First FO of 2008

And it is Extermaknit! This was the first thing on my list to finish and the only thing I have been working on for the last two weeks. It is also my first ever knitted toy. It was fun to knit and relatively easy. I didn't even mind my coworkers teasing me about being a nerd when I was picking out the provisional cast on at lunchtime (it was the subject of my knitting they found nerdish, not the knitting itself).

I was looking at pictures of other Daleks on Ravelry and there were some very imaginative ones out there. I even saw one with a bead knitted into the eyestalk. I never think of stuff like that. My knitting skills are really improving but I still need to work from patterns. About all I can manage creatively is choosing my own colors. I would like to be able to design something someday or dramatically alter a pattern and have it turn out brilliantly.

Well, now I have to do it. The second thing on my list. My sister's armwarmers, the thumbs of which led me to abandon them. I have to face those thumbs now. I feel much dread. I hate knitting fingers. I'm not good at them and they always come out looking messy. Good news is I have a four day weekend in which to really sit down and focus on them.

Extermaknit! and A List

That is the beginnings of my Dalek. I'm about to knit the third bobble round. The pattern is Extermaknit! I cast on Thursday and have been knitting on it all weekend. I am quite obsessed.

I thought the bobbles would be hard but it did not take long for me to memorize the pattern for them. This is my first foray into stranded knitting and I am finding it enjoyable. Not scary at all!

For those that do not know, a Dalek is a ruthless, lethal alien from Doctor Who. I have never been into sci-fi, with the exception of The X-Files, of course, but I am crazy about the new series of Doctor Who! I think it is the humor that is incorporated that makes me love it. Come to think of it, my favorite episodes of The X-Files were the humorous ones.

I love DW so much I spent way too much money buying the DVDs for all three seasons. They should arrive tomorrow. The Sharks don't have a game until Wednesday so catching up on missed episodes will be my entertainment until then.

I need to make a list. I get so excited to cast on stuff that I have a drawer full of unfinished projects. I need to finish them and am going to put them in order of finishing.

1. Extermaknit! I will not rest until it is complete.
2. Jen's armwarmers: I think she is getting impatient with me.
3. Luna Moth Shawl: Stop being a ninny and find that mistake!
4. Bonsai Tunic: I would like to be able to say I completed a garment that is not a sock, hat, or arm covering.

I am not including the second Tofutsie sock on this list because I keep it in my purse and knit on it when I am in line at stores or during intermissions of hockey games.

That list does not look so bad, actually.