Wednesday, June 25, 2014

YOP #50 or Nearing the End

I'm only 3 days late for this update, but to be fair, I've been in a car since Sunday morning. There have been breaks to charge the car but not enough to pull out my netbook and update this blog. I had thought about writing before Sunday and letting the blog update itself, but I've had a huge show this past weekend.

Overall, it's been a good 10 days of knitting for me (I might as well write about the last 3 days as I'm hoping to write about the entire year next week). During the course of the show on Saturday night, I finished the Vanilla Eyelets. I've decided that they are keeping that name as they are a simple "vanilla" sock which works for some of the crazier yarns I have. The yarn I used was a Christmas gift that I've tried at least 2 other patterns with before designing my own. I even managed to weave in the ends (and not miss any of my cues) and wore them the next day as the family and I headed out west in our Tesla. It was a tad warm to wear the socks but they were very comfortable and I enjoyed the warmth of them when we hit the motel we stayed at in South Dakota.

Husband and I have been taking turns driving. This has allowed me to finish the first Mint Twist sock. Well, mostly finish it. I haven't woven in the ends yet. When we stopped in Colorado to have dinner with Mom, I managed to show off my progress. She was very impressed. She hasn't started socks from that shipment yet. I also gave her the rest of her birthday present, yarn from the Yarn Shop Hop that was being dyed as the shop had run out, which I was going to ship to her. I'm kind of glad I didn't as I was able to give it to her in person and she got to pick which two of the four she wanted. Husband pointed out that they were "exactly the same" but any knitter will know that yarn can vary not only between dye lots but also within a dye lot, especially when hand-dyed.

While we were in Las Vegas waiting for the car to charge, I started to cast on the second sock. I didn't get very far. Antsy children and dry heat making everyone cranky meant I needed to do some intervening. The heat also slows down the charge of the battery, so we were reaching a point that our next stop was going to be later as we waited for the last 5 miles. We ended up skipping that last bit of charge and headed out. It also meant I didn't get to finish casting on the sock as I was driving.

I've brought along two other projects to cast on. One is a knitted top and the other is one of the June 2014 Cookie A sock patterns. I've yet to start either of them. I think this is mostly due to the fact that it's not fun casting on in the car and there have been other things to take care of during our charging breaks. I probably would have cast something on before writing this if my knitting was in the hotel room. Alas, it is the car with Husband who is charging it, so you get a blog entry with pictures instead.

Sock progress as we were leaving South Dakota.

Knitting as we entered Utah. My sock was a source of comfort in the drab landscape. The landscape did improve so much that I stopped knitting for a while.

Finished Objects

Works in Progress

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Monday, June 16, 2014

YOP #49 or Sangerfest tilsvarer en nesten ferdig sokk

This week's title translates (according to Google translate) to Song Fest corresponds to a nearly finished sock which is extremely accurate. The Norwegian Singers Association of America holds a biannual event called Sangerfest. We had the honor of being the host site for the event this year.

This is what 200+ members of Norwegian Glee Clubs look like on stage. Well, at least what the staging looks like. Some of them were putting off taking their seats until the last minute.
This was an event that we went into feeling very prepared and waiting for the other shoe to fall. It ended up being very delightful, especially working with the 200+ singers at the event. There was a memorial service, a parade of choruses and the amazing Grand Concert. Guess what I did during all of those? That's right, I knit. Saturday night, the evening of the Grand Concert, I was sitting in my little hidey-hole and working on one of my socks. Several of the guys stopped by and joked with me that I would have knit while Rome burned (or something similar). They were a wonderful group to work with and the music was really good. They had a guest group from Oslo who were hilarious and amazing. During their rehearsal, they sang "Loch Lomond" and a medley of Elvis Presley songs (both sets very Norwegian, ja?) and it was fantastic. Saturday night I managed to knit a whole inch and a half on the foot of the Vanilla Eyelet socks. Between the work I did on it Thursday night during the memorial service/parade of choruses, Friday night while walking with Husband and a friend and at the Saturday concert, I'm nearly finished with the sock. Extremely close. There's about 8 more rounds before I do the toe. If I hadn't had to do things (like open doors and make sure people were where they were suppose to be), then I might have actually finished the sock.

Nearly finished sock next to second sock still on the needles. I suppose it's not really finished until I weave in the ends.
Since last week, I made it through the heel of the first Mint Twist sock. It's been a while since I've made a heel flap which I think has made it entertaining for me. It still makes me giggle on the inside about how terrified I was when I made my first sock. Now it seems like second nature. I'm loving the Tanis Fiber Arts yarn. It's the purple label cashmere sock yarn and the color is the Cookie A December 2013 called "Julep". Husband keeps calling it "Seafoam". When he first saw it, he wanted to know why I had a bridesmaid dress in the form of yarn. I've struggled with liking the color since then but thankfully a friend of mine loved it so I'm making the socks for her. I'm loving the pattern and may need to make a pair for myself as well.

Lovely Mint Twist Sock. I kind of want the pattern as a hat instead of a pair of socks. Apparently I need more hats...
There are two weeks left of this year's Year of Projects blog-along. I've apparently misnumbered a week somewhere along the line. I'm hoping to at least finish off the Vanilla Eyelet socks (and if anyone seriously has a better name for it, let me know!) before the end of the month. I've got another concert series this weekend, though it is definitely more involved for me.We're also taking a road trip during the last week of June. I'll get to do a lot of knitting. Husband has asked that I start a project that isn't a sock, hat or scarf. He then hinted that I should work on a tank top for myself. If I can get a swatch done before I leave, I might bring that along. Otherwise, it'll be a pattern from the 2014 MN Yarn Shop Hop (I do believe I still need to write about that....) and probably a sock (or two). I have to make sure I don't run out of knitting projects! Otherwise I may end up buying new yarn on the trip, which would break my self-imposed yarn fast.

Finished Objects

Works in Progress

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Monday, June 9, 2014

YOP #46-#48 or Happy Birthday to me!

I have been attempting to write this post for the last 2 weeks. It's been busy. I've had a 2nd wedding anniversary and today (Sunday) is my birthday. It's a good thing my attention span with knitting is superior to that towards blogging. (Note: I couldn't even get to finishing this post on my birthday; I've just been that unfocused on writing.)

It's nearly the end of my first year doing a Year of Projects. I've learned a lot and I've even made some progress since the last time I posted. One thing I'm going to work on for this next year is to not only stay better at posting these updates, but to do an additional update once a week. If I have enough time to play stupid facebook games (which I do), then I have enough time to blog. That would probably also be a better use of my time....

Onto the projects!

My socks (currently Vanilla Eyelets but I really want something better) have progressed greatly. I'm on the foot of the second sock and I've apparently hit a wall of some sort. Is this a partial case of Second Sock Syndrome? I just want them to be done so I can wear them but I don't seem to want to do them. I think they have been neglected lately due to starting a friend's birthday present and wanting/needing to finish the shawl.

My TARDIS shawl is complete!

It doubled in size while blocking. I may need to work on that.

Horrible picture but I was too excited about it being done to care.















































 It was finished in time to go to the Commemorative Air Force Minnesota Wing Spring Hangar dance. We got all dolled up and I wore this shawl (good thing too; it was a bit chilly that evening) because the TARDIS was totally a thing in the 1940s.....

I love how soft the finished fabric is and it was a lot of fun to make. Not in a hurry to make another one just like this but I wouldn't mind doing it again.

Here's one of the photos we had taken while we were there. They haven't uploaded the ones from in front of the aircraft yet. 

Mint Twist socks, one of the December 2013 Cookie A sock patterns, have been started. They are for my friend for her birthday. I did have them started before her birthday and the first one is nearly done, which I'm quite happy with. This is probably one of the fastest Cookie A socks I've knit. As of Sunday, I'm just about to pick up gusset stitches on the first sock. Hopefully I'll have pictures next week.

I still have a baby sock pattern to get out of my head. I need to partially frog it and change one section. I also have another dog to make. I really need to get on that. It shouldn't take too long, especially now that I've got backwards knitting as a skill.

Finished Objects

Works in Progress






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Thursday, May 22, 2014

Knitting stops the twitching

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.
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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.

Finished Objects

Works in Progress

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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.

Finished Objects

Works in Progress

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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.

Finished Objects

Works in Progress

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