Some Updates

I have a few updates for the week most are knitterly but one is for running (bear with me non-knitters, that one is near the end!).  Let's get started:

Knitting Updates

I've been a busy little bee since last we spoke.  I raced for the finished line and cranked out my third hat for Operation Gratitude during the knit-in event.  I felt quite accomplished.  The 100 hat goal was met by the time the hats were picked up.  We all felt great!

Once I finished my last hat, I picked up Salt's scarf for a whirl.  I've been busily knitting on that when she's not around, which means on my lunch break at work and in the evenings when I have time.  Here's the progress I've made so far:

It's not terribly true to color.  You know how hard it is to get true life color on a little point and shoot camera (operated by a novice).  Here's a close-up of the real beauty of this yarn:

I get so many compliments on this yarn when I'm working on it at Knitter's Anonymous.  I am pretty sure that Salt is going to love it.  I love it!

Next to update is my scarf for the Red Scarf Project.  I chose the Men's Martian Scarf (this is a Ravelry link, so I'm pretty sure you would have to sign in or sign up to see it, but there's a picture below of my progress). 

To be honest, I didn't like it when I first started knitting it up.  Here's why: I didn't realize that it called for a lighter weight yarn than I was using, so it looked clunky and I couldn't see the pattern forming.  So, I stuck it in my project bag and let it sit for a week or two then I decided to give it a try again.  Once I finished one pattern repeat I fell in love!  It's such a nice looking scarf.  The best part is that even though it says it's a "men's" scarf, I think it would be suitable for either gender.  I wouldn't mind wearing it at all!

Here's what I had as of Saturday.....I've since knitted another repeat and a half.  It looks SO good!

As for the rest of my projects they've been sitting aside.  I will go shopping for yarn for my niecey knitting on the 1st....money's tight until then!  I plan to get their do-dads finished by the end of the month, then only have my brother-in-law's stuff to go.  If I like the hat pattern I may just crank one out for Pepper too...we'll see how much time I have though.

That said, I still feel pretty good about getting things done this year.  All of my projects are relatively small (as compared to the two gigantic afghans I made last year).  I had a long look at my "to-do" list and while busy, it seems reasonable.

Stash Updates

We went on vacation the weekend after Labor Day, and I made sure to stop in at the LYS.  I picked up two delicious balls of some Rowan Creative Focus Worsted in the Cobalt colorway.

I'm not sure what I will do with them....but I may just keep it for myself whatever I do make!

At Clovis Fest this past weekend, I ran by my LYS to drop off some hats my mom had knitted for Operation Gratitude and to pick up my birthday present...remember that wish I had made to have the Knit Picks interchangeable circular set....yeah, I decided they were worth way more than the necklace.  So I had Wino get me those instead. (Oh, how my priorities have changed since I learned about the wonderful world of fiber arts!!)

Whilst there, I also picked up a couple goodies, two skeins of the Geek Chic Minion Sock Yarn in colorways Lady Macbeth and Dryad:

Keep in mind this is ONLY available through my LYS...and it's locally dyed yarn!  Fantastic!  No clue what I'm going to make with those either.  Probably just some vanilla socks for practice, but they'll be yummy!

Running Updates

For my non-knitting, running friends: I've taken on a new challenge.  You all know how much I have been struggling with motivation for the past 6-9 months.  I don't know what has come over my brain, but it's been a dark and stormy cloud of "let's-eat-everything-in-sight-and-sit-on-our-butts-and-do-nothing."  I fell off the healthy wagon, and gosh-darn it, I'm ready to climb back on!

I recently got asked to walk a half-marathon (that's 13 miles folks!) with my aunt in November.  I am nowhere near in shape enough to do that without ending up at the hospital!  So I'm going to remedy that with an accelerated Couch to 5K regimen.  I'm going to be running 5 days a week using C25K as a guide, perhaps modifying it slightly as I progress.  That should have me ready for my race in October and at least in some semblance of physical fitness to walk 13 miles the following weekend (yes, I did say "the following weekend" - perhaps I'm biting off more than I can chew?  I'm motivated, that's what matters to me right now).

I did week 1, day 1 on Monday.  It was easy, actually surprisingly easy since I haven't ran much since October last year.  Yesterday I tossed on week 2, day 1 and that was challenge I needed.  I'm excited and I plan to lose these last 20lbs so I can start my Weight Watchers maintenance phase and make it to Lifetime membership before February (that's an arbitrary goal, it means nothing to me other than just having a goal in mind).

I seem to have found motivation again, and I plan to keep it.  This is my busy season with knitting gifts, running/walking plans and NaNoWriMo right around the corner.  Busy seems to be my motivation.  I seem to remember a vaguely religious quote: Idle hands are the devil's playground....this seems to ring true for me!

Warming up those hands

'Tis the season to start warming up my fingers and start an Olympic-level knitting and crocheting spree.

The holiday season is but a few short months away, anyway in my eyes it's short.  I've got tons of projects I want completed before December 25ish and less than 4 months to get it all done!  Add to that mix a variety of birthdays, holidays and NaNoWriMo and I've probably got less than 2 months of actual crafting time to get gifts done!

Here's what I've got on my plate:
Current Projects
1. Operation Gratitude hats - I'm shooting to have 3 done by this Saturday.  I have one finished, I've still got one on the needles that I'm hoping to complete tonight, and have another one cast on by tomorrow, luckily I've got 'til 5pm on Saturday to finish that last one.  It'll be a knit sprint to the finish on Saturday though.

2. Salt adored the fingerless mitts that I gave to my oldest niece for her birthday, and commissioned me to crochet her a pair for those early morning yard duty stints she has to do during the winter months.  Instead of outright payment to me, she paid for the most beautiful shade of Malabrigo yarn in Purple Mystery.  Gorgeous!

She bought two skeins of it, and one pair of mitts takes maybe 1/3 of a skein.  I had already decided that I would knit her a scarf with what was left, so she had a matching set.  That may be an X-mas present, though I'll give her the mitts as soon as I'm done with them.  That leads us to:

Projects to complete before December 25ish

1. Salt's scarf - I had anguished for weeks about a design for this scarf, I combed Ravelry for a pattern I liked, and a pattern suited to my knitting skill level (which at this point I would deem "beginner plus").  It came to me this morning: why the heck not just make up my own pattern.  I knew exactly what I was looking for in Ravelry...but couldn't find a pre-made pattern that I liked, so as soon as I could, I grabbed my notebook and a pencil and sketched out the design I wanted.  I think it'll be good!

2. Red Scarf Project - It's become my mission this year to do some charity knitting/crocheting.  The hats were my first endeavor and I heard about the Red Scarf Project through one of the blogs I read (Now Norma Knits - read it, she's hilarious!).  It's a worthy group doing good things to help kids transition from the foster care system into successful adults.  The Red Scarf Project is designed to be part of a care package that is sent to college students around Valentine's Day to say "someone loves you."  They accept submissions from September 1 (that's today!!!) to December 15.  I encourage my crafty friends to knit or crochet a red scarf, check out the details in the link above.

Due to time constraints, I'll probably only knit one this year.  I'll get a head start next year though and hopefully donate the maximum (which is 5).

3. Niecy knitting - Last X-mas I busily crocheted two afghans, one for each niece.  I'm not going to be quite so ambitious this year.  For the youngest's birthday (whom we'll call Girly from here on out), I made a cute little beany.  She's a girly-girl so it was hot pink.  I'm not too sure she wears it, but it's the thought that counts right?!  She was envious of her sister's (Chicka's) birthday gift though, of the fingerless mitts.

At that point I decided I should round out their sets: I want to make Girly a scarf and mitts, and Chicka (I'm spelling it that way on purpose) a scarf and a beany.  I already have the patterns picked out on Ravelry.  I just need to find the yarn I want and buy the interchangeable needle set I've been coveting so I have the sizes I need.  Money's tight though....I need to con someone into buying it for my birthday....if I didn't want a new necklace so bad, I'd just request it from Wino.

4. I haven't been in communication much with my brother-in-law down in Texas, so I had the idea that I would send him a care package with some cookies and a hand knit scarf and hat set.  I'm sure he's lonely out there on the plains with just the dogs, cats and chickens to talk to.  He seems like he's doing ok though (from what I hear through the grapevine).  I still can't believe it's been almost 4 years since Dawn passed away.  It's still hard to conceptualize that she's gone, since I hardly saw her even when she was alive.  I still miss her just the same though.

Anywho, (wiping a tear from my eye), back to more pleasant topics: I wanted to surprise him and let him know that I still care and think about him and Dawn frequently.  What says "I care" more than homemade goods?!

On that note, please donate to my Race for the Cure campaign this year by clicking here.  This is a cause that is near and dear to my heart, and always will be since breast cancer stole my big sister away from all of us.

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That's pretty much the extent of my projects, but it's still a huge undertaking since #3 is actually 4 items, and #4 is actually 2 items.  I'll make it though, I somehow always find a way.

Knitting news!

My knitting class went well.  I discovered that knitting is much easier this time around (after proper tutelage) than when I tried to teach myself.

My spinning has taken a back seat.  Partially because of frustration, partially because I got a hair up my tush to knit socks.  Yeah, I know that's nuts to even attempt as a freshly reacquainted knitter, but I just couldn't resist.

I have this utterly luscious merino that I got for quite a discount at Yarns...at the Adobe in SLO while on vacation, and even though it's worsted weight, I figured that would be a good way to learn.  Naturally they'll be lounge-y socks (not for walking on!!! It's merino after all!).  Here's the progress I've made.

Yesterday evening, while Wino was at a friend's birthday dinner:

And today from my lunch break:

It may not look like a lot of progress was made between the two pictures, but believe me, there was!

Here's a look at my spindle recently.  Like I said it's been stalled. I think I need something a bit lighter, my strands are continually breaking at this point:

I still want to get a spinning wheel, but they're so dang expensive that'll probably have to wait until tax season.

I'm really enjoying this knitting business, my next project may be to start a sweater.  On that note, it's funny to observe that now that I'm knitting my compusion has been to make garments rather than accessories like I do with crochet....funny how that works out....

Plans In Motion

I have set a few plans of mine in motion this past weekend.  I'm feeling more motivated in some ways, which is good, and I'm really hoping it will extend into new territory!

Here's what I've done:

I attended a learn to spin class on Saturday.  It was a hoot, I'm terrible at it now (I really mussed up on the wheel when I was given a chance, but with practice I know I would figure it out).  I'm working with a top whorl drop spindle, and it's entertaining and relaxing.  My fiber is starting to become consistent and I feel like I know how to manage it now to keep the big fluffy bumps from happening.  As Wino said to me yesterday: "This is your first one, imagine what your fiftieth will look like!" So true, so true!

Here's a picture from the class, note the uneven spinning (I've since covered it with far more consistent thread):

That got me pumped for crocheting in general, so after I did my requisite 15 minutes on the spindle yesterday morning, I picked up my crochet hooks (a lovely set of Laurel Hill in ebony!!) and started making up my own dish cloth pattern.  This is my first crack at designing and I'm happy with the result, so I wrote up the pattern and plan to place it on Ravelry.

That got me pumped for the idea of starting my own Etsy page (see here where I talked about that before).  I had already decided on the name for my little side business, so while I was feeling particularly optimistic, I decided to snatch up the Gmail, Twitter, Blogger and Etsy for my business!  With the exception of Twitter I was successful (I got as close as I could there).  My ideas started flowing, and I enjoyed creating the dishcloths and I figure I can sell the finished products on Etsy, along with any excess afghans or doo-dads I also decide to create!

Once everything is all launched and live I'll make an announcement here with relavant links.  Next weekend is my learn to knit class, so my options will be wide open for new product development (once I get the hang of that, too!).

Spinning away

I've decided to take a spinning class!  No, not stationary bike spinning, fiber spinning! (I've tried the cycle classes and I nearly pass out!)

I'm super pumped, I want to delve deeper into this world of fiber and yarn and knitting and crochet.  I've also decided to take a beginning knitting class.  Lets face it: knitting is the more popular yarn "sport," crocheters usually get sneers from the knitters.  I don't care really, I will continue to crochet because it's easy and fun.  But, you can knit so much  more intricate things than you can crochet.  You can make actual sweaters from knitting, and you just can't do that with crochet.

Pictures from my endeavor to follow!

Baby Boom

Life is all about choices.  We all know that.  (Of course there are an unlucky few who have no choice in some matters....but at this moment I'm being selfish and focusing on me).

My life has certainly been all about choices.  Starting in high school: what school to go to?  What to major in? Where to go to grad school (that wasn't really a choice, I only had 1 option...but I'm not counting that)? What to do with my career? Where to work? Do I really want this dang drive every day?!? What people to surround myself with? Who to "settle down" with? Buy a house? Have kids? Get married?

All of these things I've made choices about.  Some more unconventional than others mind you...especially in the kids/married department.  I made a choice, long, long ago, when I was but a wee one that I did not want children. 

I've never been the "maternal" type, except with animals, but even then the burdens of pet ownership are costly, emotionally and financially.  It started when I was 3 and my younger cousin was born.  Most little girls that age are fascinated by babies, they think of them as living and breathing dolls.  Not me though! I was grossed out to no end by this squirming, drooling, stinky thing that was set before me and introduced as my cousin.

Fast forward about 10 years later and one of my older cousins had just had a baby.  His obnoxious wife asked me if I wanted to hold the child, and I politely declined saying (and yes this is mature of a 12-year-old) "No thank you, I'm not comfortable holding babies."  Her reply to little ol' me: "Well, you don't have to be a bitch about it!"  That caused a little rift in the family that has since been mended.

Anyway, my views on babies and children in general haven't changed much through the years.  I get annoyed to no end when I hear a baby crying, or a child screaming at the grocery store.  I mutter things under my breath that are better left unsaid (or at least undocumented!).  Most times when I'm handed a baby I put my hands up like I'm being robbed and slowly back away from the situation.

I just have no desire to have children.  Most people just think I'm a cold hearted bitch, must like my cousin's wife assumed.  But I'm not.  Really I'm just partially terrified of them, and partially disinterested in being spit up on (or worse!).  I like my life, nay! LOVE my life.  I am free to do as I please, take whatever vacations, I want, when I want, do my own thing (with Wino of course ;) ), drink my wine, and eat fancy food.  Frankly a life with kids would deprive me of one of the things I hold dear in my life: freedom!

I don't want that lifetime responsibility of raising a child.  Nope, that's not for me.  I also don't want to be pressured to ogle and coo at other's children.  If you ever hear me say (after being shown a picture of someones kid) "Oh, it's a baby!" know that I am being insincere and that kid ain't cute.  I'm not one to lie and say something is "adorable" if it isn't.  Pointing out that it's a baby (and putting an exclamation point after that) is my way of being polite.  No, I don't think all babies are cute (I'm totally going to get hate mail for that one....).

My point in this lengthy rant is that everyone around me is having babies (except the ones closest to me, thank god!  I don't want to lose my friends to the "family way" just yet!).  I'm having babies thrust at me at an alarming rate.  I'm proud and happy to say that each and every one of these kiddos is cute (so I don't have to lie) and I have yet to be forced to hold one.....but.....

I'm quickly approaching one situation this weekend and I'm terrified.  No one in my family has had a baby in about 9 years.  But! said younger cousin from my first encounter with a baby, is now a daddy himself.  The family is overjoyed.  This will be my first meeting of the little Jelly Bean, and I'm hoping like hell that my cousin's wife doesn't have a "don't be a bitch about it" moment with me when I politely decline to hold her child.  Yes, I am nearly 29-years-old, and I still refuse to hold babies.  I like my shirts to remain clean, thank-you-very-much!

Sigh, anyway, choices are hard, especially when you don't want to offend people you care about.  I'm just praying to keep a good relationship with my cousin.  He should know that I'm not a baby fan, and will hopefully not even offer her up for my embrace.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Shamed

Here we are: April 30....do you remember what was supposed to happen today? Naturally I do. I was supposed to have my NaNoWriMo '10 novel finished and ready for editing today.

Yes, I failed, but I have justified reasoning and actually changed my game plan about half way through April. After struggling to pick the story back up, I realized that the rear end of my story was so full of fluff and padding for November's end of month scramble that it was impossible to continue without editing first.

I have to figure out where my story really leaves off and where the BS begins. So, I've been going through this entire time and actually reading what I wrote (what we're not supposed to do in November) and editing as I go. This process is much harder than I had expected, but then this is the first time that I have ever made it to this point in the novel writing process. It's hard, but exciting!