Not enough on my plate (Day 293 KEDfaY)

I started a new project today because I obviously don't have enough going on right now.

I was asked by a newbie knitter if I could meet with her and help her with her problem and so I decided to start the same blanket she's working on so I would be familiar with it. I also finally figured out how to use that rainbow scrap yarn I made! Two birds, one stone and all that. She figured out how to fix the problem she was having and I showed her how to change colors which is more intimidating than it should be for new knitters. Every time I show someone how to change colors they think I'm tricking them. Nope. It's really that simple!

I also worked on Hush Hush for a bit. I'm about halfway done with it which makes me happy. I figure I can probably get a lot done on it this weekend. Tomorrow is my second day of work and Friday night knit group and then Saturday some of my knittas and I are going to a sheep and wool fest that is a bit of a drive away so I'll have lots of car knitting time. I plan on taking lots of pictures of the various animals that they'll have so I'll probably share at least one or two. I hope to get my Hush Hush done by next weekend but I'll have to wait and see if I can. At this pace, I don't think it'll be a problem at all.

Don't be a... (Day 259 KEDfaY)

Knitting: Mystery washcloth. Mostly crocheting today on the baby blanket. Officially halfway done.

Mischief (Day 248 KEDfaY)

The Boyfriend was getting ready for work this morning as I was laying, half awake, in bed, scrolling through Twitter for any important tweets or funny jokes. The Boyfriend turned around after leaving the bedroom and peeked his head in and said, "I'll just leave your knitting where I found it."

[We've been keeping the cats separate at night during the week because, sometimes, not all of the time, they will decide, usually around 5:30 am, that they hate each other and need to fight over territory, much like West Side Story but with less dance numbers and more screaming. So we keep Buddy, the more relaxed cat, out in the rest of the apartment while Pebble stays in the bedroom with us.]

At some point in the middle of the night, Buddy took not one, but two of the scrap blankets I'm working on, and dragged them into the next room. I don't really know why he did this. It didn't seem like he was trying to hurt them or get payback for us kicking him out of the bed room. I like to think that he did it because he was trying to make a comfy bed even though the two strips that I call blankets that really aren't yet weren't too close to each other. 

Or, and this theory is break-your-heart sad and endearing, he was trying to bring them to me so that I would open the door and pay attention to him. I know. It breaks my heart too. 

But seeing as he is currently sleeping on the bed in the bedroom across the apartment and hasn't wanted to deal with me at all really, in the nonchalant way that cats are, not in the purposefully ignoring me way, I'm assuming he was just being mischievous and rotten. 

No damage was done to either blanket, both of which are crochet and not knitting. The Boyfriend cannot tell the difference though. 

Squares 68 and 69 because teeheehee

On the knitting front, I did the usual two rows for my mystery washcloth, which is tons of fun. I quite enjoy working on it and having no idea what it'll be. I also finished one sock and started fixing the other one. I need to start another washcloth for HPKCHC but that one is just going to be a plain, boring one. 

I also have been spinning. I am working on some yarn for my aunt and it's going well although one of the cats decided the fiber needed to be played with. It was rolled into a nice neat little ball and then in the five seconds I had my back turned, one of the cats had taken that neat little ball and made it a fluffy, disorganized mess. I told the Boyfriend about this fluffy mystery and he tried to pawn it off on Buddy because he's more of a kitten and libel to do things like that butI didn't know which one until I went back to my spinning and caught the culprit right in the act, as I was pulling from the fibery mess. I should've known it was Pebble. She's done this once before, just not when I was actually using the fiber. The fiber is now sitting in a bag and hopefully she'll leave it alone. I hope to have all of the singles done by Wednesday and plying done by this weekend. I hope. 

That's the plan at least.

Don't be a square (Day 245 KEDfaY)

Knitting: Mystery washcloth

Redo (Day 242 KEDfaY)

Knitting: Mystery washcloth even though I should be working on my vest even though I really don't want to.

I don't want to talk about it (Day 233 KEDfaY)

I don't want to talk about it....

Knitting: Mystery washcloth.

Always double check (Day 225 KEDfaY)

Always remember to double check what size hook or needle you're using when going long periods between working on a project. Just had to rip out about 80 squares on my blanket here because I used the wrong hook. I am a genius.

Knitting today was the mystery washcloth. Nothing too exciting. 

Rut rut rut (Day 198 KEDfaY)

Still rutting around. Rut rut rut.

My posts have been short lately mostly because I want to get something done and up quickly before I go to bed since the posts recently have been put up about 5 minutes before I hop under the sheets and off to Sleepy Time Fun Land.

Friday I finished a blanket that I've been working on for quite some time! I've been knitting on it for over a year. It's actually one of the first things I blogged about! That's how old that blanket is! And surprisingly, it's not the oldest scrap blanket I have in my WIP pile. I have some that are older than my relationship with the Boyfriend.

Yesterday was a lazy day filled with dicking around, doing nothing and lounging on the couch watching TV with the Boyfriend. He's been gone for business for the past two weeks so it was nice just to do normal couple-y things like watch Mythbusters and cleaning off the DVR. I picked up the washcloth yesterday long enough to do two rows and move it off of the couch so lounging could reach maximum capacity.

Today though. Today was a deadline day for HPKCHC. One of the quidditch events required us to knit or crochet something really fast so I busted out that hat and even though it's too big and I needed to make that lovely/tacky flower for it, I still got it done. The hat will go to the Boyfriend when he goes out of town on business again in the future since winter in other parts of the country are actually cold. I have to reknit it but it's something he actually requested so I figured I should oblige. So I actually have something I need to get done on a somewhat deadline which is kinda nice. I have other projects I should probably work on as well, but scrap blankets are just much more entertaining. (Don't ask me how many scrap projects I have started or how many bags of scraps for future projects I have. Let's just say "A LOT.")

Rut (Day 194 KEDfaY)

I feel like I'm in a rut.

I really enjoy routine. I have routines on top of routines and thrive when I have every minute of my day planned.

But a routine isn't a rut. A rut is worse than a routine.

A routine has purpose, structure, meaning. A rut is something that you have fallen into and repeated so often that you can't get out of it.

So how do I get out of it.

I don't know. I don't know yet but I'm hoping some things will change in the near future to get me out of said rut.

I'm at a place where I feel stunted and like I'm missing part of me, like my creative part decided to get up one night and take a walk and got lost on its way back to me. Maybe it'll find its way home soon.

Maybe.

----

Continued working on the grey monotone blanket today. I can't decide if I'm done with it yet. I feel like I might be since it's garter stitch and will stretch a lot after it's washed. I don't know. I feel like I can't decide anything right now. You know?

What am I thinking? (Day 188 KEDfaY)

So I started a new scrap blanket today. And it's not even knitting. It's all crochet. I know. What am I thinking?

I was thinking that there were a couple of really pretty blankets that people are doing and I wanted to join the fun. A square every day. That's the plan. One square, every day for a year will give me a queen/king sized blanket which will be perfect for the Boyfriend and I.

As for knitting today, I just knit for the first time today about five minutes ago. I casted on and knit the first row of my second commission stocking. I probably would've knit more but I have a lot of graphing and sketching I need to do first and I just haven't felt like it. I definitely need to get a move on it though because I promised it for the end of January but the customer said she didn't care when it got done. I need to stick to my own deadlines though.

I didn't run today. I should've but I just didn't feel like it so I went to the gym and lifted some weights. My goal is to not get gross granny arm flab even though I'm starting to. I'm too young to have grandma arms so I did lots of dumbbell exercises in my attempt to stop that process. I almost didn't work out at all but I made myself because I need to not be a lazy bum, dammit. At least that's what I keep telling myself.

But for now, I'm going to be a lazy bum. At least until tomorrow morning when I go and run again.

Revisions (Day 183 KEDfaY)

This is a blanket that I've been working on for a while. Probably about a year.

"But Leigh, why is it so small if you've been working on it for so long?" you might ask.

Well that's because I restarted it today. It also wasn't very big anyway because it is one of my numerous scrap blankets. It's actually the last blanket on my Ladder of Scraps, a term I just came up with.

So I love scraps. A lot. Probably as much as I love knitting. Each length of scrap has a different project it's attached to. This one is where all of my very shortest scraps go. Nothing longer than two or three yards and some as short as a few inches. And it's going to be awesome.

I'm making up my own pattern as I go. So far I'm enjoying but that could change as I go along. I could change my mind and change the project yet again but so far it's enjoyable!

Adventures in Cats (Day 181 KEDfaY)

When we were given William, everyone involved expected him to be the one to go along with the new living arrangements. That he would jump right in and make himself at home and even try to get along with the co-kitty-habitant. 

Not so much.

Today he slipped out of the bedroom while the Boyfriend was going in or out or something and walked right up to Pebble and started a fight. Now, Pebble can hold her own. She's one tough cookie and I will attest to her skills. I have been on the receiving end of her claws one too many times. And yet, she wasn't the one to start the fight. William, tame, sweet William, picked the fight. Luckily, Boyfriend was quick with the broom and broke them up quicker than I could run into the next room to see what had happened. 

Just goes to show that not everyone acts the same way all of the time. 

Prepping (Day 179 KEDfaY)

Today is my first day since getting back where I didn't have to unpack or do laundry (except fold the load in the dryer right now) or anything else and can do whatever I want. This is odd since I've been working on other projects for other people for a very long time and now I have the chance to do whatever I want! MUAHAHAHA!

So I cleaned.

I cleaned up my yarn area because it has definitely gotten out of hand and it was difficult to just maneuver the area. But now it's all tidy and waiting for me to start the next big project. In the next year, I want to knit a pi shawl, ala Elizabeth Zimmermann, and a fair isle vest that is nerdy to the max. I should also probably work on some of the projects that I have laying around on various needles and cables.

Oh, like this one, mayhaps?

Since it isn't the start of the new HPKCHC term yet (shut up, I know I'm a nerd, get over it), I don't want to start anything new and I don't really want to work on the second sock that I need to finish since when they do get finished, I have to mail them and ugh, mailing things. So I pulled this bad boy out and started working on it. I've finally got some more black scraps, which is why I put it on hold for a while. One day it'll get finished. Maybe it will be my "need an easy project and don't want to work on anything else right now" project. It's great TV/Youtube/Netflix knitting.

To me, it is always nice to take a few moments before the new year and just prepare yourself. Last year was a doozy and I don't expect next year to be any better/worse, but taking a couple of moments to just face the universe and say, "I'm ready. Let's do this."

Happy New Year.

Best laid plans (Day 89 KEDfaY)

So there is a blanket that I've been working on for three years now. You might notice that there's one lonely little hole waiting for the last hexagon. You might also notice that it seems a bit...wonky. 

I thought I had started connecting them correctly. I thought I had double checked and made sure it would all line up just fine but NOOOOO! Of course not because I am THIS close to finishing the damn thing and I'm off. 

I am now trying to figure out what to do. Do I fix it now? Do I fix it later? Do I ignore it and use it as a blanket nonetheless? Do I add a whole other row of hexes along the side to fix that problem? I just don't know at this point.

I also knit today. I don't have a picture of it because I waited to long to take one so all of the sunlight is gone but if you believe me, it looks a lot like yesterday's picture just a bit longer. I'm back on my anti-anxiety meds as I have mentioned before, which I love. They make everyday little things just that instead of a whole big to-do which I have been known to do about the simplest things. The downside is that my body will not stay asleep for more than about five hours at a time. As I may or may not have mentioned before, I need 8 hours of sleep for the benefit of everyone around me. Just, trust me on this. So this morning when I woke up at 4 am for no explicable reason, I decided to watch some shows and work on my sweater a bit instead of lay in bed and pretend to try to go back to sleep when I know I wouldn't until after the Boyfriend left for work four hours later. I am very happy with the progress so far though. It's coming along nicely. I am worried I might run out of yarn but I've had that worry for a while. I might just end up with shorter sleeves than originally planned. 

Aside from chunks of my skin on my nose falling off, my day has been largely uneventful. After this weekend though, I think I'll take it. 

Bi-craftual (Day 6 KEDfaY)

I, like many of my fellow crafters, have dabbled a bit into the world of crochet. I am by no means an expert and it isn't something I make a habit of but every once in a while, I feel the need to crochet. 

So I did. Don't worry! I knit today as well. I worked a few rows on the sock prototype but today I just felt like crocheting. I finished a blanket that I've been working on for a while. It is a scrap blanket, made up of leftovers given to me mostly and some that I had left over from my own projects. I'm planning on giving it to charity because, while I do love blankets, I like mine to be big enough to cover more than my lap, especially since I now live in Florida where it doesn't get below 75* ever. (Don't try to argue me on this. I am now an expert on all things Florida. I have been to the beach and live in a swamp [sorta]. Seriously, there was a wild boar big enough to eat me killed less than two miles from where we live and there is a hurricane that is coming [nowhere] near us later this week. I think I can call myself an expert now.) The lap/baby blanket is going to be donated to a local cancer center because I figure they will find someone who can use it. I think I'm going to do an edging on it because, like I said, I'm no expert and my edges look atrocious. 

The hexagon blanket that's also pictured up there had some work done on it the other day. I'm about 7 hexes away from finishing it! Whoo hoo! 

So here's my proof! 6 days in a row of knitting and I didn't even fake it! I did like 10 whole rows of this sock! Whoo! (I had coffee late today so excuse the extra excitement.) I'd like to finish this sock this week and start writing up the pattern and possibly start the third sock in a third yarn to see how it works with variegated yarn. I think some of the patterns will work but the cables might get lost. We shall see! 

My name is Leigh, and I have an addiction (Day 5 KEDfaY)

So that small mitered square I made yesterday? I blame it.

It's probably my fault since I'm the one that decided to knit it and I'm the one who actually knit it and I'm the one who picked out more yarn and made a small log cabin-type square out of it but I blame that little square.

I have a problem.

For any of you who don't know me, I kinda have a problem with scrap blankets. I love them. I love everything about them. I love picking out the colors, I love going through my stash of scraps, I love finding new patterns. I just love them SO MUCH. I save every bit of yarn I have, no matter how small it is because if it isn't going to one of my numerous blankets I have started then it's used for stuffing toys if/when I ever make one. You could call me a hoarder or obsessive but really I'm just being smart. I'm using all of the bits that others don't want or would throw away and I'm using them to make blankets. I have at least four right now (all under the Charity Blanket project title) that I'm planning on donating as soon as I finish them. I'm also saving money because as a broke ass-post-college grad who has no job and still can't find one, my yarn budget is nonexistent. I don't buy yarn, especially not for myself or for any project that I want to make for me. All of the yarn I buy goes towards presents for other people.

You could say I'm selfless but really I'm just broke.

So instead of working on another prototype sock so I can type up another pattern and get it out to test knitters, I am playing with scraps and making squares for a completely new blanket.

My name is Leigh and I have a problem.

Off Day, Not a Day Off (Day 4 KEDfaY)

You have one of those days when you try something, try to work on something or make something or do something, and you just fail? Today was one of those days for me in the knitting realm.

I pulled out some scrap yarn because I was going to make some baby booties to donate to charity. I've made this pattern before and I blew through both of them in about an hour so I was pretty confident. I glanced at the pattern again to remind myself what I had done because I didn't follow the pattern exactly. And when I finished the baby bootie, it didn't look at all like a cute little bootie but a misshapen blob of yarn that wouldn't be able to used as a bootie but more of a coin purse if you didn't mind all of your change falling out and it not really be able to be used as a coin purse at all.

So I ripped it.

I wanted to do something though, something small and intant gratification-y because I haven't finished something in a few days and I haven't finished something that wasn't a sock in even longer so after looking through my queue on Ravelry for a bit, I decided on a square for a blanket. It isn't for any blanket I'm working on right now, it's just a square. Why? Because we all have that pile of squares that we're going to make into a blanket eventually one day, right? Of course you do! If not, then you should.

So there it is. My sorry excuse for an attempt to get something done. It's not even a really big square. I casted on 27 sts on size 8s and k3tog every other row. It's about 3"x3". I have no idea what I'm going to use it for but, dammit, I finished something and most importantly, I knit today.