Y2: Self-Imposed Year of Projects - Update #40

Happy Sunday from the San Francisco Bay Area!

Summer decided she wasn't quite finished yet and made a teensy reappearance this weekend...which is good because I needed to get the pool cleaned out and winterized for the year...and yes, I have to do it because Husband can't get in the pool. So, it was good that summer made a bit of a resurgence, if only for a couple days.

Anyway, it's Sunday and that means it's time for another Self-Imposed Year of Projects Update :) Today marks update #40 and that means I have a scant three months left on this year. Let's see where I'm at, shall we?

Finished Objects (FOs)

1. San Francisco Fog Fingerless Mitts: started January 2, 2013; finished January 10, 2013
2. Don't Blink: started January 16, 2013; finished January 16, 2013  (links to one I made last year using the same yarn)
3. Dalek Dishcloth: started January 16, 2013; finished January 21, 2013 (links to one I made last year using the same yarn)
4. Woven Rib Dishcloth: started February 8, 2013; finished February 11, 2013
5. Icarus Shawl: started March 15, 2010; finished February 14, 2013
6. Little Granite Dishcloth: started February 16, 2013; finished March 2, 2013
7. Grandma's Favorite Dishcloth: started March 4, 2013; finished March 27, 2013
8. Garter Stripe Baby Socks: started March 3, 2013; finished April 4, 2013
9. Petal Dishcloth: started May 21, 2013; finished May 22, 2013
10. Petal Dishcloth: started May 22, 2013; finished May 23, 2013
11. Mama's Vanilla Socks (round 2): started June 29, 2012; finished May 24, 2013 
12. Petal Dishcloth: started May 26, 2013; finished May 29, 2013
13. Mini Petal Dishcloth: started June 6, 2013; finished June 10, 2013
14. Eat Your Monkey Socks: started November 29, 2012; finished June 15, 2013
15. Sand Stitch Dishcloth: started June 18, 2013; finished June 20, 2013
16. Roman Stitch (Variation) Dishcloth: started June 21, 2013; finished June 23, 2013
17. Grandma's Favorite Dishcloth: started June 28, 2013; finished July 25, 2013
18. Choose Your Own Adventure Dishcloth: started July 26, 2013; finished August 4, 2013 
19. Greyson: started July 5, 2013; finished August 27, 2013
20. Pumpkin Cloth: started September 1, 2013; finished September 1, 2013
21. Grandma's Favorite Dishcloth: started September 19, 2013; finished September 22, 2013
22. Grave Cloth: started September 22, 2013; finished September 22, 2013
23. Franken Cloth: started September 22, 2013; finished September 23, 2013
24. Witch Cloth: started September 23, 2013; finished September 27, 2013
25. Soooper Seeekrit Swap Project: started September 4, 2013; finished October 3, 2013

You'll notice that I finished up my Soooper Seeekrit Swap Project...and I'm not scrambling at the very end to do it, either! The Doctor Who Swap Package doesn't have to be sent off for a couple more weeks so I'm in very good shape. I might even have time to add to that swap package at the rate I'm going! But, because it's a secret swap, I can't show you photos of what I made until it's been received...which basically isn't for another month. So, you'll just have to wait until then, I suppose. 

This means my WIP list looks like this:

Works-in-Progress (WIPs)

1. Freeport Vest: started March 7, 2013
2. Baby Surprise Jacket: started May 27, 2013
3. Traveling Vines Socks (Adult): started May 31, 2013
4. Dragon's Egg Socks: started September 2, 2013

Dragon's Egg Sock

Here's a recent in-progress photo of the first of my two Dragon's Egg Socks. I'm in the middle of the ribbing between the charts...so, the first chart is done and I'm doing ribbing for a few more rows, then I start the second chart. It's slow-going for me because I'm using DPNs instead of two circulars but it makes me pay attention a bit more. 

Traveling Vines Socks - Heel Pic!

Here's probably the only photo you're going to have of my Traveling Vines Socks until after it's been written up, tested, re-tested, graded, tech-edited, submitted for publishing somewhere...and probably denied. Then I'll just self-publish. This is of the Double Gusset Heel Decrease I used. It's pretty fabulous. But, like I said, this is probably the only photo you're going to get of it for a long while. 

So, needless to say, but I've worked on both these socks this week. I've also pulled out my Freeport Vest and I'm done with the waist shaping. I've just started the point where you add your contrast color and start working in garter stitch...which means I'm just a few rows away from where I do my Elizabeth Zimmerman Fake Seam (if I decide to do it - I'm still on the fence about it). And then I divide for the arms and then I do that and then....bah, who am I kidding?! I won't finish this for awhile. You know, for a project that's done with bulky yarn, it sure takes me forever to do anything. Perhaps if I were smaller...

I haven't worked on my Baby Surprise Jacket but I need to wind yarn...which means I need to find my kitchen counter to set up my swift and ball winder. ::sigh:: Perhaps this week. 

My remaining lists look like this (and yes, I realize that with twelve weeks left, I won't finish - ask me if I care):

Children's Items 

1. "Little 16" Newborn Socks
2. Alvin Sweater
3. Milo

Items for Me (Selfish Knitting FTW!)
1. Rose's Wrist Warmers
2. Zombie ViXen Fingerless Mitts

Household Items 
1. Halloween Creepy Cloths (2)
2. Assorted Harry Potter Cloths
3. Assorted Doctor Who Cloths

Designs (which may or may not be sooper seekrit)
1. Little Man's Baby Blanket
2. Susan's Hat (4 versions)
3. Assorted dishcloths (set of 12?)
4. Traveling Vines Scarf
5. Traveling Vines Socks (baby and adult-sized as well) - yes, this is a WIP...still working on it...
6. Pinwheel Market Bag
7. Anything else that comes along (I have a notebook or two or seventeen somewhere with potential designs and random ideas)

I'm debating on what project I want to start next. Part of me thinks I should knock something off my "Children's Items" list but another part of me wants to start a project that isn't even on my list...::sigh:: The urge to start getting ready for my Third Self-Imposed Year of Projects is getting a little overwhelming...again. 



I had a fabulous lunch date this past week with Little Man. We went out for hot dogs and fries here in town at a place called Fletch's. It's a tiny little place but the food makes it worth it. 

Little Man at Fletch's

He sat (mostly) properly and ate his food very well. He shared a chocolate shake with me (which, of course, he insisted was ice cream and not a drink). We had a good time :)


Anyway, I hope you're all having a lovely weekend :)

Y2: Self-Imposed Year of Projects - Update #37

Happy Sunday! 

It's finally starting to cool off a bit here in the San Francisco Bay Area...but "cooling off" really doesn't mean fall-like weather (yet). It just means that temperatures are somewhat closer to "normal" around here (mid-70s)...

Anyway, because it's been cooling off, it means that things have been happening...sort of. 

Finished Objects (FOs)

1. San Francisco Fog Fingerless Mitts: started January 2, 2013; finished January 10, 2013

2. Don't Blink: started January 16, 2013; finished January 16, 2013  (links to one I made last year using the same yarn)
3. Dalek Dishcloth: started January 16, 2013; finished January 21, 2013 (links to one I made last year using the same yarn)
4. Woven Rib Dishcloth: started February 8, 2013; finished February 11, 2013
5. Icarus Shawl: started March 15, 2010; finished February 14, 2013
6. Little Granite Dishcloth: started February 16, 2013; finished March 2, 2013
7. Grandma's Favorite Dishcloth: started March 4, 2013; finished March 27, 2013
8. Garter Stripe Baby Socks: started March 3, 2013; finished April 4, 2013
9. Petal Dishcloth: started May 21, 2013; finished May 22, 2013

10. Petal Dishcloth: started May 22, 2013; finished May 23, 2013
11. Mama's Vanilla Socks (round 2): started June 29, 2012; finished May 24, 2013 
12. Petal Dishcloth: started May 26, 2013; finished May 29, 2013
13. Mini Petal Dishcloth: started June 6, 2013; finished June 10, 2013
14. Eat Your Monkey Socks: started November 29, 2012; finished June 15, 2013
15. Sand Stitch Dishcloth: started June 18, 2013; finished June 20, 2013
16. Roman Stitch (Variation) Dishcloth: started June 21, 2013; finished June 23, 2013
17. Grandma's Favorite Dishcloth: started June 28, 2013; finished July 25, 2013
18. Choose Your Own Adventure Dishcloth: started July 26, 2013; finished August 4, 2013 
19. Greyson: started July 5, 2013; finished August 27, 2013 
20. Pumpkin Cloth: started September 1, 2013; finished September 1, 2013

I've not finished anything new. This is perfectly acceptable right now as I've got a zillion projects on the needles!

Works-in-Progress (WIPs)

1. Freeport Vest: started March 7, 2013
2. Baby Surprise Jacket: started May 27, 2013
3. Traveling Vines Socks (Adult): started May 31, 2013 
4. Dragon's Egg Socks: started September 2, 2013 
5. Soooper Seeekrit Swap Project: started September 4, 2013

In the last week, I have worked on four of my five WIPs. The only one I didn't spend any time with was my Baby Surprise Jacket. And, honestly, I may have worked a row or three last Sunday and just don't remember. 

I spent some of the warmer days this week working on my Freeport Vest. That's kind of silly, actually. I mean, who would want to put that heavy, bulky wool on their lap during a heat wave? Apparently, that would be me. In my defense, I was in our bedroom, which is the coldest room in the house, the fans were going, and the sun wasn't shining into the room. Continuing on my Freeport Vest means that I spent some time with my fancy new ball winder. It works like a dream and it has already paid for itself, if only in lack of total frustration. I did have some frustration this week regarding my ball winder but it wasn't my ball winder's fault. I went to ball one of my hanks of Malabrigo for the Freeport Vest and it was so tangled that I had to wind the ball by hand, weaving it in and out and through and around to untangle the hank. Once I had it all into a ball, I wound it up properly with the ball winder. I'm just a few scant rows from adding the second color, dividing for the armholes, and continuing on my merry way. 

My Traveling Vines Socks are coming along nicely. I've finished the heel and am working on the heel gusset decreases. I did discover along the way that I managed to either work three stitches together, drop a stitch, or forget a decrease on one side (and I cannot for the life of me figure out which) because I suddenly had an odd number of stitches between my markers. So, I fixed it and continued on my way. 

My Dragon's Egg Socks are still in the midst of the first chart but I made bobbles! The chart calls for four bobbles (well, one bobble per chart for a total of four on the sock)...and I did it. They're not perfect but they're done. 

And, of course, my Soooper Seeekrit Swap Project. I cannot reveal what I'm working on so let's just say that I'm nearing the halfway point and I'm contemplating another project with the leftover yarn I'll have...something that will match, of course. We'll see.


That means my remaining lists look like this (which is pretty much the same as last week):

Children's Items 

1. "Little 16" Newborn Socks
2. Alvin Sweater
3. Milo

Items for Me (Selfish Knitting FTW!)
1. Rose's Wrist Warmers
2. Zombie ViXen Fingerless Mitts

Household Items
1. Halloween Creepy Cloths (1)
2. Halloween Creepy Cloths (2)
3. Assorted Harry Potter Cloths
4. Assorted Doctor Who Cloths

Designs (which may or may not be sooper seekrit - obviously the sooper seekrit ones aren't listed)
1. Little Man's Baby Blanket
2. Susan's Hat (4 versions)
3. Assorted dishcloths (set of 12?)
4. Traveling Vines Scarf
5. Traveling Vines Socks (baby and adult-sized as well) - yes, this is a WIP...still working on it...
6. Pinwheel Market Bag
7. Anything else that comes along (I have a notebook or two or seventeen somewhere with potential designs and random ideas)


In "life" news, my MIL is coming from Wisconsin for a few days to take care of Little Man. Husband is having surgery this week and we can't exactly take Little Man to the hospital and expect him to behave. So, she's coming in for a few days to help out with him. It means I've been cleaning and putting things away because if I don't, she'll do it for me and I'll never find anything ever again. I'd rather not have that. 

That's about all that will be happening this week. I think. I hope, actually. 

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

Y2: Self-Imposed Year of Projects - Update #36

Happy Sunday :)

It's another hot one here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Seriously, yesterday, our high temperature was supposed to be 90°F (that's approximately 32.2°C for you non-American types). I wouldn't be surprised if it was warmer than that...I think my little Weather Chanel app on my phone said it was 91 at some point...ick.

We spent some time in the pool because of the heat...and in the back room with the little window air conditioner on...and the fans going...it's just hot. Ickickick.

Anyway, it's Sunday and that means it's time for another installment of my Self-Imposed Year of Projects. Today marks my 36th update and things have been happening :)

Finished Objects (FOs)

1. San Francisco Fog Fingerless Mitts: started January 2, 2013; finished January 10, 2013

2. Don't Blink: started January 16, 2013; finished January 16, 2013  (links to one I made last year using the same yarn)
3. Dalek Dishcloth: started January 16, 2013; finished January 21, 2013 (links to one I made last year using the same yarn)
4. Woven Rib Dishcloth: started February 8, 2013; finished February 11, 2013
5. Icarus Shawl: started March 15, 2010; finished February 14, 2013
6. Little Granite Dishcloth: started February 16, 2013; finished March 2, 2013
7. Grandma's Favorite Dishcloth: started March 4, 2013; finished March 27, 2013
8. Garter Stripe Baby Socks: started March 3, 2013; finished April 4, 2013
9. Petal Dishcloth: started May 21, 2013; finished May 22, 2013

10. Petal Dishcloth: started May 22, 2013; finished May 23, 2013
11. Mama's Vanilla Socks (round 2): started June 29, 2012; finished May 24, 2013 
12. Petal Dishcloth: started May 26, 2013; finished May 29, 2013
13. Mini Petal Dishcloth: started June 6, 2013; finished June 10, 2013
14. Eat Your Monkey Socks: started November 29, 2012; finished June 15, 2013
15. Sand Stitch Dishcloth: started June 18, 2013; finished June 20, 2013
16. Roman Stitch (Variation) Dishcloth: started June 21, 2013; finished June 23, 2013
17. Grandma's Favorite Dishcloth: started June 28, 2013; finished July 25, 2013
18. Choose Your Own Adventure Dishcloth: started July 26, 2013; finished August 4, 2013  
19. Greyson: started July 5, 2013; finished August 27, 2013
20. Pumpkin Cloth: started September 1, 2013; finished September 1, 2013 

You might notice that I started and finished another project since last week. To be fair, it was a little dishcloth and it only took me a couple of hours. But, it's from the Halloween Creepy Cloths, which is on my Year of Projects list :) I have plans to make at least three or four more but we'll see how things go.

Works-in-Progress (WIPs)

1. Freeport Vest: started March 7, 2013
2. Baby Surprise Jacket: started May 27, 2013
3. Traveling Vines Socks (Adult): started May 31, 2013
4. Dragon's Egg Socks: started September 2, 2013
5. Soooooper Seeeekrit Swap Project: started September 4, 2013

In the midst of the glow of finishing Little Man's Greyson Sweater and then the Pumpkin Cloth, I wanted to start ALL THE THINGS! It didn't help that I joined in the September Shenanigans thread AND the Unofficial Harry Potter KAL thread AND the Secret Sock Club thread on LSG (this group is not for the faint of heart - lots of swearing, bewbsquishing, and other pearl-clutchy things happen here). At least two of those threads contributed to my additional two WIPs...

But, we're not here to talk about that. We're here to talk about my WIP List. My Freeport Vest is still in pseudo-hibernation. It's not on time out and it's not fully in hibernation. It's just that it's summer and it's been too warm to work on it so it's been sitting in its bag. Also, I need to wind more yarn...which means playing with my fancy new ball winder. I did, however, pull it out yesterday afternoon while Little Man was taking a nap...not that I got all that far. I still need to wind that yarn...

I worked a couple rows on my Baby Surprise Jacket. I'm still in the middle of the increases so nothing new and exciting yet. 

I'm working on the gusset decreases on the first of my Traveling Vines Socks. I had to suss out some math before I could turn the heel but it all worked out fine in the end. Now it's just the decreases and knitting to the toe. Nothing exciting. Just more knitting...

I started the Dragon's Egg Socks from the new Unofficial Harry Potter Knits magazine. I'm not very far along due to some stupidity earlier in the week. Basically, I was working on them and had to keep putting them down and picking them back up and I managed to get turned around to the point that I was knitting back and forth on the same needle. So, they went off to the frog pond for restarting (which I did the next day). I'm currently in the midst of the first chart. It's nothing difficult yet...but there are four bobbles that I'll have to make during this chart section and I'm kind of bobble-stupid. I've done them before but I don't know how well these will turn out. I'm just going to close my eyes and follow the directions...or something like that. 

And then, of course, there's my Sooooper Seeeekrit Swap Project. All I can tell you is that it involves US #6 (4 mm) needles and a couple skeins of Premier Yarns: Everyday Soft Worsted (Solids) in Aubergine. That's pretty much all I can say about it until it's received which won't be until sometime in November...I think. Let's hope I remember to photograph it this time :)

Anyway, my remaining lists still look like this:

 

Children's Items 

1. "Little 16" Newborn Socks
2. Alvin Sweater
3. Milo

Items for Me (Selfish Knitting FTW!)

1. Rose's Wrist Warmers
2. Zombie ViXen Fingerless Mitts

 Household Items
1. Halloween Creepy Cloths (1)
2. Halloween Creepy Cloths (2)
3. Assorted Harry Potter Cloths
4. Assorted Doctor Who Cloths

 Designs (which may or may not be sooper seekrit - obviously the sooper seekrit ones aren't listed)
1. Little Man's Baby Blanket
2. Susan's Hat (4 versions)
3. Assorted dishcloths (set of 12?)
4. Traveling Vines Scarf
5. Traveling Vines Socks (baby and adult-sized as well) - yes, this is a WIP...still working on it...
6. Pinwheel Market Bag
7. Anything else that comes along (I have a notebook or two or seventeen somewhere with potential designs and random ideas)



This last week has been strange. The holiday threw me off, of course, and Husband worked from home two days in a row, further throwing things off. By the time Friday came around, I thought it was Monday again (even if I did take a trip across the Bay to spend some time with Miss Angela and her boys). ::sigh::

The good things that came out of this week: I joined a gym here in town. It has on-site daycare. And Little Man loves it. The on-site daycare can be used for 2 hours/day, 7 days/week (it only costs $35/month). If we use it to it's fullest extent, it only costs 58¢/hour. Even if we use it 20x/month, it's only $1.75/hour. That's cheaper than any daycare or babysitter or nanny I've ever seen. Totally worth it. Also, even without the gym, I dropped some more weight. I'm the lowest weight I've been since I was pregnant with Little Man and I've lost 15 lbs so far. Woo-hoo. Go me.

Otherwise, it was just another regular week. Oh, and the Rim Fire that I mentioned last week, the one that was potentially threatening the power grid and water supply to the San Francisco Bay Area, is something like 75% contained now (up from 7% last week). So, there's no need to panic and worry as much. 

Anyway, I hope you're having a lovely weekend and that your week was fabulous and that this week is wonderful and all that stuff :)