Week Eleven: This Thursday Intentionally Left Blank

Did you miss me yesterday? Sorry, I’m transitioning (temporarily) to Friday posts so that I won’t miss a week when I’m on Spring Break in a couple of weeks with the kidlets.

Someone asked me this week, “So, where are you going for Spring Break?” Of course I answered “OHIO!” with a big fistpump. Even when I was in college in Ohio I took my Spring Breaks in Ohio. And it was usually in the middle of March, so even if you felt springlike, there was no getting around the fact that it was NOT a good time to start your own personal cycling season; the temperatures were usually in the range of 40 to 50°F. If I got any riding done when I was home on break, I usually had a sore throat and a cold by the next week. It… wasn’t exactly a vacation at the beach.

Okay, time for progress reports!

Last Sunday I was enjoying the lack of need to go anywhere since the weather was crappy. I sat on the couch and knitted on my Wingspan shawl until I ran out of yarn near the end of the 8th triangle. Lo and behold, the second skein of yarn for it arrived on Monday afternoon. YESSSSS. It is a different dye lot and looks a bit darker to me, but I really don’t mind or care. I get to keep knitting.

In the meantime I have pulled out a pair of socks I started knitting last October or so, on yarn that has been languishing in my stash for years. (How many years? Well, I stopped in at Ruhama’s in Milwaukee [all right, really Whitefish Bay] before I saw “Mean Girls” in the theater. Which came out in 2004. That’s a pretty long time for a skein of fine-looking German sock yarn to make up its mind about what it wants to be. And who would have guessed it would actually want to be socks?) They’re intended for someone whose feet I don’t have immediate access to, so I really hope they’re going to fit. Knitting fitted items to spec is not one of my natural gifts, so while I can knit socks, they usually go to someone whose feet happen to be the right size. Locating people whose feet fit my socks is also a gift.

And…. drum roll…. tomorrow I shall knit the Very Last Piece for the project-which-will-soon-be-unveiled. I cannot tell you how hard it has been this week to only knit one piece per day for this project, with the end so near in sight. There was such a temptation to hole up and crank out the knitting and finish early. I decided to join the resistance and maintain the pace, despite how eager I was to get the whole thing “done.”

In non-knitting news, the kidlets really did a lot of stuff since my last post. Middle Son won a trophy in a spelling bee, Youngest Son earned a ribbon in the same bee and then proceeded to lose his two front teeth over the weekend. Eldest Son went and turned 14, putting a real cramp in my tendency to still think of my inner self as 22. He’s almost taller than I am, and his feet are already bigger than mine (though we can still trade shoes in an emergency). And I went ahead with my valiant weight-loss plan, did two Jillian Michaels workouts in two consecutive days, and completely wrecked myself. I took Thursday off from programmed exercise, and by the end of the day I was able to go both up and down the stairs without screaming involuntarily. I’m calling that a victory and will strive to make progress from there.

Back to knitting news! Due to an unexpectedly favorable alignment of circumstances, I will be able to attend Late Night Knitting tonight for the first time in more than a year. It takes me an hour to drive there (and there might be freezing rain in the early evening), but I can stay until they kick me out at 11pm. Then (sigh) I have to drive homeward for another hour (and there might be snow in the late evening). On Saturday there is a rummage sale/bake sale at my kids’ school (for which I will be baking) from 8 until noon, so I’ll need to be there at least at the beginning of that. Then I think there’s a Pokémon tournament somewhere that needs to be Hung Out At with Eldest Son. Then there will be a Batman movie to watch, Doctor Who to view, and some test knitting for Phase Two of the Ginormous Secret Project. Then…. ah, how I like being busy.

Week Ten: Zeno’s shawl

Last week I said that I would probably finish Wingspan before I finished all the parts for my Double Top Secret Massive “Get me the Guinness Book of World Records on the phone, stat!” Ginormous Knitting Project.

Well, things change. Creation is a… dynamic process, shall we say. And for once it’s not because I stalled out on the large project; it’s because I’ve lengthened the small project. When I got to the halfway point on Wingspan, I weighed the remainder of the yarn and found that exactly half of the original skein was left. I was delighted. Everything was going exactly to plan. Well, it was going to plan until I realized that having only half of the yarn left at the halfway point was a Very Bad Thing, as there was more to knit than just the other half of the shawl. To “analogize” for a moment, it’s as if I were building a tool shed and used half of my building materials to construct and attach two walls to each other. Hooray, with the rest of the materials I can finish my shed…. if I don’t need a roof. For Wingspan, you knit these eight wedges, then you knit several rows across the neckline. Then you bind off, which always takes more yarn than just knitting straight across.

Oops.

I didn’t want to stop after seven wedges, as it seemed a little too small to look like a shawl. So. I looked on Ravelry and found there were exactly three other people in the world who had one skein of the same yarn in the same colorway and were willing to sell or trade it. (The dyelots don’t match, but nobody’s perfect.) So. I am currently in negotiations for the procurement of one said skein, which I shall use to knit an extra seven (not eight!) wedges onto the first eight, which should give me plenty of yarn for the neckline and the binding-off. So. I don’t know when said yarn will arrive. When I run out of yarn I will have to set Wingspan aside until the second skein shows up.

The small project gets both larger and slower; its finish line is pushed back indefinitely just as it comes into sight.

But knitting is pretty cool. If you keep knitting, even if it is only a few stitches a day, if you’re bullheaded persistent your project will reach a finish line. It might not be the finish line you originally had in your sights, but a finish is a finish. And some knitters find their finish line by planning something really big and stopping early. Take that, Zeno!

Meanwhile, The Big One glides toward completion as if it were a fresh hockey puck in the wake of a Zamboni. Ten parts to go. I’ll have time to contact the Guinness Book people before Spring Break.

Below the surface, other ideas and plans are emerging and being evaluated. Every day brings some new thoughts to mind. I’m investigating, researching, and contemplating. Who knows what can happen in a year?

Week Nine: The Ninety-Three Percent

As of today I’ve hit an important milestone on a knitting project I’ve been working on for a few years now. For various reasons I am not ready to reveal its nature in this space (but those of you who know me from “another space” will be able to figure it out pretty quickly), but I can say that I now have just 15 units left to knit before I assemble the whole thing. That puts the project at 93 percent complete, though in truth after I have those other 15 parts knitted I will call it no more than 99 percent until every last end is woven in. And because even the pre-assembly work is going to take some time, I can’t even give you an estimate as to when this project will be completed, photographed, and fully shared. Just know that I am very happy that my daily work, which I’ve been referring to as “quota knitting,” is getting me steadily closer to a huge creative goal.

But trust me. When I do the reveal, you won’t miss it! (You may question my sanity, but you won’t miss it.)

Most of you, when you see it, will want to ask me one question. The answer to that question will be “yes.”

I’ve also been chugging away on the Wingspan shawl and really should take another picture now that I’ve finished 5 of the 8 wedges that make it up. I don’t know if it’s the merino sock yarn, or the Addi Turbo needles, or a combination of factors, but I find it delightful to knit on it and shall be sad when I’ve finished it. But finishing it will allow me to take care of some other projects that also need my attention. Such as socks made from sock yarn. (What a concept!)

This week has been busy with healing myself body and soul, shoveling show out of the way, and driving kids to, fro, and back again as they all took turns being under the weather in various ways (dental work, low-grade fevers, sniffles & sneezes, and good old-fashioned hooky-playing). One of the best things I did was go back to campus Thursday morning and reapply myself to my calculus book. I’m having to start almost from scratch with the math, but today I got to a place where I am doing well and seem to have a deeper understanding of the type of problems I’m solving. We’ll see. Between the weather and everyone’s health it’s been tough to get down there. Now that we’re healthier I am renewing my commitment to finishing the course. My math-related plans after that point are still nebulous, but slowly forming.

My progress on my other resolutions has been somewhat hampered by the knitting done on these two garter-stitch projects, but there is a small project I had intended to cast on for on Valentine’s Day that calls for a new type of cast-on. So as soon as one of these projects is complete (most likely Wingspan), I will try it out and perhaps be able to check off one more completed resolution.

And finally… it’s finally MARCH! My already-teenage son will turn 14, my sister will be performing at SXSW in Austin (on his birthday!), we will have Spring Break, and DOCTOR WHO will be back on television!

Week Eight: Spiking

This will be a short post just to make the quota. I have been under the weather and so have some of the kidlets this week, so I’ve been trying to keep up with keeping up. I told myself that during Lent I would knit one square per day on a huge project I’ve been working on for a couple of years, and as of today I’m one square ahead of pace, having knitted the only square that needs additional stitching. If I can finish it tomorrow (which will require learning a new sewing technique) I will have 21 plain squares left to knit and can then think about how to seam up the whole thing. Thinking that far ahead right now just adds to my fatigue (and I’m already perplexed as to why lying on the couch all day napping, knitting, and watching TV has worn me out).

I’ve been enjoying knitting on Wingspan again after fixing a dropped stitch, but I have tried to do my “quota knitting” first… so poor Wingspan is waiting for me to pick it up again. I’m on the fourth wedge of probably eight. I don’t have any new photos but will probably take a progress shot when the fourth wedge is done.

I logged into WordPress last night to try to write a post, but nothing came to mind. When I looked at the little stats bar, I noticed a big spike in viewing. I investigated a little more, then realized that I’ve conditioned everyone to expect new posts on Thursdays. That’s when I aim to write them, too; however, this week I was too worn down for the inspiration to strike at the usual time. I’d like to thank those of you who showed up on your own, looking for my words. It reminded my of my late grandfather, who used to keep a vegetable garden. Next to the garden there was a post for a huge purple martin house that he built himself. Every fall after the birds migrated away, he’d take down the house, clean it out, and store it in the garage for the winter. Every spring he’d take it out, clean it up, and put it back on the post so it would be waiting for them when they returned. One year he didn’t get the house up in time, and the birds took turns waiting on the top of the post!

Woody’s martin house looked something like this.

By next week I might have a lot more to say or show. For now, though, I’d better rest.

Week Five: Quantum of Progress

This week I’ve stayed busy, but until a few minutes ago I didn’t think I was getting anything done. Then I looked at what I did today:

• Went to knitting and drank one chai latte. (This list gets more impressive, I swear.)
• Turned the heel on one sock.
• Finished one blanket square.
• Knitted one repeat on a scarf.
• Gave away one of my typewriters.
• Worked on calculus homework for about an hour.
• Read one more chapter of Plato’s Republic.
• Left some cookies on campus for friends.
• Filled up the gas tank.
• Thrift-bought the shirts for tomorrow’s Spirit Day.
• Went to the bus service to look for our lost mittens.

The list really does go on and on. And if you look at the whole week, you’ll see more of the same. Had a new washing machine installed. Had the old washing machine hauled away. Baked a batch of cupcakes. Mixed a batch of frosting. Caught up on “Castle.” Applied for one job. Made a pot of chicken soup. Swapped out the rear axle on my bike. Little things that didn’t take much time to do, when considered in isolation.

In my fantasies, it would be really nice to spend the day doing one thing all day long. Like, read a whole book, reorganize the whole upstairs, give away all the clothes that need to be donated, sew up a complete quilt, write a whole short story, watch a complete trilogy. But I don’t get that kind of time, and I suspect my brain doesn’t work that way. Besides, when I do try to spend a day that way — if I don’t almost immediately get a call from somewhere, saying someone has been hurt, and I must come and get them Right Away — I can no longer see the tree I’ve gotten done through the forest of neglected tasks.

My task is to keep spinning the plates. Not even all of the plates — spinning most of them is fine as long as they are the right plates. Some of the plates deserve to crash or be replaced with new ones. And I need to forgive myself and move on when I think I’ve broken the wrong plate, or am not spinning enough of them.

• Wrote one blog post.

Week Four: The sum of the parts

If a pile of unrelated halves could add up to a shorter pile of related wholes, I’d have more progress to report — at least, progress in the Finis! Mission Accomplished! Level Complete! sort of way. But, to paraphrase Buzz Lightyear, “That isn’t my way, is it?”

Well then, let’s see what we do have.

I finished one slipper (half of a pair) and a washcloth.

(no new picture since last week. feel free to use your imagination.)

Here is half of a sock that I cast on for while watching my alma mater play hockey against the team whose TV coverage I can actually receive in my home.

Half a sock is better than…. no, it’s still just half a sock.

Wait…. here’s half of a pair of socks! That’s better, right?

The sock for which I had sufficient yarn.

To tell the truth, I actually showed up at Thursday morning knitting group with this sock just to prove that I had actually knit a sock. We’re a little funny about socks, my group is. If you don’t make socks at all, we’re fine with that. It’s a lifestyle choice we can both understand and respect. If you tried making socks and you suck at making socks, we’re fine with that. Oh, we will tease you about it, but really, we’re fine with that, too. But if you can make socks and nobody ever sees you making socks, well… we seem to have a problem with that. The gang actually chipped in the summer before last and made a birthday present for me out of sock needles, sock yarn, and a sock pattern because I “never make socks.”

This sock had an interesting origin. I discovered somehow that Wisconsin would be playing Miami University last weekend. Now, if you know much about Sports of Any Kind, you should know right away that this is an Unusual Occurrence, as Miami is usually in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and Wisconsin is in the Big Ten/11/12/13 Conference. However, when it comes to HOCKEY, it’s a little bit different. You play the nearest hockey teams. Sometimes, and more often than you might think necessary, you play teams in Alaska. Now, Miami has recently had a most excellent hockey team and Wisconsin, so far as I knew, wasn’t on the college-hockey-playing map. This year has been an exception; Miami has struggled, while Wisconsin built up an impressive winning streak. Even Miami’s “hockey blog” group predicted that, at best, Miami would win one and lose one over the weekend.

That’s exactly what happened. Wisconsin won the Friday night game as I cast on for this Miami-colored [and coincidentally Wisconsin-colored] sockette made from stash yarn. And Miami broke Wisconsin’s streak by winning the second game on Saturday night, when I was just past the gusset stitches. They were exciting games to watch — although the kidlets still don’t quite understand why I wasn’t rooting for Wisconsin — and I got one sock out of it. Sadly, after weighing the leftover yarn, I’ve concluded that I probably won’t have enough red yarn to make a mate for it. I’ve had plenty of suggestions that I simply reverse the colors in the second sock…. but that isn’t my way, is it?

No, it isn’t.

So I just sent a message to the only person on Ravelry who has a skein of this yarn that they’re willing to sell or trade. Come icing or high-sticking, my little hockey sock will have a mate that well and truly matches.

I haven’t knitted a stitch of the drop-stitch lace scarf, and though I did cast on and knit a couple of rows on the next Gigi slipper, it wasn’t even enough to take a picture of, so that’s all the progress that’s worth reporting on the knitting front.

But on the resolution front? Any news there?

This post takes care of Resolution #1 for the time being. And I made some progress on Resolution #3 by getting my butt down to campus this week and setting myself up for success in calculus. Yesterday I even studied and took extensive notes. I had forgotten quite a bit since I had to suspend my studies, but I finally did find the place in the textbook before which I need not go, and I will re-educate myself from there. I’ll make copies of my notes and start taking on homework problems starting tomorrow. The sooner I get it done, the sooner I’ll be ready for the Most Excellent Job in technical editing.

P.S. I’ve started watching Season 3 of Downton Abbey and should be all caught up by Sunday night. Just so you know.

Week Three: Then there were six

With Resolution #2 out of the way, and steady progress being made on Resolution #1, you’d think I would have taken care of Resolutions 3 and 4 by now.

Well…not yet. But I have been working on the reorganizations necessary for accomplishment of #3, and some votes are in as far as the particulars of #4. Unfortunately, there’s a tie, so either (a) more people need to vote [did you know you could vote for more than one item?] or (b) I will have to learn TWO new cast-ons.

Until the ballot boxes are stuffed, I can report that I have made progress on a couple of projects. The drop-stitch lace scarf has 9 repeats complete on it now, and a few minutes with a gram-sensitive kitchen scale and a wooden ruler showed me that I ought to be able to squeeze 28 total repeats from this quantity of yarn, making the finished scarf about 42 inches long.

This is the 33 percent.

I also cast on for another pair of cotton slippers for my grandmother. I have made several pairs for her over the last few years. She wears them out and asks for more. I meant to have started these much earlier, but. I started watching Season 2 of Downton Abbey yesterday, and decided it was the perfect time to cast on for the slippers. And so it was. I have already finished one slipper. Then I decided to take a little break by using the leftover yarn from the first ball to start a matching dishcloth. I’m more than half way done with it, then I should have enough yarn left over to make the second slipper. I’m thinking of edging the washcloth with crochet…. maybe just to see if I remember how.

The little-seen Matching Dishcloth and Slipper set.

Downton Abbey is perfect for garter stitch, or any other knitting you can do without checking on it constantly. And in the episode I watched today (okay one of the episodes; I’m trying to catch up so I can watch Season 3 with the rest of the world), there was the first depiction of knitting. Different sorts of needlework are constantly being mentioned and shown, but this time the red-headed Irish maid, Ethel, had a ball of green yarn she was apparently working into the panel of a sweater.

This is probably Ethel’s most respectable talent.

The weather right now is sunny but cold, and this weekend we go from a high of 38° on Saturday to a high of 15° on Sunday, with temperatures expected to stay frigid for several days. No snow, just bone-chilling cold. Perfect knitting weather. I’m looking forward to finishing these projects and casting on for new things in bright, cheerful colors. Maybe even wild and outrageous colors! Or maybe I will just cast on to make a pile of mittens to replace all the ones my Darling Children have LOST this year. It’s gotten so bad that I have even purchased insulated gloves from the STORE, only to have a child come home wearing only one of them on the afternoon of the first day. ::headdesk:: Perhaps I should just pick a signature color of washable wool blend (I’m considering you, Wool-Ease) and just Never. Stop. Making. Mittens. Out. Of. It. Year-round. For the rest of my days.

They don’t seem to lose the scarves. Maybe I should start making the scarves with the hand-pockets on the ends?

Week Two: The Stripes Add Height

I’m a bit late for “Thursdays are for blogging” but this still counts for a weekly update. So, Resolution #1 continues!

I am pleased to report that Resolution #2 has been knocked out of the park! I finished the scarf and bound it off on Sunday night. Now, usually I would go to Monday-morning knitting and I had planned to present it to Ginnie then. But my So-Called-Twins [born 16 months apart] felt under the weather then, so I stayed home too. While they rested, I cut fringe and attached the tassels to the scarf — a dozen tassels on each end, each one with all seven colors that are in the scarf. I brought it to Tuesday night knitting instead, and she was thrilled to finally have it.

The original plan here was that, since Ginnie only crochets and does not plan to learn to knit, I was going to knit a Doctor Who scarf that she would give to her father, who introduced her to the Doctor in the first place. But plans change, and after I started on the scarf she decided she would crochet one for him. That made a lot more sense, since I didn’t know him at all, so I kept working on the scarf with the intent of giving it to her instead. I cast on in April 2011….

Anyway, here is Ginnie. After she posted this picture on Facebook, one of her friends commented that it “made her look so tall.” Yeah. 14-foot-long, foot-wide scarves tend to do that. Personally, I worry it’s going to throw her back out or simply pitch her forward.

So subtle you hardly notice it.

Resolution #3 was to complete my calculus class. Before I do that, I really will need to get things more organized here. The house is in pretty much the usual state of organic disarray, which means it’s going to provide a billion distractions to getting math and my head to coexist again. I still have a valid commuter pass, so I will probably use it to study on campus a few mornings a week. But I don’t really have any progress to report in that area, so…. moving on to Resolution #4: Learn one new cast-on.

Well, now. The ball’s in your court now, isn’t it?

I’m taking a break from some of my long-time WIPs and working on some different things right now to clear my head. I do need to make another pair or two of slippers for my grandmother, but what I picked up yesterday was a ball of turquoise mystery yarn I had bought at the thrift store. [At least, it's turquoise sometimes. It depends on the light source.] I went to the Ravelry pattern database and typed in “halo yarn” and hit Search. I saw immediately the pattern I wanted to use for my unknown-content, unknown-amount of yarn: Easy Lace Ladder Scarf Pattern. It uses a very simple technique but it’s one I hadn’t used before. (Bonus!) You do straight knitting for six rows. On Row 7 you knit each stitch but add 2 yarnovers before you finish the stitch, and you end with a plain knit stitch. On Row 8 you knit the stitches but drop the yarnovers.

I had a lot of problems with this the first time I got to Row 8 because sliding the stitches toward the needle tip pulled the YOs too tight to go from the cable to the needle. After a little time to think about it, I switched to good ol’ aluminum straight needles and eliminated that little issue. As of right now, I have three repeats done on it. The Rav-enabled can follow along there as I post progress shots; I’m calling it “Fuzzy and Blue” after a song from “Sesame Street.” Haven’t heard of it? Haven’t heard it for thirty years or so? Here you go. You’re welcome.

Fuzzy and Blue (vintage Sesame Street)

Week One: Scarf Who?

I’m almost done with Resolution #2! Just six more stripes left to knit on Ginnie’s Doctor Who Scarf…. actually, that adds up to 114 rows of garter stitch, which works out to be 7,524 more stitches. Then there is fringe to cut and attach to each end. It probably sounds as if I’m quite a long way from finishing, but trust me, if you could see how much I’ve already done you would have less reason to question my sanity. I can take a picture tomorrow, but for now, just trust me — I’m close to the end of quite the awesome project.

Of course, the fact that I’ve just written a post about it means that I’m also working on Resolution #1. I may just designate Thursdays as “Chocolate Sheep Days” and call it a plan.

I’m considerably further behind on my other goals. I haven’t worked on any calculus yet, I haven’t found any new jobs for which to apply, and I’ve not even begun to look around for new knitting techniques to learn. But I’m going to work on just one or possibly two goals at a time so I don’t stress myself out.

What resolutions did you make?

Greater resolution

It’s time again to reinvent myself — to move forward, to learn more, to do more, to be more.

To blog more. Let’s make that #1.

Thusly, I resolve that, in 2013 (!!!) I shall:

1. Blog on Chocolate Sheep again, and regularly. Dare I say, weekly?
2. Finish the Doctor Who scarf I’m knitting for my friend Ginnie. COMPLETED!
3. Complete my calculus class.
4. Learn one new cast-on.
5. Find a Most Excellent Job in my chosen field of technical and scientific editing.
6. Learn one new cast-off.
7. Help my kids be awesome.

Seven looks like a good number, don’t you think?