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Sunday, May 28, 2017

Year SIX: Self-Imposed Year of Projects - Update #22

Happy Sunday! Happy Memorial Day weekend (if you're in the US)! Let's get going......hopefully I'm not woefully behind today.


Finished Objects (FOs):

1. Pussy Hat: started January 10, 2017; finished January 16, 2017
2. Hermione's Everyday Socks (v2): started November 14, 2016; finished January 28, 2017
3. Frene Creek Farm Corriedale (spinning): started October 12, 2016; finished January 16, 2017
4. Pikachu Hat: started February 3, 2017; finished February 10, 2017
5. Trusty (v2): started December 22, 2016; finished February 24, 2017
6. Pussy Hat: started February 13, 2017; finished February 27, 2017
7. Pussy Hat: started March 2, 2017; finished March 8, 2017
8. Pussy Hat: started March 9, 2017; finished March 21, 2017
9. Pussy Hat: started March 21, 2017; finished March 30, 2017
10. FlockSock Yarn #1: started April 5, 2017; finished April 5, 2017
11. FlockSock Yarn #2: started April 5, 2017; finished April 5, 2017
12. #initiateknitdesign challenge from ArohaKnits: started April 3, 2017; finished April 11, 2017
13. Knit Picks Bare Palette Fingering: started April 9, 2017; finished April 9, 2017
14. Malabrigo Rios: started April 9, 2017; finished April 9, 2017
15. Nashua Creative Focus Superwash: started April 9, 2017; finished April 9, 2017
16. Pussy Hat: started April 13, 2017; finished April 30, 2017
17. Pussy Hat: started April 30, 2017; finished May 13, 2017
18. Messed Up Moss: started January 4, 2017; finished May 17, 2017
19. Pussy Hat: started May 19. 2017; finished May 23, 2017
20. Pussy Hat: started May 24, 2017; finished May 26, 2017
21. Baby Pussy Hat: started May 26, 2017; finished May 26, 2017
22. Pussy Hat: started May 26, 2017; finished May 26, 2017

As expected, a flurry of FOs in the form of Pussy Hats. I started and finished another one in the Knit Picks Mighty Stitch (the 8th one of this grouping, my 9th one overall) and knew I wouldn't have enough to knit another hat so I set it aside and grabbed the two skeins of Mighty Stitch Bulky. I held it double, closed my eyes, and cast on......no gauge swatch or anything. I like living in the wild side. Yeah, about that wild side.......it wound up being a baby-sized hat (it's tight on Stormageddon). Oops. So, my niece, the Little Devil (her initials are TAZ), is going to get that one. Soooo, I started another one in the same yarn, also held double, cast on almost double the stitches I did for the baby one....and realized I was going to probably run out of yarn. I grabbed the little bit of the worsted Mighty Stitch that I've made all the other ones from, as well as the leftover ball of Nashua Creative Focus Superwash from the first Pussy Hat I did way back in January, and held that double. It's a titch thinner but it works. By the end of the day I had a total of nine Pussy Hats to deliver.


Yes, that is all nine of them and it's sideways because I've not been fussed to fix it yet. And they were delivered yesterday afternoon to these lovely gentlemen:


Not everyone was there (which is why we only have eight hats and Stormageddon and I are in the photo...we couldn't convince Little Man to sit with us and wear the ninth hat. Booger.). The last hat ended up being rather big on me (and a little big on the gentleman in the red shirt in front) but it's going to be cozy for whoever winds up with it.

I suppose it's time for a HUGE FO Friday post.....



Works-in-Progress (WIPs):
1. Wink: started January 5, 2015
2. Oh, She IS a Bad Nut: started August 11, 2016
3. Fall in San Francisco (prototype 3): started October 4, 2016
4. Smooth Operator Socks: started October 13, 2016
5. Stormageddon's Vest: started October 17, 2016
6. Morvarch Aardvark: started January 1, 2017
7. Stomping Grounds collection: started February 26, 2017 (no project page)
8. Hat Design: started March 20, 2017
9. BMFA Handpainted Roving: started March 23, 2017
10. Vanilla Socks: started March 30, 2017

Now that the Pussy Hats are all finished, I can get back to some of these WIPs. However, the only one that has been pulled out were my Vanilla Socks. It is an easy grab because I can do it in the car and I can take it places. But this happened yesterday when I went to switch from the cuff to the pattern section:


That is the entire sock on one circular needle.


And that is the other circular needle.

I do my socks on two circulars and usually I just have an even amount of stitches on each needle. For this "pattern" (there's no actual pattern - I'm taking bits from here and there), I need to steal two stitches from one of the needles and move it to the other. To match my first sock, I needed to steal two stitches from the second needle (which will become the heel). So, I did some jiggery pokery, moved the stitches, continued on my merry way, and then discovered that this happened. I don't know how it happened because I made sure I had the right needles......but apparently not. For the second time. Yes, friends, I did this exact same thing on the first sock. I suppose it wouldn't have happened if I had just used a DPN or cable needle or something like that to move my stitches around but why make things easy? Whatever, I got it fixed in the car yesterday on our way to Santa Rosa and then I continued on my merry way. I probably added another 2.5" to the leg of the sock, which means I'm just over halfway down the leg. I think. I might have to compare it to the first one.

I may also have looked at a few WIPs but only because I was searching for the Nashua to finish the last Pussy Hat noted above. It was all about the FOs this week, though, so that's the only other project I touched.



17 UFOs in 2017
1. Wink: started January 5, 2015
2. Oh, She IS a Bad Nut: started August 11, 2016
3. Fall in San Francisco (prototype 3): started October 4, 2016
4. Frene Creek Farm Corriedale (spinning): started October 12, 2016; finished January 16, 2017 **DONE**
5. Smooth Operator Socks: started October 13, 2016
6. Stormageddon's Vest: started October 17, 2016
7. Hermione's Everyday Socks (v2): started November 14, 2016; finished January 28, 2017 **DONE**
8. Trusty (v2): started December 22, 2016 **DONE**
9. Design: Susan's Hat
10. Design: Little Man's Baby Blanket
11. Design: Paradiddle Socks (aka Little Drummer Girl)
12. Design: Pacific Waves Hat
13. Design: Fall in San Francisco Hat
14. Stash Inventory (photos, in Rav database) **DONE**
15. Dystopian Novel
16. Doctor Who blanket (1)
17. Doctor Who blanket (2)


And in my "OMGLSGWTFBBQ" lists...

Secret Sock Club Bags - Pick a bag at random; do pattern with yarn
1. Scotch & Soda Scarf (using Briar Rose Fibers Wistful, leftover from my Icarus Shawl)
2. Jabberwonky (using KP Felici in Abracadabra)
3. If You Know Where To Go (using KP Felici in Green Veggies)
4. Baby Surprise Jacket (using....htNEVELE something something)

These are the only ones that are currently set up. I have plans to make a few more but we'll see how things go. With all the WIPs and such I have going, this may not be a good idea at this point. Or maybe I'll pull things from the lists below and put them into bags. I don't know.


Stranded Knitting
1. University of Wisconsin Ski Hat (kit)
2. University of Wisconsin Christmas Stocking (kit)
3. University of Wisconsin Button Beanie (kit)
4. Xanadu Snowflake Cowl
5. Unknown Christmas Stocking for Little Man (see also: Designs)
6. Unknown Christmas Stocking for Stormageddon (see also: Designs)
7. Unknown Christmas Stocking for Husband (see also: Designs)


Children's Items:
1. Stuffed toy for Miss C (SIL's foster child)
2. Stuffed toy for Mr. K (SIL's foster child)
3. Stuffed toy for Miss E (SIL's adopted daughter)
4. Stuffed toy for TAZ (brother's daughter)
5. Undetermined hat for Little Man
6. Undetermined hat for Stormageddon
7. Mittens for Little Man
8. Mittens for Stormageddon


Items for ME (selfish knitting FTW!):
1. Park Slope (fingering, specifically Mountain Colors Crazy Foot)
2. Worsted weight house socks (worsted, of course - maybe something like Lumberjack)
3. Classic Silk Mayfaire Camisole (Miss Babs Northumbria with modifications)
4. Evangeline (worsted; solid or semi-solid)
5. Lichen (Aran or Sport/DK; solid or semi-solid)
6. Moyen Age (fingering; one of my Vice Yarns? Zen Yarn Garden Serenity 20?)
7. Ginny's Cardigan (DK; solid or semi-solid)
8. Drip Drip Drop (sock; solid or semi-solid)
9. Celtic Myths (worsted; solid)
10. Jag in Garter Stitch (DK; 2 colors)
11. Cobh (fingering; 2 colors)
12. Offhand Lace (bulky; solid or semi-solid)
13. Whitman (DK; any color)
14. Flax (worsted; any color - Misti Alpaca Harry Potter-esque one?)
15. Hoar Frost (Wollmeise that's wound in the bag)


Christmas/Charity Bin:
1. 198 Yds of Heaven (worsted; solid)
2. Comfort Food (Aran; solid)
3. Tombreck (worsted; solid or semi-solid)
4. Premie Spiral Hat (DK; any color)
5. Pumpkins & a Pattern (any weight, any color - gauge doesn't matter)


Designs:
1. Susan's Hat *started* - need new prototype & write pattern
2. Little Man's Baby Blanket *started* - write pattern
3. Paradiddle Socks - 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) - 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 (everything: charts, prototypes, swatches, etc.) *started*


Spinning:
1. Miss Babs BFL
2. Sandy's Palette Merino/Silk (1)
3. Sandy's Palette Merino/Silk (2)
4. Faerie Mountain Fibers Crazy Batt
5. Wash & start processing Alpaca fleece from Lambtown
6. Wash & start processing Merino fleece from Lambtown


Other:
1. Stitch markers
2. Make sure my vintage patterns are in Ravelry (Workbasket magazines, leaflets, etc.)



In other knitting/fiber related news, Stash Dash started on Friday and I am participating. They have a number of "categories" for finishing and I set my bar pretty low with the 1K ("1K" meaning how meters of yarn in all FOs finished during Stash Dash, which includes spinning, weaving, knitting, crocheting, etc.). Well, WIPs count if you finish them during Stash Dash, as do any other projects you finish. So, after Friday's flurry of finishes, I was already over 400 meters of finished yarny goodness. I think that's French for "I need to rethink this "low bar" strategy I have going on in my head." Soooo, maybe I'll go for the 3K instead. I mean, once I finish the vest, that's another 400+ meters alone, putting me close to 1K. But, it means I have to finish things......and we know how that goes.

Oh well.



Moving along......

This week was.....well, we were busy doing things, like usual. I feel like we're always busy but it's so normal to me that it doesn't feel busy when it's happening. And then people tell me they can't imagine being as busy as we are.......but it's normal for us!

Anyway, last Sunday we took a trip to Home Depot so we could repot some of our garden plants. I used whatever pots we had and one of them was for our apple tree so it's the kind that turn into compost over time. Not exactly the best choice for plants that need frequentish watering. Of course, we couldn't get exact matches of what we had so we got the same size and shape but in a different color. It works for us. I should take a photo of our garden plants. We have four kinds of tomato plants, a jalapeƱo pot (two plants), and a sweet pepper pot (also two plants). We also have another one that I think is a sweet pepper plant as well but we don't remember for sure. We'll figure it out when things start growing. We also picked up some herbs for my smaller pots. I think we got dill, basil, and oregano. We do need to get around to our other plants, though. We need to start our seedlings again. I also did some weeding, which led to pulled muscles in my legs (hamstrings.....why?!) and my arm flared up again. ::sigh:: Getting old sucks.

Little Man's school had Open House and the Art Show on Wednesday. I took photos of his works of art. This was one of my favorites:


He gets to bring it home in a couple of weeks, I imagine. We also to got to see his classroom, he showed us things he's worked on, we scoped out the class pets (they have two turtles, four baby chicks that just hatched about two weeks ago, fish, and a hamster), he read us books, and it was fun. Husband and I switched off about halfway through so he could see, as well. We also made cookies on Wednesday but I didn't photograph that.

By the time Friday rolled around, I was exhausted. I spent most of Friday knitting on the Pussy Hats, actually. I also did some work for the auction at Little Man's school. Yes, the auction happened in March. Yes, we are finished for the year. Soooo, what am I doing? Getting my shit together for next year. I'm still chairing on my own so we're trying to get a head start on a few things. In addition to that, we had a conversation with our financial advisor. She and I have been friends since middle school and I trust her with my money. In addition to that, Thursday was kind of a rough day. It would have been my mom's 70th birthday. She didn't even make it to 54 years old....

Yesterday, we spent the morning doing random things around the house before we went up to Santa Rosa. Husband transferred his Mexican Lager to the keg and we washed the conical. He's calling it "My Sharona" because it's akin to a Corona. I wound up mopping the kitchen and part of the living room floor because we spilled a little of the beer and there were some other sticky parts to the floor. I took the boys to Safeway and we picked up doughnuts and Starbucks. Exciting things.

The drive up to Santa Rosa is.....well, it's kind of obnoxious, actually. It's not particularly far, maybe 45-50 miles. Buuuut, it can take over two hours, because traffic is awful. It took us a little over an hour to get from our house to the Golden Gate Bridge, which is all of 20 miles. at most. So, if you're not familiar with how San Francisco works (and you probably aren't, unless you've spent a significant amount of time here), there are highways and freeways and interstates and such all around. The Golden Gate Bridge is Highway 101, which actually runs from Olympia, Washington all the way down to....I think the Mexican border. We live just two blocks off Highway 101. A lot of 101 is like a normal freeway. From at least San Jose all the way northward, it's a multi-lane highway. If you're coming south on 101 and go over the Golden Gate Bridge, all is fine and well until you get over the bridge and find yourself dumped into the middle of San Francisco. It's really bizarre. You have to navigate through San Francisco, still driving on what is considered 101, even though it's normal San Francisco busy streets (Van Ness Blvd. is a good chunk of 101 through San Francisco, as well as part of Lombard St., which is also famous for a block-long section, one-way, with eight hairpin turns...that part of Lombard is not part of 101, thankfully). So, driving through San Francisco was less than enjoyable yesterday. And then there's the Petaluma slowdown. There has been construction on 101 around and through Petaluma for as long as we've lived here, and probably longer. It's also notoriously busy, which doesn't help because of the construction (which is, of course, supposed to alleviate some of the traffic issues). There's a 5-7 mile stretch from just south of Petaluma to the northern end and it can take anywhere from a half hour to infinity for how long it's going to take to get through it. So, what should take maybe a little over an hour can sometimes take over two hours. Yesterday, it took us almost three hours, and that was with Siri diverting us to back roads for a bit which helped. The drive home was shorter with less traffic until we got to Berkeley (we went home a different route so we wouldn't have to drive through San Francisco).

However, we had a successful trip:




They were not asleep at the same time. Little Man fell asleep first. After he woke up, Stormageddon fell asleep.

The only part of yesterday's trip that sucked (besides the drive up there)? Husband left the lights on in my car and we had a deadish battery (it was enough that the interior lights worked but we couldn't get the car to start). We got it started, it's fine, it was just the lights. But it made fo an interesting afternoon.

Other things that happened this week include Little Man losing his second tooth, finding out that Little Man's earplugs weren't inserted correctly for swimming lessons (which was totally my fault and now that we know, we can get them in correctly), and receiving some swag from one of the podcasts I listen to.



That's my button swag from the lovely ladies of Fuck This Knit.




Have I mentioned that Stormagedodn is a monkey? He climbs up there all by himself. ::sigh::


Little Man showed me his Minecraft Ghostbusters Firehouse. Yeah, I don't get it either but he loves Minecraft.




Not that you can tell, but this was right after I pulled his second tooth out. He's lost the two bottom middle ones.


Little Man wanted to make goofy faces before swimming lessons this week.



Anyway, it's been a long weekend and I need more sleep. I hope you're all having a lovely weekend!

3 comments:

  1. An enjoyable read as always! I love the buttons, and I will check out that podcast. Your pussy hat picture is a keeper. Just delightful.

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  2. love that pussy hat group shot, how fantastic!! And Little Man's art project is awesome, I almost thought ti was inspired by a needle gauge!

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  3. Sounds like a great trip, I hope you get that sleep though! All of those hats are brilliant.

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