TDFKAL- Project #1 Completion

Well, I didn't exactly get my second hour-and-a-half sleeve done on Tuesday. Tuesday was hot and Minnesota muggy, and I'm in my 7th month of pregnancy, and our air conditioner is on the fritz- probably has something to do with being around 20 years old... it got to 80 degrees in my house and something like 180% humidity. I usually don't sweat. Tuesday, I sweat, and sat around like a sticky grump on a log, only managing to knit a measly 45 minutes in the hour before bed. Alpaca is warm, warmer than wool, and I really didn't want it on my lap anymore.

I awoke Wednesday ready to finish that 2nd sleeve. I sat down with a hot cup of freshly brewed coffee (ironic in our summer heat, I know- I need to make some iced tea...) and knit my first 15 minute stretch. Then it was out the door to run several hours' worth of errands (including picking out a new cell phone, as, sadly, my old phone- the one before the Wing, died an utter and complete death, again... enough of that, time for a new phone, a cheaper phone, I already miss my Windows though, and the touch screen, cue sad violin music...)

After that excitement I felt the need for some sitting time, and knit another 15 minutes, bringing me very near sleeve completion, and thus, project completion, when I was slightly horrified to realize I had veered off-course, forgetting to copy the slight modification I had made to the 1st sleeve. While trying on sleeve one, I was a bit unhappy with the slight frumpiness I was seeing. I have rather scrawny arms, even now, well into my 30's, and well into a summer pregnancy, and, well, I decided to reign in the sleeves just a bit by going down a needle size on the ribbed section. So there I was, merrily knitting along, and oh, on about rnd 24 out of 27 rnds of ribbing before the bind-off, I realized I was still using a size 11 needle... not wanting one frumpy sleeve opposite one just about perfect sleeve, I had no choice but to rip.

I hate ripping. I hate backtracking. I hate feeling like I've wasted my time. I also hate that feeling I get when I realize how pointless worrying about lost time is- I mean more time is lost lamenting the lost time... so I ripped, and I reknit, and I almost managed to finish with 7 skeins- I was on rnd 26 (of 27), with only 2 rnds and then the bind-off, to go, when I had to break into skein 8... and use an entire yard or two... oh well, I'm thinking that baby boy will appreciate a cute little Natural Strky Brown sweater (I have 2 more skeins in my stash!)

I sat down to knit my last few rnds after supper, wove in the last couple ends, got all my little people off to bed, and sat down with a sigh of satisfaction. Another project complete. I think I only needed 1 extra 15 minute knit-sprint-session, bringing me in at right about 9 hours and 45 minutes, and considering that I often finished whatever row/rnd I was on when my timer read 15 minutes, I would estimate this to be about a 10 hour sweater, the kind of thing one could finish in 2 or 3 days if knitting obsessively... me, I knit it in 10 days. I don't always have the time for obsessive knitting... (though some days I just take the time...)

So that makes one Cropped Cardigan and one finished, previously unfinished sock, for my TDFKAL 2008 knitting. Fun stuff. On to the Loppem!

gratuitous kid pic

Happy knitting-

ali

Oh, and this, absolutely made my day last night! That has got to be the funniest knit and accompanying story I've seen in a long, long time. Go see it, read the notes, and leave her a cute comment. Seriously. It's hilarious!

TDFKAL 2008- Progress Report 2

Thursday's progress:Friday's progress: (I also managed to finish my Retro Rib (2nd) Sock that night, slightly hindering my Cropped Cardigan sprint)Saturday's progress: This day's progress happened after spending the day rearranging furniture in the great room, many, many, times, finally settling on an arrangement that I hadn't even initially considered. It was time to quit when I started having contractions every time I was up on my feet. I began envisioning 12 weeks of bedrest, with 6 active children- not wanting to go there I decided it was time to sit and knit a little bit...Sunday's no progress: I didn't touch it on Sunday. I spent the ride to church and a portion of my afternoon swatching for my Loppem, having received my Norah Gaughan Vol 3 in the mail last week, yay! I had some BSA Worsted in an older shade of blue (a couple years old, they've since tweaked their colors a bit, as well as adding new ones...) in the stash an decided I'd try to take a stab at one of the projects I had initially planned to knit during this time... (I'm about 1 1/2" into it at the time of this writing...) After seeing Shutterhoney's loverly Loppem in brown, I'm wishing I had the cash (and time and energy) to run out and grab some more yarn... I love browns (and black)... so much that I could end up with a closet full of brown (and black) sweaters and have to make a concsious effort to add color... so blue it is.


Monday's progress: The one and a half hour sleeve! One down, one to go!

I'm loving this knit- it's got that instant gratification thing that most baby knits bring- and it's for me! Though I should be knitting some baby things... just over 12 weeks to go...

I'm hoping to get to the second sleeve tonight, and with no afterthought button bands or neck bands to speak of, and since I've been weaving in extra ends as I went- that'll be it, project completion in 9 days! And I don't even feel winded, it must be all the training I do...

Off to wind yarn for a new design project, feed some kids lunch, and probably pop some more allergy meds as I can feel my head starting to swim after stepping outside long enough to run my oldest daughter in to the clinic for some suture removal... from the smashed fingertip/nail/nailbed that she gave herself when she was supposed to be pounding in tent stakes on the 5th after moving the tent to a shadier location for the third time already that day... she had plenty of practice, so I don't know how/why that had to happen, bringing a sudden end to our holiday weekend fun for a side trip to the ER. The other 2 injuries, 2 burned 5 year old fingers and a 14 year old's sprained thumb, didn't require medical attention. For those who aren't keeping up with the math, half of my children incurred holiday injuries, 3 outta 6, pretty good, eh?

Never a dull moment, except, maybe in my sleep...

Happy knitting-

ali

TDFKAL 2008- 09 July- Stage 5

Cropped Cardigan- Watch it grow!

(Due to my late start, this is Day 3 for me, not the stage 5 it's supposed to be...)

Monday, 07 July:

*finally got started on my project, though not until well after lunch was served...

1st 15 minutes

2nd 15 minutes- total time: 30 minutes

3rd 15 minutes- total time: 45 minutes

4th 15 minutes- total time: 1 hour

5th 15 minutes- total time: 1:15

6th 15 minutes- total time: 1:30

Tuesday, 08 July:

*typical busy day for me, just trying to stay on top of running a household with 6 children and find time for important errands like buying a few groceries, signing tax papers at the accountants', and picking up some yarn for upcoming projects! Knitting didn't happen until 8 pm this day...

7th 15 minutes- total time: 1:45

8th 15 minutes- total time: 2 hours

9th 15 minutes- total time: 2:15

10th 15 minutes- total time: 2:30

11th 15 minutes- total time: 2:45

12th 15 minutes- total knitting time after 2 days: 3 hours

Wednesday, 09 July:

*woke with major sinus headache, probably due to allergies and an open window in bedroom for several hours last night... sigh... spent most of day on couch, with ice packs, waiting for pain killers and decongestants to do their thing... no daytime knitting once again, but I did make some progress after supper...

13th 15 minutes- total time: 3:15

14th 15 minutes- total time 3:30

15th 15 minutes- total time: 3:45

16th 15 minutes- total time: 4 hours

While I am trying for the sprint-knitting of this cardigan, I am also working on finishing my second Retro Rib Sock- because, how could I leave it in such a state of near completion? I have to keep sneaking in 4 rnd repeats...and then there's this basket of new yarn, for new design projects, just begging to be wound for the swatching to begin! No project monogamy for me...Happy knitting-

ali