The Purl in the Oyster

Travelling is tiring!

2012-02-08T21:52:00.000-06:00

It's been a very long day for me. I had to get up at 4am to drive into the city to pick up Derek from the airport, and then turn right around and come back home!

At least I didn't come home empty handed... I stopped at Wolseley Wool and got a few things. First on the list was "orange yarn" to shut up my best friend, Liz. She's been telling me for about a month now that I had to get some orange yarn or she would explode! I got a cool hand-painted sock "blank" from Flat Feet, and a nice orangey wool/ alpaca blend from ONline. I also wanted to get some more removable stitch markers for my cardigan, but they were out of stock. I did manage to pick up a new crochet hook to try out to see how my wrist handles it, and a package of straight Chibi's. I also ordered a set of interchangeable crochet hook frojm Knitter's Pride, now that they are available in Canada. I'm looking forward to trying them out.

The only knitting that was accomplished was the leg of Derek's work sock. One of his work buddies caught a ride home with us, so with 3 of us sitting on the one bench seat in the truck, it was the easiest to manage. At least I'll be able to get the sock itself finished in the next few days!

Travelling tomorrow

2012-02-07T22:58:00.000-06:00

Been spending today preparing for being gone most of the day tomorrow. I have to leave around 5:30am to go to Winnipeg to pick up Derek from the airport. I also have to do a bit of shopping before I pick him up at 11, so that's why I have to leave so early. Then comes a second 3+ hour drive in the truck, but this time more squished because his friend that lives nearby is driving back with us. I just hope magic-looping the sleeve on my sweater won't be too awkward with 3 of us on the seat!

Facing my fears...

2012-02-06T22:46:00.000-06:00

I'm afraid... I'm very afraid... of my craft room!

Yes, one of my biggest fears is my craft room. Right now it is little more than a storage room. I have been picking at it bit by bit over the last year, occasionally with help from the sproggins, to get it in order. There have been times that nearly the whole house has been taken over, and other times where it's only a few boxes or bins that escape the doorway. To the untrained eye, it would seem that nothing has really happened in there... stuff goes in... stuff goes out... stuff goes back in... In reality, a lot of trash was removed, and the rest of the flotsam and jetsam is in varying degrees of organization. The biggest difference for me was being able to access whatever I needed during the months of December and January... typically the worst possible times in there because the craft room tends to become a dumping ground for all the homeless items in the living room when we decorate for Christmas!

My "after work" text message conversation with Derek yesterday read, "I set off a bomb in the craft room", "You did", "That's what it looks like", "Oh", "Alex, Lissa, and I ripped it apart today", "House too with that bomb", "Parts of it anyway". Man does he know me and my methods or what? LOL!! But it's true, it does look like I set off a bomb in there, and the fallout is scattered throughout the hallway and into the living room. At least my family understands that in order to make a real difference in cleaning up and organizing such an area requires making a huge mess to accomplish it!

...anybody got a lifeline for me before I venture into there?

Lookee what I found!

2012-02-05T08:31:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was very depressing for me, so I went on a search to find patterns to match some of my stash. I do have some designs to work on, but I also enjoy working on OPPs (other people's patterns). Here's a small sampling of what I came across... I love the advanced search on Ravelry!!! (These ones are all free downloads)

Head in the Clouds Cowl: (knit) A pretty cabled cowl, and who doesn't have enough cowls?? Especially if you live in an area that is supposed to get winter! I don't suit hats... of any type... ever... but a cowl doesn't make me look like a complete dork (well unless that's the effect I'm going for).
Wedding Ring Quilt Afghan: (crochet) I have always loved this design, but knew that it would be way beyond me to ever make one... now I can... in yarn!!! I saw a few examples of FOs where 2 different colours of rings were used, and I can see that being perfect for my Jeweltones stash.
A Recipe for Fish Afghan: (knit) This one has made the rounds of the internet before, but there are people that haven't seen it. It's not as popular as the hexipuff pattern is right now, but its up there! I actually started one for Melissa several years back, and still come across a few fish every once in a while. I had *lost* the pattern, but I found it again now! Maybe I might even finish mine eventually!!
Nine Dwindling Cables Tam: (knit) A beautifully classic tam. It's more like woven cables than twisted ones IMO, but still looks very intricate. I am not a hat person (see above), but this was just too striking not to save it.
Monster Eyes Slippers: (crochet) All you have to do is look at the picture for this pattern and you will understand. Who wouldn't want Mikey from Monsters Inc. on their feet? Yes, it has kid to adult sizing!
Red Bird Hat: (crochet) Angry Birds. Hat. Nuff said!
Fisherman Shrug: (knit) This is the pattern I decided on when I picked up the Homespun a few weeks ago. Strangely enough, a search of the projects on Rav shows that noone has tried this pattern in this yarn, even though nearly every other bulky Lion Brand product has been represented. I have the magazine this pattern was originally printed in, but the vast eratta makes it necessary for anyone that wants to make this to download the freebie version.

Most of these patterns all call for worsted weight yarn, which I personally have in abundance beyond reason! My biggest problem is finding the time to make all these cool things, and then the time to make more when the kids see what I'm making for myself! LOL!

Giving up?

2012-02-04T23:52:00.000-06:00

It seems like none of my larger projects want to work out. First there is the missing dark sage yarn for Derek's MAM which completely stalled my plans to finish up that long-term UFO. Now the tweed cardigan is giving me fits. I am beginning to feel that I'm simply not meant to finish any large projects at all this year. Then to add insult to injury, I found a large Rubbermaid bin that was crammed full of more yarn! Most of it was Red Heart Jeweltones... a yarn that was discontinued over 10 years ago.

I think it's time for bed... hopefully things will be better in the morning.

Project Progress Updates

2012-02-03T19:30:00.001-06:00

I have been quite busy lately, as you can see by the knitmeters on my sidebar. I have also been tracking how much yarn I've bought so far this year, and it's nearly an even amount. My goal for the year is to use more than I buy, and for this, sock yarn does count as stash!

I am now finished all of the commissioned projects I had in my queue. All that's left is washing and delivery! I haven't had time to take any pics yet or upload them, but I'm hoping to get that done tomorrow. For this week I have finished off Raith's socks, started and finished Raith's slippers and Neecie's slippers, started a pair of work socks for Derek and finished the first one.

For the next few days I want to continue finishing off a few things. My tweed cardigan is expected to be finished by Wednesday (according to Derek anyway LOL!), the second sock for Derek should be done, as well as a pair of slippers for him. I also want to get the Gumdrop Placemat set finished up for pattern release.

February Goals

2012-02-02T14:58:00.002-06:00

From my Jan. 1st post with my project goals for the first 6 months of 2012, my February project goals are:

Sweater: Melissa's Cute Knit Cardigan (Mary Maxim pattern/ Bravo yarn); Shawl: Diatom Shawl (Knit Picks kit, purples colourway); Afghan: finishing the Melissa design; Socks: finishing the Texaco design.

Considering I didn't finish a single project from January's list (see yesterday's post), I am skeptical that I will be able to complete this month's goals without completely ignoring everything else I have on the go currently. All that being said, I am not going to ignore this list entirely... just use it to guide me through the month somewhat.

Sweater: As of this writing, I still have at least a few days of knitting left on my A Little Bit Irish cardigan. I also purchased some Lion Brand Homespun in Tudor to make myself a shrug to keep my arms warm in our chilly living room. This project will bump my other planned sweater projects down one notch in my list, as I really need something while the weather is cold that is practical while I'm knitting and crocheting... something a typical sweater doesn't do... well at least not exactly how I want it!

Shawl: I have Diatom listed for this month, but since the Denise shawl design wasn't touched... and this design is a higher priority than any of the shawls I have in my queue... just like the sweaters list, the shawls list has to be bumped a notch.

Afghan: This is actually one of the goals I can honestly see myself finishing this month... or at least making progress on. I won't be able to do much on Derek's popcorn MAM until I can order the additional yarn, so it is the perfect time to pull this project out again.

Socks: Only time will tell if I can get back to the Texaco design. I have a sock and half to go on the Felici socks, and a second sock to go on Derek's work socks. This isn't a pressing design at the moment, and I have a few other sock patterns that are nearly ready for release, so I don't feel guilty if I have to bump these socks yet again.

I have my fingers crossed that I will be able to complete my other goals... releasing a pattern, promoting myself, updating my Rav databases, and getting my craft room functional.

My most important goal of all, and the one that will decide if I can complete anything, goal or not, is my health. Since the beginning of December, I have lost approximately 15 of the 60 pounds I need to lose, and I am making sure I am walking more. I have cut out nearly all of my typical snack foods, and reach for fruit or vegetables much more often. I'm cooking healthier, and beginning to feel better. I have been told that you can see that I've lost some weight, but I can't see it and my clothes don't fit any differently. Hopefully that won't be the case a month from now!

Nicole =o)

January Round-up

2012-02-01T13:36:00.000-06:00

Well, just how well did I do with my goals? Not too well it appears, but I did get quite a bit done regardless! This is what I had on January 1st as my knitting/ crocheting goals for the month of January:

Sweater: Tweed Cardigan (Mary Maxim kit); Shawl: finishing the Denise design; Afghan: finishing Derek's Popcorn MAM; Socks: finishing my Felici socks (Caprica colourway).

The tweed cardigan isn't finished, but I did spend 2 weeks mostly concentrating on the popcorn afghan. As I had posted earlier, I recovered from having to rip back so much of my early work due to missed increases, but that was a loss of at least 2 days worth of knitting. I started work on it again the day before Derek returned, and got it divided a few days later. I went through well over a ball of yarn while he was home for the 5 days. I still have the sleeves to do, the stitches are on holders right now; and the body is about half done. I'm on the 4th ball of the 8 included in the kit, and Derek expects me to be wearing it when I pick him up from the airport next Wednesday. It's a fast, and mindless knit, so it is an achievable goal... it all depends on what else I decide to work on.
I didn't touch the shawl at all =o( (no links since it's a design in progress)
The popcorn MAM didn't get finished, but it wasn't for a lack of trying. Firstly, it wasn't nearly as complete as I first thought. I had wanted to surprise Derek with it finished when he came home. I realized that I wouldn't be able to finish it in the 2 weeks that he was gone initially, as I needed approximately another week or so. I then discovered that I didn't have enough of the dark sage yarn to finish up the afghan. I checked my stash, and according to my Ravelry listings, I have NONE!!! It would be my guess that I had used a lot of it on his quiltghan back in 2002 or 2003... knowing then that I could easily buy more. Unfortunately 10+ years later, that is no longer the case. The colour is still being made, but nowhere I shop (or can get to) carries that colour. I will need to order more from Herrschnerrs, the only place online I could locate that colour. I had considered re-working it to become a "striped" afghan... using a different colour scheme for alternating strips... that way I could keep it a surprise still. The more I thought about it, the more I leaned towards letting Derek know, and letting him make the final decision on it. He decided that he wants it all to be in the sage colourways, so I'm ordering the additional yarn needed when I next get an email letting me know about a free shipping offer.
The Felici socks were worked up to picking up the gusset stitches, and left at that point. As much as I love the socks, and love working with the yarn, my priorities dictated that I work on Raith's socks and other projects that were "needs" rather than "wants". They still went with me everywhere, but spent the majority of the month being shown off, rather than knitted on.

What got finished?

Raith's socks. I finished the first sock on the 26th or 27th I think (checked my tweets for a guesstimate), and of course immediately cast on the second. That one was finished on Sunday (2-3 days), which seems to be quite typical of my second socks... what the first one takes in weeks, the second one is done in days!
Derek's travelling slippers. Derek travelling means new slippers... this is a tradition born of necessity for over 10 years now. I wasn't up to making him slippers when he originally left in December, and as it turns out, it was a false start anyway. I had him pick out a ball of yarn from my "scraps" bin the day before he left and whipped them up in time for him to get them in his luggage before we went to bed that night.

What's in progress?

Derek's denim work socks. I cast these on right after finishing Raith's socks on Sunday. I've been meaning to get some more socks done for him, but haven't since I nearly killed my hands doing two pairs back-to-back for his b-day/ our anniversary in June last year. One of his pairs of socks is about to blow out, and I forced myself to buy 2 pairs worth of Tuffy when I was in Winnipeg dropping him off last week. When I got home and tried to put the yarn away in the bin Derek and I had bought for worsted wools, it wouldn't all fit! I did go out and buy another, larger bin, but at the same time I went hunting for the 2 hanks of Tuffy I had balled up back in the summer. As of this writing, I am FLYING through the first sock. I got the stripes done Sunday before bed, the leg done Monday, the heel flap/ turn done and gusset picked up before I went to knit night last night. For whatever reason, my fingers flew while I was there, and I'm now nearly at the toe. I fully expect to be grafting the toe tonight! It would be nice to have them waiting for Derek when he gets home next Wednesday.
Raith's slippers. These were also started on Sunday. I have been facing my ever-growing queue, and am seeing the list loom over me like the Sword of Damocles. Derek wants to go into Winnipeg for the weekend later this month, so I need to have the entire order he placed from the fall complete by that time. This pair of slippers, and one more is all that is left. These slippers would have been sewn up last night, but yesterday morning I ran out of yarn a few rows away from the second tongue being finished. It was a "Maxwell Smart" moment... "I missed it by that much!" I knew the yarn was well over 6 years old, since it was wound into a regular ball of yarn and I've been doing centre-pull balls by hand for at least that long. I was guessing at what yarn it was when I created the Rav entry, but when I got to the end of the ball, I discovered that I had wrapped the ball around the yarn label. Thanks to having my stash so well documented on Ravelry, I was able to find out that not only did I have 2 full balls of this exact yarn in my stash (and in which bin), but one of them was the same date code of "No Dye Lot" yarn as what I had been using! (2002 by the way!) Rebecca waited over 6 hours, and didn't go get the ball for me until just before I left for knit night, so the tongue wasn't completed, and I couldn't sew them up there like I had originally planned.

What about my other goals?

Releasing a pattern a month: I didn't get a pattern released... in fact I didn't really work on any designs this month at all. I did, however, submit an existing (but unreleased) pattern to the KP-IDP for consideration. I do have the Gumdrop Placemat Set dug out of the craft room, and here in the living room with me so that I will get the last of the samples finished, photographed, and can release the pattern.
Continue listing everything on Ravelry: This is an on-going process. I have been very vigilant about making sure that each new purchase is listed in my Ravelry databases. I am also tracking yardage of how much I buy... in the hopes that I will use more than what I bring in this year. A small amount of stash from the "front room" was brought in for me to catalogue, but I haven't made a huge effort in that direction this month.
Promoting myself more: I didn't do as much of this as I had intended to, but I still did more than what I have been doing. I have added a few more patterns to my Facebook page, I have registered at Craftsy (but haven't listed anything there yet), and have been tweeting a little more often. I have continued to be active on Ravelry, but not in a promotional sense. I am trying to make blogging and tweeting more of a habit... we shall see if I'm more regular with that in February than I was in January!
Stash and craft room reorganization: This particular goal got little more than "a lick and a promise" this past month. I made small, baby steps in a few things, but most importantly, I didn't make any backwards steps.

All in all, I have to say this was a pretty successful month as far as progress goes... just look at the yarn meters on the left column! No, I didn't achieve the goals I had set for myself, but I didn't give up either. I kept going, kept trying, kept making progress. Since last night was knit night, I will do my February goals post tomorrow. I will also need to do a progress/ FO photo post in the next couple of days. I have linked to my Ravelry project pages for those of you that are interested and taking a look at the details. I have them shared publicly, so you don't need a Ravelry account or to sign in to view them.

I should know better..

2012-01-06T22:43:00.000-06:00

...than to make any kind of plans to finish something!

I was just cruising along on my A Little Bit Irish cardigan, or so I thought! I'm not sure if I messed up while at the airport, but I know I messed up on the increases while at knit night. The end result was frogging 7 rows of work:

Then I had to knit it all up again so I wouldn't have a knotted mess:

Now I can cruise again until it's time to start the next ball of yarn, and I'll pause to count rows and stitches and such then!

All brainless knitting isn't the same!

2012-01-05T22:14:00.000-06:00

Tonight was my monthly knitting night. It's something I really need for several reasons. First of all, it tends to be my only contact with real people. With not working outside of the home, and being out in the middle of nowhere, and not having any friends out here, I simply don't have contact with people outside of my home other than the internet! It's also nice to meet with other knitters and crocheters... see what they're working on, get to feel and see different yarns and tools... just talk with other people that "get it"... ones whose eyes don't glaze over when you start talking about how smooth your new needles are, how squishy and soft your new yarn is, etc etc.

I learned long ago that for any knit night, that the project(s) I bring to work on have to be mindless, no pattern to follow, nothing that requires counting rows, no counting stitches above about 10. I decided to bring Raith's Wild sock, and my Little Bit Irish cardigan with me. The sock is over halfway down the foot, so I wouldn't have to worry about counting rows before starting the toe. The cardigan is at the point where I increase before and after the markers, and purl the wrong side. Both are very suitable for knit night, or so I thought!

The place we met this time was a restaurant, and was very poorly lit. That eliminated the possibility of knitting on the sock, as the yarn is quite dark for the most part. That meant working on the cardi, which is what I wanted to work on anyway! Well, at the end of the night, as I was saying my goodbyes, I commented about how I was going to go home and check my increases to make sure I got them all. I had knit about 6 rows of my cardi, which is 3 increase rows, but with chatting and such, I'm not completely sure if I remembered to do my increases before and after each marker! LOL!!

Nicole =o)

Travelling means slippers!

2012-01-04T00:40:00.001-06:00

I can't recall exactly when the tradition started, but whenever Derek travels, I make him a new pair of slippers. He used to "blow through" a pair every time he went away, so I simply began making him a new pair before he left! Well, he has needed a new pair for some time now, and since his flight is at 7am, I figured it was about time I made some! I'm proud to announce my first FO of 2012: Derek's Travelling Slippers

I have also set up knitmeters on the sidebar to note how much yarn I've worked through this year. I downloaded my stash database on Ravelry, and it's over 170 km of yarn! Since this project was about 183m, that means I crocheted up 1/1000th of my stash! LOL! I will only be adding to that total as a project is finished, so the numbers will stay static until projects are done.

I am currently working on the yoke of my cardigan while I wait for the time for Derek and I to leave for the airport. I'm not getting the 3+ hours of knitting time as I had hoped because his 7am flight requires us to leave home by 2am! I can knit by feel somewhat, but I can't knit in total darkness. Here's how the collar turned out:

I will keep on working on this until it's time to get ready to go in about an hour or so. We printed up the pattern for the rose-coloured afghan today, so I'm pretty sure that Derek thinks that is the project I will be working on... won't he be surprised when he returns?!? I'm also hoping to have the cardigan done, or nearly done by the time he gets back. The cardigan, the popcorn afghan, and the commissioned projects will definitely keep me busy mindlessly for when I need a diversion from my mind wandering to places that it best not wander off to.

Nicole =o)

The little swatch that could!

2012-01-03T00:18:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I was talking about my swatch, and here it is:

This is the third one I did, and is the correct stitch count per inch at long last! I slogged through the rest of the collar and got started on the body. I only did a couple rows of the body, enough to establish the increases. Those couple of rows were enough to make it easier going now that I'm using the larger needle size. 3.5mm needles and worsted/ aran weight yarn don't mix all that well, no matter how good your needles are! I'm not sure how much I will get done on this daily... I'm sorta aiming for around 10 rows, but since it will be over 300 stitches at the underarm before dividing for the sleeves, that number is definitely negotiable! I'm taking this project and Raith's socks with me on the drive to the airport, so I will have 3 solid hours of knitting time, and possibly more if I wait with Derek for his flight!

I want this project to be one of my "mindless" ones, which means that I don't really have to think. Follow the directions on the pattern, and "just do it"! I like these kinds of projects for the break from the brain-busting that some of my designing does. It's a treat to be able to just sit and knit and not have to think about what I'm doing, how I'm doing it, and getting it written down in a way that resembles English. It's relaxing and soothing in a way that is hard to describe. I enjoy designing... I really do, but I also like to zone-out and feel the rythym of the stitches being formed by my fingers. All that being said, I am changing the type of increases that the pattern calls for. It calls for all eight increases to be standard m1 increases. While this type will serve the purpose, I really prefer to have mirrored increases, especially in a place as visible as a raglan sleeve. The increases I do are a type of lifted increase that I saw in a book once, and they give it a very nice look IMO. They don't take any more time, and I do them without really thinking about it anyway... kind of like how I do a ssk for any decrease paired with a k2tog, or a sl1 k2tog psso for any centred double decrease.

In unrelated news, I found the other missing pattern for my UFO afghan. I was searching around Ravelry a bit when I remembered a printed pattern I had found in the craft room by "SAG55". Searched a little bit more, and found the pattern I wanted on the Internet Archive. It's called Basketweave Afghan, and I remember it being a completely brainless project. It was my "bus project" for some time until it basically out-grew the shopping bag I carried it in. When I was looking at it, I guess-timated it to be around 50% done, and that's how I've entered it into my projects page. I also entered Derek's Popcorn MAM into my projects, but that pattern isn't linked in Ravelry either. I get started on that one Wednesday night!

Nicole =o)

Planning... and swatching... (fail to plan and you plan to fail)

2012-01-02T00:50:00.002-06:00

I have discovered that I am a person that likes to report things "after the fact", rather than posting about what I plan to do. Yes, I like making plans and stating goals, but more in a longer-term sense, not a day-by-day "to do" list. Part of it is that it is easier for me to write in the evenings, after the house has quieted down a bit. The other part of it is that I know I rarely get done everything I plan to in any given day. I tend to "over-book" myself. The longer term goals are more realistic for me to complete on time... it's just how I seem to manage.

Yesterday is a typical example of my normal goals. It was Sunday, even though it really didn't feel like one, that means I'm supposed to be doing project finishing details. I ended up doing the opposite by starting a new project! I swatched for my "Tweed Cardigan" (link in yesterday's post), which I've named "A Little Bit Irish" in my Ravelry projects. My intent was to simply do the swatch, and then get on with other things I wanted to get done. As I half-expected, the needles called for in the pattern gave me a swatch that was off by one stitch width-wise, and dead-on for the row count. This is the same result I had when swatching for my cabled pullover (Gonna Try to Cable Pullover in my Ravelry projects. Unfortunately, in my enthusiasm for this project -- or was it haste to get on with something else? -- I decided to go *up* one size of needles for the next swatch, but I was trying for 17 stitches per 4 inches instead of the 16 stitches I got on my sample.

A quick lesson in gauge/ tension:
For those of you that are muggles (meaning non-knitters/crocheters), I will explain the importance of gauge for this project. Even my middle DD, who is a knitter and crocheter, looked at me puzzled when I said it was off by one stitch. It is only one stitch, how much difference can it make? A lot actually! The cardigan I am making has a finished chest measurement of 48 inches (~122cm). The gauge swatch is 4 inches (~10cm). A difference of just one stitch in the swatch means a difference of 16 stitches in the project. That means if I don't adjust my gauge, that I will end up with a sweater that's a full 4 inches larger than I want!

Needless to say, my 2nd swatching attempt didn't match the stitch count I needed! Finally, by going down a size, I got the prescribed tension on my 3rd swatch. My row count is off slightly, but this patterns is written in such a way that the row gauge isn't as critical. I will be trying this cardigan on frequently while doing the shaping so I can add in extra rows when I need to. A good portion of (all? more than?) the time I wanted to spend knitting was spent on these swatches. After all that, I didn't really have time to do much more, but I did anyway! A needle of the proper size was assembled, a fresh skein of yarn obtained, and the collar was cast on. I only meant to do about 2 rows, with the intent of finishing the collar next time... however this skein produced a bigger wad of yarn barf than the previous, so I simply kept knitting until it was all cleaned up... which ended up being 6 rows. No time left to work on the "must-do" projects...

and that is why I don't write at the beginning of my day!

Nicole =o)

Facing it... and avoiding it...

2012-01-01T00:45:00.000-06:00

Anybody who knows me, knows that I find different ways of avoiding things when I can. When I'm very stressed out about something, especially something that's out of my control, I tend to "escape" and typically that's into my video games mostly. It's the easiest way for me to occupy my brain with something brainless. That's why I was playing my games like nuts on Facebook Friday night... keeping my mind off of our loss.

During the day I did a ton of searching and such for my queue, and project plans for next year. It was a great way to focus my attention away from what was going on around me, and getting something accomplished as well. If you go back through my blog archives, you will find that quite frequently, my "avoidance days" are often my most productive days... just in other things!

So just what did I manage to accomplish?

Firstly, I discovered that any search for a cardigan pattern on Ravelry can not include "free" patterns unless you have about 4 days to go through all of the possibilities! I narrowed my search parameters to just what I already have in my vast library. With the selection of a few criteria, my choices were now down to just over 250 (from the well over 3000 when I included "free"!). This was a much more manageable list to go through. All of the ones that interested me enough, I added to my Ravelry favourites listing, along with a few keywords to help me sort through them later. After a few hours were spent on that, the 250-ish was down to about 30 realistic options. I tend to keep very few things saved in my queue and favourites, mainly using them for a "true" listing of what I want to make. Next, I went through the remaining patterns, and refined it all... adding yarn, size info; suitable Knit Picks yarn choices and the like. I ended up adding 5 (I think) of these to my queue, leaving the remainder in my favourites for the time being.

I am extremely serious about becoming more focussed in my projects this coming year. I want a sweater a month, a shawl a month, a design a month, a pair of socks a month, and an afghan a month! Those are pretty lofty goals, but since I already have some of these in progress, and the design can go hand-in-hand with one of the other categories, it isn't completely out of my reach. Now that I had quite a few sweaters and shawls in my queue, the next order of business was to get it all sorted. I added the tag "2012plan" to the projects I wanted to concentrate on the most... the sweaters and shawls... many in kit form just waiting for me to start them. After a lot of fiddling around with project order, and tags, and what still needed yarn to be purchased, I now had a game plan for most the first six months of 2012.

Nicole's Project Plan - January-June 2012

January - Sweater: Tweed Cardigan (Mary Maxim kit); Shawl: finishing the Denise design; Afghan: finishing Derek's Popcorn MAM; Socks: finishing my Felici socks (Caprica colourway).
February - Sweater: Melissa's Cute Knit Cardigan (Mary Maxim pattern/ Bravo yarn); Shawl: Diatom Shawl (Knit Picks kit, purples colourway); Afghan: finishing the Melissa design; Socks: finishing the Texaco design.
March - Sweater: February Lady (Swish in Lemongrass or Swish Tonal in Kindling, which needs to be purchased); Shawl: Wandering Lace Wrap (Mary Maxim kit, Wood Rose colourway).
April - Sweater: Melissa's Girl's Lacy Cardigan (Red Heart Soft, fuchsia colourway); Shawl: Season's Shawl (Knit Picks kit, fall/winter colourway).
May - Sweater: In the Green (Bernat Cool Crochet, Tie Dye Shades colourway); Shawl: Nightsongs (Alpaca Silk, lavender colourway).
June - Sweater: Primrose Path Cardigan (unknown yarn bag of mill ends, or Knit Picks CotLin, or Knit Picks City Tweed DK which would need to be purchased); Shawl: Chinook (Knit Picks kit, neutrals colourway).

I realize that I haven't planned afghans or socks for March and beyond. I have the rose-coloured afghan, and Wayne's afghan to finish, as well as a new design that's intended for Alex that I need to work on a bit and see if it will be accepted into the KP-IDP. I also have several other UFO/ WIPs in various states of completion. When it comes to socks, I'm never at a loss for projects! Derek is in desperate need of work socks, and I have several designs that need finishing up. As the end of February draws near, or I complete my January/ February goals, I can then decide what projects to spend my time on next.

Since beginning quilting and starting to sew again are also goals of mine for this next year, I am strongly considering creating a weekly plan... this day is for sewing... that day is for afghans... this day is for sweaters... you get the idea. I won't be able to purchase any of the quilting and sewing supplies I want/ need until the end of the month at the earliest, so whatever day I choose for sewing will be a "craft room organization day" for the time being. Sundays used to be for end-weaving, and that's what I want to do again... weaving in ends, and other project finishing details including photography. Monday is traditionally my "heavy cleaning" day, so working on the craft room fits in well there. That leaves me five more days to "assign", and I can work on that once the kids go back to school on the 9th (or is it the 10th). By that time Derek will be gone too, so I should have a couple of weeks to work on this "system". Fingers crossed that I can have that all sorted by the end of the month.

Wish me luck... oh, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Nicole =o)

Tough decisions... a tough day...

2011-12-30T23:17:00.000-06:00

My project plans for the next year have been first and foremost on my mind the last few days. More than anything, it's been to keep my mind occupied for many reasons. Derek and I have been on eggshells for the last week as we await word for when he embarks on his new job. Everything is in a perpetual holding pattern until we know when he's leaving, and all the other details that go along with that. As if that edginess in the house wasn't enough, we've been dealing with a very ill child. Our youngest has been sick since Christmas night/ Boxing Day. She's usually very cheerful, vibrant, and full of energy, so it takes a lot of wind out of your sails to see her so lethargic. I won't get into the details of how sick she has been.

Last, but not least, is the illness, and death today, of our beloved dog, Taz... better known to all that loved him as "Dipshit". Yes... that is what we called him most of the time, and what he answered to better than his given name. We knew when he was given to us nearly 3½ years ago that we wouldn't have him all that long. He was already at least 8 years old, prone to many health problems as a Lhasa Apso (not Shih Tsu like I said in a previous post), and had survived being hit by a car, abuse and a laundry list of other things prior to coming to live with us. His last few months I could tell he was declining. There were days when the 4 steps to the door were just too many for his old body to be able to manage without a big struggle. He also refused to get along with our new kitten that we rescued in October. This may not seem unusual to most people, but Taz was a dog that refused to believe he was anything other than a cat. He even purred when you scratched him behind the ears. Our guests would laugh uproariously when we explained that he wasn't growling at them... he was doing his version of purring! Towards the end, even the few things he still enjoyed, he didn't seem to be as excited about. Our daily walks were about the only time I would see him show any enthusiasm, and he was a very social dog... ask anyone in our village... he would visit them all on his "daily rounds"! All of us in our family have accepted that this is the best for him, and that he's no longer suffering. We are glad that he didn't suffer long. His last day(s) was(were) rough on us all, as about all he could manage to do was get up long enough to stumble, and bark occasionally from pain. He has earned his place over the "Rainbow Bridge"... with all the squeaky toys he can ever hope to break, and all the tires he could ever want to pee on. RIP our beloved Taz...

Decisions need to be made.

2011-12-29T06:24:00.000-06:00

I'm sitting here looking at my Ravelry entries -- projects (WIPs and hibernating) as well as my queue. To add to that, a new Mary Maxim catalogue came in the mail yesterday with a ton of new kits for once, and many of them are quite tempting. In my last post, I talked about my resolutions and goals for the upcoming year. Now comes the time where I need to face those goals and decide what I will be focusing my energy on next.

I have way too many things on the go right now to be very productive at any of them, so the first order of business is to address the number of WIPs I have, plus what I have lined up to work on next. My WIP listing on Rav shows (in current order): Raith's Wild Socks; Nearly Instant Gratification Socks; Denise Shawl; Texaco; Neecie's Monster Ghan; and Melissa's Afghan. My hibernating listing on Rav shows 14 projects, but the 2 afghans I found in the yarn bombing last month aren't even there, and Wayne's Afghan is still in my queue! The ones I want to complete the most, plus are relatively easy to locate are: My Prize Cardi; Alex's Scarf; the rose-coloured afghan; Derek's Popcorn MAM; and Wayne's afghan. My queue listing on Rav is now at 41, and that means it's on 2 pages (30 per page in thumbnail view). I prefer that view because I can easily adjust the order of my projects, however the two pages makes it more difficult, and a little overwhelming for me. There is a wide variety of projects listed, some are commissioned, some are kits, some are WIMs with all supplies available, some are WIMs where I still need to purchase or assign yarn, and yet others are patterns that I would really like to make.

Addressing my priorities:

Neecie's Monsterghan - This project is actually finished, but still needs to be laundered and have final photography done. That is mostly incidental, and can be done a day or so before delivery with the other commissioned items.
Raith's Wild Socks - I am on the foot of the first one, and since these are commissioned, they have to be done in a timely manner. I would have to say that this project is my first priority.
2 pairs of slippers - These are in my queue, and are commissioned projects; this makes them a high priority as well. Luckily I can crochet a pair in about an evening, and the only thing that will really take any time is the stash diving for acrylic yarn.

My commissioned items have to come before anything else. I have had these orders since September and they need to be filled. They are all going to the same customer, and I have been communicating with them on the progress, so the time it's taking isn't an issue at all. It's simply that I want to be working on other items, so I want to have these out of the way.

Addressing my goals:

Even though my list seems overwhelming, I do have a lot I'd like to accomplish each month. If I take it step-by-step, especially with how many things I already have in progress, I think a great deal of it is doable, for 6 months at least.

Pattern release - The Gumdrop Placemat and Coaster Set, and 2 sock patterns are nearly ready for release. I have been procrastinating heavily on the finishing touches, and really need to get these out of the way. This can clear my slate somewhat for other patterns that need more than a spit and polish.
Sweater or shawl - As much as I'd love to finish one of each, I can't honestly see that happening until I get some of my "backlog" (particularly 50%+ finished afghans) out of the way. I'm leaning towards the Tweed Cardigan kit for January's potential FO. It's a fairly simple pattern, and I could really use a nice, casual cardigan. I have the Denise shawl to work on if I have a craving for lace during the month, and can finish it in February.

The rest of the goals I listed previously are all on-going things... mainly keeping up with what I'm already addressing, and not really a goal-of-the-month. I want/ need to clear out several of my UFOs, and the first one I want to finish is the Popcorn MAM for Derek. I also have several socks on the go, and more I need to make (especially work socks for Derek). Right now I'm thinking that finishing an afghan and a pair of socks per month is possible, as strange as it sounds. I have so many afghans on the go, that picking one to concentrate on won't be difficult at all.

Nicole =o)

The end is near...

2011-12-28T05:25:00.004-06:00

the end of the year that is!

I'm doing much better now than I was previously this month. I'm even knitting a bit again, although Farmville is sucking a whopping amount of my time. As much as that game is driving me to the brink, I have nearly a year invested in it, and haven't quite built up the courage to let it go. I will end up letting it go eventually, I'm just not quite ready yet.

A new year means new beginnings and such. Thanks to a ton of prayers and support from all our friends and family, Derek and I will be starting this new year completely fresh in a ton of ways. We can't begin to thank everyone that helped us out in some way, shape, or form over the last month. All I can say is to never doubt the power of prayer! Even our agnostic/ athiest friends were putting their hands together and looking skyward in our name.

This is the traditional time of year when people often start thinking of New Year's Resolutions. I am no different, although I don't do them every year, and am more likely to make resolutions when the opportunity presents itself, rather than a specific time of year. I have been very active on a few boards at Ravelry these past few months, in particular, the Knit Picks Lovers group. In November, the topic of 2012 resolutions came up, and got me thinking (realistically) what I'd like to accomplish this coming year. Without further ado, here's my list for the coming year (as posted in KPL):

Release at least one pattern a month.
Continue with listing everything on Rav. Most of what’s “missing” is hidden stash and UFOs!
Finish a sweater or shawl a month (knit or crochet; for me or others; OPPs or original).
Learn/ practice knit colourwork. (This scares the beejeebers out of me more than cables did!)
Work on promoting myself more. (Rav group, Facebook page, advertising, etc.)
Reorganize my yarn stash, and get my craft room into a usable state.

Some of these I had already been working on, and some I have made a great deal of progress on since I originally posted this list in November. I have a few other additions to make, namely:

Tweet (link on sidebar), update Facebook status more for self-promotion. Even if it's not directly related to my designs, even mentioning what I'm working on etc. can build up a following... something that has been missing since the heydays of Nicole's Crochet Bistro in the mid-00's.
Improve my state of health. It had improved somewhat overall when I quit working outside the home nearly a year ago, but a wake-up call from my doctor earlier this month has brought many concerns to the forefront. Drastic changes are necessary, and necessary now.

I have a bit of a plan in mind for working towards all of these goals. I don't think any of them are un-realistic, and all of them will make me feel better physically, spiritually, or both.

Releasing a pattern every month will make me strive to actually finish up the designs and patterns I have in progress already. I have several that simply need tech editing, formatting, and/ or photography. These are details that *must* be done, but I put off indefinitely. I have at least a half-dozen I can think of off the top of my head that fit into this category. While new designs are so much more interesting to me to work on, there isn't a point to calling myself a designer if I don't publish as well.
Listing everything on Ravelry has several benefits to me. First and foremost, I am forced to face what I actually have on hand, and not focus so much on what I want to have. I have more acrylic in varying amounts than I could ever use in hats, mitts, scarves, slippers, and the like. This is what I tend to use it for mostly. I have to find projects that will quickly consume large amounts of this, without requiring large amounts of any particular colour. I often will reference many of my personal databases while out shopping, and this saves me time and money. While I have been diligent this past year about listing purchases of yarn, magazines, etc., it's my older stuff that needs to be listed. I got a huge chunk of it done in November, and was even sorting it into labelled bins, with those labels included on the listing for the yarn on Rav. The only listing that still needs major work is my needle database, and I want/ need to get that set up for mainly my Knit Picks needles. I also purchased bins today for lace-weight yarns and Derek's sock wool. Even though those yarns are all already listed in my stash, I will need to do the updates to indicate their locations.
I have joined several KAL/ CAL groups with the goal of "12 in 2012". While I may not actually participate in them, and in fact with all the kits and such I have on hand, there is no way I could, I'm hoping for the inspiration to actually complete projects from start to finish in a more timely manner. I want to spend a little bit of time going through my shawls and my sweaters, and make a kind of "to-do" list for each month. This list would also have which design pattern I will focus on completing for release.
Learning and practicing colourwork is something I've wanted to do for some time. I have recently purchased a few books on it, and have plans for acquiring a few more. I have one small kit purchased to try this out on a small scale. There are a couple more that are in my wish list at the Knit Picks web site.
Self-promotion is something I have never been good at. I simply don't have the salesman gene. I started the ball rolling recently by creating a Facebook page for my designs. A very small sampling of my patterns are currently listed, and I need to force myself to add more... not "time permitting", but actually "making the time" to do it. I want to start a Ravelry group as well, but for now I can allow myself to procrastinate a bit on that while I work on the Facebook side of it. I have many friends on Facebook all over the world, and I have my fingers crossed that they can be a springboard to opening up new markets for myself.
Reorganizing is a constant battle for me. For the first time ever in December, I can still access anything in my craft room with a relative minimum of fuss. Labelling my stash bins has already proven very valuable, as it cuts down the "diving" time drastically. I want to start sewing again, and doing some quilting this year, so that room has to be put into a state of usability rather than just storage. The biggest task was getting the yarns bins into better order, and while my living room had several days of looking like a yarn factory had thrown up all over it, it was all worth it.
Tweeting (link on sidebar) and Facebook-ing are two ways I can "get my name out there" with a relative minimum of effort. I don't have many followers, but the more I "contact the universe", the more "the universe can contact me". I don't expect, and I don't think I'd even want, to be as well known as Yarn Harlot, however it would be nice to know that more people I don't know "read" me, than ones I do know!
Improving my state of health is gonna be a toughie. I finally have the life overall that I want, so the last thing I want now is for that life to be cut short. A discussion I had with my doctor recently has made me face all that head-on. Serious and drastic changes have to be made to my lifestyle and habits, and much sooner rather than later.

Stay tuned for my January task list...

Nicole =o)

You were doing so well...

2011-12-13T11:07:00.001-06:00

and then December hit.

My closest friends know and understand how and why I hate December. The Reader's Digest version of it is that nearly everything bad that has happened to me, or to our family in the last 10-15 years has happened in December.

This year we were hoping to change that pattern. The signs were all there that this year *would* be different. The month started off fine, but less than a week into it, "The December Curse" struck again.

I'm dealing with much more crap right now than any person should have to... at any time of year. It takes every bit of energy I have to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Even knitting and crocheting have been put aside until I can *deal* again.

Nicole =o(

Sent from my BlackBerry® powered by Virgin Mobile.

Peace and quiet.

2011-12-04T21:28:00.001-06:00

Last night was just as I had expected -- the "baby" was "up" every hour pretty much. I think I was nearly as happy as my daughter when the "baby" finally turned off after supper tonight.

Today hasn't been an easy one for me, so I haven't been able to concentrate on anything. I was able to get a couple rows of my shawl design done this morning before we left for town, but afterwards even my Felici sock was taxing. My games on Facebook aren't even appealing as a diversion.

I think I'm going to take advantage of the peace and quiet and call it a night early for once.

A baby in the house?

2011-12-03T13:19:00.000-06:00

Yes, we have a "baby" in the house this weekend. I howled with laughter when my middle daughter arrived home from school on Friday lugging a car seat, diaper bag, and her school work! Seeing her struggle through the door was good for more than a few chuckles. Before you ask, the "baby" is a robo-baby provided from the school to teach teenagers just how hard it is to take care of a baby. Now, all of my older kids understand how much work a baby can be. They all helped with taking care of the youngest two. Especially the youngest, as she was very fussy, and my stress levels kept me from producing enough milk, which made her more fussy, which made me more stressed... ad nauseum. You get the idea. Let the fun begin...

She arrived home around 4:45, and the baby was scheduled to "turn on" at 5. It wasn't long before this strange little doll began making noises. This is all for school, and the information from the baby is downloaded by her teacher, so she is graded on how good of a "mom" she is. There are all kinds of sensors, and a "time limit" on soothing the baby. Of course we all had a blast teasing her about everything, especially since she has been saying for a while now that she does not want kids of her own. It sure didn't take much for her to start feeling frustrated when trying to figure out what the baby wanted. At least she was lucky that night... the baby "slept" from about 11 pm to 5 am.

We shall see how well this continues!!!

Nicole =o)

Considerations...

2011-12-02T22:41:00.001-06:00

That's about all I seemed to be doing today, making considerations about my future. Nothing life-changing or profound, but still deciding what to do. This is something we all do, every day, without even realizing it.

Some of it was simple, like what project to grab as I was running out the door this morning -- Felici socks.
Some of it was harder, like what to order for lunch at a new-to-me restaurant that hubby took me to -- Denver with oven-roasted potatoes and side Caesar salad.
Some of it I was out practice with, like making meal and grocery shopping decisions for the next two weeks -- not Ramen noodles.
Some of it felt really unusual but something I'd like to get more comfortable with, choosing $50 worth of wool for a sweater KAL in January -- Swish worsted in either Lemongrass Heather or Indigo Heather for the February Lady Sweater.

The next few weeks shall prove to be interesting to say the least... if nothing else, Christmas and the whole holiday season will be different from previous years!

Nicole =o)

A new beginning... well sorta!

2011-12-01T21:10:00.001-06:00

Even though December is the end of the year, this time around it is filled with a bunch of new beginnings for me and my family. This is the first time since 2002 that I haven't worked through the holiday season. My last 7 Christmases were tainted by having to go in to work for 10:30pm on Christmas night for Boxing Day sale set-up. I am so fortunate that Derek is so thoughtful, understanding, and an excellent cook!

I have finished the Monsterghan, which means that I can finally start something new... although my "Nearly Instant Gratification Socks" in Knit Picks Felici qualifies since I'm only a few inches into the first sock. It's not a pattern stitch of any kind, so it will be a welcome break from "thinking", plus the yarn feels wonderful in my hands. I have several ancient UFOs that are nearly finished, and since I haven't touched 2 of them in over a decade, it will be like a whole new project to me! The pattern has been found for the newer one, and a similar pattern has been found for the older one (although I will be reverse engineering it more than anything else). The shawl design would also qualify since I'm only a few inches into that one as well, and like the Felici, it also feels wonderful in my hands. Hmmm... maybe the something new is me actually getting projects completely finished! LOL

We are also beginning the other family life adjustments... Derek travelling for work for long periods, and my no longer depending on my mobile for home internet. At least for my routines, it seems that my crafting is the one that's suffering, and not my housework... which is good in some ways, but not so good in others. More than anything, I'm looking forward to having better contact with people than I did with just my phone. Better contact seems to translate into better inspiration and motivation for me... which is good no matter what!

Nicole =o)

P.S.: The final measurement on the Monsterghan? 65 inches by 73 inches... it's a monster all right!

Finishing... and a lesson learned!

2011-11-30T20:02:00.001-06:00

Well, today is the last day of NaBloPoMo, and I DID IT!!! A few of the days I was pretty close to not making it, but I did, and I'm very proud of myself.

There's also other things that I did, and did not get done. In the "I did" category, I got a ton of stuff done on Ravelry (so much more to do however), and I also got my blog template updated. My sidebars are now current with extra links and such. In the "I did not" category, I didn't get much of a new routine established, and as of this writing, I didn't finish off the Monsterghan... I do plan on working at it as soon as I sign off though.

One other thing I did today is learn a new life lesson! Do not take the extra-long way to the post office without planning ahead!
This may seem strange to most of you, so I will explain! My post office is nearly next door to me. My daily trip to check our mail is often the only real exercise I get in a day, especially if I'm not doing any laundry which requires me using the stairs! Before we got snow a few weeks ago, I would slip on my crocs and dash through our back yard to get there. That would take a minute at the very most. Now I take what I call "the long way", which is walking on the street. This about triples the distance I walk, and makes it a bit more than a 5 minute return trip, including stopping at the trash bins with whatever I've grabbed on the way out the door. Our dog, who is outside for 99% of the summer, is now 99% inside so he usually joins me for the walk. I desperately need more exercise, but can only do it in tiny amounts due to back troubles. It has been my plan to walk around the entire block on days where there is no mail, or I have no trash to dispose of, but that hasn't occurred... before today that is!
This is where the lesson comes in: First of all, my usual slip-on shoes had been knocked down the stairs so I decided to wear my ballet flats which were right there. That was my first mistake! I'm obviously retaining fluid because I had to jam my feet into them, and they were really tight. Now the ballet flats offer absolutely no protection to the bottoms of my feet, so I could feel every tiny pebble in the road, plus I had no traction whatsoever on the icy patches. I get as far as the trash bins, and realize I had forgotten the empty orange box I was going to throw out. For once I didn't stop to gossip at the post office (probably my only smart move in this entire adventure), just checked my mail and left. There was only a single envelope, so I decided that since the wind wasn't bad today, or so I thought, that I would take the "extra-long way home" around the block. As soon as I rounded the first corner I realized that the reason I didn't notice the wind before was because it was either to my back, or blocked by buildings on my way. I didn't have a hat or mittens on, so it was chilly! Next came the dog... I am trying to be careful in my footing since I'm wearing shoes that have no place being outdoors in Manitoba in November! Well, the dog loves to go for walks, but he's always afraid that you're going to take off on him. He walks exactly 18 inches directly in front of you, and stops suddenly every 3.8 seconds (approximately) to make sure you're still right behind him. He's a Shih Tsu (sp?), so it's very easy to stumble and trip over him, and it's not like he's big enough that you could fall on him without doing serious damage. So here I am... walking in simply horrific shoes... feet aching with every step... trying not to step on or fall on the dog... cursing the north wind... and wishing I hadn't chosen to do this today. By the time I was halfway home, it was clearly evident that any further excursions like this required much more sensible shoes... not only were my feet screaming from being jammed into these too-tight crazy-carpet-like nothings, but my back was screaming too from the lack of arch support.
At long last... well it sure seemed long... it was probably less than 10 minutes start to finish... I arrived home, put away my coat, quickly fixed myself a hot coffee, texted my best friend about my lesson learned, and sat down to rest.

Nicole =o)

How easily we can be distracted!

2011-11-29T19:53:00.001-06:00

I have two very good excuses why the Monsterghan isn't done yet... well a third one too, but that's minor!

Excuse #1: My hands have been unbearably cold for most of the day. Even with doing dishes and the like, they never warmed up long enough for me to be able to do anything close to knitting. My hot water bottle does wonders for my cold feet, and my sore back, but nothing at all for my hands. I am still waiting for my crafting gloves to arrive. The company I ordered them from I haven't ordered from before, so I don't know if I'll be getting email confirmation of shipping, etc. It has been over 2 weeks already, but it is the holiday season, and all shipping is slower.
Excuse #2: I have to create a new at-home routine for myself. I no longer have to depend on my phone as my only source of internet at home, and no longer need to seek out high-speed wireless in-town for most tasks. This means that my typical at-home day, and my typical in-town day need to be merged somewhat in a way that is both enjoyable and productive. I expect this to take a few days to a few weeks at best, while I re-train myself! The learning curve on this will be steep. Derek is home on both Thursday and Friday this week, then leaves on the weekend for at least two weeks away. I am hoping to have myself straightened out somewhat by that time... it will be interesting, to say the least... Christmas decorating and cleaning need to be done by then as well!
Semi-excuse #3: I need to spread out the Monsterghan to get a more accurate measurement before I get too far into the border. I do have 2 (or is it 3?) more balls of Homespun left, so it's not like I'm running short of yarn (just short of motivation!}. I've only done 1 or 2 rows of the garter border, so it won't be hard to fix stitches as I go to make another "repeat" of squares. I'll get Derek's help once I'm done this post... Johnny isn't here playing CoD with him tonight.

Nicole =o)

P.S.: Only one more day to the end of NaBloPoMo!! I did it!!

Feeling a little sheepish...

2011-11-28T22:04:00.001-06:00

Do you collect something? I collect lots of (too many?) things.

My favourite thing to collect is cute sheep. Not just any sheep will do, it has to be absolutely adorable! My dear husband, in all his wisdom, has chosen to indulge these whims of mine with a knowing smile and a sympathetic nod. I have things like a pair of Winnie-the-Pooh pyjamas, where Winnie is wearing a sheep costume. I have a sheep tape measure where you pull the tail to pull out the measuring tape. I purchased a pattern from another IDP designer on Knit Picks that's an adorable little toy (Sheepish pattern), along with 4 different colours of boucle yarn to make a herd with. I have a coffee cup with a sheep that says "Knit Happy" on the side. I swear I'm a sucker for any cute sheep anytime anywhere!

Today, my online adventures brought me to a relatively new-to-me website, Connecting Threads. I've nosed over there a time or three, but hadn't ever really taken a thorough look-see. This company is a sister company to Knit Picks. Well, what did I find there? A wonderful cutie in the freebie pattern section, a lamb pin cushion!!! WAY too cute for words. I promptly downloaded the pattern, and am looking forward to making a herd of them as well.

Am I obsessed? You better believe it, and I'm proud of it too!

Nicole =o)

P.S.: The Monsterghan is now officially less than a border away from being done!! YAY ME!!

The ends never end!

2011-11-27T19:59:00.002-06:00

I've decided to go back to my old routine of "Sundays are for ends". I can't recall exactly when I stopped doing that, but it was probably back when I stopped being "heavy" into my knitting and crocheting about 3-4 years ago. When I picked up my hooks and needles again a year and a half ago, I just never got back into that habit. Since I avoid doing ends as much as possible, as shown by my finding socks that were knit 2 years before that *only* needed 4 ends woven in to become usable, this forces me to work them. Even Derek knew that Sunday was my "end-weaving day"!

It felt really good to get some of the ends done on the Monsterghan. I was helping one of my daughters with untangling and rewinding some yarn from another UFO afghan, which provided me with an opportunity to take a break from the ends. I didn't get them *all* done, but I *did* make a good dent in them. I was even able to get a few rows knitted up. I'll have to measure it again a little later, or tomorrow. I want this to be over already!

Nicole =o)

This is how we slog!

2011-11-26T23:32:00.001-06:00

Slog, slog, slog... that's what this afghan is... a huge slog! It's a chore, it's a drudge, it's a royal PITA!!! But it's also nearly done!

I'm forcing myself to continue on with this. I want so much to work on other projects. Not necessarily something freshly cast on... one of the UFO crocheted afghans would suit me fine. Anything, please ANYTHING but this heavy, monster, tarp of Homespun afghan!

All joking aside, this is the *itch* I get when nearing the end of any relatively large project. I'm so close to finishing that I begin chomping at the bit to get going on the next item. Unfortunately that leaves me with a plethora of "almost-done's" and a distinct famine of FOs.

I never have been, and never could be, a monogamous knitter or crocheter. I *have* gone through binges where I've been "good" and finished at least as many if not more than what I've started. History shows that after one of these periods of being "good", I more than make up for it by starting so many projects that my head spins!

So that is why I'm slogging through finishing this project. It *has* to be done, but at the same time, I want a clear conscience to be able to work on what I want... AFTER this is done!

Nicole =o)

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Going backwards to go forward.

2011-11-25T23:53:00.001-06:00

Sometimes to make progress, you have to go backwards to go forward. That was the theme for today. I spent a great deal of time finishing up the basic reorganizing of my craft room.

Now there is no way I could completely "fix" my room at one shot. That would require at least a week (or three), and a great deal of bins and other organizational items. I have neither the time, nor the money for that. Truth be told, I'd rather not buy a whole bunch of new bins anyway. I'd much rather clean, declutter, and organize what I have better so that I don't need additional bins. So far, I can only see me wanting a large bin for worsted wools... and if I can clear one of my other non-yarn large bins, even that won't be needed. The only other category I need a bin for is lace yarns. I can easily *find* one in my collection, again by clearing and reorganizing.

I was able to get part of the walls washed, and a good portion of the floor. With a lot of shuffling and such, my craft room is now entirely accessible, if not usable yet. Nearly all the bins from this week's cataloguing were returned to the room, including the extra stacks of non-yarn bins that had been in the hallway for some time.

Even with all of these things being returned to the room, my daughter's will still be able to go in there to use my old computer. I can still go in there and get to anything I need to without having to tear half the room apart, or attaching myself to mountain-climbing gear.

At this point, even if every bit of my crafting "stuff" was removed from the living room and dumped in there -- a real possibility as the beginning of December approaches -- I could still get to everything I need to, and so can the girls.

So while some of my work has been "undone", and there's so much more to do, PROGRESS *is* being made!!!

Nicole =o)

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A day in support of SADD, and being thankful

2011-11-24T22:27:00.000-06:00

One of my daughters was "dead" at school today. Her school had put on a demonstration about the dangers of teenaged drinking, and drinking and driving. She wasn't allowed to talk to anyone all day, and of course her appearance startled more than one person.

Even though our Thanksgiving was last month, in honour of US thanksgiving, I'd like it if all my readers took a moment to think about this. Drinking and driving is something that affects us all. Let's all be thankful for the gift of life, and remember that it can be taken away at any time.

Nicole (no smiley face today)

Sucker for punishment?

2011-11-23T23:40:00.001-06:00

That's what I feel like when I'm trying to do my Ravelry updates using my phone. BOLT is the recommended viewing browser for Blackberry users, but the way it reloads a page after each form field is filled out drives me completely up a wall. After a lot of trial and error, I've discovered which browser (default or BOLT) is best for which task. Unfortunately, due to the limitations of using mobile internet, there is no way to speed up "data entry" any more than that. Even the simplest tasks become aggravating time sinks.

Today is my last day of "concerted effort" in getting Ravelry updates done. Any more major additions will require huge amounts of digging in my craft room and elsewhere. I've completely trashed nearly the entire main floor of our house with bins and bags and boxes of yarn and projects, all in varying degrees of progression. I am feeling suffocated by it all, so I have to get it more under control before I go any further. I don't want my craft room to turn into a dumping ground for *everything* this Christmas like it has every other year. It takes me months to be able to even move in there again!

I have most of my "found" UFOs listed as projects now; at least three-quarters of my indexable stash entered; and queued my commissioned projects as well as the kits I have on hand. The more I use the databases that Ravelry has available, the more efficient I can become considering the overwhelming amount of "stuff" I have to use and make.

At least today wasn't stitch-less. I was able to do *nearly* my daily quota on the Monsterghan, before the knuckles of my right hand demanded I stop. I *was* hoping to get two more rows done to finish the repeat I was on. I was going to measure where I was at so that I could motivate myself more towards finishing.

Nicole =o)

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It's a good thing I'm not a politician...

2011-11-22T23:51:00.001-06:00

... because I'm *horrible* with names!

Tonight was my first knit night since July. I'm really glad that I went, even though the dark and cold (possible ice) scares me on the highway. I met 3 new people tonight, but I couldn't tell ya what their names were!

Regardless of my social ineptitude when it comes to remembering the names of people I've just met, I still had a blast. I was able to gift one woman with some yarn for her charity work; I wasn't able to help the one girl trying loom knitting for the first time; I was able to see and feel Knit Picks Chroma; I was able to admire the simple elegance of another lady's (sc, dc) afghan; I was able to demonstrate how to hand-wind a centre-pull ball; and let everyone feel the soft squishy-ness of my Knit Picks Felici.

It was a last-minute decision to go, so I only had a few moments to grab what I was taking. That was actually a good thing, only taking what I realistically needed. Even with all the socializing going on, I was still able to get more than a stripe's worth of my sock done. It was the first knitting I've done since Sunday!

My work on my "old stash" continued today. The progress has slowed a bit, but that's mainly because the "easy" stuff has already been dealt with. Today entailed a *lot* of rewinding, as well as entering UFO afghans into my projects page. My goal is to have this 99% done by the weekend. This way I'll know what, if anything, I require to get and keep everything organized.

As overwhelming as this is, I *really* feel this will help me get a handle on what I have, what I want to do, and what I need to get done!

Nicole =o)

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The productivity of avoidance...

2011-11-21T23:44:00.001-06:00

Another day of great progress... unfortunately it wasn't on my highest priority project, the Monsterghan! I have found that on the days I am avoiding something I *really* need to be doing, I manage to accomplish miracles... in other areas!!!

Today's avoidance project was the start of reorganizing my "old stash". By loose definition, I consider most of what was bought prior to our move to fit this category. With the exception of sock yarn, a huge proportion of this yarn was intended for crocheting. While it *is* interchangeable, I typically have different qualities in mind when looking for yarn for a crocheting project than a knitting project.

My large collection of plastic tubs contain the majority of my vast expanse of stash. Many of these have been sorted through to a certain extent, and some had even been labelled over the last 10+ years. I've gone through binges where I've sorted, frogged, washed, reskeined, rewound yarns but never a concerted effort to catalogue everything like today's.

I separated yarns by brand name, then colour, then dye lot. Each yarn was entered into my Ravelry stash database, including the name of the specific bin it was going to be stored in. It worked out to over 150 separate yarn entries added today, with anywhere from 0.5 skeins to 22 skeins per entry. A few of these needed to be rewound, but not as many as I had to do in previous "stash dives".

It was eye-opening to have to handle each ball of yarn. I *know* I have an obnoxiously huge stash, but there is something to be said for having to touch, look at, and account for each and every skein. On the plus side, I have a better knowledge of what I already have. I know from my Ravelry library listings, that I can shop better and use it to my advantage when searching Rav. Since many of these bins will be stored somewhere other than the easy access of my craft room, the additional step of listing the bin names will allow me to search Ravelry for where my yarn is before I start tearing apart piles of bins all over!

This small start in getting my stash properly catalogued took over 10 hours today with my phone. Many more hours will be spent on this task, especially until I get my craft room in complete order. However, I know from previous experience that this time has been an investment in the future, and that investment will eventually pay off in saved time, as well as money.

Nicole =o)

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The light gets brighter...

2011-11-20T20:52:00.001-06:00

The end of the tunnel is continuing to get closer and closer. I spent a good portion of today (off and on) working on the Monsterghan.

I'm now on the last ball of one of the dye lots. It must have been 4 of one lot, and 6 of the other for the initial purchase. It also must have been the "6 ball lot" that I purchased an additional ball of yarn from. I say this because the 3 remaining balls of yarn in the tote are all the same lot. This will make life a bit easier for me for the rest of the project, since ball changes will now be at the end of a ball, rather than at the end of a repeat as well. For most people this isn't a big deal, but with my *extreme* aversion to end-weaving, this is fantabulous news!

I got my "half-a-repeat" quota done for the day, as well as quite a few ends woven in. I took advantage of my hands not being in knitting condition in the mornings while I was motivated to make progress. I'm still looking at having it finished before the end of the week, and if I keep myself motivated, I *will* make that quota!

Besides, I have a monster list of projects I want to make after this is done!!! *snicker*

Nicole =o)

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The light at the end of the tunnel...

2011-11-19T23:26:00.001-06:00

at least when referring to the Monsterghan, *is* a light, and not a train coming towards me.

Well after my harrowing day yesterday, I spent a good portion of the day today just resting and watching DVDs. Once I started feel remotely, slightly human again, I could start working on the Monsterghan again.

Well I'm very happy to announce that the end *is* now in sight! I had Derek help me measure it. It is approximately 6 feet wide. I couldn't believe it, as it was *supposed* to be only 4 feet wide! The overall length is about 5 feet now. I'm guesstimating that I'll need to do 2-3 more squares and then I can declare it done.

What I'm wondering now is, how long after this is done, will I have the courage to make another afghan??

Nicole =o)

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The balance of the universe...

2011-11-18T23:59:00.001-06:00

requires that everything in life is proportional. The days that prove that fact drive me insane!

Yesterday I wrote about everything I needed to do today. Of course, that means that something has to happen to make all those errands as difficult to do as possible. This time around it was Mother Nature. I'm not sure who pissed her off that badly, but I'd sure like to tear them a new one!

The winter storm started yesterday afternoon, and would let up just long enough at times to make sure that every idiot with (and probably some without) licences would go out and try to drive! Our truck, while a *very* dependable vehicle, is relatively light as it's only a 2 wheel drive. It's definitely sturdy, as evidenced by my trip into the ditch last year, but still doesn't have much traction on sheer ice.

My day was spent slipping and sliding from one place to another. Brandon is built straddling a river valley, so there's lots of hills. This translates into *lots* of places to slip, slide, and go sideways! There's a reason why winter driving was a huge factor in my decision to leave my job... I DON'T LIKE DRIVING IN THIS STUFF!!!

I *did* survive... I *didn't* get in any accidents... I *am* going to bed!!!

Nicole =o)

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Another boring post...

2011-11-17T21:35:00.001-06:00

Well as of the time of this writing, I haven't knit a single stitch today! I've been busy like crazy it seems though.

Tomorrow is my last planned day in town for this month. Derek, myself, and one of the girls have physicals at the doctor's tomorrow. Derek and I are getting a ton of blood work and such done, so we're both on 12 hour fasting. I normally refuse to do any kind of fasting due to my hypoglycaemia, but this time Derek will be with me to drive me to get something to eat afterwards.

I have to run what seems like a million errands. I have to deposit my first "paycheque" from Knit Picks. I have to pay for my driver's licence renewal. I have to go to the bookstore in the mall to use my 15% off coupon, for some Christmas gifts. I have to go to the office supply store for some copies and file folders. I have to go to the craft store for another Christmas present. I have to take my daughter to get her glasses adjusted and repaired. I also have from 1 to 3 online orders to place, and am not quite decided on what I'm getting.

Part of being busy today was the prep work for all of this. I have to make sure I've got all of my paperwork, coupons, and memberships in order. I had to make all of the various shopping lists (tomorrow is grocery shopping too!), which required an inventory of specific things so I could compile the list. Then there was also a long to-do list of emailing, phone calls and other types of correspondence to deal with. I had list after list of to-do, to-bring, to-buy and other whatnot on the go! Sometimes living so far out of town is a real chore!

I still have to take my bath and get off to bed, morning is extra-early tomorrow... we have to leave 45 minutes earlier than normal to make our appointments... I'm tired already! LOL!

Nicole =o)

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Being organized can be time consuming!

2011-11-16T21:26:00.001-06:00

Well the promised Knit Picks order post is being postponed. I spent the better part of the day simply entering all the yarn into my Ravelry stash listing.

It's at times like these where only having phone internet is a real PITA! To make matters worse, the BlackBerry default browser is the fastest way to enter stash, but it doesn't let me enter books or magazines into my library. I have to use BOLT for that, and it has got to be the slowest possible way on the planet for filling out online forms *ever*. After each little box is filled out, the page reloads. After each check box is selected, the page reloads. After each selection from a drop-down menu, the page reloads. You get the idea! Needless to say I *didn't* get the books done today!

While it did take a lot of time, and would have been faster on the laptop using wi-fi, it will still save me time *and* money in the long run. I reference my stash when yarn shopping at the LYSs in Winnipeg, I reference my magazine library when doing our grocery shopping, and I reference my book library when shopping for books and patterns online or in-store. I do my best to keep up with what my leftover are from projects, using my scale. This helps when planning a new project, so I can tell at a glance if I have enough. The more I use the Ravelry databases, the more I get out of them.

I *did* get a little more than the yarn entries done today however! I knit a stripe's-worth of my Felici socks... they are so nice and soft! My walk to the post office today was assisted by a *very* unwelcome North wind, so I came up with a scarf idea to design up. I finished a few rows on the Monsterghan. Last, but not least, I had fun staring at my first commission cheque from the Knit Picks IDP. Sure felt good getting my first *real* paycheque as a designer!!

Nicole =o)

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I'm so spoiled, the proof!!

2011-11-15T22:11:00.000-06:00

I was so overwhelmed with Liz's generosity, that I forgot to attach the pic! It *is* a craptastic phone picture, but I'm sure you get the idea!

Nicole =o)

I'm soooo spoiled!

2011-11-15T22:08:00.001-06:00

Well I knew I had the bestest best friend in the world, but today was one of proof of that. Firstly, she made me cry... She blogged about me and I got all weepy! http://lyzsthoughts.blogspot.com/2011/11/new-day.html Of course I texted her to give her what-for for making me cry!! LOL! Next, I came home to both of the parcels I was expecting; my KP order (see tomorrow's post), and a gifty one from her. Now, I *was* expecting it, and I knew a *few* of the things that were going into it, but she out-did even herself!!!! As I got to the bottom of the box, I got all weepy again!

In August, she had gone to the Mary Maxim tent sale. I had asked her to look for some specific items for me. A cute, golfing Santa felt stocking kit was one. I had been kicking myself for months for not ordering it last year when I first saw it, as it had disappeared from the catalogue *and* website. It was the perfect item for Derek, and I had already purchased several similar kits a few years ago (one of which I mentioned back in October that I was working on it). Another was some Starlette yarn in a few colours so I could swatch with it for an afghan design I'm working on. Starlette is the only line of reasonably-priced machine-washable worsted yarn that has all 11 colours I need for this design. There were also 2 Harmony crochet books (the old ones!) which were the main reason she sent this when she did... I had whined about how in my now vast library of reference books, I had nothing to assist me in designing a crochet lace shawl!!! That's what I knew about!

Next there were several items I vaguely remember her mentioning at one point or another. There's some plain and purply-pink roving for thrums. The purply-pink should work perfectly with the rose and lavender Briggs & Little Regal I bought in the spring for thrummed mitts, and of course, natural goes with everything. There was the Creative Knitting special issue, Techniques, Tips & Tricks. CK is one of the (very) few knitting magazines that I consistently enjoy the projects from, so this was a must-have issue for me... and of course locating it here was impossible (until *after* she bought me a copy!). I dug out a ball of Mary Maxim Bamboo sock yarn... I forgot about that one! I have been purchasing samples of the various wool sock yarns from there, and due to the fibre content, hadn't tried this one yet. The colour she chose is like a rose garden of pink, purple, peach, and green... too nice for *just* socks IMO!!! One other item rang a bell... very soft ring mind you, but a ring nonetheless... a hank of a blue sherbet-like semi-solid hand painted sock yarn, packaged in a parfait cup (more like a slurpee, but that's splitting hairs!). It was for a cancer fund raiser a couple years back. Very cute and very smooshy!

Then came the complete surprises... A blue-grey-black ball of Mary Maxim Bounce, another sock yarn I hadn't tried yet, a *huge* stack of mostly colour-work patterns (I'm *really* needing a KP Palette sampler after looking through them!), a 101 stitch book of crochet stitches for afghans, and 2 *nearly* identical balls of deep blue jacquard sock yarn. Those 2 made me step back for a moment. The yardage on them is huge!!! 440m/ 481yds each! One ball should make even Derek a pair of socks *nearly* to the height he prefers! I later found out that it was in a bin for $2 each!!! I remembered seeing the *really* cheap sock yarn emails from Mary Maxim in the late summer, but this was still surprising... $2 for sock yarn that doesn't feel like it by any means! Usually you get what you pay for, but even Walmart charges more than that for a single pair of socks!!!

I've saved the very best for last... the item that made me cry, and truth be told, has me welling up as I write this. I could not believe my eyes when I pulled out a hank of "Cashmara" sock yarn in Petrol out of the mix. I remembered looking over the website that sold it (sorry, no linky) when Liz was ordering parts for her sock machine. She was doing to me what I do to her CONSTANTLY... making **me** look at yummy yarny goodness to help **her** pick out colours! Sock yarn wasn't the purpose of her order, the parts were, but she wanted some sock yarn too. I totally understood, as my KP orders have been mostly tools and reference, with yarn as an afterthought. I remember looking at the various yarn lines and colours, and how this one colourway grabbed me immediately. Even though the pics she sent me of her stash had a lot of these colours already, this combination was just too good to pass up.

All I remember clearly about that day is the two of us emailing back and forth (as always) and discussing the pros and cons of various colours. I also remember being so happy for her for having her machine finally, and looking forward to when she was practised enough with it to trust *good* yarn such as this to it. I've always lived vicariously through many of the things she does and can do that I can't. As jealous as I am of her being able to "crank out a sock" now, I also know that, for me, making nothing but stockinette, short row heel socks, is not what I want to do with my stash. Derek prefers his ribbed worsted weight Tuffy socks, and I like making patterns with nearly any yarn I have. Plus, heel flap socks are what work best for both of us! Regardless, I can't wait to see her socks once she gets off the current quilting marathon she's on! I love ya Liz!!!

Nicole =o)

PS: The Cashmara feels as good as it looks... it's not "too good" for socks, and not "too rough" for a wearable accessory... the perfect combination in any sock weight yarn!!!

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Still recovering...

2011-11-14T21:26:00.000-06:00

Well I'm still recovering from this weekend's "migraine from hell". At least when I was younger, I had usually had some fun to deserve this kind of recovery pain! Not much got done around the house, but I *did* get some knitting done in between naps. The daily quota on the Monsterghan has been exceeded, and the ribbing is done on the Nearly Instant Gratification socks. I'm really enjoying knitting with Felici as much as I enjoyed squishing it in the ball when it arrived. I'm expecting a *very* comfortable pair of socks!

Nicole =o)

Recovering from a migraine...

2011-11-13T23:57:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was *not* a good day for me... I had one of my crippling migraines. I've only been getting them the last few years, but they have been increasing in both frequency and severity. Unfortunately I haven't found out what all my triggers are, but the worst one is barometric pressure changes. Well the weather has been *very* variable lately, with snow off and on for about a week now. I had it when I first woke up, but I popped a few Tylenol, thinking that it was simply one of the headaches I frequently wake up with. This was not the case, but I didn't discover this until we were already in town for the day, and I didn't have any meds with me. Of course, to make matters worse, Derek had to work late, so I was stuck waiting (and suffering) for over an hour. By the time we finally did get home, I wasn't able to function on even the slightest level. Meds and a 4 hour nap later, I could at least move, albeit slowly, without feeling like I was about to die!

When I woke up this morning, the ache was down to a dull roar, so I could start working, at least a little bit. I managed to get a few rows of the monsterghan done, as well as starting a pair of socks out of some of my Felici. Add in some major Rav updates and catching up on the forums, and you have my day!

Nicole =o)

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Have you seen this bag?

2011-11-12T22:37:00.000-06:00

I recently was made aware of several thefts of designer's samples at some trade shows. It's shocking how much nerve it takes to do something like this, especially considering how unique and recognizable these items are.

This particular bag (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fulfillment) is an especially intricate work of art. Many of the designers on Ravelry are doing whatever they can to get the word out. This bag was stolen from the yarn company's booth at Rhinebeck. If you have seen this bag, please contact the designer, or contact me and I can put you in touch with her. Thank you!

Nicole =o)

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The productivity of avoiding work!

2011-11-11T21:18:00.001-06:00

It's amazing how much I get done when I'm avoiding doing something that I know *has* to get done! That was the name of the game today! I did all kinds of things to avoid working on the monsterghan! About 4 complete loads of laundry, my bedroom cleaned, several rounds of "Age of Mythology", plus other assorted tidying-up jobs! I even organized the leftover balls of yarn from Melissa's afghan, and got that project properly set up in its own shopping tote.

I didn't *completely* avoid my knitting, however. From the time yesterday's picture was taken, I've gotten another 20 rows done. That's another square's worth of rows. I had already done more than my daily quota of 10 rows when the picture was taken, so I'm progressing quite nicely.

Tomorrow is an "in town" day, and I'm *really* hoping to get some major updating done on various things. The shortcomings of this phone can really be annoying at times!

Nicole =o)

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You ought to be in pictures... I hope!

2011-11-10T21:49:00.000-06:00

Well wish me luck! I'm using this post to test my ability to add pictures to a post via email, and to see what happens to them!

I've been slogging away on the monsterghan all day, finishing almost one complete square's worth of rows. I desperately want to work on some designing, so this *has* to get finished quickly. I'm also waiting for 2 parcels to arrive. Hopefully Monday since tomorrow is a holiday, and I'm in town on Tuesday.

*If* the pictures work, please forgive the poor quality, as they were taken with my phone. One is of me hiding behind it to hold it up and show how big it is so far. The other is meant to show the colour and pattern better, along with a peek at our kitten, Spooky.

Nicole =o)

The monster rears its ugly head...

2011-11-09T23:10:00.001-06:00

Well this monster isn't ugly, but would "The monster rears its soft and squishy head" been as dramatic?

After a couple days' break, I'm back working on the monsterghan again. It's nice seeing the tote bag I'm using for this project being filled more with "afghan blob" than "there's *HOW* many more balls of Homespun left"! I'm still not halfway through the yarn I purchased but I do think that I can say that I *am* more than halfway done.

This afghan is getting heavier and heavier all the time. Each ball of yarn is 170g/ 6 oz. That means that it currently weighs over 850g/ 30 oz. Its gonna feel like a quilt by the time its done! I do have to say that it sure is great for keeping the chill off of me while I'm working on it. We have snow now, and even though the furnace is on, the house still feels cold.

I *really* need to get this afghan finished soon. The design muse is shouting at me and I *really* need to be able to listen better. I've gotten more than my *quota* of 10 rows done today, so I think I'm gonna call it a night.

Nicole =o)

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Be afraid... be very afraid...

2011-11-08T22:17:00.000-06:00

Sorry folks, but this is yet *another* video game themed post! If you are completely against war/ violence video games, please read no further. There are no spoilers or graphic descriptions, as this is an editorial comment rather than an actual review.

Today was the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Derek has been looking forward to this ever since August or so when we first found out about it and put the deposit down on our copy. I *have* tried to play previous versions but I suck worse at "first-person shooter" games than I do at golf!!! (Trust me... that's saying a LOT!) However, Derek is really into this series, and is fairly decent at it too.

I was a "good wife" and picked up our copy of the game and the strategy guide while I was in town today. I know we could have picked it up after work as EB Games is just down the hill from his work, but that would have made him lose at least 30 minutes of potential playing time tonight! That's just not acceptable with a brand new game! LOL!

Well I saw something when he was loading the game for the first time that gave me a double-take. Keep in mind that this is a very violent game. The creators take pride in producing life-like graphics, and the 17+ rating is more than deserved. There was a warning for "Inappropriate or possibly offensive content". The game doesn't reveal any details of what type of content, but it does give you the option of skipping over it with no losses in achievements and the like.

If a game of this type offers this kind of warning, and the ability to skip it without penalization... just *how* offensive *is* this content?

I'm afraid... I'm *very* afraid!!!

Nicole =o)

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It's a four letter word ya know!

2011-11-07T11:20:00.000-06:00

Snow... Four letters and just as nasty as the ones your mother used to wash your mouth out with soap for!

We got our first real snow of the year yesterday, and it's still here today! A bit of it melted on the road but it's still covering our lawn and everything else. Only a couple of centimetres (if that), but that's all it takes!

Unfortunately, these drastic weather changes trigger massive migraines for me. So today has been declared an "on the couch" day with the curtains closed. I'll be the one over there --> whimpering under the blanket... Our DVD player has decided to act up too, so I don't even have any TV to veg out to!

Nicole =o)

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Did you change your clock?

2011-11-06T23:01:00.001-06:00

For most people in North America, this morning saw the end of Daylight Savings Time for this year. At our house, that means a *lot* of clocks need to be reset! My phone, and our laptops do it automatically. Derek's and the girls' phones have to be rebooted to recognize the change. The digital clocks on the microwave, coffee maker, and alarm clocks are relatively easy to do. Then there's the two wall clocks in the living room, and the one in the kitchen. I like to clean them whenever I take them down, so that's an additional step in the process.

I *thought* I had slept in until about 9:30 this morning until I checked my phone instead of the wall! The "extra" hour is pretty much taken care of with checking every clock!!! I spent most of the rest of the day playing "Age of Mythology", so I didn't accomplish anything at all on my knitting today!! However, I'm getting better at AOM, so it's time to add more opponents or increase the difficulty, or both! It's a nice diversion from my work, and a nice change from either my novel or DS.

Nicole =o)

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So much to do!

2011-11-05T23:57:00.001-05:00

It seems like the more I try to concentrate on one project, the more things that come up that require immediate attention!

If you have been following my writing lately, you know that my shawl design-in-progress (DIP) is what I want to work on the most. I am about 4 repeats into it, and I'm still liking it, although I *am* wondering a bit about it. That's the main reason I have been able to focus on the monsterghan.

When I measured the monsterghan yesterday, it was approximately 40 inches long. The overall width is 60+ inches as my circular needle is that length, and the afghan is wider than that. I declared to my best friend that I was about half done at that point. I've gotten nearly another square done on it today.

Now I also have orders for a pair of men's socks, and two pairs of slippers to be done. I have no choice but to get the monsterghan done before anything else, as this project was commissioned at the end of May. My designs are a big priority for me too, as I'd like to have my knitting and crocheting to be self-supporting at the minimum.

Well tonight I was commissioned to get a tree skirt done as well! I only have one pattern written up for that, and I'm not certain if it will serve the purposes I need. *sigh* So I have yet *another* design to work on!!

When it rains it pours!!!

Nicole =o)

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And we're off!!! err... on... Casting on that is!

2011-11-04T23:55:00.001-05:00

Now it's time for the next step in this design... choosing the yarn and casting on.

My Ott light is invaluable when it comes time to pick and choose colours. Especially at this time of year, natural light is difficult to come by. I pulled out the two colours of yarn, Doe and Kenai in Knit Picks Gloss fingering, and held them side by side. I called up a close-up of the prayer shawl and decided that the jade colour of the Kenai would be the best fit for my design.

Now that my yarn is chosen, I *still* don't get to cast on yet! The yarn comes in hanks so I have to ball it up. I don't have a ball winder or swift so that process is done by hand. In my limited experience with Knit Picks yarns, this has been an extremely painless experience. The yarn doesn't seem to know how to tangle!

After the yarn has been transformed into a ball, I decided on a needle size, and assembled one. I had a few ideas on the set-up and fiddled around a bit until I found something that worked, and looked how I wanted. I worked it up until one full repeat was completed.

This is where I left it at so that I can "think on it" for a little while and decide if I like how it's turning out.

Nicole =o)

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Still in the planning stages...

2011-11-03T21:35:00.001-05:00

The next step for this design is the graphing. Since I already have a stitch pattern picked out, I don't have to make sample swatches of various stitches to help me in the decision making process.

Call it "Old School" if you like, but I like using pencil, eraser, and graph paper for creating my draft charts. My laptop is often one of the final tools I use in the pattern writing process.

I made a rough draft of the stitch repeat. The book this pattern comes from doesn't provide charts, and does decreases different from my preferred method. I make these initial alterations while doing the written to charted conversions.

My research has found a generic guide for shawl shapes and designing. Since my intended finished shape isn't a typical triangle, this gives me a starting point to work from. I charted out the formula for my desired shape, but it wasn't working out like I had hoped. I modified/ combined the formulas and charted them until I got one I like.

The final part of the pre-cast-on stages is to choose a yarn. I've already decided I'm using some of the non-superwash Knit Picks fingering yarn I received in some sock yarn samplers. Checking my stash, I find 2 candidates: Kenai, a rich teal colour; and Doe, a light, warm brown.

Stay tuned for the cast on!!

Nicole =o)

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The start of a design...

2011-11-02T19:37:00.001-05:00

This is going to be the first in a series of posts about the design process for me. Each project starts out differently, and therefore is designed differently, but this is meant to be an example of one.

About a year ago, a very dear friend of mine became quite ill. She had a liver transplant about 20 years ago, and it was beginning to fail. Derek and I attended the fund-raising social for her, but I felt I still needed to do something. I'd heard of the "Comfort Shawl Ministry" and was compelled to make her one. I went through my stitch books and found one that inspired me. Long story short, I gave it to her and she got better. I really enjoyed the pattern, and kept it in the back of my mind.

This spring I started getting into a real "shawl mood". All I seemed to be able to think of was lace, and shawls, and scarves, and creating that magic that occurs when blocking knitted lace.

I wanted to create a different version of the prayer shawl... different shape, different construction, different yarn weight... basically everything different except for the base stitch. I had remembered an article on shawl design out of one of my magazines, plus did some research online on different shawl shapes and methods.

So after several months of "brain bouncing", and some research, a new design idea starts to take shape. I have some Knit Picks sock yarn that I've ear-marked for shawls, so the next step is choosing which one, and playing with graph paper!

Nicole =o)

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Waiting and slogging; slogging and waiting...

2011-11-01T07:46:00.000-05:00

That's what I'm going through right now!

I was able to place a Knit Picks order Saturday before the book sale was over. I have some more references on the way now, along with a shawl kit and lace samplers. Of course there's other goodies too. I'll share (brag) about it all when it arrives later this month.

All this lace weight yarn has got me chomping at the bit to start on some shawl designs. I'm sure I'll be taking a day this week to play around with my stitch books and graph paper! I'm itching to start swatching!

The slogging is on the monsterghan. Now that my pullover is completed, the monsterghan *has* to be my focus. I am committed to having it finished by the end of the month. I measured it on the weekend, and I would guesstimate that I'm around half-done. I would like to do at least 10 rows a day when at home, which is half a "square" in the pattern repeat.

Wish me luck in my goals!!!

Nicole =o)

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Single-mindedness

2011-10-29T21:44:00.001-05:00

That pretty much describes my mind-set of late... and that's a very good thing! I finished my Tom Clancy novels, all three, last week. I'm looking forward to when the next in the "Jack Ryan" series comes out... It's definitely going on my Christmas list, even though it is a collaborative novel.

My pullover had the last of the seaming and ends woven in yesterday, and the craptastic phone pics we took were uploaded to Ravelry this afternoon. The monsterghan was promptly pulled out of the corner of my bedroom and repaired. I lucked out and it was a very easy fix. I've gotten another 24+ rows knit into it. It's about 32" in length, so I'm nearly at the halfway point. At 176 stitches per row, slogging doesn't begin to describe it, but I'm damned and determined to have it done by the end of November.

I desperately want to start a few projects, but I am trying to be a more monogamous knitter/ crocheter. I have a cardigan I want to do for Melissa, freebie pattern from Mary Maxim and yarn purchased at Ram Wools. I have the yarn for the kids' crocheted monsters waiting, along with the base yarn for Rebecca's Dinoghan. Another one that's screaming to me is the shawl design out of sock-weight wool... I... must... resist!!!

Nicole =o)

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Diversions and distractions...

2011-10-14T23:26:00.000-05:00

Those have been the key words for this week.

One of the greatest gifts Derek gave me with my "permission to quit working", was that I was no longer expected to contribute to the family financially. This took the pressure off of me entirely in the case of my designing. I didn't have to force myself to come up with ideas, didn't have the stress of worrying about submissions, and everything that goes along with that. One of the other things this freedom does is allow me to pursue other interests as well.

This week hasn't been all *that* productive when it comes to my pullover, but it has been in other respects. I've decided that the piece I'm working is the front. I'm now past the neck division. A couple hours at most is all that's left for that section. I've really only devoted one day to working on it this week.

So what *have* I been doing this week? Mainly reading. I am a huge Tom Clancy fan, and I had 2 new books waiting for me to crack them open. "The Bear and the Dragon" was first on the menu. That one took me just over 2 days to devour. I'm now reading "Dead or Alive", but taking my time with it.

I've also been poking around in my craft room. Jackie and I had the goal of my craft room being "sewing ready" by the time school began, but we failed at that for a variety of reasons. I have a stash of at least 5 felt stocking kits that have been misplaced. No amount of digging and rearranging could locate them. I got a few bins ready for cleaning and reorganizing, and managed to discover one if the kits. That's what I spent the afternoon and evening on today... I forgot how time consuming they can be! It appears I got next to nothing done!

Soooooo... I may have been distracted and diverted this week, but at least I didn't start another knitting or crocheting project!!

Nicole =o)

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Thanks RIM... for nothing!

2011-10-13T23:10:00.001-05:00

My friends are used to me calling my phone "the speed bump". Well thanks to a *major* problem with the entire BlackBerry network, I haven't been able to do anything really with my phone for the last day and a half. That means I wasn't able to blog, which tosses me out of the NaBloPoMo contest for the month of October. I'm gonna continue on, as I'm enjoying getting into the blogging habit again.

Stay tuned... I'm working on the armholes and neck of the front of my pullover. I was slightly diverted this week by my books, but this project is still on my high rotation list!

Nicole =o)

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2011-10-10T13:51:00.001-05:00

Here is another episode in my series of stories about my dear husband, Derek.

The summer we were getting ready to move out to the country, I was put on a yarn diet. Not a strict one, but a diet nonetheless. It wasn't hard to stick to as we only had one *real* yarn store nearby then, and the hours made it difficult for me to get there. I never complained, as I knew our finances didn't allow for it, and I had more than enough stash to keep me going. I did buy needles there whenever I could, and got hooked on Addi Naturas!

In March, Derek was sent to Edmonton for manager meetings for his company. I had a wish list of items that I would like for projects I had in mind. I posted in an Edmonton Ravelry group, asking for suggestions for a LYS that would be able to assist him.

Now I trust Derek's judgement in making choices for me. He doesn't immediately look for the cheapest options, but what appeals to him... He even knows to check dye lots, often reminding me to check when we're shopping together! He will pet and squeeze the yarn to see how it feels even. What he doesn't understand is yarn weight and such, and that's what he would need help with.

My list had the yarn requirements for several shawls, blocking wires, lace needles, a couple books and the like. Now for the shawls, I simply stated the weight and length required, and the inspiration. One was part of a series based on the four elements, called Mystic Light, and I simply told him to find yarn that said "light or fire or illumination" to him.

He set off to the LYS, along with his dad and I can't recall who else, list in hand. Now I considered this list to be suggestions only, and by no means did I expect him to get all, or even most, of the items on it. The clerk at the LYS was everything that the Edmonton Rav group said, being extremely helpful. Derek went through my entire list, and everything they had there he bought! His dad was shocked at the $300+ bill, but understood when Derek said how good I'd been on my "diet" and how "this is what she likes to do and it makes her happy".

He didn't tell me that he'd made it to the LYS until he arrived back home. He handed me my list and asked me to read out each item in turn. He was like a magician with a top hat... endlessly pulling out item after item. The yarn choices he made were wonderful, and none of them were even close to *budget* prices! I recall that for one, it was $25 a hank. The amount I needed was about 700 yards and the hank was 600 (or something similar), so he bought 2!! The "Mystic Light" yarn was fantabulous! He chose a gorgeous semi-solid red that screamed "fire" and was a wonderful wool/ raw silk blend that just begged to be handled! He proudly handed me each item, grinning as he saw how thrilled I was. I felt like a little kid at Christmas!

When he completed everything that was on my list that he was able to get, he told me there was still more! He handed me some sock yarn he'd picked out in a brand I didn't have. He remembered that I always try to buy sock yarn from wherever I travel!

It brought tears to my eyes to think of how thoughtful and generous he was, and is. I had been spoiled rotten on this trip! I posted to the Edmonton group to thank them for their help, and to share how great that LYS was... And of course brag about how great Derek was!!!

Nicole =o)

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The Ugly Doily

2011-10-09T22:47:00.005-05:00

Yesterday's post got me thinking about how lucky I consider myself with my hubby, and all the stories I like to share about him to demonstrate that. Today I will share another one of my favourite stories.

The Ugly Doily

My husband, Derek, and I have been together over 11 years now, but right from the beginning I knew I had a "keeper". He loved everything I made, appreciated all the effort that went into it, and encouraged me greatly in anything I wanted to try. When we'd go out shopping and come home with crochet supplies (I only crocheted at that time), he'd even put the items away for me and in their proper places too... labelled bins are invaluable in that respect!

Two of my favourite crochet magazines were (and still are even though they're now out of print) Magic Crochet and Decorative Crochet. I would purchase them faithfully every month and would always have at least a half dozen doilies I wanted to make out of each one. Derek would often glance through my magazines, although I always thought he was being polite, or just *that* bored!

I had one issue that when I looked through it, it had the usual half-dozen or so WIMs, but there was one pattern that was *sooooo* not my taste. It was the last pattern I would ever make out of that magazine... I wouldn't say that I hated it, but the words "strongly dislike" were a mild indication of my feelings towards that particular design. There was no way I would ever waste my time on that doily... life is too short for working on patterns that I don't enjoy!

Derek did his typical glance through that magazine, and to my surprise, he asked me if I'd make him one of the doilies in it. Of course I said yes! How many men ask their wives to make them a doily?!??! Imagine the look on my face, and the dismay in my heart when he showed me the pattern he wanted me to make for him... that gawdawful fugly design that I'd never *ever* make!!!

Well there's absolutely no way I can say no. This man supports and encourages me in every little thing I do. He loves me and appreciates me for who I am. I *have* to do this for him. Even though he knows at this point now that I don't like the pattern (putting it very mildly for his benefit), I tell him to go pick out the thread he wants for it... remember, he's the one that puts it away when we go shopping so he not only knows *what* it is, but *where* it is too. He dives into my thread bin and proudly pulls out the most gaudy (okay, maybe the second-most gaudy) ball of thread I had in there. It was a loud variegated white-to-navy blue that gave me a headache just to look at it!

What am I to do? He's chosen the worst possible pattern, and the worst possible thread, and I have no choice at all but to grin and bear it. I work on the project for him faithfully, bringing it with me wherever I go to work on... if for no other reason than to get it out of the way as fast as I can! Whenever anyone would stop to look at what I was working on, I would get nothing but compliments about how great a pattern it was and how cool the thread was. It took every bit of self-control I had to simply say "thank you", and nothing more!

This wasn't a small project really. This finished size was to be around 45 cm when done in size 20 thread, and I was doing this one in size 10. I had about 5 cm more to go when the worst possbile thing happened... I ran out of thread. Not only was I being forced to work this horrific pattern, in this headache-inducing thread, but I HAD TO GO BUY MORE!!!! I *did* get the doily finished, ends woven, and blocked out in a decent amount of time. It ended up well over 60 cm in diameter, but then again, doilies never really take me a bunch of time (see my 3-day table topper in my Ravelry projects for an example).

Derek proudly cleaned off his dresser, and that doily has been displayed on there ever since. If it's not there, it's because I've taken it to wash and block it. There have been a few times that I've taken it off to show someone that I've shared this story with, and Derek is always terrified that I'm going to give it away (like 99% of my doilies... you admire it, it's yours!). I could never give that doily away. I affectionately referred to it the entire time I was working on it as "The Ugly Doily", and the name has stuck to this day. That doily is a symbol of my love for him, that because he loves me so much, that I will put aside my personal feelings to do what is the most difficult for me, simply because it is for him.

I love you very much honey, and I am thankful for every day that we have together.

FWIW, there never was anything really wrong with that pattern. No errors, and the chart was easy to follow. It was simply something that didn't appeal to me at all in the least. And it seems that I was about the only one that felt that way. I don't ever recall anyone disliking the pattern other than myself!!

The ends never end...

2011-10-08T20:41:00.001-05:00

I am notorious for not doing ends on projects. I avoid them like the plague. Everybody that knows me at all knows about this. I have been known to find a pair of socks... where the knitting was completed on them months, or even years before... and all that was required was weaving in *FOUR* yarn ends!

My favourite story to share about my reputation happened about 8 or 9 years ago at Christmas. This is one of the many "my wonderful DH" stories that I love to tell.

First there's the back story. Starting in about late September or October I began work in secret on afghans for 2 of my pre-teen daughters. The finished size of these afghans was about 55-60" by 75-80". There was also a variety of other projects on the go, I was pregnant (or nursing depending on the year, I can't remember), designing when I could, very involved in online communities, and working full-time. At the beginning of November, a new CAL group was created as an off-shoot of Crochet Talk. As one of the admins on CT then, I was heavily involved in the management of this new group as well.

The first project was a 9-patch quiltghan by Bea (something...). I was immediately in love with this pattern, and *had* to start it even though I had *so* much on the go already. My stash had at least one ball of each colour of Red Heart Super Saver that our Walmart carried, so I spread them all out on the kitchen table for my husband Derek to choose. I should insert here for those of you that don't regularly follow my blog, that my DH has wonderful taste, and I've learned to trust his yarn choices in all projects.

He chose a wonderful purple/green/white multi (the name escapes me right now since I rarely use RHSS anymore) along with the co-ordinating solids. I was ready to begin, and was looking forward to the granny squares as a great diversion from the more complex and involved projects I had on the go. This quilt-ghan was constructed like a typical 9-patch quilt, but using granny squares. Each 12" block was made up of 9 smaller squares. These squares could be anywhere from 1 to 4 colours each. If you are counting, that means a minimum of 18 and up to 72 ends per 12" block. It was a 3x4 construction, so that means 12 of these 12" blocks. It's okay if your eyes begin to glaze over at the boggling number of ends, prior to joining the blocks with sashing or adding the border (which was 3 colours if I remember correctly)!

Even though I had so many other things to finish, I couldn't put this project down. Derek is very accepting of my "creative mess" so he tends not to pay a great deal of attention to my "stuff" unless there is a drastic change (for the good or bad). By the middle of December I had most of the squares done and I began to realize that I *could* finish this afghan in time for Christmas along with the 2 others (1 *was* done for sure by this point and the other may have been as well).

Keeping in mind that he was used to seeing my stack of 12" blocks on the side of my computer desk, and knowing that there was a lifetime of ends to work on, I devised a plan to accomplish my goal. I began by working all of the ends on the inside of the 12" blocks, leaving the outer ones hanging. Unless you picked it up, you wouldn't realize that the rest of the ends were done. Once I had the inner ends done, I needed a way to shift his attention away from the squares of *his* afghan (he'd already claimed it as his after the 2nd or 3rd block was done). I began moving the blocks to the UFO pile under my desk. That was his hint that he would be lucky to see this afghan before he retired.

Now I could safely finish off the remaining ends, and even start joining a few of the blocks. He had to work until noon on Christmas Eve, and that was when the last of the border rows were completed along with the last of the ends. I carefully folded it up into a clear zippered afghan bag, gift-wrapped it, and hid it under the tree.

The next morning, when he un-wrapped it, you could see he was pleasantly surprised that I had finished it after all, but he didn't remove it from the bag. He promptly tossed it across the room at me, as I was sitting at the opposite end of our large sectional sofa. I tossed it back at him, saying nothing. He threw it again, and I tossed it back again. This game of "hot potato" lasted a few more rounds before I finally said something to him about just throwing his afghan at me. He replied that he was throwing it at me so I could do the ends. I very sternly told him to open the bag.

His face was as red as a Santa suit as he muttered "Thank You"...

Nicole =o)

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Small things...

2011-10-07T20:40:00.001-05:00

... amuse small minds!

Well that's certainly true for me today! I discovered a way to do a 2 stitch cable without a cable needle, *without* dropping a stitch first! I actually knit the stitches out of order without removing them from the left needle until they're both worked. Since my pullover is out of Mary Maxim's Starlette Ragg, an acrylic yarn, most of the cable needle-less cabling methods won't work well.

I'm 4 repeats (around 50 pattern rows) into the piece, and I'm happy I managed to figure this out. The 2 stitch cables are on every right side row, so this is saving me a bunch of time and hassle. The main 8 stitch cables are on every 12th row, so I do those with the cable needle. I'm using my Brittany birch wood cable needle and I'm finding that it's great for keeping my cable stitches under control. The main pieces are being worked with my Knit Picks nickel-plated interchangeable set. The slippery finish of these is helping me fly through this project.

It's not entirely stockinette now, but I'm still completely addicted!

Nicole =o)

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Can we have a drum roll please?

2011-10-06T20:30:00.001-05:00

I am thrilled to announce Knit Picks latest designer in the IDP program... ME!!! (insert loud cheering crowd sound effect here)

Walk in the Garden Socks: www.knitpicks.com/patterns/Walk_in_the_Garden_Socks__d11223220.html $1.99 USD for electronic download

I'm sorry there isn't a cooler text hyperlink, but I don't know how to do that when I'm posting from my phone. (Sorry, the geek in me is coming out) I know it's silly, but I was as giddy as a schoolgirl when I got the email. Of course I immediately changed my facebook status too!

Oh well, back to trying to cable on my pullover... Stay tuned for when I'm ready to submit my next pattern design proposal to KP, a shawlette in lace weight or fingering weight! I've got the stitch pattern already chosen, it's just deciding which shawl shape I will use and then going from there.

Nicole =o)

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So much to do, so little time!

2011-10-05T22:12:00.001-05:00

Even though I've accomplished so much lately (see yesterday's post), I feel I have so much more to do! I have *so* much in progress, but I have been trying to complete more than I start. Now only if I could force myself to do the last bit of finishing... I have more projects than I care to admit that are 90% or more done!

My pullover is going to need at least a week's worth of solid knitting before it gets to the point of seaming and sewing. We'll see if *that* part goes as fast!!!

The girls' teddy bears need their arms sewn on before I can finish up the body seaming and stuffing. My excuse is that I haven't decided how to sew them on without looking stupid! I even managed to get their faces embroidered before I put them aside for the September commissioned projects!

My Prize Cardi needs seaming and then borders. The side seams didn't turn out neat and smooth so it's just sitting there, waiting for me to decide what to do about it! I still need buttons for it too.

Neecie's Monsterghan needs some repairs and then I can continue on that. I have to have it done before my next trip into Winnipeg. I still have about 5 or 6 balls of Homespun to go... I started with 10.

Then of course there's designs and patterns in varying degrees of completion... I'll get to those eventually! I am gonna *have* to create some hard and fast deadlines to get this stuff done. Wish me luck!

Nicole =o)

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FO report... Oh my Goodness!!!

2011-10-04T20:09:00.001-05:00

The past few months have been very productive, even though I don't really have any new designs to show for it. Here's the line-up, best as I can remember. My Rav project names are in parentheses where applicable.

June: Walk in the Garden socks done; Elijah's blanket finished; Neecie's Monsterghan started; a complete 4 pc. Gumdrop Kitchen Set done; 2 pairs of work socks finished; 2 KAL/ CAL cloths done

July: a complete 4 pc. Gumdrop Kitchen Set done; 2 Gumdrop Placemat and Coaster Sets done; 3 items in the Vichelle Bath Set done; 6 standard dishcloths done; a baby bunting bag finished

August: All that Glitters Shawl (The Mohair Blob) finished; the Season's Shawl (Really in the Mood for a Shawl) 3/4ths finished; my 3 monsters (Candy, Mum, & Frankie) done

September: 2 teddy bears (Ted D. Bear & Ted E. Bear) nearly completed; 12 standard dishcloths done; Zoe Cardigan done (Angelina's Cardi); the Season's Shawl completed

Other constant projects have been: Melissa's afghan (several strips completed); Neecie's Monsterghan which was started in June (about 1/3rd done as of this writing); My Prize Cardi (95% done, currently hibernating while I make decisions on it); Texaco socks (a design-in-progress which is currently my "truck sock", so very slow-going)

Even the pullover I'm currently focusing on seems to be going really smoothly... although I've probably just jinxed it by saying that! So I expect my October list to be pretty impressive too!

I'm sure I've missed a few here, but you get the idea!

Nicole =o)

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How can stockinette be addicting?

2011-10-03T13:52:00.001-05:00

I'm not quite sure of the proper answer, but in my current WIP I certainly *am* addicted!

The project I'm talking about is a kit I ordered from Mary Maxim earlier this year. The kit is called "Cabled Ragg Pullover", and I'm doing it in the Denim Ragg colourway. It's kit# 4069-70N on their website, and I can't find it listed in the Ravelry pattern database.

I officially started it only 5 days ago, and I'm already nearly finished the 2nd sleeve. Not bad at all considering how little time I've had to work on it! It's a simple pullover with shawl collar and a single central cable section in the middle of the front and back pieces. Everything else is stockinette, and for whatever reason, I can't seem to put it down!

The pattern calls for a tension of 18 sts and 24 rows over 10cm in stockinette. I tried the recommended 5.00mm needles first, and while my row gauge was dead on, my stitch gauge was 17.5. With the size I'm making (42-44), that would have added about 7cm more to the finished garment width! I dropped to a 4.5mm needle, and my gauge was about 17.5 sts and 26 rows!! Considering that acrylic yarns tend to grow in my experience, I decided to go ahead with that size.

I fully expect to be finished the second sleeve and begin working on one of the main body pieces later today... Wish me luck with trying to cable for the first (real) time!!!

Nicole =o)

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Can we please get some focus here?

2011-10-02T20:28:00.001-05:00

Those words have been my mantra lately. In order for me to be able to concentrate on my designs and design-related work, I need at least a couple of hours without interruptions at a time. If I'm "on a roll" and I'm suddenly distracted, you can forget getting back "into the zone"!

It all started at the beginning of June with company that stayed *much* longer than expected (3 weeks instead of 1) and a deadline for a Knit Picks IDP pattern and project. That project was technically only a couple days late, but the postal strike 2 days after I shipped the socks added a couple weeks or a month to that!

My summer didn't improve "thinking-wise". Kids home, frequent day trips into town, flooding, then heat... Needless to say any attempts to focus were fruitless!!!

Here we are already into October and I *still* haven't built up much momentum!! We were fully a week into September before the kids started school. I *did* have several days where I actually felt I had accomplished some work... Then yarn came in for 2 commissioned projects that had to be done within 2 weeks... Then I found out my father passed away... A weekend trip to the big city for shopping and project delivery... And an out-of-town funeral for a dear relative on my mom's side... Well you get the idea!!!

Here's to praying that October is more focussed!!

Nicole =o)

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Are you organized?

2011-10-01T08:05:00.000-05:00

I *try* to be... I tend to have one of those memories that actually *can* remember exactly where a specific item is in a mess! Unfortunately (or is that fortunately?!) I live in home with other people that not only *touch* things, but *move* them too!! This requires me to have some sort of organization method for my crafting stuff. Plus, I am finding order to be calming and very crucial in my ability to focus.

Since this year has all been about focussing more on my designing, as well as working on OPPs (other people's patterns), I need to organize things to prevent me from becoming overwhelmed.

I want to make my work and storage areas clean, tidy, and user-friendly. I have made two gigantic leaps in that direction over the past few months. The first has been my being 99% faithful in uploading my stash as I purchase it. If it's purchased for a particular project or design idea/ theme, I usually include that in the description as well. The second has been entering my entire library into my Ravelry database. Nearly every book, booklet, and magazine I own is now listed. Some of the older ones aren't in Rav's database, and most of my older crochet magazines are still packed away.

I have most of these pages bookmarked in my phone. This has proven invaluable while out shopping. I can check if I've already purchased a particular magazine, what colours of a particular yarn I already own, or how many metres of yarn I need for a queued project.

I have taken other baby steps as well. I own several sets of dpns in smaller "sock" sizes, as I don't do magic loop or two circs. I purchased some small pencil boxes on clearance that are the perfect size. I printed up labels with the size, and it's easy to see at a glance which one I need. They also stack nicely! After receiving my Knit Picks interchangeable sets I purchased a huge tackle box to replace the smaller ones I had been using for years. The only thing it doesn't hold is my straight needles and speciality hooks. It's a one-stop place for 99% of my tools. I bought some magazine holders at the office supply and filled each one as we entered them into Ravelry, then placed a label on the spine with title and dates. I have several small "Show Offs" containers in the CD size. These are perfect for balls of sock yarn. As I purchase them, I fill them with a particular brand or type of yarn. I also have many large Rubbermaid tubs with all sorts of stash and such purchased over the last 15 years. As these are sorted, they get labels too since they are stacked up nearly to the ceiling!

This is all a work in progress, and I take steps back as I take steps forward. My goal to be able to use my craft room by the time the kids returned to school failed miserably. However, Jackie and I *did* make progress. My many varied interests make my task of sorting and organizing exponentially more difficult! I crochet doilies, so there's a large stash of thread. I knit socks, so there's a huge stash of fingering and worsted wool... 100+ pairs worth at least. I knit and crochet kitchen items, so there's a mountain of cotton yarn. I knit and crochet a variety of clothing and blankets, so my stash includes all weights and fibres of yarn in varying amounts. I also enjoy scrapbooking, sewing, painting, and quilting on a smaller scale, but those too require room.

Once you read about me starting my quilt, you will know that I have achieved my goal in my craft room. You can rejoice for me along with Derek!!

Nicole =o)

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Time to focus, dagnabit!!!

2011-09-15T14:35:00.001-05:00

Where has the summer gone? It seems like just yesterday that I was working on the Footworks submissions, and here it is the middle of September already!!!

May was a whirlwind... "Tutu Cute" won first place, "Walk in the Garden" was accepted for consideration into Knit Picks IDP, and I got to meet my grandson finally!!

June was over in the blink of an eye. Grandbaby was here for most of the month and I quickly discovered that I *had* to give up all of my designing plans for the summer. Without my total solitude during the day I simply could *not* focus on my work.

July was... umm... err... I don't even *remember* July! Oh ya! I knit a shawl!!! I think...

August was here and gone before I even knew it! "Walk in the Garden" was readied for publication, but my summer-swiss-cheese-memory-and-attention-span meant that it was delayed even longer. Oh! And I knit another shawl!

Now it's September and I'm thrilled to be back in front of my laptop again. So far I haven't really done much in the designing front, but I *have* been productive nonetheless. 90% of my library is now listed on Rav. My stash and projects aren't completely up-to-date but they are getting more accurate, and I'm getting better about remembering photos. I have tons of notes to work into patterns but I'm trying very hard to work on them one at a time so I don't get overwhelmed.

What *am* I working on? Tons of stuff, as usual!!! In the next week or so I'll have a few FOs to report. I was commissioned to make a cardi for a friend's daughter. Unfortunately the pattern wasn't tech edited (or wasn't tech edited properly) so I've had to actually think while crocheting it. That's usually why I *like* doing OPPs (other people's patterns), so that I *don't* have to think! I've got a couple of beanie baby-sized teddy bears that are nearly done for Jackie and Rebecca. I've also got a shawl that's about 20 rows away from being done.

I'll post again soon and write about this summer's FOs, but in the mean time you can see many/most of them on my Rav projects page: http://www.ravelry.com/nicolethegeek/projects I also have 30 of my patterns listed, with more to be added soon: http://www.ravelry.com/designers/nicole-rodgers

Till next time,
Nicole =o)

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Calgon...take me away!!!

2011-04-22T12:33:00.001-05:00

Sometimes life gets in the way of plans, and that was definitely the theme of the day yesterday!!! Be warned, this post is not for the faint of heart!

It started out like any normal day when I get to go into town, but within an hour of getting there, anything I had actually planned on getting done got thrown out the window!! Because the little ones didn't have an after-school activity, an extra trip back home at 3pm was already counted on. At about $15+ in gas for each return trip to town, you tend to plan carefully!

First, I go to the wi-fi spot and get logged in. Sometimes I have trouble with the connection, so I tend to not even shut off the truck until I've tested it. It does, so I get all nice and comfortable, and 5 minutes later, it craps out totally. Okay, pack up and head across town to another wi-fi. Within half an hour of arriving at wi-fi spot #2, my phone rings... Derek's boss... One of the kids is sick at school. So I try to get in touch with Derek to see what I should arrange since I haven't even scraped the surface of what I needed to do online as well as my in-town errands.

About 15 minutes after the boss call, one of the teachers at the school sends me a PM because of the sick kid... It was more than just a sore tummy. So I drop everything and leave town to get her from school. 45 minutes later I arrive at the school and request that her brother be put on the late bus so that I won't need to come back again before having to be in town to pick Derek up from work. No go, but I *do* make arrangements to pick him up in town at 2:20.

Sick kid (who's no longer sick really) and I trek back to town after a brief stop at home to drop off school bags -- keep in mind that a trip from home takes 30 minutes and 45 minutes from the school -- and get comfortably settled in. She's happily looking through my various mail order catalogues, and playing with a random Happy Meal toy I had tucked in my laptop bag. Then of course she's hungry, justifiably so since it's now 12:15 and she is used to lunch at 11:30!

We are in line at a *very* busy fast food restaurant, waiting our turn behind a *very* big police officer. Sick kid is hiding behind me because he's scary!! Trying to hold on to her without losing our place in line. Phone rings AGAIN!! I *should* pause here to say that I don't have call display, so I have no idea who's calling, EVER... This time it's oldest kid... He needs me to drive him to pick up his no-longer-suspended licence, the bank, and insurance agent so the driveway ornament can be moved. All downtown of course!!

Sooooooooo... sick kid and I get our meals to-go, and head off in the truck again to go all the way across town to pick up oldest kid, and then into downtown for *his* errands. And I *still* haven't done any of mine yet!!! His first stop, which is supposed to be only 5 minutes, has us waiting nearly 45 minutes sitting in the truck. At least I had a now-cold burger to eat while waiting! There was no time remaining in his lunch break to do the rest, so we took him straight back to work.

He asked me to go through the coffee shop drive-thru to get him coffee and something to eat. Looking at the time, I had a bit more than half an hour or so until I need to pick up little brother from the pool, so I agree. The usually-speedy coffee shop is in slow motion, and a 5-10 minute errand turns into 20!

So now I have 10-15 minutes before pick-up...let's try to get some email done quickly since the pool is nearby. I get logged in and my phone rings...school wondering where I am because the bus is ready to go back to school. I look at the clock and it's only 2:10, but I make the mad dash to the pool, with ANOTHER call from the school just as I'm turning the corner onto the pool street!!!

Now I have two little ones and myself, so any errand running is definitely out. What were the errands I had to do anyway? I've entirely forgotten by now. There's about 2 hours until Derek is done for the day and my poor laptop feels horribly neglected. I manage to get logged in again, but by now I can't remember a single thing that I still had to do! The connection was spotty and lagging like crazy, but there was no way I was going anywhere else to try for something better! Of course this is when the rain that had been spitting off and on begins coming down in earnest. So much for letting the sproggins run around outside in the fresh air while I tried to think!

I *did* remember at nearly the last minute that I had the testing results from one of my testers to download. My phone gets cranky with attachments, so even though I had received the emails the day before, I didn't download them then since I knew I was going to be online. I try to use Yahoo mail for all my "business" related stuff, and it wouldn't let me even open the emails until I upgraded to their "new" mail!! So I finally get the files on to my computer, look at the time, and Derek is due off work any minute! I forget my manners and don't reply to my tester, don't have time to check that the files saved correctly, and I'm not expecting to return to town until Tuesday!!

We got to Derek's work just in time to find out that he hasn't returned yet from the farm he was at. Two energetic kids, one frazzled mom, and a now-fogged-up-window'ed truck makes for one horrid combination!! Twenty minutes later he gets back to the shop, and ten minutes after that, we finally get to leave.

Being such a great hubby, Derek knows right away that I'm in no shape for our weekly shopping (which was the whole point initially of my going into town!), so we decide to make just one stop at a small discount store for our smokes and any other odds and ends we could there. I remembered then that I had wanted to get a few colouring books for the kids (and me) from the dollar store earlier that day. We found some Easter-themed ones, but can you believe it, THEY DON'T SELL CRAYONS!!!

I went home, laid down on the couch, had a nap, got up and went to bed... We didn't have any Calgon in the house for my bubble bath!!!

Nicole =o)

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Hurry up and wait!

2011-04-19T21:48:00.001-05:00

Isn't that how it always is? You rush through everything, and are stuck sitting around doing nothing at the end!!!

Patience has never been one of my strong suits, and at my age, trying to change is nearly impossible! But that is what I need to do! I am finding myself chomping at the bit to get patterns uploaded to Ravelry, but I am forced to take to take baby steps.

I currently have around a dozen completed patterns that need testing. I discovered quite quickly that it's *very* easy to get overwhelmed when dealing with multiple testers and multiple patterns!!! In order to keep my own personal high standards of quality, I need to restrict myself to one or two designs being tested at a time.

So now I'm in the hurry up and wait stage!!! I scramble to get the patterns formatted for testing, and make arrangements to go into town to email the necessary files off to the testers. Then I play the "Final Jeopardy Theme" over and over in my mind as I wait to hear back.

I'm also waiting to hear about the results of the sock design contest I entered. When those results come in, it decides which additional patterns get added to the testing queue. I think I need some Calgon...and a soundproof bathroom door!!!

Until next time,
Nicole =o)

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Opinions? Everyone's got 'em!

2011-04-06T23:58:00.001-05:00

Anyone?? Anyone?? Bueller??

Yes, I'm searching for opinions, and that is why I am simultaneously posting across all of the NCB yahoo groups as well as to my blog. I want opinions, and I want as many varied responses from as many different sources as I can!

What sort of opinions am I looking for? Well actually, I want to know what *YOU* are looking for!! Please reply or comment and let me know. If you wish it to be more confidential, feel free to drop me a line at nicolethegeekATyahooDOTca (replace the AT with @ and DOT with . )

What kinds (type of item) of patterns do you want most?
What difficulty level(s) do you prefer?
Do you prefer charts or written instructions?
What is most important to you in a pattern?
What drives you crazy when you find it in a pattern? (Please be specific about *what* it is, not *who* did it)

This list of questions is meant to be a guideline mostly, and I would hope that it will create more of a dialogue. As a designer, I need to know these things from a different viewpoint than just my own.

I would like to thank you all in advance for taking the time to indulge me in my questions.

Nicole =o)

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Not an April Fools' joke...

2011-04-01T13:09:00.003-05:00

Just a fast note to bring my template changes to your attention. You may not notice anything different, but take a closer look at the sidebars... they both got a much-needed update. The information there is now current!! WOW!! Enjoy your April 1st, and hopefully you aren't taken by any jokes!!

You ought to be in pictures!!!

2011-03-30T16:29:00.006-05:00

First of all, please excuse the poor formatting for this post... I'm a bit out of practice with my HTML tags and such!! In any case, I'm happy to showcase a couple of recent design photos. Below is the official photo for the sock pattern Walk in the Garden. It's worked in sportweight wool on 2.75mm needles. It was originally designed for Ram Wools' footworks 1.0 design contest.

Below is the baby afghan I've named Manny. I created a new stitch for this design that gives it a thermal quality.

Below is a photo of one of the knitted MAM strips for the pattern Melissa. It's knit with a soft worsted weight yarn on 5.0mm needles. I'm really liking how it's turning out.

These boots were made for walkin'...

2011-03-20T00:29:00.000-05:00

And that's just what they did!!! I'm so happy to say that I'm now unemployed, by choice!!! It's been nearly a month now, and I've rediscovered what sleeping AT NIGHT is like!!

My sock designs for Ram Wools' footworks 1.0 contest are coming fast and furious now. As of this writing: 2 patterns have been submitted -- "Walk in the Garden" and "Eggplant Parmasana"; 2 patterns are written except for the second size -- "Eat Your Veggies" and "By the Sea"; and 1 pattern is in progress, but nearly finished -- "Tiptoe through the Tulips".

Melissa's and Elijah's blankets are progressing well, and have been coming in very handy for when either my hands or my brain (or both!) need a break from the socks.

I have posted some pictures on my flikr photostream, and linked the appropriate ones to my Rav projects. You'll find "Walk in the Garden", 3 other sock FOs, as well as samples from the 2 afghans.

Please let me know what you think!

Nicole =o)

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Two for the Show!

2011-02-28T02:09:00.001-06:00

My second entry for Ram Wools' footworks 1.0 is now done! Well the knitting anyway! Now comes the technical stuff -- the finishing touches on the pattern, the photography, proofing it all before submission.

I'm very pleased with how both of these have turned out and am looking forward to the contest results.

The next design is currently in the planning stages and hopefully I'll be casting on in the next day or two. I have some charting, sketching and swatching to do first but I already have a few pictures in my mind's eye.

Nicole =o)

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One down!

2011-02-18T02:24:00.001-06:00

Well the first design for Ram Wools' footworks 1.0 contest has been completed! I finished it last night and named it "Eat Your Veggies"! No real reason, just a name that popped into my head while I was knitting away with the moss green Sisu!

The pattern itself will be finished shortly. It would have been done already but I'm waiting to hear back from them on a few questions I had about the writing. I won't be sharing any photos yet since I am undecided about submitting it to Knitty if it's not accepted for the contest.

Design #2 has been started and is progressing well despite a Bob Ross moment! The weather here has been beyond craptastic lately, and if it continues like it's supposed to, I expect #2 (as yet unnamed) to be finished in short order as it's less complex than the first.

Work on Melissa's and Elijah's blankets have been sporadic as of late. My hands have been co-operating with the tiny sock needles so that's where my energies have been going.

Stay tuned for my look inside my head!! I will be posting about one of the ways the design process works for me... From the initial wisps of an idea, to a completed published pattern!!!

Nicole =o)

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The project of a thousand yards...

2011-02-06T03:23:00.001-06:00

begins with a single stitch.

Truer words have never been spoken! The largest, most daunting project is completed the same as any other -- one stitch at a time.

Progress is best measured as a series of steps. Not every step is always forward, but it is a step nonetheless. We only cease to progress when we cease to make steps. I like to judge my level of progress as it is related to my peace of mind. The more calm and relaxed I am, the more I feel I can and do accomplish.

I cast on for my first footworks 1.0 entry this past evening, and it has been a double-edged sword for my level of calmness. I really want to clear at least one if not two projects before embarking on yet another, but the time frame involved gives me little choice if I want to enter the competition.

I now have 4 main projects on the go: "Eat Your Veggies" socks, "Melissa" MAM, "Manny" thermal babyghan, and of course a generic sock kept in my purse. I pray that my hands allow me to continue to work at all of these so that I can finish them all in a timely manner. Designing is what drives me, but in order to accomplish my goals, I must complete all of these projects myself.

Nicole =o)

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Too many minds...

2011-02-01T19:24:00.001-06:00

Have you ever seen the movie "The Last Samurai" with Tom Cruise? At one point when Tom's character is doing battle with another and losing, he is given advice on focussing because he has "too many minds". I can certainly relate to that!!!

I have so much on the go, and so much that I want to do, that I too am suffering from "too many minds". On the plus side, I am making some progress towards my goals.

I am now officially a designer on Ravelry!!! I have one pattern uploaded with 2 more linked to me but I want to get most of the bugs worked out there before I upload too much more.

I currently have two new afghan patterns written up, and just need to finish the actual projects so that I can finalize the supplies list, finished size, etc. One is a crocheted thermal baby blanket designed for my new grandson. The other is a knitted MAM designed for my youngest daughter.

I am also in the researching stage of several sock designs for Ram Wools footwork 1.0 design contest. Cross your fingers for me!!

Now to focus... Design? Knit? Crochet? Convert files? Too many minds!!!

Nicole =o)

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Stumbling blocks or building blocks?

2011-01-19T17:58:00.001-06:00

I am very thankful for the post-its on my laptop, and the notepad on my Crack Berry! If it wasn't for those two *very* vital tools, I would be utterly lost in my quest to get my designs back online. It seems that for every item I check off on my task list, I find two more things that need to be done! I'm keeping my chin up... the cup is half full, not half empty.

I am very happy to announce that I have been able to recover most of my old design files. I was able to perform enough CPR on my old pooter to transfer almost everything I had on there to my new laptop. Unfortunately, the HDD (for the non-geek, that's the thingy that saves all the *stuff* you save!) on Derek's comp isn't compatible with mine so I haven't been able to retrieve anything from there as of yet. All is not lost since I have more than 50 patterns that need to be checked, formatted, and converted. That will keep me busy for quite a while since each pattern takes up to an hour to switch over if I have all the components needed. There are quite a few missing images as well as other pitfalls so not everything I once had up will be available right away.

I am enjoying all of this immensely. I have a couple of technical things to deal with, such as finding some web space and getting myself recognized as a designer on Ravelry, but nothing that can't be overcome. I'm very excited to be doing this again and look forward to hearing your comments and feedback once again.

Nicole =o)

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Yes Virginia, there really are yarn voices!

2010-12-16T06:21:00.001-06:00

I had a conversation with a friend of mine the other day about what inspires me for designing. Having known me for 25+ years she's quite used to my usual level of insanity, plus she's a mental ward nurse too! After I had explained to her how the design process works for me, she exclaimed, "you really *do* hear yarn voices, don't you?" For some strange reason it got me thinking of the age-old editorial column, "Is there a Santa Claus?"

I'd like to know what inspires you? What drives you to create?

For me I get my ideas from anything and everything. Sometimes the yarn speaks to me and tells me what it wants to be. Other times I get a design idea and then the perfect yarn presents itself. My design process tends to be haphazard, like my life can be at times, but it works!

Nicole =o)

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What's important to you?

2010-11-25T07:07:00.001-06:00

I've spent a lot of time lately going over things and deciding what is truly important to me. I have come to realize that there are things that we choose, and things that choose us. Have you ever noticed that?

Designing is something I feel has chosen me, rather than the other way around. Especially in the last few months, my muse has been hollering at me -- not the usual whispers and hints I'm used to -- but full out, top-of-the-lungs screaming! I have no choice but to pay attention and listen. The design ideas often come fast and furious. I can't write quick enough to keep up with them. I need to make piles and piles of notes to shut the voices down for the time being, and I refer back to them frequently during the design and pattern writing process that follows.

This is part of what my life has been like of late and part of the reason I am re-emerging online after such a long hiatus. I have written at least a dozen new patterns recently and once my internet issues are completely sorted out, I am looking very forward to being able to offer them again.

I am still hoping to hear from you that have been so patiently faithful to me for so long.
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Is anyone still out there?

2010-11-20T04:15:00.001-06:00

This is a post testing out a few things for me. Firstly, it is to see if I have set up email posting correctly. Secondly, I want to know if there is anyone still following my blog. If you are, could you please drop me a line in the comments or my email? Thank you very much.

Since moving to "The Middle of Nowhere" (TMON) life certainly has thrown us more than our fair share of curve balls. We've had to learn how to play the game all over again. The 2+ years since my last post have been extremely difficult between serious health issues requiring several hospital stays, work and the related stress, and no Internet access for nearly 2 years now. Unfortunately my health is still a problem, work is still a problem, and my only Internet is through my cell phone; but I'm working through those issues as best I can.

I am spending a great deal of time designing now and will be publishing them as soon as I get dedicated Internet again. I have been working out what I can online using my phone so that I can get things up and running fairly quickly. The ideas are coming fast and furious these days so I have no doubt in my capability to be able to keep going infinitely.

In closing, I'd like to thank you all for not giving up on me entirely and I'd love to hear from you.

Nicole =o)
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Re-evaluation and retrospection...

2008-09-26T11:32:00.004-05:00

It's been close to 6 months since I've posted here. The summer turned into a very busy, and very life-changing season for me for many, many reasons. Partly we went without any internet access at all for around 3 months, plus I did some travelling for Wal-mart to make some extra money to help pay for some of the things that are going on around here. During my time sans-web I was able to do quite a bit of re-evaluating of what is important to me, what I want, and what I need to treat as a priority.

Family *has* to be #1, and should be treated as such. Sitting at the computer for hours and days on end means that many other things in my life are being over-looked. Being here is *not* a job for me... it's entertainment and relaxation. I would love to be able to spend more time on my designs and such, but for the time being, I need to focus my energies elsewhere for my family to survive. This doesn't mean that I'm going to give up designing, as it is a necessary outlet for my creativity, it means that creating and writing patterns for publication are no longer my ultimate goal when designing.

I promised myself this summer that when I got my net back that I was going to cut back. I discovered that there *is* life beyond the keyboard and monitor. I have spent my first few weeks with internet access again going through many of the pastimes I have online. I went through Facebook and deleted a bunch of apps that I didn't use, and were just cluttering up my page. Ravelry was the biggest potential timesink I had online, and therefore got the biggest cuts from me. I went from over 450 groups, to less than 80. I am still not participating in the forums there yet, but I am getting to where I want to be with it... using it as a resource for what I really want to do and believe in, as well as a journal for my projects, stash and the like. I still have more cuts to do, but I'm getting there a little at a time.

I am happy, and actually quite relieved, about giving all this up. It's like a huge weight is being taken off of my shoulders. I'm actually gaining so much more than what I'm losing. I'm very happy spending time in my garden or the yard, or even just sitting on the couch knitting or playing DS while Derek plays his Xbox or watching TV. I am also looking very forward to what my future holds for me, since I won't miss out on it with my nose stuck to the monitor!!! I will still spend time online, as it's the main means of contact with most of my friends... I don't think I would be able to give up the net entirely even though I can obviously take extended breaks from it! I am happily going to be AFK most of the time, and enjoying every moment of it!

The light at the end of the tunnel...

2008-04-29T21:55:00.005-05:00

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and for once I'm certain that it's not a train coming towards me!!! I've been working fast and furious on my Mystic Ocean shawl over the last few weeks. If you are on Ravelry, check out my project page for this shawl! This time I linked the progress photos directly to the larger images available on my Flickr photostream.

6 days work from the previous status shot, and I've got another clue done! This chart gets the length of the shawl to 226 rows total. It feels like it will never end!!! You can finally start to see what the finished pattern will look like, and I'm very impressed with how it is turning out.

The morning that Derek left for Edmonton, I finished the 4th clue. I finally got a really nice photo in natural light for the last clue, so I made sure that I did it again for this one. The shawl is measuring over 5 feet across at this point, and I'm working on my 5th ball of yarn.

Somehow I managed to get 32 rows knitted in just over 3 days! I am really picking up speed even though each row is nearly 300 stitches!!! I just want to get this shawl done and blocked! I am beginning to worry about having enough yarn to finish up with. The pattern called for 1200 metres, and I started the 6th ball half-way through this chart. I have 4 *spare* balls of it, so I have my fingers crossed that it will be enough. I have 3 more sections to do, so it will be close! Wish me luck!

Moving right along!

2008-04-11T11:37:00.004-05:00

Yes... Mystic Ocean is moving right along. The current is strong and swift, and with a little bit of luck, this journey will be complete no later than the end of May! Larger images of these photos are available at my Flickr Photostream, as well as more details of this project in my Ravelry notebook. The pattern I am using is Mystic Waters, and was designed by Anna Dalvi at knitandknag, as a mystery KAL in late 2007. I have named my version Mystic Ocean since the blue-green colour makes me think of the ocean, and it fits in with the theme of the element of water!

The yarn is Estelle Watercolours in a blue/green colourway {#21} that I bought at Ram Wools during the trip to Winnipeg that Derek and I recently took. It's a 50/50 mohair/acrylic blend, and is really nice to work with for a fuzzy yarn. Each 50g ball has approximately 160m, so according to the pattern, I need about 6 balls. To make things easier, I bought the entire bag of 10... I have to admit that the 50% price tag of $2.99 a ball made that decision a lot easier!!!

It took me about 2 days {including frogging my first attempt!} to get the first chart done. Derek was thoroughly impressed with how nice it was turning out even then. Just 60 rows of knitting so far, and I was quite pleased myself!

A couple of days later, I had the second chart complete, which was also signalled the end of the first clue. I was now 130 rows in, with no looking back... well except at the chart for the previous row so that I could make sure my stitches were in the right place of course! The top edge stretched out would be about 36" at this point, as I had a few stitches fall off of my needle as this picture was taken! The design is now quite evident in the project, and I need to find a way to stretch it more for my progress photos since the variegation in the yarn doesn't hide the stitch pattern.

Another week, and another clue done! Working really cuts into the knitting time, and each charted row takes about 10 minutes to knit. Completing chart C makes the shawl 184 rows long, with a stitch count of 188 stitches. I tried to stretch this out more, but need a better background so that you can see the openwork more clearly. The larger photo at Flickr shows the detail a bit better. The top edge is now at least 60" when stretched. I used two of my 32" circs to display it for the picture, and I could have pulled it out further. With around 200ish more rows to go, it will be HUGE once complete!

What the hell?!?

2008-04-02T19:23:00.005-05:00

No, this isn't a late April Fool's joke... it's really me!!! I know it's been a long hiatus, even for me, but it's good to be back. One of the main reasons I haven't been around is because I had lost my internet access for 2 months. It was quite difficult surviving without any contact with my friends at all since I'm so isolated out here! Oh well... what's past is past! Let's get on with some progress info! I want to get this posted, so pics will have to follow... there are a few pictures in my Flickr though, as well as all of the project info in my Ravelry notebook.

These are the projects I can remember finishing since I was last on Blogger:
Lissa's garter rib scarf is done! Even with the couple of errors in the pattern, it worked out well. I've heard through the grapvine that many of the patterns in Magknits have problems with errors that are never fixed. I find this disenheartening since one of the patterns in my Ravelry queue is a cool looking pair of socks from there.

Rebecca's snake scarf is done. I remember having a few difficulties with this pattern as well, and was quite disappointed since I had just gotten over the troubles with Lissa's scarf. Overall I'm very pleased with how it turned out.

Derek's work socks are also finally complete! This is the same pair that I cast on right after finishing Henry's back in October. They were put on the backburner while I worked on winter items, and were finally picked back up and finished in late March. I won't be starting any new work socks for him for a little while. Only working on these socks during breaks at my jobs made this a *very* long project to complete.

My blue stole was finished over this last weekend. When I went to update my sidebars, I realized that I hadn't even added it!!! I started this shawl well over 2 years ago... before Camille's had even closed! Derek and I were at Michael's, and he helped me choose the pattern as well as the yarn. I had cast it on, and had gotten about one ball into the project when I put it aside. The last time I can recall working on it prior to the last little while was when I was in Thompson 2 years ago this June!

I've got two new projects on the needles currently:
My Step socks. I'm making myself a pair of generic stockinette socks out of a ball of Austermann Step that I bought last year in Calgary. When I first started them on 2.0 mm dpns, I found the yarn to be horribly splitty. I restarted them on 2.25s with much better results. I did have to increase my usual number of cast on stitches, but the sock is still working up fast. As of this writing, I am just coming up on the heel flap and turn.

My Mystic Ocean shawl. I have finally started the Mystic Waters KAL shawl. This KAL was actually held in the fall, but I had neither the time, nor the supplies to do it then. When we took a recent trip to Winnipeg, I picked up some Estelle Watercolours and an Addi Lace needle to complete this shawl. The colourway I chose screamed "Green Ocean" to me, so it was the perfect choice for my project. As of this writing I'm nearly complete the second of eight charts... Row 95-ish of about 350-ish.

With the weather warming up outside, I have been able to knit during my coffee breaks at both jobs, not just lunch breaks, so that really helped in getting Derek's socks done, as well as the amazing progress on my Step socks already. My shawl is my computer/ living room project, and is going quite well even though I'm left with a halo of mohair fuzz all over my clothes every time I work on it! Even though I have Alex's hoodie listed as a WIP on my sidebar, it's currently actually a UFO. I need to find the pattern yet again!!! I'm finding that concentrating on just one project at home, and one travelling project is currently the best use of my knitting time.

Calling in stoned...

2008-01-13T10:27:00.000-06:00

There is a *very* good reason why I rarely take anything other than Tylenol or Advil no matter how sick or in how much pain I'm in... it makes me stupid! Yesterday was a perfect example!!! The kids have generously shared the recent run of cold/flu that is running through our house with me. I thought I wasn't home enough to catch anything from them... was I ever wrong! As is typical when I catch one of these illnesses, I'm knocked flat on my back.

It all started on Friday, where I was sounding like I was related to Kermit the Frog. All I could do was croak! I managed to make it through my night shift at work since all I was doing was croaking, and feeling a little nauseous. Nausea and I are closely related since I'm used to it from my hypoglycemia. I made it home okay and tried to catch a quick cat-nap before starting at the grocery store... another typical Saturday routine for me. Well things soon turned south from there. My ability to concentrate was non-existant... if it wasn't for the computer, and it beeping at me every time I hit the wrong button, I would have been literally screwed! I didn't make this many mistakes when I was first being trained there! When it came time for my break, and I couldn't even remember our Co-op number, I *knew* I had no place being there. I told the girl in charge that I would stick around until lunch so they wouldn't be short-handed. I hoped that I could make it through another 2 hours without completely screwing everything up.

Lunch break was another experience entirely. I could barely concentrate on the highway on my way home. This is only a 10 minute drive straight down the TC, and if it wasn't for the fact that I don't need to turn off at all except to get into town here, I would have ended up lost! Since Derek had seen what bad shape I was in at work, he was sweet enough to have a cup of tea waiting for me. His quote to the kids was, "Mom could barely even scan in the groceries." Well his sweet gesture was promptly introduced into the bathroom where I spent a half hour getting well aquainted with our fixtures in there. He phoned Co-op and told them that I wasn't going back for the rest of the afternoon, even though they needed me to close that day.

As if things couldn't get any worse, they did! Since Derek isn't used to me being *this* sick, he hauled me in to Wal-Mart to get *something* to make me feel better. I didn't want to go, but I didn't have any idea of what to tell him to get for me either. I picked out an assortment of throat and cough drops, as well as some Neo-Citran... that was when it got interesting. Neo-Citran has a variety of different drugs in it, and with good reason, it's not recommended to drive or operate power equipment while taking it. There should have been another warning on the label for me... trying to talk coherently, or operate a telephone is beyond your abilities until all residuals of this medication are out of your system!!! I thought I was behaving and talking funny *before* I took it... that's nothing compared to me *after*!!! Someone, I'm not sure who, brought me the phone to call work to say that I wouldn't be in last night. I vaguely remember looking at it oddly, and the next thing I can recall is that it was ringing. I looked at the phone strangely and answered it. It was my manager, wondering where I was. I *know* that I talked to her, and I *know* that I tried to explain that I was sick... but what exactly I said, or even if it made any sense at all is beyond me!

Here it is, the next morning, and my brain still feels really foggy. I'm not feeling any better, but I'm afraid to take any more of the Neo-Citran, and with good reason I think. The only reason I'm posting this is to warn you all of the dangers of taking this kind of stuf... or at least the dangers of allowing *me* to take any of them!!!

January Goals

2008-01-01T13:00:00.000-06:00

My goals for the month of January are thus:

Stash

All stash from craft room inventoried.
All inventoried stash photographed and uploaded to Flickr.
All inventoried stash listed in Ravelry with photographs linked.
Stash-busting goal of 1000 metres used, or given away.

Current Projects

Decide on projects, and stick with, "three projects at a time" rule.
Find, and list {on blog and Ravelry} all WIPs/ UFOs currently in the house.
Finish at least three projects other than dishcloths.

Projects I want to do

Create listing of all a-long's and a-month's that I belong to. Mostly done already, but keep this current.
Decide where those projects fit in with the "three project" rule.

Photographs & Accountability

Keep blog and Ravelry up-to-date with progress.
Photograph and upload to Flickr all FOs. {This will be a constant goal, even though it's also left-over from December's list.}
Link all photos to Ravelry and Blogger.
Post at least weekly to blog with updates on progress, and check that sidebars are current.

My Home

Declutter kitchen. {Specific list to follow}
Declutter dining room. {Specific list to follow}
Declutter living room. {Specific list to follow}
Make detailed list for kitchen redecorating plans.
Make detailed list for dining room redecorating plans.
Make detailed list for living room redecorating plans.

December Goals Round-up

2007-12-31T13:00:00.000-06:00

On the 17th, I set myself a few goals to complete by the end of the month. We all know about how "the best laid plans" can go awry, but here is my progress record:

My goals for the month of December:

Photographs of all FOs listed in Ravelry.
No photographs were taken at all... partly because I couldn't find a yarn needle to weave in ends.
Blog sidebars completely up-to-date. Done.
Decide on first three projects to focus on as of January 1st.
I have made my decisions, and have made a place on my sidebar to track them. That's another goal completed.
All a-long's and a-month's listed *somewhere*.
This was done in a series of posts on the 26th. Some goals were listed, but not all. It's a good start IMO, and I count this goal as complete.
Computer desk and bookcase in living room completely decluttered.
Both areas got some decluttering, but there still is a long way to go. On the up side, I *did* get both dining room counters decluttered. I will add them to my January goals.

Overall, I think I did quite well considering the work schedule I've been keeping, and my resulting health problems from all the kooky shifts. I'm working at getting "day shift" at Wal-Mart so that I won't have the problems associated with my body trying to switch shifts so drastically every week.

Other CALs, KALs, and a-longs

2007-12-26T09:16:00.000-06:00

Cloth of the Week: This is a Yahoo Group devoted to making a dishcloth a week.

Dishcloth Weekly KAL: Every week a new pattern... another one that I'll decide on as I go.

For Me?!: A KAL/CAL that emphasizes that it's okay to spend five minutes a day working on something just for you. The December-January project is lace, and I figured that my lace shawl fits into that category!

Monthly Dishcloths KAL: 2 cloth patterns a month, and also on Yahoo Groups. I'll decide on this one once I see what the requirements are for January's cloths. This is an excerpt from the description on the Rav group: 1st of the Month KAL: These KALs have a monthly theme and usually have a picture of something pertaining to the month/season. Usually a solid color is best for pictured dishcloths. 16th of the Month KAL: These KALs are usually a repeating pattern of some type. I try to incorporate a “new” stitch. Maybe something that you haven’t tried yet. Variegated yarns are usually good to use for these KALs.

Stash Knitdown 2008: The January challenge is to knit a mile... that's about 1600 m {give or take} out of stash yarn. It actually runs from January 5th to February 19th, so I think that it's a doable goal with all of the stuff I have to work on!

Sweater-a-month: A goal-oriented group to motivate me to make {and finish!} a sweater a month! I will set Alex's hoodie as my first goal here.

January sock-a-longs and goals...

2007-12-26T09:13:00.000-06:00

2008 Sock-a-long: January is a ribbed pattern, so my goal for this group will be to finish the pair of work socks I have OTN for Derek.

6 Sox Knitalong: This is a KAL group that makes 6 pairs of socks a year, one sock per month.

Sockamania: I have just joined this group, which is available for everyone to join on the blog. Once I receive my first pattern, I will decide whether or not I will participate.

Socknitters Anonymous: Another challenge group to knit more socks! The January assignment is a Cookie A. pattern or intarsia. None of the Cookie patterns have really inspired me that much, and I'm not interested in trying intarsia at this time, so I'll sit out this month.

Socknitters SAM: Another Yahoo Group that makes one pair of socks every two months. The January-February pattern hasn't been announced yet as of this writing.

Thrifty Knitters Sock Club: The patterns chosen for January are Bellatrix and Cabletini, but neither really inspire me that much. I may do the Bellatrix at another time, however. In the meantime, I'll just sit out this month with this group.

Lace Knitting... sigh

2007-12-26T08:40:00.000-06:00

Lace and shawls are my main draw these days. In 2007 it was socks, and in 2008 it will be lace!

So far I've been very good {I think!}. I have only started one shawl so far, and that's my version of Stephanie's Snowdrop Shawl. I'm currently waiting for a lace needle to try out on it so that I can decide if I want to invest in a few more for future projects. The next project I want to do is Mystic Waters. I was a part of the Yahoo and Ravelry groups for this shawl, and now that the KAL is done, the FO is stunning and a definite must-do. Seraphina's shawl is done out of worsted weight yarn, so I am going to fit that one in there once my afghan is completed.

These are the lace-related groups that I belong to on Ravelry:

2KLace: This is a group that I hope will motivate me to complete the lace project(s) I am currently working on, as well as the ones I am planning to do.

Juno-Regina Along: An a-long created to knit Juno-Regina from Knitty as a group.

Lace Knitters: Another group to help motivate me... more in the way of help understanding and figuring out what I'm doing.

Laceapalooza: A group similar to Lace Knitters.

Muir-along: An a-long created to knit Muir from Knitty as a group.

Secret of Bad Nauheim: A mystery KAL by the designer of Chrysopolis.

Secret of the Stole ii: The 2nd SOTS KAL.

Seraphina's Shawl: A group devoted to those who want to knit, are knitting, or have knit this pattern.

Spring Shawl Surprise: Another mystery shawl KAL.

WTH?? Where's Nicole???

2007-12-17T16:05:00.000-06:00

It's been a tumultuous time for me lately. I'm not going to get into the nitty gritty of the details, but suffice it to say that things have finally started to turn around for us. With all that turmoil over {or nearly so}, I've been able to get back to thinking about myself and what I'd like to accomplish. Part of this is also blogging again. I've joined a multitude of groups and "alongs" to try and get myself motivated, as well as follow a few of my interests. Now what I need to do is sit down and actually establish realistic goals for myself, that includes taking care of the house as well as my projects and stash. Of course, this will all need to fit into my typically harried lifestyle/ work schedule. I will post my goals for the month on the first day of the month, and I will start draft posts for the end of each month to upload on the last day to hold myself accountable for those goals.

My stash: This needs serious reduction in the worst way. Part of that will require actually inventorying it so that I know what's there, and can congratulate myself accordingly when milestones/ goals are met. I want to have an inventory listed in Ravelry of what's currently inside my craft room by the end of January. I think that's realistic considering just *how* much yarn there is in there. As an added bonus, it will help organize the room better. Once I know where I'm at, then I can start setting goals towards working through it.

My current projects: I have more projects on the go right now than I possibly know what to do with. I've been trying quite hard to focus on one project at a time more lately, but I have yet to make any *real* difference in my amount of WIPs/ UFOs. I am progressing faster on individual projects since I'm not switching back and forth constantly, but I am still finding the lack of FOs to be discouraging. I need to figure out what to do about this.

My wish list of projects: I have several shawls that I would like to make in the new year, as well as a few a-month groups that I've joined. I'll need to find a place to organize all that, as well as set goals so that I'm not overwhelmed with WIPs. In the case of shawls, I want to finish my Snowdrop shawl, and then start on my Mystic Waters shawl.

Photographic proof & accountability: I am seriously behind in taking FO and stash shots. I want to have all of my FOs photographed by the end of the year, and all stash photographed as it is logged into Ravelry. Part of this will also be making sure that my sidebars in here in Blogger are up-to-date.

My home: Between insane work schedules and a serious case of the I-don't-give-a-damn's, my home has been seriously neglected. I have decluttering, redecorating, and yard/ garden plans that I'd like to institute here. I intend to start this by decluttering the living room, dining room, and kitchen, as well as redecorating them. I have already made many of my redecorating decisions, it's just a matter of budgetting them to make them a reality.

In closing, I just want to {re}state my goals for the month of December.

Photographs of all FOs listed in Ravelry.
Blog sidebars completely up-to-date.
Decide on first three projects to focus on as of January 1st.
All a-long's and a-month's listed *somewhere*.
Computer desk and bookcase in living room completely decluttered.

It comes in threes...

2007-11-25T09:29:00.000-06:00

All things, both good and bad seem to come in threes. This week I've been blessed with a triple serving of good news. It certainly has been a long time coming, but Derek and I have finally received our blessings that we've been suffering through hardship after hardship for. The last few months have been very difficult for us. For the two people {are there even that many?!?} on the planet that don't already know this, our house in Winnipeg sitting unsold and empty for over 4 months has been a terrible strain on the two of us. Not being able to get a new job, and getting a shift {and days off} that I hate, has been a huge struggle for me personally {and by association, on Derek as well}. Additionally, when you consider that my pay was the only thing being deposited in our Winnipeg account, that job was keeping things barely afloat there. Even though Derek and I have never done the *my money/ your money* thing, I still felt like I was working all those hours, and driving all that time for basically nothing.

Good News #1:
The first bit of good news arrived on Monday morning. I was a bit ticked off because the girls had already left on the bus for school when I arrived home from work, and Alex was still at home! Derek was off work this past week, so he took the drive into Oak Lake with me so that we could take Alex to school, and stop off at Co-op to pick up bread and anything else that fell into our basket. While we were there I had another one of my "ohmygawd it's horrible living in a small town where everyone knows you even if you don't know who they are" moments. The manager comes up to us and asks me, "are you Nicole?" I am puzzled at how he knows my name, but tell him that I am. He then asks, "from Griswold?" Now I'm getting nervous, and thinking "what the heck did one of my kids do *NOW*?" I manage to squeak out that I *am* Nicole from Griswold. This is when he tells me that he's been trying to get in touch with me, and when I get a dirty look from Derek because *noone* can get through to the house because I have the internet on nearly all the time. He offers me a job working 2-3 days a week!!! He also mentioned the possibility of the hours dropping off after New Year's {which I am used to in retail}, as well as the fact that it may become available for full-time in the late spring. I somehow didn't squeal when I accepted his offer, and made arrangements to come in later on in the week to get my schedule and paperwork.
This couldn't have come at a better time. Even though I was working on a promotion at work so that I could work days with every weekend off, the additional earnings are worth *sooooo* much more than my management goals with our current cash crunch. It also opens up my options for what to do job-wise when our house sells in Winnipeg. In the meantime, it means that my online time *and* my sleep time will be seriously restricted... but it's not like I haven't survived on little to no sleep before {and for disgustingly long periods of time too!}. Oak Lake is about a 10 minute drive away, so it's not going to take too much of a toll on my gas usage either.

Good News #2:
The second bit of good news I got at work Friday night. Our store is going 24 hours Mon-Sat from Dec 3rd until Christmas. I had already planned on asking for cash training so that I could work the tills, when my manager asked me if I was willing to change my usual schedule for the three weeks, so that I could work at the fabric table on nights Monday through Friday. This means that after tonight, I won't have any more weekend nights to work until after Christmas!!! Co-op is only open until 6 pm, 6 days a week, so no nights there to interfere with my weekend-free joy! This truly is wonderful news since in the 3½ years I've been with Wal-Mart, pretty much the ONLY weekends I have EVER gotten off have been when travelling to other stores for them. So for the first time in... well... close to forever... I get to actually spend the night on a weekend with my hubby! {Get your mind out of the gutter, this is a family-friendly post... it's just amazing how important cuddling up on the couch and watching a movie with the family becomes when you CAN'T do it!} As an added plus, since I'll be working in the craft and fabric area, that means I'll be able to spend quite a bit of time examining {translation: shopping!} the fabrics and such for our decorating plans here at the house.

Good News #3:
And now the best for last... as of about 9pm last night, our old house is SOLD!!! The offer was less than we would have liked, but it's enough to cover our outstanding mortgage out in Winnipeg. We're expecting a Dec. 9th closing on that house, so by the end of this year Derek and I will know exactly where we stand financially. There's still a lot of utilities and such that need to be paid off, as well as our bridge financing on this house {that we unfortunately won't be able to repay with our house proceeds}. But, we *will* know who, what and where we still owe to, and will be able to make the arrangements needed to take care of the when.

After all that, I get to decide whether to drop down to part-time with Wal-Mart, or quit there entirely and just work at the Co-op and on my website!!! I think I need to make a nice big order to Knit Picks first though! *giggles*

I'm at 20!!! Holy Crap!!!

2007-11-15T08:27:00.000-06:00

Well it's official... I've hit the 20 pair mark for this year! That makes my average a little under 2 pairs a month, which is nothing to be ashamed of, unless you include the fact that my sock yarn stash doesn't seem to be getting any smaller!!! That's another 420 metres added to my total, which is now at 6087 metres... I'VE BROKEN THE 6 KM MARK!!!

On Tuesday afternoon I did the final stitches on the "Boss Wife Socks". These are the socks that I knit for the wife of Derek's boss Henry... whose socks were the last sock FO featured here. They've really been wonderful in everything they've done for us since {and even before} we moved out here, and it's just a small token of how much I {we} appreciate it. Clicking on the picture will take you to the Flickr page for it, or you can visit my main Flickr page to see all of my photos. If you want more details on these socks, leave me a comment, or go visit the project page on Ravelry. Of course you can view all my projects on my main projects page on Rav too!

Presenting, our award winning artist!!!

2007-11-10T08:32:00.000-06:00

Well I'm more than proud of little Lissa!!! Unbeknownst to me, she was entered in a Halloween colouring contest at the True Value in Virden. First I found out about it was just before I left for work last night when I saw her prize waiting for her on the counter!!! I think it's just so cool! This is her and Alex showing off her prize and the picture that won it! Click on the picture to go see it at my Flickr page... where I have other family and crafty type shots!

Less than three days!

2007-11-08T21:35:00.002-06:00

Well, it *was* 5 calendar days, but it was 95% done in less than 2, and the other 3 days *were* working days, so they don't really count! I would guesstimate it took me about 15-20 hours of crocheting time from start to finish on this project... with well over an hour spent on the last round alone!

What did I accomplish?

2007-11-08T14:38:00.000-06:00

Other than teaching my kids a few new curse words that were directed at my craptastic ISP over the last few days, I did manage a few productive things as well!

I got the table topper blocked and photographed... the pictures will follow in a day or so.
I made a between-projects dishcloth... part of my 10 dishcloths challenge.
I got nearly 2 full 2-pattern repeats done on the snowdrop shawl... status pic to follow in a day or so.
I got the heel flap, heel turn, and gusset picked up on the Tofu socks.
I got the ribbing done on Sheri's sock so that it's now a mindless knitting project.
I got 3 repeats of my sock design pattern done.
I frogged a cardigan I'd started for Lissa, and got the yarn balled up.
I frogged a pullover for Alex and restarted it in the round.
I cleaned out the inside of my computer and partially set it up in my craft room.
I located more of the "Lissa stash", and 2 different camo yarns for projects to work on while I teach knitting to a co-worker.

I still haven't decided what I'll be working on as my 3 projects... I will probably have to make it either 4 or 5, since I'll have 2 different ones going at work. Stay tuned!

What is so damned difficult about dial-up? {Bright Idea #926}

2007-11-08T13:29:00.000-06:00

***WARNING: This post is most definitely not rated G.***

Well I just had a 2 day internet famine that was entirely *not* my fault! The stupid asshats at my ISP have proven once again that they got their membership cards for the human race out of a Cracker Jack box!!! It has taken them since around 8 or 9 am on Tuesday, until now to get my computer back on the net!

It all started with getting my logon corrected. The numb-nutted idiot that originally created my account obviously cannot read, or at least cut-and-paste. Our ISP is also our phone company, so the internet account is linked to our phone account. Our last name is RODGERS... so why we would want dnrogers as our family logon is beyond me. In order to correct that, they have to cancel the old account and create a new one. At least they didn't try to charge me the fee they normally charge for changing your logon. There's no way in H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks that I would pay a single penny for their stupidity in not being able to read the name of the freakin' account holder!!! For some inane reason the front end of their computer network couldn't talk to the back end of their computer network about my account change, and so I was left stuck somewhere in the middle... my old account had been completely deleted, and the new one was in suspended animation. It took no less than half a dozen phone calls a day, each of which took at least an hour because of the voice mail hell/ muzak on hold purgatory that my call got shuffled into. Between trying my old logon, new logon, password resets, and every other hoop in Manitoba that they had me jump through, they *still* couldn't get my access back. Needless to say that {using my best Queen Victoria voice}, "we were *not* amused."

The second major problem that I tried to get fixed with my dial-up is the craptastic speed that I connect at. I have yet to see anything faster than 28.8 kbps, and have even connected slower a couple of times. For those of you that don't understand what that speed means, just think "slow boat to China..." and there's probably a leak in that boat that the crew needs to spend all their time bailing water instead of rowing! The "helpful" dipshit that I spoke to about my problem is probably too dumb to even know what the hell he's talking about unless he has one of those "help desk" programs open on his computer! After going through the fact that I'm not using a dinosaur computer powered by a hamster wheel, my phone line isn't a piece of string attached to a tin can, and that my idea of turning on a computer *isn't* rubbing up next to it; he had the brain wave that I need a new phone jack installed within 4 feet of my computer, preferably on its own line. Well, it's bad enough that we're paying $30/mo for this shite... now you want me to fork out at LEAST $70 to have them come down and install a jack, at least $50 for the new phone line, plus any charges for being out-of-town service call , and THEN pay another $30/mo for a second phone line? And STILL no guarantees that my speed will improve??? Especially when their own DSL lines run about 100 yards to the south of my house??? To hell with THAT crap... we're better off going for the stupid satellite!

And the sum total of all of this is that thanks to my ISP-from-hell, I've been knocked out of the NaBloPoMo contests because I missed 2 days posting.

It's done, done, done!!!

2007-11-05T10:33:00.001-06:00

Yes!!! The three-day table topper is officially finished! I did the last few stitches on it when I got home from work this morning, wove in the ends, and washed it. As soon as I'm done this post, I'll be blocking it out and then going to bed. I'll get pictures of it up tomorrow probably. I won't be making a matching one after all... we don't carry the DMC Traditions at this store... that makes *that* decision a little easier!!!

Derek went digging in the store yesterday and found all kinds of goodies for me! I now have the power cord to one of my sewing machines, so I can finally get started on a bit of that! He also found a bag with a few balls of sock yarn in it... why wasn't that in my sock yarn bin? In any case, that's giving me the motivation to finally post some more of my stash on Ravelry.

I've started the heel turn on my Tofu socks, but I don't know what I want to work on here at home now that the table topper is finished. I joined a group that has you pledge to work on only three projects at a time. Well the Tofu is one, and I can't decide on the other two since I've got about seven different projects in front of me here at the computer, all in differing stages of completion.

Here are the choices:

Lissa's cardigan - nearly done
Lace shawl - barely started
Blue shawl - about 25%
Sheri's socks - just started sock #2
New sock design - about 4" knit of sock #1
Derek's socks - just started sock #1
Ripple ghan - 25%-ish

What do you think my choices for #2, and #3 should be? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Sunday is for... snow???

2007-11-04T08:10:00.003-06:00

Well I grabbed a large piece of cardboard on my way out of work today to block the table topper... it seems that Derek sent 90% of the cardboard *he* wanted to save from our move to the burn barrel!!! I didn't even have any to do my spray painting on yesterday! I think it will be staying in the car for the time being, since less than half an hour after getting home, it started to snow... and it's still coming down! I'm blaming it on Derek... he hung our Christmas lights up yesterday, which is the reason I got so little sleep... the incessant hammering made any kind of rest impossible!

The Purl in the Oyster

Travelling is tiring!

Travelling tomorrow

Facing my fears...

Lookee what I found!

Giving up?

Project Progress Updates

February Goals

January Round-up

What got finished?

What's in progress?

What about my other goals?

I should know better..

All brainless knitting isn't the same!

Travelling means slippers!

The little swatch that could!

Planning... and swatching... (fail to plan and you plan to fail)

A quick lesson in gauge/ tension:

Facing it... and avoiding it...

So just what did I manage to accomplish?

Nicole's Project Plan - January-June 2012

Tough decisions... a tough day...

Decisions need to be made.

Addressing my priorities:

Addressing my goals:

The end is near...

You were doing so well...

Peace and quiet.

A baby in the house?

Considerations...

A new beginning... well sorta!

Finishing... and a lesson learned!

How easily we can be distracted!

Feeling a little sheepish...

The ends never end!

This is how we slog!

Going backwards to go forward.

A day in support of SADD, and being thankful

Sucker for punishment?

It's a good thing I'm not a politician...

The productivity of avoidance...

The light gets brighter...

The light at the end of the tunnel...

The balance of the universe...

Another boring post...

Being organized can be time consuming!

I'm so spoiled, the proof!!

I'm soooo spoiled!

Still recovering...

Recovering from a migraine...

Have you seen this bag?

The productivity of avoiding work!

You ought to be in pictures... I hope!

The monster rears its ugly head...

Be afraid... be *very* afraid...

It's a four letter word ya know!

Did you change your clock?

So much to do!

And we're off!!! err... on... Casting on that is!

Still in the planning stages...

The start of a design...

Waiting and slogging; slogging and waiting...

Single-mindedness

Diversions and distractions...

Thanks RIM... for nothing!

The Ugly Doily

The ends never end...

Small things...

Can we have a drum roll please?

So much to do, so little time!

FO report... Oh my Goodness!!!

How can stockinette be addicting?

Can we *please* get some focus here?

Are you organized?

Time to focus, dagnabit!!!

Calgon...take me away!!!

Hurry up and wait!

Opinions? Everyone's got 'em!

Not an April Fools' joke...

You ought to be in pictures!!!

Be afraid... be very afraid...

Can we please get some focus here?

Lace Knitting... sigh

What did I accomplish?