Achievements

Exactly one week ago today I had surgery to remove my tonsils and adenoids, fix my deviated septum, clear my sinuses, and remove some polyps from my sinus cavities. Everything I have managed to do since that time has been chalked up as a major achievement since pretty much every day since then something has been hurting, irritating me, or not doing the job I think it should be doing (I'm looking at you pain medications). Here, in no particular order are some things I've done that I feel are press worthy:

1. I took a shower. On Tuesday but still. I took a shower.

2. I ate chicken nuggets. 10 in all. Over a period of three days.

3. I did not pass out. Not when they took out my tubes (which were three inches long with butterfly wings on the sides). Not when I had to leave the office after taking out my tubes. Not when I hadn't eaten anything in two days except medicine and Powerade. Not yet.

4. I finished a blanket.

It's just a little one made from scraps of my hand dyed yarn but I like it and I think it will be lovely and warm once it's blocked out.

5. I made some booties.

Again, nothing big and huge but right now I can't really handle big and huge.

6. I worked almost a full repeat on my Red Dragon socks.

I never understood what pregnant women meant by not being able to knit because it makes them queasy. Now, I totally get it.

7. I started a pattern. It will be for a set of items with a chevron theme to them. A hat with a chevron band, mittens with a chevron design on the back and a multi-directional chevron scarf. I did that one at 2 in the morning so I really think I should get a prize for it or something. I'm telling you about it because I want to be held accountable for actually finishing the pattern. I want to offer it as part of the Eastern European and Russian Orphanages Project's Game, Set, Match! campaign where we are collected matching hats and other knitted items for orphans. So, if you don't see updates about the chevron set in a few days start asking questions.

Now, I'm off to take another nap because I've been up for a total of 20 minutes and I'm exhausted.

Bigger News

I really meant to post this earlier this week but I guess subconsciously I just wanted to keep you all in suspense :) (And yes, there is still the biggest news to come)

The bigger news is that this summer I will be traveling to Romania! I will be going with H 2 H International and will be working in an infant hospital and several orphanages. I can't wait! It's been three years since I was in Eastern Europe and I can't wait to get back; it feels like it's been too long! In anticipation of going I would like to collect some knitted clothing to take with me. I know that H 2 H distributes hats each winter to the babies, children, and teen orphans that they work with. The Eastern European and Russian Orphanages Project has information about collecting matching hat and scarf sets for me to take while I'm over there. I'm hoping there will be a big turn out for this collection!

In other, not so big news:
I finished R.J.'s baby blanket!

I finished some swatches (just need to weave in ends, wash, and block them):

I really finished a swatch (washed and dried and everything!):

Trick or Treat sock yarn
And I got to see some of my roving spun up at the guild meeting Thursday night!

I wish I could say that I have a movie on and I'm snuggled up with some knitting on this rainy, slightly chilly day but alas, I have grad school work to do and a cat who thinks that my arms and computer are her napping spot not my working spot.

Big News

I have so much to tell everyone! So much in fact that I'm going to do it in small doses. Which means you'll have to come back later to find out what the bigger and biggest news is :)

The big news is that the Month of Love ends tonight! If you haven't posted to the EEROP Ravelry forum about your love themed knitting then do so today so that you can be entered into the drawing for a little post-Valentine's day surprise.

Part of the big news is also that my first festival of 2011 is coming up March 17-19. It's the Smoky Mountain Fiber Festival in Townsend, TN which is located relatively close to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. If you will be attending please stop by and say hello (and let me have a bathroom break as I will probably be working this festival alone and would appreciate the opportunity)!

Sadly I don't have any really big knitting news. I made a swatch of some sock yarn. Trick or Treat colorway as a matter of fact. But I haven't washed and blocked it so it just looks like a little rolled piece of knitting. I have almost finished R. J.'s blanket though!

I'm pretty impressed with how quickly this has gone. A little over a week's work and I'm almost done. It is a small blanket (only about 26" by 26") but I think that's helped keep it from getting too boring. Adding in the color block in the middle also helped keep it interesting. For some reason I'm under the delusion that I could never knit a full sized blanket. But I've already made 2 baby blankets and I didn't get bored or overwhelmed with either of those. Maybe some day I will have the gumption to tackle a bigger one.

Getting it Together

With all this wonderful weather we've been having in the South (sorry Midwestern readers) I've begun to think about festival season. My first fiber festival of 2011 will be next month. Which means I need to start getting ready. More booties to knit! More washcloths to make! More yarn to dye! More swatches to knit!

Hawaiian Hibiscus

First I had/have to finish up some things...

Cross the seed stitch mittens off the list.

I love the puffy way these turned out. I think I might be heading out of mitten territory though. I don't know if I can make any more thumbs and still find enjoyment in them.

I've moved on to something bigger.

A blanket for my cousin R. J. who is due to arrive in late April. Once I finish up with this it's on to more swatching!

Stopped Dead in My Tracks

My clapotis is on hold for the moment. I really thought that I wouldn't be able to put it down until I had finished it. I'm almost there too. Just one more repeat of the "straight" section to knit and then I start the decreases. I appreciate all the comments about the clapotis, it's been nice knitting something for myself and it really is as lovely as it looks. When I start nearing the end of a project like this I begin thinking ahead to things I want to make. I pulled out some Cascade 220 in brown, white and black that I bought from Stitches South last year.

I have some black Cascade 220 as well and I was thinking of a pair of charity socks with black cuffs, short row heels, and toes and the leg and foot in the multi color. Then I was struck by the thought of making a charity vest. It would be easy to do, maybe even a good project for the Ravelympics, and it would also look good in the Cascade 220 colors. On top of these ideas, the socks on the broken needles have started their siren song again which means I'll probably break down and buy a pair of metal DPNs in the very near future to get them off the needles and another pair started. This isn't even mentioning the list of hats I want to make for people (oh wait, I just mentioned it).

All that is having to wait though. There is a project that had to be moved to the top of the list. Daresay, the only project that could make me put down the clapotis for one hot minute.

Sophia's Christening Blanket
I mentioned that Sophia had come a little earlier than expected. Well, that means the christening is going to be sooner than planned. Luckily I started this blanket in the first part of January and it's a quick knit. The family is leaving this coming weekend (of Valentine's day) for Florida where my friend Jenn's dad will get to christen his granddaughter. I'm thinking they will need the blanket for this event. I've spent all morning knitting away on it and I'm almost finished with the second skein of yarn. I wasn't sure how to long to make a baby blanket so I was just planning on using 2 skeins and calling it a day. I think that should work out nicely. When I spread it out over the back of my office chair it covers the whole thing (about 24"). The original pattern says it should end up 32" x 38". Close enough for jazz in my book. Plus it should grow a little after washing.

With this blanket I decided to go with acrylic. I'm still not 100% committed to a certain fiber for baby knits but I'd like to hear other people's opinions on this. Acrylic is easy to wash and maintain but it has some safety hazards. However, if you look at your own clothing I bet you'd be surprised to see how many items (especially store bought sweaters) are made from acrylic or contain at least some percentage of acrylic. I also live in the Southeastern United States. Read: Very hot for most of the year. We have relatively mild winters so 100% wool garments would be too hot most of the time. This is why I also rule out superwash wool, generally too hot. Cotton seems like it could be a nice alternative but I'm not especially thrilled to knit with it. Given that I have way more acrylic (it was handed down to me) in my stash than cotton it's also easier for me to choose that route. Feel free to let me know what you knit with when making baby items.

On a totally unrelated knitting note, I have 2 new bookshelves in my reading nook that I got for my birthday last year and finally put up around Christmas time. They are considerably heavier and more substantial than the previous bookcase (whose shelves were literally bowing under the weight of the books). The bookcases come particularly close to a chase lounge that my cat, Penelope likes to sit on and I've been wondering how long it would be until she tried to venture onto the shelves.
Last night she seemed to have deemed as good a time as any so, while I was browsing for a relaxing tub read, she jumped up and had a little look see. Future librarian cat in the making.

Selfish

If you look at my most recent projects you might think that 2010 is the Year of Me. First it was the Bella Mitts and now it's a clapotis.
Instead of finishing the baby blanket for the baby that is being born possibly this very night (seriously, mom is in the hospital right now...um, strike that, the baby is officially here) or working on the charity socks that need to be done by Valentine's Day, I have started something else for myself. And it's nice too. Artyarns cashmere. Hand-dyed cashmere that is. I guess I shouldn't feel too bad. I did spend Saturday making a sample hat for the basic hat workshop that I'll be teaching at my LYS starting next week.
Of course I still have to write the pattern for said hat...

Stalled

The breaking of the sock DPN seems to have broken my knitting streak as well. Obviously that project is now on hold until I can find some more needles (or another project).

I started a pair of socks for Global Knit but have lost some interest in these as well.
Just past the heel turn of the first sock. These only have 20-30 rows until they're done but I'm not in love with this yarn: it's single ply (therefore very splity), and in some drab colors (not helped by the fact that it has been cold and rainy here for 2 days).

I started and finished another quick charity knit (this one for H 2 H International) this weekend.
The next step is to start a hat to go with them. But that would require me finding my 16" cable and balling some more yarn.

The baby blanket pretty much looks like the same except with 6-10 more repeats. I'm ready for that to be finished with.

I have a whole queue on Ravlery of projects for myself but that would require balling yarn, finding needles and swatching.

I also have a whole list of knits for other people that need to be done but, again, these require balling yarn, finding needles, and swatching.

Plus, I need to update my inventory in my stores since I'm sending a new LYS some of my yarn and Rare Purls needed more stuff.

Oh, and I need to update Ravlery with all the projects from Christmas (and maybe a little before then too) and don't get me started on the housework...

Unmotivated is what I am.

Saturday I was sidelined with a 24 hour stomach virus which certainly didn't help things. Thankfully I have tomorrow off so maybe after a few days of recuperation I will feel up for something productive.

The Princess and the Sock

Once upon a time, in a land not too far away, on a cold winter's evening, a princess was knitting on a sock. The princess was very pleased with this sock because the wool was the finest quality and the colors were vibrant and unique. The princess was looking forward to wearing this sock as she often knit items for her friends and family, and even more often, for complete strangers, but this sock was going to be just for her. The princess was so excited about her sock that she thought to herself, After I turn this heel I shall try it on!

Now it is worth noting that the princess was working with some very rare needles. These needles were hewed from the mystical Redwood Trees from far away California. They were very expensive, very tiny, and very, very fragile. In fact, in a most unfortunate accident involving a purse and a ziplock baggie of yarn, one of these precious needles had already been broken. And, in a separate, unrelated accident (the origins of which the princess had no explanation for) one of the needles she was currently working with was missing a small piece of the tip. These needles were so rare, and so unusual that some said they had been stolen from the needle fairies by some gnomes and then had an evil spell cast on them.

The princess had momentarily forgotten about the fragile, possibly cursed, needles as she pulled the beautiful sock onto her foot. But the needles were in the way, they wouldn't budge as she tried to get the sock up her foot. Just a little further... she thought as she moved the stitches as close to the edge of the needles as she could. And then....suddenly...without warning...
Snap! went the needle!

"Oh no!" cried the princess in despair.
Ah ha! thought the clever princess, I can finally get those plastic DPNs that come in sets of 6 that I can't seem to find a link to anywhere on the internet I have been wanting! But then she remembered that her harsh and, occasionally, cruel master, The Superintendent of Schools, had paid her on the last day of work in December and she would not get paid again until the end of January, almost 6 weeks after her last paycheck. Plus her silver gilded chariot needed its rear brakes....err, horses replaced. There was also Queen Penelope who ruled the princess's small abode and who was quite demanding despite her small, fuzzy, squished face stature. Queen Penelope was always in need of the best food, the tastiest treats, and the most skilled beauticians. The poor (literally) princess realized she would have to wait for her new needles.

And so, the princess put away her sad, half finished sock and knit on a blanket instead.
And all was right in Knitting World once again.

The end.

Brrr!

Thanks for all the New Year's well wishes! I hope everyone enjoyed the rest of your weekend. I was trying to stay warm. Temps here in GA have barely reached above freezing for the last 3 days. Yesterday it reached a whooping 33°F (0°C) for a whole hour! The ice almost melted! Yes, there was ice. The lake in front of my apartment is now partially frozen. We're even expected to get some snow by the end of the this week. :::shiver::: I've got the snuggie out and made some hot chocolate to keep me from getting frosty.

On Saturday I braved the cold with my friend Stephanie to visit Knitch, a yarn shop in Atlanta. I'd been to Knitch before but not since they moved to their new location. Their old shop was literally in a back alley but it was 2 stories with floor to ceiling yarn. It had a great cozy feel and there was this cool little general store right around the corner with some of the best bagels I'd ever tasted. The new store is a little smaller but it's right on the main drag. Steph and I both made some stash enhancements but I have somehow managed to not photograph them yet. Until I get the pics posted have a look at Stephanie's projects on Ravelry. Is she not the best photographer! She also designed my buttons and banner for the Phat Fiber page. Talented, no?

Today was back to work for me :( I guess I really only worked for half a day because I spent the whole afternoon after lunch in a cluster-wide staff development meeting. I wish I'd had my knitting but I ended up sitting down the row from my assistant principals so I guess it was a good thing, I'm not sure they would understand the whole knitting-makes-me-not-want-to-kill-myself-and-others thing. When I got done with that I rushed home and grabbed the 2 hats I finished this weekend for Helen.
Yep, I was able to get 2 hats knitted, washed, and blocked this weekend. I'm quite proud. I had to express mail them to her to make sure she gets them by the 6th and I will be stressing about it until I know they are in her hands. I really hope she reaches her goal!

I also spent about an hour knitting on the baby blanket for my friends and now it actually looks like a blanket.
It's hard to believe their baby will be here in just 6 weeks!

This next project has actually been finished for awhile but I haven't blogged about it yet.
These are my Japanese Feather socks (with cat for scale). They are made from some of my own hand-dyed sock yarn, Raspberry! These have a great shine and softness to them because of the BFL. I realized (after binding off) that the toes of the socks, and therefore, the socks in general, are 2 different lengths. Not too drastic and nothing I can feel or notice when wearing but I guess that's what I get for letting months lapse in between the making of the second sock. That and not taking notes when I made the first one. Still really like them though. They have been worn and kept my feet toasty in the freezing cold.

I'm off to enjoy the last few hours of my evening. Tomorrow the kiddos come back so I'm sure I will be extra tired then!

In With the New

I hope everyone had a good time last night with friends and loved ones as you celebrated the New Year. I had an early dinner with some friends (where my friend Mark proposed to his girlfriend!) and then came home to watch a movie, knit, and snuggle with my cat. A relaxing end to a crazy year.

I've been thinking about my 2010 goals for a few weeks now and I think that these are actually things I will see success with. In no particular order, here are my 2010 New Year's Goals:

1. Have 3 things on my needles at a time: something for myself, something for a friend or family member, and something for charity. I tend to knit a lot for other people but I've found my own knitted items to be few and far between. I think it would be nice to have a few more hand made things for myself.
2. Dedicate 2 nights a week to working on my shop(s). Whether that's dyeing, skeining, re-skeining, labeling, shipping, updating, promoting, or whatever. I did some bookkeeping this morning and I'm ready to move Vivid Creation Fibers forward in 2010.
3. Vend at 3 fiber festivals/fairs. This is part of growing VCF. I know I will be at Stitches South and I hope to do SAFF. I need to pick another, relatively close one.
4. Do more local missions work. In the past I have opted out of events because they weren't really "my thing" but I've found that the more I go to, the more ways I find to serve others.
5. To buy organic cleaners. A few weeks ago I was cleaning my tub and I happened to read the warning labels on the bottle. It kind of scared me that the chemicals I was using to clean my tub were dangerous to have in contact with my skin. I thought about how we spray down every surface and then we touch, cook on, or bathe in them. I would feel better knowing that the cleaning products I'm using aren't going to eat my skin off if I accidentally come into contact with them.
6. Find a workout plan that works for me and stick to it. I've given up on trying to change my eating habits, I love food too much! And I'm tired of saying I will do x number of minutes of exercise x times a week because I always find some excuse to not do it. I need to find something that fits my life. Which means it will more than likely incorporate some outside walking (because I do like to get out in the fresh air and walking is low impact) and some kind of video taped workout for the days I don't want to leave the house (I am a hermit after all).

And that's it! 6 goals for the year. Since I completed 5 goals for 2009 I would love to see all of these meet in 2010. I've already started some of them. I've spent a few days working on some yarns for the shop (one of which was posted yesterday) and I've been knitting up a storm.

This hat and pair of slippers were started and finished in 2009. These are a charity knit for H 2 H International. I will also knit a pair of mittens and send this in as a set. I'm challenging myself to knit a set a month for this group.

This roll brim hat is still on the needles and is also a charity knit. Helen from the blog Golden Apples is collecting hats for a school in New York that works with autistic children (read all about her campaign here). At the last minute the school enrollment increased by 20 kids so she is trying to get 20 more hats together before Jan. 6th. This is a quick knit using chunky yarn and a simple pattern so I may try and eek out 2 in the next few days and then ship them off to her. If you have time (or an extra knitted hat laying around) please think about helping her meet her goal.

This white blob is my "Friends or Family" knit. It's going to be a christening blanket for my good friends Cliff and Jennifer. They are expecting their first child, Sophia, is February and Jenn asked if I would knit a special blanket for her. It's a simple feather and fan pattern that I think will be delicate enough for a christening but sturdy enough for everyday use.

And finally, something for me! A pair of toe up socks in my own Trick or Treat colorway. I got a pair of clear clogs for Christmas and now I want to wear hand knit socks all the time! Unfortunately I only have about 5 pairs so I need to make some more. These will also serve the duel purpose of showing one of the colors I'm going to carry in my store. A store sample if you will.

I hope that 2010 will be a time of excitement and prosperity for you. Happy New Year!

Hi My Name is Melissa

...and I have a half finished sock in my purse.

So, I'm back safe and sound from Peru! We had an amazing time and there were so many great moments. I took over 500 pictures. Once I have the chance to sort through all them I'll try and post a little recap here on my blog. I did come back with some goodies that I just had to share with you...

Baby alpaca yarn. 20 skeins. For $30. US dollars. Normal retail value here in the states: $7. A skein. Pretty much the best deal of my life. And it's all thanks to my friend J.M. who spotted the little yarn shop at the market. He's pretty much one of my favorite people now.

Now that I'm back I need to do a little inventory of the projects I have going on.

Finished:
The Oat Couture Prairie blanket for my (soon to arrive) cousin Britt. I finished this up early Sunday morning. I was feeling a little bad, like maybe because I hadn't finished the blanket Britt was just hanging out until I got done. Now that I'm done, it's on! I used 4 skeins plus a tiny little bit of a 5th skein of some acrylic yarn that was gifted to me. It's antique yarn (Caron Wintuk4) but it softened up nicely in the dryer. Plus it held up nicely in the washer.

Unfinished:
A rather large pair of socks. I started these some time ago for Warm Woolies. This is the infamous "stabbing sock." Before I can finish these I have to find the notepad that I was keeping track of the rows and measurements. I think it might be in my car. At least I'm hoping that's where it is.

Rivulets socks that have been on hold since I had to finish the test knit sweater and the aforementioned baby blanket. these see occasional action when I'm not working on other large projects.

Next up in the queue is to begin the third mystery sweater KAL for Warm Woolies. It's been going for about 3 or 4 months but I haven't so much as picked out yarn. That will be for tomorrow. Along with laundry.

Slow Going

That seems to be the theme around here tonight. Penelope got her teeth cleaned today. They had to give her pain meds in addition to the anesthesia because they had to remove a rotten root (the tooth had already fallen out...on a side note she was already missing several random teeth, unbeknown to me). She's been falling around all night and looking dazed. She was able to eat her dinner though, which is a good sign. Just a little update, she's walking around a lot better now but she's still pretty sleepy looking.

I've been working on a never ending baby blanket. I'm on the last skein (in the correct dye lot) but I think I will have to dip into the 5th skein (in a different dye lot, yet it looks exactly the same to (my) naked eye). The pattern is the Oat Couture Prairie Blanket and I'm officially over halfway through. It needs to be done before the intended baby arrives (ETA: July 17). However...

I'm leaving to go on a mission trip to Peru tomorrow! I'm debating taking the blanket in my carry-on and finishing it while I'm down there. I'm going to take my Rivulets socks in my carry on. Gah! I'm so close to being finished with this blanket, and yet, so far. I guess we'll see. I will be sure to take lots of pictures while I'm gone and post a few here when I get back.

In the meantime, if all the great bloggers I read could hold off on blogging and if everyone could just not email me for about a week that would be great. Otherwise I'll have to spend the rest of my short summer catching up.

New Orleans: Day 2

Buckle up, it's going to be a long, bumpy ride.

This is a typical shot of my family in action while in NOLA. 3 people with cameras all taking pictures of the same thing and my brother standing around.
Sunday was a visit to the zoo. The first thing we saw was an elephant exhibit. I was about 20 feet away from the paddock so I had a great view. They did demonstrations of how elephants are trained and used in India and other parts of Asia. And yes, that is a guy on the back of the elephant in the picture below.
The zookeeper doing the presentation at the elephant exhibit sounded and looked like a totally stereotypical California surfer and by the end of the talk had wandered off into talking about tortoises. Classic.

We saw some camels which my aunt and I decided were pretty much the perfect pet.
They can store 40 gallons of water in their body, go up to a week without having to drink again, withstand extreme and sudden changes in temperature, lose up to 25% of their body weight in sweat without dying, are excellent transportation devices, and, most importantly, you can spin their fur into yarn. I think I may get a couple.

My brother did his best impression of being a statuary.
Boy with Turtle next to Boy with Water Bottle.

Brandi climbed on stuff she wasn't supposed to...again.
I saw a bear swimming (and some dumb a$$ redneck try and spit on him. I would have loved to have seen the bear scale that wall and maul the guy to death...but I'm evil and vengeful like that.)
Got up close and personal with some baby crocs, and I don't mean the shoes.
This guy was just hanging out in the gift shop.

Saw a loose interpretation of the fabled "Swamp Monster."
He kind of looks like the Chupacabra (ugh, I hope I don't have nightmares from looking at those pictures...).

Got to see the famous white alligators.
These are not albino alligators. They are leucistic which means they lack the pigment in their skin that produces the traditional camouflage coloring. They don't have red eyes like albinos do but blue. There are only 2 examples of white alligators being found in the wild and they both occurred in Louisiana. The first time was in 1986 (or '87 depending on your source) and there were 18 hatchlings found in a nest with other, normal colored, alligators. Scientists speculate that the reason why they are so rare is that, because of their color, they are easy targets as infants to be eaten by prey.

Hmmm...this trip is turning very educational.

Brandi climbed on some more stuff...
We almost got sprayed by some bobcats (there is a reason those fences are 4 feet away from the cages).
My mom communicated with some gazelles (it's a loooooong story...).
Brandi and my brother climbed on things they weren't supposed to.
Brandi is definitely about to be eaten.

Saw some warthog love which was actually pretty cute. The male had wandered off from the female (a total of maybe 30 feet) and she came running over. They embraced in this kind of head butting/rubbing. They seemed totally elated to be reunited even though they'd been apart for less than a minute.
True examples of love can be found in the strangest of places.

Brandi laid on stuff she wasn't supposed to.
And then that night we rode the trolley to Canal Street and back just to say that we'd done it.
Thus ended my 1st trip of the summer to Louisiana. I'll be back there in a few weeks with Brandi again to visit my brother. Brother working in a different state=instant vacation destination.

Knitting wise I've been working on the following, some of which saw a little face time on the way to and from NOLA (I was too busy while I was there to do much knitting).

Test knit sweater
I've actually finished the 3 inches of garter edging and I'm about 1.5 inches into the body.

Britt's baby blanket
Half way through with this. Which is good because my aunt's already having contractions. He better stay in there until the 17th.

Pair of BIG socks for Warm Woolies
The pattern is the Perfect Fit Hiking Socks. I didn't do the stripes or the ribbing all the way up the leg (just at the top). Yarn was Cascade 220 tweed for the main color and Cascade 220 for the toes, heel flap, and ribbing at the top. My friend Carolyn graciously modeled one of the socks a few weeks ago at knit night.
Not for the normal sized foot.
But perfect for a 16 year old boy.

Big 10 socks which were a test knit for a friend on Ravelry.
These are the ones where I got to try out an afterthought heel. Turned out well. Blocking didn't totally fix the pointy toes but I think it did help. Both these pairs of socks are now dry and ready to send off.

In other knitting news I'm working on some job opportunities with my shop and getting ready to dye some more. I'll keep you posted on how all that is going :)