Imagine when shawl

By Joji L. Cast on 1/17/14 for the homespun podcast kal.

Basic socks

First finished object of 2014. These were knit over Christmas break where I got to see all 3 families.

Nate's baby blanket

Nate's baby blanket, a photo by vcuchica931 on Flickr.

So the blanket is not that uneven but I was trying to get a picture before this happened.
That would be Kelsey who should've been a cat. She loves all blankets and piles of clothes. Anyways, this is for my (future) nephew (who is born already but K & I need to get engaged and married) who I get to meet this weekend. We'll only be there for a day since it's an 8 hour drive one way, and I have to work Sat and we both work Mon. but he's getting baptized. I copied the colors from a lady on Rav. some but then modified and added the grays instead of using tans because it'll match the color scheme in his room. This kid should never go cold because he has this blanket, a blanket his aunt crocheted, and a quilt his Grandma made. I used Vanna's Choice so they can just throw it in the wash...they also have 2 dogs in addition to the baby so I know they need the easy care. I'm looking forward to seeing them.

It's really weird to knit something for someone and actually giving it to them. I usually chicken out but I'm getting better.

WIP Wed

Wip Wednesday:

Vanilla sock using Patons Kroy in the Cherry Sours colorways that I bought on clearance at Michaels. I'm only going to work on these in public so I can knit on other things at home. I don't have much sock yarn that I want to knit into socks left so I have to keep these specifically for travel/ out and about knitting. I started these while sitting outside at the river trail (under a tree by the loop with the pond) while Kenny was riding his bike. I wanted to walk more with the girls but Leena hurt her paw immediately when we got there and was limping. She is fine now. She probably stepped on a piece of glass or a sharp rock in the parking lot.

a mystery with joji and pediatrics

a mystery with joji and pediatrics, a photo by vcuchica931 on Flickr.

So this is what I've been spending my Saturday evening doing! I've been reading peds all day but I just started knitting and took a break from the taking of notes at about 9:30. I told myself it's quitting time but I need to move the book from in front of me because I keep reading. 

Anyways, I'm finally on clue 3 of the Mystery with Joji Shawl. It's a fun knit! I still have WAY more yarn than I think I'm supposed to have at this point...so much so I think I will have enough yarn to even do another one of these! I probably won't, but there are other 3 color projects I could make. I do love this shawl though. I may modify the edging. Well technically I already did as I only did my "fringe" as 2 stitches instead of 10. I haven't decided yet so I'll definitely post a picture once I get to that point or finish.

I do like having a normal phone again since it makes taking progress pictures much easier. Also posting to Blogger and Flicker are quick too. What I don't like doing is posting links. But here's the one to the shawl pattern.

It's a 3 day "weekend" (not for me; I just have Monday since I work every Sat and Sun) so hopefully I'll be more productive with my schoolwork after I get off of work tomorrow. I would like to post about how crazy this semester is/going to be. Hope everyone has a safe and fun weekend!

Leap year

Oh I totally forgot to mention that I originally posted because it's leap year. And I wanted to have a post documenting it haha.

Since I'm posting just to say that, I might as well multitask and give some knitting totals for the year (completed items only).

January 2012:
198 Yards in Heaven: 200 yds
Devon Socks: 315 yards
Simple Handspun Cowl: 96 yards
Total Yards knit: 611 yards knit

Deirdre sneak peek

February 2012:
Mezquita Shawl 324 yards
Deirdra Shawl 325 yards
Total yards knit: 649 yds
Total yards in: NONE :)    ....while I was going through my pictures of what to post I remember I received those two skeins in the first picture but I won those in a giveaway from 90% Knitting podcast/Lisa so that doesn't count.

The total yardage knit doesn't seem like much but it's quite an accomplishment because I work 55 hrs and go to school full time. It's crazy. But I'm crazier if I don't make time for knitting and spinning.

lots going on

Ok, since the last time I posted I have begun taking 16 credits (7 classes) for my nursing prerequisites so I can apply for a nursing program in April. I had no idea I was going to do that because you're technically supposed to do classes in order. Since I have a science background already and only had one semester's worth of classes that I needed to take, the super awesome adviser lady let me sign up for everything I needed. The nursing programs here are competitive because there aren't many in this area (just 2 in my city) and one only has room for about 30 students! Crazy! So I'm working hard to earn As. And not just 90 As, I'm trying to get as many points as I can so I can keep the A in case I get a bad grade later on in the course. And for the most part it's working. The only class I may have a B in is Nursing 101! One because there's a 7point grading scale so a 93 is the cut off. And two, I got an 88 on the first test, which I had no idea how to prepare for because the teacher did not tell us anything except read the book and look at the powerpoints. Um, ok, your powerpoints are only the headings of the sections in the book, so that's no help. And it'd be nice if you told us that we need to know all of the graphs and tables that have specifics on theorists and names, that aren't detailed in the sections. Ugh, oh well. I say I might have a B because I have As on other assignments, but there are two things she hasn't returned to us and she doesn't use the blackboard gradebook. At least she put our test grades on it so we didn't have to wait a week for our grades.

I am still working over 40 hours a week too. So you can see how I'm a little (lot!) short on time. I've barely knit anything. This week I've been knitting a little bit more because we're studying the bones in anatomy and they make me anxious to think about. But yesterday I got a 101.5% on my microbiology lecture test so I rewarded myself with knitting. So I just finished the Mezquita Shawl by Zen Yarn Garden. It has to be blocked still as you can see from the picture. It's a little smaller than what i was expecting; I followed the pattern and when it came time to bind off I still had a lot of yarn left. I still did it because it was the first shawl I've knit like that and I wanted to see how big it would be without adding to it. So, this morning I started to undo the bind off row so I could add to it and I got about 7 stitches in and was like oh, heck no, I'm not undoing 233 stitches of this. Ha. I kept dropping stitches and it was a mess! I'll find some other use for the rest of the yarn. I need to measure it to see how much I have left. I knit it for my bf's aunt but I want to see what it looks like after blocking....which I'd like to do with some inspinknitty blocking wires.

The yarn I used was Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine which feels amazing knitted up! I just rub it on my face sometimes haha. I was surprised because it doesn't feel that soft to me in the ball. I may knit another one of these for myself. I bought it right after the new year from my LYS for the purpose of using it in a shawl for the intended recipient.

2011 Review

Well, since it's the last Thursday of the year, and News Years is on Sunday, I figure I'd better write up my 2011 accomplishments. Yesterday, I went through my Ravelry page and did some calculations. I love Ravelry! I'm always surprised by how many knitters down here in Louisiana don't know about it. It's crazy. I guess that makes sense though, considering we only have one LYS (local yarn store) and it just opened in 2009...maybe even 2010...I know it was after I moved here. Anyways, there I go randomly talking about something else. You'll probably see a lot of that. Sorry in advance.

Anyways, on to my stats for the year:

Knitting: 

I've knit 34 items (not including dishcloths)

afghan squares for TKGASS (the knitgirllls afghan square swap)- 4

pairs of socks- 17

Blankets- 1-Girasole, but I also finished the Moderne Baby Blanket. Most of the knitting was not done in 2011 so I'm not really going to count it.

Cowls-3

Shawls-4

Sweaters-2

Total number of yards knit in 2011: 10,914 yards! Awesome, I wish I'd known I was so close to getting to 11,000. That would've been cool, that wasn't even a goal! But you know what, I still have 3 currently active WIPs which definitely put me over the 11k mark! Seriously, I'm working a pair of socks, and I have two sweater wips and I've started all 3 in 2011. And all of them are near completion! Oh and then there are at least 5 dishcloths I've made that aren't included in that yardage. So YAY for knitting 11k yards in 2011!!!

Spinning:

I've spun the equivalent of 12 bumps of fiber...but really more like 50oz/3.1 lbs of fiber...I wish I had kept better track but apparently I forgot to write down some things. I also apparently didn't enter all of my yardage into Ravelry too so I'm not sure of the yardage of some items. And forget about the WPI on these bad boys. I think about it as I'm winding it on my niddy noddy and then think I should wait until I soak it in case the fiber blooms, after which I completely forget.

1. Road trip, 2.Smoke on the water socks, 3. DSC_0103, 4. DSC_0086, 5. 003, 6. Untitled, 7. manic handspun, 8. DSC_0071, 9. Picture 448, 10. all fibers as of 2/27., 11. Picture 353, 12. Rebatch 12/30/11, 13. DSC_0032, 14. Sweet summer sky socks, 15. DSC_0038, 16. Picture 454, 17. DSC_0085, 18. DSC_0070, 19. DSC_0076, 20. DSC_0089, 21. basic socks, 22. First afterthought heels, 23. Make it work, 24. Domino socks, 25. Vampire Kisses, 26. algae socks, 27. rick socks, 28. knitting 2011 015, 29. Clapotis, 30. DSC_0082, 31. Picture 348, 32. Blueberry Lime Verbena, 33. Rapture, 34. Hazelnut, 35. Raspberry Guava

Reading:

My initial goal was to read 20 books; it might have even been 12. But I kept increasing it because I was going to make my goal in the summer. I ended up reading 34 books this year! Probably will finish another one tomorrow depending on how work goes. Awesome! I love reading and it totally fell off in college and on into my years in teaching. I don't think I would've read as many books in 2011 if it weren't for me discovering (well I knew about them but hadn't read them yet) the Sookie Stackhouse novels. I devoured them. I also tried to read a few classics this year....I don't know if I'm going to continue with that goal because those are the books that just dragged on and on for me. I mean Anna Karenina was on my currently reading shelf on Goodreads for 8 months I think. RIDICULOUS! 

I have absolutely no idea how many items I sewed...I know I made at least one skirt and a shirt...I have a dress that needs a zipper and finishing touches languishing (can you see a trend here...I get things to almost done and then just let them sit...for months!) This is why I decided I need a blog. I will maintain a notebook for things as well so I can use my lovely pens but I like that I can attach pictures here if I want to as well. 

Fitness:

I joined Sparkpeople at the beginning of the year and Yay for that! I have a consistent way to track my exercise!(The points, although I really don't use them as a reward reward -like for yarn or something-they are motivation to keep track of my efforts. I have a notebook that I like to use as well so I can write more details like how I'm feeling or how I broke down my run...it's also another reason to use my lovely pens). So according to the website, I've exercised 6,476 minutes! Which is great but apparently my goal for the year was 7,161 minutes. Boo. I definitely fell down this month.October was also a down month which was when I finally got a job. I have ran 85.71 miles to date! Whoo!