Baby, you've got a stew going!

Chart of the afghan square I am currently working on!
It is the 2nd of the Sherlock blanket I had mentioned in a previous blog post!

When I began knitting, I couldn't understand a pattern.

I was scared that every little thing was wrong. It looked funny. Why was there a hole in that thing? I'm horrible and nothing is ever going to look any good.

Of course, I was just starting out and unless you are some special wunderkind, everyone is like that!
I finished a project. Time to move on to the next one.

I spent the beginning of my knitting life picking a new technique to conquer.

• Cables
• Blankets
• Toe-up socks
• Steaking
• colourwork
• lace (still working hard on this one!)
• Reading those crazy charts that look like a completely different language

I'm an intelligent woman who "suffers" from a learning disability.
I say suffer in that term as I don't really suffer at all. My brain just processes information in a different way which takes a bit longer to get things. But once I get it I am on fire.

The way my brain functions explains why more complex lace patterns make me cry. I want to do them so badly, but my brain isn't quite there yet.  I've got a stew going. I have the tools and the want. I have attempted to try, but the brain needs a little more time to simmer around that specific technique.

Baby, I've got a stew going!

CHARTS! As you can see in the above photo, I have gotten to the point where I can read a chart and amazing things can happen.

For those of you not in the know, before the charts there are often written instructions to complete the chart.

When I started chart work, its scared the heck out of me! It looked like a foreign language. But I wanted to conquer the chart. So I took both at the same time to help me figure it out. Gradually I walked away from the written instructions to the chart. I would force myself to chart only with the occasional look at written instructions to make sure I understood what I was doing.

Along the way I learned an awesome technique from my friend Haley of Knit-o-matic. Colour coding awesomeness. Now I don't do it every time, but for a crazy chart, colours are your friend. THANKS HALEY!

So what have I learned? With a little bit of this and that. Let it work bit by bit, I can now get a chart stew on!
I can't look at written instructions anymore! To which I say HUZZAH!


Please note that the title is in reference to Arrested Development. Same can be said for HUZZAH! Seriously if you haven't watched Arrested Development, please do. It can be found on Netflix!

Tallulah's Great Afghan Adventure....part one

So when I left the blog previously, I had made a plan forward that both excited and inspired me.

That  was then.

In less than two hours, that plan was scratched and gone.

So my indecision is still going strong. But I have moved forward with the new, new plan from a couple of days ago.

I have decided to participate in a MKAL/ Read-along.
What on earth are you talking about?
A MKAL = Mystery knit-along. Someone creates a pattern and releases it over a period of time. Usually it is a way of getting buzz for the designer.

Read-along is kind of self explanatory.

So this one is a Sherlock Holmes themed along. Every month for a year a pattern will be released for an afghan square. The design is inspired by a Sherlock Holmes story and we read the story to go along with the square.

I had planned to read some Sherlock Holmes a while ago and this is giving me the impedes to actually read it. Books are on route to the library right now!

It started in March, and 5 of the designs are out right now. So I'm behind and inspired to keep going (I have only finished one mystery knit-along ever:see rat from last blog post!).

Here is the progress as of today:

All yarns are Malabrigo Worsted
Top: Clue one in progress "Sunset"
Bottom l-r: "Fuchsia," "Stone Blue," "emerald, " and "intense."

Well I'm a bit farther along than that, but you get the idea. Each one of these will use approximately 200 yards of yarn and the size of the square is huge.

I think I can finish this along! One a month!

To be continued.........

Inspiration and indecision

INSPIRATION!

So where did it come from?

I grew up with a Bubby who used to knit and crochet when we were kids growing up in the 70s and 80s. She mostly crocheted us blankets in weird coloured acrylic.  Sometimes she knit us things like mittens and balaclavas. My father has taken ownership of the blanket that Bubby made for me and the one that was my sisters.   The other thing that we all remember is the crocheted animals that she would make. I still have one that sits in my room on my shelf.

This month one of the Harry Potter Knit Crochet House Cup (That's for a whole other blog post! But you can find the group on Ravelry!) prompts was to craft something that is inspired by someone who influenced your crafting. So I made a knitted creature.

This was a MKAL by Rabbit Hole Knits and has been named Rats!
This guy is actually really cute! Rats are misunderstood!

The inspiration is this cat:

The bottom is the cat that Bubby made in the 70s so its almost as old as I am.
It came with the pins for the face and the yarn is squeaky to the touch!

I didn't learn to knit until well after my Bubby passed away in 1992. She never really knit or crocheted in the end as she had Alzheimer's. But I remember her crafting. 

Often when talking to my Aunt, she reminds me that I seem to have caught my crafting bug from Bubby. I always knew it.

INDECISION!

The biggest problem now is that I want to start something, I have no idea what to start. 

Logical people will try to finish what is sitting in the to be finished pile. I am actually working on something right now from that pile. But I don't want to. I wanted to last night, but I have decided I need to embark on something else.

I started 4 projects yesterday and each one of them was taken off the needles and yarn wound up again.

I had to work on THAT WIP (WIP = Work In Progress! Get your mind out of the gutter!) and nothing else. But I couldn't THAT WIP!  I tore apart and organized looking for it. Finally I found it. Where I had put after I went to sleep and had been asleep for an hour or so.  I've been working on it on and off today.

BUT I WANT TO START SOMETHING NEW! So I have decided that a compromise is in order! When I'm at  home, I will work on the new project & I leave the WIP at the office and finish it slowly but surely.

But that's the plan today. Tonight it may change.

So long and thanks for all the fish!

What does this title mean?

Well in the midst of getting the mojo back, I became inspired by a friends fantastic blanket of knitted fish. The fish are a quick way to feel accomplished.

I have talked about it in a previous post.

I chose to name the blanket: So long and thanks for all the fish Blanket.

THE PLAN
Each fish is approximately 5 inches long and 3 inches wide. Based on the size of my friends blanket, the length and height of her fish, and how many fish she made, I have decided that for now I am planning 300 fish!  That will make a 12x25 fish! 

The numbers may change if I really want it to be bigger or smaller, but this is the current plan.

The yarn I am using is sport weight. Sport weight yarn for those of you who are wondering is yarn that sits between fingering (sock yarn) and worsted weight. I had planned to go home and do it in worsted weight yarn but the sport weight was in front of me for the I need to start it now factor.

Here was the inspiration yarn:

This is approximately half of the yarn left from the inspiration yarn.
Dragonfly Fibres Damsel Save the Tatas

The plan is to stay within the colour theme. So pink, raspberry, purple, maybe grey will be the make up of the fish.

The question of grey is that I'm considering using that as the seaming/boarder colour. I'm not sure if I want other greys in the blanket as well.

So as you can see I have plans, but they are a bit loosey goosey. I don't mind that at all. It helps the creative process of the blanket. And hey, who knows how long the fish journey will take. My decisions a year from now could be different.

You can follow along on the right of the sidebar to see where I am on my fish count!

Knitting mojo may have been found!

The election happened just over a month ago. Leading up to the election I worked my regular job and then went straight to the campaign office.

BEYOND TIRED!!!

 

 

 

I could barely concentrate on anything with my needles. The WIP pile I have is proof in that. I am a very prolific knitter and I love to push my crafting to my limits. I affectionately refer to myself as adrenaline knitter!

 

Hence this stoppage in the yarn department baffled me more than it would.

Of course I'm tired and pushed myself probably more than I should have. I'm not as young as I once was.

 

The road to normalcy seems within reach even if I'm not  quite there yet.

 

1. Sleep is coming to me at a reasonable time. I also feel rested when I wake up
2. When I wake up I don't spend another hour laying in bed.
3. I'm getting more things done at work
4. My capacity for everything: people, crafting, work, sleep, even exercise and eating, seems to be returning.
5. I actually have completed a project over 400 yards of yarn and am close to finishing a second project of a similar size.
6. I'm plotting projects that will be huge when I actually do them in the fall!

 

How do  you start crafting things, when you can barely think?

For me smallish things that I can complete in a short period of time. This way I feel a sense of accomplishment!

But I like to do bigger projects and I want to do things I love

That issue was answered when looking for inspiration on Ravelry*. Thanks to looking at a friends spectacular blanket, I was inspired.

 

The fish blanket project began:

The first school of So long and thanks for all the fish blanket.
The yarn is Dragonfly fibres Damsel sportweight in Save the Tatas!

 The yarn came from my successful trip to Atlanta in April! It was with me and I frogged* it in order to make fish right then and there.

More fish were made shortly there after:

Cascade 128 sport superwash.

The plotting of the colour scheme. It made me happy!

And so began the journey back to the knitting mojo!

The other project that has been finished needs to be washed and blocked (needs to be made to look more pretty!). Once it's done, I will display.

I also plan to keep a gadget on the side to connect to the "So long and thanks for all the fish blanket project," which will take years to complete.

 

 

 

 

 

*Ravelry is an amazing resource for fibre people. It is facebook with an amazing database for yarn and patterns. Frogged: Ripping of project from the sound of a frog "rip-it! rip-it!"

Fixing the problems!

We all make mistakes right?

Some are huge and some not so huge. Sometimes the mistake seems huge but it really isn't.

Most of the time it's how you attack fixing mistakes.

Knitting is a perfect example.

For some odd reason I didn't finish the row. I was bored, distracted, tired, whatever! Without thinking I shoved it into the bag and brought it home with me.

Wouldn't you know in the travel time the needle slipped and dropping of stitches ensued. Here is how the mind deals with this now:

1. Initial freak out!OMG! I why was I stupid enough not to finish the row!
2. Assess the damage!  OMG its a disaster!
3. Assess the damage! Second opinion of my own is good and still a big pain in the butt!
4. Try to fix it without knitting back or the use of a crochet hook.
5. Realise you are making it worse. JUST KNIT BACK!
6. Knit back and all is right with the world!

Mistake in midst of being fixed. It's not that bad honestly!

One spends all this time freaking out over the smallest little thing that was a:preventable and b: really not nearly as bad as one thinks. Really most things in life are like that. If I can triumph the psychology of the yarn mistake, maybe, just maybe I'm one step closer to fixing real life mistakes.

What's on the needles

Howdy friends!

So how does one be consistent on a blog?
Well for starters actually blogging would be a great start!

So here we go!

WHAT'S ON THE NEEDLES?

 I am and always have been an ADHD crafter. I can never have just one project going.  Lately I have been starting all sorts of things and not been able to complete anything. 

Background:  I spent 6 weeks at my regular job AND working on an election campaign doing Data entry. As one of my friends explained my creative knitting mojo was gone from doing Data all the time. Also I was mentally and emotionally exhausted.

Tried as I might I couldn't get past the heel of some amazing sock patterns. That shawl, smooshy, easy but no not today.

I have begun the return to completion in baby steps. Inspired by a friends massive fish blanket, I began knitting my own fish for my own blanket. They took no time at all.

Next I made some felted bowls. They took maybe a day to do each one.

Then came the big issue. I have a swap partner and I have to make something for her. Also the group I participate on line needed something with a minimum of 450 yards of yarn.

ACK!!!!!!

I toiled over what to do. I plotted and planned. Planned and plotted! Finally I chose 2 projects. Both inspired by Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

1st up I chose the Hitchhiker by Martina Behm (a paid pattern). It is in a beautifully smooshy madelinetosh Light in magenta (Bought at my LYS!). I used a 3.5mm needle on the project, not the 2.5 recommended for the yarn. I know from experience that this yarn is a bloomer! So the larger needle (which is what I had on hand at the office when I started it) was what I used. It is great! I love how it feels and I may have even been willing to go up another needle size or 2. 

I started it on July 3rd and we shall see where it goes to. I hope to finish it this weekend so it can be sent on it's merry way.

Here is a photo of it with my other shawl I will talk about shortly:

Hitchhiker is on the bottom and Trillian is on top

My second project is Trillian by Martina Behm (another paid pattern). This is the pattern that will be my over 450yard project. Yarn choice in fingering weight yarns can be difficult as many skeins don't get that high on the list. I chose Nerd Girl Yarns Bounce & Stomp. It is 463 yards of awesome sock yarn. It is my favorite yarn base by this indie dyer (see link to shop on the right!).  The yarn colour comes from her Doctor Who: Who's your Doctor yarn and fibre club so at the moment its kind of limited edition. This colour way is inspired by Madame Vastra called "Stingy, yet tasty all the same." The colour is so amazing and the pooling is fantastic. I was enjoying this so much, I only wanted to knit this. But I need to get the Hitchhiker done first.

Trillian in Nerd Girl Yarns Bounce & Stomp "Stingy, yet tasty all the same."

So I want to knit big things again! Sort of. I hope that once these are finished, I will continue to build the knitting mojo momentum.

Please note: LYS= Local yarn store - Knit-o-matic (link in the sidebar). All patterns unless otherwise stated are available on Ravelry, a free on-line amazing tool for knitter, crocheters and spinners. 

Here we go again!

So again, I have disappeared and now I'm back with the plan to write more. I have lots to share and crazy thoughts in my head.
So today I'm beginning again.

NEW RULES!
1. This will primarily be a blog about yarn I like a project I'm working on or some such.
2. I'm going to do a review of yarns I use and projects. I will figure out the rating system shortly.
3. I often work through my issues via craft and so there will be a bit of that in here as well.
4. I'm a political junky, and I won't do that here. I think I will be creating another blog for that, which also may never happen.


So are you sitting comfortably? Then we'll begin!