

Decide to remove the brown shetland from the equation, and e-wrap with the hot pink. Manage to mess up the process of swapping from plain to fair-isle again, and drop enough stitches to make a really fetching fishing net. I really must sit down and work this out properly, and make some notes. Having leaned forward to correct something, my wheeled chair decides to glide away - I sit down, in a great hurry, on the carpet. There are curse words. I try a few more cast ons, and manage to bend two latches, which get corrected once spotted. At this point, the enthusiasm for mk has well and truly died!

OK, I give up. I can't even get casual knitting going tonight - it's time for the gym, and it'll be nearly 10pm before I get back, so I'll be going straight to bed with a book and glass of milk. I should stop now, anyway, because I want to throw something, and I don't want it to be a grand's worth of knitting machine! :)