Year the TENTH: Self-Imposed Year of Projects - Woo weekend! (Update #17)

 Happy Sunday! Let's get going :)

FOs (Finished Objects)
1. Greenwood Fiberworks Dark BFL (Viktor): started 28 June 2020; finished 17 January 2021
2. Boo-Yah: started 26 January 2021; finished 27 January 2021
3. Minecraft Socks: started 12 August 2020; finished 6 March 2021
4. Alpaca (Viktor): started 17 January 2021; finished 17 March 2021
5. Dyeing Project: started 9 April, 2021; finished 9 April 2021

Nothing new to see here. Again. It's fine, I promise!

WIPs (Works-in-Progress) *these are carried over year after year, as needed*
1. Wink: started 5 January 2015
2. Shetland Neck Wool (support spindle): started 8 September 2017
3. Returning: started 14 January 2018
4. Faerie Mountain Fibers Crazy Batt (EEW Mini): started 13 April 2018
5. Granny Square Blanket: started 28 April 2018
6. UW Ski Hat: started 11 July 2018
7. Purl & Loop Weaving Project: started 28 August 2018
8. Herbivore: started 15 November 2018
9. Linen Stitch Scarf: started 2 June 2020
10. Vanilla Socks: started 9 August 2020
11. Sand Drift Blanket: started 17 January 2021
12. Rose City Rollers: started 7 March 2021
13. El Panal Cowl: started 5 April 2021

I only worked on two projects this past week. I started the heel flap on my Rose City Rollers, not that I got all that far. I worked on them in the waiting room at the doctor's office (I'm fine - I'll discuss in a bit) and during a meeting about Stormageddon with a few of his teachers (he's fine!). 

I also worked on the El Panal Cowl. I'm at least halfway through the project, which is still a very Pringles kind of knit. I did find a mistake that I needed to fix and I was not ready for it. I managed to do a K2tog when I was switching colors between rounds and didn't find it until I went to switch colors again and things weren't lining up like they should have been. So, I had to drop down, undo the K2tog (which was two colors, by the way), then pick up stitches in garter stitch. It should be a fairly simple fix but for some reason, picking up stitches in garter stitch is so much more difficult for me. It didn't take me a ton of time (maybe 15 minutes total) but it did make my brain hurt. I think I got it right in the end. Regardless, I had the right number of stitches and was able to carry on my way. 

That was it, though. 

 

 

OMGLSGWTFBBQ

Design WIPs:
1. Messed Up Moss: started March 2009 - write pattern as PDF (iterations: first, second)
2. Susan's Hat: started 31 August 2010 - need new prototypes & write the pattern (iterations: first, second, third, mini, fifth, sixth)
3. Little Man's Baby Blanket: started July 2010 - need new prototype & write pattern (iteration: here)
4. Chunky Scarf: started 6 October 2012 - need new prototype & write pattern (iteration: here)
5. Pacific Waves Hat: started 9 March 2016 - need new prototype & write the pattern (iterations: first, second, third)
6. Fall in San Francisco: started 18 September 2016 - need new prototype & write pattern (iterations: first, second)
7. Stomping Grounds Collection: started 26 February 2017 - need prototypes & write patterns
8. Unnamed Hat Design: started 14 August 2017 - need various weight yarn prototypes & write pattern (iterations: first, second)
9. Paradiddle Socks: started 19 October 2017 - write pattern (iteration: here)

 

Design Ideas:
1. Christmas Stocking for Husband
2. Christmas Stocking for Little Man
3. Christmas Stocking for Stormageddon
4. Baby Blanket
5. Stomping Grounds Collection

 

Items for ME (Selfish Knitting FTW!):
1. Rose's Wrist Warmers (DK weight - using Aran instead; hand-dyed Malabrigo Twist?)
2. Perianth (fingering weight - Knitcircus Trampoline in The Whole Enchilada)
3. Stranger Things Hat (worsted - Malabrigo Rios in Archangel)
4. Autopilot (worsted weight - Sincere Sheep Cormo Worsted or htNEVELE Worsted in Reveire)
5. Fine Tune (fingering weight - uses minis so maybe a rainbow type one with the Canon Hand Dyes?)*
6. Flax (worsted weight - Misty Alpaca in the Harry Potter colors)
7. Park Slope (fingering weight - Mountain Fibers Crazyfoot in Shamrock)
8. Undone (bulky - maybe the reclaimed yarn from the Freeport Vest?)
9. Socks (fingering weight - Bob knows I have enough so I should use it - maybe with the CSM)
10. Sockhead (fingering weight - I have tons...pick something!)
11. Age of Brass & Steam (Handspun purple/white barber pole)
12. Radiate Shawl (fingering weight - Artfibers Carezza maybe?)

Children's Items
1. Flax for Stormageddon (Stunning String Legacy Worsted)
2. Honey Badger: (worsted weight - black & white acrylic I have banging around the stash)*
3. Mittens for Stormageddon (worsted weight probably)
4. Maybe a Flax for Little Man...maybe...

 

Utilitarian/Household Items
1. Garter Chevron Blanket (KP Mighty Stitch - may need to get some more black or white)
2. Diagonal Knit Dishcloths (cotton of some sort)
3. Reusable Produce Bag (cotton or acrylic of some sort - worsted)
4. Grandma's Favorite Dishcloth (cotton or maybe bamboo, depending on the use)

Spinning:

1. Wonderland Dyeworks BFL

2. Mixed BFL

3. Allons-Y Fiber Arts Merino, Trilobal Nylon, Silk

4. Fiberlady.com 100% Bamboo 

Dyeing:

1. Sock Blanks (I think I have 5 left)

2. Random worsted/sport skeins (I have maybe 2-3 left)

3. Anything else I find along the way

Other Fibery Endeavors:

1. Create project bag inventory

2. Update library inventory (on Ravelry) *in progress*

3. Update stash inventory (on Ravelry) *needs to be redone*

4. Stitch markers: kits and individual

5. Destash as necessary (it's always necessary)

6. Stash Fit

 

 

 

Around here, things are just more of the same. We're still in a pandemic and even though I'm considered "fully vaccinated," I'm still sticking close to home and not doing much outside of the weekly Costco run and maybe a curbside at Target. The boys have been requesting walks so we've been doing some of those. Husband has been working on his Mandolorian armor. He's currently focusing on his firearms but he's got the chest plate and the rocket pack in various states of finished. He's also working on some practical things for the house, like a vent system from our window air conditioner to the vent above it. It won't air condition the entire house but it will help blow cooler air into our bedrooms when it gets really hot. We'll see how it goes. 

I went to see someone in "head and neck surgery" this week, which is basically an ear-nose-throat doctor that also deals with surgeries. I had that sleep study done because I snore. I do not have sleep apnea but I'm still snoring, which is a problem. So, the doctor did some things involving a noodle-like camera up my nose and down my throat. Neither were pleasant and, to be honest, the nose one hurt a bit. At this point, there are options but we're starting with the "easiest," which is dealing with the allergies that are the likely cause of this. So, nasal spray, allergy medication, decongestants, and the nasal rinse. It gets bad during allergy season (spring & fall) so we'll see how it goes. After that, we can look into some of the surgical options like fixing my slightly deviated septum, which isn't that bad and probably won't help, if truth be told. We also discovered that my tonsils were either not fully removed or regrew after removal. Both are equally possible. That could help but since I get strep maybe once a year, it wouldn't fall under "medically necessary" to remove them. We could also reshape my palette, which I'm definitely not crazy about. That's basically what Husband had done a few years ago (along with tonsils and a few other things in there). He doesn't think surgery would really help since the problem likely stems from allergies. The best part was being able to see all the cool stuff in my head. I've never seen my eardrums so he used the little camera to show me those, and all the scar tissue with my right one (I've had three surgeries on that eardrum). He showed me where my adenoids were removed (the scars), he showed me my tonsils, my "courage ball hangy thing" (uvula - the hanging thing in the back of one's throat)...interesting stuff. 

In short, I'm fine. Stupid allergies. ::sigh::

I also mentioned a meeting about Stormageddon this week. He's been in speech therapy since he was 3 years old and has an IEP through our school district. His primary reason is speech but he also sees the occupational therapist (OT). And now he's also going to start seeing the adaptive physical education therapist (APE). He's pretty nimble but he's definitely got some gross motor issues. Some of it may just be that we're working from home so his PE teacher can't physically correct him and after he's back in-person, he may not need APE anymore. But we had that meeting this week. Just more things to do. ::sigh::

 

He was snugging Puppy earlier this week on our back deck. They don't normally do this so it was a sweet moment to see. 

 

 

I made pretzels this week. I use Alton Brown's recipe (metric) and the only change is that I do the final "dip" in a solution of lye and water instead of baking soda and water, which is the proper way. People get a little funny about it because lye is technically a poison but used in this manner, it's fine. It's also the proper German way. I need to work on my pretzel shape, however. 

 

 

 

 

The yearbook staff at the boys' school was looking for "workspace photos" of our kids doing school virtually so I took these and sent them off this week. The one comment I got from the two parents that work on yearbook was how clean their workspaces were. If only they knew... 

 

Yesterday, I scheduled myself an appointment to get my hair cut. I've not had it cut in over a year and it was almost to my waist. The ends were a hot, dried out mess, no matter how nicely I treated them (deep conditioner, hot oil, whatever). Getting a comb through it after washing it was a nightmare. It was definitely time. She cut off about 5" of hair and it's still down to my armpits! I know, I look less than thrilled in this photo. It's hard to take a selfie and not look like a toad...so I kept my mask on and look like a hot mess anyway. I just can't win!

 

 

 

Little Man and I also had dentist appointments again this week. He and I both had cavities that needed filling. This was his first one and he did not like the numbing stuff at all. He was still all smiles though, which I suppose is a good thing.

 

 

 

I mentioned earlier that Stormageddon has been wanting to go on walks. He and I took a short one yesterday afternoon. We saw a bunch of "wildlife" in our neighborhood. We saw a derpy kitty with it's tongue hanging out. We also saw two of these butterflies. There's a house that we call "the butterfly house" because they have a bush out front where these butterflies lay their eggs, which turn into fuzzy blue caterpillars. Unfortunately, it's up for sale. I hope the new owners don't get rid of the bush! We love seeing these. 

 

 

We also saw this trash panda (at the same house with the derpy kitty). They're cute but destructive. Also, Puppy doesn't like them. In addition to those three, we also saw one of the neighborhood kitties that we know by name, as well as two of the neighborhood ferals that go to "the kitty house" for their food (just down the street from the aforementioned "butterfly house"). We've deemed one of them "Grumpy Ginge" because he's an orange tabby that just looks pissed off all the time. One of the houses we pass has turtles that they keep in an enclosure on the grass when the weather is nice so we saw them, as well. And a big, fat bumblebee.

 

 

Overall, we had a quiet week. It sounds like it's supposed to rain today, and maybe into tomorrow. ::sigh:: Good thing we don't have to go anywhere! 

I hope you've had a lovely week and weekend!