Total Slacker

Okay, I am apparently a total slacker. I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted to my blog until today. I wonder if I should just take it down and give it up or if I just need more discipline in my writing.
I have been knitting. I finished my Hey Teach and love it.

I haven't had a chance to wear it yet, but maybe on Sunday for church I can. It's been too warm really for a sweater for the last week or so and when it was cool enough I was climbing around under the house and it just didn't seem like a good place for it.
I also finished my Demeter's Shawlette.

I have proceeded to rip back the edging and add some rows to the shawl to make full use of my handspun. I'm ready to put the edging back on. This is my first beaded project and I enjoyed the whole process from the knitting to picking out the beads I wanted to use.
Then I added two more bears to the collection before they went off to Mother Bear.

Added to that I am still working on my 10 stitch blanket and the Beekeepers Quilt and I started a baby sweater or two.
I'm still considering what my next weaving project will be and thinking about my next monster and sweater for myself and I started spinning some Mountain Colors BFL top in the Peppergrass colorway.
Other than the fiber stuff, I have been getting out garden ready for the spring. I have two tiny little peaches on one of the peach trees we planted earlier this year. I had blossoms on one of the apple trees, but the deer ate them. Oops. The blueberries and the huckleberries are blooming and the strawberries are coming on. The broccoli won't give up so I am still cutting broccoli on a regular basis. I have tomatoes and peppers inching their way up to transplant size to go outside and we are discussing adding more beds to the garden. If we keep going I will have to learn to can some of these veggies. I also need to figure out a trellis for the wild grapes on the property and I'm watching the blackberries bloom. Those blooms make me think of blackberry cobbler and that makes me start drooling.
I'm back on my exercise regimen and hoping to make some progress on that front as the weather warms.

Update on the WIPS

I turned the heel on the Regia ankle socks for my grandson. The picture isn't good. It's cloudy and I couldn't get them to lay where you could actually see that they are both turned. I've picked up the gusset stitches and am in the process of decreasing them back down now. It's not really exciting except that it looks like these will be identical twins too and not just fraternal like most of my socks are. It took a little futzing around to get them to start at the same place, but it wasn't bad really. I'm not usually concerned about a perfect or even a near perfect match on my socks, but decided to give it a try this time around. Not bad, even if I do say so myself.
I'm still in Dallas visiting with DH. I got to go to Whole Foods this morning. That totally wouldn't be a big deal except that we don't have one at home and they have one of my favorite (365 Veggie) chips and my favorite (jalapeno, cilantro) hummus. I will have to take some of the chips home for one of my granddaughters too. She likes them as well. Funny that when I looked them up online they got a bad rating on the taste test. Ah well, everyone can't have the same taste or I'd never get to have the things I like. (Same issue with clothes... sometimes I look at something and say "Really? not on this body. Uh uh)
I have also turned the heel on my Wildfoote socks. I really like this yarn. It's squishy and not splitty for me when I'm knitting. (Of course, your mileage may vary.) The last pair of socks that I knit from this yarn got swiped by my granddaughter. I don't know how they are wearing now, but they were wearing well when I still had them. These are the two pair of socks that are my "don't pay attention to what's going on while husband is driving in Dallas because you will just freak out" knitting. I am unashamedly a small town/ country girl. I do not like to go eighty riding right on someone's bumper and don't like them doing it to me either. Meandering country roads are my thing. (yes, the new property is out of town.) I have no problem bebopping along at 15 miles an hour behind a farmer. I always leave early enough to take that into account.
This little bit of scrunched up knitting that doesn't look like anything yet is the start of my Blueberry Pi from the Wendy Johnson Shetland Pi KAL. I can't make it look like more than a blob at this point. (I spent over five minutes trying.) What is there to say about this? Well, I had a hard time with the start because I didn't have the appropriate size double points with me and casting on nine stitches on a circular needle was interesting to say the least. I ended up using this pictoral tutorial for Emily Ocker's cast on. It still wasn't easy, but it got done.
My plan for my 11 minutes today is to seam some hats for MT25 that have been sitting for a while and do a couple of rounds on the Blueberry Pi and carry along one of the pairs of socks to work on on the way to dinner tonight. Tomorrow's plan includes setting up the LK150 for some hat work. I need to knit 12 this year for my Mission Possible 2011 commitment. I haven't even done one yet. The ones I need to seam are from December. (Told you they had been sitting for a while.)
I spent 20 minutes on the elliptical here at the hotel this morning. The stride isn't really long enough for me so it is awkward. The treadmills were both occupied and that's why I was on the elliptical. I did a little weight training with the machines, but missed my Zumba. It will be March before I get to go back. I really need to order the dvds so I can do it on days I can't make a class.
Off to have some lunch and do some knitting.

No knitting in the courthouse

I was called for jury duty this week. In my area you call in the night before to see if you have to be at the courthouse. Monday - nope. Complete day as scheduled. Tuesday - rats. Spend half of day at courthouse where they will not let me take my knitting upstairs. Ugh, really? Do you think I am going to use my favorite needles to hurt someone? Uh no, I like these needles and I don't want blood on my yarn. Duh! Luckily they did let me have my Kindle with me so I could read during the waiting portion of the day. I also did not get picked for the jury. Civic duty complete. Home to the knitting, spinning, crocheting, and exercise.
I have almost completed Baby Blanket #1. Please excuse the picture quality. There isn't really enough sun in that room yet and the overhead light was on too. No real help. I have about 6 rows of the edging to do and then it's done. I think I'm going to do the next one on the machine. This one went well after the two times I ripped it out. The first attempt is an example of why I should swatch and measure more. It would have been big enough to reach completely across my full size bed. Oops. Rip. Try number two and somehow, with all my experience, I managed to turn around in the middle of a row and not see it for three more rows. Looking at blanket admiring it and then... what? why is one side longer than the other? Hmmm. Count rows at each end. Oh man, you've been knitting for well over 30 years (gulp). How did you manage that? On the upside, it is now going well and is almost complete. I washed and hung my first real skein of my own handspun to dry last night. There is approximately 178 yards of a very usable thick and thin yarn that now needs something to be knitted into. I have found that I spin a lot thinner now than when I started in September and since I have been working on this skein since the beginning you can see spots where there is thick plied with thin. I am not upset by how much yarn I got out of that eight ounces. I think I will get more yardage out of what I'm spinning now and it will be much more consistent.

My hip and my Piriformis muscle is feeling much better now. There is no screaming pain at all any more. I'm beginning to exercise again and without pain. There is the occasional twinge that reminds me to check my form, but it is nothing to what I experienced between Christmas and New Years Day. I plan to go to a Zumba class on Saturday to try it out. I keep seeing the videos advertised, but I don't want to spend the money on them if I don't like to do it. My youngest daughter went last Saturday and is hooked. She loved it even though she said she felt very uncoordinated for most of the workout. She had fun and is going back. That's what I want to know. Will I love it? Hate it? Wonder what all the hype is about? Guess we will see. If my muscle doesn't make it through the whole workout, then I will try again another time. I would love a fun workout that didn't feel like a workout. I will report back later.

No Progress

There is no news on the Mission Possible 2011 list except that I have made no progress. I got asked for two baby blankets for twins due in April and so the rest of my list took a back seat to those. How are they going? Well, I had to frog the first one and start over so the answer is slowly. The first blanket is a basketweave knit on size 7 needles with Caron One Pound yarn. I think it needs to be machine washable and dry-able for a mother of twins who already has an older child. I have not yet decided if I will do two identical ones or if I will change patterns for the second one.
I am sitting in my craft room looking out the window at my garden beds and wishing it was warm enough that something was planted in them and growing. I heard that food prices will be going up (again) and I know that will make me want to grow more of my own food. I do have to worry about who will care for the garden while I am gone though. My mom lives with us, but isn't much into spending time in the garden.
I tried to exercise a little while ago and my hip started giving me trouble so I will postpone that until after I see the doctor on Tuesday. If it's arthritis then I will deal with it. I am more concerned that it might be something else. I don't have a clue what though. I still want a treadmill and still don't have a place to put one so that is still on the back burner. Since I live right on the highway I cannot walk around my neighborhood for exercise. I wonder if I can do the Leslie Sansone dvds right now. I might have to try that and see. I am almost done spinning the white wool and then it will be plied and knit into something. Probably a hat. It's going to be thick and thin and probably about a bulky weight when done. I can't wait. The other spinning is coming along slowly, but it is coming along so I can't complain. Off to play with fibery stuff now.

June already?

I can't believe it's June already. For those of us on the Gulf Coast that means the start of another hurricane season. That very real concern is complicated this year by the oil spill in the gulf. What happens if we have a storm? How much more environmental damage will there be? The oil spill by itself is horrendous to those of us who live here and get to be concerned about not only a way of life, but about how this will affect the environment for years to come. The threat of a storm on top of that is somewhat mind-boggling. How far would a storm wash the oil ashore? How far in to the bays and estuaries? How far up the rivers? How many species will be affected? How far reaching will this be at the end of the day? How many years will it take to recover (for the people and for the plants and animals)?
On to another subject that is less traumatic. My garden is producing. The lettuce is gone and that is not surprising since it is in the 90's with a lovely high humidity and heat indexes at the century mark. Much fun is to be had when mowing the grass in this weather. I'm getting tomatoes and cucumbers on an almost daily basis right now. The peppers aren't doing as well this year so far. I don't know how much longer the broccoli will continue to produce, but for now I am still getting some. On the other hand, the cauliflower was a bust this year. I have sweet potatoes in and cannot wait to have some from my very own garden this fall. I plan to put out some regular potatoes in the next few days. I should have done it already, but I have been a little busy. I bought what I thought was a squash plant. Imagine my surprise when instead of crookneck squash little cantaloupes started showing up. I love cantaloupe so this is not a tragedy, but I will miss the squash. There is only so much room in my raised bed gardens and I will have to deal with the produce that I do have.
As for my crafty life, I have finished The Everlasting Blanket. Eight hundred forty seven squares later it is laying across the end of my bed where I can admire it daily. It fits my double bed nicely and I cannot get a picture of it all, but did take a halfway decent shot of it just after ends were woven and trimmed and it got spread across the bed.

The Christmas table runner is still in progress and is about 70 inches long on the loom right now. I think I have about 36 inches or so to go. The picture was from a month ago and it was only at 37 inches at that point. There is much progress on it.

All of the ends will need trimming and weaving in at the end of the project after it gets a good wash to set things. I'm looking forward to it being complete, because I have several more ideas in my head for the loom and it's next project.
I also completed the Scraps No More Afghan. I'm sorry to say that I still have scraps of worsted weight yarn left in the stash. To combat that issue, I have started a crocheted afghan to (hopefully) use up the rest of the current batch.
Is it frightening that I am seriously considering starting another sock yarn blanket? DH has asked for one to go in our camper and I'm really thinking about it. I do know if I do it that it will be another long-term project and something that I work on between other projects. I enjoyed seeing the first one come together.
I am over halfway through my Mission Possible 2010 list. I still need to complete the Landscape Shawl (not started yet), the Dishcloth Baby Blanket (about 1/3 complete), another 2 or 3 hats for MT25 to make the listed goal (I have the yarn for another 7 I think), and a dishcloth that I have not begun. That's not bad for the beginning of June. I have over 6 months to complete those last few things. I have a list of another 6 things that is the beginning of the next crafty to do list.
As far as my personal health goals go, I am still exercising on a fairly regular schedule and still trying to watch what I eat. It's hard for me sometimes, but I know it will be worth it in the end. I want a treadmill, but won't buy one right now. the one that I want is more than I want to pay right now so will stick with the Leslie Sansone walking videos. I love those things. I can pretty much do them anywhere that I have a dvd player and I don't need extra equipment. I work up a good sweat and when I do a new one, I can feel the muscles talking to me the next day.
Off to have some lunch and maybe get a picture of the Scraps No More afghan while the sun is shining.

I'm in Dallas for another couple of days and then it's home to get ready for the Strawberry Festival in Ponchatoula, LA. We will be gathering at my dad's house for fun, strawberries, the parade, a shrimp boil, and much family togetherness. By the end of the weekend I may have decided that it's too much family togetherness, but you know how that goes. I hope my mom has watered the garden.
After that, we are going to do some work on our bathrooms. I need some help with part of it and DH will help with the stuff that I'm not sure how to do and we will have a nice newly covered floor and freshly painted walls in our bathroom. The plan is to change out the flooring in the other bathroom too. When we bought our "mobile home" or "manufactured home" or whatever the current name is there was carpet in both bathrooms. I personally don't know why you put carpet in a bathroom. I totally understand a small area rug, but not carpet. A small rug can be taken out to dry and air, but carpet is just there. It doesn't make sense to me.
On the knitting front, I have about 3/4 of a sleeve left to knit on the Einstein Coat. It's going well and I love the color. I'll have enough yarn left to knit myself a cloche to go with it and possibly a little extra. The Everlasting Blanket has not seen much action since I've been here, but will as soon as I finish with the Einstein. I've bought yarn while in Dallas. I made the trip to the Woolie Ewe and to the Shabby Sheep so of course I have new yarn. Some is for knitting and some of it will be for weaving with. I'll write up what I bought in a future post.
I still plan to work through some of my stash this year. Some I'll be working into afghans for the next winter. I can totally use the acrylic yarns I have to make some very nice afghans that can be tossed into the washer and not need special care. I hope to have a few for MT25 by the time fall rolls around. I'm still working on hats for them too. Now that it has warmed up I plan to just slip a hat in between other projects over the spring and summer and into fall. I don't know how people are as productive as they are. I feel like I'm the tortoise except that it's not a race and I don't notice the progress sometimes.
I've enjoyed my time away, but I know that I am a person who likes to have her routine. I can and do go with the flow if I need to, but I really like my own space with my own things and to know what I'm doing when. Other than DH, who will come back to work after we finish the bathroom work, I will miss the treadmill in the fitness room here. I've been spending about an hour a day on it and we are now friends. That's a good thing since we have eaten out so much while I've been here. DH has been laughing at me because I'm wearing my pedometer practically all the time and I've been running up and down the stairs here at the hotel.
I actually raced DH up the other day. I put him on the elevator, waved, dashed around the corner and up the stairs and was waiting when the elevator got to our floor. DH can go down the stairs, but up isn't in the cards yet after his surgery. Three flights of stairs isn't bad. It's good cardio and it's fun to do something silly like race an elevator once in a while.
I want to get back to my knitting machines too. I still haven't really learned to use my Artisan 45B. I find it intimidating. Between the fact that it's a standard gauge and has a ribber, it is a little more complicated than my other machines. I don't have a really good basic book for using it and I wish I did. I'll just have to do it and learn it on my own. Time to go home and relearn what button does what on the carriage. I like to learn so I know I can do this. It will just take practice.
Off to work on the Einstein and listen to The Knitmore Girls podcast. Why yes, I am a multi-tasker, why do you ask?

New Month and Mission Possible Update

So my list for Mission Possible 2010 was:

1. Momof4’s Everlasting Blanket over 500 squares so about 2/3 done.
2. Bella’s socks. not listed on my project page yet, but have started second sock
3. Momof4’s Scraps no More barely started.
4. Momof4’s MT25 hats I want to get at least 12 done this year. I’m on #6 so that one’s good to go.
5. Einstein coat from the yarn I got for Christmas
6. Landscape Shawl also from yarn for Christmas
7. Aiden’s socks
8. Heather’s socks
9. Dishcloth Baby Blanket
10. 2 Woven scarves
11. Dishcloth
12. Momof4’s Black and White on the loom now.completed 1/20/2010

Since I posted the list I have hat number 10 of my 12 that I wanted to accomplish on the machine now so that means that I will get more than 12 done this year. Yea! The Einstein Coat is moving right along. I have almost all of the bottom done. There are probably about 30 to 40 rows left to do on that part and then I'll move on to the bodice. (Side note: Granddaughter asked if I'd make her one too. At least her's will be smaller than mine.) I'm decreasing for the toe of Aiden's first sock so I'm almost halfway done with that. I've picked out the yarn for Heather's socks and just want to clear one of the projects off the needles before I go full tilt at that one. I'll be working on the Everlasting Blanket for Ravelympics. There is some WIP Dancing in my future. That will be what? a ten or twelve day push on the Blanket? That should help it along nicely. I'm still deciding what yarn to use for the edging on it, but I have some here and will choose from what I have. I also completed one of the two woven scarves that I had on my list and Bella's socks are completed. How am I doing so far? Let's see of the 12 items on my list two items are complete, five are at about halfway, four are not started at all, and one is barely started and might as well be on the not started list. Still, it's only the second of February so I'm still in the game even though half of my projects are large projects.
I've been watching my grandchildren so that has cut down on my knitting this week. On the other hand, I have been exercising and I rewired a lamp today. I've also used my Dremel tool and a wire brush to clear off some rust so I can paint the cover for our stove in the camper.
On the exercise front, I bought Jillian Michaels 30 day shred and it's been kicking my butt. I have no upper body strength so push ups are killers for me. I'm doing better aerobically though and I'm still breathing at the end of my workouts. I'm down 5 lbs since the beginning of the year and working on the rest of it. I may have to increase my workout time to get the results I want. That will be easier when it warms up some. I'm not fond of being cold. Did someone say "Southern Girl"? Yep, that's me.
Off to get some work done. Maybe another workout since I only did my walking workout today.

Back to the knitting machine

I have been busy dealing with my husband's recovery from surgery for the last couple of months so the only thing I've been knitting on my machines has been the hats that I do for my church's mission group. Last night I finally went back to a project that I started way back on June 26. It's a twinset in a deep purple cotton. I got the shell off the machine last night (still needs seaming) and started the cardigan. No pictures yet. Finally. I'm looking forward to wearing it in the spring and spring cannot come soon enough for me. I am a "southern girl" and don't really like the cold and really sweats are not that attractive on anyone.
I don't know what my next project on the machine will be. I've not taken stock and laid out a plan for the year. I always have something on the hand knitting needles and now I have the small weaving loom to play with too and am trying to figure out how I want to rearrange my knitting room (or office as my husband calls it). Right now both my laptop and my loom are on tv trays so that I can slide them out of the way when needed, but I don't like this idea for the long term. My desktop is acting like it's getting ready to go to computer heaven (or hell. It has less than a gig of ram and the other dead computers are going to make fun of it when it dies.) It has a nice corner desk in the living room that we got back when we had teens at home that we wanted to oversee while they were on the computer and that desk will fit in my knitting room. I think the desk will move into the room and the laptop will have a place of it's own and have it's printer on the same desk. Hey, if all the cords are together does that mean I won't have to search for the cord to my camera or my ipod? Not sure I'd know what to do.
I heard last night that my niece doesn't have a scarf that she's willing to wear so my next weaving project will be a black and white plaid scarf for her.
I do have to finish the dishcloths and dishtowels that are currently on the loom first though. They are pretty much a practice piece with peaches and creme cotton so that I have something useful while I'm practicing on the loom. Really, how "good" do dishcloths have to be to be useful?

I plan to get the 10 and 12 dent reeds for my Cricket for my birthday in March. I hope I can hold out that long. This might be as addictive as knitting is. Yikes. I've already caught myself looking at wider looms. No floor looms as those just take too much space that I don't have since I have 3 knitting machines set up already, but maybe a Flip with a stand in maybe the 20" or 25" size. Oh, how quickly we fall down that rabbit hole.
I am also back to my walking routine. I do the Leslie Sansone Walk at home DVDs and try to do at least 30 to 45 minutes five days a week. I'd gotten out of the habit while my husband was recovering and getting back in the habit is a work in progress. I eventually want to get a treadmill so I can push myself harder. These 20 lbs have got to go. It really should be more than 20, but we have to start somewhere don't we? I don't have the stamina I used to have and there are health concerns in my family that I don't want to have myself and losing some weight will help with that. One step at a time.
I'm going to try to get more regular with my posting here and remember to get pictures, but in the meantime my Ravelry page is Momof4. Talk to you soon.

Short update

I should start by saying that yes, I have been knitting. I'm just over halfway done with Megan's socks which she hasn't seen yet.

I've also added squares to my Everlasting Blanket and I've cast on for the shrug out of my Flash. Then today I worked on a group project that will be a surprise for the recipient. I doubt she reads my blog, but why take chances so I won't say what the project is or who it's for. I will say that although I swatched it seems that I will have to redo my portion of the project because it's not the size that I expected or that I was planning on. Swatch, measure, let rest, measure, say a prayer, make item, measure, scratch head, remeasure swatch, scratch head. That was my day. Actually, I swatched several days ago and it should have been the correct size, but apparently it wasn't to be, unless after resting (more) and washing (acrylic, so no real blocking) there is a miracle. Ah well, it's a good thing I like the process as much as the finished items.

In other areas of my life, I have gotten back on the exercise wagon and I'm again watching what I eat. I even downloaded an application for my new Ipod Touch to help me track calories. As much as I like Sparkpeople.com and I do it's easier to input my stuff into the Ipod than it is to go online and do it. It seems to go faster and I don't have to worry about remembering if I'm not at home and don't have internet access. So far so good. I've gone over on my calories a couple of times, but neither was a big fall and I just try again the next day. I'm aiming for at least 30 minutes of walking at least 5 days a week with some weight training and pilates thrown in. I also downloaded a yoga video workout to try. It can't hurt to have more options. It's cold out and I really don't want to go hiking or to the track to walk or jog in the cold.

Hopefully, I will finish my shrug sometime this weekend and also the socks. I need to seam some hats or I won't be able to keep up. I don't think I'm going to have the 52 that I wanted to have at the rate I'm going. I did give one to my grandson last week when he came to visit without a hat and the wind was out of the north. Brr.

I just seem to have more things to do than time to do them some days. Maybe the next time I just don't seem to be ready for bed I should go in and spend some time on the knitting machine. Maybe I should spend less time on Ravelry. Naw, that can't be the right answer.