Tis the Season

This weekend has been full of seasonal happenings.

Friday I ran hither and yon while prepping for a Christmas party given by the agency that I intern with. I was out early in the morning to visit clients, then to the office, then out for the party, back to the office, and, finally, back out for several hours to visit clients again.

I thought about wearing my newly finished Christmas socks and my clear clogs to the party but the dress was semi-professional so I decided against it.

Saturday I went shopping for Christmas presents. I hadn't done any shopping until then. I managed to get all but 3 presents (and 2 are small and easy to obtain). I had planned to finish some paperwork for work/internship but I took a nap instead. Much better choice.

Sunday we went out to dinner at Mary Mac's Tea Room in Atlanta for my aunt's birthday.

The food was good but I spent the night having one of those moments where I thought my dinner might be trying to kill me. I don't know if it was the shear volume of food (though I've done worse in recent memory), the richness of it, or if there was something that didn't agree with me. Whatever it was it caused me to go to bed at 9:45 and sleep until 8:15 this morning. Nearly 11 hours of sleep. Except for the hour between 2:30 and 3:30 when I woke from a dream concerned that I had to be at work at 8:15 in the morning (I don't) and that I'd double booked clients (I didn't). I then stayed awake trying to find a position where my stomach didn't feel like it was being wrung out and contemplating whether I should all the CDC and report a possible food poisoning or not. I'm feeling a bit better this morning but still not 100%.

This week I've got to get paperwork for tax-exempt status submitted to the IRS for the Eastern European and Russian Orphanages Project and also finish that paperwork for my internship that I keep putting off. Oh, yeah, and finish getting/making Christmas gifts.

Closing in on 2013

Another weekend down and 2013 is closing in. I can't believe this year is almost up! I've decided to do Crazy Aunt Purl's Totally Do-Able 12 Month Plan for 2013. It seems easy enough and I like to have some sort of game plan for the coming year.

This weekend was very chill. Grad school is finishing up this Friday and my final paper is under peer review so there wasn't much I needed to work on. Saturday I went to the Gladiator's hockey game across town with my mom and some of the kids she tutors on Wednesday. It was a reward for one of the boys for making A's and B's this semester.

Love a good hockey game!

Gandolf was at the game to promote the Hobbit which comes out next week.

 

Today was church, napping, dinner, working out, and knitting. A week or so ago I tried my hand at crocheting. I was thinking of making a blanket. I didn't get very far.

Nearly 2 rows of crochet.

Tonight I ripped out the crochet because I came to my senses and realized I was never going to have the patience to finish an entire crochet blanket. I decided to make a blanket square instead.

Patterns for washcloths (I'm using them for blanket squares).

Just a few hours of work.

Needless to say I'm much more successful with knitting than crochet. It only took me a few hours to finish the first square.

I'm also working on a pair of socks for myself. I think they look very Christmas-y so I'm hoping to have them finished by the end of the year.

My own hand-dyed sock yarn!

The weather has been very mild up to this point. There were a few days where it got close to freezing but then it's been in the 60's since then. That means that wool sock wearing is probably not going to happen until after the 1st of the new year. It usually gets coldest here in Georgia in January and February.

This next week is shaping up to be very busy. I've picked up 7 new clients plus taken on most of the initial assessments coming in to the office. My schedule is so full! Praying that it stays that way for the next few weeks though. I'd rather it be a little crazy and busy before Christmas than to come home to it after I get back from Romania.

Personal Update

So, this month has seemed to be pretty much all about fundraising and raising funds and getting funding. At first I was going to end the giveaway this week but I've decided to extend it until the end of the month. Then we can do a fun little Halloween night drawing for prizes! Also, can I say how excited I am about Halloween? I love the fall. I love how it marks the start of the holiday season and how there's a change in the temperature. I'm really looking forward to a pumpkin carving/bonfire/s'mores night with friends next week. We're also planning a corn maze/petting zoo/corn box/hayride/ more s'mores day in early November. Maybe I'll work some hiking in the North Georgia mountains in before Thanksgiving too. Now is the best time to go while the leaves are changing color.

Today is my one of the few days that I have off where I can actually get some things accomplished around the house. Right now that means filling out 501(c)3 paperwork and reading articles for school. I'm working on my integrated project for school which is basically a doctoral thesis without conducting the actual study. That means about 30-40 articles for the lit. review alone. Good thing I like the topic (for anyone interested I'm researching Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in children adopted from Eastern Europe and Russia and how that contributes to parental stress and attachment).

Everything with school, internship, and charity seem to be kind of just creeping along at a somewhat consistent pace. Of course I would like to fast track everything but I've been trying to rein myself in, especially over the last couple of days. I realized that if I keep up the stress and worry then I'll just end up having a melt down (never pretty).

Other things of interest...my dad is getting a new car, I busted my hand on the door frame last night when I literally jumped out of bed at the sound of the outdoor cat fighting with another cat or maybe a opossum at 3:45 in the morning, and I'm still knitting. Evidence:

Socks for charity.

Big puffy multicolored blanket of awesome. Also for charity.

I went to see Looper a couple of weeks ago with my brother and sister-in-law. Highly recommend the movie. Also, we went to the rich people's movie theater so the seats were these big leather recliners. Seriously. It was awesome.

I can never watch movies in a regular theater again.

 Oh, and I made an apple crumble. It was the best thing I've made in a long time. I ate it every day for breakfast for a week.

It's ok to be jealous.

It's been kind of fun talking about random stuff in life. Maybe I should that more often...

P.S. Don't forget to enter the giveaway! I'm doing the drawing on Halloween night.

Senoritis

If you have ever been a senior in high school or college or the parent of a senior in high school or college then you are probably familiar with senioritis. This inconvenient illness strikes some time during a senior's last semester and lasts until graduation. Symptoms include failing to do work on time and not giving a damn. Individuals with senioritis like to procrastinate, take frequent naps, and say things like, "It's really not that important" and "I'll do it after I finish watching season 3 of Dr. Who." The reality is, of course, that it is that important and it cannot wait until the end of season 3 of Dr. Who. Unless you have a tardis of course.

I'm sad to report that I have taken ill with senioritis. I've been feeling a little overwhelmed with school work (nothing new there) and I ended up getting a bit behind last week (actually not my fault there, the website I needed was down for a week). Well, after getting behind and having to turn in things a little late and not finishing everything right on time and not doing assignments up to my usual high standards because I just needed to get them done... I realized something...if I overload myself with school work and worry then I'm not doing myself any good. So, I need to take some breaks. I need to knit a little bit. Maybe exercise. Eat some ice cream. Take a nap. Quit killing myself with stress.

And so, I did.

You know what? Life went on. Things got done. Maybe not right on time but not so late that I can't make up for it later. And my mindset's better. I'm a little more peaceful.

And I might almost have a new pair of socks.

A New Kind of Normal

After a month of seeming chaos I feel like life is settling into some kind of normal. I've developed new before and after work routines and I feel as though things are becoming a bit more ordered. Last weekend is actually the first weekend that I didn't work (I'm not *supposed* to work on Fridays but did twice last month), moving, cleaning an apartment that I moved out of, or generally rushing around. I thought it would be a good time to blog and relax and knit and enjoy myself.

Work/internship:
I'm absolutely loving my internship! Every afternoon I leave there singing and happy. And not because I'm leaving, because I love what I do! I really feel like a part of the team there, like people think of me as their equal and not as "the intern." They laugh with me and they help me and they recognize my good work. I realized how lucky I am when I was laughing so hard I was crying yesterday. I don't think I've *ever* done that at another job. And on top of the wonderful people I work with, I'm learning so much. Every time I hear another story of a hurting child and a broken family I feel more sure that I'm heading in the direction that God wants me to. I've truly been blessed with this internship.

Eastern European and Russian Orphanages Project:
Speaking of heading in the direction God wants you to be...Even though I often let EEROP get put on the back burner it is still some thing that I'm passionate about. I feel like so much of what I do is actually fueling the fire for EEROP. So, even though it's on the back burner the heat's not on low. One weekday after work I decided to open and sort through the most recent set of packages I received. I always get inspired to see what others have donated! Then, about a week ago I went to a prayer meeting of adoptive moms to offer support and was overwhelmed at the appreciation for being involved in orphan care! And one of the ladies put me in touch with Alex Krutov, author of Infinitely More. And another lady contacted me with information she had researched about a rural Russian orphanage that needed donations through the EEROP Facebook page. It's so awesome to see the growth that is taking place! Then, I had a chat with a friend of mine who is super involved in technology and is a fundraising/social media/idea generating whiz and asked him to join our board of directors. He was very excited and jumped right on board. We also agreed upon another friend of mine who we will be asking to join us as well and are in the talks about 1-2 other people to add to the board. Once the board is set (my goal is to have that done by the end of August) then I can begin the application process for our 501(c)3 status. My hope is that by December of 2012 EEROP will be an *official* non-profit.

Home:
Everyone seems to be settling in after the move. We finally managed to get the couch through the playroom door so I have a little "living room" area set up.

See, it's really in here now.

Penelope is enjoying standing at the top of the stairs, meowing, and making my parent's dog go crazy. She has met the indoor/outdoor kitty, Moo Moo, but they are still drawing out boundary lines. However, Penelope seems to have fairly well claimed the upstairs as her domain. I'm still adjusting to having most of my possessions in boxes. Sometimes I will think of something I want/need but have no idea where it might be. I have had minimal success in the "box checking" approach so usually I just end up giving up, buying what it is I need, or asking my parents if I can borrow theirs.

Knitting:
I finished my international socks! I started these in the terminal of the Atlanta airport waiting to go to Romania, worked on them throughout my trip, and finished them up once I got back home.

 I like the socks well enough but wish the pattern on the top of the foot ended higher up, say, mid-foot. They appear to do that in the pattern picture but I must have a little foot or something. And I didn't read the foot/toe directions all the way through before starting so I had to decrease for the toes pretty sharply or the socks would have been too long. They look a little funky off but fit fine. I like the color but now I'm ready to do something a bit brighter. Say something in this color:

I believe this color is considered "retina searing."

(Originally planned for these to be a pair of mittens for a friend but in a long, and strange, turn of events she will not be needing them.)

So, yes, life is continuing on. We're all adjusting and some days go more smoothly than others but we're getting there!

Penelope showing just how adjusted she is.

Loved and Lost

Loved:

My sister in law's socks are finished!

They turned out super cute.

I like the swirly toe pattern, the first one I've made.

I hope my SIL likes them as much as I do.

Lost:

I started a shawl pattern for charity, Brilliant and Divine.

It was...ok. But I didn't love it. And I couldn't see myself working on it for several more weeks until it was finished. So, it's in time out until I can rip it out and find something else I want to make.

Project count up:
Charity: 6 completed
Self: 0
Family and friends: 1 on the needles, 4 completed

All the Stuff I Didn't Talk About Last Time

I left a teaser at the end of the last post about several things but am only now getting around to following up. I think I need a manager for my life...

Wedding Blanket (cat included not for scale but because she thinks all the blankets are belong to her):

Praise the Lord! This thing is starting to get to a point where it actually looks like it might be finished this century. For those of you just now joining our little game I started making this blanket for some friends who got married almost a year ago. It has become something of a thorn in my side. The bad thing about this blanket is that it lost its portability several months ago. Turning or adjusting it on my lap requires significant upper body strength (which I generally lack) and just working on it induces much sweating (which I produce proficiently). Once I finish the block at the top (in red) then I will pick up stitches along the left side and do block #7. I'm stopping after block #8. The question is, Can I finish this for the 1 year anniversary? The answer is, Probably not. Let's just be honest. I know myself. But a girl can hope...

SIL's Socks (no picture because I'm too lazy to get up, take one, and upload to my computer):
Finally got measurements for my sister in law's foot. Can commence to finishing these ASAP.

And what's that over there...
Nothing to see here! That is not a new charity shawl on the needles. I'm finishing missed deadline projects first.

Then what are these washcloths...
Those were mindless, portable knitting! Mom wanted them. I said to keep moving along!

Language lessons:

My good friend Connie (who I meet via my charity and have never met in real life, oddly enough) was moving from California to Singapore. She knows Romanian and graciously offered me her language books (so she wouldn't have to move them half way around the world). I graciously accepted. Now I have about 20 new language books and tapes to help me learn Romanian. There is even a Romanian cookbook that she threw in which I'm unreasonably excited about.

I think that covers every thing from the last post. In the next post I will stop denying other projects and fess up to my deviant behavior.

Project count up:
Charity: 6 completed, 1 on the needles
 Self: 0 (I'm honestly kind of doubtful I will make anything for myself this year)
Family and friends: 3 on the needles, 2 completed! (and I never even mentioned them!)

Preparation

This week is a big exercise in mental, physical, and emotional preparation for change. I just completed my final residency program for graduate school. I have 3 weeks left of my current classes then I'll have two more classes to complete before I start my six month internship. During my internship I'll finish up two final classes and then graduate in December. I know that sounds like a lot but the end is finally in sight (at least for my masters anyways, still debating going for my doctorate...). So, I'm preparing to move from class taking mode into internship mode in just a few months. I'm also preparing to take on a new, full-time nanny job next week. That means that the time I've had during the day for the last 8 months to do laundry, schoolwork, pay bills, grocery shop, and keep up the charity is about to be gone. But I need the money and I'll be helping a friend out so I can make it work for a few months. I'm also preparing to go back to Romania. I've set a little reminder using the iPhone app "Commit" to help me stick to my language studies for the next few months. My friend Connie who lives in California and runs Project Hope is moving overseas and has very generously gifted me with some of her Romania language learning materials. I'd love to be fluent one day but for now I'll just be looking forward to understanding a little better and being able to ask something more than, "Where is the petrol station?" Another aspect of my nanny job is that it's an hour drive to and from my house each day. In order to save my sanity (and on gas and wear and tear on my car) I'll probably be staying 2-3 nights each week with my parents (who only live 30 minutes away from my new job). This may actually be good in preparing for a possible, more permanent move, to their home. It depends on if I have a roommate by May or not. Or I could be moving to my grandparent's house, depending on my internship. Either way, I'm preparing for a possible move. So, yeah, lots of preparing going on around here.

This morning I was able to open up a Cafe Press shop to help fund raise for my trip. I've had some friends and family who have graciously agreed to create some designs for me free of charge and the ones I have so far look awesome! All the proceeds from the shop will go towards my trip which is currently sitting at a $3000 price tag. Go check it out and buy some stuff :)

My favorite design (so far) that's up in the shop.

I've also been slowly working on some knitting projects. Sadly the wedding blanket has not been touched in a few weeks. I left it at home when I went to my residency program because it's getting to big to transport so I haven't done any new work on it. I completed the 5th block which means I'm officially half way done with the thing.

My sister in law's socks have been growing a bit too. I wanted these done by the end of the month but I'm thinking that might not happen now :(

I have about 2 inches to go before I can start the heels. I'm shooting for 2" of work on these each night. That should make fairly short order of these. If I can stay focused.

I finished the Citron shawl and washed and photographed it.

I love the white and dark purple at the bottom. The shawl ended up turning out really nice and not too terribly big at all.

I also washed, blocked, and photographed the Mossy Ridge socks (finally).

But they have been finished for awhile.

And then I did a bad thing. A very bad thing. I started another charity project. I wanted something portable that wasn't worked on size 2 needles (like my SIL's socks are). So I started an EEROP Year Long KAL project: the ScWiNoNa scarf.

It's made up of left over worsted weight yarn I had lying around, mostly Cascade 220 (or so it feels). The orange bit is Malabrigo and will be the last section. I've just joined and knit the new color until it runs out. I had two more partial skeins I could add but it's almost the end of the month and it will be plenty long as it is.

I hope you're preparing for March too!

Project count up:
Charity: 4 completed, 1 on the needles
Self: 0
Family and friends: 2 on the needles

Sucker Punched

My friend Jonathan made the speculation today that "It seems like winter was just hiding until it could jump out and sucker punch us in February." True, true. I don't think I turned on the heat at all during January and I know for sure I wore short sleeves at least once last month. But now it's game over. The temperatures have been hovering around freezing and the wind has been gusting at 35 miles per hour all weekend. I came home on Saturday night from a baby-sitting job/visit with friends and immediately went to turn on the heat. The heater ran for 2 hours with no change in temperature. I called maintenance and I'm running on "emergency heat" (yes, that's an actually setting on my thermostat) until they can come look at it tomorrow. At least I have this magical "emergency heat" or this would have been a very unpleasant weekend.

I've really been loving the Year of Knit Alongs that I'm hosting on the Eastern European and Russian Orphanages Project's Ravelry page. Every month I've managed to pick some designs that people are actually pumped to do. Of course I like them, I picked them! I finished the Mossy Ridge Socks (sadly no picture). And started a Citron Shawl. As per my last post I decided to make this using worsted weight wool because the thought of actual lace kind of gives me hives. So I picked out a light purple yarn and some size 6 needles and started plugging away.

I knit the whole first section and started the second. But something was bothering me. The yarn is acrylic (don't shoot me, I have a lot that needs to be used up and I'm broke). The needles are kind of small for any worsted weight. The combination of the small-ish needles and the unforgiving acrylic was too much. My hands were killing me. So, I did the only sensible thing to do and ripped the whole thing out. I didn't want to do it but I knew I would have been miserable if I didn't. There was a whole episode with the ball winder and the skein tangling and me cursing and then cutting up bits of acrylic yarn and threatening to burn it and then I was done and I had this:

3 decent sized balls and a tangled mess which I promptly threw in the trash. One thing I will not do is cry over tangled acrylic. Then I grabbed up a pair of size 10.5 needles and started once again. Much better. In 13 days I now have this to show for it:

I nearly completed shawl. I'm on the edging right now as we speak. Just 5 more rows to go and this bad boy will be finished. I'd love to do some more charity knitting but I think that the rest of this month will be devoted to projects for other people. I've set a goal to finish my sister in law's socks this month.

Which means I better get going. And I also want to finish at least a square and half of the wedding blanket.

Which might actually be do-able since I'm already almost half way through the next block (the black one on the right in the picture above). The blanket will be easy because it's mindless and I can work on it while I read articles for school online. The socks are another thing. I kind of have to pay a little more attention to them. Either way just these two projects are coming with me when I go on a little road trip for school next week. Stay tuned to see if I can meet my goals!

Project count up:
Charity: 3 completed, 1 on the needles
Self: 0
Family and friends: 2 on the needles

While No One Was Watching

While no one was watching the Mossy Ridge socks were growing.

Actually, I was watching them grow. They are almost finished now, just lacking a few rounds for the toes. Just in time to wrap up the first month of knit alongs. But I lied to everyone. I did not complete these exactly as the pattern specified. I said in my last post the only change I was making was to hold the yarn doubled. Well, I read the directions wrong and instead of repeating the pattern as reads: Row 1 twice, Row 2 twice, I just alternated between row 1 and 2. Not that you or I or anyone else could really tell the difference. And of course with one project so close to being finished I'm ready to start another one. I'm thinking a shawl. In worsted weight of course. Nothing too tedious. I was thinking it might be a nice gift to some of the nurses at the special needs orphanages if they all got a nice shawl. February's knit along shawl is Citron (why did I choose a shawl in lace weight?) but I wonder if I could do it in worsted. I bet it would be out of control big. Let's find out, shall we?

Project count-up:
Charity: 2 completed, 1 almost off the needles
Self: 0
Family and Friends: 2 on the needles (wedding blanket and sister-in-law's socks)

Post Holiday Mash Up

I hope that your holiday season went off with a bang this year. Or maybe I don't, bangs might be bad things like a blown circuit or the tree catching on fire. Whether it went off with a bang or not I hope it was spectacular nonetheless!

I was rather glad to see Christmas day. That meant I had survived the holiday stress. I got a lot of really nice Christmas presents: new pots and pan set (since my old ones were flaking their non-stick coating into all my food, yay for chemical aftertaste!), clothes, Amazon gift cards, a skein of yarn I forgot I'd picked out for myself 2 months earlier (my mom gifted it to me), and plenty more. Festivities with the family were wonderful as always and I didn't come in last place in the Christmas Day game-a-thon.

The day after Christmas I boarded a plane and spent the next 2 weeks in Romania. I had an awesome time. The best part was getting to connect more deeply with some of the kids I met during the summer (I was also in Romania in July, remember?) and making new connections with some of the kids. I think there's something in their hearts that draws them to people who they have seen before, even if their brains don't remember you. One of the things we got to do was deliver Christmas presents. There were some handmade items from EEROP in there :)

New Years was a crazy celebration where the whole city shut down and everyone sets off fireworks. Nothing says, "Let's start the year off right!" like lighting questionable explosives in the middle of a street! This is one of the biggest events of the year for Romanians so it was really cool to get to experience that.

After arriving home I have been slowly recovering from jet lag (my sleeping and eating schedule is completely erratic) and trying to get motivated to do more than just sit on my couch in my pajamas all day. I do have grad school work that needs to be done but this does not require clothes or (much) movement so that doesn't really help things. The only thing I have been really motivated to do it knit. There's something about this time of year that's really inspiring: the holiday knitting is done so there's no deadlines to meet, the air is cold (and there might be snow), the slate is wiped clean from last year, and there's the feeling of hope for a better year than last. Anyways, all that sappy stuff to say that I've cast on at at least 3 projects in the last few days.

Item 1:
Scrunchable Scarf

This was actually started in the Atlanta airport the day that I left for Romania. I knit on it some while I was there and finished it up shortly after getting home. I used a bulky wool (Cascade 128, one of my favorite bulky wools) and a size 10.5 needle. I cast on less stitches (somewhere in the range of 25 or 28, can't remember). The pattern was easy to memorize and this was a great take along project (it's also part of EEROP's year of KALs). I used two full skeins and the finished (washed and blocked) scarf ended up about 6 feet long.

Item B:
Antonia's Fighter Bomber Helmet (a.k.a. the Thorpe Hat)

I started this Tuesday evening and finished it by Wednesday afternoon. Used a little over 1 ball of Revolution from Bollicine for the actual hat and some hand-dyed for the contrasting crochet trim and braids. US size 9 needles and crochet hook as recommended. Just a word of caution, this is the small size and it almost fits my huge noggin; the sizing runs big. To me this looks a little like a helmet and I immediately thought of a little girl who I met in Romania who would look perfect in this. She's a beautiful little girl of about four but there's a strength in her eyes that says, "I can conquer the world!" So this is named after her. Also an EEROP Year of the KAL pattern.

Item the third:
SIL's Christmas Socks (Show off Stranded Socks)

Hazel Knits sock yarn in Camo Chic. US size 1 needles. Two at a time using magic loop. Cuff down. Finally started these the other day. I read a good review of the pattern and it was one I was considering so I decided to go for it.

Item Lastly:
Mossy Ridge (Not So) Toddler Socks

Yet another EEROP Year of the KAL pattern (if I'm hosting can I still win something?). I'm really into this charity knitting thing...Making these in a not so toddler size by doubling the worsted weight yarn (Paton's classic wool, another good go-to yarn) and knitting on size 10 needles (or maybe they're 10.5, I didn't really check). Everything else is just as the pattern notes. I like how these are turning out but they do require me to read my knitting pretty closely which means I can't space out and read blog posts or watch new movies and tv shows that require me to actually follow the dialogue. Should be a quick knit though.

Also still on the needles is the wedding blanket that will never end. I did finish the fourth square and started the fifth so that's positive.

Totals for the year:
Charity: 2 completed, 1 OTN (on the needles)
Self: 0 and 0
Family and Friends: 2 OTN

Summer Knitting

Here is the thing about Georgia in the summertime: it is hellfire hot here. Molten lava from the sun hot. 90 degrees Fahrenheit at midnight hot (you think I jest). And it's humid. Can't breathe because the air is so thick humid. I can see the haze on the city humid. It may be hotter in Arizona but they have a dry heat (I don't understand dry heat but I hear it is a magical thing, like unicorns and fairies) so it actually feels hotter here. The northeast is experiencing a little taste of what we in the South affectionately call "Every Summer of Our Freaking Lives." I'm sorry if I have no sympathy. The only place hotter than Georgia is New Orleans, Louisiana. I spent several weeks there one summer and lost half my body weight in water every minute I was awake. This, if you couldn't guess, is my least favorite time of year. The heat literally makes me ill and the only cure I have found is ice cream. So, until October rolls around I will trying to consume as much of this tasty treat as possible. I feel it is the only way I will make it.

One would assume then that any knitting I have been doing is small, light, and made of cotton. This is actually what I have been working on:

A large wool blanket made with bulky yarn. Ah! Perfect summer knitting. Ok, in reality this thing is huge, heavy, and hot. Sometimes I sweat a little while I work on it.

The blanket is for a collection of blankets that the Eastern European and Russian Orphanages Project is doing. 154 blankets for 154 orphans. By November. Tell your friends. I need more full sized blankets and 8" or 10" blanket squares. Seriously, tell your friends. Teach your children to knit. Teach your significant other to knit. Learn to knit with your feet and hands simultaneously. Send me blankets! (or squares)

The blanket isn't the only thing I've been working on. In fact that's just a few weeks old. While I was in Asheville for the Friends and Fiberworks Summer Retreat (vending) (2 weeks ago) I finished up my Red Dragon socks (finally).
Hotel room photo shoot.

Close up of "scales."

And on the sock blockers.

So glad to have these finished. I always want to jump right into another pair of socks but I'm wisely waiting. They take so much out of me. Oh, details on these...um, I think I used a US size 2 needle. I know I cast on more stitches than the pattern called for (68 methinks). I ended up adding 3 reverse stockinette stitches to either side of the pattern on the foot and 6 on the leg (since the pattern is doubled). Used Lotus Yarns in the Hairdresser on Fire colorway.

Instead of starting socks next I started a little hat.

Worked from the top down (probably until I run out of yarn) in Vivid Creation Fiber's Hawaiian Hibiscus colorway. I was going for newborn but I think this is going to be a bit bigger (I'm such a precise knitter). Haven't really worked on it much since Asheville. Will probably be used for a sample in my booth.

Going back even a little further to the beginning of July (what sort of order am I blogging in exactly?) I made this little hat while I was in Romania.

I like making little international knits. This will be going to Project Hope for care kits for new mothers in Eastern Europe. I'll make some little magic slippers to go with it. I love how this was finished in Eastern Europe and it will eventually end up back in Eastern Europe.

In closing I leave you with a sheep picture, just because I can.

I'm going to go eat some ice cream.

I Have Thumbs!

Ok, so I've always had thumbs (both of them, thankfully) but now my mittens do as well! In the span of a week my charity mittens went from this:

To this:

Yay! One set of mittens for Mitten Madness complete! Of course that means I had to start another pair. I decided to do some game knitting fingerless mittens/ninja gloves. I started with this:

And ended with these:
"Front"

 "Back"

 Me modeling one.

Game knitting is a lot like a drinking game. You watch a show or movie and whenever a much expected action or line is performed you change the way you're knitting. The game knitting booklet that I purchased has a bunch of base designs like these mitts and a few hats and scarves and such to choose from. The real fun is the various ways you can mix up your knitting. I chose to change the ribbing pattern on these as I watched Family Guy every night. It was pretty fun and definitely quick knitting. Next I want to try a short row hat. In addition to making a lot of knits for charity I've also been working on my Wyvern socks which I decided long ago to name the Red Dragon Socks.

Started with these:

And now have these:

Which look almost exactly the same. I never said I was quickly knitting on these. Just a few more inches and I'll be ready for the short row heel. I know I've done a short row heel but I don't do it very often so I can never remember the particulars of how to do them. At least I still have a little time to look up the directions!

Tonight I'm dyeing some yarn for the store. The online store will probably go down for a few days but while I get the new yarn photographed and listed but it will be back shortly. I had a major problem last night with my skein winder, 3 cones of sock yarn, and a my digital scale so that's set the release of my sock yarns back a little bit but they will be coming! In the meantime please follow the Eastern European and Russian Orphanages Project on Twitter and learn about all the cool things we have coming up :)