Just a few more rows...

...and I will be done with the main knitting on the monster I am working on. Then I can start my next project, another monster! These two will be Christmas gifts.

The reason I cannot wait to finish these is because I have a cowl planned that will allow me to practice knitting Continentally. Normally, I knit English, but I took at class at Vogue Knitting Live so I can knit two-handed when I use two colors. It should be interesting to see how I put that in to practice. But that is a ways down the line, first I have to get comfortable with both knitting styles. The knit stitch is easy, it's the purl I have trouble with. I end up losing tension. I'm sure that as I practice I will come up with a way to make it work for me.

Cycling Goal- 1,000 Miles. CHECK!

Hell yeah, we did it! Mr. TEK and I bicycled just over 1,000 miles over the course of the season. It is an amazing feeling, to set a goal like that and accomplish it. Our biggest hangup is the time involved. We still managed to have an outing average of 16.7 miles. At the beginning of the season our normal weekday ride was 10 miles. By the end of the season we managed to increase our speed enough that we could do a 15 mile route with the time that we had.

I'm kinda happy that cycling season is over for us, towards the end it was getting to be a chore. One thing that helped were the organized rides we signed up for. We did both the Tour de Troit and the Blue Water Ramble. We've started back at the gym now, and I know for a fact that I am in much better shape than when we signed up for our membership in February to prepare for cycling season.

Here are the bikes on the car for the final trek to the local metropark. I'm looking forward to next year!

Finally, a finished object post: Schieffelin Point Shawl

So here it is, post blocking, taped to a wall:



And this is me wearing it like a scarf:



Forgive my terrible hair day, but the rest of that outfit was fabulous. Grey herringbone dress, black tights, grey boots, and red scarf.

I really really really love this shawl. The yarn is amazing, I'm sad I learned about it after it was discontinued. The color is strong and beautiful, and it just feels so nice against skin. It does shed a little more than I would like.

The pattern for the shawl is well written, and the chart easy to follow. The hardest part I had was doing the increases as directed without losing count, which happened, multiple times.

Pattern: Schieffelin Point Shawl by Kate Gagnon Osborn
Yarn: Misti Alpaca Baby Suri Alpaca and Silk
Needles: US7

Check out the Ravelry Project Page.

I highly recommend the pattern.

October was BUSY!

And here we are in November.  And with November is NaBloPoMo. So I'm going to try to blog something every day. I can do this.

October is a transition month for me. The end of cycling season and the beginning of gym season. Time to clean up the patio and the yard, and settle in to being inside. More knitting, less being too hot to move. Hot cocoa instead of iced tea.

A pasty for lunch.

Open, Honest, Fear

I have many fears: failure, snakes, bees and other flying stinging insects, and social events. Really, for me, my social fear relates to my fear of failure. It doesn’t matter how well I know someone, how long we have been friends and hanging out, I get a gnawing, annoying fear prior to each and every event. I force myself out of it, have an awesome time with my friends, and then on the way home it hits- the fear and second guessing, the thoughts that my friends are not really my friends- they just feel sorry for me. I remember the “stupid shit” I said, and how the person or people I said it to must think I am an asshole of epic proportions. Sometimes it takes just a few minutes to remind myself that my friends are my friends- that they probably didn’t even notice whatever my transgressions were, as they were busy with their own. Other times, it is hours. Moments in time can come back and punch me in the stomach days, week, months, years after the fact. Long after that person would ever think about it- and even if they did, long after that person would have “forgiven” me, if necessary.

I decided some time ago that I needed to talk about this. I needed to deal with the lack of confidence in my interpersonal relationships, because it was hurting me. There are so many people over the years that I walked away from because I didn’t know how to deal. Sometimes I still don’t know how to deal, but I push through. I don’t want to be like some of the other people in my life who have nothing but their spouse and children. I want to have experiences that are not the same as my husbands, I want people to talk to that are not him. I don’t want to rely upon my theoretical children for a view of the world outside my home.

I’m not quite sure where I am going with this, but I feel the need to write this out. Probably because of upcoming work obligations that are going to force me into interactions with people I don’t know for 14ish hours a day for a week. I am going to have to carve out some quiet time to knit, read, or just simply find peace. 

Minimal Knitting Content Ahead

I have been knitting a bit, but it doesn’t look like I’m making much progress. I am though - I think I have just one more repeat of the houndstooth before I start the decreases to finish off the head. I should be ready to start the arms by the end of this week, if I manage to get some knitting done in the evenings.

I was going to take a photo of the minimal progress, but then I didn't. It's been a week. I'll just post this today.

I’ve started an organization project: I’m going to re-tag all of my flickr photos. I’m slowly deleting all of my existing tags, and will start replacing them soon. It’s kind of annoying, but it will help me find the photos I’m looking for. I wish flickr made it easier to reuse tags, so then I don’t end up with 3 or 4 variations of “knit”.

Otherwise I’ve been spending my time reading cheesy romance novels (and finally started the book for my bookclub. More on that Thursday.) and now playing a web-based MMO gamed called Glitch. It’s really fun! You can either sign up for beta access (mine took about 2 weeks or so) or if you already have a friend with beta access they can send you an invite. I think the limit is 3 invites per person, and I still have all of mine… hint, hint!

Then there is Diablo III, which I will pick up more now than Mr. TEK is home in the evenings again, and Civ V. It’s a wonder I even get out of my chair!!

We also had scare with Duke this week. Onions. Which are poison to cats. *sigh* Why does he like to eat poison?

He's fine, we didn't even have to take him to the vet, but we did call (twice) just to be sure.

Knittyboard Swap Finished Object

I can hardly believe it is September already! I have been knitting all summer despite the record heat. And today I have a finished object for you! It’s not the shawl; I still haven’t gotten photos of me wearing it. Perhaps I will be inspired to get some when I get home from work tonight. I’ll have to find my tripod and remote shutter release.

Today’s finished object is a Monster I knit for the Knittyboard Farewell/Boardwarming Swap. I received a set of beautiful knit coasters that match my kitchen from helsbels. She even worked on them while she was at the London Olympics!

For my recipient, I wanted to send something to hug. I ordered some Malabrigo Chunky yarn and decided to make a quick monster. It was supposed to have ears, but I got down to the wire and chose antenna instead. I cut out felt circles to make the black safety eyes stand out against the dark yarn, and did a simple mouth.



As usual for me, I picked-up and knit the stitches for the arms and legs instead of sewing them on after, so they are a little crooked. Oops. The yarn did not pool as I expected, which is certainly good.

All in all, I love how this guy turned out. Each one seems to have its own personality.



Details-
Pattern: Gabby the Garden Monster
Yarn: Malabrigo Chunky  #247 Whales Road
Needles: US 10
Ravelry Link