Y5: Self-Imposed Year of Projects - Update #36

WOOOOOHOOOOO! It's Sunday! And it's a holiday weekend (if you're in the US)! I love a good holiday weekend :)

Anyway, we all know why we're here so let's get going! (And if you've managed to wander in by mistake or are new to this gig, you can find more information here)

FOs (Finished Objects)
1. Fire Socks: started April 15, 2015; finished January 6, 2016
2. Nottingham for Stormageddon: started January 12, 2016; finished January 14, 2016
3. Design proposal for Fire Socks: started January 13, 2016; finished January 18, 2016
4. Purple merino/silk spinning (singles): started toward the end of Tour de Fleece (July 4-26, 2015); finished January 29, 2016
5. Nottingham for Little Man: started January 17, 2016; finished February 1, 2016
6. Swirl Hat: started December 16, 2015; finished February 4, 2016
7. Swatch for Marly Bird class at Stitches West: started January 8, 2016; finished February 7, 2016 (no project page)
8. Fire Socks design (the actual pattern writing & photography part): started February 6, 2016; finished February 12, 2016 (link to the preview; pattern went live on Saturday, April 2nd)
9. Mountains Beanie: started February 9, 2016; finished February 17, 2016
10. Rathmore: started February 25, 2016; finished March 4, 2016
11. Dragon's Egg Socks: started September 2, 2013; finished March 9, 2016
12. Creeper for Little Man: started March 4, 2016; finished March 10, 2016
13. Mother Bear Project #1: started February 22, 2016; finished March 12, 2016
14. Asshole Corriedale (spinning project): started March 23, 2016; finished March 24, 2016
15. Pacific Waves: started March 9, 2016; finished March 25, 2016
16. Freeport Vest Frogging: started March 29, 2016; finished March 29, 2016
17. Pacific Waves: started March 31, 2106; finished April 2, 2016
18. Vanilla Latte Socks: started November 19, 2015; finished April 6, 2016
19. Snape's Stockings: started August 20, 2014; finished April 11, 2016
20. Pacific Waves: started April 3, 2016; finished April 15, 2016
21. Creeper Hat: started April 28, 2016; finished May 4, 2016
22: Finn & Suffolk blend (spinning): started April 1, 2016; singles finished May 27, 2016; plied May 31, 2016
23. Gex for Little Man: started April 8, 2016; finished June 5, 2016
24. Bridal Shower Lace Cloth: started June 20, 2016; finished June 27, 2016
25. TdF 1: 25%/25%/50% purple merino/silk & white merino (~ 540 yds; ~ 8 oz; DK/lt. worsted): started during TdF last year and finished the purple singles January 29, 2016; started the white last weekend, plied them on July 4, 2016
26. TdF 2: 25%/25%/50% leftover purple merino/silk & leftover kelly green merino (~ 20 yds; unknown weight; DK/lt. worsted): leftover bits that were plied on July 4, 2016
27. TdF 3: 100% merino, 50% hot pink, 50% grey (~ 50 yds; ~ 1 oz; DK/lt. worsted): started & finished on July 5, 2016
28: TdF 4: 100% merino, 50% rose pink, 50% navy blue (~ 50 yds; ~ 1 oz; DK/lt. worsted): started & finished on July 5, 2016
29. TdF 5: 25%/25%/50% leftover purple merino/silk & leftover hot pink merino (~ 10 yds; unknown weight; DK/lt. worsted): the purple was started during TdF last year and finished January 29, 2016; the hot pink was spun on July 5, 2016; they were plied on July 5, 2016
30. TdF 6: 100% merino, 50% leftover hot pink, 50% leftover navy blue (~ 10 yds; unknown weight; DK/lt. worsted): started & finished on July 5, 2016
31. TdF 7: 100% merino, rainbow gradient (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, and white) (~ 220 yds; ~ 4 oz; worsted): started July 5, 2016; finished July 6, 2016
32: TdF 8: 50/50 merino/tencel, Fat Cat Fibers in Razzmatazz (three different skeins: two skeins are three-ply, one is around 245 yds of worsted and the other is around 120 yds, also worsted; one skein is chain plied, probably also a worsted weight, about 25 yds): started July 8, 2016; finished July 12, 2016
33. TdF 9: 100% white merino (~ 446 yds two-ply, probably sport weight; ~ 15 yds Andean Ply, also around a sport weight): started July 15, 2016; finished July 18, 2016
34. TdF 10: Superwash Merino/Bamboo/Nylon from Happy Hands Hand Dyed (~ 166 yds two-ply, probably Aran weight; ~ 14 yds Andean Plied, also Aran weight): started July 15, 2016; finished July 19, 2016
35. TdF 11: 60% BFL/40% Bombyx (Mulberry Silk) from Corgi Hill (~ 298 yds two-ply, probably DK/lt. worsted; ~ 25 yds Andean Plied, also DK/lt. worsted): started July 18, 2016; finished July 20, 2016
36: TdF 12: Unknown BFL, possibly from Yarn Hollow (~ 144 yds two-ply, probably Aran weight): started July 21, 2016; finished July 23, 2016

37. Rainbow Gradient Cowl: started August 5, 2016; finished August 6, 2016
38. Gex for Niece: started June 28, 2016; finished August 19, 2016
39. Diagonal Owl Dishcloth: started September 1, 2016; finished September 2, 2016

I got buttons on Gex this week (okay, it was Friday night) and I finished up a little dishcloth. It was a fairly easy project and, obviously, quick. And no, I haven't washed or blocked it yet. Well, maybe. It might still be drying :)

WIPs (Works-In-Progress) - carried over year-to-year
1. Wink: started January 5, 2015
2. Caffe Macchiato Socks: started May 7, 2016
3. Corgi Hill Polwarth/Tussah blend (spinning): started July 21, 2016
4. Oh, She IS a Bad Nut: started August 11, 2016


I've got a half-FO...if that's even a thing. I finished up my first Caffe Macchiato sock on Wednesday night. I even wove in the ends. Even better than that is that it fits!

This is not a glamorous photo. It was laying across my keyboard, obviously, which was sitting on my lap, and it made for an awkward photo. Whatever. It's finished. Well, half-finished. The second sock has been started because I'm trying to avoid SSS (Second Sock Syndrome). We'll see if it works. 

This photo also happened. I was trying on the sock to see if it was time to start toe decreases and Stormageddon wanted to try it on, too. 

I love his little toes sticking out of the end. They're much too big for him now but it was adorable.

I've also worked a couple rows here and there on the shawl. It's slow going because I have to read directions (which aren't difficult) but rows are kind of long...and it's not easy to just stop in the middle of a row.  

Wink is, sadly, mostly hanging out in the bag, begging for attention. And I very much want to give it attention...but not while children are running amok or while I'm tired. Children and/or tired Mama mixed with charts just means everyone's going to have a bad time. I did pull it out on Thursday night for a couple rows (four, maybe) but my wrist started bothering me so I put it back down.

And Star Tits is busy trying to worm it's way into things, hence the dishcloth above. 

Star Tits requires an explanation, I suppose. Over in the Ravelry group called LSG (which stands for Lazy, Stupid, and Godless), we have a monthly thread going wherein we set goals and knit things and be awesome and win prizes for finishes and such. Also, we donate prizes. Some are things like a pattern of the winner's choice or a set of stitch markers or a book or a skein of yarn. We also have codeword prizes for unique things or things that not everyone may be interested in. We've had things like lap quilts or handspun  yarn or vintage knitting/crochet books, sometimes there are finished objects or shawl pins or leather bracelets or....we have lots of things. The members of the group do the donating and one person runs the show (and she makes it so she's not eligible herself for prizes - we make up for that when the Fairy HoarMother comes around and she gets a ton of stuff from us!). Anyway, we were discussing our collective sudden incessant need to start new projects because fall was coming and the cold and we needed sweaters and socks and hats and all that. The common term for that is Startitis. Can you guess where this is going? Someone mistyped Startitis as Star Tits. And, being the way we are, the name stuck. 

So, now Startitis is called Star Tits. 

And Star Tits is trying to make me start all the new things and I don't want to. But I want to. But we can'ts, Precious, we can'ts! But we wants to, Precious!

Yeah, this has been my life lately. And new fanceeeee yarns coming into my stash are not helping matters (see yesterday's Stash Enhancement post). 

In my "WTFCRAZYLADYOMGLSGBBQ" lists:

Children's Items
1. George's Vest (for Stormageddon - probably the largest size; YOTH Little Brother from Stitches)
2. House Hat (one each for Stormageddon and Little Man - worsted, two contrasting colors)
3. Arthur the Alien (for Little Man - worsted; any colors)
4. Holiday Countdown Stockings (for the family - Aran/worsted; four colors)
5. Mirkwood (for Little Man - worsted or bulky; any colors)

Items for ME (selfish knitting, FTW!!)
1. Vanillaish Socks (using one of my Harry Potter Yarns)
2. Paradiddle Socks (using a solid or semi-solid sock yarn)
3. Hermione Hearts Ron (sport weight; solid or semi-solid - Plucky Primo in Petunia?)
4. Hermione Hearts Ron Fingerless Mitts (sport weight; solid or semi-solid - Plucky Primo in Petunia?)
5. Classic Silk Mayfaire Camisole (Miss Babs from Stitches Midwest)
6. Stormont (worsted; solid or semi-solid)
7. Sockhead Hat (sock; any colors)
8. Moab Shawl (sock; any colors)
9. Prowl (DK; solid or semi-solid) *need pattern*

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. Gardener's Socks (using Malabrigo Sock in Indiacita)

Stranded Knitting
1. University of Wisconsin Ski Hat
2. University of Wisconsin Christmas Stocking
3. University of Wisconsin Button Beanie
4. Xanadu Snowflake Cowl

Christmas/Charity Bin
1. 198 yds. of Heaven (worsted; any colors)
2. Phillip and Mr. Grum (sock yarn; any colors)
3. Comfort Food (Aran; solid)
4. Fine Fella (worsted; solid or semi-solid)
5. November Leaves (Shelter from stash) *need pattern*
6. Skinner Hat (sock; solid or semi-solid) *need pattern*
7. The Shoemaker's Hat (bulky; solid or semi-solid) *need pattern*
8. Roll Out The Barrels (cotton; any colors)
9. Sweeny Todd Scarf (worsted; any colors)
10. The Snowmen Cometh (worsted; any colors)
11. Sunburst Dishcloth (cotton; any colors)
12. Starfish Cloth (cotton; any colors)
13. Seamless Circular Cloth (cotton; any colors)
14. Tombreck (Aran/worsted; solid or semi-solid)
15. Premie Spiral Hat (for hospital donations - sport or DK; any colors)

Designs
1. Ice Somethingsomething (knit prototype and pattern for submission)
2. Susan's Hat (make proper - photos, pattern, etc.; knit new prototype from Babs K2 from Stitches)
3. Little Man's Baby Blanket (make proper - photos, pattern, etc.)
4. Paradiddle Socks (knit prototype - see "Items for ME")
5. Pacific Waves Hat (knit prototypes in various weights/sizes, pattern for submission? self-publish?) *started*
6. Stormageddon's Baby Blanket (design process, knit prototype, etc.)

Spinning
1. Given that TdF happened and I SPUN ALL THE YARNS, I think I'm going to take a break from spinning for a bit...Viktor needs a tune-up anyway. At least my parts have arrived.

Other (for things that are fibery/crafty in nature but not specific to knitting or spinning)
1. Organize my handmade stitch markers
2. Make more stitch markers (to sell? donate? hoard?)
3. Organize my books/magazines/loose patterns. *started*
4. Toss the stash (fiber & yarn). *started*

We're still adjusting to the new schedule. Little Man is quite the pain in the ass to get moving in the morning, especially if he needs a shower...and once he's in there, he dances around and wastes time. I swear, I need to put a couple timers in there, if only to keep him on task. Stormageddon hasn't quite adjusted either. He's still napping 3-4 afternoons. I'm hoping he gets over that soon. Then again, the time in the middle of the afternoon where it's just Little Man and I...that's been nice. And then there's me....and my body has not adjusted to the changes. With the walking to and from school twice a day, my body is burning calories and it's insisting that I replenish them (and then some). So, even though the amount of exercise I've been doing has increased with school starting, I've actually gained a couple pounds back because my body wants to eat all the food. ::sigh:: It's just a balancing act and everything will right itself soon enough. Or, that's what I keep telling myself. 

A few things have happened this week. Husband and Little Man got back from camping last Sunday, mostly unscathed. Little Man said he wasn't feeling well, and he probably wasn't, as he wound up taking a nap Sunday afternoon....something he only does if he's sick. Thankfully, he turned out to be just fine, though he was probably overly tired. Also, Sunday was the last day Purlescence Yarns was open in Sunnyvale. I went down for a couple hours to knit, buy all the things (again, see yesterday's post), and just not be at home for a hot minute. It was lovely and I'm sad I won't be able to do it again.

Monday was Husband's and my 7th wedding anniversary. We didn't buy each other anything but we did go to House of Prime Rib in San Francisco for dinner, with the boys. In addition to that, Stormageddon had a haircut. I've been holding off because it wasn't hanging in his eyes and he has such pretty hair. Unfortunately, he's also like Little Man in that he's a hair twirler when he drinks his milk (Little Man still does it, actually)...and that was leading to multiple knots in his hair several times a day. He wasn't crazy about me combing them out and a few were ripped out, sadly...so, the time came and his hair was cut. 

He went from this (taken last Sunday):

To this (taken Tuesday - a day after his haircut):

He looks like such a little boy now. I suppose it's fitting since he turned TWO on Friday. My baby boy is no longer a baby. I'd say I was a little sad about it but, really, I'm not that upset...it means the day he's out of diapers is coming and I am so looking forward to not changing diapers again for a very long while. 

Speaking of Stormageddon, he loves doing this:

Those are Little Man's Spiderman shoes. Stormageddon put them on (on the wrong feet) and was wandering about the house in them. He's done it with everyone's shoes. He's also getting pretty good at putting his own shoes on. He still needs some help unzipping the velcro and wiggling his foot in. If I set things up for him (velcro, pulling the tongue up, and making sure it goes to the correct foot), he does pretty well. 

On Wednesday, I had a "Come to Jeebus" talk with myself about a few things, specifically my book collection. I now have two boxes of books that I'm going to look to sell soon enough. I was also able to readjust the books I'm planning to keep. They now fit properly on the shelves...mostly. It's not a perfect system but it's better. I also did some cleaning, which needed to happen. 

Wednesday was also a difficult day in the LSG world (which is probably why I spent time stress cleaning and eating all the food I could get my hands on - especially chocolate). We lost one of our own. If you're active in the LSG group on Ravelry, you may have noticed a stickied thread about Daydee. That was her Rav name, of course. Her real name was Talana. She went into the hospital early in the week with difficulty breathing, which was a big deal because four years ago, she had a lung transplant. She had Cystic Fibrosis, which is genetic, and it causes problems with a buildup of mucous around the lungs, hence the transplant. After four years, her body was rejecting the new lungs. She was a fighter, though, and we were all sure she'd be able to get through this, although we all knew the chances of her getting back on the transplant list were pretty slim, and even slimmer for an actual match for another transplant. If she could just get over this one hump and get better, she might be strong enough to be able to withstand another transplant (if one became available).....but it didn't happen. She was on a ventilator but conscious and aware and directing her own medical decisions. Her CO2 levels outside her lungs were part the problem. They were causing undue pressure on her lungs, and her body was trying to force the new lungs out. Because of the excess of CO2, her brain wasn't getting enough oxygen. She eventually went into a coma, was declared brain dead...but her heart was still beating. No brain activity but her heart was still going. Not quite sure how that worked. We think it was her way of letting the organ transplant team get it together so she could donate her organs. I guess one of the things required for some types of organ donation is that organs are removed while the heart is still beating. Sadly, her heart and kidneys were too damaged to use but her liver was perfect and her corneas were also donated. We overlapped only a year, maybe two, here in California. She and her husband were living here (seriously, same town, just 3 miles apart) and I met up with her a couple times. I didn't know they had moved back to Washington state until a few months ago (life got in the way). And only a week and a half ago, I thought about buying a few more project bags from her Etsy shop. I will hoard the ones I have. She was a fabulous lady (is "lady" even the right word - she's a couple years younger than me) and the world is a much sadder place without her. 

So, Wednesday was unduly difficult for a lot of people in LSG, myself included. 

Thursday was kind of a lazy day, really. Little Man had school, Husband worked from home, various appointments happened...nothing spectacular. Oh, knitting happened during swimming lessons, of course. 

Friday was Stormageddon's birthday. We only got a couple of things for him (because we knew stuff would be coming from Husband's sister, brother, and parents, and quite possibly my best friend). After school, the boys and I went and got cake for his birthday. Husband was working, of course, and then had a manly date night with some coworkers so we did actual birthday celebrations yesterday. He was kind of grumpy for his birthday, however, and wound up going down for a late nap. He's also fighting me because I took his bottles and he's strictly on sippy cups. I'm also getting a little bit of a fight from Little Man because now that Stormageddon is on sippy cups, it means that it's time for him to move to regular cups all the time (or cups with straws). Neither are very happy but they can just get over it. 

I caught this photo of Little Man on Monday after dinner. He was leaning up against the wall by Husband and I told him to smile for me, which he did.

He also decided he wanted to play with his costumes. I don't know exactly what's going on here but he said something about a Hulkbuster Ironman that carries a sword and wears baseball caps. I don't even know. I just kind of nod and smile with him sometimes.

And remember last week when I mentioned that one of the red balls outside of Target was being painted to look like a Pokéball? Yeah, it's done now. Actually, there are two: one by each set of doors.

Stormageddon was fascinated with it and got really mad when I wouldn't take him out of the cart to play on it. He didn't have shoes so I wasn't about to. If we had been at home, fine, go play outside barefoot...but not when we're out in public.

Yesterday, after presents and getting ready and all that, we went to ComiCon. I took a brief look at the schedule on Friday and I was beyond overwhelmed and I wasn't sure what to expect. Turns out, I should have sat down and made out a proper game plan because we got there and the place was nuts, the hotel was huge, floors were not labeled very well, and we had no idea where we were going. the only thing we really wanted to do was do the photo op with Jenna Coleman (Clara Oswald in Doctor Who)....but that didn't happen. The schedule on the website was incorrect and while the photo op was supposed to be happening, she was actually sitting at the autograph table...but that hadn't started yet. And there was no way we were going to survive in the line for 45 minutes with the boys. It was a short trip. We did come home with a poster, which I will get a proper photograph of at some point...but nothing else. We saw a few things that were grand and lovely but dear lord were they expensive.

And I'm a moron that didn't take any photos.

The rest of the day, we just bummed around at home, watching movies, eating cake, and generally being lazy. Not exciting.


I hope you've had a lovely weekend. I hope to put Stormageddon's armoire together either today or tomorrow, because we have a holiday weekend. Woo!