Sometimes...

...I think I might be a boy. Not in a sexual identity sort of way but in a stuff I do and like sort of way. Here's why:

1. I work with all dudes so I am immersed in testosterone and guy culture all day long. And I like it. Guys are straightforward, if they have a conflict they address it without playing games. They don't mince words and if they don't like someone they just don't talk to them. (As always there are plenty of exceptions but I'm just speaking about the dudes I work with.)

2. Every time I go out to lunch the restaurant is 95% guys. I don't understand this one. Is it because, I'm generally eating cheeseburgers or bbq? Is it because guys, statistically, eat out more? Women aren't hungry? Not sure, but if lunch is an indicator I am a boy.

3. I like beer. Now, I know a lot of girls who like beer but judging by the way beer dudes react we are the exception to the rule. I went to the beer supply store the other day to buy kit to brew and when the guy helping me found out that I was the brewer he lost his mind. It was an all caps reaction, "WHOA! THAT'S SO COOL! WE NEED MORE FEMALE BREWERS!" I was amused and a little flattered by the extent of the positive reaction, but I have heard stories of more offensive beer dudes, like when my friend was asked if her husband told her which beer to buy. Like number 2 above, I don't really understand this one, beer is tasty, much like cheeseburgers and bbq, so why don't the ladies like it as much as the gents? I guess I won't ever know the answers to these questions. I'm just going to be thankful that I get to enjoy good things and use the same philosophy my grandma used when I didn't want to eat my dinner as a kid - all the more for me.

Over and done...for 2012

Wow. This Christmas season seemed crazier than usual -sick baby, work stress, changing plans, trying to fit it all in, sick me - it was not the relaxing respite I remember it being before I had all of this grown up responsibility. And now I'm more tired than I was before.

But I still made another pair of mittens. They're great! I got the yarn for Christmas from my mom and they knitted up so quickly. Super soft bulky yarn is my new favorite thing. From start to the last palm decrease was one movie (that's how I measure the time it takes for me to knit things, movie lengths). The thumbs of both and the sewing in ends was another movie. Super fast. Super sweet. For comparison my other mittens took me many many movies, I think I'd put it in the range of six, maybe more.

I can't believe 2012 is over. It feels like just yesterday it began. All of those plans and undone things are now done and history...well maybe not so done, just history. All I want for this year is to hold steady on the same course and keep all of the people I care about with me on the journey.

...And maybe lose a few pounds. ;)

Christmas!

How did it get to be Christmas again? Where does the time go?
 
Once again I've been caught unprepared for the Holiday season. I'm not really a procrastinator (no, I'm serious) it's just that I always think I have more time than I actually do. So I make a mental schedule of the things that I need to do and then accomplish them at that pace except for that pace would put Christmas in...about...April. I need to work less and have more time at home, I think that would solve a lot of my problems, but unfortunately that solution creates problems of it's own, like no money. Bummer.

At least I've been a relatively productive knitter. Small easy projects are the ticket.The mittens I made are excellent warm weather mittens and my fake-isle tam is soooo soft and warm. I love it. I also made my little man a warm hat, which of course he refuses to wear. Except for the time when I took this picture.

Merry Christmas!

Lessons Learned

I think I should keep a log of the main things I learn on each project, then I'll get better, right?

I think I put too much faith in my ability to remember things, meaning, I do things and then think that I'll remember that I did them and why, but then I don't. So I then end up repeating the same silly mistakes over and over again. Writing things down is the solution.

So here are the things I learned on the last couple of projects (you haven't seen them yet but pictures will follow soon):

Mittens - Hmmm...the pattern was really well written and they turned out beautifully. I guess the only thing I would do differently would be to make the palm slightly shorter. I added another pattern repeat because it would have been too short without it but a full repeat made the mitten too long. I'm nitpicking. These mittens were very fun and fast and satisfying. Maybe the real lesson I learned is that making small projects with large yarn is GREAT!
-Pattern: Bella's Mittens from Subliminalrabbit.com

Hat - I have not mastered tension. Stranded colorwork is my nemesis it's either too tight or too loose. I think I need to do a better job of monitoring it while I work. Like, check it on the next row. Yep. Plus practice. I think maybe I just need to do more colorwork period.
-Pattern: Three Tams from Knitty.com

I will now not make the above mistakes again. Suuuure.

New Magazines!

I just got two new knitting magazines in the mail! Yay!

I love getting magazines. They're like literary cookies, small, sugary, and not all that good for you. Knitting magazines are slightly different because they provide patterns, fiber and technique knowledge that you wouldn't easily be able to figure out on your own. But sometimes they're junky too.

I love the two magazines I got for different reasons. One is super artistic and usually contains at least one or two patterns I actually am interested in knitting. The other is not super artistic but has a ton of really good technique and fiber information. The problem is both have annoying features as well. And just because I'm kind of an angry woman I'm going to tell you about them.

The problem with the artistic magazine is that they are often so concerned about being artistic that the pictures don't actually show the knitting. I'm a person who really has to look at the picture to see what I'm trying to do. It's like the cover on the puzzle box, you need to see what the end result is supposed to be. They also have pattern problems, like mistakes, poorly written directions (hence the need for the good pictures), and unclear abbreviations. I also hate it when I have to flip through the magazine to find a special technique that's called for, or, (again with the pictures) to find the larger picture of the item I'm making.

I can't tell you about the problems with the patterns in the non-artistic magazine because I haven't made any of the items in it. That's the problem. The patterns are for ugly things that I don't want to make. They're getting better though, there was one sweater in this issue that I thought was cute, maybe there's hope.

An Unfortunate Situation

Here's my story: Last spring, during that time when the sun is warm but there's still snow on the ground, I decided to go running. Not knowing how warm I would get, I started the run with my mittens. About a mile and a half in I got hot and took them off. Then at mile 2 and a half I checked my pockets and one of them was gone! Tragedy! I tried to backtrack a little to see if I could see it but I couldn't and I gave up, hoping some homeless person would find it and have one warm hand. My next thought was about how I would have to make some more, but generally having a Scarlett O'Hara approach to life I put it out of my head and finished my run.

Since then I have made no mittens and now it is snowing. This is unfortunate indeed.

By the time I actually make some mittens the snow will probably be melting again, and I will have gone the whole winter with cold hands.

My Brain Doesn't Work

I realized tonight that my energy and brain power can only do so much. My limits are reached by simple daily life: driving and working, chasing a brilliant and very handsome ball of energy who is nearly two years old, and making sure I have clean underwear. I simply have very little head room for anything else, and unfortunately that anything else extends to my knitting. I have lately attempted to learn new skills and work on adventurous projects, and while this philosophy has been very fruitful in the past, at the moment it falls flat. Like, I don't even want to look at those projects, much less work on them.

The only projects I'm interested in doing right now are small ones that require absolutely no thought. Sigh...

I like them, small thoughtless projects. They're very relaxing to me at the moment.

I started a lovely little hat for my boy. Very simple and cute. He has an adorable hat that his grandma made for him, which he wears all of the time, like even in the bath all of the time, but it's going to get very cold and he needs choices. That's the beauty of being able to knit. Choices.