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.

Breather

I thought I might take a little break from knitting for awhile. Nothing more than just a few days. See, I've been working really hard lately. Doing what? Getting all this ready to ship:

Those are all items for the Project Hope Christmas drive. Some of the items I've had lying around for awhile waiting for an opportunity to come up to be shipped off. Lots of the items though, were knit with this campaign in mind. You'll notice I even managed to finish this guy off in time:

There are still some tweeks I could have made to the collar but after making this sweater I feel like I have a better grasp of raglan construction. Especially from the bottom up. I don't know that I will be trying my hand at design again any time too soon though. Well, especially not on something so complex as fair isle. But I was able to make the sweater wearable and it will go to a little boy who was going to miss out on getting anything because his designated knitter got carpal tunnel :( I guess there was a reason I made this too small after all.

So, like I said, I was going to take a little break from knitting. Work on the Eastern European and Russian Orphanages website and get ready for some up coming campaigns. Maybe organize all the donated yarn I've been getting.

I was going to do all that...

But my hands just needed something to do.

Back in the Saddle

Today was the first day back to work after being off for Spring Break. I successfully pulled off 3 pep rallies, bought groceries, and taught 2 private lessons. I'm about to head to bed. Early. Last night I got little sleep. My mind was going in a hundred directions and it was hot which meant I woke up at 3 a.m. and had a heck of a time getting back to sleep. Having the cat decide that she must sleep on me the entire night also didn't help my comfort level. A few quick updates:

I made a slipper last week. If it looks weird that's because it is weird. It's from Knit Simple. I think. I'm too lazy to get up and look. It might be Knit n' Style. I'll check on it. Later of course.

The second Trick or Treat sock is almost finished. I got a lot done when I visited my parent's house on Friday and Saturday.

This is my parent's cat, Moo Moo. I put her picture here because she's cool. She drools when you pet her. She will sit on your lap when you're on the computer. She also rolls in pollen and sleeps on top of cars. She's awesome. Just thought you should know.

I have a crap ton of things to do this week (already) and I'm effectively behind (already). Sometimes I'm really glad that I don't have a boyfriend/husband/children because the state of the apartment is often best described as chaotic and yarn-filled. Plus I can't be bothered with actually making sure that there are clean dishes available on a regular basis (ditto on laundry).

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.

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!