Monday, January 28, 2008

This weekend

I made some serious progress on the cardigan this weekend. The bad news is that I didn't take any pictures. I'll have to do that tomorrow night. I think I'm going to forego knit night this week, because of a meeting I have tonight. It's bad enough missing your family one night a week, but two is pushing it for me. I like to be at home with my two men.

Friday, January 25, 2008

Seaming

I started to seam the Baby I.Q. Afghan last night. I think part of my problem with my son's afghan is that I didn't catch the entire top loop of the stitches. I think that will help tremendously in stopping the holes. That, plus doubling up on the seams in the corners. All this I plan on incorporating into the new one, and then returning to my son's afghan and fixing the problems with it. The first 2 I did I didn't have this problem, mainly because I was more into seaming them than I was his or this one. I am rushing to get it done, rather than trying to do my best. We can fix that.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Working it out

Well, work is getting slightly busier...but it's still a gentle sprinkle, which leaves me some time. I have projects in mind for work (a lap-ghan, socks, and fingerless mitts) and will eventually get to them. Right now, I'm still trying to focus on finishing what I have started. Last night, there was no knitting at home. I had to stop at 2 stores on the way in, and then fix dinner. I also got to play with my baby, which was very fun and ultimately the most important thing. I'm still working on changing some bad habits into good ones, and I had a completely successful day yesterday. So far so good today too. If I can have a full two weeks like this, then I'm rewarding myself. I think I'm going to take it in 2 week increments, so that it's easy to see the light at the end of the tunnel for the goal. I think I'll throw in some weight goals as well, so it will give me a few more rewards to reach (since weight loss is the ultimate goal here). Since the dietician said "not food rewards" that means I have a free license for yarn! Woot! Granted, budget will be a consideration, but we're getting a nice refund back from the Fed, and although I haven't seen the state yet, I'm sure we'll get something back from them as well. It helps to have a baby. :)

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

More Progress

I finished all the squares for the Baby I.Q. Afghan. Now for the seaming. I'm going to try seaming 4 squares at once instead of just 2 at a time. I'm also going to pass back through the corners to double the seam and hopefully it won't have holes.

I picked up my second Sheldon again this week, after finishing all the squares for the afghan. I'm over halfway done with his body, which is nice. I'll have to pull up some fiberfill for it later this week, or at least by Saturday. I'm somewhere in the 60s for rounds, and you stuff it in round 80. Since they are short rounds, it won't take long.

I have also made progress on the Classic Cardigan for my son by Debbie Bliss. Knit Night at TWNY helps TREMENDOUSLY. I love hanging out with the folks over there...it's fun to listen and see what others are doing. I must say, sometimes it's rather disheartening to see people only making a scarf or a hat out of plain yarn with no pattern to it. I kow the important thing is that they're knitting, but to always see scarves is just...boring to me. I hear and see such great projects online that others are doing, and I go, hoping that someone will astonish me with their mad knitting skilz. It just hasn't happened yet. Maybe before the end of the year, it will. Or, maybe I'll be that Crazy Mad Knitter and become a knitting goddess before too long. It all depends on how soon I finish some other projects.

I'm having committment issues with my projects. I'm trying to finish all of them, and want to pick all of them up and finish them all right now. I'm trying to prioritize, but let's face it...there are only self-imposed deadlines on many of these projects. I'll keep plugging away at them, little by little. Slowly and steadily, they'll all get done.

Monday, January 21, 2008

This weekend's progress

I did make progress this weekend on something...but it was crochet. Here are some (gasp!) pictures:



And I also finally repaired my son's afghan:



I hope to finish the green afghan this week...hopefully today I'll finish all the squares. Then comes the seaming...which I have to find a better way to seam. That's the problem with my son's afghan is just the seams. Oh well...oh, and I updated my Ravelry site as well. I'm getting better at this. Maybe I'll finish stuff and get things together before the year is over!

Friday, January 18, 2008

Running

Ever feel like you're running at 100 miles an hour, even when you're sitting still? Yeah, I knew I shouldn't have added the shot to the coffee this morning. Dang Starbucks for allowing shots in the dark.

In any case, I'm trying to accomplish about 15 things all before the end of January. I don't think I'm going to make it, but here is the list I have going on as projects that need to be worked on and finished ASAP:

1. Sebastian's cardigan
2. Sheldon
3. Baby I.Q. Afghan #1
4. Repair Sebastian's afghan
5. Light box/tent
6. Apron/pinafore
7. Quilt
8. Pictures

I REALLY want to finish a BUNCH of projects this year. Most will not cost much, if anything to finish. They just need to be done. I have all the items I need for 4 of the 8 projects up there. Another 3 require very little for completing, and the big one (#8) will take time and a little more money than the rest, simply because of the nature of the project. I really want to get started on some of these right now, but I really need to wait until after this weekend. We're having a party for Sebastian (can you believe he's one already?!) and I need to get through that first. Tonight it's all about the decorations.

I'm making small changes for health, and doing well, from what I can tell. I feel better, which is always a good sign. Small changes can make the biggest difference, and I know I need to take them one at a time. It's easier to maintain that way. Get one down as a habit, then add another one until it's a habit, and so on.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Collecting

I've been busy...collecting. I'm collecting blogs, ideas, projects, items for various and sundry parties, friends...the list goes on. I went to the local knit night at The Whole Nine Yarns and met two incredibly funny women, Codegrl and Lizardsmells from Ravelry. We had a great time laughing and knitting. I've made some progress on the Classic Cardigan, but have no pictures. I have, however, updated my Flickr site. I also updated my Ravelry page (check out my projects now - angelfire212). I even managed to work out a quilt pattern for a lonely fat quarter I have and wanted to showcase. I'll probably be working late into the night for the next few weeks...there are a lot of projects I want to make some serious progress on, and I just can't while I'm sitting here at work, doing basically nothing. I will also hopefully be filing my taxes this month. I have to collect all the information for that as well. I'm off to collect more stuff...maybe soon I'll show some collections to you.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Above and Beyond

I have so many projects that I already have underway and want to complete by the end of the year! How am I ever going to make time and get them all done?! Well, one of the first things I'm trying to do is become a regular at my LYS knit night. I've been going to The Whole Nine Yarns in downtown Woodstock for 2 weeks, and so far so good. Even if I only stay an hour, it's time away from home where I can focus on knitting. Next, I'm trying to get as many errands done during the week on my way home as possible, so I don't have to do them on the weekends. This means hopefully I can focus more on crafting then as well. I'm going to bring my sewing machine upstairs so I can use it (it's a little too cold right now to be sitting downstairs with no heat!) and hopefully I can even put Little Man in there with me and let him play while Mommy sews. I have figured out a pattern for a quilt...although I'll still be fine-tuning it. I think it will work out nicely, and if I am smart about when I buy the fabric, it shouldn't be that expensive either. I'm trying to base it off of one fat quarter I have that I really want to showcase. Unfortunately, I only have one, and I don't know if I can find the fabric again. Oh well...back to day-dreaming!

Friday, January 11, 2008

Update

There was no knitting last night, because Hubby and I celebrated our anniversary! We've been married a wonderful 4 years, and we had a lovely dinner last night at Blu's Greek Taverna in Marietta. It was fantastic. The food was incredible, the atmosphere inviting and warm, and although it was slightly expensive for what we normally do, it was well worth it. We left Sebastian at home with my parents, and enjoyed the evening.

In other news, I found out everything was normal from the tests I had at the doctor's office. I guess that's a good thing?! At least I know there's not an underlying troll waiting to destroy the countryside while I sleep. This is encouraging in some ways, and discouraging in others. However, I have new resolve and a healthy lifestyle change is on the horizon.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Working on it

I'm working on a lot of things...knitting, food, children's choir, work, life in general. It's always a work-in-progress, right? The Classic Cardigan is up for some re-vamping, and I've marked off no less than 12 patterns in Romantic Hand-knits by Annie Modesitt that I received for Christmas. There are test results being waited on (I had basically a general physical this week and I'm hoping/not hoping to hear from the doctor) and a new lifestyle to implement in any case. We're going to overall health and well-being this year. I'm also working on plans for overhauling the blog. Expect more changes in this year. I think it'll be a good year for all.

Monday, January 07, 2008

Finally...an FO!

I finished the Reversible Hat this weekend. I'd like it to be bigger, and maybe after I finish his cardigan, I'll make one bigger for him. It fits for now. I'll have to take some pictures with my baby wearing it, but for now, I'll upload the pictures later this afternoon on Flickr, and post one here as well. I have to upload pictures and link them to my Ravelry account and WIPs. But for now, I'm going to rejoice that I finished something this year already! Woot!

I'm sad that no one responded to the Pay It Forward idea....I hope someone does. If not, I'll just pick 3 people from Ravelry, and Pay It Forward to them. It's a happy new year now!

Friday, January 04, 2008

Goals

What are your goals for the new year? How are they coming? Did you promise yourself to keep them, and now, only 4 days into the new year, you find them already broken? Have no fear, it's still today. There's still time. Maybe you didn't start your new routine this morning, but you can still get all those things before bed tonight. Keep going...I know I am. :) I hope to post goald for the month on the first...I didn't do it for January 1, but here they are for this month (knitting and non-knitting related):
Finish Sebastian's hat and cardigan
Work on Sheldon
Clean out 2 paper boxes
Read Bible daily


That's it for January...so far. If I accomplish all these goals before the end of the month, maybe I'll toss in a reward for myself (a trip to the LYS?).

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Completely Fascinated

I watched Project Runway over New Year's, and now I'm hooked. So, I stayed up last night to watch the new episode. I also went rummaging through my books last night and found one I'd seen, but never really looked at.



I have a copy from 1946...and yet it's actually very nice. It starts off as though you have no idea about sewing, and gives you a list of all the tools you need to get started. It has you make a pinafore (an apron of sorts) that has RUFFLES as your FIRST project. I don't know that I'd do that personally to a beginner, but I guess if you're going to do it, do it all the way. This book was my grandmother's and I don't think she ever went through it either. She wasn't much of one for sewing, or crocheting, or knitting...for that matter, she wasn't much one for handcrafts in general. Oh, she did the odd bit of embroidery, and I inherited all her embroidery stuff. She could sew on buttons, turn up a hem, and do general repairs, but she didn't sew. My mother, on the other hand, is a regular seamstress. She used to make formal dresses for herself for college recitals. She also crochets, but never learned to knit. She also does some cross-stitch from time to time. Me, I picked it all up. I'm hoping this year to be the year I complete projects. I have a long list for knitting and a few items for sewing. I think the more I do, the more I'm going to start. Last year I started so many projects...and didn't finish any. THis year, I want to complete them. Here's a list of current projects (you can also check out my Ravelry site for more information):

-Reversible Hat for my son
-Classic Cardigan for my son
-Sheldon for a friend's daughter
-Baby I.Q. Afghan for a friend's son
-Cigar gloves for my brother
-Socks for my brother
-Socks for my SIL
-Scarf for my SIL
-Spare Baby I.Q. Afghan
-Gauntlets/fingerless gloves for myself
-Baudelaires for me
-Buttonhole bag for me

Then, there's the resolution to "knit from your stash". I want to clear out a lot, and get the craft room ready. There's a lot of organization to be done, and I'm hoping that by the weekend, I can set up my sewing machine in the spare bedroom so I can sew. I also have several sewing projects to do, which include, but are not limited to: a sling for a friend and her daughter, pajamas/sleepers for my son, at least one apron for myself, a couple of quilts, and then all the repairs that need to be done. I want to make a lot of Christmas gifts this year too, so the sooner I get organized, the sooner I can make progress on those. I haven't decided what to make for everyone yet, but I'm sure I can take it one person at a time and get an idea.

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

New Year's Resolutions

There are a lot of New Year's resolutions to be made...and few to be kept. I'm hoping to get organized, use my stash, complete projects, and lose some weight this year. There are other goals, like reading my Bible daily (so far, so good...I read it last night, and hope to read it again today at some point). I'm also trying to take the bigger goals and break them into smaller ones in order to make them manageable and attainable. I'm hoping to post more this year as well. I also want to update my Ravelry site, Flickr site, and keep up with everything better. I completed a hat for my baby already, but decided I didn't like half of it, so I'm going to fix it. I'm working on a cardigan for my baby as well. I hope to have pictures up either by the end of this week or the beginning of next week.