Another year older

Well, I had a birthday and am now a year older. Shouldn't I feel older? I really haven't noticed a difference unless you count the fact that my children are grown and I have grandchildren. I don't feel any different than I did several years ago.
On to something you might care about or maybe not, but it's what's been going on lately.
The 2010 Mission Possible list:

1. Momof4’s Black and White on the loom now.completed 1/20/2010
2. Momof4’s Everlasting Blanket over 500 squares so about 2/3 done.
3. Bella’s socks. completed 1/21/2010
4. Momof4’s Scraps no More barely started. I have about 24" and am aiming for about 60
   
5. Momof4’s MT25 hats I want to get at least 12 done this year. #10 complete. I have one hat that needs seaming and one on the machine.
   
6. Einstein coat from the yarn I got for Christmas Bottom complete and bodice started.
   
7. Landscape Shawl also from yarn for Christmas
   
8. Aiden’s socks started 1/21/2010, completed 2/12/2010
9. Heather’s socks One sock done and one at the halfway point.
   
10. Dishcloth Baby Blanket
11. 2 Woven scarves 1 completed 3/13/2010. Pink cotton shawl/scarf on loom for granddaughter.
    
12. Dishcloth

That means that I am making some progress on my list. I will hopefully get something complete while I'm in Dallas next week. I'm over 600 squares on the Everlasting Blanket and will probably take that with me along with Heather's socks and the Einstein Coat. Three projects (especially since two are rather large) should be enough to keep me busy for the week and a half I'll be there. It would be awesome to complete all three, but I will be happy to just make some progress. Hopefully, I will come home with one of them finished. My days will be my own since DH will be at work. That means that I will knit and go to the workout room to try to keep myself on the right track.
I got my car out of the shop last week and was happy to have it back. There was a bit of work that needed doing. Most of that work was maintenance. Some things just need to be done when your car has 104,000 miles on it. If you don't do said maintenance work, you get stuck on the side of the road and if you're smart you saw it coming when that happens. Cars won't go forever without someone taking care of them. (neither will anything else really)
Okay, so I have three knitting machines, a vase full of knitting needles, more than a closet full of yarn (most of which no one would give me a nickel for),one loom with another in my sights now, and I really need to know why I'm looking at Spindles and fiber. I don't spin. I don't need to spin. I don't have room for more fibery stuff. That is a slippery slope that I don't need to be on. Nuff said.
I still don't have the Purple Cardigan seamed up. Why? Just can't bring myself to do it. The measurements are correct according to the schematic. I really need to pin it together and try it on to make sure it will fit before I seam it up. It should. I should just go ahead and make myself do it. I wonder if I haven't because I didn't put it on the "list" for this year so it won't count toward my 12 items finished. That's not a good reason not to finish something. I could just add it to the list and have 13 things finished. okay. This week. Seam sweater. I'll report back and let you know if I actually did it.
No new pictures. I should get out camera and take some. I should finish something to take pictures of.
Gardening news to come. Soon I hope. I want some fresh vegetables.

Is Spring here yet? My roses are starting to get buds so I think that spring is almost here in the deep south. I have tomatoes waiting for our last freeze of the year to go in and there is broccoli and cauliflower in the garden along with lettuce and spinach. It's lovely here today and makes me just want to sit on the back porch and watch the birds at the feeders while I knit.
I tried out my daughter's Kindle the other day. I really like it. I read quickly and it would be so convenient to have access to that many books at one time. I might even get to read and reread some of the classics. Ah well, that's another day.
I finally have my purple shell and cardigan off of the LK150. Seems like it took forever. I still have seaming to do on the cardigan and buttons to find for it, but I really feel like I've made some progress. I'm also plugging away on the Scraps No More Blanket which is based on a Stephanie Pearl-McPhee "Traveler's Life Afghan" from her Casts Off Book. I'm using scraps of acrylic yarns and getting them out of my stash. They aren't beautiful yarns, but they will make a lovely afghan for throwing on the ground for picnics or for the grandkids to wrap up in to watch tv without me having to worry about spills or stains. Warmth is more important in this case and these yarns will do the trick nicely. The Everlasting Blanket is still coming along. I had put it aside for a while and picked it up for WIP Dancing in the Ravelympics. I made some progress, but it's not finished. I got about 60 squares done during that time and I could only work on it at home as it's gotten too big to carry along. My carry along project is a pair of vanilla socks for my oldest daughter. I've now started them three times. They weren't originally going to be vanilla socks, but I cannot do a short row heel on toe up socks that I like so I ripped them back two times and finally caved and I'm working cuff down. I really need to figure out the toe up short row heel or another toe up heel that I like. My Einstein Coat is almost halfway done and granddaughter has asked for one. I told her she would have to wait til I got a couple of things finished and them we would go pick out yarn for one for her. (Something machine washable so her mom won't kill me.)
My Mission Possible 2010 goals are still clicking along even though the purple set wasn't on the list. I have four of the projects on needles and one of the woven projects is on the loom. I have 10 of the charity hats complete and one that only needs seaming leaving one more of those to do before I can mark that off my list too. (I will probably do more hats, but I only put 12 on the list for the year.) I do have a few more projects on an unofficial list in case I finish the first list. I'm hoping to knock at least two things off the list by the end of March. We will see how it goes.
I have decided to get another rigid heddle loom. I really like weaving and I think I can use up some of my stash and then I'll have room for some of the things I've been wanting and won't get because of how much yarn I already have. One of my granddaughter's already wants a shawl. She's not quite four so I think I will weave a small one for her. I can also weave some blankets for Project Linus if I get the bigger loom. I could weave panels on the Cricket and sew them together and still might do that, but it would be easier with bigger panels to start with.
I hope everyone is having a good week. I am. It didn't cost as much as I feared to get my car fixed and out of the shop. I feel blessed. Oh, and the IRS finally listed my return as accepted. I was beginning to worry that they lost it. Some glitch wouldn't let me e-file it so I had to send a paper return. Off to the knitting and to listen to some Craft Lit or WeaveCast.

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.

Feeding the fiber addiction and a rambling we go

DH came home last night with the other two heddles for my loom and a rather glazed look from having been in the weaving store. He's a dear though since we don't have one near me and he took the time to go to one in Dallas where he was working to get what I needed. This after buying me the loom I wanted for Christmas so I could try out this "weaving" thing that I'd been thinking about for several years.
If you could see me in my "office" as he calls it, you would see me turning from one machine to another. 15 to 20 minutes on the loom, turn to the Bond and knit 15 to 20 minutes on a hat or two, then turn to the LK150 and work on the cardigan a little. I'm in the process of relatching ribbing on the cardigan so that is why it's up for short periods of time. I love the machine and hand manipulating the stitches, but I'm working on tension 4 with a very dark purple cotton using 3 strands and it's hard on the eyes after a few minutes and on the back even with my chair lowered to it's lowest setting.
I'm looking around at the stash of acrylic yarn I have and deciding what to do with it. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against acrylic. I've used lots of it and used it at times when it was all I could do to afford even that. When I had $5.00 in my pocket and needed gas, bread and milk and needed to do laundry and didn't have a washer or dryer. Acrylic saved my sanity on more than one occasion. These days I am lucky that I can afford more expensive yarns at least some of the time, but this acrylic was given to me and will make wonderful blankets, hats, scarves, and mittens for the homeless in my area or children in our local schools who don't have enough. It's a tough time in this economy and I can help in some small way to make someone's life a little better. Or at least I hope I can. The fact that I get immense joy from playing with the fiber is a bonus.
I don't know if you've checked the Yarn Harlot's site today, but when I checked a few minutes ago the total for Doctors Without Borders was up to $913 711. That's a lot of knitters saying "Hey, I can help a little." and that little adds up. I donated $20.00 myself. It wasn't much. It was what I had at the time that wasn't already allocated to someone else who wanted my money. Oddly, the mortgage company, phone company, and electric company wanted the money we owed them even though there were people who needed it more. So, I paid the bills, set some aside for groceries (cuz I like to eat, I really like to eat and my hips will vouch for me.) and checked to see how much I had that I could give. I've never not had a roof over my head, although it's been close a couple of times and I've never not had clean water to drink (even after Katrina we had water because we had prepared early for the situation), but there have been times in my life that I lived on mac and cheese and potted meat (won't touch the stuff now because of that time in my life) with the occasional can of tuna thrown in and whatever little bit I could get to grow in the little space I had where I could stick a 5 gallon bucket.
Wow, let's get off that train now. yikes! On to better things. I finished Bella's socks last night and started Aiden's. I have three inches done on the Einstein Coat. I'm ready to cast on another hat for MT25 and I'm giving thought to Heather's socks and looking longingly at the yarn for the Landscape Shawl. If I were an octopus, I'd be much further along than I am. I'm thinking about what to warp next on my Cricket. ( I still want to call it Jiminy even though I know it's rather a cliche) I still have money to spend from my gift certificate at my LYS and have no clue what I want to get with it. I've been stalking Webs for weaving fiber and made myself back away. I know that that would not help sort and use what I already have so I closed the browser and didn't save anything in my wish list.
Off to some knitting and to decide what I want to do for the Ravelympics. I think I'm going to work on some WIP's and see if I can get them closer to completion. If I can just keep myself from casting on something else I'll be good to go.

Mission Possible?

So, I joined the Mission Possible group on Ravelry and had to make a list of 12 things I wanted to complete this year. And the list is:

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

This looks even more ambitious typed up. Yikes!

I don't know if I'm crazy or what. Uh, okay so votes would be taken and people who know me would just laugh and say "Yeah, you're nuts."

Picture of Black and White completed (woven scarf).

The Everlasting Blanket at 593 squares.

I am casting on the Einstein Coat today. It's almost 70 degrees here and I'm happy to see it because I'm a southern girl and really am not happy when I'm cold. Will it make sense to be knitting something heavy and out of wool when it warms up for the season? (this temperature right now is just to remind us why we live in the south.) No, it won't make sense, but we've already established that I'm crazy. I"m still working on The Everlasting Blanket which is at a whopping 593 squares right now. I probably only have another 300 squares and the edging left to do. At approximately 30 minutes per square that is about 9000 minutes or 150 hours or 6.25 24-hour days. Since I don't knit 24 hours a day and don't knit on only one thing during the course of a day I figure it will take me until September at the rate I'm going and that doesn't count the edging.

I have to finish Bella's socks and make Aiden's so they can go in the mail sometime in February so those can't be pushed back. Heather pointed out that I haven't made her a pair yet so they really need to be done by May so she can have them for Mother's Day. Her birthday is next week so they have to be for something else as there's not enough time in my day to finish them by the 25th. I could put the Einstein Coat and the Landscape Shawl on the back burner for a while I guess, but I'd really like to work on something for myself. Luckily, the MT25 hats are done on my machine (Bond USM) so those go quickly and I can whip a dozen out in a week or so including the seaming. The Scraps no More Blanket is not urgent and is barely begun so it can be put aside and the other things on the list are not on the needles yet so they can be pushed back too. I might make it through most of the twelve this year if there are no emergencies that take me away from my knitting and weaving for very long.

On the gardening front, I have started some lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, bell peppers, and cucumbers this week. The lettuce is peeking up and will be ready to go out in the garden in a couple of weeks. Hopefully, the spinach won't be far behind. I'm hoping the tomatoes, bell peppers and cucumbers are ready for the garden sometime between my birthday in March and Easter. I want some broccoli and cauliflower to go in early, but haven't found any yet.

It looks like my desktop computer is about to bite it. Odd noises and curious glitches abound. Since DH and I both have laptops I have decided not to replace it when it goes. I will re-purpose the computer desk and move it into the craft room or as DH calls it my office. I've already been thinking out how to position the knitting machines, desk and storage cubbies that hold my yarn and other supplies. Maybe by the end of the year I will have made enough room to actually put the luggage in a closet. Not holding my breath though.

Off to cast on the Einstein, knit on Bella's socks and decide on the yarn for Aiden's socks.

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.

Resolutions, gifts and hobbies

Wow, it's been a while since I posted.
I have a new hobby that is taking up some time. I got a Schacht Cricket loom for Christmas. I've been looking at looms for a while and thought it would be nice to get for my birthday. DH bought one for me for Christmas instead. Awesome! I'm on my third scarf with it and loving using it. It's small enough that once it's warped I can sit in the bed with DH and watch a movie and still weave.

I haven't given up my knitting by any means. I have a pair of socks and a sweater on needles now as well as plans for several more pair of socks and a couple more sweaters. I'm also still working on the Everlasting Blanket although it's moving much more slowly now. I completed a pair of Serpentine Mitts that I love and there is another pair in my future since someone saw mine and loved them.


My "Resolutions" for 2010 are coming in to the light.

• drop 15 to 20 lbs
• organize craft room
• use 100 skeins of yarn from stash this year (that's about 22 lbs at 3.5 oz per skein)
  
• buy only yarn I love

• have 20 hats done for charity before next winter sets in

I added 10 lbs back after DH came home on temp disability. I really have about 30 to lose, but that sounds like so much that I think taking it in smaller steps is in order. plan to go back to exercising at least 4 days a week for 30 minutes to an hour. I really miss it, but it's been tough with DH at home. He goes back to work soon so I go back to working out.
My craft room isn't organized since DD moved home and then back out and needs some work. Using the yarn from stash will also help with the organizing as there will be less to organize.
I've been cooking and baking up a storm during this Christmas season. I love to cook and bought myself a Pampered Chef Deep Covered Baker. It's great for in the oven and in the microwave too. I have a few other things on my list to get too. They have some really amazing knives that I'm going to get one at a time.
Off to knit or weave while hanging out with my husband. I'll try to do better on the blogging, but even I find it boring to read. I'm sure that somewhere inside me is a funny person just waiting to get out.