So, where were we…oh, yeah, trying to stay on top of posting updates on YoP (Year of Projects)…..
? still working on some of the itemized list…yup
? added new items…..yup
? changed/adapted features of itemized….yup
? finished anything…..yup
? posted picture(s) of finished…..not completely but working on it…..
And…to help keep me in a line since I am concurrently working on:
-Graduation present/shawl (due for January 2012)
-Christmas gifties
-Stash reduction (and stash meaning yarn/fiber/fabric/SIP’s/WIP’s/queue’d items)
I have signed onto another group called Stashdown A-to-Z where each month will be the next letter of the alphabet, goal being to work on/complete projects beginning with that letter in order to whittle down the perpetually enlarging queue (and also to complete any WIP’s with that letter designation, since they after all were queue’d at one point)….from now through Nov.30th is “A” – that is not to say we cannot work on anything but items beginning with “A”, because you can…..the hope being that with focusing on items beginning with a specific letter, you hopefully will actually complete them.
So, with checking my queue’d items, as well as what I had listed for my YoP, and yes even digging in my in-the-works bin(s), pulled several items beginning with “A” to the front of the list – the Alaine socks are now top of the heap, with (Snelle) Annabelle a close second. The rest of the list got re-shuffled as well, with several small gifties being mixed in, as well as the addition of several more such as the Slinky socks (football and hockey projects), as well as one that will take a bit more time than a month so will get worked on as I decide on color placement – Jigsaw Afghan, for which I am using leftover bits of sock yarns as well as some skeins that have fallen into the ‘What Was I Thinking’ category…….
Any-who…need to get going, as my Alaine’s need a partial frogging as I am not thrilled with the heel treatment, so am changing it to suite me (and re-picking up stitches works much better in the broad light of day than in the evening…). Here’s to getting a little more done, a little more blogging posted, catch up on reading a few more blogs, a little more writing accomplished, a few more recipes tried before the holidays are here, and a few directions to turn my attention towards so that I am not so sad when my children leave again (this in particular as one son and his wife are being stationed in Europe, leaving shortly and I won’t get to see them before they fly)……
..until the next time, I remain, that very busy frog hiding out in the wilds of Maine…..
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
...just because
...not an update, just a little on-the-side post of goings-on...
For the month of October, we are having some kind of jumbled up weather....torential rains at the beginning of the month, frosty overnight temps, and high 70/low 80s during the day ! Frost means I can harvest the grapes (we have wild grape vines growing outside the house), so have picked enough to make a batch of wine -- need to pick these early in the day while it is still cool, otherwise you are competing with the bees and the yellow jacks are not too keen on sharing the fruit with you. Any-who, did pick enough (need 15 pounds of fruit at a minimum, eventual yield is 5 gallons of wine), have left the rest of the grapes for the birds and yes, the bees too!....good thing, because I noticed that some of the vines (that we thought we have trimmed all of the "escapees" from the arbor) were growing at the top of the lilac bushes -- ten feet up in the air and what do I see...deep purple mini globes in assorted bunches....nope, not going after those...lol....and with all the grapes that have ripened and fallen off the vines, it smells very wine-y in that corner of the yard.
So, what else is new....hmmmm....the Dempsey Challenge was this past weekend, with the bicycle tour passing within a mile up the hill from my house, into the midst of which I had to pass thruough in order to pick up my daughter from her Girl Scout camping trip that returned Sunday morning. And if you are wondering, yes, Patrick Dempsey did ride, and from what I heard got mobbed by fans whenever he stopped at any of the rest areas (the Challenge had a 10-mile, 25-mile, 50-mile, and 100-mile routes) -- no, I did not stop to see him, despite being a fan. Maine is home to (and by home, I am not distinguishing between permanent home/vacation home/family member's home) a number of celebrities (actors/actresses, artists, writers, former Presidents), all of whom value their privacy, and who can find it here if they choose to retreat into anonymity....
And, with it being Columbus Weekend, the last big push of tourists (at least until the snow flies) is for what we call "Leaf Peeper" Season when you are quite apt to find yourself driving behind someone driving either erratically side-to-side or slower than the posted speed limit as they point out to their companions the myriad colors on the hillside or reflected in the streams. I am fortunate in that I live so close to a wooded area that I can go walking thru the woods to enjoy the colors up-close-and-personal, if you will.
Other than that...I leave you with a bit of eye candy...one of the little surprises that I found one morning as the frost was melting away.....
For the month of October, we are having some kind of jumbled up weather....torential rains at the beginning of the month, frosty overnight temps, and high 70/low 80s during the day ! Frost means I can harvest the grapes (we have wild grape vines growing outside the house), so have picked enough to make a batch of wine -- need to pick these early in the day while it is still cool, otherwise you are competing with the bees and the yellow jacks are not too keen on sharing the fruit with you. Any-who, did pick enough (need 15 pounds of fruit at a minimum, eventual yield is 5 gallons of wine), have left the rest of the grapes for the birds and yes, the bees too!....good thing, because I noticed that some of the vines (that we thought we have trimmed all of the "escapees" from the arbor) were growing at the top of the lilac bushes -- ten feet up in the air and what do I see...deep purple mini globes in assorted bunches....nope, not going after those...lol....and with all the grapes that have ripened and fallen off the vines, it smells very wine-y in that corner of the yard.
So, what else is new....hmmmm....the Dempsey Challenge was this past weekend, with the bicycle tour passing within a mile up the hill from my house, into the midst of which I had to pass thruough in order to pick up my daughter from her Girl Scout camping trip that returned Sunday morning. And if you are wondering, yes, Patrick Dempsey did ride, and from what I heard got mobbed by fans whenever he stopped at any of the rest areas (the Challenge had a 10-mile, 25-mile, 50-mile, and 100-mile routes) -- no, I did not stop to see him, despite being a fan. Maine is home to (and by home, I am not distinguishing between permanent home/vacation home/family member's home) a number of celebrities (actors/actresses, artists, writers, former Presidents), all of whom value their privacy, and who can find it here if they choose to retreat into anonymity....
And, with it being Columbus Weekend, the last big push of tourists (at least until the snow flies) is for what we call "Leaf Peeper" Season when you are quite apt to find yourself driving behind someone driving either erratically side-to-side or slower than the posted speed limit as they point out to their companions the myriad colors on the hillside or reflected in the streams. I am fortunate in that I live so close to a wooded area that I can go walking thru the woods to enjoy the colors up-close-and-personal, if you will.
Other than that...I leave you with a bit of eye candy...one of the little surprises that I found one morning as the frost was melting away.....
Monday, October 3, 2011
updating the update
...yeah, I know, that sounds a bit odd but I suppose it is no worse than saying a round circle.... In any case, do have a few pictures for you, though I will warn you color representation via my cellphone is not accurate.
First off, these started out as the Water-to-Sky anklets, but then because I found myself just too tired to concentrate on directions and/or chart, got changed to a very basic/plain summer anklet (there is maybe three rounds of the charted pattern, which because of the color changes in the yarn, just do not show up and I was not interested in frogging a mohair-based yarn to remove them...and yeah, even though I was a bit more with it by the second sock, repeated the "error" in order to keep them consistent)....they are wonderful in my hiking sandles, coming up just high enough so that the back strap does not rub into the back of my ankle.
As well with being too tired to think straight and wanting just really not thought-heavy things to work on, managed to finish these two little washcloths -- this is actually supposed to be a bright apple green. The leaf one was a real quick knit, started it one evening and bound off the next. The other is trying for a quilt block effect.
And finally, while reading some of my Yahoo group mail a few weeks back, had come across someone talking about Cat Bordhi's new take on heels, including a YouTube link to see it in action. In essence, it is a variation of a short-row heel that uses NO wraps (something I mess up on consistently).....Welll, after watching the video, said "I can do that", and immediately cast on for a new pair of socks in order to do so (all my other socks-in-progress are past the Afterthought heel stage, so could not use them). Have been dragging this pair with me for the past week-and-a-half everywhere I went where I had knitting time -- as of last night, I have about 1-1.5 inches left of ribbing on sock-B remaining to be done. And if I have not said so yet, absolutely LOVE the looks of this heel as well as the fit (and this is un-blocked worsted weight wool socks) -- these have 4 wedges, so will be interested to see how well they hold up.
So, there you have it....an update that is actually fiber-related in it's entirety...lol. Until the next time.....
First off, these started out as the Water-to-Sky anklets, but then because I found myself just too tired to concentrate on directions and/or chart, got changed to a very basic/plain summer anklet (there is maybe three rounds of the charted pattern, which because of the color changes in the yarn, just do not show up and I was not interested in frogging a mohair-based yarn to remove them...and yeah, even though I was a bit more with it by the second sock, repeated the "error" in order to keep them consistent)....they are wonderful in my hiking sandles, coming up just high enough so that the back strap does not rub into the back of my ankle.
As well with being too tired to think straight and wanting just really not thought-heavy things to work on, managed to finish these two little washcloths -- this is actually supposed to be a bright apple green. The leaf one was a real quick knit, started it one evening and bound off the next. The other is trying for a quilt block effect.
And finally, while reading some of my Yahoo group mail a few weeks back, had come across someone talking about Cat Bordhi's new take on heels, including a YouTube link to see it in action. In essence, it is a variation of a short-row heel that uses NO wraps (something I mess up on consistently).....Welll, after watching the video, said "I can do that", and immediately cast on for a new pair of socks in order to do so (all my other socks-in-progress are past the Afterthought heel stage, so could not use them). Have been dragging this pair with me for the past week-and-a-half everywhere I went where I had knitting time -- as of last night, I have about 1-1.5 inches left of ribbing on sock-B remaining to be done. And if I have not said so yet, absolutely LOVE the looks of this heel as well as the fit (and this is un-blocked worsted weight wool socks) -- these have 4 wedges, so will be interested to see how well they hold up.
So, there you have it....an update that is actually fiber-related in it's entirety...lol. Until the next time.....
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