Happy 2013!!

Work has been kicking my posterior/taking over my home life of late but I am finally taking back my personal life!  To kick off 2013 and reclaiming my home life, which for me has a huge component of knitting, I have the following goals/inspirations:

1. Actively participate in several Ravelry Groups.  Specific groups are Stash Knit Down (Personal Sock Club 2013, Sigma 13, Stash Diva Dash 2013); Mystery 220; 90% Knitting.
2. Watch/listen to podcasts/books while knitting.
3. Need to live up to the notation in my medical chart that I'm an avid knitter.  Discovered this notation when I saw a nutritionist (who is also a knitter) in August/September because I was having difficulty eating regularly which was causing havoc with my diabetes.
4. Go for walks at least 3 times per week. 
5. Post to blog 4 times per month.
6. Reserve Sunday as my personal pamper and reading blogs/blogging day.

Yarns I will use for Diva Dash

This may seem like a lot of knitting for someone who has been KO'd by work but I'm hoping that between the Stash Diva Dash and Sigma 13 there will be plenty of crossover and the non-knitting items are necessary for general health and sanity.

See you next year!

Work is interrupting my knitting, sigh

Remember my last post how I wanted to do a couple of posts before the Olympics started?  Well work has been crazy.  I've been covering the clinical schedule for the Division, the other administrative assistants have picked up more faculty they are working for, our new Division chief started creating more work, and we are in the process of hiring 3 more assistants.  This has put a major dent in my knitting mojo and energy in general.  If I had done posts, they would have been something like this.

Post #1

For my Olympic warm up, thought I'd work on the right hand fingerless mitt (for the second time).  At first, I believed the mitt had been stretched out when different people tried it on.  But after counting the ribbing at the top, realized yup too many stitches were cast on.

 Ripped the mitt out at Concerts on the Square and started over (this time with the correct number of stitches)

Not sure exactly how long I worked on this but as you can see the mock cable is very pretty (if I do say so myself).

Alas, I did not finish it before the start of the Olympics but did get up to increasing for the thumb.

Post #2 (would have posted July 27, 2012)

As I mentioned before, work has been crazy.  Today I was supposed to be off but thought it may be to my best interest to come in for candidate interviews.  For those wanting the short story, is that for a day "off" it sucked!  Lets just say I learned a lot that day and the first is that its alright to say "No".  

Come on everyone, repeat after me No, Nope, Nadda, Nein, No Way Jose!  

Now for those of you who would like to hear the long story, here it is (short story people scroll quickly til you see a picture of a TV with a troll.

The plan was to have a haircut/pedicure and then go to The Cat and Crow in Mt. Horeb for the live broadcast of the opening ceremonies of the Olympics.  

Since before this I couldn't say no, I scheduled an interview in the afternoon for the scheduler position as the physician this person needed to interview with was on vacation for the next two weeks.  He was available late in the afternoon so I thought no problem, I just won't stay for the entire ceremony.  Then this is where I goofed up, candidate for a different position was available in the morning so I did some mental calculations and thought (obviously didn't think hard enough, give me another No! cause you know what I did).  Yup went ahead and scheduled the second interview for the morning and rescheduled my haircut/pedi for a little later in the morning.  

While waiting for the morning candidate to arrive, received a text and the haircut/pedi were canceled. Ok, that's no problem, just means that I'll have more time in Mt. Horeb and can beat the crowd for a seat, right?  Finished the interview and headed over to Mt. Horeb.  Grabbed some lunch at Sjolinds (chocolate shop that also has coffee, soups/salads, and pastries) to take back to eat at The Cat and Crow.  

One o'clock came and Mo and Rebecca were still doing things around the shop and no-one was really there to watch the opening ceremonies.  Come to find out the start of the ceremony was pushed back two hours because it wouldn't be dark enough for the fireworks.  Huh? Didn't the folks over in Britain know when it gets dark?

Me and another lady had some the cake that Rebecca and Mo had bought for the party and people were starting to come in when I had to pack it up and head back for the second interview.  The second interview ran long and I didn't get home until about 6:30 pm, just in time to cook up some spaghetti, thaw out some sauce I had frozen and watch the record opening ceremonies with the majority of Americans in the comfort of our homes (and yes, thank you for asking, I did start working on my Ravellenic project).

The Cat and Crows Ravellenics Mascot

Post #3 (Today's actual post)

Don't have much to report as the only knitting that happened was last Friday and Saturday.  As you can see, have 13 rows done and will need to kick butt this week if I want to finish 30 rows of chart let alone finish this afghan by the end of the Olympics.  Since I've spent time catching you up on posts and still haven't done any knitting this weekend will end with a picture of my progress.

Yes, Rosie I put the afghan on the floor for you to lay on

Unobstructed view of my progress

Ravellenic Games are coming, are you ready?

For those of you who are either not knitters (huh?) or are a knitter but have never signed up for Ravlery (this just boggles the mind), Ravellenic Games coincide with the 2012 Summer Olympics held in London July 27-August 12. The games used to have a jazzier name but, it was changed when it was brought to the attention of the USOC. For more info, google "yarn harlot" and read her June 21, 2012 post.

The quickest description of the Ravellenic Games is to challenge yourself by entering event(s), usually a new project, cast it on during/anytime after the opening ceremonies and complete the project before the closing ceremonies.  Each event has rules but that's it in a nutshell.  

Seeing as I have a plethora of WIPs (work in progress), I went diving in the UFO bin and choose this:

The afghan is about half-way done.  I'm now starting the whale and rows of red/white strips.  This will be challenging but I think I can get it done in 16 days. My goal during the games, is to post pictures every couple of days to show my progress.  

My goal before the games, is to to work on various projects every day and post pictures every couple of days (good practice for the actual event).  Until next time, take care and stay cool.  

This is how Rosie stays cool, hard to see but there is a fan in the corner.

Pictorial Catch Up

Well its been quite a while since my last post.  To catch you up on my knitting, here are a few pictures...

Had one mitt done for erm, hum a few years.  

These are nice but not what I was aiming for, below slippers
allow for a variety of different sized feet to wear them

Still have to knit I-cord (right slipper) and sew on button to left
Hopefully they will stay together

Yarn my brother bought for me to make a hat for him 

Really like how this turned out

Need to make more of these

Finally got the red hat to turn out

2nd of 4 Knit Purl Hunter KAL's 

Ends woven (finally) but still waiting to be blocked...

and last but not least

Not knitting but it holds knitting :)

These are for sale at The Cat and Crow, come visit!

Never Again!

Beginning of February Mom and I went on a day trip to pick up wreaths and poinsettias from family graves and the Pioneer Scarf went on the road trip.  I was certain, I would finish the current ball of yarn and couldn't find the fourth ball (just knew it was somewhere in the UFO bin but was unable to locate it).  I wanted a second project but had nothing that was started, small, and didn't require a lot of consultation with a pattern (translation thought).  Turns out that I didn't get as much done on the trip (isn't that they way it usually goes) and after Mom suggested I recount my joins, discovered that I was currently on the fourth and last ball of yarn.

Me scrambling around for a project to take with resulted in 30 minutes of trying to pull things together for a project that I ended up not liking (the yarn and pattern were incompatible).  I vowed never again would I be stuck without a project when I need to, to coin a phrase from Gigi of The Knitmore Girls,"Run screaming out of the house" .

Oops had to restart, things got a little twisted

That led to a major cast on spree that week which resulted in:


Penny Hat (Monday)











Haven't progressed any further than what you see on the left but its sitting patiently waiting for the time I need to running screaming out of the house





2nd Paw Tracks sock-minus the paw track (Tuesday)

 The Paw Track pattern is one that I first did while out on vacation to Badlands.  I liked the construction of this toe up pattern and started another pair using Regia but wanted to simplify and did a simple 2 x 2 rib for the cuff.  Had finished the first sock a while back and I thought casting on for toe up socks were  sooo complicated that never cast on the second sock.  Well, as I was determined to cast on projects and once you get over the cast on, socks are pretty easy, I thought what the heck.  Turns out I was wrong the cast on was easy and now I'm kicking myself for all the socks that could have been knit by now.  The second sock was finished yesterday, at a birthday party for one of the shop owners of The Cat and Crow who turned 60 today.



Knit Purl Hunter Repeat Performance sock KAL (Wednesday)

 Since I now know that casting on for toe up is a piece of cake and I have two Knit Purl Hunter knit-a-long projects that are socks, decided might as well cast on some more socks. Here is sock one and will cast on sock #2. Will work it to the same point so I can do two socks at same time (note to self, check and see if have a 40-inch circular). Doing this to avoid guessing how many rows did on the first sock; hmm wonder if that is why so many people have Second Sock Syndrome.  Know that some say its because boredom of doing the same thing again, but honestly isn't all knitting the same thing Knit or Purl?

Next up was a hat for my older brother who had bought this alpaca yarn when the local coffee house had a fiber sale.  Can you believe he went and I was out of town for something so totally missed it?!? I need to grab some double points and switch to them as things are getting a little tight on the needle.  The only regret I have about the hat is that I wish I would have done a few purl rows at the turn.  For Christmas, I really need to start one of his two projects.  Probably shortly after I started knitting he selected a vest and a cardigan that he would like to knit and then we went to The Sows Ear and selected the yarn.  Erica, this is the brother who can give an opinion on color combos and since he asks for me to knit things, I gladly do this for him.

Turn a Square Hat (Thursday)

Dang, should have done some purl rows!

Friday night I worked on the Paw Tracks socks while watching the Descendants at movie theater. This was a first for me but think it was only doable as it was simple knit in the round.

All in all a very productive week (my most productive thus far).  Clocked in 12.62 hours week of February 12th.  There may be something to casting on a lot of projects...

Current WIPs and FO

Couple of weeks ago, was at a standstill on the Top Down Swing Sweater until I could get an opinion from Rebecca about the fit of the sweater. As you can see, it was too big, would benefit from a short row in the back, and ruffles on the bottom (what's up with that?). Will take out to first increase, add a short row on the back, and knit straight down. Will see how that turns out.

Next on the consultation list was the Every Way Wrap. Diagnosis was that I should do two more repeats and it would then be ready for me to start the last repeat. I'm almost done with the first repeat and can't believe I'm heading into the homestretch on this wrap.

First (almost) finished object to report is the Triplicity shawlette which was the first project in the Knit-along project from Knit Purl Hunter. It just requires some ends to be woven in, blocking and then post picture of totally completed picture on Ravelry. Project isn't done till pictures are posted on Ravelry, right?

Next up in the FO report is the Pioneer Braid Scarf. This pattern just lend's itself beautifully to yarns that gradually shift in color.

First two weeks on the job

Well it has been two weeks and so far haven't hit the 10 hour week work, but today is not over and I'm sooo close (currently at 9.55 hours and last week I ended with 9.63 hours).  Here is a quick recap of the my work towards goals.

1) 9 podcasts listened/watched while knitting 11 more to go before audiobook purchase.
2) No projects completed, no money in savings toward loom.
3) No projects completed, no Ravelry shopping cart purchase.
4) No adult sweaters completed, no yarn purchased....

Wait, wait this will get boring really quick if I do this on a weekly basis, think this will be done on a monthly basis.

You may have noticed a few new items on the side bar.  If you didn't, please take a moment to look at the Yarn Meter which indicates how much yarn I've knitted this year, pretty nifty eh?  Next is a widget that is linked to my Ravelry project page showing the progress on current projects.  These are only the projects that I'm actively working on and at least one more shawl and a scarf missing (you should have seen the list before I changed a lot of projects to hibernating!).

The first two projects are the Top Down Swing Pullover and Every Way Wrap.  These two are active but on hold until I make it to Mount Horeb and I'm able to consult with Rebecca and/or Mo on these projects.  On both of these, I want their opinion on the fit as my bathroom mirror does not give me a very good view of both.  The pullover is almost done, just need to knit the collar and two sleeves.  While yes I know I could have continued on, it just didn't feel right to continue if I'm going to end up ripping out a portion of the body.  The wrap has been on my needles for almost two years and think I have almost completed the correct number of repeats but again wanted their opinion on the fit (hmm maybe I should invest in a full-length mirror?).

Next on the list is the Samovar Shawl which I haven't worked on since before Christmas and halfway feel that this should be moved to hibernation, but I'm so close to being done that having this project visible on the blog will help me get it done, I hope.

The fourth project, Triplicity, is the first project in Knit Purl Hunter's Progressive Needles knit along.  I joined the project through Sutter's Golden' Fleece up in St. Germain in October, purchased the yarn while on the crafting retreat, balled up the yarn but then never started this project (and the next two).  This week, with the pullover and wrap, on breaks, it seemed like an excellent time to get started on this project.  It is progressing quite nicely but it is definitely not something I can knit and do other things, like play cards, have a conversation, etc.

The last project on the list, Tuckernuck Cardigan, was started a year ago as part of a design your own sweater class.  Again this project should probably be in hibernation as I can't work on this and the wrap as they are both cabled items and my brain can't deal with two cable projects at the same time, but I want it in view to remind me to get going on things.

Not mentioned, and soon to be posted on Ravlery, are the Pioneer Braid Scarf and Bat Shawl.  The Pioneer Braid Scarf, is a project that I can work on while playing cards, which we did with friends today, or have just a few minutes to knit (making it an excellent project to have when out and about).  The Bat Shawl is part of another design your own class that I took from The Cat and Crow which is also on a slight break until I can work out of the chart for the next section after the bats (hmm thinking some pictures would be helpful for you, will work on that for next week).  The section after the bats is a lace pattern that has a different number of stitches most rows and I'm thinking my stitch count will be way wonky for current number of stitches on needle vs. first row of lace pattern.  Need to graph it on paper so I can visualize it better.

Wheel at the store, waiting for a new home.

My big news this week is that I purchased a spinning wheel.  Yes that is correct a spinning wheel.  On Tuesday, someone had posted in Ravelry on the On Wisconsin page that the second hand store in Edgerton had a wheel for $15 which had a broken flyer.

Yesterday, I called the store and it was still there.  Was still undecided if I should go, and knowing that I would kick myself later if a didn't, that I decided to call Mom to see if she would be interested in driving to Edgerton.  Dad answered the phone as she had gone to get the mail and then was going to take my brother who doesn't drive to Madison.  Explained to Dad why I was calling, they are always the voice of reason, yes yes the wheel was only $15 but once I have it, that would mean more expenses to get it fixed, then fiber to spin with, etc. and he said for $15 even if you can't get it fixed it would be an excellent decoration.  

I figured this was a sign that I should go down to Edgerton as this seemed so atypical for him.  Not too sure how well you can see it but the varnish is wearing off, the flyer is most definitely broken and the drive band is missing but these should be easy fixes.

I am unable to find any markings so have no idea what brand of wheel it is other than a traditional.  If you have any clues on what type or how to identify it, I would greatly appreciate it.  Renee suggested I get in touch with one of the Wednesday night knitters who just had a wheel restored and I plan on doing that soon, just hope it won't cost more than the price of a new wheel!

Oops someone broke the flyer!

Part-time Knitter

When money is tight (what a weird expression), often people do a combination of things, look for items that can be cut back on or you can do without; if you are making payments on a house or car, you may look into refinancing these things; or in some cases, you get a part-time job.

Money is tight currently for me. The reasons are various; no pay raise in past four years, paying more for benefits, and I would like to save money to buy a house.

Lets see, I don't drink or go out a lot, so nothing to cut there but I am going to cut some luxury items like Netflix and buying soda at work (you do the math $1.50/bottle, 2 bottles a day). Since the "Move" back in July, I've been trying to minimalize current possessions and what comes in the house, as space is limited, so not much to cut out there as well. I don't own a house and my car is paid for but I am working on lowering the APR on my credit card, so doing all I can there. All thats left is a part-time job.

I've done the part-time gig in the past and quite frankly they are not for me. For one thing, I would end up having two suppers, one before work and another at home as I was hungry again. Then to top things off, I was usally so wound up that I'd be up for another couple of hours. Which wouldn't be so bad except the employer doesn't seem to appreciate that their retail job is not my life. I have a day job and some sleep is required so no it's not ok to keep me at the store till 10 pm or later simply because I'm over a certain age and have no state appointed work curfew. Added to this, a part-time job would mean that I wouldn't be home a lot and that's not fair to Rosie (plus I really really don't want one).

Having said all this, I've taken a part-time job. It doesn't pay a lot and there are no health or retirement benefits. What the job does have is flexible hours, excellent co-workers, and I'm doing something I love. Are you ready for what my new job is? It's knitting! Ok, ok bare with me here. As evidenced by my stash, I have plenty of yarn to keep me busy for a long time, it's paid for and will result in lovely items for myself and possibly some gifts (yes Erica selfish knitting is definitely in my future but I still plan on making some things for the deserving few). Knitting can be done anywhere at anytime so it's a perfect job for a dog owner.

The idea for my part-time job started back in May when I purchased an app for my iPhone called HoursTracker. The reason for the purchase (think I started with the free version but bought the full version soon after) was to track how long it takes me to knit something. You know how it is, you've just completed a project and it never fails a non knitter will ask you "How long did it take you to knit that?". With this particular app you can assign an hourly pay rate and that got me thinking about how really knitting could be a job of sorts. Knitting Guild and Knitting Group are now staff meetings (a lot more enjoable than at my full-time job!), this blog is my time sheet and knitting events like Wisconsin Sheep and Wool, Stitches, etc are conferences (which I'm never sent to at my full-time job). So you see, knitting is an excellent part-time job.

Last week I posted my 2012 Rewards which will function as my "payscale". After writing about WS&W, it made me think that I should start saving money for events like that and here is my revised 2012 Rewards.

2012 Rewards (Updated)
1. Every 20 knitting podcasts or iTunes university I listen/watch while knitting, purchase 1 audiobook.
2. Every project completed, put $5 in savings towards a rigid heddle loom.
3. Every 20 projects completed, purchase 1 item from my Ravelry shopping cart.
4. Finish 4 adult sweaters, purchase yarn for a sweater in queue.
5. Every 10 blog posts, purchase 1 movie.
6. Work 10-19 hours in a week, put $10 in savings towards fiber events. Work 20+ hours, put $20 in savings.

As I've only put in 6.8 hours this week, and Sunday is the end of my "pay period", need to get back to work. Till next time!

Fiber Event Catch Up #3: Three Irish Girls Trunk Show

September 17th saw friend from Stoughton, have to find out if O.K. to mention her name on blog, and I went to Chicago to attend the Three Irish Girls Trunk Show at Windy Knitty.  We started off mid morning and had an enjoyable time driving down.

Hard to believe but this is all that came home!

Lunch was at a Thai restaurant not that far from Windy Knitty and then on to the trunk show.  If you have never seen/felt Three Irish Girls yarn, you simply must!  The colors are wonderful and it was hard to resist purchasing oodles of yarn but I only purchased a three skeins of yarn and a scarf minder (hee hee just thought of it Three Irish Girls, 3 skeins of yarn...).  I know I know the restraint but I'm trying to change my yarn buying habits.

From there, we went on to Ikea.  At Ikea we had a quick snack as my blood sugar was getting low and my friend needed to rest and then shopped around a bit.  I found curtains for the living room which were totally not something that I thought I would ever buy and large beverage glasses, as the ones I had been using are rather on the small size.  She found the mirrors that her daughter-in-law wanted and a few other items.

Once we had our purchases for Ikea loaded up in the car, we headed home.  There was a quick stop in Janesville for diner at my favorite Chinese restaurant and then continued on to Stoughton.  We did some switching around of things from her car to my car and I returned totes she had loaned while moving back in July (terrible how long it took me to unpack some things).  

All in all, a very fun day and one I wouldn't mind repeating (hint, hint).

What do you knit?

My UFO bin runneth over

Back in September I was at a local yarn shop browsing and the clerk and I were chatting, when she asked me "What do you knit?".  You have no idea how much that question gave me pause as it seems to me that I am great for starting projects, as evidenced by my UFO bin, but completing them is somewhat problematic.

With the New Year, people make resolutions, set goals, etc., which is one of the reasons this blog was started.  But just like my other projects, the main reason for starting this blog (reduce the amount of yarn under the bed/in my closets, now cupboards) never has seen fruition.  This year instead of setting big goals, I'm setting small goals and rewards which will hopefully result in a reduction in the amount of fiber hiding under the bed/in cupboards.

The work on my 2012 resolution/goals actually started in October 2011, when I took all of my yarn stash, UFOs, WIPs and made a pile of everything on the living room floor.

Stash October 2011

At first, I was sorting things out by fiber type/color but it became readily apparent that this was not going to work as it was the same system I had been using.  Instead, I started a much lengthier process of going through the yarn stash and sorting everything out by yarn weight.  Once everything was in bins according to yarn weight, I then went to Ravelry opened up my Favorites and Queue and started matching up yarn with projects.

The result was going from a Queue of 1.5 pages (roughly 45 projects) to a Queue of 7 pages (189 projects) long.  Don't know how many bins all that yarn was in but I'm down to two bins and one chest (that doubles as my coffee table) that are looking for projects.  The yarn in the chest I'm not anxious on having projects for immediately as it is the "good' stash yarn and I'm fine with waiting for the next viral knitting project that sweeps the knitting community like the Clapotis.  The bin yarn I will go through today and see what is in there and see what projects I can find for it, though I'm thinking some of it would be very interesting to weave with.

Earlier today I drafted out my goals and while they may seem strange, I think they will result in much knitting/reduction of the stash.  I will explain in my next blog post why they are all monetary

2012 Rewards

1. Every 20 knitting podcasts or iTunes university I listen/watch while knitting, purchase 1 audiobook.
2. Every project completed, put $5 in savings towards a rigid heddle loom.
3. Every 20 projects completed, purchase 1 item from my Ravelry shopping cart (contains patterns that are probably in the queue).
4. Finish 4 adult sweaters, purchase yarn for a sweater in queue.
5. Every 10 blog posts, purchase 1 movie.

There may be some tweaking of the rewards during the year, but this is a very good start.  I plan on doing a comparison photo in December 2012 to see our things have progressed.  Let me know what you think of my goals and if you have any suggestions, I would greatly appreciate them.  Hope I didn't send you into shock with my yarn stash pile (believe it or not, there is one bag of yarn missing!) and wishing you a healthy and happy New Year!

Rosie was exhausted after watching the sorting of the stash