Commitments and Priorities

All she wants to do is knit, except when she wants to spin...

First, the Ravelry update...

You are #23291 on the list.
6660 people are ahead of you in line.
11763 people are behind you in line.
47% of the list has been invited so far

Getting closer...

Can you change your priorities? You can try to change where you invest your energy, but if you don't feel it as a priority, it's just a really heavy drag, isn't it? I know I NEED to work a little harder and make more money, but gods, I really don't WANT to.

As my life has been upside down, inside out and just generally remodelled in the last few weeks, I'm feeling a little disoriented to say the least. The commitments have changed some. But my priorities remain the same. I almost didn't even go to Flock and Fiber this weekend. It sucks to go with no money. So many beautiful fibers and yarns. And bunnies, oh the bunnies.. But one of my priorities is spending time with my family. I did, I went. With my family. And it did feel good. Not as gloriously and giddy-ously good as it has in years past. But the crowd there is good. You can' hardly help but be swept away with all the people walking around with eyes glazed over and big giant grins on their faces. It's almost like they've been smoking that wool or something. Someday, I'm going to go to that thing with some real cash, and time to actually do something with what I buy. Yes, someday.

I've got more commitments than I know really where to put them. Work, school, more work, more school, mom taxi, housework, dinner, exercise (ha).... but what I keep trying so hard to find time for is not working towards my work or my education, but my knitting. The fiber stroking hobbies are always first on my list of wanting to make time. I SHOULD be making time to work more, make more cash, or making time to work more on my midwifery school and doula certification. Or get out and get some exercise. But only so many hours in the day. And I have my priorities. And knitting is kind of like doing yoga, right?

I have my afternoons, which seem like hours that need to be filled up with something more productive than just wrangling 5-year-olds. Finding I can knit and holler, hey! stop that! without missing a beat. figuring if I try to spin though, I'll be telling kids not to stick their fingers in there.. ;)

Maybe I'll try to get them into some more crafting projects. I just wish we had the room to have just "dedicated crafting space" so they could have projects and things to work on. But there is only the kitchen, and that is already committed to something else. Eating is a priority after all.

I feel so tired. and I know, I'm only going to get more tired. But, it's the sacrifices we make, trying to build a better life. Speaking of which, I ought to get back to working on that. Work, I mean. If I get done early, I can knit. It's my little carrot to keep me on track. And wow, I sure would like to get that credit card paid off. Pay off the Visa, and you can use the next month's payment to buy yourself a shiny new spinning wheel! How's THAT for an incentive! I guess I just have to figure out how to creatively use my priorities to inspire myself to fulfill the commitments.

Tofutsies Socks Done, what's next?

Looky, looky - I figured out how to do the cursed blog tags/badges thingies for my sidebar. Seems like they coulda made that a little easier. but ANYWAY...

Finally finished Charlotte's pair of matching socks. I can't find the pictures (I actually think I deleted them because my card was full and I wanted more pictures at my sister's wedding last weekend). But, here is one of MY sock. Charlottes look just like mine, but her feet are smaller and cuter. It's just a basic vanilla sock using Tofutsies yarn.

I'm still working away on my sister's stole. Obviously, not going to be the wedding present, but maybe for their 2-year anniversary. I'm also working on the B4 Bag which I just started working on. Now, I'm going to have to try another pair of socks. Probably the new I-Love-Gansey socks from the Six-Sox KAL group

I'd also like to try the tilted duster pattern on the cover of the Fall IK.

All this, and starting to save up my pennies for the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival in September, plus that whole change my life career, try to give some energy to spiritual pursuits, find time for marital bliss, etc... The plate is full, may I have another?

Vacation, all I ever wanted..

We are HERE! Lincoln City, just a teeny bit North of Inn at the Spanish Head. It's likely going to wind up being foggy and/or grey and rainy for the majority of our stay. We did get out yesterday and hike to Drift Creek Falls just far enough into the coast range to escape the fog for a few hours and hike in the woods. It's a really beautiful hike, about 2-1/2 to 3 miles round trip, with a suspension bridge over the gorge where the falls, well.. falls.

The beach has been great too. We had some kite flying fun. And some great tidepool exploring at low tide. And perhaps best of all, the jaccuzi tub, with a view of the ocean.

Well, it's beginning to rain, so that's my cue to finish up some work, and start getting ready to go do some shopping, hit the museums, and especially the yarn shops.

My other plans for this week include putting together at least a rudimentary Seers Guild Study Program, and work on my Doula Certification stuff. I also need to write up my bio for the web site, and then maybe, if there's time work on my own web site. But, I also really REALLY want some good quality knitting time this week, so we'll see how that works out.

In other news, I did a reading for a friend using my as-yet untested method of using SPAM e-mail as a divination method. It was pretty accurate. Great to find some practical use for SPAM, eh?

I'm pleased about the rain, it feels like home. :)

Like an Old Friend

So, I'm almost done redoing that Monkey sock. It looks a lot better on 0 needles, so I'm glad I did it. I'll probably be able to finish it this weekend.

Heading out tomorrow with Malacat to the Birth Arts Doula workshop this weekend. Kind of like a first step. Maybe even more than the first step I thought I was taking before when I signed up for the AAMI Intro to Midwifery course, which I'm a teeny fraction of the way through, but it is due to be finished and turned in in two weeks. I doubt I'm going to make it. I'm not sure I'm concerned about that right now. I guess I'll see how much of it I can get done and if it looks close, I'll pay for the one month extension on it and finish it up. If not, I'll just go ahead and send for my Orientation materials for the regular Advanced Midwifery course and get busy on that instead.

I went ahead and signed up for the Shop Hop tour with the local Knitting Guild. I hemmed and hawed about it for a good while, but I think it will be nice to get out with a group of people I have never met before and just have a fun day. Why not?

To further spur me on to meeting new people on purpose, the last two weeks I have mysteriously been back in touch with two people I haven't talked to in quite a long time. One of whom I was formerly quite close to. The signs point to something a little more in tune with the universe than just random serendipity, so I'm keeping my eyes open on this one.

Cookies

I bought a whole crate of Girl Scout Cookies. Trying to be disciplined and make them last more than a week this time. But if I don't eat them, someone else will and I won't get any!!

THEN...

I turned around and bought a whole CRATE of Cookie knitting patterns. Will I ever stop eating cookies long enough to make Cookie socks? The world may never know...

I purchased: Twisted Flowers, Rhiannon, Mona, Millicent, and the German Stocking patterns. They're all on her web site. I was disciplined and controlled. I'm pretty sure there are two patterns I did not buy.

Monkey Socks Progress

I 've been working on the Monkey Socks for a bit now. Using Wildfoote sock yarn, in the Purple. Just discovered that the avon bubble bath bottle works pretty good as a blocker in a pinch. I really like the pattern. It's hard to see until you kind of stretch it out a little bit. This is my first shot at a sock with a pattern in it, at least one that came from a graph. I'm rather pleased about it. :)

Not going as quickly as the others so far because:



A. Smaller needles
B. Actual sock yarn
C. I've been working more hours and have had less knitting time (sob)



Well, yesterday, we took a day trip on the train to Seattle. Which meant about 7 hours of knitting time for me on the train. Anyway, so far on the socks. I have finished the repeats and I'm about to do the heel on the first sock (hopefully tonight!) Took me the whole train trip to get that far.

I did spare the family and we went to the Seattle Aquarium, rather than just dragging them on a yarn shop tour. *grin*



I am trying to be disciplined and not buy any more yarn for a while! Okay, until Saturday, but you know, it's the big Spring Fiber Sale! How can I miss it? It will be MONTHS before there is another one. I might run out! (har)


I can always knit when they're sleeping. No one need ever know...


I want to finish up these socks so I can move on to the next fascination, the B4-Bag. My first boughten pattern. I hoard everything free I can find, but this is SOOOO CUTE and looks to be something I could actually DO. It will be my first shot at bobbles... and felting... and including beads in the work... but I SOOO must do it. I have some yarn in my stash that I bought on Ebay a few years ago, from a vendor called Dyeing for Fiber... apparently no longer around (much to my chagrine). The yarn is so beautiful. And I still have some dyed roving in my stash to spin as well. I almost hate to use it, knowing I can't get anymore. *pout* Ah well, on to the next artist.

In other news, there is much fantasizing going on around here about doing some drastic changes to our house, adding on a few rooms, and liberating another to become a mecca of creativity and peace... aka, the craft room. Which means my office will have more space as well, ANNDD... the kids will have their own rooms, which means further, we will have OUR own room. woot! And if we get too discouraged with the crazy making about doing that here, we'll give up, and sell this house and buy one that fits us already. But we have to change our train of thought here somehow, just to get motivated to make some progress one way or another.

First Knit Socks!

I finally decided to knit socks. I've been knitting for a while, and recently finished knitting a couch blanket. But I've always wanted to try socks. Once or twice, I've started a cuff. But never got anywhere.

So, I got determined. Went on line, and found several Basic Instructions on how to knit socks. I signed up for several sock-knitting Yahoo groups (because when I want to know something about anything, I look for a yahoo group) and found a link in the First Time Socknitters KAL I group.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FirstTimeSocknittersKAL/

And now I can say I KNIT SOCKS! It took me three days to do the first one,
and I knit the second one in its entirety yesterday.


Since it was mostly a practice run, I just used cheap ($4 a skein) yarn from Joanns and I used #5 needles so I could see what I was doing. But here they are!