Yopping Update #4 - It's the little things

This week it is all about the little things.

The week started off with this water bottle holder:

and then I had just enough blue cotton left for one more wee produce bag:

Since little things seemed to be the order of the week I decided to get started on those advent knits.

I had 37 gms of sparkley, multi-coloured home spun that I had received as a gift a couple of years ago at one of our knit night christmas parties.   So here is what became of 31 gms of it:

I love how the colours naturally changed from his legs to his body and then to his hat.  (I used something else for his little head).

I started looking at my advent knit list and my eyes fell on this advent calendar.  The instructions are all in Norwegian so thanks to my trusty friend google translate I was able to get this done:

and then this:

this:

this one is a little bigger cause of using sport weight yarn - I might re-do it at some point with fingering.  

and last night this when I couldn't figure out the instructions to the tank I wanted to start (see below):

Only 20 more to go?  They will make a nice advent calendar, just big enough for a colourful stone, or chestnut, or chocolate I think.

I perused my queue for other advent knits and found the pattern for stjarna.  It starts out very complicated with me casting on to two sets of circulars,  then transferring the top half of the cast on to dpns, and leaving the bottom half to pick up later for the back half of the star.

It starts like this:

and ends up as a three dimenstional five pointed star:

Last night I was going to cast on a crocheted tank but the instructions were too complicated for my late night brain.  I will try again today.  I have 2.2 pounds of cotton on a spool that I got from the free store,

and this tee is made with four crocheted squares.  I think I can manage that once I wrap my head around the instructions - I may have to learn how to read a crochet diagram after all.

That is my week.  There was some pool time, and I helped my husband put together a workbench:

almost done

I also took my car in for an estimate - and it will get fixed sometime this coming week.

My grand-daughter turned 7 months yesterday.  Look at those teeth (she has six already).

To follow the other intrepid crafters check out their progress for the week here 

Yopping Undate #3 - There's no place like home

I am back!   A day late, and more than a few dollars short, but more about that later. 

I was able to crochet about 1/2 of a produce bag last week while busy teaching as my days were taken up at the school from 7:30 -5:00 each day.  I did get to the pool twice in the evening and had a lovely dinner with an old friend one night as well.  So really that only left me two evenings to craft.

The teaching went very well (the evaluations were stellar) and on Friday I headed up island to visit FitznStarts and her wife.   They treated me like royalty, and I left them with three produce bags - two I made while visiting with them, and the third I had made a couple of weeks ago. 

I then head further up island to visit my brother and his significant other in their new house.  We had a great visit which also included a mini hike up to Elk Falls.  The falls were spectacular.

I woke up this morning with a SEVERE case of homesickness so decided to pack up and head for the ferry.  The ferries were in turmoil when I arrived as the early morning ferry had been cancelled, and then not cancelled, so when I got to the ferry cars were waiting for two ferries that hadn't loaded yet.  I was in a line-up outside the ferry terminal and I had to PEE!.  I know, too much information. 

Anyways, once the two ferries unloaded and they loaded the first ferry I finally was allowed into the terminal with the caution that I would possibly miss the 11 which was just loading.  I put my prayers in to God, and lo and behold I was one of the cars in the last lineup they loaded.  Phew. 

I was headachey and hungry and still a bit weepy from homesickness, but a lettuce-wrapped burger, poutine and a coke cheered me up a little. (So did the pee - again tmi). Then some back and forth exchanges with my wise daughter helped get me up onto the deck, sitting in the sun with the wind in my hair.  I finished another produce bag by the time the ferry was docked and we were ready to unload. 

I was home and in my dh's arms by 1:30pm.  There's no place like home. 

Unpacked, a little laundry, and a call to the insurance company done and it is only 4pm.

Insurance company you say.  Well, yes. 

As I pulled into my brother's driveway he asked what I had done to the front bumper of my car.

I thought he was referring to a rubber scrape I had incurred a few weeks ago.  But no.  This was what I saw.

So someone on the island has some serious karma (car-ma) issues for not leaving a note on my car.  This means I will be out my deductible, but the claim won't affect my rates.  Which is good because the rates already have risen for everyone in my province partly due to hit and run claims like this one will be.  I was so bummed about this last night, which probably didn't help my homesickness.  So my teaching week will cost me 300 bucks - which is a quarter of what I made. Sigh. Life is a b#%ch sometimes.

On a happier note I believe I am feeling some improvement in my arm.  It is small, but it is noticeable and I think the new night time medication is helping.

On the down side (what a Libra I am), my right hip is very, very sore and stiff when I walk, and while I was teaching I had to sit down more than stand because my back was really sore. 

Ah, ain't old age grand?

Old age?  I am only 63 (ok, almost 64), and I plan to live to 100, so 63 is really middle age.  Right?

Right. 

So there is my third week done and done.   Summer seems to finally be here - so I am heading out to have a cool drink on my porch.  Maybe the hummingbirds will come and join me. 

To follow other yoppers (if you are a Ravelry member) check out their posts here.

Yopping Update #2 - Nothing to see here

Well, the title isn't entirely true, but in the crafting department I have made 4 more project bags.  Two yellow, and two blue.  It is all my arm can handle it seems.

I love these - they are easy to crochet, very practical and convenient to tuck into a pocket on the way to the store.

Seven copies of my novel are out in the world now, and I have gone through it again myself to find ALLLLLLL the typos (and a couple of continuity errors).

coloured flags = error of some sort :(

Now I will wait for the responses and at the end of the summer decide where to go next.

Getting my novel out into the world (baby steps) helped inspire me to start to put my poetry in order so for the last couple of days I have been transcribing my terribly messy handwritten poems onto my computer.

Then I have to figure out an order for them, or some kind of theme.  Time will tell.


I spent the week doing errands and making sure everything is in order for my dh before I leave to teach next week: oil change, groceries, bra shopping (for me), t-shirt shopping (for him), gutters cleaned and roof de-mossed (we hired someone - don't worry).  I even ordered a little blue-tooth speaker so I can listen to my tunes or podcasts without having to be plugged into my phone - freedom!

No swimming this week, but I did get out for a couple of very long walks (one of them in the rain), and met up for coffee with a dear friend.  On the rainy walk I ran into the not-so-proverbial wall!

stopped in my tracks (film crew in my park)

It has been a good week.

Today I leave for the island to teach for five days.  I will take my crochet cotton and hook, but if last year is any example I don't think I will get any crafting done.

My arm is still sore, but the doctor changed my medication at night so I am sleeping better.  Hooray for that.

To follow other yoppers, who I am sure are much more accomplished with their crafting this week than I was, check out their blogs here.

Yopping Update - Week #1 - Testing Testing

On strict orders from my daughter I was not to knit for a week.  My arm has been very sore and I have to teach starting in a week and I need to be more mobile for sure.

So.....what did I do? 

I spent hours re-editing my novel and then I took it to the printer to get it ready to give copies to beta readers.  What?  I know, right?  I also sent pdfs to three readers and it seems that after almost four years this whole novel thing might be becoming a reality.

What is a beta reader you might ask?  I will let Wikipedia answer:   

"A beta reader is a test reader of an unreleased work of literature giving feedback with the angle of an average reader to the author about remaining issues."

Now I want to start organizing my poetry into a single collection.  I thought I had already done this, but it must have been a dream because I cannot find it on any computer anywhere.  How weird is that?

There was a tiny bit of crafting - crochet, and after trying for a little I switched back to my left hand only.  These produce bags are quick and easy to make.  Good television crafting once the increase rounds are done.

Two done and the third just needs the handles.

I had an epiphany about my fisherwoman's sweater this past week.  It seems for me that knitting truly is a metaphor for my life.

I started this sweater with wool I had re-purposed from a sweater that didn't fit me anymore.  It was a long line vest, and I figured I had enough yarn to make a cable-knit sweater for camping.

Once the back was almost complete I started to wonder if I woud have enough wool to finish it.  I stopped knitting the back about two inches from the end, and cast on the two sleeves.  When the sleeves were almost finished I weighed the parts that were already knit.  Then I weighed how much yarn I have left.

I think I don't have enough yarn, but rather than soldier on to see if the imaginary is reality I just put the whole thing on time out.

Why? 

What is the worst that can happen?  I can either make the sweater shorter if I need to because I haven't cast off the back as this point, or I can go and buy a suitable yarn to finish the sweater.

It is a camping sweater afterall, not something I want to exhibit at Vogue knitting.

This got me to thinking about what I have been going through over the past year.   I have been looking at what strategies I have been using in my life, that no longer serve me, that I wish to let go, or change.

Change is hard.  It is easy to go back to old patterns, or put things in a time out.  It is harder just to move forward and face whatever it is I need to face head on.

If I don't see this sweater through to the end I won't ever know if maybe  a) I will win at the yarn chicken, or b)  I won't win at yarn chicken but I will experience the success of finding a solution of either modifying the pattern, or finding some yarn to finish it.  It is natural undyed aran wool so I really don't think getting a close enough match will be a problem.

Besides, I can't go back.  The old sweater that didn't fit anymore cannot be put back to the way it was and the new sweater is shaping up quite nicely.  Change is not comfortable.

Pretending the problem isn't there won't make it go away.

Are you listening, Mary-Anne?

Yup, I am listening, and as soon as I can knit again I will cast on the front and let the chips fall where they may.

To following the other intrepid souls that are going into Year Nine with me check out their posts here.

Year of Projects Year Nine Here I Come

Thanks to my son for the drawing for my Year 9 Year of Projects header.  Cute, no?

My list is in the page at the top of this blog Year of Projects 2019-2020.  I will update it throughout the year as I go along. Here it is as this year of projects begins:

Year of Projects 2019-2020

Advent Knits (3rd time lucky?) # refer to my Ravelry queue

1) Christmas Bell #45
2) Stjarna - #46 or #61
3) Gnome Baby #98
4) Santa Gnome #55
5) Bear Xmas Tree decoration #54
6) Christmas Drum #70
7) heart #49
8) hedgehog #68
9) Advent Tree #39
10) mini santa hat #67 or #69
11) candy cane #51
12) Acorn #52
13) Holiday Mice #53
14) Mushroom #56
15) Gingerbread Man #62
16) Poinsetta #58
17) Shamrock # 59
18) Reindeer #62
19) Snowman #62
20) Yarn basket ornament #65
21) Mini sweater ornaments #35 or #47

WIP
Fisherwoman's sweater
Slip,Knit,Love Mosaic Shawl

Grand-daughter
Crib Mobile #119 or #128

Spinning
Just do something (lol)

Basket Weaving
finish basket started spring 2018 in Arizona
woven wedding plate kit

Socks

Shawls

Sweaters

Crochet
grocery produce bags
Spicier Life Blanket

Simply Knitting Kits
Bella bunkins

Publish Novel

No new yarn acquisition

I have two wips to finish - and here is my progress on them as this year starts.

Fisherwoman's sweater

sleeves 

back 

Slip Knit Love shawl

There will be more spinning this year (are you listening Mary-Anne?), and I am certain many projects will find there way into my heart and hands as the year unfolds. I have so much unspun fibre that I plan to only work from my stash this year.  So, yes, that is my commitment - no new yarn acquisition unless it is needed to complete a project that I started from my stash.  So, if I want to knit and crochet I had better get spinning!

I am determined to get my novel to beta readers this coming year and ultimately published one way or another.

Oh, and there will be swimming, and walking and pictures of my dear grand-daughter.  That is a promise.

Happy Canada is today!  I hope there will be red and white cupcakes and fireworks!

If you are a Ravelry member you can follow other Year Nine Yoppers here!