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

Sunday, June 17, 2018

Year SEVEN: Self-Imposed Year of Projects - Update #24

Happy Sunday! Today's later than normal post is brought to you by a quick and dirty trip to Las Vegas. Translation: I was too tired to type last night. Sue me.


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
7. Garter Stitch Baby Blanket: started 6 July 2017; finished 3 April 2018
8. Pattern submission: started 19 March 2018; finished 3 April 2018
9. Tiny Narwhal: started 5 April 2018; finished 6 April 2018
10. Tiny Narwhal: started 5 April 2018; finished 6 April 2018
11. Hat for Little Man: started 19 April 2018; finished 27 May 2018
12. River's Edge Fiber Arts Falkland Merino (wheel): started 19 May 2018; finished 2 June 2018
13. Smooth Operator Socks: started 13 October 2016; finished 12 June 2018

If you came for a visit on Wednesday, you would have seen a post about working on my Smooth Operator Socks and at the very end of the post, I mentioned that I did, in fact, finish them on Tuesday night before the WIP Wednesday post went live. Oops. So, they're finished and are currently on sock blockers, even though they're dry. They fit Little Man better than me and will probably become his socks. I'm okay with that. However, that may have changed after blocking. I'll need to try them on again, just to check. If I get around to an FO Friday post, I'll probably talk about this further but these socks just do not fit me well. The pattern is fine and well-explained but afterhtought heels on socks just don't seem to be my jam. I tried it, at least. But, they're done and off my needles.


WIPs (Works-in-Progress) These are carried over from the last Year of Projects....or longer.
1. Wink: started 5 January 2015
2. Stomping Grounds Collection: started 26 February 2017
3. Hat Design: started 20 March 2017
4. Unnamed Hat Design: started 14 August 2017
5. Shetland Neck Wool (support spindle): started 8 September 2017
6. Paradiddle Prototype: started 19 October 2017
7. Returning: started 14 January 2018
8. Frankensocks: started 1 March 2018
9. Faerie Mountain Fibers Crazy Batt (EEW Mini Spinner): started 13 April 2018
10. Granny Square Blanket (1): started 28 April 2018

With the completion of the Smooth Operator Socks, I'm down to a more manageable amount of WIPs. Aside from finishing up the SOS Socks, I really only worked on the Paradiddle Prototype Socks. They came to Las Vegas so they were my plane knitting. I'm just past the halfway point on the leg on the second sock. I've knit enough socks with very close gauges on the same needle sizes that I know about how may rounds I need for my preferred fit. I prefer about 25 rounds of cuff ribbing and another 72 rounds of leg before I start the heel flap. I've done the 25 rounds of ribbing and I've done maybe 40 rounds of leg. So, you know, just past the halfway point, which is lovely.

I honestly think that was all I worked on.



OMGLSGWTFBBQ Lists:

Children's Items
1. Stuffed toy for my Devil Niece (so-called because her initials are TAZ)
2. Undetermined hat for Stormageddon
3. Mittens for Stormageddon
4. Oliver for Stormageddon (worsted weight - Stunning String Studio from Stitches West 2018)
5. Lancelot for Little Man (worsted weight - green Plymouth Encore)
6. 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)
16. Clapotis (calls for Aran weight but I think I'm going to use this)

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)

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)



If you caught it last week, I'm apparently hosting a KAL over in the monthly thread in LSG (on Ravelry). I'd rather not link it directly because it's a 18+ group where pretty much any topic is considered normal, adult themes are commonplace, and swearing is expected. With that said, we've got a monthly thread (we start a new one every month) where we set goals and knit and do things that are awesome. Occasionally we get random ideas to host KALs, like when a bunch of us wanted to knit patterns by Lucy Hague, mostly Morvarch but some of her other ones as well. And because they can be labor-intensive patterns, the KAL is still going on. Mostly, it's a KAL in that a bunch of us want to knit it, regardless how long it takes. Mine was frogged, actually. 

So, the KAL that I'm apparently in charge of (back to that). One of the thread members mentioned that she was thinking of knitting a Clapotis by Kate Gilbert. That pattern is a 2004 Knitty pattern. Seemingly, everyone knit that sometime between 2004-2006. She missed the boat. I wasn't even knitting then so I, too,  missed the boat. Apparently others missed the boat as well. We had several others chime in that they thought they should make one (and one that was ready to make another one)...so, I started a list and apparently I'm hosting a Clapotis-AL. But because it's LSG, we're expanding it to any of the other Clapotis-type shawl/scarf thingies. I think two people are doing the Clapo-Ktus, which is a hybrid of the Clapotis and Baktus shawls (which was also added to my queue because my queue is out of hand and I have no shame). So, you know, it all works. 

Anyway, it's starting on 1 July, which means I should probably dig out my yarn and wind it soon. If you want to join in (regardless if you're in LSG or not), let me know and we'll go from there. Who knows, maybe we'll have fabulous prizes. Or not. I'm kind of lazy that way. Not gonna lie. 



Outside of knitting, we've had a busy week. I mentioned above that we were in Las Vegas, which is true. But prior to that, we had our usual week around here. 


Little Man found a black and orange/yellow spotted beetle of some sort on our walk home from school on Monday. It looks like a Twice-Stabbed Ladybird Beetle but they're not found west of the Sierra Nevada, so it doesn't make sense. It's most likely a Japanese Beetle of some sort. The orange ones pinch and smell bad when they're squished but this one just crawled around on us (very quickly, I should add). We put it back where we found it. 



We also saw one of our favorite neighborhood kitties. Her name is Sally and she used to try to follow us home. We think within the last couple of years someone has tried to snatch her because she's very skittish and won't come up to anyone anymore. But she's around. 

On Thursday, Little Man had his class field trip. I went along, which was lovely. We went to Elkus Ranch, which is run by UC Davis. I have been there one other time, for their Sheep to Shawl event. This was Little Man's fourth trip to Elkus Ranch. 



They planted sugar snap peas to take home. Ours is currently on our counter but we'll have to look into planting it outside, probably by our cucumbers. 





They have a bunch of chickens. The kids were allowed to hold them, if they were sitting on the bench. There was one that was so chill; she just sat between about four kids and just let the kids pet her and feed her food. This was not that one. 

In addition to chickens and the garden, they also have goats (several new babies, also). Most of the new babies we weren't allowed to pet and they were in a separate enclosure. 



These are some of the new babies. They were all very curious and jumping around. 







We also couldn't pet the sheep in their space. But the kids were allowed to feed them. There are plenty of new lambs. 

Before we had lunch, we were allowed into the other goat/donkey enclosure, which is right next to the llama. 



The llama is named Spice and he's never been sheared. He's......temperamental, at best. The man that does the shearing (who's name is Mr. Wool - no, I'm not joking) won't touch him unless he's sedated. For a llama, it's not a bad thing if they don't get sheared. It's kind of like just letting the hair on your head grow forever. One of the reasons sheep need shearing is because of the lanolin in their wool; it makes it really hot and really heavy. Llamas and alpacas don't have that issue. So, the kids weren't allowed near Spice. We went into the enclosure next door, which had donkeys, and some goats (including a grandma named Blossom, her daughter named Cherry, and the baby, which is grandma's granddaughter, named Apple). 



Little Man made friends with Cherry. She just kept coming up to him, nudging him for pets and she wanted to look at his face.



I made friends with Apple. She's such a little sweetheart. She climbed up so she could have more pets from the kids. She also likes having scritches on her back. Actually, they all did. 

Thursday night, Little Man had Cub Scouts and then he left to go to a friend's house from Cub Scouts because our flight for Las Vegas left at 8am, meaning we needed to be at the airport at 6am. Ew. 


He had no trouble falling asleep on Thursday night.



It's difficult to tell, but this is the four of us on the plane. Thom's short and he's behind Sibylle so we can only see the top of his head. 



When we got off the flight at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, we found slot machines. And yes, they're real and they pay out on occasion. There are plenty of people that miss their flights because they're too busy gambling in the airport. 

We headed to our hotel, Caesar's Palace. The place is.....well, huge just doesn't seem like the right word but, it's huge. 


We couldn't get into our room until 4pm so we had some lunch in the hotel (well, second breakfast, really) and then we headed across the street to the Linq, which is where my friend, Kellie, was staying with a friend of hers. We went into the pool there and I may or may not have consumed 44 oz of Strawberry Daiquiri. And stole the glass. And hotel pool towels. That was kind of an accident, though. 

We had dinner at a place called Oscar's Steakhouse



It's near the "old" Vegas that people often think of when they think of Vegas: The Pioneer Club (the one with the huge waving cowboy - named Vegas Vic), the Golden Nugget, which are all on Fremont Street. It's now got the Fremont Street Experience, which is when the Pioneer Club stopped being a casino. 



That photo is mostly for Stormageddon. He loves Paw Patrol and there were these two guys dressed as Chase & Marshall so we took photos with them.

We took a walk down Fremont Street after dinner because we had a little time to kill before heading over to Hard Rock for the Nine Inch Nails concert. That's the real reason we went to Las Vegas for a hot 34 hours: Nine Inch Nails at The Joint (which is the concert venue in the Hard Rock Hotel). 







Kellie and I counted: this was our fifth Nine Inch Nails concert together (and probably my 7th or 8th overall, and I think it was her 11th). The lost their main sound stream at one point, for about 10 minutes. The guys on stage didn't know anything was going on. The fire alarms went off (not that we could hear them - we could see the strobe lights). Husband didn't make it for most of the concert as he wound up having a back spasm. Thom & Sibylle didn't even get to the main act. The opening act was......well, I don't want to say they were "bad" because they caught the eye of Trent Reznor, but I wasn't all that impressed. The first time I saw Nine Inch Nails, their opening act was the Dresden Dolls. I was impressed with them (and adore Amanda Palmer - she was so gracious when I literally started to fall backwards on her at that show - I was in the merch line and her and Brian were setting up their autograph table right next to it, directly behind me and I stepped back and almost wound up in her lap). I've also seen Bauhaus open for them. Again, impressed (duh). I think one of the Wisconsin shows had a band called Boris opening for them. I don't remember being impressed with them, either. It's fine. I'm not necessarily there to see the opening act (if they're good, I'll remember - I had to look up Boris because I couldn't remember, which should tell you something). 

Many favorites were played, some of the newer stuff. Additionally, you can tell that the original fans are aging (as is Trent himself). When I first started listening to Nine Inch Nails, I was in middle school...so, circa 1992 or so. The album that came out that year was Broken, which was dubbed Halo #5, and was their debut extended play album. If it's any indication of how long Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails have been around, they're currently on Halo #32. The Halos include everything released from singles to LPs/EPs to DVDs (or, in the case of Closure, which was Halo #12, VHS tapes originally). I own everything through Halo #17 and spotty stuff beyond that (mostly not the singles). The thing is, when Nine Inch Nails first started, Industrial was somewhat new to the scene, but it did fit into the Grunge Era very well. Trent Reznor was a lanky, drug/alcohol-addicted Severus Snape look-a-like (before we even knew Severus Snape was going to be a thing). Regardless, common in both genres of music, in the live setting, were mosh pits. Even the last show I went to, which was a decade ago, had a mosh pit happening. The show in Vegas didn't have much of a mosh pit, if there was one at all. We're all too old for that, apparently, including Trent. He went through rehab in the early 2000s, after an overdose nearly killed him, and came out totally ripped. The sound was the same but the look was very different. Also, in addition to the original fans aging, we are also enlightening the next generation by bringing our children. I saw a little girl in the merch line who was no more than five years old, arms around her daddy, half asleep (it was 11:30pm by that time). I asked how she liked the show and I definitely got a thumbs up from her. 

After the show, Kellie, her friend, and I walked about a half-mile to a bar to meet a friend of ours from college. 


I had a shot of Ass Juice. It comes in it's own little porcelain toilet. And it looks like....well, you can imagine what it looks like. I got to keep the toilet.



And there is our college friend, who decided I needed this shot of Ass Juice. ::sigh:: It's a good thing we've been friends for so long. Otherwise I may have killed him. Actually, though, the shot wasn't that bad. And, I mean, I got to keep the toilet!



Apparently if I go tomorrow evening, I can get free Ass Juice (or, as Little Man will call it, "Butt Juice")...

Yesterday afternoon, we flew back home. But, you know, we needed to do a few things first. 


We watched the fountain show at the Bellagio and then went inside for gelato at the Café Bellagio.



We also had lunch at Mesa Grill (Bobby Flay's place inside Caesar's Palace), prior to heading across the street to the Bellagio. I don't know how I managed to eat most of that gelato after not being able to finish my lunch at Mesa but I did it. 

We arrived home 20 minutes early and had to sit on the tarmac for a bit, but it was about 5pm when we got to our gate. I drove all over to pick up our children and the rest of yesterday was spent just kind of getting adjusted to being home again. 

And now it's today :) 


I hope you've had a lovely week and weekend :) 

2 comments:

  1. lol. yes, I made a clapotis -guess I was trendy afterall, who knew? Thanks for the pics of LV. Sent me on a trip down memory lane. And now I have to go check out your 18+ group. teehee.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Glad you had some adult fun. I don't know how you cram so much in every day.

    ReplyDelete