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Mama, wife, knitter, blogger, spinner, wannabe something or other. That's enough, right?

Sunday, March 4, 2018

Self-Imposed Year of Projects - Update #9

Happy Sunday :) We all know why we're here so let's get going!


FOs (Finished Objects)
1. Adare: started 30 December 2017; finished 5 January 2018
2. Luck o' the Irish Cowl: started 31 December 2017; finished 14 January 2018
3. Rasta Scarf: started 19 January 2018; finished 10 February 2018
4. Rastarmulke (v2): started 10 February 2018; finished 10 February 2018
5. Gamer Bag: started 28 September 2017; frogged 16 February 2018
6. Oh, She Is a Bad Nut: started 11 August 2016; frogged 16 February 2018

Nothing new to see here. That's not surprising, really.


WIPs (Works-in-Progress) These are carried over from the last Year of Projects....or longer.
1. Wink: started 5 January 2015
2. Smooth Operator Socks: started 13 October 2016
3. Stomping Grounds Collection: started 26 February 2017
4. Hat Design: started 20 March 2017
5. Garter Stitch Baby Blanket: started 6 July 2017
6. Unnamed Hat Design: started 14 August 2017
7. Shetland Neck Wool (support spindle): started 8 September 2017
8. Paradiddle Prototype: started 19 October 2017
9. Returning: started 14 January 2018
10. Frankensocks: started 1 March 2018

I didn't get a lot of time to knit this week, which I'll talk about in a mo, but what I did work on included the Garter Stitch Baby Blanket and I, obviously, started a new project this week.

I'm playing yarn chicken with the baby blanket. I'm going to have to either attempt to procure another skein or finish it off with a different colorway (which I have in a dark green). I'm hoping to procure another skein at this point. There are a couple of people on Ravelry with the same dyelot...

The socks were born out of necessity. I needed a relatively mindless project to take to swimming lessons. Everything else requires charts or directions of some sort or is large or a combination of that. So, the Frankensocks were born. I have some leftover Cascade Heritage in Italian Plum (that I used for my Traveling Vines socks), some leftover Wollmeise in Campari Piccolo (that I used for my Fire Socks), and some leftover Creatively Dyed Sami in Dark (that I used for my Basic Socks). I think I'm going to make the cuffs purple, then stripe the orange and green with purple separating it. So, basically, it's going to be purple cuffs, orange, purple, green, purple, orange, purple, green, purple, and so on. I think I have enough to do that. I don't plan on making the purple stripes between the orange and green all that wide, just to save on the yarn but I have plenty of the green and quite a bit of the orange, as well.

That was it for knitting this week.


OMGLSGWTFBBQ Lists

Children's Items
1. Stuffed toy for my Devil Niece (so-called because her initials are TAZ)
2. Undetermined hat for Little Man
3. Undetermined hat for Stormageddon
4. Mittens for Stormageddon
5. Oliver for Stormageddon (worsted weight - Stunning String Studio from Stitches West 2018)
6. Lancelot for Little Man (worsted weight - green Plymouth Encore)
7. Dandy Sir Cephalopod (worsted weight - Red Creek blue, probably for #1 on this list)

Items for ME (selfish knitting FTW!)
1. Brickless (worsted - Miss Babs Yowza in "Celebration") *
2. Honey Badger (fingering - BMFA STR L - one of the ones from Carrie)
3. Park Slope (fingering - Mountain Fibers Crazyfoot)
4. Maya's Shawl (bulky - Plucky Silk Merino Aran)
5. Companion Mitts (fingering - BMFA STR orange from Carrie) *
6. Forest Cardi (worsted - Baah Shasta in "London Blue" and....something....)
7. Flax (worsted - Cascade 220 in "Royal Blue" or Misti Alpaca Harry Potter color)
8. Jag in Garter Stitch (fingering - KP Palette grey and Artfibers Carezza)
9. Reichenbach (fingering - AVFKW Slick or BMFA STR-M in "Vintage")
10. Sockhead (fingering - Madelinetosh Merino Light)
11. Moab (fingering - Wollmeise in "Lavender")
12. Pumpkin Pie (DK - Kangaroo Dyer orange)
13. Age of Brass & Steam (DK - Berroco Comfort DK)
14. Anne's Sweater (sport - Artfibers something)
15. Moyen Age (fingering - Vice special order either grey or green)

Random Things
1. Pop Blanket (worsted - may need to order some yarn for this)
2. University of Wisconsin Ski Hat kit
3. University of Wisconsin Christmas Stocking kit
4. University of Wisconsin Button Beanie kit
5. Xandu Snowflake Cowl (fingering - two contrasting colors)
6. Granny Square Blanket (which means I need to learn to crochet)

Designs
1. Susan's Hat *started* - need new prototype & write pattern
2. Little Man's Baby Blanket *started* - write pattern
3. Paradiddle Socks  *started* - need prototype & write pattern
4. Pacific Waves Hat *started* - need another prototype & write pattern
5. Fall in San Francisco *started* - need another prototype & write pattern
6. Stormageddon's Baby Blanket - need prototype & write pattern
7. Cabled pullover (grey look-alike sweater - Old Navy hooded sweater with cable) - need sketch,
grading, swatch, prototype, & write pattern
8. Christmas stocking for Little Man - need charts, prototype, & write pattern (maybe)
9. Christmas stocking for Stormageddon - need charts, prototype, & write pattern (maybe)
10. Christmas stocking for Husband - need charts, prototype, & write pattern (maybe)
11. Stomping Grounds collection *started* - need everything: charts, prototypes, swatches, etc.

Spinning
1. AVFKW Merino Silk
2.  Abstract Fiber Merino Tencel
3. Allons-Y Fiber Arts 18.5 Micron Merino
4. Allons-Y Fiber Arts Merino, Trilobal Nylon, Silk
5. Alpaca (from Lambtown 2014)
6. Ambrosia & Bliss Rambouillet Top
7. Anne's Fiber Expressions
8. Ashland Bay Fiber Merino Top
9. BMFA Handpainted Roving
10. Bramble Wool Farm Shetland Wool

Dyeing
1. Malabrigo Nube fiber
2. Gaia (worsted)
3. Euro Sock 6-ply
4. Whatever else I find in the bag...I have a bag...or maybe a couple of bags....

Other Fibery Endeavors
1. Stitch markers
2. Vintage patterns into Rav database
3. Inventory of books & loose patterns (update)
4. Inventory of PDF patterns (update)
5. Update yarn inventory (make sure it's up-to-date)/destash
6. Inventory project bags (Erin Lane, I'm looking at you)



In life events.......well, let's just say that this week has been challenging. 

Last weekend, I spent several hours in the gym at Little Man's school, working on auction stuff. We got all the baskets put together, we organized the closet where everything goes (because it was a disaster), and we even managed to get out a bit ahead of schedule. But, last weekend was not without it's issues. 

Last Saturday (not yesterday), I left to go home for lunch and got about a half block from the school when my "low tire pressure" light came on in the car. My car does that once in awhile but usually the first "cold" day of the season.....so, I rolled down my windows and tried to listen for a flat tire. I didn't hear anything but when I got home, I found that my front passenger side wheel was flat. It was a 1" screw and, luckily, we were able to plug it and it's fine. So, that was fairly mild, though still annoying.

On Sunday morning, before I even headed out for my day at the school, our friend Thom was working in our front yard. We bought a grafted cherry tree (four different kinds of cherries) and he was digging the hole to plant it....and......CLUNK.......


About 12"-18" in from the sidewalk, and at least 6" down, we found this monstrosity. Of course we didn't call before we did any digging because everything had been recently marked. The city and PG&E are planning on redoing the road next to our house and had everything marked. This wasn't marked. Several phone calls ensued over the next few days. It turned out to be a CalWater issue and it wasn't on any of their maps or paperwork. Our neighborhood was starting to be built in the 1940s so we suspect this was one of the first water connections to the neighborhood. Thom pulled the cover off and hopped down into the hole. 


No bodies. No Jimmy Hoffa. Nada. Just some hook-up nozzle type things and some pipes. And of course no one wants to do anything with it. We finally received confirmation on Friday that it was, indeed, a "dead line" and they would be removing it.....and the only reason they're removing it is because Husband threatened to do it himself. 

In the midst of the digging, Thom and Little Man found a little lizard. 


It was cold so it didn't mind Little Man holding him (I assume so it could warm up a bit). I found him scurrying about on our front steps a little while later so he definitely wasn't dead. So, we have a big hole in our front yard with barricades and caution tape surrounding it. ::sigh::



I wish I could say that was the end of the exciting things but I'd be lying.


Nothing gross. I'm not going to show you that. Yet. Maybe next week. On Monday night, I was getting ready to plate up dinner (which Husband had mostly made). I had two plates on the counter and I went to get a plate for Little Man out of cupboard when I heard it. I knew something was falling but I didn't know what or how heavy or anything...but I heard it. And then it clunked me in the head, landed onto one of the plates on the counter, and sent Corelle plate shards left and right, then crashed onto my foot. My head is fine. My foot is fine. My hand, obviously, is not fine. Corelle is damn near indestructible but when it does break, the pieces are razor sharp. It is, after all, glass. One of those shards got my left hand. 

I went into "emergency" mode. I thrust my bleeding hand under water, grabbed paper towels, and wrapped my hand, applying pressure. I told Husband to get the boys ready as we needed to go to the hospital. 

Three stitches. I missed all major things: two tendons on either side, the muscle, and veins/arteries. Buuuut, it went into my hand about 1/2" (keeping in mind that my hand is maybe 1" thick overall). The stitches come out on Thursday. I asked how long it would be before I could knit and the doctor told me probably a week, if not longer. 

Haha. Silly doctor. I was knitting on Wednesday. And Thursday. And it's fine. The site itself is sore but I have full range of motion and no lingering issues. I can't carry things very well with my left hand but that's mostly because I don't really want to rip the stitches out. I imagine that will change once they come out on Thursday. 

Soooooo, there's that. 

Outside of that, it's been a pretty quiet week. We're working on getting things printed for the auction, I'm doing some back end work for the catalog/website, and that's about it. Exciting times. 


I should have a stash post on Saturday. Other than that, we'll see how things go. I hope you've all had a better week than I have!

6 comments:

  1. Oh my word what a week! And to think the doctor thought you'd stop knitting! Glad you are ok though.

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  2. Ouch. I've experienced Corelle ware breakage and it's freaky how it shatters. How's the head? Glad you weren't hurt any worse! Not that a trip to the emergency room isn't bad enough...

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  3. Our school auction was last night. They do require a lot of work!

    Hope your hand heals with no issue.

    How cute is the little lizard. We love to see the wall geckos we get but have never been able to catch one. Them boogers are fast!

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  4. Oh man, girlfriend, all about punctures for you this week. Glad nothing major was hit and "fixable." How neat you'll have a cherry tree!

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    Replies
    1. How do you budget your spending amount? I think this will be the last year of buying randomly. I will have to think of projects from the queue, mini sets, &/or colorways named after favorite characters. I love you, girl. You are awesome.

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    2. I used to go and spend willy-nilly, whatever I felt like having, not always with a project in mind. For certain things, that worked just fine (sock yarn, for example) but now that I'm trying to be a little more conscious of what I bring into the house, I just make a list and go with it. Sometimes, I have specifics (like solid or semi-solid sock yarn or I need x yds in worsted weight, split into x colors, for a sweater for Stormageddon, for example)...other times, things just catch my eye and I do go a little willy-nilly.

      I've discovered that, over the years, I have a horrendous case of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)....it's particularly bad with special, limited edition colorways. I will occasionally pick something up now but I've learned to just kind of let some things go. Now, I will cut a bitch for Harry Potter or Hunger Games yarns...don't get me wrong.....but just because a shop says it's a "show exclusive" or "exclusive to our shop" doesn't mean I neeeeed it.

      I'm trying to be mindful. Trying.

      I still kind of suck at it.

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