Busy, Busy, Busy

So, I never did write those two FO posts I promised last time.  I need to do that.

But not today.  I'm very nearly almost not sick now.  This cold has seriously outworn its welcome, but it seems to have packed its bags and has at least one foot out the door.   And not a moment too soon.  I've managed to get back to running though!  I'm about a week "behind" (behind what, exactly? behind where I wanted to be, I guess), but I've done the first of the Week 3 runs, and I'm due to run again Thursday or Friday.  (It should be Thursday, but I have other plans Thursday night.)

Last Saturday, the ladies and I went to Stitches South at the Opryland Hotel.  It was really fun, and we got to meet some friends from our online knitting group.  That was completely delightful.  The market was laid out in such a way as to be completely overwhelming, but without being as big or comprehensive as SAFF.   But don't worry, I still managed to do a little bit of damage.

I picked up these three skeins of Cashmere/Silk to make Joji Locatelli's 3 Color Cashmere Cowl.  I love, love, love these colors together.   I had gotten some Knit Picks Capretta to do the cowl, and the colors were really muddy in person.  Not at all what I was wanting.  These are bright, clear, and delicious.

I also got three skeins of Dragonfly Fibers to make Ashburn by Melanie Berg.

We had a great time, and came home and fell over.  Morgan came with us, and got to do a little stash enhancement of her own, so that was really fun.

I managed to get one picture right as we got to the hotel, and that was pretty much it (other than a couple of dark shots I got during lunch at the "Irish Pub" in the hotel.)    Here's a shot of my haul, taken when we got back to the house:

I'm also attending a conference in Nashville this week (conferences are less fun in your own city where you get all of the traffic and none of the company-paid hotel rooms).  

This is how much sock one day of conferencing will net you.  I had two rows (just enough to call it on the needles) going in.   We'll see how far I get tomorrow.

And yes, this is two new projects, and no the pink socks, the monkeys, the cosy blanket, and Rowan's sweater aren't done.  I do what I want, remember?

My Kilter is Askew (Cockeyed Even)

You get extra points if you mentally followed up reading the title of this post with "askew means cockeyed."

(As a side note, when I went to look up the quote to reference it, I realized I've been misquoting it for years.  I always say "cockeyed means askew."  ::the more you know gif::

Wow, I haven't even started this post yet and I'm already seriously off-track.

That's what it's been like all week long.  I finally caught the cold that my husband has been fighting for over a week, and I have the attention span of a not terribly bright gnat.  Running is temporarily off the menu, but I am keeping my step count up, because I'm determined not to loose focus.  As soon as I can breathe again, I'll be back in the game.

On Sunday I was sitting in a sunbeam, trying to breathe and single-handedly keeping Kleenex in business, surrounded by four different projects.  I'd pick one up and work on it for a few minutes, and then I'd set it down.  Then I'd forget what I was doing and pick up another one.  I couldn't settle on any one thing, didn't like any of it, and was too stupid to cast on something new (and thank G-d I realized that before something truly disastrous happened).  

Early Onset DaVinci Disorder

I manged to actually make some good progress, despite all the jumping around.  My Cosy Stripes Afghan is sitting pretty at about 48% complete.

This Thing is Gonna Be Huge

I really love how cheerful it is.  I foresee more crocheted afghans in my future.  I'm already debating between a solid Hex modular design, the Groovy Ghan, or to possibly take a departure and knit a log cabin blanket.  Or I could finish the bull's eye blanket that I started two years ago.... NAH....

I also managed to salvage my Fork in the Road socks.  And I learned an interesting thing about sock fit in the process.  I really thought that the socks were too small.  They felt too small going on, etc.  But after I put them in time-out for a few days, I took them out and really examined the fit.  The 64 stitch cast on was actually fine.  The problem was I didn't knit the "gusset" part of the heel long enough before starting the decreases.   Having the heel be too shallow translated into the whole thing feeling too tight.  ::second use of the more you know gif::

So I pulled the heel back out to just past the decreases, added more rounds, and Bob's
Yer Uncle.  Or rather, Bob will be your uncle, just as soon as I finish the heel back up for the second time.

This Sock is in the "Wrestling With an Octopus" Phase

I confess to being relieved to not have to frog three quarters of a sock.  That's the sort of nonsense that takes the wind right out of your sails.

I've also added some more length to my Monkey socks (see, I told you I was working on everything this week).

I've switched these over to a pair of 9" circulars.  I was getting a noticeable line between each of the DPNs (I hate starting a needle with a purl stitch, I can't ever get it to look right).  The 9" circular is a trifle fiddly, but totally took care of the weird line.   I don't think I'm going to become a full convert to this needle type, but I can definitely see where it would come in handy.

I've also got an FO (or two!) to report, but they warrant their own posts.

So that about sums up my (very disjointed) week.  How are things out there with you?

Three Socks Enter, One Sock Leaves

I'm fully recovered from Seder.  So recovered in fact, that I let Sunday blow right past me (the day I've been trying to post my "weekly update" posts) because I was busy-busy.

I've started Couch to 5K again, with Jess, and I'm doing Barre with Koren (mind you by "with" I mean, contemporaneously, not colocationally).  I've also been sewing more, and knitting and crocheting, oh! and going out to meet friends after work, and...

It's Spring, baby.  The weather (or maybe just the weather in my brain) has changed.

The First of Many

On the sewing front, I've made a project bag for an on-line friend.   She won it for the "Mod's Choice" project in our February is For Finishing Frowdown (Ravelry forum link).   While early April is considerably after the end of February, I'd like to point out that with my track record on these things, she's lucky I'm not listing it as a UFO next February.  I'm just sayin'.

It's about 13" wide, and probably about the same deep.  Lined with white muslin, and I used grosgrain ribbon to create drawstrings and a casing.  If you'd ever used an Erin Lane bag, this is essentially a cheap knockoff.   I hope she enjoys it as much as I enjoyed making it.

Next up is a project bag for me, made out of one of my favorite old shirts.  The shirt is both way to big for me, and a little worse for wear.  I would be too sad to hand it over to Carl to use as a shop rag, so it will find new life as a project bag for me.  Or maybe two.  It really is a big shirt.

In knitting news, I've been fighting with two pairs of socks, and hopefully winning a battle with a third.  Remember the blue socks I flashed a pic of last post?  I ended up giving the other skein of that yarn to my good friend Bella.  I'd given her two for her 42nd birthday to make a Hitchhiker.  She wasn't going to have enough to make 42 teeth (and after all, that was the point), so I handed it over without a qualm.   Jess is probably going to end up with the 50g I have left, because she has tiny feet.

Then I cast on these:

They are Fork in the Road socks by Lara Neel.  And they don't fit.  I'm either going to rip them out (I'm actually farther than this pic implies) or see if it's just that I didn't knit the heel deep enough before I decreased or ... Erf.   I suspect I just didn't cast on enough stitches.  I used a 64 stitch cast on, and I think I would have done better with 68... if not 72.  Note to self:  If you aren't going to swatch new yarn, and no one says you have to... check the size earlier.

Carl's Big Dude Socks seem to be going okay at least.  ::knock wood::

Man Socks in the "Catfish" Stage of Development

I also worked on my Cosy Stripes and my Pink Hitchhiker since the last time I updated.  I'll share pictures of those next time.

And that's about all the news that's fit to print.  What are you getting done now that the weather is so much nicer?  Is it nicer where you are?  Discuss!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Chag sameach, and good Passover to those that observe and celebrate it.  It's a favorite time of year here at chez woolly.  The grass is green, the forsythia and red bud are in bloom, and it's time to shop for lamb and matzo.

I learned a new thing this year, as I was scouring the local food-sellers (seriously y'all, I've been to four different grocery stores in two days).  We always hold our Seder on the Saturday night that falls within Passover.   That works best for all the guests who have 9-to-5, Monday through Friday gigs (especially since dinner is always followed by more wine, music, and sometimes dancing.)

Anyway, for the last several years I have had the damnedest time finding matzo, and last year I ended up having to hit two different Publix grocery stores to get the lamb (yes, that is a lot of lamb.  I generally feed anywhere from 25-30 people.)   Anyway, this year the first Publix I hit has bales of matzo out in front and four different leg-o-lambs to choose from.   At first I thought it was a Passover miracle, but then I realized that I wasn't buying my groceries three days after everyone else has already been there and done that.    Note to self:  in years where Passover starts on a Wednesday, buy the lamb early.

Getting ready for Seder is a weeks long process at our house.   My house gets serious-deep-cleaned twice a year (don't judge): right before Seder and right before Thanksgiving.  Both major feasts, go figure.    We've been cleaning the carpets, going through cabinets, vacuuming those weird corners where you have to get out the wand attachment and most of the time you don't bother -- that kind of thing.   We've also gotten a new dryer and a new mattress and box springs in the last week or two.

Earlier this week I woke up and found Maurice taking in a sunbeam.  Dude knows how to relax when the time is right.   I decided to take a leaf out of his proverbial book and joined him in that sunbeam on Wednesday.  A bit of calm before the final storm.  (It went like this:  Last weekend: mad cleaning.  Monday and Tuesday: back at the office.  Wednesday:  curled up in a sunbeam with a stuffed hippopotamus.  Thursday: Every. Grocery. Store. In. The. World.  Today:  re-clean all the things that came unclean since last weekend.)

Passover is a time for rebirth and renewal.  It's a New Year's celebration where we celebrate what it means to be free.

When Carl and I got rid of our broken dryer (there are two things I need a dryer to do for me:  start, and dry clothes.  Ours quit reliably doing either one) and our funky old mattress, we weren't deliberately or intentionally engaging in some kind of life-as-ritual activity.  The stuff was broken or crap, or broken AND crap, and it was just time to replace it.

But there's a nice synergy to the timing anyway.   I am very grateful for the freedom to be able to rid myself of things that are no longer functional or beautiful in my life and to replace them with new (or "new to us") things that do work.   Our household has enjoyed some renewal and rebirth this week, and I'm loving it.

Last week my buddy Koren started trying to talk me into doing a Barre DVD that she recently acquired.  I think her long game is to get me to come to class with her, but she knows that I am allergic to leaving my house, and doubly allergic to leaving it in yoga pants.  Anyway, she suggested that she could bring the DVD over when she comes to help get ready for Seder.  

I started to hem, haw, and otherwise make noncommittal noises at her when she said, "Set your intentions for the New Year."

I got goosebumps and my eyes teared up.  I had this immediate, physical reaction.  My whole body said, "Yes.  This."

Dammit.  I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm as liable to ignore signs and symbols as the next guy, but that was pretty frickin' obvious.  "Alright, alright.  Bring it."

(I did the DVD yesterday.  It was fun.  Who am I?)

As a society, and culture we have a lot of energy and tradition wrapped up in the New Year's Resolution in January (and let's face it, there is nearly as much tradition in the idea of the failed resolution in February.)   It seems to me that January is a crappy time to try to motivate yourself to be healthier, exercise more, etc. etc.  It's dark, it's cold, and everything in your hind-brain is telling you to add a little extra padding here and there so you can live through the winter.   It's not until Spring that I, at least, really start to feel the energy of "a naye yor, a naye leben."

I'm going to play with this idea this year.  I haven't decided what my resolutions for rebirth and renewal are going to be yet (I think they are going to have something to do with decluttering...both my butt and my house.  I have a lot of excess weighing me down these days).   I'll let you know.

What are you doing to bring rebirth and renewal into your life this Spring?

Oh!  And I haven't forgotten that this is a knitting blog.  This is what I spent my sunbeam-day doing:

Trying out knitting a sock on a 9" circular needle.  My hands are confused, and a little annoyed, but I think that once they're used to how to hold the needles, it'll work just fine.  I am really digging the "go around in a circle forever" aspect of it.