Unproductively Productive

I'm feeling as though I have accomplished nothing today despite the fact that I have actually done a lot.

I started today by skeining 2 pounds of sock yarn for dyeing (I did 1 pound last night).

 Still life with left over sock yarn bits, scale, empty cone and partial swift.

My arms were absolutely killing me from having to push the skeiner and the swift by hand. At least I'll have killer upper arm muscles. The only thing I'm asking for for my birthday this year is an electric skeiner. So everybody just pitch in and get me the best one you can afford (preferably the 2 yard, motorized one with the electronic counter...).

After skeining I took a small break to finish up the little girl's vest I have been working on.

It's a (very) slightly modified Keep Me Warm vest and will go to the Adoption Center of Washington.

The vest turned out super cute but I almost passed out when I realized how many ends I had to weave in. I think there were 19,765. Yep, pretty sure that's how many there were. Just check out the underarm of one of the sleeves.

And, if you don't believe me, here's the underarm of the other sleeve.

And that's just for the front side!

When I'd finished up the vest I ran some errands for supplies. Some for a secret project.

And some office supplies for mailing off my taxes. Then it was off to the post office to mail said tax information. Ran into some friends while there and chatted for a bit. Back to the apartment. Dye 3 pounds of yarn. Begin work on secret project. Change clothes and get ready for dinner with a friend.

So, today was actually productive. My mind is just trying to be tricksy since I'm on Spring Break and not working the usual 9-5 (or 8-4 as the case may be).

A side note: If you are looking for a quick and easy charity project take a look at the April/May KAL on the Eastern European and Russian Orphanages Project group on Ravelry. The scarf pattern I picked is easy but not boring and the owner of my LYS has offered to donate yarn if anyone needs some! Plus there are pictures of cute kids and beautiful countrysides so you should stop by and take a look anyways :)

Happy Good Friday everyone! And happy Spring Break to all the GA teachers and students :) Today is my 1st full day off of Spring Break 2010 and I couldn't be happier. I'm trying to get some cleaning and laundry done so that I don't have to worry about it for the next week. I've got a lot of stuff to catch up on but I already feel productive this morning. I've finished getting everything together for my taxes, paid lots of bills, done 2 loads of laundry, and updated a few things on the EEROP forum on Ravelry. Speaking of...I've added a little EEROP button to my blog. If you are a member of the Eastern European and Russian Orphanages Project group on Ravelry please feel free to use this button on your blog as well (just right click on the image and save it to your computer). If you aren't a member of the group but want to support charity knitting for orphans click on the button and join our group on Ravelry. And speaking of charity knitting...I finished up some big mittens for H to H International.
These go with a matching hat and slippers and make up the second set of charity items for H 2 H that I've made this year.
The goal was one set a month. This was supposed to be February's set but, obviously, I'm a little behind. I expect I can catch up during the summer months. I'm still trying to contribute 1-2 items a month to other charity organizations as well. Like this sunny little vest.
This is a vest that will go to the Adoption Center of Washington. Again, a little late on this vest as the ACW was the chosen organization to knit for during Feb. and March. I currently have a lot of ideas and thoughts concerning charity knitting floating around in my head but I'll save that for another post after I can organize my thoughts.

Ok, so now something totally different.

I finished a really good book the other night and I thought that I would share it. When I was a kid my passion was reading and I still love to do it though I find I have less time and there are less books out there that I want to read. When I was growing up I loved collections like the Baby-Sitters Club because there was always a new book coming out, and yet, many of them could stand alone (meaning you didn't *have* to read the book before it to understand what was going on). There aren't really any book series out there like that for adults. Which is a shame. Anyways, I often find myself picking up young adult lit because it's an easy read but, if you find the right book, well written. The book I finished was an example of such.
Princess Academy by Shannon Hale was delightful. It had the strong female lead, a touch of young, innocent romance, trials to overcome, and a few plot twists at just the right time. By chapter 18 I ended up staying up late at night reading the last 8 chapters to see how it would end. Highly recommend.

Off to finish laundry!

Not So Typical

I know I've said it before but I'll say it again, I'm not a morning person, I'm a night owl. A typical evening for me ends somewhere between 11 and midnight and, personally, I don't think that any person should have to go into work before 9. However, my work day starts between 7:30 and 8 depending on the day of the week and that means I'm up by 6:30. A typical nights sleep for me is between 6 and 7 hours though it has been known to be as few as 4 or 5. Last night I was practically falling asleep at knit night so as soon as I came through the door to my apartment I went to bed. I slept from 8:30 last night until 8 this morning. 11 and 1/2 hours. Not typical of me at all. I guess the illness, staying up really late a few nights this week and the stress of work finally hit me. The only thing that would have made it more peaceful is if I hadn't had a dream about work sometime this morning.

On to the knitting!
Have managed to get past the heel turn on the second toe up diamond sock for charity. This project is hanging in my purse for those moments when I need something to knit and I'm on the go.
I started another Keep Me Warm Vest last night at knit night. The bottom band is made from some old hand dyed (with cake icing and food coloring). I realized that one of the downsides to food grade dyes is that they bleed worse than acid dyes. My hands looked like there were on fire last night. This will go to the Adoption Center of Washington. Hoping to get it finished by the end of the month. Which is 5 days away. Did I mention this is single stranded on size 7 needles? I didn't? Oh...
Finished one really large mitten and started on another. Again, a charity knit. This one for H 2 H International. This project and the vest are in my knitting bag that gets hauled out to knit nights, large functions, travel over long distances in the car and to the couch for nightly knitting.
Finally, cast on for the second Trick or Treat sock. Put this next to the computer so I can work on it when I'm reading blogs or checking my email.

Have nothing on the needles for friends or family at the moment but I know what that project will be. Just waiting until the end of the month so I can purchase the pattern and yarn.

Something Random

1. I finished my future SIL's hat.
It only took me 3 days.

Unoriginal Hat
US size 10.5 needles
1 skein of Vivid Creation Fibers bulky yarn in Coral Reef
Mods: Cast on 70 stitches and did 5 repeats of the pattern instead of the 4 originally called for.

Brandi seemed to like it.
2. Mystery illness has been diagnosed. I have strep. Again. That brings my total time sick up to 8 weeks. Almost to the day. Started antibiotic #3 today.

3. Sunday after church I met up with some Twitter friends at Rare Purls.
There were some friends I had met in real life before, some I hadn't, and some brand new friends who got added to my Twitter list as soon as I got home!
Everyone had a lovely time and we're planning on meeting up once a month or so to do this again.
I got my first Trick or Treat sock finished while there.
And the first Diamond sock (as I'm calling them) got finished as well.
It's a good thing this was a toe up sock because I was just knitting along, not really paying attention, when I realized that the end of the yarn I was holding was, well, the end. I tinked back about 15 stitches and cast off right then. The top is a little rolled but the purled design actually keeps it from rolling too much. This is the yarn I had left over from my bind off.
Just in the nick of time!

4. I finished weaving in all the ends on my modified Keep Me Warm vest.
Keep Me Warm Vest for charity
US size 10.5
Cascade 220 held double, used less than 2 skeins of both the multi and the black
Mods: Made it into a v neck and added ribbing around the armholes and neckband

This one's going to the Adoption Center of Washington. I think it turned out totally cute!

5. As soon as I finished with the vest I cast on for a mitten.
This is going to be for the second charity set going to H 2 H International.

6. Other than the strep, I'm feeling great! I know that I've mentioned before that I'm not big on dieting but I found a great plan that keeps the food choices simple (which is good for someone who's not big on adding a whole bunch of weird, random vegetables) and is easy to follow. I've started eating healthier and adding more of the few veggies that I do like (or kind of like) into my diet. With the better eating, the awesome weather, and being able to get out and exercise 3-4 times a week, my energy has exploded and I'm just feeling good. Today was rainy and cold but hopefully this is the last kick of winter weather and tomorrow will be warmer again so I can get outside again.

More Things on the Needles

It was another lovely day today here in Georgia. After my last post it rained for the rest of the week and got cold and yucky. Today I have the windows open and went for a nice little walk. I came home early from work today for a doctor's appointment (trying to determine if the mystery illness is mono) and just enjoyed my afternoon. That means getting new things on the needles.
This is some of my bulky hand-dyed that my future SIL picked out for me to make her Unoriginal Hat out of. Side note:Looking at my shop reminds me I really need to get on the ball about updating/dyeing on a more regular basis. If only there were more hours in the day. :::sigh::: The other stuff on the needles is coming along nicely too.
Started some toe up socks during my toe up sock class last week. Picked this diamond pattern only because I didn't want to be totally bored while knitting these.
The charity sweater is cruising along, shoulder seams have now been bound off. It saw a lot of action on Friday night when I hosted a Learn to Knit Night at my house with some girls from my church. Between me and my friend Stephanie we have recruited/created 3 new knitters!

For now I'm off to enjoy this wonderful (long) day (Thanks Daylight Savings Time! You *do* have a plus side!) with some knitting.

Spring is Springing

It seems like just yesterday everyone was bracing for Snowpocalypse 2010. The start of this week saw temps up in the 60's. Today it started raining and it doesn't look like it's going to stop until this weekend. It's nice to think that things might start warming up though. Fall and winter seemed to last forever. Not that I'm complaining too much. There is all that knitwear to make and don. Speaking of...

A few weeks ago I wrapped up a top down sock class that I was teaching at my LYS, Rare Purls. I'm very hands on and like to knit an example along with the students so they can see exactly what I'm talking about, especially with socks. I made this pair out of worsted weight so that I could demonstrate the basic construction.
They fit me but I'm not sure that I need worsted weight 100% wool socks. Might be a little too warm for here in Georgia. I mean, it only snowed twice here this year. Instead I'm going to send these in to a charity where they will get much more use. They are nice and soft though.

In January my goal was to have 3 projects on the needles at all times: 1 for charity, 1 for self, and 1 for friends/family. With the wool socks done I needed another charity knit so I cast on for a little vest.
This is a variation on the Keep Me Warm Vest designed for the Wool-Aid group on Ravelry. I'm making it for my group on Ravelry: The Eastern European and Russian Orphanages Project. This month's charity is the Adoption Center of Washington. They help organize adoptions from Russia and the Ukraine (as well as China and Vietnam). When I emailed said they actually have a lot of hats and scarves to send but the could use a few more sweaters, mittens, socks, and vests. If you'd like to donate stop on by our little group and see how to send in your items.

Ok, so the vest is one thing on the needles, the trick or treat socks for myself are the second things (P.S. Those socks are going to take forever to finish. Progress is uber slow, but steady.). And the third thing on the needles...well, there isn't anything. Yet. I'm going to go through the store stash and pull out some multi-colored bulky yarn to make my future SIL an unoriginal hat (because we did determine that she wanted something other than black). Pulling from the store will be ok since I'm going to be adding some new products soon (more aran). Here's a sneak peek of a new color called Cindy Lou Who:
I think I might have to add another "on the needles" category though. I'm thinking I need to include shop samples since I've started making some of those as well. The first thing I made was a cabled cowl from Freedom Wool.
I'm teaching a class on this at my LYS. This cowl took all of about an hour to make. I still have this great teal colored mohair blend.
It will be transformed into this. Well, the ascot at least. I'm probably not going to make the beret. So, yeah, that needs to go on the needles soon.

While all this knitting is going on (along with the usual trying to keep the apartment clean and dealing with another illness) I've allowed myself to get a little distracted by a couple of good reads.
Oh yeah, I had to get the latest issue of Rolling Stone. :::drool::: Who doesn't love Shaun White? And then I turned to the inside and found this:
Billy Corgan, my fav rocker of all time. Also droolworthy in my book. Ok, focus, have socks and a vest to finish...

Vee Challenge! She is Done!

I finished the 10 for 10 challenge for Warm Woolies! Actually I finished it last night. I dropped the box off today at the post office and it should arrive by the end of the week. Here's a recap of what went inside.

I had this little sweater vest languishing in the "almost finished" pile. All it lacked was some sewn in ends and buttons.
Even though it won't help fulfill the 10 for 10 challenge I threw it in the box.

The big green blog got finished. I think it turned out pretty nice.
This is a picture of everything I sent in: 3 child sweaters (age 10-12), 3 teen/adult sweaters (age 16+), the little vest, 2 children's hats, 4 pairs of adult socks.
The hats won't help meet the challenge either but they needed a home so I threw them in as well.
Now my knitting will focus on Christmas gifts. Harrison's sweater is almost to the bottom cuff, Brandi's mom's scarf is finished (except for weaving in the ends and blocking), and I started in on another gift tonight. Then it's just one more baby sweater and a secret(-ish) gift. Am I ambitious in thinking I can finish everything? Only time will tell.

Today's cat picture is of Penelope getting cozy. She really likes fluffy blankets so she has gradually claimed the Slanket I got for my birthday. At first she just sat on the hem. Tonight she seems to have taken it all for herself.
Hopefully she'll start sharing with me.

Exhausted...

...just about begins to describe how tired I am. I had to wake up twice this week at 5:15 and today I didn't get home until 8:00. I've had conferences all week and I have about 5 more tomorrow. Plus teach a private lesson. I'm so ready for Friday, no meetings. Interestingly enough I had a huge gap today in my conferences, 3 and half hours. I ran a few errands and knit a lot on a sweater vest for Warm Woolies.
I'm almost finished with the 25 items I'm sending to them. I picked up buttons for some of the vests today and I should start washing them tomorrow or Saturday. Despite being tired I'm hoping to finish this vest tonight. We shall see.

I've been doing non knitting things as well though. A few days ago I put together some wire shelving and last night I emptied 4 boxes of Tweet Tees shirts onto the shelves. It looks so much nicer now. I still need another set of shelves to hold all the new sweatshirts we are selling. I moved the huge, overflowing yarn stash to my room though there are still hanging out in the living room. I'm slowly organizing things. I need to get that all done before, oh, this weekend. I wanted to put out my Christmas decorations this weekend but I need room cleared to do so. Le sigh. Did I mention I'm exhausted?

Penelope seems a little unconcerned. She's staked out the nicest, warmest blanket in the house and has figured out a way to take up the entire thing.
You show up an hour late for dinner and expect me to give a rats about you freezing? Turn up the heat ya wuss.

One Picture

Yep, that's all I got. One picture. But I'll try and make it worth it.
Some Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm bulky yarn in a 100% cormo wool. L-R: First Frost, Big Pond, Avocado, and Cranberry. Like butter. Seriously. This and the Shepherd's Wool I bought a few weeks ago have vaulted to the top of my "Things I Want to Knit With" list.

There has been other stuff going on. I'm knitting on a sweater vest (big surprise, right?) for Warm Woolies. I love knitting these things but I'm ready for the crazy all out knitting to take a little breather. Of course once I send off everything to Warm Woolies the crazy Christmas knitting begins. However, I'm cautiously optimistic about the Christmas stuff.

Speaking of breathers. I forgot that I told a friend I would come over and try on these old clothes she has tonight and therefore have 30 minutes to eat and be over there. It seems I'm headed off for the evening then!

Wow

I'm having such a good evening and it has nothing to do with elections.

My first official skein of yarn sold at the shop, ready for it's new home.
I'm knitting a sweater vest with some hand dyed Fisherman's wool and it is so soft and this project has been easy and relaxing the whole time.
I got this on Monday from my secret pal at school. Can we say over the top?
They are amazing. I love the cauldron shaped coffee mug and the wonderful teas. I might try some tonight when I deplete the candy stash further :)

Also, I got my LLC! That makes me official with the government! Very exciting night.

Thank you to everyone for all the kind words and encouragement. God has truly blessed me.

Things Continue Apace

I started the second Jaywalker sock from the frogged Summer of Socks sock last night.
Then I felt guilty because I had so much other knitting that needed to get done so I started a sweater for Warm Woolies.
This is part of a sleeve. I love this charity but I'm sure you'll all be glad after November when I can knit some other stuff for awhile. Of course, then it will be secret Christmas knitting that I can't show you...
And I finished the other Warm Woolies sweater vest I was working on.

That's about all for now. Going to go knit a sleeve.

Oh, and my new website is looking to be in its initial stages of operation by Wednesday! That's exciting :)

It's Been Almost a Week...

...guess I should update the blog. It seems like so much happens in a week and yet I barely have time to slow down and document it.

I spent some time last week experimenting with dye. I tried several different techniques and tried to find the one I want to use almost exclusively (which I think I have, and that's good because my friend AG is pushing me to get my dyeing website up and running!!!).

This color is called School Carpet.
A few weeks ago we had a tornado drill at school and while I was down in the floor covering my head and digging my knees into the scratchy carpet I noticed that the colors in the carpet where quite interesting. This yarn mimics the school carpet with random splashes of teal, purple, rust, and white.

I don't know what to call this yarn yet but it makes me think of Easter on acid.
The true colors are much brighter in real life. I hand painted this skein with a little foam brush (which took FOREVER) without prepping the yarn. Just slapped it on there. Interesting end result. Not sure that I like it but I can't say that I hate it.

The last skein is probably the best.
I randomly choose these three colors by closing my eyes and picking up three bottles of Wilton's. I got black, rust, and burgundy. The best part is that the black turned out really well. After I finished microwaving it I let them all sit overnight and that helped the dye bath to really exhaust (for a more detailed explanation you can check out the Rav post I made here). I can't wait to reskein it and see how it looks then.

There's been knitting too. I went to my parent's house on Sunday to meet my new doggy brother (who I forgot to take pictures of, doh!) and finished this sweater for Warm Woolies.
I like the gull wing cables down the front. I promptly started another sweater for Warm Woolies.
I've also been doing some super secret Christmas knitting but I can't show you that because it's secret. I also discovered that I have more presents to knit than I originally remembered which only ups the ante on whether I will finish in time for the holidays or not. I also bought some more yarn on Sunday from the Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft store near my parent's house but I forgot to take pictures of that. There will need to be another post later this week just to talk about all the things I forgot to mention in this post.

On Saturday I went to a local arts and crafts fair and purchased a couple of things. In addition to some killer handmade soaps (will post a link to the website when I feel motivated to go and dig up the business card with the info on it) I bought my doggy brother, Luke, a bandanna and Penelope got a sachet of catnip. You can't see it in this picture because she's laying on it.
She totally flipped out for the next 20 minutes rolling over it and licking it. You can barely make out the little blue packet as she rolls around.