My Return to Blogging

After a four and a half year hiatus, I have decided to start blogging again.

What brought about this change?

To put it simply, I miss it. I enjoy writing, I like the power of words, and a blog gives me an outlet to write. As I'm not sure that anyone actually will ever read this, it is mainly for me.

Also, I got a new laptop. I've been using my iPad and my smart phone for years now as my primary access point to the internet. I'm on a computer all day at work, so I didn't really feel much of a need to have a computer at home; however, there are some things that a tablet just doesn't do well. And anything that involves large amounts of typing is one of those. Husband and I decided that it was time to take the plunge and purchase a family laptop. And by "family laptop," I mean a laptop for me, since Husband has his work laptop that travels back and forth to work every day.

I haven't fully thought out my plans for my reentry to the blogging world. I know I want to continue to write about my knitting, with such fun days as "WIP Wednesday" and "FO Friday," and I'm certain that I'll review books I've read, and my other current plan is to start to chronical my journey towards my AAP Certification (more on that in a later post), mainly hoping that it will help hold me accountable to a study schedule as I prepare for the test in October. I'm sure there will be a story or two about my toddler (recently turned three) and my life in small town Wisconsin. I'm sure there will be more as I go along.

Strawberry!

Strawberry

Just a happy little picture of the first strawberry from my Earthbox!

It's Going to Be a Great Day!

There are few better ways to start a Saturday than to find a box from Knitpicks waiting on my front porch. Contents include some Wool of the Andes Tonal in Gypsy Queen (red) for the Milk Run Shawl (Rav. Link) and some Comfy Worsted in Celestial (blue), white, and black for a Tardis iPad sleeve, and my replacement needle tips in size 8.

Life is good.

 

Long Overdue Sheepcote Photos

Okay, so I finished this sweater way back in March.

I just never got around to posting the pictures of it, which have been sitting on my camera since March. But here they are now. Late winter/early spring was a bit of a blah time for me, but hopefully spring and summer will renew my interest in both knitting and blogging and get me back on track with some other things as well.

Anyways, I am vey happy with the way the sweater turned out. It could have been a size smaller, but it is still very cute and wearable. There is something satisfying about finishing projects and about being able to say, "Thanks, I made it," to compliments.

I have two sweaters currently on the needles. The much anticipated February Lady Sweater is about halfway done. However, it is on pause as I race to finish another cardigan, the Teal Top-Down Cardigan (in yellow) for a wedding in the beginning of June. I also have the Citron shawl on the needles, but I'm waiting for another ball of yarn to arrive in order to finish it.

Hopefully, updates n those projects won't be so delayed.

 

Massive Writer's Block

It’s been awhile on here, but to be completely honest, I’ve suffered from a bit of a writer’s block. And by a bit of a writer’s block, I clearly mean one that could encompass the state of Texas in its shadow. Lots has been going on, but nothing to write about. There have been several times that I’ve set down, determined to write a post, only to discover that there was nothing going on in my head but a tumbleweed blowing around, putting words on paper (or in my case, on a laptop screen) seemed to be an impossible task.
But, I figured, the only way to move past this was to sit down and actually write something, anything. Actually get words onto the paper (or screen). So here I am, staring at the screen, waiting for words to come to me, and I’ve got nothing. Zip, zilch, nada. So we’re just going to go with some general life updates and hope that the writing muse comes back to me.

Life at the bank is still going pretty good. I’ve now passed the 90 days of work mark, which means not only to I now get PTO, but I also am able to sign money orders and sell prepaid gift cards. Now there’s a reason to get out of bed in the morning. As time passes, I’m feeling more and more at home with my co-workers. It just takes a while for me to warm up to new people. And every day I feel more and more like maybe I might know what I’m doing (which is usually followed by a moment where I do something so unbelievably stupid that I feel like a complete and total moron). Overall, I’m feeling much more comfortable, and it seems much less likely that I’ll search too terribly hard for a teaching job come fall. I’m content to have a job to fill somewhere between 30 and 40 hours per week, supply Husband and I with decent benefits, and leave me with free time to do things I like to do (you know, like write blog entries).

Most of my free time lately has been absorbed by my latest toy, Husband finally gave in and let me get an iPad. Since its arrival at the house, I’ve spent lots and lots of time getting it set up, learning how to use it, and finding apps to make my life easier (or just apps that do cool stuff). I have found some apps that quickly became indispensable in my life, but that’s most likely a whole separate post (yay, stuff to write about!).

I’m also planning out a garden for this spring. The spot Husband and I have picked out for it was rather low lying, so I think we’re going to put a little extra effort into it and build a raised garden. After my excellent experiences with canning last fall, I’m excited to grow my own stuff to can for next fall. Especially the ingredients for salsa, that turned out super yummy! I’ll also be either digging in or building a flower bed for some lilies in front of our fence, but that should be easy enough to do. I also took a little time to read the Hunger Games trilogy. Despite no longer being a teacher, I haven’t lost my fascination with literature geared toward young adults, just my primary excuse to read it (however, one of the beautiful things about a Kindle, or other e-reader, is that no one has any idea what you’re reading).

Despite being enamored with the iPad, I have, of course made at least a little time for knitting. I have discovered that I’m deeply unhappy with the current socks I’m working on. I intend to frog them, but somehow just haven’t gotten around to it. I’m waiting for inspiration to strike on what socks I’m going to make next, so for the moment, they are just sitting on the needles, waiting. I finally finished the Sheetcote pullover and cast on for the February Lady sweater, which was a personal victory, because I bought the yarn for it a long time ago and it’s been on my Ravelry queue for even longer than that. I’m extremely pleased with how the Sheepcote pullover ended up, and somewhere between pleased and annoyed that it turned out I could have made it at least one size smaller.
Speaking of one size smaller, my new year’s quest to become healthier was going great, but I’ve hit a bit of a stumbling block as of late. I had been consistently making it to the gym, at least three times a week, and doing yoga at home on a less consistent basis. I managed to drop almost 20 pounds and about 2 inches, but then hit a wall. I wasn’t feeling the greatest for a couple of days, compounded with an increased number of evenings where I’m scheduled at work until later, and my gym attendance dropped. I’ve made a promise to myself to get back into the habit of going, however. I’ve just got to grit my teeth and get through it on the days I don’t feel like going and adjust to going later in the evening on days when I work later. I’ve just got to renew my commitment to a healthier lifestyle and stick to it.

That’s pretty much the highlights of what’s going on now. Let’s hope I also get over this writer’s block and back into the habit of regular posts.

Project Talk: Some Assembly Required

As a process knitter, I’m not a huge fan of finishing work. Why waste the time doing silly things like blocking, weaving in ends, and sewing seams when you could be actually knitting. I would think finding the motivation to finish would be easier for project orientated knitters, as it is a vital step in having a completed project (but seeing as I’m not a project orientated knitter, I cannot be sure. Anybody want to verify?).



Spatterdash Mitts, Done!

Thankfully, most of the projects I choose to work on don’t require too much in the way of finishing work. There are exceptions, the Carry-All Tote and Hey Teach! cardigan being the freshest ones in my mind. Thankfully, the Spatterdash fingerless gloves from Knitty.com didn’t require all that much finishing work. Just the usual blocking, weaving a couple of ends, two seams, and some buttons.  Okay, not some buttons, many buttons, a lot of buttons, 14 buttons per glove.

Definently worth the finishing.

But the end result is worth it. They turned out beautifully! The yarn is Imagination Hand-painted Sock yarn from KnitPicks.com in the colorway Wicked Witch, and it is amazing! I’m not a huge fan of it for socks, I have trouble with shrinkage and felting (I line dry, but machine wash, which might be part most of the problem), but the colors are amazing and the yarn comes out so soft after blocking! I think I’ll stick to using it for non-sock accessories. Stroll, also from Knit Picks, is my absolute favorite for socks, just in case anyone was wondering.

Sheepcote sleeves and start of the main body.

In other project news, I’ve completed the second sleeve and cast of for the body of the Sheepcote pullover, from the Twist Collective and am on the leg of the second of my Surfin’ Peacock socks, so I’m making progress, little by little. Once finished with the Peacock socks, I’ll be (hopefully) testing my Packer Sock pattern and after Sheepcote, I am absolutely, no excuses, finally getting to the February Lady sweater.

And a side note about the sleeves of the Sheepcote, the are 3/4 length sleeves on a yolked sweater. So I know that they look short and chunky, but I've tried them on and they are going to work out great for the sweater.

Project Talk: I'm Going to Go Ahead and Blame the Weather

Cubist Socks-Done!

The weather around here has been absolutely ridiculous, it is early January the temperature is going to be almost 50 today. Global warming, the beginning of the apocalypse, forewarning of the impending zombie uprising, or freak weather abnormality? It is hard to say. Most of the people who come into the bank seem to be enjoying this freakish weather, but I am not most people. I love winter, I want to look out my window and see snow drifts, icicles, and frost; not brown wilted plants and dreary gray skies.

Because of the unusual weather (or not…most likely not, but hey, we all need something to blame), my knitting funk has continued. I’m doing better than I was, but I was focusing almost exclusively on the Cubist Socks. As of Monday, I have these socks completely done and off the needles. Which, of course meant that I had to base my outfit choice for Tuesday solely on the new socks.

I’m learning from past experiences, and decided to frog and reknit the Spatterdash fingerless gloves using a size bigger needle. I've roughly gotten to the point where I was when I decided to frog, so they are moving along well now. And, I finally got a picture that almost accurately represents the colors in the yarn.

Close Up of Spatterdash

I still haven’t even cast on for the second sleeve of the Sheepcote sweater (or taken the first sleeve off of the needles for that matter). I don’t know if there is an actual reason besides my laser like focus on the socks. I have discovered, however, that both Ms. Bode and Ms. Lily are big fans of the yarn I’m using for this sweater (Valley Superwash Merino, I’m a big fan too, it is super soft) and are willing to climb things and dig in baskets to obtain said yarn. That is going to make completing the sweater very interesting.

Today, I also spent some time on Ravelry and decided on the next pattern and yarn combination for socks. I'm going to knit Brainless (rav. link) by Yarnissima, I'm knitting them out of Knit Picks Essential (now called Stroll) in the colorway called Peacock Multi, a combination of purples, blues, and greens. Hopefully the yarn/pattern combination works out.

According to the weather reports, things should be returning to normal (or at least closer to normal) over the next couple of days, so I'm going to run out of excuses for not knitting. That should mean more pictures of finished products up here soon!

In other news, the new job is still going well. I’m feeling more and more comfortable, and have to ask less and less questions about how to do things. I’ve actually engaged co-workers in conversations (or at least attempted to, small talk is nowhere near a strength for me), which is a pretty big step considering my chronic, acute shyness, and have still managed to avoid letting them know that I have the sense of humor the your average fourteen year old boy, or a massive fear of birds. But we all know I can’t keep that one hidden forever, at some point, my true colors always show.