October Obsessions

Ooohh...I'm squeezing this post in before the month is over. October has been a busy month, knitting wise (and I've been trying to stay off the computer to avoid time-sucks...not sure if that's working). There just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day to get all the knitting and sewing that I want to get done, done. I'm not sure if it's the cold or simply the changing of the seasons, but my body seems to want to poop out earlier than normal. I'm going to say that my medical condition has something to do with this though, which makes my crafting time less than what I already have.

This weekend wasn't a productive weekend for me. Brett went to Vancouver for the weekend to attend a Halloween party that friends of ours throw every year. Seriously, their Halloween bashes are always epic. They throw two major parties a year and they are always Epic, with a capitol E. I can't remember if Brett's brother was spinning at this party, but the last time I went to an infamous Sasha and Shawn party I danced until my feet swelled to the size of boats. Fingers crossed that maybe I can go to next year's party. So while Brett was being Dexter all weekend, I was busy building marble runs and chasing after rogue marbles. Not really an activity where I can sit and knit with.

Before Brett took off to Vancouver, he carved some pumpkins. The above is Michael Jackson in zombie form from the Thriller video. And with that, here's a quick run down (I have to go pick up Brett from the ferry terminal soon) of the 5 things that have been plaguing my brain all month:

1. The Dahlia Cardigan. Yep...this pattern has made the Obsessions list twice now. As the number one obsession. Even though knitting on this cardigan did not commence until the 24th at Beer Knit Night, I was thinking about this pattern all.month.long. I kid you not. I was extremely impatient on waiting for the yarn to arrive in the post, and as soon as it did I couldn't wait to wind it up and start swatching! But then life got in the way and I didn't do anything about this cardi. Except think about. A lot. I had promised the ladies that I wouldn't go crazy and knit this at breakneck speed...after all, I have so many other projects on the needles that I need to work on too. But ooohhh...I can't wait for this bad boy to be finished! It's going to be so divine when it's done!

Source: interweaveknits.com via Melissa on Pinterest

2. Winter accessories. As in knitting winter accessories. Hats, mittens, cowls, you name it and I want to knit it. Every time the Munchkin and I are out and about I always think about how the kidlet needs a hat, mittens, a warmer sweater...and how I really need mittens and/or fingerless gloves. Then after half an hour at the park or playground I really wish that I had a hat myself...and maybe a thicker scarf or a cowl (since cowls won't unwrap around your neck as you bend down to pick up your kiddo to put him in the swing!). I'm sure that as the weather becomes even colder I'll be even more inclined to knit up some more winter woollies.

3. Fear Fest. After all, it is October and the month is all about Halloween, horror, and any and all things scary. I'm a H.U.G.E fan of horror and zombie flicks, so you better believe that I'm absolutely loving and watching all these movies in my favourite genre on the telly on a daily basis!

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4. The Walking Dead. I guess I could categorize this with the above, but seriously this series is so freakin' awesome that it deserves its own mention. I love the fact that throughout the entire series thus far they never once use the word "zombie", and the fact that this show isn't all about guts and gore. Actually, in some episodes you rarely see any gore. In the last episode only one "Walker" was killed. But oh, the suspense! This show definitely makes you think about what you would do if you were in any of the situations that arise!

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5. Knit-a-longs. Ok, so this one really isn't an obsession. More like I've been thinking a lot about and participating in KALs all month long. So I figured this has to factor in somewhere on this list somehow. So far I'm involved in five KALs: there's the sock one that I'm doing with my friend Hayley and her friend Kairee (both of them wanted to learn how to knit socks...Kairee really took off with it, Hayley's sock is on hold...so is mine), Hayley and I are also doing Owls (which is a yoke away from being done!). I'm also knitting the Dahlia Cardigan with a few lovely ladies from my knitting group, which just started a week ago at beer knit night. Then there's the official KALs that have way more people involved and are a lot of more organized, such as the SweetGeorgia Winter KAL (the North Wind Hat was for this KAL and I plan on casting on for another hat...did I mention that I had cast on another cardigan for this too?), and the Carefree Cowl KAL that is being hosted by Shannon of luvinthemommyhood. I was hoping to take part in the Jane Richmond Rae KAL, but with the five that I'm already doing plus the sweater that I promised to knit Brett (which I have yet to even swatch for) and shhhhhh! some secret knitting, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. I really shouldn't add more to my plate. But definitely check out Jane's KAL. Her Rae scarf is truly classic, a timeless piece to add to your wardrobe, and from the looks of it - it seems to be an addictive knit too!

Ok November. Whatcha got for me?