Tonight, I left work early and headed to the middle bonus daughter's school. It was her last middle school orchestra concert and the only one I've managed to attend this school year. Work has slowed down enough that I was able to sneak out early. Husband wasn't able to attend at all, so I had the job of recording it for him to enjoy later.
I really wanted to duck out after the orchestra finished playing. Sadly, it wasn't that simple. The last piece of the program featured the choir and the orchestra. This meant I had to suffer through nearly 30 minutes of choir music. I packed up the camera so I wouldn't drop it and I pulled out my knitting. Since I had arrived early, my knitting bag came in so I would have something to do that wasn't staring at my smartphone*. I pulled out my current sock project to work on the ankle.
My travel project hasn't been getting a lot of attention lately. If my hands aren't too full, I'll knit as I walk from my car to my office and back but that only adds a couple of rows each day. When there is an event at work, I can usually sit there and knit once the tricky parts are done. This was a great chance to work on it.
As I was knitting, and thinking that I might be considered rude for doing so, I started to think about all of the things that knitting does for me.
Knitting gives me a sense of calm
I have depression and some anxiety issues. In the time that I've been knitting, I've noticed that I'm much calmer if I've been knitting. There have been a few times when I've been too much of a mess to knit but if I'm knitting before that point, I usually don't reach it. This past fall, I had some blood drawn for some basic health stuff. I have such a strong reaction to my fear of needles, that I nearly pass out. This time? I sat there, chattering away and petting my yarn and I didn't go light-headed in the least.
Knitting helps me not fidget
I work in a concert hall. I hear a lot of good music. I hear a lot of bad music. No matter the quality of the music, I still can fidget, though it gets greater the more painful the music. Having knitting on hand, helps me fidget far less. My hands are busy and my brain can either shut up, so I can enjoy the music, or become very focused, so I don't hear it.
Knitting helps me feel accomplished
Working in theatre, especially with lighting, means that most of my creative exercises are short lived. Photos and video never really do lighting justice as being in the space, especially when it's tied to music. It's nice to create something and have an object to show for it.
So maybe I was rude to sit there and knit during the choir section (it was painful for many reasons) but I don't care. Better to knit and have something to show for instead of just turning on my smartphone and staring at it while the choir sang.
*I feel less dumb after knitting than I usually do after being on my smartphone. I'm trying to use it less and less as a method of distraction while out in public.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Monday, May 19, 2014
YOP #45 or There is No Right Way
It's been a busy week.
Last Monday, in a fit of step-mother angst (my own angst), I decided to grill dinner outside. It was raining and starting a fire was...interesting. Note: Just because it doesn't look like the piece of wood is on fire, doesn't mean it's not hot. This is how I got (another) burn on my right index finger with a nice blister. It's made knitting interesting this week. Also, the angst and not feeling well later in the week, kept me from knitting as much as I wanted to do.
Thursday I had originally planned to go to the local art museum with Husband to see a Matisse exhibit before it closed. This plan was scratched (after tickets were acquired-luckily we're members so we get free tickets to special events) when I realized that the middle child had an awards recognition ceremony. So I thought I'd go to my knitting group. Shortly before I was done with work, Husband texts me saying he should be free around 7 pm as things have changed. I skipped the knitting group and eventually came home. We didn't go to the Matisse exhibit, but we did go dress shopping. For me. He doesn't have the right curves for a dress. He even offered to drive and suggested I take my knitting with me. So I sort of had a knit night.
Friday was filled with art and a little knitting.
Saturday was the most fun. There are several wool market like events in this state and one of them, Shepherd's Harvest, is traditionally held Mother's Day weekend. This year, it was pushed back a weekend. I gently suggested that I stay home for the weekend as I had to work on Sunday so that the rest of the family could enjoy the trip (and I wouldn't be stressed out about making it to work on time). When I mentioned that there was an all day spinning class that I would like to take, Husband said that that was a fine thing to do.
I own 3 spinning wheels but rarely use them. I've never really been confident with my skills. My mom taught me how to spin when I was about 11 or so. I was convinced that I had "mastered" making the wheel turn and should therefore be able to spin but mom didn't like how fast I was going and told me I needed to work on slowing down. I then screamed at her and stormed off. I eventually calmed down and learned how to spin. Sort of. I've never taken a formal class.
Deb Jones from the Fiber Garden was going to teach an all day beginning spinning class. Class registration closed on May 10 and I decided on May 16 that I was going to take the class. I ended up at the festival at 8 am so I would make sure I could get into the class. I even brought one of my wheels, an Ashford. This class was meant for people who had never touched a spinning wheel which means I was probably a little advanced for the class (I wasn't the only one, 2 other people brought functioning spinning wheels that they had used before) but, as I had learned in a sock knitting class, there is always something to learn and I was probably doing something wrong. Deb insisted that there was no wrong or right way, but rather different techniques.
I did learn the names to all the parts of the wheel and I learned the two different types of yarn (worsted and woolen) and how to make them. I'd known about them but didn't know how they were created. I even left with a nice looking skein of 2-ply yarn. Deb has encouraged me to consider spinning my own sock yarn, though I'll want to get better at making thinner yarn. I also learned that in the past, I've held the wool too close to the opening and therefore end up with overspun yarn that corkscrews because there is nowhere for the twist to go. It's also much easier to have relaxed hands when spinning. I'm pretty sure I've always been ridiculously tense when I spin. Now I can finally go through all the fleece I have stashed in the craft room!
I feel like my finished skeins should count as finished projects for YOP but I have no idea how to document them. Any other YOPers who spin: what do you do?
I am further along with the TARDIS shawl with (yet another) deadline. It must be blocked and ready to wear for June 7 so I can wear it with a new dress to a hanger dance. Because the TARDIS was around in the 1940s.... After posting this, I will probably sit and knit on it most of the day. It's my day off after all.
The Vanilla Eyelet socks may be renamed to Raspberry Eyelet Socks though I've also played with Easy Eyelet. The leg of the second sock is nearly done. Two hour graduation ceremonies are really good for knitting. Two grads got excited when they saw me working on the sock yesterday. Turns out that they are also knitters.
I know that pictures make a blog more interesting but it's so much work. Maybe I can be motivated to take some this week.
Last Monday, in a fit of step-mother angst (my own angst), I decided to grill dinner outside. It was raining and starting a fire was...interesting. Note: Just because it doesn't look like the piece of wood is on fire, doesn't mean it's not hot. This is how I got (another) burn on my right index finger with a nice blister. It's made knitting interesting this week. Also, the angst and not feeling well later in the week, kept me from knitting as much as I wanted to do.
Thursday I had originally planned to go to the local art museum with Husband to see a Matisse exhibit before it closed. This plan was scratched (after tickets were acquired-luckily we're members so we get free tickets to special events) when I realized that the middle child had an awards recognition ceremony. So I thought I'd go to my knitting group. Shortly before I was done with work, Husband texts me saying he should be free around 7 pm as things have changed. I skipped the knitting group and eventually came home. We didn't go to the Matisse exhibit, but we did go dress shopping. For me. He doesn't have the right curves for a dress. He even offered to drive and suggested I take my knitting with me. So I sort of had a knit night.
Friday was filled with art and a little knitting.
Saturday was the most fun. There are several wool market like events in this state and one of them, Shepherd's Harvest, is traditionally held Mother's Day weekend. This year, it was pushed back a weekend. I gently suggested that I stay home for the weekend as I had to work on Sunday so that the rest of the family could enjoy the trip (and I wouldn't be stressed out about making it to work on time). When I mentioned that there was an all day spinning class that I would like to take, Husband said that that was a fine thing to do.
I own 3 spinning wheels but rarely use them. I've never really been confident with my skills. My mom taught me how to spin when I was about 11 or so. I was convinced that I had "mastered" making the wheel turn and should therefore be able to spin but mom didn't like how fast I was going and told me I needed to work on slowing down. I then screamed at her and stormed off. I eventually calmed down and learned how to spin. Sort of. I've never taken a formal class.
Deb Jones from the Fiber Garden was going to teach an all day beginning spinning class. Class registration closed on May 10 and I decided on May 16 that I was going to take the class. I ended up at the festival at 8 am so I would make sure I could get into the class. I even brought one of my wheels, an Ashford. This class was meant for people who had never touched a spinning wheel which means I was probably a little advanced for the class (I wasn't the only one, 2 other people brought functioning spinning wheels that they had used before) but, as I had learned in a sock knitting class, there is always something to learn and I was probably doing something wrong. Deb insisted that there was no wrong or right way, but rather different techniques.
I did learn the names to all the parts of the wheel and I learned the two different types of yarn (worsted and woolen) and how to make them. I'd known about them but didn't know how they were created. I even left with a nice looking skein of 2-ply yarn. Deb has encouraged me to consider spinning my own sock yarn, though I'll want to get better at making thinner yarn. I also learned that in the past, I've held the wool too close to the opening and therefore end up with overspun yarn that corkscrews because there is nowhere for the twist to go. It's also much easier to have relaxed hands when spinning. I'm pretty sure I've always been ridiculously tense when I spin. Now I can finally go through all the fleece I have stashed in the craft room!
I feel like my finished skeins should count as finished projects for YOP but I have no idea how to document them. Any other YOPers who spin: what do you do?
I am further along with the TARDIS shawl with (yet another) deadline. It must be blocked and ready to wear for June 7 so I can wear it with a new dress to a hanger dance. Because the TARDIS was around in the 1940s.... After posting this, I will probably sit and knit on it most of the day. It's my day off after all.
The Vanilla Eyelet socks may be renamed to Raspberry Eyelet Socks though I've also played with Easy Eyelet. The leg of the second sock is nearly done. Two hour graduation ceremonies are really good for knitting. Two grads got excited when they saw me working on the sock yesterday. Turns out that they are also knitters.
I know that pictures make a blog more interesting but it's so much work. Maybe I can be motivated to take some this week.
Finished Objects
- Japan Scarf
- Birthday Bag
- Socks, the Final Frontier
- Ladders to the Sky Socks (Test Pattern)
- Waves of Love
- Colormatic
- Here Fishy Fishy I
- Gingy
- Fuzzy, the baby blanket
- Japan Scarf II
- Scarfowl
- Here Fishy Fishy II
- Gilligan
- The Angels Have the Police Box
- Mini-Socks
- Grandma's Tam
- Neck Hugger
- Blood Orange Newtons
- Alpaca Tam
- Trip
Works in Progress
Monday, May 12, 2014
YOP #44 or Already Another Week Down
It doesn't feel like it has been a productive week. Nothing is finished and I feel like I spent a lot of time not knitting. I have no idea what I did do but I certainly don't think it was spent knitting. Even though it didn't feel very productive, I did get progress made.
The TARDIS shawl has half a TARDIS on it! Technically it has half of 15 TARDISes as there are 15 repeats of the pattern. I feel like it will be done sooner rather than later. Blocking is going to be the fun part. I'm still new at blocking shawls and this one is much lacier than the last one I made.
After I posted last week, I went ahead and finished the "vanilla" sock (I really do need a better name for it!). I've also cast on the second sock and have made it about halfway down the leg.
No progress on the little sock. I haven't picked it up all week.
I hope to cast on another pair of socks this week, this time for a friend's birthday. She liked the color and the pattern and while she knits, she is intimidated by socks (she's a very, very loose knitter). She's made me several things over the years so I'd love to make something for her now.
The TARDIS shawl has half a TARDIS on it! Technically it has half of 15 TARDISes as there are 15 repeats of the pattern. I feel like it will be done sooner rather than later. Blocking is going to be the fun part. I'm still new at blocking shawls and this one is much lacier than the last one I made.
After I posted last week, I went ahead and finished the "vanilla" sock (I really do need a better name for it!). I've also cast on the second sock and have made it about halfway down the leg.
No progress on the little sock. I haven't picked it up all week.
I hope to cast on another pair of socks this week, this time for a friend's birthday. She liked the color and the pattern and while she knits, she is intimidated by socks (she's a very, very loose knitter). She's made me several things over the years so I'd love to make something for her now.
Finished Objects
- Japan Scarf
- Birthday Bag
- Socks, the Final Frontier
- Ladders to the Sky Socks (Test Pattern)
- Waves of Love
- Colormatic
- Here Fishy Fishy I
- Gingy
- Fuzzy, the baby blanket
- Japan Scarf II
- Scarfowl
- Here Fishy Fishy II
- Gilligan
- The Angels Have the Police Box
- Mini-Socks
- Grandma's Tam
- Neck Hugger
- Blood Orange Newtons
- Alpaca Tam
- Trip
Works in Progress
Sunday, May 4, 2014
YOP #43 or The Doctor Visits
No finishes this week but there was progress. No photos either. I keep forgetting to take pictures.
I've finished about a quarter of the TARDIS section of the Police Box shawl. I'm impressed at how fast it's going and it has become a travel project. I'm nearly finished with the first "Vanilla" sock but get sidetracked with the shawl. I really, really wanted it done by today. I'm glad I kept my sanity and didn't finish it. I switched skeins of yarn when I changed sections and I'm glad I did because even though it's the same colorway, it's definitely not the same color. Ah, the joy of dye lots, especially ones that aren't labeled. Oh well. At least I have multiple skeins so each section will be slightly different instead of in the middle of a section.
I ended up frogging the baby socks and cast them onto a smaller size needle. I'm still not happy with the pattern as it's not quite what I see in my head so I'll probably end up frogging them again. It's getting closer. I guess the good thing is that I haven't managed to take any notes yet....
On an unrelated note, Comic Con was a blast! We made it into the Matt Smith panel. I ran into several friends, including one from St. Louis that I didn't realize went to all of them. There were a lot of amazing costumes. I had decided to leave my knitting and large bag at home. Less things for me to have to worry about. With all the waiting in lines, I kind of wish I had my knitting but I was able to have good conversations with my bonus daughter. I splurged and bought a photo op with Matt Smith for her and her friend. There will be more leaf raking out of her. When we got out of the "room" (a pipe and drape area), she was shaking for quite a bit. It was definitely worth it, even the waiting in line bits.
I've finished about a quarter of the TARDIS section of the Police Box shawl. I'm impressed at how fast it's going and it has become a travel project. I'm nearly finished with the first "Vanilla" sock but get sidetracked with the shawl. I really, really wanted it done by today. I'm glad I kept my sanity and didn't finish it. I switched skeins of yarn when I changed sections and I'm glad I did because even though it's the same colorway, it's definitely not the same color. Ah, the joy of dye lots, especially ones that aren't labeled. Oh well. At least I have multiple skeins so each section will be slightly different instead of in the middle of a section.
I ended up frogging the baby socks and cast them onto a smaller size needle. I'm still not happy with the pattern as it's not quite what I see in my head so I'll probably end up frogging them again. It's getting closer. I guess the good thing is that I haven't managed to take any notes yet....
On an unrelated note, Comic Con was a blast! We made it into the Matt Smith panel. I ran into several friends, including one from St. Louis that I didn't realize went to all of them. There were a lot of amazing costumes. I had decided to leave my knitting and large bag at home. Less things for me to have to worry about. With all the waiting in lines, I kind of wish I had my knitting but I was able to have good conversations with my bonus daughter. I splurged and bought a photo op with Matt Smith for her and her friend. There will be more leaf raking out of her. When we got out of the "room" (a pipe and drape area), she was shaking for quite a bit. It was definitely worth it, even the waiting in line bits.
Finished Objects
- Japan Scarf
- Birthday Bag
- Socks, the Final Frontier
- Ladders to the Sky Socks (Test Pattern)
- Waves of Love
- Colormatic
- Here Fishy Fishy I
- Gingy
- Fuzzy, the baby blanket
- Japan Scarf II
- Scarfowl
- Here Fishy Fishy II
- Gilligan
- The Angels Have the Police Box
- Mini-Socks
- Grandma's Tam
- Neck Hugger
- Blood Orange Newtons
- Alpaca Tam
- Trip
Works in Progress
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