When Knitting Attacks

I don't have too many major problems with my knitting.  Don't think I'm trying to be arrogant in my knitting with that statement.  I'm far from being professional. I just usually I just "make do" with mistakes if I know they won't bother me.  I'm not a perfectionist.  I know the people that rip several times a project just to get it perfect.  It's just not me.  I do my share of ripping but its usually because I didn't like the pattern, or the pattern yarn combo, or the item just didn't look good on me.

Well that wasn't the case with the Low Tide Cardigan I'm making for Annabelle.  First I'll start with probably one of the things I hate most in knitting.  Picking stitches up.  I had to pick up 120 stitches along the lace panel to start the body and it can be such a pain to get just the right number of stitches evenly.  And this is the smallest size....oh how many stitches it will be when I make one for me!  I have started measuring and putting markers at halfway points to help.  It just takes so much time and concentration for such a small step.

I got that step done anyhow, and started the body.  When I put the markers in for the decreases on the back I really thought something was off.  They just didn't look right, but I swore I was following that step in the pattern exactly right.  After some knitting I just couldn't take it.  The back was uneven and it was just going to keep annoying me.  So I ripped.  Had to pick up all those stitches again and this time I made sure my center marker for picking them up was exactly in the center of the lace panel.  Something I'm sure I did not do last time and that had to be the problem right?  Nope.  I got to the same step and could not fathom why it was off.  I did the math for the stitches and verified that there were no problems with the pattern so it had to be me.  Then I reread everything.  I missed a step.  I didn't cast on 4 stitches between the front and back of the sweater in the armpit areas.  Which put off everything.  Well I was NOT picking up all those stitches again so I made due with what seemed like a decent amount of slack between the front and back anyhow and put 4 stitches in those spots.  I really hope it's not noticeable and it works out.  I think it will.  Otherwise I'll be complaining again next week!  All at my own fault.

Now onto the reading front.  I finished Starting Now by Debbie Macomber and I think it might be one of the best of the Blossom Street Yarn series.    I just really liked the main character and all the different relationships she had throughout the book.    The first one in the series will always be my favorite though.   This means I downloaded a new book from Audible.  I have had the first 6 books or so of the Women's Murder Club Series by James Patterson for close to 3 years and I have yet to touch them.  I then leant the first book out, never got it back and decided my next audio book would be 1st To Die.  I've started.  I don't often listen to "thrillers" or "mystery".  Not even really sure what genre it's considered yet so that tells you how much I've listened to.  But so far so good.  I usually listen on my iphone, but just d/l it to iTunes so I can listen in the car on my drive next week.  I think I need to load up with podcasts too! Any suggestions for new ones?

Check in over at Tami's and Yarn Along.  We'd love to have you join!

A post.

A post about deployment.  It's something that I knew was going to be part of my life since the moment I met my husband.  It's something I knew was inevitable.  It's something I thought wouldn't be too hard.

I still don't know how hard it's going to be.  And no matter how hard it is, I still know I can handle it (at least better than some wives I've seen).  I'll keep myself busy.  I'll go visit some people.  I'll watch alot of tv.  I'll put my daughter in programs and daycare and I won't go stir crazy.

But these past couple of weeks have been challenging.  That's really the only word to describe it.  The next couple of weeks will continue to be challenging.  As the deployment drags on it might get easier, but who knows, it might just get harder.  What I do know is that it's very heart-wrenching to watch the love of you life pack up 4 bags (most of which is Army issued, he won't need when he's there and leaves very little room for actual personal items) that he will live out of for the next nine months.  It's sad really.




Just an FYI and side-note.  I won't be making a deployment tag for my posts related.  I'll be listing them under family.  This makes it harder for bad people to get a hold of the wrong information and for anyone to try to target me, my husband or my husband's unit.

FO Friday

I actually have something to share for FO Friday!  Yay!  And truthfully these socks have been on the darn needles long enough so I sure am glad to be done with them.  And boy am I happy.  Laura Linneman did an amazing job designing this pattern - Socks on a Plane.  I get so bored with vanilla socks and this is just the perfect amount of detail to add to the self-striping yarns.  The fit was also perfect.  I was put off by toe-up for a while, but still typically just go with the way the pattern I want to make was written.  After the fit of this sock and how many issues I've had trying to get the fit of toe down socks right, I think I will look for toe-down patterns more often now.  I used Knit Picks Felici in the Tiki colorway and I love the yarn.  The socks are super-soft.  All over comfy and cozy.

My Prerequisite

Again....deployment.  The big D-word keeps getting thrown around on the blog lately.  I had one prerequisite for my husband.  One necessity before he deploys. And he had to suck it up, and do it no matter how little he wanted to - for me.  Family Pictures.  He did good.  I didn't hear one complaint.  And our photographer was awesome.  She is actually a personal friend and a fellow Army wife, and a veteran herself - Mindy King Photography.  She takes clients in both the Fort Riley area and the Wichita area so if you are in the area, I can highly suggest her!  I love the photos we ended up with, even if my husband doesn't do my smiling and my daughter seems to take after her Daddy in that trait as well!  Here are a few favorites I thought I'd share.

Should Have Listened to My Teachers

This is the 3rd attempt at writing this post.  First was on the Blogger iPad app.  2nd was on the laptop.  Now I'm on my phone.  Apparently I have to learn to save my work because my typing disappears after so long.  Odd.  I feel like I'm in Middle School all over again learning to write papers on a Word Processor.  And the teachers always emphasized "Save Your Work"!

I've been trying to say that I miss also linking up with Ginny's Yarn Along on Wednesdays (as well as Tami's Amis WIP Wednesday).  But in order to post about reading I need to actually be reading.  I haven't been able to stick to my goal of reading 20 minutes a day (really blogs don't count.  It needs to be an actual book) .  After the craziness of my life subsides for a little bit in just a few months it should be easier to get back at it.  Not only will reading help me stay busy, but I should actually have the time.

One thing I have discovered this year though was Audible.  Most people in the knitting world have now heard of it.  When I signed up I got one month free and only did it for the read-along book.  Then I went to cancel and it asked why in the survey so I clicked the option that said it was too expensive.  From that, they offered me 3 months at 1/2 price which I think was about $7.50 a month.  Not bad for an audio book so I stuck with it.  I realized how much I enjoyed listening to them.  I mostly listen during chores and when cooking.  So I stayed with it and I think it's definitely worth it.  I listened to about a chapter of one book, didn't touch it for two months because I wasn't really interested and was then able to return it for a new book credit!   Currently I'm listening to Starting Now: A Blossom Street Novel by Debbie Macomber and I'm quite enjoying it.  I almost feel like the Blossom Street novels get better with each book.   The ones I like best though are always when they revisit the characters from the original book.  That's one appeal of a series I suppose.

I've also cast on for a new project this week.  Working on Low Tide by Tin Can Knits.  I checked the measurements and compared them with my Annabelle and I'm actually making the 12 month size.  I was surprised to a.) see how small and lanky my daughter is and b.) see how big the measurements they call for in the pattern were.  I'm really glad I measured.  This is also the first time I'm making something knit in pieces - and blocked parts before I finished knitting.  It sure is interested construction.  I can't wait to pick it back up and finish the body.  It will be a perfect addition to Miss A's vacation ensemble.

An FYI & A Friend

Today I met up with a Ravelry friend.  She informed me of something happening with my blog I had no idea about.  I'm pretty upset and will be disabling it right away.  A few weeks ago I added the Google+ comment capability and was thrilled that I was getting so many comments from Google+ readers. Sadly This was at the expense of all my regular readers. I didn't know this function made it so ONLY Google+ members could comment and this has greatly upset me.

As far as I'm considered, the blogging world is a great community and anyone should be able to comment on any blog.  You shouldn't be required to be a member of that particular site no matter what it is.  I put myself and my knitting out there for everyone.  So as much as I've appreciated the Google+ audience I now have this awful taste in my mouth for the social networking site.  S please, if you use Blogger be aware of this!

Onto today.  For the very first time during my since joining Ravelry and blogging I met up with one of my cyber friends.  She was on a road trip and was going to be driving on through!  This doesn't happen very often considering- well I live in Kansas.  Who wants to drive through Kansas?  Her name is TammyG on Rav, her blog is Life And Yarn Or Yarn And Life and she was even my very first swap partner!  She also recently sent me this cute little bird as part of the Pay It Forward Handmade project (I'm not even going to talk about my fail with that).  You should check other blog if you haven't yet - she's been blogging about her trip and yesterday she got to go to The Loopy Ewe.  She's a great cyber friend and I'm so happy I got to meet her!  And maybe a bit jealous of her trip!

                                       

    

The Home of The Cheeseheads

You may call me a cheesehead now.  I have purchased merchandise for myself at the Green Bay Packer Pro Shop, walked through the player's tunnel at Lambeau Field and ate lunch at Curly's Pub. Might I add, I seriously would eat there everyday if I could (although I'd gain 50 lbs after a month).  I guess my husband's influence helped, but the fact that Aaron Rodgers is my favorite player in the NFL helps.  Buffalo Bills are my #1, but Green Bay Packers has made it to #2.

You may be reading this and wondering what on earth I'm talking about.  You may read for the knitting and you might not even know who the Packers are if you don't follow the NFL.  To explain, I mentioned in my last WIP post that I would make a separate post about our vacation.  Here it is!  We visited my husband's Grandparents in none other than Green Bay, Wisconsin.  There is a reason behind his Packers loyalty.

Stop one was to visit his Dad on our way up in St. Paul, MN, then we headed onto Green Bay and the toddler did better than expected.  Of course that doesn't count the minor sickness incident which involved changing her clothes, pulling the car seat out and cleaning it with a bottle of water, then lots of laundry to do when we arrived. We went to Lambeau Field first which was of highest priority while there.  We also visited the National Railroad Museum and the N.E.W. Zoo.  AJ seemed to enjoy herself on the trip as much as we did!   Her favorite may have been the pool at our hotel though.   Lots of pictures were taken, naturally.   I'll share just a few.

There was also a yarn purchase, but quite a story as well that can wait for another post.

Half Way There

I did the math.  Car time this summer will be 70 hours.  Yup. 70.  With a toddler. And that is just drive time - not including stopping for said toddler. Good news is 32 hours of that is now behind us! So we are almost half way there. And lots of knitting.  I will say I didn't get as much knitting done as I had hoped, but still a good dent.  Definitely quite a bit to show! Next trip will be after the hubs deploys and I imagine I will actually be doing a bulk of the driving.  But we are taking a trip within a trip and that will be 9 hours each way!  So more knitting time.  Did anyone else hate road trips until they became a knitter?  I now look forward to that [mostly] uninterrupted time with my yarn and needles!  Did I mention I get to go to the Michigan Fiber Festival?

This past trip was a trip to visit some of my husbands family.  First priority - his grandparents.  He hasn't seen them since our wedding, his grandfather has Parkinsons and Prostate cancer.  There's sadly a good chance he won't be around when Rob gets back from deployment.  So we needed to make a trip up there.  Not only so we could see him again but so Miss A could meet her Great-Grandparents and they could meet her.  We had a great time on the trip and also got to visit my FIL, but I will share more about the trip next post.

Must apologize for the poor picture quality.

For now - onto knitting!! First up is my Lettuce Pullover.  I didn't knit on it for all too long.  It was really a knit while playing the name game with my husband project.  Mainly because it's joined now and is just stockinette in circular.  No thinking required.  So I was spending most the time on the projects that required thinking - although they still didn't require much.

Watching the Sock Bunny Knit & Fit Podcast

                                   

I cast on a Girlfriend Market Bag right before the trip.  Thought it would make good car knitting and it did.  I would have finished it, if it only took one skein of cotton.  It didn't.  I don't know why I thought I could make a bag out of 153 yards.  So I bought the second skein today.  I'm using Hobby Lobby's I Love This Cotton.  I must say, it has a good rep for a reason.  It's cheap cotton that is actually soft!  And, with the coupons Hobby Lobby has it's easy to get it even cheaper!  I made a market bag for my mom years ago and have wanted to make one for myself ever since.  I'm actually getting around to doing it! 

Some pictures might look familiar if you follow me on Instagram

                                   

Also working on the Stripey Socks.  Love these.  The cable detail is just enough.  I'm really glad I pulled out the plain vanilla and started again.  One of them is finished and I'll say it fits like a dream.  I've had such issues with some patterns not fitting my foot right.  Its why I still haven't finished the Black & Blues.  I just don't feel like pulling the toe out again to add some length.   If you want to find some more fibery goodness today, head on over to Tami's Amis for WIP Wednesday!