Yeah, yeah, almost 5 months, yada, yada. Kind of a lot has happened, both in the
knitting/spinning realms of my life and the non-crafty part. I’d love to write about all the details, but to quote a favorite character, “No, there is too much. Let me sum up”. (And if that doesn't sound familiar, it's been too long since you've watched the Princess Bride. I'd get on that.)
KNITTING: Holy sock mojo, Batman. I finished 4 pairs of socks in Nov-Dec of last year.
1. Nutkin; Sweet Georgia Tough Sock "Tapestry"; project page
2. Simple SKYP; Sanguine Gryphon Bugga "Oak Timberworm"; project page
3. Improvised toe-up with 2x2 ribbed leg; My handspun (!); project page
4: Annetrelac; Rainy Days Wooly Dogs "Flugelhorn"; project page
The autumn sock knitting mojo really came out of
nowhere. Stats illustrate this
anomaly best:
Pairs of socks completed in 2012: 3
Pairs of socks completed Jan-Aug 2013: 1
Pairs of socks completed Sep-Dec 2013: 6?!
The sock obsession left as quickly as it swept in because the
calendar turned to 2014, and I’ve got no socks on the needles and no plans to
cast on any. At least a small dent was made in the sock yarn stash before the impulse wore off.
Only one other big knitting project:
Trellis and Vine Pullover (Interweave Knits, Fall 2009)
I can't even remember exactly when I finished this one. All I know is it was after September and before Thanksgiving. Here’s the quick and dirty about the sweater:
- I ripped and reknit the bottom half after deciding to swap the lace/cable pattern for a hemmed edge.
- I ripped and reknit almost an entire sleeve when I decided it was coming out too big.
- All the reknitting must have been worth it because I wore it a ton this winter--it’s soft and super comfortable without being too warm and I adore it.
- Soft yarn comes with a price--the sweater already looks a little ratty from the pills. You can even see in the picture if you look closely, so, uh, don’t. (Yarn is Berroco Palace, 50/50 merino/silk. Lovely, but pilly)
And that about wraps up the knitting. I have absolutely zippo to show for
2014. Not one thing finished (save a
pair of sample/test socks that I can’t show off yet), and not really much
started either. Who has time for
knitting when there’s….
SPINNING:
I suck at keeping track of spinning so I have no idea
what I worked on at the end of 2013, but the first few months of 2014 were pretty
productive. I joined a challenge where everyone selected a "bin" of fiber to spin in 2014.
The bin:
Progress to date:
If you want details, visit my handspun page on
Ravelry. If you’re not on Ravelry, you
probably don’t care about the details anyway. I'm a little over halfway through the bin, which isn't bad for only being a third through the year. Except, like knitting, spinning has started to slow considerably too. There's a good reason for that:
That
“big plan” I really wanted my foot to heal up for? Yup, an Ironman triathlon in Mont Tremblant (near Montreal) in August. And if you're not big into the tri scene, that means a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run. Yup, I’m crazy. And nope, my foot is still not totally
healed, and I started Ironman training
in January allowed to run only 30 second intervals at a time. Lucky for me triathlon encompasses 2 other
sports that I can spend loads of time on.
But that pretty much sucks because I enjoy running and sort of just
tolerate the other 2 because the events are fun. Oh, yeah, and it’s good for my body to
diversify. Or something.
Training is 6 days/week, with double workouts now on 2 weekdays, and lengthy weekend workouts which are only going to get longer. Currently I'm at about 12-13 hours/week of swim, bike, run plus more time for strength training, driving to the pool or wherever I'm biking, stretching, icing sore feet, etc. So, yeah, I'm neglecting the blog, knitting, and spinning. Along with cleaning, shopping, brushing the dogs, and any laundry that isn't workout related.
I'd like to say I'll be back soon, but, well, I'm not making any promises. That said, I do have handspun epic afghan progress to share so there is at least some hope I won't fall off the Internet for 5 months again.
