Update #13 - Today is one of those days

 

Yes I know today is Tuesday.  Yes I know I should have posted on Sunday.  Yes I know I didn't post at all last week. 

Here is the thing.  Well actually a couple of things. 

First - I have a finished project, a pair of socks, but I can't post pictures because they are a test knit for next years' SuperSock World Championship.  Because of working on said socks I have not made anymore progress on my 54 pickup blanket. 

Second - I have cast on a toque to match my Heather Gansey that I knit last spring, but it is not really picture worthy as it is just two inches of ribbing at this point. 

Third - Some days go like this for me:

I become aware that I am awake and still trying to figure out the peculiarities of a dream I was having. The second I acknowledge I am awake I am aware of the anxiety that lives in my gut.  It feels like the butterflies you get before you have to give a speech, or present a project, only these butterflies have no reason to be there - there is no 'event' on the horizon, except the main event called 'life'. 

I reach for my robe, noticing that my husband is still sound asleep.  This means that there will be no coffee made.  This means I have to make it.  I don't want to.

I stand in the middle of kitchen looking at the espresso machine (it is quite noisy), and the kettle. I contemplate for a brief moment not having any coffee and just going to the couch to turn on the heating pad for my very sore back.  I am aware that everything is sore at this moment. 

I opt for the kettle.  How hard can it be? I ask myself.  

The answer?

Hard. 

I fill the kettle and put it on the burner.  As the burner turns to bright red I see smoke rising from the element - vestiges of last nights' dinner either on the burner, or on the bottom of the kettle.  I don't want to set the smoke alarm off so I remove the kettle and turn off the element. 

A deep breath.  I wipe the burner.  I wipe the bottom of the kettle.  I put the kettle back on the burner and start again.  I watch for a couple of minutes to make sure the smoke will not continue. 

I spoon five tablespoons of coffee into the bodium. I put the thermos in the sink.  I get my mug down from the shelf. The kettle starts to boil.  I pick it up before the whistle sounds.  

I pour the boiling water into the bodium and a little into the thermos to warm it up. 

I set the timer for four minutes. 

This is exhausting. 

I open the fridge to get out the two litre jug of milk and pour some into my mug.  I am astonished at how heavy two litres of milk can be. 

I put the mug into the microwave.  The timer beeps.  Four minutes is up.  I push the plunger of the bodium down very carefully and then set the microwave for thirty seconds to heat up the milk. 

I empty the hot water out of the thermos and pour the extra coffee into it for my husband to have when he wakes up. 

The microwave beeps.  I take out my mug and fill it the rest of the way with coffee. 

I walk to the couch.  I sit.  I put the heating pad on my lower back. I shake out the first half of the pills and vitamins I take before breakfast.  I wash them all down with the first hot sip of my coffee.  

I am exhausted.  

Making that pot of coffee felt like climbing fricking Mount Everest.  

It shouldn't be this hard. 

But it is. 

Somedays are like that.

Today was like that.

After lunch I went bird watching with my son.  It was lovely but the two kilometers was far too much.  I had to trick myself to keep going when all I wanted to do was sit down on the middle of the path and wail. 

It is too hard.  

I know why today is a hard day.  Today is a hard day for lots of people.  Maybe today was a hard day for you. 

But you know what? 

I can do hard things.  I can do hard things that someone else wouldn't think were hard at all. 

My point? 

Today is just one of those days.  Today is just a day.  

Tomorrow will be better.

Update #11 - I did cast on something else!

 

Oh my, here it is Tuesday and I have yet to post.  I'll get right on that. 

First - last week I visited my sister on her little island.  It was heavenly.  Four ocean swims, a poetry reading, good conversations, good food, one craft market and one Fall Fair.  What more could anyone ask for?  And then when I arrived home yesterday my dear son was there - visiting from one province over.  

I did finally cast on the test knit.  Well actually I cast it on FOUR times as I just couldn't get the toe-up cast-on to look right.  Fourth time was the charm and I am now on row 12 of the pattern.  Of course I can't show you until next summer when the pattern will be released but suffice to say I am very pleased with the progress despite the difficult beginning. 

I finished one sock that is part of a knit a long. 

I will post the pattern name once the mystery knit is published. 

My 54 Card pick-up is in progress but I only managed another five rows so a picture won't show much progress. 

I did receive some gifts of yarn from my sister - and I am sure these will turn into socks one day. 

So all in all a very good week.  And what is not to love about a place where you can have views like these ones. 

I will try to post on time next week, but no promises.  As I said my son is here and he is turning 40 on Friday so there will be cake!  And a few games of Wingspan (I will beat him one of these days. )

Update #10 - Will I ever cast on anything else?

 

Well, again this week it was all about 'the blanket'.  I finished the third row last night. 

Last night before bed I had to fiddle with my printer to get the colours correct on the next set of patterns.  

Other than that I did manage five ocean swims last week.  Each one at least 30 minutes.  A new friend joined me, on Friday and it was nice to have the company as I usually swim alone. 

I am in the throes of proof reading the galley for White Rabbit to be available in paperback which is an interesting process.  The novel is, in part, autobiographical - written in 2016 - and it is quite the experience to read and resonant with the words on the page.  

My sock pattern sales are coming in and that is very exciting.  It is so rewarding to see the pattern knit up with different yarns and colours. 

Speaking of sock patterns, I have committed to testing a pattern, and I really must get it cast on - I am sure once I do that I will be quick to work through the pattern.  I am testing the small, 56 stitches, so it will likely be a gift for my daughter when it is done. 

I hope all the Year of Project participants are doing well on their to-do lists.  I will visit their posts in the coming days.  

Today?  Today I will swim.  And knit.  and probably do the dishes and sweep the floor.  Probably. 

Year of Projects #9 - I can see progress

 

As I continue with my monogamous knitting I have been working steadily on my 54 pickup blanket. 

It is very rewarding to see the second row of cards.  There have been a few 'oopsies' when I see an error and have to ladder down a few rows to correct a colour, or an errand thread that has landed on the outside of the work rather than being hidden on the inside.  It is slow knitting because with double-knitting every other stitch is a purl and I have to make sure that the two colours I am not knitting with stay hidden inside the work.  I have finally perfected a way to knit without the colours getting all tangled.  I have the white yarn always on my left and I pick it European style, and the red and blank I hold in my right hand with my index finger always in between them so they don't have a chance to tangle.  This makes each row much faster and I don't have to untangle the three colours at the end of each row like I had to when I first started the blanket. 

I have been thinking that it would have been better to have made the blanket 9 x 6, rather than 6 x 9, but I am definitely not going to go back and change that now!

I did start on Jemima Puddleduck (she is a commission) but I have been enjoying the blanket knitting so much that poor Jemima is only a 'twinkle in my eye' as my mother would say. 

I did four ocean swims this past week, and plan another for today.  The water temperature is heading down, but I still managed thirty minute swims.  

I got the galley copy of my novel 'White Rabbit' and I am heading towards being able to have it published in paperback very soon. 

I start back to work tomorrow.  I volunteer at a mental health centre every Tuesday.  I lead a mindful journaling hour.  I have been also hired to work with peers in mental health recovery for ten hours a month.  I haven't been assigned anyone yet, but I expect to now that September is here. 

And speaking of September, today, September 1st, is the day my father died - fifty-two years ago.  I miss him terribly.  Yesterday I was remembering dancing with him at my sister's rehearsal dinner.  He is never far from my mind, and I know he is watching over me from that great beyond.  

I always think of September as my 'new year'.  Time to turn the page.  Start anew.  Make a plan.

Or?

Or maybe just keep going.  Swim.  Write.  Study.  Be. 

Just Be. 

Hmm. Now there is an idea. 

Blessings to all who look upon this time of year as a new beginning.  

And Blessing to all you are just going forward one day at a time. 

Oh, and one more thing.  My sock design, Me Too! Me Too! that was used in Supersock World Championship is now for sale on Ravelry.

Year of Projects #8 - Finished!

 

Really there are no words to say how pleased I am with this finished shawl.  So I will let the picture do the talking. 

See you next week as the ongoing 54 Pickup is, well, picked up again....and there may also be a Jemima Puddleduck too. 

Year of Projects Update #7 - StEEKing

 

Well, yes, I did lose at yarn chicken so last week I headed over town to pick up two more balls of yarn.  

On Friday I crocheted on either side of the steeking area following some YouTuber.  It seemed straight forward enough. 

Ready to cut...

Reading to pick up a gazillion stitches. 

and then I had to pick up 278 stitches on each side of the triangle and then knit across the 383 stitches along the top.  Yup, 939 stitches per round.  AND...I had to increase every round for the 13 rounds of the  front border. So now I was at about 1050 stitches. Once those 13 rows were complete I added two rows of the contrast colour and now currently I am decreasing every round. Once I finish the border I will fold the border in half and sew it to the back side of the shawl hiding the steeked edges. 

My steeking definitely had some wonky areas but I was able to catch where the yarn wanted to unravel and tie off any offending mis-steeks.  See what I did there?

Border about 17 of 26 rows

I should be done this week.  Then I can get back to my 54 Card Pickup. 

I did score a wonderful kit of 25gm balls of every colour imaginable at Value Village.  I think this will be excellent for small gnomes and other soft toys. 

Hope everyone else is making progress on their projects. 

And now back to my never-ending rounds of border!

Year of Projects Update #6 - Yarn Chicken?

 

I am on line 36 of 43 and I am hoping my yarn makes it....stay tuned for next weeks update.  (and I thought the steeking of this shawl was going to be the exciting part) 

I am on the 2nd row of cards on my 54 pickup.  It is exciting to see it coming to life:

This week I need to cast on something simpler for TV binging.  (didn't I say that last week?) It is very hot here at the moment so working on the blanket or the shawl is too much in this heat. 

That's it for this week's late update - Now I will go check on what the other Yoppers are doing.  

Year of Projects Update #5 - Overflowing Sock Drawer

 

SuperSock World Championship is in the Finale Lap, and will be wrapping up later this month.  I looked at all the socks I knit since it started May 1st.  

That is fifteen socks total.  Don't worry the lonely pink sock at the bottom has a mate, but I knit it before SWC started.  And yes, my sock drawer is stuffed to the gills, and I really have to do something about that....not. 

In other news I finished the second repeat on my Wildernesse shawl.  I decided to have purple trees against a snowy sky as the first repeat was snowy trees against a purple sky....not sure what the third repeat will be....stay tuned. 

I added a few more rows to my 54 pickup.  Slow going what with six charts, three colours and doubleknitting which means k1, p1 all the way across.  Then I double check the pattern and go back to fix any errors as they arise....and they do arise.

It was our anniversary last Wednesday, and we both were able to stop coughing long enough to enjoy a movie - Formula 1.  Loved it.  Surprising to both of us how much we enjoy following the Formula 1 races ever since we watched the Netflix series: Drive to Survive.  In fact this morning while having our coffee we watched the highlights of the Hungarian race.  

So there is my week.  Knitting, Coughing, Knitting, Reading, Knitting, Studying, Knitting, Binge watching two seasons of Nurses, and, of course Knitting. And more Coughing. 

Oh, and here is a picture of my sock drawer:

And here is the just married, and then forty eight years later photos:

Until next week dear readers.  I think I might cast on a sock for my hubby.  He is so appreciative, and knitting socks for his large hobbit feet is easy TV knitting, and I still have four episodes to go on season 5 - 24.  How will Jack Bauer save the day this time? 

Year of Projects Update #4 -A wee bit late to the party

 

Oh my, not sure how it got to be Thursday already, but calendars don't lie.  In my defense I have been down with a nasty cough and just about everything seems like too much trouble.  

My progress to date has been working on two of my wips. 

My Contrapunctus are done - and they are wonderful.  I have never made a short row toe before and I really like the look and the fit. 

I started my Wildernesse shawl with a new colour scheme and fingering wool  I am much happier with the look and weight of the knit. 

Yesterday we were well enough (hubby has same cough) to take in a movie, Formula 1, to celebrate our 48th wedding anniversary.  And after we went for a lovely dinner at a local British pub.  

I also found out last week that I did get the Peer Support Worker contract with our local Health Department and I will start working with peers in September.  I am very excited for the opportunity to give back to the Mental Health program that has been so important in my own on-going mental health recovery. I did have an article I wrote about my journey get published as a guest post on the Spotlight on Mental Health blog.  You can read it here. 

Now I will go and check what the rest of you have been doing.  

I must be feeling a little better and hopefully I will be back in the ocean this coming weekend. 

Year of Projects #3 - A little progress is still progress

 

This will be a short and sweet update as I have been battling (and losing) with a migraine.  

I have made a little more progress on my 54 pickup lap blanket. 

and I started on my Contrapunctus socks.  It was a new shortrow heel construction and I really liked how intuitive it was. Now I am just knitting to the toe - which will be a shortrow  toe construction that is also new to me. 

I did take a 'me day' on Friday and was able to buy some yarn to try with the Wildernesse shawl. 

And yes, I did buy some more stitch markers....I used to have 60 of these little coloured rings, but while working on the 54 pickup I used what I had and couldn't find any more....Really, I do have a problem with buying stitch markers that you can read about here. 

I did the smallest amount of spinning - I am on the 2nd bobbin so I will have enough to ply, but it is slow going.  I just don't seem to have much spinning mojo these days. 

So that is my week.  I wasn't able to read everyone else's posts last week, so as soon as this migraine settles I will get caught up with everyone. 

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Year of Projects #2 - Extreme Double Knitting

 

I have wanted to knit the wilderness shawl for a long time and finally chose the colours and wool and so I began this week.  It became apparent as I reached the second repeat of the chart that this shawl was going to be heavy - more like worsted weight because of carrying the second colour along.  In my mind I imagined the shawl to be more light - and so on Saturday night I frogged the whole thing.  

before the frogging...

I am glad I stopped myself from continuing the pattern.  It does look cool, and I will find a lighter yarn and start again some time in the future.  

I was brave enough to finally cast on my 52 pickup.  I am calling it 54 pickup because I am including the two jokers.  I did as the designer suggested and took a deck of cards and randomly shuffled them and intermixed them face up and face down to create a truly random and unique layout.  

my chart for 6 x 9 lap blanket
Alasdair has calculated that the chance of someone else knitting the same order as I have randomly chosen is 4.16 x 10 to the power of 87 to 1.

And here is my progress as of last night. 

Side One
Can you see the King, Jack and 4 emerging?

Side two
Can you see a Jack, Joker and 6 emerging? 

Each row involves carrying three colours and double-knitting each pair of k1p1 stitches to create the double-knit effect of the front of the card on one side and the back of the card on the other.  There are 135 pairs of stitches so each row is 270 stitches.  I use 6 charts for each row and have to remember that on every even row I must arrange the charts in the reverse order. I missed that instruction the first time and had to think back the 270 stitches. Phew. Definitely a mindful knit!

No wonder Alasdair calls it Extreme Double Knitting!

So today some time I will cast on some socks to have some mindless knitting on the go as well. 

Hopefully this week brings less frogging and more progress.  

Year of Projects - Year 15 begins

 

Well yes, Year 15 has begun, but I have not been Yopping for that long.  I will have to look back though my archives to see when I started....be right back.  

Okay. I started in Year of Projects 2016/2017 and was pretty consistent until part way through 2022/23 - So I think that makes this my 8th year.  

Enough with the facts - let's get down to the plan. 

I have had two patterns in my queue since the beginning of the year and it took me a while to order the yarn for them  

Wilderness Shawl and 52 Card Pickup 

The Wilderness Shawl will be a new-to-me construction of knitting a colourwork shawl in the round and then steeking it.  It doesn't escape my notice that the work steek has the word 'eek' in it.  I started this yesterday and so far so good.  Progress picture will happen next week.

The 52 Pickup is a double knitting pattern by Alasdair Post-Quinn and I will make the blanket version with each card of the deck, including the two jokers.  

I also have another of Amelia Archer's designs -  Contrapunctus ready to start.  I love her knit loop ideas, and in fact took her idea and designed a sock for this year's SuperSock World Championship. Me Too! Me Too! will be available for sale in September.  

This past week I finished two pairs of socks to celebrate Canada Day.  Amelia Archer's Charmed Diamond socks and one of the Supersock World Championship designs - Sassia by L'Atelier des Glènettes. 

Yesterday was the start of Tour de Fleece and I have over a pound of fleece to spin up - not sure how much I will get done, or what I will make with it, but it is great to be back on my wheel after such a long hiatus. 

The rest of my plan is as follows:

test knits for Supersock World Championship 2026

new sock design of my own

a gnome or two 

an animal/wild animal friend or two

knit something with my handspun

at least one dragon 

a toque to match my latest purple gansey

fingerless gloves - also to match my latest gansey 

Yes, I am back and looking forward to catching up on the other bloggers who are taking part in Year of Projects 15 on Ravelry.