Long Overdue

This post is way overdue, I know. But two-a-days are finally over, and once again, I have survived, and no athletes were maimed or murdered. I can't guarantee that the coaches will survive the season though. It was a tough week at work, I called the ambulance twice. And am dealing with an issue with the football coach (which may be the reason that he doesn't survive the season - and that I may need bail money).

But enough of the work junk. Let's talk about some knitting. I mean, this is supposed to be a knitting blog after all. And it's been like a month since I posted anything about my knitting. First up, some stuff I think I've shown in the past. I recently finished the Shaelyn Shawl:
Didn't have much to do to finish it, but vacation got in the way of it being done last month. It's very pretty, I love Smooshy, as I may have mentioned a few times before. I think the fact that I've knit so many little shawls so far this year is making me a bit blase about them. I love them, they're just not breaking news any more. Won't stop making them though.

While on vacation, I attempted to start some socks, but packed the wrong size needles, so I focused mainly on that little Spring Garden Tee I started in June.
And got all of the knitting done. The knots in the yarn towards the end really irritated me, and I haven't gone back to sew in the ends yet. So, soon I'll get to them. I hope. And then I need to pick up the neck to finish and then the sleeves. There's probably only a couple of hours worth of work to do to have it completely done, so I really should just sit and do it. And as you can see, it needs a good soak and blocking to get out the wrinkles.

So after the Tee was mostly done, it was Thursday of vacation I think, I started the Presto Cardigan, designed by Kate Jackson of my very beloved KNOTS. Such a classic cute little cardi, and amazingly, I'm loving the yarn. It's Berocco Remix, which is a blend of cotton, acrylic, linen, silk and nylon. But it's tweedy and wonderful, and will match a huge chunk of my wardrobe.
It's going to end up being the perfect "in-between" sweater, for those days in the spring and fall that are cool but not cold. Right now, I'm into the final decreases of the sleeves (so close to being done) but I haven't spent a lot of time on it this week due to the afore mentioned work stress.
And it probably would have been finished by now, except that there was a slight hitch with the fronts. Maybe you can see the problem?
Yeah, the medium size was a bit off between the fronts and the back, so Kate helped me work the math and everything is good now. So I'm going to finish the sleeves after I post this, and then I'll sew the fronts to the back and pick up the stitches for the ribbed edging. Hopefully, I can get the ribbing done tonight. and then it all gets blocked and then sewn together and it's done. Yay!

So last weekend was a bit of a milestone, the end of an era. Yep, I turned 30. So Sunday night, Mom, Ellie and me went to see "The Phantom of the Opera" (my birthday present from the Jersey Fam - thank you again!), and it was wonderful. I also started a new spinning project - as a little treat to myself. This roving:
Is spinning up to look like this:
Very nice. It's the first time I've used my Very Fast Flyer on the wheel. Loving it. I'm planning on doing this as a navajo-ply to keep the colors together.

This week I also picked back up my Miralda's shawl, in an attempt to get it done by month's end.
It's going well, but I'm still afraid that I'm going to run out of yarn. And seeing as I just got a box from KnitPicks, I don't really want to place another order just for a ball of yarn. Silly me should have remembered to toss that lone ball into the cart.

What came in that KP box? A whole lot of crazy, that's what. For some strange unexplained reason, I decided that it would be fun to make a Corrie Fair Isle Vest as the 3 month project for the HPKCHC starting in September.
It will be gorgeous, and I'm sure that I start off enjoying knitting it. But then some time in October I think it will hit me... 300+ stitches on size 3 needles using 9 different colors of fingering weight yarn! That have to be steeked!!!
I'm trying really hard to not think about the steeks - because they really freak me out. Taking scissors to a knitted garment - scary! Think about the pretty, think about the pretty!

Since I had been having a serious case of listlessness and apathy about all of my current knitting projects for the past couple days, I let myself cast on something new last night. A Daybreak shawl (I know, again with the shawls).
But lots of easy peasy stockinette with self striping yarn? That's a good time. And so I worked to that point last night (while watching the Steelers game and beyond), and so today I have to focus on the cardigan and will reward myself with the shawl if I get it finished.

Or maybe I'll work on my Poconos socks:
Pretty socks that I couldn't start until I got home and could get the right sized needles. Gypsy Girl Creations yarn in "Cattails" which really reminds me of the woods with the rivers and creeks flowing through. The first sock was knit almost entirely (except for the cuff and a few rounds beyond) during the football meetings I sat through during the first week of practices. Seriously, that's how much time I spent in meetings, enough time to knit a sock. Crazy. The other one, as you can see, has stalled out with the lack of down time at work. But it'll get there. Gotta finish it so I can start my Steelers socks with the start of the season. Alright, I think that's enough for now, and I've run out of projects to talk about any way.

Happy Fourth

Happy Fourth of July to all who celebrate it! Enjoy the fireworks and be safe.

Can't believe it's July already. Things continue to be busy around here. Sunday was Elliott's birthday bash. Before dinner was served, the rain and thunder began, so we ended up moving inside.
As you can see - everyone had a good time. Lots of iron man and Bumblebee themed gifts.
Anyone else having a flash forward to Halloween? I have a feeling that Paul and Peg will regret putting the gun on his wishlist.

Just saying. And sometimes, kids toys can baffle adults. No one could get the Transformer to fully transform, for fear of breaking it.
Tuesday we had a cookout for friends and family. And celebrated Sarah's birthday (which is the same as Elliott's).
The boys are very good helpers when it comes to candles. Then on Wednesday night, we went to the Indians game.
The boys in front of Bob Feller.
The view from our seats.
Aubrey was the only one of the kids not freaked out by our meeting with Slider.
We were all decked out in our Tribe gear. And it helped - Tribe beat the Blue Jays 3-2.
Not that the kids let us watch much of it, but they had a good time and that's the important part.
And we've made a start on turning Sarah into an Indians fan - as she claims there's no chance that she'll become a Steelers fan (silly Cowgirls fan).

I finished a spinning project this week.
My "Verdigris" fiber, made into a lace-weight single (first ever single that stayed a single) and I love it. I should probably admit that I have about another ounce to spin up, but this 870 yds filled the bobbin, so it got taken off and finished. I'll finish the spinning a little later, maybe after I finish my new spinning project:
That is 8 oz of Crown Mountain Fibers BFL in "Life, Love, Laughter". So pretty.
I had thought to spin it up a bit thicker, but it had other ideas. The prep is a pencil roving so it's hard to get it to be real thick anyway. But this is my spin for the Tour de Fleece (yep we knitters/spinners celebrate a lot of sporting events don't we?)

I started some new knitting projects this week too. First, a lacy scarf with my handspun "Picnic Basket":
Nice and simple, so it should go fast. Which means that it will take forever. Just because I said that.

And then Friday night, I cast on for a Shaelyn shawl with my very favoritest yarn, Smooshy.
In "Midnight Derby", the same color I used for the pirate hat and mitten set I made for C4 awhile ago. Also, a nice simple but pretty pattern, that should work up pretty quickly. Seriously, I'm jinxing myself.

Yesterday, I went on a little trek with Meagan and Marcus to the West Side Market.
Total tourist picture, but it was only my second ever trip there, and the first was a field trip senior year in high school. It was loads of fun. This was my favorite booth:
Can you blame me? Granted I didn't look at each of the booths, but still, this one would still rank right up there. We had quite a spread for lunch when we got back to the house:
Very Frenchy-french in my opinion. We just needed to be sitting in a park with the Eiffel Tower in view for it to be complete. It was amazingly delicious, and we can't wait to do it again. Check out my Buckeye cupcake:
So sinfully good. Yeah - that's a PB cup in the bottom of the cupcake. Yum.

Alright, need to get some knitting done before we make the bison steak I bought yesterday, and then head out for the fireworks with Meagan. Happy Independence Day!

CrazyBusyLazy

Yeah. So. It's been a while. I know. It's just been nutso around here, and I haven't had the motivation to blog. Probably because I don't have much to show. Things are surprisingly slow going, and or are supposed to be a surprise.

I've started half days at the clinic. And this year I'm in SNF (specialized nursing facility) - seriously. The insurance companies really have it wrong, I am getting farther and farther away from things that I have any knowledge about because of their regulations about what patients I can bill for. If I can't bill for a patient I can't see them - as the whole point is to be making money. Yesterday, they screwed up the schedule (thank goodness), the patient that was originally on my schedule hadn't been evalled yet, she was a stroke patient. I don't know what they were thinking, the PT and OT working with her were having a hard time, due to the problems that the stroke caused, I would have ended up in tears, not knowing what to do. Going to have to mention that I should really only be seeing ortho patients as much as possible.

The sports season is for the most part over, track is still going in smaller numbers of course. Baseball and softball made quick unexpected exits. Girls LAX was a bottom seed, and so as expected, got crushed in their first game. Boys LAX made a good show, the game wasn't close for a long while, and then they had a chance at the end, but ended up losing. Tonight is physicals night (aka worst day of my year). Football has been having "mini camps" the last couple of days and are having more next week - which to me is crazy, but probably only because it's something we've never done before. I've got mostly all new coaches, again. Head coach is the same and 1 of the assistants, well 2, but the one guy was only with the team for the last few games last year. Lots of freshman this year, we'll see how it goes. I've been informed that the first few days of doubles will be spent at John Carroll - that I will have my own room (imagine that!). I'm trying really hard to work with the coach and keep him happy. I can't handle another year of constant battles, so far all is well. We'll see how he reacts when he finds out that I'm not going to be around at all until August.

i think it's time for some knitting. Since it's no longer a surprise (a surprise visit can ruin things when you don't hide stuff in preparation) I'll show you part of Elliott's birthday present.
He's currently obsessed with swords - anything that is remotely resembling one instantly becomes one in his hands. This one is safer than most. And I made it up all myself, no pattern. I think it came out well, and I'm thinking that I will have to make another one to appease the younger brother and avoid the fighting.

Last week, my attention was diverted to the making of some bookmarks. I know, weird, but they're really cool looking. And they were quick and easy, which is what I was needing.
They're made using crochet thread and a little crochet hook, and a pattern that is written to be a scarf with bigger materials. Pretty cool.

I've made very little progress on the Lucy bag you saw in the last post, been too distracted by other projects.
But it's getting there. Not too much further to go before the bag part is done, then it's on to the straps. I have actually finished something for me too:
The French Press Felted Slippers. Sadly, they're a bit big and I have a hard time keeping them on my feet, so I might end up making another pair.

I've started a couple of new pairs of socks (the Spring Forward socks are done, but for the grafting of the toe of the second one - it was finished to that point during the hour and a half long delay before the LAX game due to thunderstorms, and I didn't have a needle with me for the sewing bit).
I've been wanting to use this yarn for a long time, but at the same time holding off because the dyer doesn't dye anymore due to health issues. But I'm thinking it's a perfect summer time colorway. The finished socks will be really cool, just wait.
These are not a typical colorway for me - Lornas Laces "Pioneer" - but the 2 colorways that I wanted were unavailable in the quantity (2) that I needed, so I ended up getting this. I really like it, it's just more "boyish" than I normally go for. But will be great with jeans and khakis, which is really all I ever wear, so I guess it's a win.

The real reason there hasn't been much knitting getting done is all the spinning that's been happening. I finished up the "Patriot" yarn (finally) so that my bobbins were freed up for the new project.
I think it came out really good. Especially since it's only my second attempt at navajo-plying on the wheel. It's actually 2 skeins, and they're not at all alike, as you see here:
But I still really like the yarn. Hoping to knit them up into fingerless mitts soon. One will be dark, and the other light, but it's all good. The new spinning project is amazing.
6 oz of merino/cashmere/nylon in "Picnic Basket". It's super soft. And so pretty. I'm spinning it up to (hopefully) be a fingering weight 3-ply, for socks. Here's the progress:
Pretty good so far. But I'm really trying to get it done before Tuesday. Which might be a problem. Because Tommy is coming home tomorrow for the weekend, which means cleaning and entertaining. But with Monday being the holiday, I might be able to squeak it out.
A gratuitous close-up of the pretty. Keep your fingers crossed that I find the time.

In other news, I have re-committed to WW. First weigh in is Saturday morning. And I've got the crazy idea to run in the Johnnycake Jog which is June 13. Have I ever done a 5k? Nope - except on the elliptical, which is so not the same thing at all. Yesterday I ran for the first time on the treadmill (I normally avoid the treadmill like it's the plague, and I have never run on one). Very proud of myself - as I managed to do 2 miles at a 5-5.5 mph pace, with a 3 min walk in between the miles. Not bad for the first attempt. I'm sore today, but not as bad as I thought I would be. Just mentioning it, because the blog holds me accountable. Stayed tuned for more progress reports.