Yopping Update #34 - Back where I belong

My teaching week is done!  Yay!  It went very well.  I was taking uber amounts of Vitamin C and Oregano oil as I felt a cold coming on, but I have so far (knock on wood) kept it at bay. 

A little knitting still occurred - all on my KAL blanket.  I made the last two patterns I have until my next issue arrives, and since each pattern is suppose to have three squares per pattern I have been repeating some.

I love the look of these Intarsia squares, but man do my yarns ever get themselves into a tangle as I go. Any intarsia detangling tips are welcome.  I have cast on the third so I still have time to learn a new trick or two. 

I made a boo boo on the purple heart (I missed 6 rows because I didn't turn the page - duh - so it looks a little squattier than the white one - but hey - design element. 

Today I was back in the pool for the first time since getting home from being away. That means it was my first time since my cold dip in the sea on January 1, but the first time swimming laps since the end of November.  What?   I know, right?

It was heaven.  I swam a half mile - my right arm is a little stiff these days so I didn't want to over do it, and after my swim the hot tub felt a m a z i n g. 

So back to my blanket - I have started to block out the possible colour sequences since I am using left over yarn in my stash. 

I am hoping it will help me pick colours.  I don't have a very artistic eye for that kind of thing unless I see it - so we will see if this helps with the unfolding of it all. 

I didn't make it to my knit group this week as some women friends and I had a spontaneous pot luck dinner.  It was so much fun - I haven't laughed that hard in ages.  Good friends+good food = perfect evening!

To follow other yoppers on their updates you can go here.  Otherwise - I am back to my knitting, and hey, the Oscars are tonight so I have to get all my snacks ready now!

Yopping Update #33 - Hearts and Diamonds

This week I did get all my blocking done and ends sewn in on three shawls.  Some people will call this progress, but really it is procrastinating because I had so much teaching prep to do this week. 

Classes start tomorrow - and I think I am ready, but thanks to the procrastination tendency I have sorted letters and pictures, cards and photo albums.  Lol.  Marie Kondo would be proud.  Three boxes and one giant bag went to goodwill yesterday! Not to mention the two giant yellow bags that were full of paper recycling!

I did do a lot of prep this week, but in the evenings I spent time on the Hearts and Diamonds KAL from my Simply Knitting Magazine.  I started square number 7 last night, and after square 8 I am caught up until the next magazine arrives.  I am stash busting for this project so the colours and textures of yarn will be somewhat eclectic. 

On Friday my dh and I  drove up to see our honourary grand-daughter's grade three play.  It was so special.

 I gave her some sparkly knitting needles that came in a recent Simply Knitting Magazine and she has been texting me updates on her knitting progress. 

My daughter sent a picture of my grand-daughter in her car seat with the little stuffies we knit.

Okay, okay - I HAVE to finish prepping - classes start at 11:30 tomorrow.  We had a couple of snowy days this past week, so I will leave you with these pics.  Today is very sunny but I hear more snow is on the way. 

 Otis is less than impressed.  He keeps going in and out and looking for the door into summer.

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Yopping Update #32 - Progress, Prep and Preserving

I have been plugging away on my Prairie Lace Shawl.  I am up to 193 stitches and although I will run out of yarn before the prerequisite 275 stitches, I will be happy with the size.

I spent this week preparing for four courses I will teach starting in a week.  Of course, sometimes to procrastinate about the prepping I would get into:

1) moving furniture around in my study

2) using the Kondo method on sentimental things

3) fixing my cedar chest, sorting my cedar chest, and then taking everything out of the cedar chest and using it for only my woolen baby keepsakes, my sweaters and my shawls.

Number 3 was an aha moment I had while worrying about moths and realizing I have a whole cedar chest full of things that don't need to be protected from moths.  They now live in my bottom dresser drawer (waiting to be Kondo'd).

I am pretty chuffed with the progress.

I did some major mending this week.  My aunt's handmade quilt was needing serious repair as many of the squares were coming loose I suspect because the thread was some 60+ years old.   It took me an evening but I am so happy to have it back on my bed.  (Especially since the temperatures have dipped into the -5 to -7 range at night.

Then I realized my son's quilt that I made 34 years ago needed all the edges re-sewn and I decided to spend another evening doing that my hand.

It is now safely tucked into the above mentioned cedar chest.

Still one more thing to mend - a hooked wool pillow my father had made when he was in hospice 46 years ago - One side had come undone - so I sewed it back up.

So that was my week - a lot of sewing, some progress on my shawl - and oh, yes, despite procrastinating I have all my notes and resources ready to go for teaching.

It is snowing at the moment, and I am still in my jammies.  Dishes call, as do the two shawls that need blocking from last summer/fall. 

I also have taken on a new contract with my school to do some evaluations so I need to organize my week and make sure I don't overbook, or overextend.  Life is always a balance.

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Yopping Update #31 - Snow and Lace

It has been a very monogamous front in the knitting area this week.  I spent all my knitting time on my Lace Prairie shawl by Cheryl Oberle.  It is slowish going because I need to stop and count after every row to make sure I have the right number of stitches and more than once this week I had to tink back a few rows to find my errors.  I do love how it is turning out though:

This is being made from reclaimed wool from a half finished product I found at the free store.  I will just keep knitting until I run out of wool. 

Otherwise, the Marie Kondo thing is still going strong, and I managed my bookshelves, my papers and my teaching supplies.  The teaching supplies clean-up was two-edged because I am teaching four subjects later this month and I was looking for resources while I was re-organizing papers.  Win-Win.

Next up - sentimental things like pictures and birthday cards etc.  I think I am up for it. 

Last night the band my brother plays in, Doug and the Slugs, had their 40th anniversary show at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver.  It was a blast and I danced all night long so my feet are a tad weary this morning (as are my quads).  I asked for a glass of wine at the venue and was told they only had CANS of wine.  What?

Actually it tasted pretty good, but then it should for the 15 dollar price tag!  (for 250 ml)

And then this morning we woke up to this:

Yup, our first snowfall since getting home from Croatia.  It will be a good day to knit and watch Netflix.  I will start more serious prep for teaching tomorrow. 

Oh, and I guess there is that football game to watch too.  I will have to send my hubby out for some snacks. 

So that is my week - Kondo, Knitting, Dancing and Snow.  And some facetime with my daughter and her daughter.  Sigh. 


It has been a good week. 

On a melancholic note I finally said goodbye to an article of clothing that has been my best friend for the past four years.  It was time.  He was raggedy in ALL the places, not warm anymore, and, well, it was just time. 

Still I will miss him.  (Burton is my maiden/middle name)

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