So many hobbies!

I forgot

I completely forgot to post last night.  My sister is coming for a visit this weekend so between cleaning my pig-sty of a condo (I really let things go during the Ravelympics) and working on the shawl, blogging never even entered my mind.  I'm taking today off (for more cleaning) so I thought a quick post was in order.

I'm pretty sure I'll have the shawl done by the end of the long weekend, although probably not blocked.  It's going to be a heavy, warm winter shawl for certain.  I love it.  I'll have more pictures once I'm done.

That's it for now.  Have a good holiday weekend all of you folks in the States. 

A day without knitting

I know it's shocking, but I took the night off from the shawl.  We needed some time apart.  I spent the time after work doing the things that should have been done Sunday:  groceries, change the sheets, do the laundry.  That and I watched the last three episodes of season 1 of Doctor Who.  Oh, I love me some Doctor Who!

So, the good news is, the reason the car wouldn't start was because the side of the battery blew out.  It's good news because I was afraid they were going to tell me the entire electrical system was fried (it's an old car).  New batteries are cheap... relatively speaking.  My credit card only got a small snack.

I was born August 6 which traditionally makes me a Leo.  The problem with this is I have almost none of the characteristics that Leos are supposed to have.  I had some fun with Google a couple of weeks ago and found something interesting:  astrological signs are determined by the constellations' positions in the night sky at the time of your birth.  The problem with this is the constellations have shifted since the astrological calendar was created.  If you look at the sky now, August 6 is now in the middle of Cancer, not Leo, and I have nearly ALL of the Cancer characteristics.  Now normally, I don't pay any attention to astrology, especially since my sign never fit me, but I find this new change very interesting.  Eric told me he'd always thought I was a Cancer and not a Leo.  Of course, Cancer is a water sign not a fire sign and I was so sure I was a fire sign because of how I react to wind and water.  Again, Eric said he'd always thought I was a water sign and not a fire sign.  I don't really believe in all of that stuff but I still find the shifting of the constellations and how I'm really a Cancer, a sign that actually fits me, to be very curious indeed.

What's your sign, and does it fit you?

No gold medals for me

The shawl isn't done and I'm sure I've made a couple dozen mistakes besides.  I've got nearly two repeats to go and then the border.  I'm not a very stellar Ravelympiad.  I'm not feeling very chipper tonight and frankly, I don't feel like being stoic.  Not only wasn't I able to finish my shawl - I'm the world's slowest knitter (I'm thinking of having t-shirts made) - but my day was rather trashed when I left the Joann ETC I was in and my effing car wouldn't start.  So I stood around for a hour and a half waiting for the tow truck to arrive and tow my car to a repair place.  I'm hoping it's something simple and CHEAP because I'm tired of paying off my credit card only to have something break on the car so I have to load the card back up again.  I'm tired, you guys.  Tired of having to fix things by myself because there's only me to do the fixing.  God I hope the car is something simple like a loose battery connection.  I'm sorry for the rant.

Much slower going

I'm starting to have my doubts regarding my ability to finish this by the end of the Ravelympics.  Garter stitch is fast but I'm very slow when it comes to the lace, plus, each odd row grows by 4 stitches.  I only managed to complete three rows tonight but still, the lace is starting to form.  I'm still a bit worried about screwing it up but I'm starting to see that mistakes can hide in lace.  I've also found that there's a lot of trust that goes into knitting lace, or any pattern, I suppose.  I'm sure it's because I'm new to this:  I just have to follow the directions, stitch after stitch, row after row, and trust that the results will be what they're supposed to be.  It's kind of nerve wracking at first but as the lace starts to appear, I'm getting more confident. 

Now I must to bed so I don't fall asleep at work tomorrow.  They tend to frown on that sort of thing.  I hope every one has a good weekend.

Ravelympics update

Eric saved my bacon last night and fixed the mess I'd made.  Thank you, Eric!  I'm at the halfway point in my shawl, give or take a couple of rows, and we're 11 days into the Ravelympics.  Only 6 days left! 

You can't tell, but I'm 2 rows into the lace part of the pattern.  The pattern directions are a little fuzzy in places and I started the lace with more stitches than the pattern called for - I hope I don't screw it up!  Eric helped me understand what I'm supposed to do so I'm pretty sure things will go fine.  The pattern didn't tell me to, but I'm a bit paranoid so I think I'll place a marker between each pattern repeat.  That should make it easier to see what's going on.  I plan on spending the entire weekend knitting (or as much as possible since my butt gets very tired of sitting on the couch) and either listening to public radio or watching movies.

That's it.  It's not terribly exciting here at mi casa unless you're into knitting and the Ravelympics.  The cat is pretty much sleeping through my knitfest.  If you were to ask her, she'd probably tell you how boring I'm being.  Can't help it!  Team TARDIS is counting on me!

Knitting in the car?

A good idea during the morning drive.  Not so good at the end of the day when you're tired after a fun-filled day with friends, shopping and lots of fresh air.  Observe:

At some point during the drive home, my stitch marker migrated one stitch to the left.  Naturally, I didn't catch it.  Fortunately, my friend Eric did.  Who knows how long I would have knitted before seeing the mistake.  Eric suggested that, instead of ripping back, I drop the offending stitches back to before the mistake and reknit back up to the top.  I hate ripping and reknitting, so I agreed even though I've never done such a thing before.

Except now that I've done it, I have no idea how to fix it.  Nope.  Not a clue.  If it was just straight knitting, sure, but this is garter stitch with yarn overs.  I don't know enough to look at that mess and see what I'm supposed to do.  Once again, Eric is coming to my rescue.  He's agreed to show me what to do at Spin Night tomorrow.  Thank goodness for Eric!

As for the Michigan Fiber Festival, I had a great time.  Once we got there, I dropped off my llama fleece for processing and then I was free to shop.  I picked up a copy of Barbara C. Walker's "A Second Treasure of Knitting Patterns," a bookI've wanted for a while now.  And for my winter spinning and knitting, Merino/silk roving from Winterhaven Fiber Farm:

I bought 8 oz. each of Snapdragon on the left and Marigolds on the right.  Aren't they lucious?  I love yellows and golds but I look absolutely terrible in them.  I'm hoping by plying the two together, the pinks will tone down the yellow/golds.  These will definitely cheer up some dreary winter days.  Oh, yes!

Another award!?

To my amazement, I've been honored with another blog award, this time from Val.  Thank you, Val!

I don't quite know who to nominate in return because I did that last week.  The only person I can think of is the Yarn Harlot but I'd feel very silly leaving her a comment about it 'cause, well, she's the Harlot.  She gets hundreds of comments every day which means there are hundreds more people who read but don't comment.  She doesn't really need an award from little old me.  If you don't read her blog... why not?!  Whenever I tune in, I'm always assured of a laugh.  She has a wonderful gift for humor that I think is rare. 

The shawl is coming along nicely.  I finished the first giant yarn ball tonight - about 300 yards worth - and started on the second.  I'll only have Friday night and Sunday for knitting because Saturday I'm going to the Michigan Fiber Festival in Allegan, MI.  I love, love, love fiber festivals!  I'm hoping to drop off the llama fleece for processing but I'm very much afraid they won't take it because of the amount of vegetable matter, ie. straw.  It's loaded with straw.  As for the shopping, I'll be looking for unspun fiber in reds.  I'm knitting up my blue shawl right now but I'm feeling the need for reds:  rich, deep, lovely red.  Maybe a bit of pink or orange, too.  As much as I hate to even think about it, summer is starting to wind down which means winter is coming.  I've come to loathe the gray and overcast Michigan winter so I have to plan ahead.  Reds will be lovely to spin and knit come wintertime.

Did you know, "stewardess" is the longest word in the English language typed solely with the left hand (on the American keyboard) and "lollipop" is the longest typed solely with the right hand.  And did you know that "orange," "silver" and "purple" are the only English words that don't rhyme with anything.

Progress update

My 60" circular cables arrived today and not a moment too soon.  The 40incher was full.  Normally I go for the slow, cheap (or free) shipping but this is a special occasion:  the Ravelympics!  I haven't counted the number of stitches on the needles but I add 4 stitches every right-side row, and I'm starting to slow down.  I'm done with the light blue and knitted about 1.5 inches of the blend of the lightest and next lightest blues.  It's knitting up the way I'd hoped it would.  Yay!  I'm not happy that I have to go to bed and then tomorrow to work when all I want to do is knit.

I has a shawl... and an award!

Despite having to rip a couple of times, I've made pretty good progress.  I'm pleased even though the transition from white to lightest blue didn't go at all the way I wanted.  It was supposed to be more gradual.  Oh, well.  I've got it on my 40" circ cable and the cable is already full.  You can't see it but there's only about an inch of needle sticking out on either corner.  Tomorrow I have to order the 60" cable and I'm going to have to splurge for the fast shipping.  Darn!

This is what the yarn ball looks like after a weekend of knitting.  I've knitted its guts out!

I have been honored by my friend Elizabeth with the Arte y pico award.  If I get the gist of the award, it's for blogs that are "over the top."  It's hard to tell; the site is mostly in Spanish and my Spanish is really rusty.  Anyway, I don't know if my blog qualifies for such an award but I'm honored that Elizabeth would consider it to be so.  Thanks, Elizabeth!

 

And now my own Arte y pico awards:

1. Yarn Zombie:  Jacki is one of the most creative people I've "met" in a long time.  She knits, spins, weaves, dyes, cooks and is a wonderful photographer.  I'm always excited to check out her blog and see what she's been up to.
2. Turtlegirl:  there are few knitters I've found who are as prolific as she.  It was her Charlotte's Web shawl that inspired me to spin and knit my own graduated color shawl.  Just gorgeous!
3. Riverrim:  she lives where I wish I lived.  She has woods, a river, wild life and a nice veggie garden.   Her blog is lovely to read... and upon visiting just now, I see she's already been given an Arte y pico award.  See!  It's not just me.
4. Limestone Coasties:  Val is a knitter and spinner after my own heart.  And she has puggies!  Val, some day, I'm coming to Australia for a visit!

Designing a Team TARDIS t-shirt

I'm the kind of person who is unashamed, no, eager, to share my geekiness with the world.  I worked very hard to gain the self-confidence I now have and I plan on using it fully.  I want a t-shirt that lets everyone know that I'm in the Ravelympics this year as part of Team TARDIS.  I think the whole team should have one so that we knitting Doctor Who geeks can find each other easily.  No one has created one on Cafepress so I'm trying to come up with one.  The tough part for me is finding all the elements online and then putting them together into a design that won't embarass me.  Graphic design is not my forte.

I've swatched my swatches and decided size 10 needles create the nicest fabric, which is good because I don't have size 9 circular needles... I've gone back to look at the size 9 needle swatch and I'm starting to think it's better than I thought...  I have the worse time choosing needle size.  I'd better order size 9 circs tomorrow just in case, and buy 14" size 9's.  Aaargh!  How do I decide?!  The unblocked size 10 swatch drapes better than the size 9 but the shawl will be blocked which will open it up.  I'm going to have to sleep on it.

This is my inspiration:

They don't look that big... trust me, they are.