VROOM! SWISH!

After all this time, there's something other than a little knitting featured here! Roughly 30 minutes Saturday was spent at the local yarn store, In The Making. While In The Making is moving, they have not yet moved to their new location and are literally just 2 door down from the old location. Easy to find yet! While the Things were napping, I took off leaving them in the capable care of DH looking for a few more Charm Packs from Moda Fabrics. There were 3 packs left in the charm pack colorway (is that the right word for quilters?). Now there is 1. When my new fabric and I made it home, we went to work. The entirety of nap time I had my little sewing machine out and humming along. Someday this quilt will be finished, with a little luck. Something tells me I'll need to send it off to my Aunt Ruth for the final stages because she does own a Longarm machine.

Eventually....

Notice, only Saturday was knitting. Sunday was for spinning. I had managed to spin the last 2 oz in the 8 oz back of BFL from The Woolery on Friday night. I spent an entire episode of NCIS plying the singles together. I have never been more pleased with myself either. I weighed out the 2 oz into 1 oz bumps and spun each oz on a different bobbin. I had less than 6" of difference in lengths on my singles! Doesn't that almost make it seem like I have a clue whats going on in spinning? Eventually the yarn will come off the bobbin and yardage accounted for.

Yardage to be determined...

Friday of course I had to knit a little on my Dr. Watson sweater sleeve Friday over lunch. Slow and steady wins the race but geez I wish it could hurry up a little bit. Time spent knitting does play a part in the sleeves growing but there are so many other things to do! For example, we went to the nearest Bass Pro Shop. If the line hadn't been so long we might have worked to go see Santa. There was no way the boys would wait patiently to sit on Santa's lap so instead we walked and looked at all the animals and the fish tank they have in house. We also stopped for lunch while in the store. You should have seen the size of that peanut butter and jelly sandwich the boys got! HUGE!!!!

See that BIG FISH? Big Fish!!! Look!!! RIGHT THERE!

After Bass Pro we headed over to some outlet malls for a little bit of wandering around and possible shopping. Sometimes my kids do the craziest things that make me feel like a rock star Mom. The bell ringers are already out for Salvation Army. I handed DS2 some change to drop in the bucket. Earlier in the day he had stolen a quarter from his Daddy and placed the quarter in his pocket. As I handed him the change for the bucket (the goal was to head in the direction of the parking lot), he became very distressed when he couldn't locate his quarter. Eventually he found the correct pocket and all the change was placed in the bucket. DS1 raided his Daddy's pockets and his own pocket for change to put in the bucket. Note to self: always keep some change handy for the boys to put in the kettles. My kids may be hellions most days but they are willing to give up their money for a good cause.

Good parenting if I do say so myself.

Traffic Knitting

Some days, life goes your way and some days, you are stuck in traffic for 3 hours. By stuck, I mean you have the ability to put the car in park and knit while you fret about being late to work, how the kids are going to go potty, and what in the world are they going to eat. I wish could say that the last statements are not firsthand knowledge, but it is. Welcome to my Wednesday morning commute.

1 hour

After making it within 6 miles of work, after already being on the road for about 35-40 minutes, we sat. The Things and I put the car in park at 7:15 AM realizing we weren’t moving anytime soon. All 3 lanes headed eastbound were stuck together for hours. Thank goodness for the little voice in my head that said to bring an extra protein bar for breakfast. At 8 I fed the boys each a half of 1 bar. By 9, I caved and brought out the second bar for them. That was their breakfast with nothing to drink. I have never been more proud of my boys than that day. There were a couple of potty requests but DS1 was able to somehow hold it for more than an hour. Crazy.

3 hours

The bulk of this week’s knitting was in that traffic jam. I started a renewed toddler sock Tuesday night. Barely two rounds were completed before Wednesday morning. The sock where I cast on 48 stitches was too big and was frogged.  This time, 56 stitches were cast on for 2x2 ribbing. As we waited and waited, I took a series of pictures. Most of the pictures can be seen on Instagram where I am dixienuelle. I have a picture after 15 minutes, after an hour, and after 3 hours with a tape measure visible. The final picture was taken at work when I ate lunch (left over from the day before and not in the car with us).  Yay; 3 hours equals roughly 3 inches!

Sleeve to date

Of course with us, stuck was the sleeve I started for the Dr. Watson sweater. Trapped in a non-moving car with two toddlers, there was NO WAY I was going to work on a pattern that I needed to count. That said, a little math was done because I wasn’t smart enough to calculate the sleeves out beforehand. After doing the math eventually, I decreased the cast on from 56 stitches to 44 stitches. To date, all of 1 chevron has been completed so it may take forever to complete the sleeve. However, I do know someone that feels the body of the sweater is finished enough to wear. In order to get the pictures without posing, I had to turn my phone to vibrate where I took a series of still life in motion shots. Some are blurry while others are clear.

He WILL wear that sweater

That’s right, DS2 enjoys Mommy’s sweater. He attempted to put it on at least 4 different ways while I was watching. One way even included diving into the pile of sweater. Unfortunately, that was a really blurred action shot.   The picture I’ve chosen is still blurred but it gives you a sense of the speed in which we were trying to get the sweater on.  J

A few tears shed for a frogging

Neckline is finished (minus turning and sewing into place)

Once again an inability to read directions bit. The good news is there is flexibility in a knitter (some knitters) to make adjustments on the fly. The neckline of my Dr. Watson sweater is meant to be knit in 1x1 ribbing. I however, believe that it should be knit in 2x2 ribbing. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it! I meant to do that; I swear. The pattern also said the first portion of the collar should be ½” in length; well I made it an inch. Then I switched to a different ribbing pattern where I finally followed the pattern once more. My swapped ribbing for the second type was knit for the correct length. Naturally once the collar was bound off, I slipped the sweater on over my head for a fit check. What do you know; it fits the way I wanted it to fit!

Make do when toddlers are around/awake

This version of the Dr. Watson is meant to be a little loose but not too loose. My biggest pet peeve with some of the sweaters I’ve knit are too tight sleeves and a little too short. With every sweater a little more has been learned with the exception of my first sweater. Somehow the first sweater is the one that fits the best in my mind. The first sweater did not have a gauge swatch and the only modification made was to pick up and knit for sleeves. Blind luck is all I can say.  The sweater I seamed last week/earlier in the week is perfect except for the sleeves. The sleeves are just slightly snug and the Knitpicks Wool of the Andes is a yarn I cannot wear next to my skin on my upper arms. I do have few more form fitting long sleeved T-shirts that I can wear under it but it just feels a little snug. Either way, it will be worn and loved. After blocking the sweater may wear completely differently than now but it is currently living on the closet floor drying.

Goodbye lots of hard work *tear*

Blocking and finishing the neckline were my successes of the weekend. What I said last time about maybe completing a pair of toddler socks for DS1; scratch that. I tried the half-finished sock on him and it was too small. So I grabbed DS2; still too small.  From reading Ravelry, every good frogging should be accompanied by a glass of wine. I didn’t grab the wine but I did cry a little on the inside as I frogged the 5” cuff of 2x2 ribbing, the short row heel, and the inch or so of foot. I should have bit the bullet but I was just too upset to do so. Instead DH and I went to Hancock Fabrics for their fleece sale. We picked up enough fabric for an adult sized blanket and I made a blanket for Christmas. Grandma is getting a no-sew blanket this year. DS1 assisted with the tying of the knots. By tying the knots I mean he twisted areas around and around until they looked like he thought they should. After he wandered off, I went back to tie those areas. DS2 loved the blankie so much we had to cuddle under it when it was done. I guess that’s a good sign right? 

Hope Grandma likes it as much as the boys

A little bit of this, that, and everything else

It’s been rather busy in the household this week! A little knitting, a little cooking, a little illness, a little spinning, and last but not least, a lot of celebration has all been packed in this week. Friday I had to leave work a little early for a fever of 102.0°F. DS1 went to bed Friday night with a little Tylenol in him to bring the fever down and by morning it was as if the fever never happened.  Strange.  The weekend was rather busy with cleaning, running errands, and fitness type activities.

Laced up for a walk/pathetic run.

This week I finally learned a 3 needle bind off! My shoulders are bound on the Dr. Watson sweater by Trudi Brown. The next step in my mind will be the collar. Of course I need some more yarn caked up and I haven’t taken the time to do so yet. I’ve been a little distracted by a pair of toddler socks and a sweater I finished over the summer. The socks are moving slowly but they are moving. DS1 had a heel on the first sock. There’s the 5” of 2x2 ribbing and a short row heel. Think I’ll finish by Christmas?

3 needle bind off!

Fall is settling into Alabama finally! As a result, I have a few sweaters going into constant use. Last May I participated in a KAL with the Must Stash Podcast. The sweater I knit turned out well but I disliked how I seamed the one sleeve. It puckered like none other and only on the front. From May until today the sweater sat in time out. My birthday is always a great motivator to finish something. This sweaterwill soon have a non-puckered sleeve! 

Tiny heel for a big boy. 

My spinning is still white roving/top that just never ends. I think at the rate I’m going, in 2020 I will have spun enough 2 ply yarn for a vest or sweater.  The 2 plys are roughly DK weight so without looking up any patterns, I will need 1200 yards for a light weight sweater. Fewer yards for a vest, I assume. Wonder when the last time I wore a vest was; Jr. High maybe?

Horrible puckering

DH and I have made the commitment to a healthier us and now we are cooking better foods. One of the hardest things we’ve discovered with his unsteady schedule (opens, mids, and closes) is making well rounded meals for everyone. Too often I’m left alone with the kids feeding them hotdogs, chicken nuggets and peanut butter sandwiches. We are starting to concentrate on larger portioned meals that DS1 can assist with cooking dinner (reheat leftovers). Tonight the soup we made was from the iMake blog and a variation on the spicyred lentil soup. We worked together with the boys to have them measure the spices, mix them separately and then we put everything into the pot. They ate the soup- until their mouths burned.  The Rotel may have been a little much. Oops. 

Math and lifelines or just math?

The Dr. Watson sweater is almost to the home stretch. The back needs another 1.5” before neck and shoulder shaping while the front still needs from the divide up finished. Then next up are the sleeves. Of course the math calculated way back at the beginning was only done up to the dividing for the fronts and back. One lunch hour was dedicated to an excel chart of the shoulder decreases and neckline.  There may be a workable solution but lifelines were invented just for this reason!

Starting the internal debate and math

Since most of the body has been worked from two balls of yarn, when the front and back were divided, I kept using just the one ball for the back. The front was attached to the second ball. I have just under a golf ball sized yarn ball to finish the last 1.5” and shoulder/neckline shaping on the back. What are the odds I’ll make it? Slim to none is my guess. So at a completed row 8, the ball has been attached to the sweater and the front has been started. In my infinite wisdom some days, I left the ball of yarn attached thinking I would be able to pick up and go. No such luck. The pattern has cabling on the odd rows so they are the rows to be facing the right side. I would knit the even rows, right side facing and be forced to cable the odd rows from the wrong side.  I’m good but not that good yet. My knitting is beginner good!

Ponder night with Wolfe Farms

Monday night was the night I took the time to ponder my options while knitting a little on DS1’s sock. Of course Tuesday lunch I knit a few rows on the back of Dr. Watson and moved to the front of the sweater. Tonight after the Things go to bed, it’s anyone’s guess as to what the project of choice will be. Winter’s coming to Alabama sometime so my boys need to be prepared but at the same time, Momma only has a handful of sweaters. DS1 will wear my handknit socks and his Daddy’s handknit socks but only for a few moments at a time. The adults need to admire properly how the socks fit DS1 before he takes them off.  I live with 3 warm blooded males! None of them routinely wear handknits!

Thing 1 better wear these

Exercise is going to be making a regular appearance at my house going forward. In some podcast that I watch (can’t remember which), the host stated that they don’t make New Year resolutions but make Birthday resolutions. Since I have a birthday in a few weeks, I’m getting a head start on adapting that practice. My goal isn’t to lose any weight but to increase my fitness level. Weight loss can be a happy side effect if it works. Going forward, at least one evening a week I will make a pathetic attempt to run (very slowly moving to the Couch to 5K program from Cool Running) and I will walk for the same “run” length at least 2 other evenings in the week. This started Sunday with a 5 minute walk and then I tracked the jog for 60 seconds, walk for 90 seconds, jog for 60 seconds. The interval gained me roughly 0.3 miles. Monday night, the boys ate dinner then the 3 of us went out for a walk around the tennis courts- in the dark. The tennis courts were a good idea with the Things so they could go FAST when they wanted and leave Mommy walking with the other. 

Look for the little blue dot near the center, that's our light up superhero shoes as we go fast.

24 without knitting, What?

*GASP* I had a full day this week without touching my knitting beyond the carry back and forth between home, work, and home again. My only excuse is that I was watching the St. Louis Cardinals lose the World Series. The night was a rough at my house that night. DH wasn’t able to turn the game on at the start due to DS1 and DS2 being themselves.  For some reason the boys think they need fed every night and to control the TV. The TV must be toddler shows so that when it strikes their fancy to watch 30 seconds, they can before going back to crashing trucks together.  Sometimes Mommy’s allowed to crash a few trucks or tractors and others Mommy is the bad guy stopping the trucks from crashing into her walls, cabinets, doors, furniture, or kitty. I know, I know; Mean Mommy!

All that excitement at my house and I still managed a few minutes in deep conversation with DS1. We discussed the merits of a pair of hand knit socks. He has kindly agreed that he would like a pair of socks made by Mommy. While the color he suggested was orange, Mommy asked about the green and black yarn leftovers from her socks. That should be ok so a new pair of socks made their way onto the new Addi Sock Rocket needles purchased at Yarniverse. Of course there was nothing more than the cast on by the time of this blog post. My perfect socks that will match DS1’s future socks look wonderful at work with my Abotanicity Sweater by Cassie Rovitti.

After several more rows, my Dr. Watson sweater is ready to be divided for the front and back. Now the math I’ve been putting off becomes a priority.  Oops. Procrastination catches up even with the best of them. The good news is that I know the next stitch count but I want to look at a few more areas before I truly divide out the front and back. Do I want to finish my lunch hour with math or with knitting on DS1’s socks?  Either way I think the knitting on the front or back of the sweater sounds like an awesome Friday night.