Just Getting Ready for Next Year

(from Ravelry's 12 in 2011 group )

January: (WIP) knit dress for the girls - need to restart in a lighter yarn

February: (WIP) Crochet dress for Joan

March: (WIP)Shipwreck Shawl for my sister in law as a wedding present

April: (WIP)Two matching shrugs for my twin daughters (turning 2) who will be participating in said wedding

May: Socks for my son (4) to match the girls’ shrugs (he will also be involved in the wedding)

June: By this point, Daddy will surely need new kilt hose as well for the games in September and I’vebeen dying to make these

July: (WIP) Dollar and a Half Cardigan needs to be finished

August: (WIP) Skew sock needs a second sock

September: (WIP) squishy Noro scarf

October: (WIP) I know it’s kind of lame, but I started a blanket in Lion Homespun and I’d like to finish it. The yarn’s a bear to work with but it makes such snuggly blankets and the only blanket I’ve ever finished with Homespun I gave away.

November: (WIP) my Jeannie shawl that has been languishing for far too long

December: As a present to myself, if I can clear out most or all of this list, I’d like to make this just for me

Knitting Update

Where I'm At With My Current Projects:

• Mom's Socks: Yes, I am taking full advantage of the fact that I don't need to have these ready until New Year's Day. Neener neener. Still, all that's left is the leg and cuff, maybe 2-2.5" more overall. Then, we weave in ends and make an attempt at blocking. Then, we go finish wrapping Mom's present.
• Andy's Sweater: Sleeve one is attached and has a cuff, sleeve 2 is more than halfway done. Yaay!
• Oh, yeah and in the middle of all this, I did manage a hat and scarf (finished Christmas Day!) for Sarah for her birthday. So that's what's been taking me so long ...
• I had to restart the shrugs for the girls for the wedding. After seeing fabric samples for the dresses next to the original yarn, we decided it was too pink and I found a nice terra cotta in a sport weight cotton blend, so the jackets will be a bit thicker, but still washable and actually better for the pattern than what I had originally planned to use. Plus, the thicker yarn will knit up faster. Oh, and I broke my size 4 Zephyr tips (knitpicks acrylic needles). These needles do not like being stressed and do not mix well with tense knitting.
• Added a whole row to the shwal in the past month - I foresee a stint in Detention for the month of April in HPKCHC. Oh, and on that, I got sorted into the Hufflepuff House!! Wheee!

Projects I've Been Ignoring/Avoiding that Will Need to be Done This Year:

• Beully Dress
• Jeanie Wrap
• Skew Sock #2
• Buck.5 Cardigan
• Homespun Blanket From Hell

Ok, that's that for now. Time to go be a grown-up.

Post-Christmas Quickie

OK, so I fully intended to post last night, but a little monkey kept jumping out of his bed and I had to chase him back up the stairs. Repeatedly.



So, short version of Christmas - kids had a blast with all the grandparents, made out like bandits. My parents apparently no longer love me, as they got baby dolls that TALK TO EACH OTHER for the girls. (Thank goodness for small miracles like the OFF switch.) Andy has been giving everyone and everything he can get his hands on a checkup and shots with his play-doctor kit.



And I got a new camera!! Yay no more crappy phone pictures!! I did have a chance to take pictures of the socks I'm making for Mom - finished one and almost done with #2.

... AAAnd Flickr is being a beast and won't let me post pics. Here's some links instead

http://www.flickr.com/photos/18832881@N05/5295477980/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/18832881@N05/5295479470/in/photostream/

I will try for a more voluminous update later on, when the internet no longer hates me.

On The Solstice

When did I let all this crap become more important than the magic? For once last night, I set aside my chores and worries about not being productive enough and I just played with my kids.

When did I let laundry overtake snuggle time? When did crap I dragged home from work out-rate spending time getting to know my family again?

As the sun rises after the longest night of the year, I want the sun to rise in my life as well. I know that I have responsibilites and obligations, sometimes the crap that follows me home needs to be done. Laundry doesn't wash itself, and people need to eat. But I want the magic back. I want to share life with my kids, I want to enjoy time with my husband. I want this "not good enough, not clean enough, not productive enough" to stop following me around.

I want to be a blessing to my family, and enjoy the blessing that they are to me.

Weekend Knitting and Other Stuff

I suppose I owe you all an update on my current projects and whether or not I've been keeping up with my schedule. (That would be ... em, sort of.)

Here we go:

• Mom's Socks - up to the cuff on Sock 1. I opted to go with a short ankle-type cuff rather than a long section of leg due to the fact that the super-soft and super-light alpaca/silk yarn is utterly floppy and I'd have to knit elastic into the leg to get it to hold like a sock should. So, soft silky slippy ankle socks it is. Up against the schedule, I'm actually a day ahead so I'll pick up the socks again Wednesday.
  
• Andy's Sweater - Got more yarn, finished the collar and got the first half of one sleeve done. On this one, I'm about a day behind, as I should be finishing up the second half of that sleeve today. Guess what I'm working on tonight?
• Shawl: Honestly, I haven't touched it all weekend, as I've been wanting to focus on getting my mom's socks finished for Christmas. It's not like I don't have until April to get this thing done (famous last words, huh?) I readjusted the schedule for this (now expecting to finish mid-March) and I've got Round 63 on my plate today.
  
• Girls Jackets: Another one I left go over the weekend. I tinkered with that schedule a bit too and now I'm just due to finish 2"of neck strap tonight. There's less wiggle room in this schedule due to the fact I have to make 2, but still enough that I'm not worried. Plus, as I get closer to finishing Christmas and the shawl, I'll be able to put in more time to finish both jackets.
  

So, that's where I'm at and what I'm looking forward to getting through tonight. I also entered my socks and the sweater for Andy in Wizard's Chess over at HPKCHC on Ravelry. It's a fun group - you should check it out. It's actually helping me finish projects, especially things like birthday presents. Plus I get to check out what everybody else is working on!

GAAAAHH!

Last night was an exercise in frustration. Andy decided he was going to keep me running up and down the stairs until about 11pm, so I only got a little bit of working time in between trips to put him back in bed. I am now almost halfway through a sleeve, adn dangerously close to out of yarn for his sweater, so it's back in the bag with this one until I can make it out to get more yarn.

Tonight, I'm planning on doing the gusset (up to the heel turn) on the sock, still need to put three rows on the shawl and two inches on the neck strap. If I can get out to get yarn, I'll be finishing the collar and the rest of the first sleeve on the sweater. If not, I'll catch up over the weekend.

Now, to justify to myself why knitting takes precedence over laundry and doing work that I brought home with me ....

Socks!!

I'm at 6" on the first sock now, planning to work the gusset up to the heel turning tomorrow night. So, tonight I still need to finish the texture section of the first sleeve for Andy's sweater, put two rows on the shawl and add another inch to the neck piece for the first of two sweaters for my ladies. Progress pictures will be forthcoming as soon as I figure out my stupid phone.

Done! Pictures ahoy!












The Sweater for Andy












Girls Jacket (just started!)












Shawl












Socks

Wednesday Night Knitting & Thursday Plan

So, what did I actually get done last night?

• Mom's socks: up to about 5" overall, one more to go before Friday.
• Andy's Sweater: nothing last night, still need to pick up more green. Hoping to maybe get the first part of a sleeve done tonight.
• Shawl: I wanted three rows by Friday and have done none so far.
• Girls Sweaters: Still need to add 2" to that neck piece.

So, that's where it's at. Tonight might be a good night to knit. Yaay!

Where I'm At and What's On My Plate for Today

Ok, so this crazy schedule. What's on for today?

• Mom's Socks: Here's the pattern Got the toe done and about 4" into the foot. I want to get 6" overall done today and be ready to start the gusset and heel by Friday
  
• Andy's Sweater: Pattern, just for reference. I made some for the girls doing the texture portion of the pattern in one color and the sc sections in another (pink/brown for Jo and black/white for Mags) Andy's will be a sort of avocado green in the sc sections and a variegated green/brown in the texture sections. I've got the main body done and I'm up to the collar section. Ran out of green yarn while I was working the collar last night, so I'll be working the texture portion of the sleeves until I get a chance to go get yarn. I aim to either have one sleeve section or the collar done by Friday, depending on when I go get more green.
  
• Shawl: If I do one row a day, I should finish by mid-March. Plenty of time to completely start over in a fit of insanity and still be done by May 1, right?
• Girls Sweaters (for the Wedding): Pattern - I'm doing these on size 4 needles with a superwash wool sock yarn in pink/yellow and orange tones. It's a KnitPicks yarn, I just don't recall which one at the moment and I'm too lazy to go look. I've got an inch or so of the neck piece done and I'm aiming to add another 2" by Friday.
• Andy's Socks: (I'll be starting this one sometime in January if all goes well)
  

So, that's what I'm looking to get done. Well, good news is that Psych is on tonight so I'll most likely be up till 11 knitting after the kids go to bed. Bad news is I have to be up for work by 4.30.

I work under the assumption that sleep is optional most days.

Christmas Knitting!

Yaay! Knitting with a deadline! (aack)

OK, so my kitchen's still not any cleaner. Not even a tiny bit. One could describe these last couple of weeks for me as a wee dip in the foggy pool of depression. And I can't say that I'm entirely out of it again. In fact, with Operation: Impending Christmas and "Attempting To Get Caught Up Before the End of the Year" at work on top of all the regular stress, sometimes it's worse. But it helps to talk. It also helps to run screaming in the other direction and share my brand new Grand Plan for finishing a bunch of knitting projects, some of them even before Christmas. We'll talk about my defective head meat later.

So, completely ignoring my basement (which has gone from a potential Craftopia to something closer to Roswell, what with all the UFO's ..... laugh, dammit.) and just looking at the things I'm knitting that have a deadline (only one real Christmas present), I sort of came up with a plan to do a little every day and hopefully come in under deadline on all the projects.

What's In My Bag Right Now:

• socks for my mom (that's the christmas present)
• Andy's green sweater (not a present, I just want to get it done before it's summer again)
• the shawl I'm sure I've mentioned before
  
• matching shrug-type sweaters for the girls
• possible socks for Andy (depends on how much time I've got left after the other things are done)

The last three things need to be done by the first of May, as they're all for the same wedding. If I stick to my plan, I'll have my mom's socks and Andy's sweater done by Christmas and all the wedding items should be done by early April.

I really want to be able to take the time to update you all on what I've got planned to do and what I've actually accomplished. And I know, if I'm famous for anything at this point, it's my dazzling inability to post regularly, or commit to a schedule. Try to have faith.

Consider it an early New Year's resolution.