Providence and the Recycling Fairies

 It is a special moment in this house when the divine recycling fairies and providence meet up. It has happened a couple of times in the last 24 hours here.  The first time was when I found a skein of yarn that I absolutely love on a pattern that was proving a little difficult for me.  So I tinked the shawl and put the pattern in time out. I find this a perfectly reasonable alternative to throwing away the pattern.  A few hours later I was reading about how a knitwear designer sometimes tries a pattern that she designed and used a different weight yarn to see the difference and possibly come up with a different pattern.  My aha moment sent the yarn on a collision course with my all time favorite pattern that I designed, Grandma’s Summer Shawl.  Of course a summer shawl pattern in Tucson is never ever knit with worsted weight wool yarn for very obvious reasons.  

So with vintage worsted weight yarn from My 8 Kids Farm and U.S. size 10.5 ChiaoGoo Twist with the SWIV360 cables knitting needles the adventure began.  I am so happy with the results so far that I might just find a current worsted weight yarn I like and tweak the pattern for a winter shoulder covering.  Tell me what you think of it. 

The second moment of Devine recycling came this morning.  A couple of months ago, another family member was doing some deep cleaning.  This gray box found its way into my knitting room. It has been taking up floor space ever since. I thought it was my taller half’s, but he said it was not his.  So I opened the box and found that our darling daughter had left it behind in 2008 when she left for grad school.  This very obviously was a little past the 10 year mark when anything left at home was up for grabs.  

I did fail to mention that at the time I was working on a huge paper and book pile and needed some place to put all the patterns. So I cleaned out the box and turned it around because darling daughter’s college course work needed different labels than the patterns.  I felt like I broke my brain by going through the 15 inch pile in about a hour.  I also filled another recycling bag to take out.  I can now see more table.  

I do love how the recycling fairies live by the model reduced, reuse and recycle. I an so glad that they came and helped find such grand solutions.  I am hoping to have the knitting / spinning room fully functional by the end of the year.  I would not mind additional visits from the recycling fairies.  

Cart Before and After

 Today I tackled my rolling cart.  It took about two hours.  Really, there was that much clutter making it unusable.  Don’t worry, I am not stopping at the cart, there is more organizing to do.  I have commissioned 3D printed signs for the yarn shelf’s, to design as he sees fit. My sticky notes just seem to fall off. Apparently sticky notes don’t like the orange oil that I use occasionally on the wood. I trust his judgement on this.  

Now back to the rolling cart.  The before picture.  The cart was not very useful this way. 

The after picture.  As you can see, the rolling cart is much more like I intended for it to look.  Almost all of my yarn bowls fit in one spot. I have found a pile of sticky notes, so I can cross that off my shopping list   I am still not sure if I will move the cones of warp and replace them with my stitch marker collections. I have a larger jar for knitting markers and a smaller jar for crochet markers.  That of course would be on the second shelf. The glass jars would be less likely for fall and break. 

Organization by Project Type

 Today I had the brilliant idea to organize my projects by type.  I have used sticky notes to mark which shelf the projects go to.  Shawls, I have more than one shelf that is full of never started shawls.  Surprisingly only one shelf for clothes like knitted tops.  Way too many advent kits to fit on one shelf, maybe I should divide them up by yarn weight and knit a couple of crayon sweaters. I like the advent kits because they are fun and full of surprises.  Only one shelf of specialty yarns, mohair and silk type yarn.  I really don’t think I will have enough shelf space left for hats, cowls and gloves.  I might just have to pair down those shawl shelves again.  

Did I mention I am also pairing down those yarns and kits that I don’t love anymore.  I have something special planned for those skeins and kits.  It’s a secret, so please don’t ask. 

I started after dinner only planing to do 2 shelves tonight.  Well oops, my bad.  I have only four shelves to finish. I actually have a few extra empty project bags too. For round one.  Round two will take me along the road of do I really want to complete this project.   I worked all the way up to bed time. Then it took me 2 hours to unwind.  

So it’s time to say good night.  

Unintended Cleaning

 I had a remote doctor’s appointment today.  The actual appointment takes about 5 minutes.  The doctor office requires that I call in 30 minutes early.  After my 30 minute wait, I self report my required data.  Tan it’s back to hold for at least 10 to 15 minutes.  Then it’s less than 5 minutes with the offices N.P.  For this they get to bill the insurance company for a 45 minute office visit, because they can prove that I was on line for 45 minutes.  

So the fidgety person I am started cleaning and organizing my knitting room.  I usually take my call in there for privacy.  Also I have a sweet set up for my phone on a stand with a power source, so I can charge my phone.  The stand is also good for hands free calls. 

I filled up one recycling bag and took it out.  Put away 2 bags of yarn.  Found all kinds of samples of yarn, which I am dividing between sock yarn and everything else.  I do know that have more bags of sample yarn in the room.  I just have to find it.  I am in the process of winding every mini skein up.  I have more sock yarn than anything else.  I even took my squirrel cage to the kitchen table so that I could watch the television and wind yarn at the same time. I am thinking tube socks for the sock yarn, only because I hate making heels and scarfs for the rest of the yarn.  Everything will be very colorful.   I might , what a I saying , I will need help in making socks for my favorite charity project. If you would like to make a pair or two let me know.  The sock yarn is in the blue wash tub. There will be a lot of ends to weave in    If you don’t like weaving in the ends , I can do that.  All the other yarn is in the brown bowl.  

Giving Back

 Today was my annual trip to Walmart to fill a shopping cart with toys for a reasonable price.  They do it with yearly sales this time of year on a wide variety of toys and sports equipment.  I shop carefully to try to include as many age groups as possible.  I always include at least one Elmo stuffed toy in memory of Eric, who was a big Elmo fan.  I only fill one cart  to keep within my budget and space in my car.  I always include at least 6 Soccer balls in a variety of sizes and colors, soccer is very popular here in Tucson.

Not surprisingly at all, no one wants to get behind me in the checkout line.  It takes a while to put a whole basket of toys on the conveyor belt. I am getting more efficient at packing the shopping cart. The cashiers always ask how big is my family?  Then I explain that I never removed the yearly budget line for toys.  I figured that since my kids are out of the house I might as well use that money for toys, anyway to help the kids in Pima County have a better holiday season.  

So after I check out and load my car up.  I head to the nearest Fire Station to drop off the toys.  This year it took 3 firefighters one trip to empty the entire back of my car.  I thanked them for collecting the toys to help the kids and they thanked me for bringing the toys and sporting equipment.  

All the helpers were doing a good job today.  Please consider being a helper this year for your favorite charity project.   Because of the economy, I personally feel the need will be greater this year.  This is my personal guesstimate since I don’t have any empirical data to back this up. I certainly hope I am wrong, but I don’t think so.

The Perils of Designing

 When I start a new design I have an idea in my mind of where I want things to go. Sometimes I even have a very crude outline of the design.  I have stitches in mind. This is all well and good until two weeks into working on a design element, it is not turning out the way I want it to be.  

Then I spend some time thinking about all aspects of the design. First and foremost. Can I turn it into a design element? Would I actually wear it with that particular design element? Can I further modify the design element to make it look better? Can it be blocked out? Would it look too wonky? Would anyone else want to wear it?  Sometimes this takes weeks. Sometimes just the length of a television show.  

All I know is that 2 weeks worth of stitching comes out in about 40 minutes.  This includes winding the yarn into balls. Sighs! Then I pick up the next yarn and try something totally random and different.  

If at first you don’t secede, skip the chocolate cake. Pick up your yarn and needles to try again.  With  the hopes that it will come out even better than the first design.  

Enter the design world at your own risk. Please leave your egos at the door.  

A Fantastic Day

 Today was one of the best days of my year.  My friends and I at Old Pueblo Knitting Guild were very busy knitting this year.  I was very excited and privileged to be able to deliver a trunk full of hand knit hats and scarfs.  Along with blankets, school supplies, and socks.   I was very excited to deliver everything to the Flowing Wells School District for their Clothing Bank. The staff was so excited that they emptied the back of the car for me.  I think they already had plans for most of the hats and scarfs.  

Holiday Gifts

 My holiday gift creation was in full swing this afternoon.  I was supposed to be resting, however I figured since I was sitting down while working that was the same as resting.  I got one set of gifts completely finished and in a box waiting for December.  Another one only partially finished due to broken and missing pieces from the kit. A trip to the craft store is in order.   By the way they wanted a review on the kit, I gave it a one star.  I very rarely do that.

I also spent the morning with friends. It’s always nice hanging out with friends.  Since this was my crafty group I took my oak shawl and added a few more rounds.  

A First for Me

 Today I had to have a root canal. Normally they make me cringe and then I get all tense. Making the experience trying.  Today I did something different, I started taking slow deep and relaxing breaths.  I kept taking slow deep breaths. It seemed like just minutes later the dentist was pulling out all the gear. I had actually slept through the root canal.  I’ve got to say that was the best root canal that I have ever had. I highly recommend sleeping through your next root canal. Also the dentist did not mind at all.  I think it made it easier for both of us.  

Also not a drop of knitting was done today. I promptly fell asleep after dinner.  I will have to try again tomorrow.  I am calling it quits for the night.  

My Tunisian Crochet Shawl

 Tonight I am working on a one of a kind shawl for myself.  With the work I did tonight, I have enough of the next section done to show off a little bit of the silk.  The orange and green silk work well together.  The orange and green combination helps bring out the color of the gold Llama yarn.  

You might have noticed that I filled in the corners using some of the techniques that I learned in the Tunisian hat class.  I have still not finished that hat yet.  I am getting closer.  I just have to be at full spoons to work on that project.  

Since I am giving myself some grace, I will not be writing a pattern for this shawl for many reasons.  The first being that I have not kept notes on the project as I have been working on it. The second being that this is a stash dive project, all the yarn in the project has been discontinued.  Third, I just don’t have the spoons to do the hours of back end work to get a pattern out.  Forth and foremost is that I wants one of a kind pice of wearable art that no one expect me has.  This is the artist in me speaking out.  Last but not least is that I am using some of the most expensive yarn in my stash for this project. I am at least $150 USD in and I am only halfway through.  I like to make my patterns affordable and this one is in the I am not affordable for the majority of knitters.  

So it’s time to take a peak.   

R & R

 I am taking a few days of R & R.  See you on the flip side.  

Be productive for me.  

Shiny New Things

 If you are anything like me, you like shiny new things. For me this includes yarn. Sometimes I am right in the middle of a project. I have the rhythm of the pattern down pat. My audio book is playing.  Then just in an instant I notice a skein of yarn.  It is saying hug me. Cuddle me. Make me into something beautiful.  Put down that project, just find a bag for it and finish it later.  However, I have a very bad track record of repeating this cycle over and over again.  

I am currently in a cycle to finish UFO’s.  I was really excited when I made it through a whole basket of UFO’s.  Then started organizing the knitting room.  I found 2 more baskets and a very large bag of UFO’s.  I have since made it through most of the huge bag. I am also slowly moving through other projects.  So with the exception of car knitting, crocheting or class work. I am trying very hard not to start more projects.  

I also need to take photos and log them in my Ravelry account.  Then I will have at least 4 bags of finished projects will leave the house.  

I guess it is time to go back to pencil and paper for my to do list.  Here is my attempt from 2023. I am still going to try again.

Making Progress Everywhere

 My body is still trying to adjust to more activity due to cardiac rehab. I am finding that I had adjusted to less activity better than I thought. My calorie intake had adjusted to my activity levels.  I have just sent that out the window.  This has lead to eating at odd times and falling back asleep because my body is still trying to heal and manage calories.  I find that I can not eat as much as I use to.  I got up at 6 am for breakfast and then got sleepy. I slept until noon.  I had really intended to be at the mall around 10am for my walk.  I did make it there by 1:30pm. Take today for instance, I tried walking at the nearby outdoor mall.  I have not yet been cleared for graded walking so no walking around the block yet. I found that after 20 minutes of the 40 planned minutes I was very tired. I was walking too fast. I know this because my mileage was too high.  I have to figure out a way to walk slower and obviously it was not my current audio book.  I guess that I will have to ask what beat of music I should be walking to and creat a playlist. 

In Tunisian crochet, my Skill Builder Hat by aklori designs has picked up its pace.  I finished round 11 of the crown.  I am now have begun round 2 of the body.  Having never made a top down hat before has left me wondering when the body will turn into a tube. I can say with certainty that it will not occur in the first few rounds.  The body is the easiest part of the hat so far.  The body is also much faster to crochet.  

Time for tonight’s progress picture. When it is finished, if the orange is not the right color for me, I have the perfect friend to gift it to. It is starting to look very orange to me. 

Happy Halloween

 I don’t know about your trick or treaters post pandemic, we have had noticeably less trick or treaters.  Since I tend to offer candy and non candy items for the children I have found that they love the following items in order of what goes faster.  

1. Pencils and erasers. #2’s go the fastest followed by colored pencils, lastly pencils that are anything else. The animal erasers that you can switch the parts around, go the fastest. I never buy them around Halloween, but other times in the year when they’re on sale.

2. Candy - it does not matter which kind, just not marshmallows. 

3. Crayons  and bubbles for the younger children. 

4. 3D printing errors and benches.  All the benches come from printers that have left the house.  

5. Various Halloween items. 

This year to get some extra ice packs out of the house, I gave away sets to parents who were with their kids.  I still have one set left and it comes with its own canvas bag. Let me know if you want it.  

Have a good weekend.  

Boo-boo Fixed

 I had to rip out row 9  of the Skill Builder Hat by aklori Designs and crochet the whole row again.  I have to admit that the row looks better than trying to patch things up.  I am just not that good at Tunisian crochet yet. So I went with my strength and ripped the row out. By the way I prefer ripping out Tunisian crochet over knitting just because I don’t have to be as careful.  I just put a stitch marker where I want to stop and rip away.  Then I got to row 10 the hardest row for me so far. It required dropping 2 stitch markers to accommodate a change in the pattern.  As you can see from the picture below I am starting to add the 2 rows of curves for the medium size hat.  It took 1 1/2 television shows to get through row 10.  I think I should be calling them rounds, because I am crocheting in the round. Rows just sounds better to me right now.  

I have one more row to crochet before I start the body.  That sounds very easy after rows 10 and 11.  Just the Tunisian knit stitch and the Tunisian simple stitch for a lot of rows.  The good news is that I will be down to 1 stitch marker.  Then I get to the brim and have to learn 2 new to me stitches.  Wish me luck.  

Tonight’s progress.  You can see the first row of scallops that I added tonight.

It’s been a very hard day on my body so I am calling it an early night. 

One Booboo

 I have found 1 boo-boo on round 9 of the Skill Builder Hat by Aklori designs.  Tonight I just gathered up the stitches and put a stitch marker to hold it together.  Tomorrow I will go to the back side of the work and pick up the stitch.  I am hoping that the repair work will be similar enough to just pick up the stitches and put them in there proper places.  After all I have over 26 years of experience and people hand me their projects to fix all the time.  If it comes down to the worst case scenario, I will just take out round 9 and fix it.  I have really started to get my rhythm down on the crown work.  

Without further ado, here is the current picture. 

Not So Visible Progress

 In the not so visible progress I managed to start the next round of a bespoke shawl for me.  I am only using “luxury yarn” from my stash.  I am 3 full skeins in with skeins 4 and 5 currently being added.  So far I have used a merino and silk blend for 2 skeins.  One skein of llama.  Currently being added are 2 skeins of 100% silk yarn.  The center panel is Tunisian Simple Stitch.  The first 2 color blocks are a half double crochet.  The current round is Tunisian crochet in the round. Honestly it went much faster once the stitches were picked up off the half double crochet round.  I am not sure how big it will become.  Whether or not, I will add more yarn to the project. Or call it quits once I go through the current skeins that I have picked out.  Only time will tell, and of course more crocheting.  

I added a couple of more rows to a charity scarf tonight.  All progress stopped when the television shows became too interesting. 

Of course 30 minutes of house work and organizing required a 2 hour nap.  The antibiotics are just zapping my spoon level to the basement.  I even sat down to sort the silverware.  I have to say it was a little awkward, although everything was put in the proper place.  

My new Apple Watch is a bit more jumpy than I expected.  Putting away the plates triggered an alarm for loud noise. Excuse me have they ever had a baby crying in their ears nonstop? Smashing a bug that landed on my arm,  elicited an alarm for “did you fall? Do you need medical assistance?”. Cleaning and organizing has had multiple alarms for me to sit down immediately and rest.  At this point I’m not even sure if I bought a watch or a portable mother hen.  I have been using smart watches for a long while.  I have never had one this jumpy.  Of course my last watch refused to give me the temperature in Fahrenheit, one day it decided all it would do with Celsius no matter what I did. When it started dying I gave up brand loyalty and switched to an Apple Watch.  Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make the watch less jumpy? I would love to hear your thoughts.  

Visible Progress

 Today I made some very visible progress on finishing my UFOs. With only one project left in the bag, the big bag was empty,  I emptied the project from the big bag and placed the project in a smaller bag. Going through the yarn in the sheep bag, since it was not super wash yarn I put it in with the weaving yarn .  

For knitting projects completed today, there were 2 charity projects completed. One child’s hat.  One scarf for a teenager.  Now they are headed to a pile of finished projects waiting to be photographed.  Then off to be used by my favorite knitting charity. The clothing bank at the Flowing Wells School District. If you would like to help the Flowing Wells School District, just go to their website and click the donation button for the activity of your choice. For residents in Arizona, the money you donate can be taken off your taxes. Please contact your accountant for details.

You might have noticed the pin on the front of the larger knitting bag. It is in support of Ukraine, with the colors of the Ukrainian flag and national flower. Please remember the heroes in Ukraine. They did not ask for this war, but they will finish it and win..

A Salvage Mission

 This is the yarn from the 7 times failed hat project. The yarn has been in time out for about a week. Of course the idea popped into my head after dinner. With not enough time to finish it before tomorrow in honor of Malabrigo Day celebrating 20 years in one of the most difficult business to become successful in. 

 If you follow my blog on a regular basis you will know the trouble this yarn got me into.  Now I have a perfect solution for this lovely yarn.  A striped scarf using Malabrigo , I think it is Caprino, but don’t quote me on this. I got this yarn in a class with no labels.  I am using a 6 mm Tunisian Crochet hook. I am doing 5 rows of Tunisian Simple Stitch. Since I have not yet learned to invisibly hide the yarn carrying, I am using a similar method that I use in knitting.  I am getting better as I tweak each row.  I am on row 15 of actual rows right now, so that would be half way through row 8 in Tunisian Crochet.  As you can see from the picture below, the yarn is very happy in this new pattern.  This is what the yarn wants to be.  I think I will add a bit of fringe on the ends since my side edges are not curling.  

Round 7 Completed

 It took an entire hour.  I have completed round 7 of The Skill Builder Hat by aklori designs.  The piece is still flat. The rows look fairly symmetrical. I took the pattern one repeat at a time and made sure it was as perfect as I could make it before I went on to the next repeat.  That is why it took an hour for this round.  I am happy with the results so far. So it was well worth my time. Forward progress has been made. 

!! Eureka !!

 Sometimes, I personally find that when I frog a pattern too many times, the yarn picks up bad karma.  So I switched the color way and yarn out.  Tonight, I used Tunisian crochet on the Skill Builder Hat by aklori designs along with the yarn Born This Way and Amber dyed by Twisted Ambitions Yarn in Wicked DK.  I am using Amber as the main color. Born this way is the contrasting color.  I changed out all the stitch markers too using a red mushroom as the start / end of the round like I do in knitting.  After all red does mean Stop. Yes, a hard stop.  I am going old school with a Post it note pad and pen to count the rounds. That way if I forget to move the wasbi tape, I don’t repeat a row by mistake.  The first 4 rows are now complete.  Wish me luck, I have seven more rows to go before the pattern changes focus. This is my first crochet hat ever, so it is my current challenge project.  

I need to stop rambling. So without further ado, rows 1 through 4.