No, no, no, no, no, no, no, noro...

So I am finally working on the Noro my sister bought for her scarf, but then gave up because three rows after she cast on she was so tight she couldn't even push a needle through to make a stitch. Like most people, I think the Noro is beautiful and I totally want a Noro striped scarf, but when it comes down to buying the actual yarn, I get overwhelmed by the color selections. And possibilities. And wondering, what if these colors don't exactly work with those colors? Clearly, I need to man up. And so I thought we had come to the perfect solution: by working on my sister's scarf, I get to play with her Noro before I buy and she gets a scarf that's longer than three rows long.

So you'd think.

Game plan.

So it's New Year's, and I've been steadily knitting for just under a year. In fact, I'm only just now starting to feel confident that I might know what's going on. Like, I've finally realized I can't buy sock yarn unless I'm really going to make--and wear--socks. It's not like I don't like socks, but those small needles intimidate me. I mean, I'm sure I can get through one sock, but then I actually have to start over and make a second one. And get them to match. This repetitive nonsense does not compel me to start the first sock in the first place. So obviously that's an area of growth for me. But in other areas, I am progressing. I am slowly figuring out weights, gauge, and patterns. I'm gradually adding new stitches to my repertoire (and when I can't mentally retrieve that repertoire, there's always YouTube, thankfully). I'm not terribly good at self control when it comes to yarnporn; I've gone to two festivals this last year (Maryland, Rhinebeck) and came home with bags full of nom. It has slowly taken over my spare baskets and is spilling over onto the floor. Over the past several weeks I've finally gotten my stash somewhat in order, with pictures taken and uploaded, and information entered, so that when I get to choosing a new project--like now--I will be prepared. Errr, sorta.