The Art of Planning: The Beginning of the Countdown!

"Plans are nothing: planning is everything." - Dwight D. Eisenhower

7 Days 'till Sock Summit!

Started planning for Sock Summit today. I always make lists when I plan. It really is the only way I can get anything done. I never used to think of myself as distractable, but I'm finding over the years that I am very distractable. Here's an example:

I'm about to do the dishes so I can start my breakfast and coffee. When I have my breakfast and coffee, I surf the internet, check my emails and then I'm ready to start the day. I can't do any of that when I have a messy kitchen.

So I head off into the kitchen and start the dishes. Before I begin, I need to grab a paper towel because I notice the faucet is in desperate need of a wipe down. Not only does it need to get wiped down, but I suddenly notice that behind the faucet there is some wiping that needs to be done there.

Rather than start the dishes, I go to get a paper towel to take care of the faucet, but I find that the counter is cluttered and there are little crumbs that seem to have escaped me the day before. I wipe the crumbs off and tidy up the counter.

I go to throw the paper towel away and mean to get another, so I can go back to the sink, but I drop it and it falls to the ground. I go to pick it up and notice that, somehow, a strawberry slice escaped from last night's prep of some fruit salad, and it isn't pretty. This needs to be taken care of STAT.

After a bit of scrubbing, I finally go to throw this paper towel away. I flick the trash bin's lid up to dispose of it and am revealed of the horrors that lurk on the inside surface of the lid. This cannot stand. All other issues are forgotten as I try desperately to remove the stains that have been secretly amassing on the inside of this seemingly innocent lid.

Now, this domino effect continues until:

a. I realize my original intention, and I force myself to stop and go to complete

the original task, or

b. four hours pass and I'm a huddled mass in a fetal position on my (clean) floor

as I suffer from food and caffine deprevation. (A sad sight, indeed.)

In an effort to avoid this scenario, I have learned to make lists.

So on the top of my list was to get some audio books for the very long flight to Oregon. I think flying from Massachussetts to Oregon is just as long as flying over to England. I flew to England once, and it was a long flight. Typically I plan on having some well chosen audio clips for a trip, but in the last days' rush to pack, these things never get taken care of, and I end up taking whatever might be on my Ipod at the moment. Knowing this is how I roll, I put it on the top of the list.

I grabbed the second installment of the Twilight Series, New Moon. I also grabbed various podcasts of "This American Life" as well as some works from Neil Gaiman.

Another thing on my list is trying to decide what knitting I should bring for the flight, but am afraid to take anything on a cable needle since it might be looked at as more dangerous than regular knitting needles. Right now, my projects of choice to work on are the lace shawl and Entrelac Stole that I am currently working on.

I never thought I'd be knitting a lace shawl. I dabbled in some lace when I made my Embossed Leaves socks and eventually, my knitting path led me here:

Forest Canopy Shawl in Sanguine Gryphon's Free Range yarn (colorway Blue Hen).

It is a difficult colorway to photograph (even for me), and the yarn is just a wonderfully soft wool. It is called Free Range because it is organic wool. All the yarns are named after chicken breeds, which I think is just charming.


Pardon the photo below. I'll get something better when it is done and blocked. It sort of looks like a manta ray, but you get the general idea.



The other project that is addicting to knit is my Lady Eleanor Entrelac Stole from the Scarf Style book. It is knit in Noro Silk Garden.




I'm knitting in colorway #251, which has been discontinued. I saw this colorway worked into an entrelac scarf on Ravelry and thought it looked divine, so I knew when I was ready to tackle it, I had to get that colorway. I was able to find some on Ebay and even got matching lots! It looks very rustic and faded which is fitting since the stole was inspired by images of ladies walking in cold and drafty castles (no insulation, you know) and thus these ladies would benefit from a nicely knitted stole. I think it will do nicely to ward away chills at work and at home (no castles I'm afraid, but I like insulation).

I'm afraid to take either of these projects on the plane because they are being made on cable needles. I'm not sure that the cable needles would make it through security. I'm thinking about starting another pair of socks but doing them on double pointed needles rather than two-at-a-time on a cable needle.

Next on the list:

1. Get a project for the flight.
2. Organize the materials for classes.

Hopefully, I can plan enough that I won't be distracted (much).

The Art of Taking a Plunge...Sort Of

It's amazing how time flies by. One minute I'm saying "I need to go to Sock Summit," and then suddenly, the time to get ready and start planning is here. My head is spinning with all of the delightful details I need to get ready!

The funny thing is, I thought I'd be whipping out socks like mad before arriving at the big summit. I thought I'd have added a ton of socks to my handknit sock arsenal by now, but typical of my A.D.D. self, I find myself distracted by lovely lace projects (more on that later). In fact, after deciding to go to Sock Summit, I decided to join the 52 Pair Plunge group on Ravelry. The challenge is to make 52 pairs in 52 weeks. Some people have actually completed the challenge. I likened it to the Ironman Triathlon of Sock Challenges. It is indeed a tall order to fulfill. The challenge started on June 1st. Since then, how many sock pairs have I completed?

One...

...but they are lovely.

Here are my Spring Forward Socks in The Sanguine Gryphon's Bugga! yarn. The colorway is Tufted Jungle King (which I think is the name of a butterfly).

Here's a closeup:

I thought it was funny how the yarn's colors turned out so autumnal and the pattern is Knitty's Spring Forward. I also thought it was funny how the yarn's colors looked so much lighter in the skein but when knit up, became more deep.

Here's a pic of the skein so you can see what I'm talking about:

I thought the colorway would be a bit lighter, but I've seen that happen with colors when they are knitted up. Sometimes just placing a color next to another can change the way it looks. The eyes send the image up to the brain and then it is translated differently. That is so cool.

So that was pair #1. I'm registered to blog on the official 52 Pair Plunge Blog, but I'm a little embarrassed to have only one completed pair to present while others are whipping out socks by the bucket full. Like everything else, I'll catch up.

Pair #2 is almost done. They are socks for Christopher, my husband. He loves blue, and when I found this colorway from The Alpaca Yarn Co. (Heels and Toes yarn in Singing the Blues colorway purchased from The Loopy Ewe) I immediately thought of him. I like this yarn because I love the fact that you get a contrasting color for heels and toes, but I found the yarn sort of splitty. The pattern I'm using is Knitspot's Gridiron, a perfectly suitable pattern for a boy, but perhaps it would benefit from a less busy colorway. I've acutally started the foot, so it is a bit more completed than this photo:

It has a wonderful striping pattern, but after completing the heels, there is some pooling happening in the foot. I'm not sure if I like it yet. I'm sure it will grow on me, but the big question is if Chris will like them (and I hope he does).

Otherwise, the pattern is a nice and easy one to memorize making this a great take-along project. If I could just take it along with me to finish rather than than all of the the stoles and shawls I've started to work on (more on that later).

Oh! And I never got to post a pic of my finished Embossed Leaves socks. They are one of my favorite pairs. There is quite a story about finishing them. I had cast on the socks too tightly but, for some reason, never tried them on as I worked on them, so when I finished them and tried them on, I couldn't get the cuff over my calves. I needed to unravel the cuffs and rework them so they would be looser. Did I mention that I did these socks two-at-a-time? Yeah. But, long story short, I fixed them and here is a photo:



It's too bad that they can't count towards the challenge because they were completed before June 1st.

I know that I may not reach the 52 pairs at the end of the challenge deadline, but I think the challenge, for me, is more about getting to try techniques that I normally might not. I want to try my had at stranded sock knitting, simple sock design, and more ambitious patterns. I may not complete the Ironman Triatholon of sock knitting challenges as outlined by the organizers, but I can try to overcome my own challenges and just try to become a better sock knitter overall.

What are some challenges you want to overcome?

The Art of Training 5/31/09

"The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare."
-Juma Ikangaa, New York City Marathon winner


Last year, around this time, I was training for a 10k, but I was about 15 pounds lighter (eeek!) and had been running 20-25 miles a week, every week, for about 8 months. Things are much different this year.

But that's ok. I keep telling myself-"it's ok, really, it's ok..."

Even though I keep telling myself it's ok, I don't quite believe it. Last year, I ran five races (had planned six), but over trained and found myself fatigued and getting sick at the drop of a hat. What was worse, as I became better from my colds, I would rush back into training, try to make up for lost time and wind up in the same situation. Thus began a cycle that continued on into February until I figured out that I needed to do something different. In March, I signed up for personal training at my gym and basically took it one week at a time. Some of those weeks I only had time for my one training session, but I kept going thinking that the next week, I'll start running, or the next, or the next... Eventually I started running again, and fit it in when I could.

It's now the end of May, and I went running today. I am running about 10 miles per week (5 miles at a time). I keep wanting to add that third session per week, but my schedule has been loopy. I hope to add that third session this week. It's amazing how my body has to regain the stamina I used to have, but I'm even more amazed at how quickly I went from running 3 miles to 5 miles. I'm hoping next week I can get to 6.

-------------------

So I have been debating whether or not to sign up for the local 10k. I ran it last year and placed in the top 20 of my age group (I was #19) and thought I had done pretty well for my first 10k. I knew I'd be running slower this year and there's a little scared voice in me that keeps telling me not to run the race, to just keep training and forget about racing for the time being until I get back into my original racing form. I asked Nate, my personal trainer and running guru, what I should do.

"Can you run four and half miles right now if I asked you to?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said expecting him to tell me to sign up for the 5k.

"Then sign up for the 10k."

I was afraid he would say that.

He went on to tell me that I should set three goals for myself (for instance-placing somewhere in my age group, running a bit faster than my current pace, etc), so even though I wouldn't be running like I did last year, I could accomplish at least one of those goals rather than fixating on how I would never be able to match the results of last year.

Suddenly I felt lighter. I was overburdening myself with expectations that I couldn't meet yet at my current fitness level, and when I would fail, I would start the quitter talk.

It's a good thing Nate's lessons (that I paid for in advance) are so expensive, or I might have given up sooner.

So, even if it's at a turtle's pace, I'm back in training.

Hey Lookie!

A new banner! Maybe I'll switch it up every couple of months.

More blog make-overs coming!

Time For a Spring Cleaning...Even Though It's Almost Summer

Okay, I'm not going to go on about how neglected my blog has been. Nope.

I'm not going to go on about how I have not been training or losing weight like I had planned. Nope.

I'm not going to go on about how busy I have been, and how I wish I had more time to blah, blah, blah... Nope.

Though I'm not going to go on about it, I will mention one thing: sheesh, my blog needs a make-over!

More to come in the next days. :)

Wake Up!!!!

You know that feeling you get when you wake up after a nap that has gone on for too long? I sort of feel like that right now.

I just realized that the last time I blogged was back in November, and I was sick. Then the holidays happened and that seemed like a blur because I was constantly playing catch-up because it took so long for me to get over my cold. After the holidays, I tried to get back on track with my exercise routines to get back to my racing weight (um, yes, have put on a few pounds since the holidays). I was able to get into a good rhythm, saw the scale drop a bit and then BAM! I got hit with the flu.

Sigh... this has been my routine since September. I've had the flu twice and at least two colds. Needless to say that I'm planning to start my next exercise regimine very slowly.

Note to self: get a freaking flu shot next year.

But on the bright side, while I've been napping and recovering on the couch, I have been able to get a bit of knitting completed.

I did finally finish the Noro Striped Socks. They were a gift to a good friend in England. I wanted to give her something bright, vibrant and beautiful-something to compliment her wonderful personality. I did find the second sock too dark and ended up frogging it. (For my nonknitting friends, this is knitter talk for taking apart a project. The word "frogging" comes from the idea that a knitter is ripping the knitted fabric apart. Basically you rip it, rip it, which sounds like "ribbit, ribbit" hence the frog reference.)

Anyhoo, I started the second sock with a new skein and got a lovely bright sock to match the first:

The top of the sock is a bit more heathered than I would have wanted, but I think they do look great together. Here's the final pair:



They were fun to make. I had so much fun watching the striping that I ended up making a scarf out of the Noro Kureyon worsted weight wool.

It's still a work in progress, but this is my mindless knitting project. Something I take to the doctor's while I'm in the waiting room or on long drives. Nothing that needs too much attention while I knit and can be put away rather quickly if need be. It's basically the 1x1 rib pattern made so popular by Jared Flood of Brooklyn Tweed fame. Here's a close-up:

Then I made a pair of socks for just me. That's right. I made something for myself. The scarf doesn't count because it isn't finished yet, but to make something for myself is monumental. Most knitters can attest to this. I have noticed since the holidays that everything I've casted on has been for moi.

These were knitted using Sockpixie's merino sport wool. I call them my Cafe Au Lait socks because the colors look like a swirling cup of coffee and cream. They are extremely comfy and are a delight to wear.

Then I went ahead and knit a pair of lovely wristwarmers in The Sanguine Gryphon's Bugga! yarn. (And yes, the exclamation mark is part of the yarn's name.)

This could be my absolute favorite yarn right now. All the colorways are inspired and named after bugs. I'm going to have to blog about all of the cool colorways I've been able to snag because each skein is a work of art.

The yarn is made up of merino wool, cashmere (yum) and a bit of nylon for strength. Check out some colors here at The Loopy Ewe because Gryphon sells out of this stuff all of the time, and you can't see any pics currently on her site. The wristwarmers were knit in a colorway called Robber Fly.

These were also fun to knit and they are extremely warm. These will be especially helpful in the spring, when it is too warm for gloves, but too cold for spring wear with 3/4 sleeves. I want to knit a darker pair to wear while I cycle, but not sure if that will be comfortable while I ride. We'll see.

And this is my current project:

The pattern is Embossed Leaves Socks, and I am knitting them in Sanguine Gryphon's Bugga! in the Praying Mantis colorway. I love this colorway and the yarn is knitting up to a velvety fabric. Did I mention that this yarn is fabulous?

Currently, I'm working on two graduate courses right now (while juggling work), and I've been working on these a few rows at a time each night. I usually knit about four rows and then fall asleep on the couch. I'm actually using the two-socks-at-a-time technique, so I'm hoping that this will pay off in the end (meaning I can knit more socks faster, of course).

So with a bit of luck, I'll get more knitting done, get back into my exercise routine, and finish these courses without too much stress. Not too tall an order, right? Now where's my vitamin C?

Sick in the Head

I have a head cold. It hit me almost immediately after finishing preperations for Thanksgiving. I cook for my husband and my three brothers every year because my parents spend Thanksgiving in Florida and bestow their wonderful culinary expertise on my two other brothers living there. That's fine; we get them for Christmas.

But besides being a little run down while preparing the food, I didn't think anything was wrong with me until I had finished bringing the dishes to the table. After eating, I was ready for a nap. I figured this was customary, and didn't think anything of it, until I woke up and felt the burn of post-nasal drip. Blech.

After that, I knew it was over. The rest of my weekend would be devoted to resting and trying to get rid of the cold. I wasn't going to be able to go to the gym (which I sorely needed to do), no shopping (which I wasn't too broken up over), and no major projects for organizing my house (which I like to do in preparation for the holidays).

I was even too sick to knit. That's right - I could hardly believe it myself.

So after some power napping and major tea drinking, eventually I was able to knit and got back to my socks. Sock #1 came out brilliantly, if I don't say so myself:




The colors are vibrant, the stripes are bold and defined, and the sock is a nice solid sock (construction wise). I do love making socks...

Now, the second one is decidedly less vibrant:




So far, the colors have been much darker and even some of the stripes are becoming less defined. In fact, since these photos were taken, I've progressed onto the heel and am almost finished with it. It is a darker sock compared to its vibrant pink partner. I'm not sure if they work together. We'll have to see how they compare when they are both done. Right now, side by side, they sorta' look like this:



I'm not quite sure what happened. Originally, I wanted to break up the skein into four separate balls so I could make two socks at once. When I paired up the balls of yarn to contrast with each other, I may have inadvertantly paired them incorrectly, so that the shades of color ended up matching in two of the four (if any of that makes sense). In the end, I've got the pinks and reds in one sock and the grays and purples in another. It might have been nicer to have more of a mixture in both. However, even though I had intended on making two socks at a time, I didn't get to because I realized that I didn't have a spare set of #2 double-pointed needles. If I had been making the second sock while making the first, I could have adjusted the colors. Oh well, next time. I have another skein ready for experimentation. We'll see if I have time, since this is supposed to be a gift.

If I find time, I might make another pair and be more careful about pairing up the colors. But when I look at the pair I have now, I think they can still work together in a sort of yin/yang sort of way. We'll see when they are both finished.

That's what it's like to manually stripe Noro yarns. To quote an overly quoted movie: it's "like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna' get."