No Knitting = No Update

Okay, so maybe “no knitting” is an exaggeration, but really, I’ve not done a whole lot of knitting lately,  I am steadily plugging along on a women’s sock, but it is s.l.o.w. going!  I just don’t have a lot of time.  I plan to get a picture of the progress, though and post it later today.

Missed Deadline and this time… an Actual vent.

Just about 2 weeks ago, I mentioned that I was waaaaay behind on a project that had a suspense date.  Well, that date has now passed! While I’m thrilled for mom and family, I am so disappointed in myself for not finishing the sleeves yet.

This time, however, my reason is not ADD knitting.  I’ve been really busy with schooling the kids this year.  Everything seems more intense than in the past. I don’t know why, but it is likely just a combination of which years are going on simultaneously.  I’ve got 6th, 8th, and both 11/12 with The Queen of Hearts who is intending to graduate a year early.  I think I “did” math for 5 hours yesterday.

Anyway, back to knitting… I really need to get that gift finished (btw, I did already give her some longies and a wooden baby rattle/toy, so I’m not a total slacker!).  I am trying really hard to not jump around and cast on new projects, but I am feeling like I’m getting behind.  It is taking every ounce of will I have  to stick with what I am already doing.  I think it would be easier if I had more knitting time.  Maybe not, though.

I have done some “soul searching” ( or is it “sole searching”?) and have come to the conclusion that there are some things (yes, knitting things) that I need to cut from my life  (though there are probably a lot of other things, too…)  My time is very precious (and limited) and I realized this morning that some things are not worth the mess that comes with them.  This is particularly true for an online knitting “group” I joined.

This group has turned out to be a big disappointment to me.  Part of the disappointment for me stems from the fact that the group doesn’t really seem like a group.  By that I mean that there is little “fellowship” allowed and friendships are nearly impossible to build.

Heaven forbid you ask a question (I don’t know…. like, “hey, what kind of difference have you noticed in your kitchener and this other one?  Is there really a difference?  I’ve always done it this other way ~ with success ~ so I am interested in knowing if it matters, practically speaking.”) or if you make a statement about YOURSELF and then offer to share something with the group. (I don’t know… like, “I really hate plastic needles… I hate wood, too, for that matter, so since I won’t use these plastic needles that I received, I’m happy to send them to whoever would like them.”)  If you do ask such questions or make such statements, the leader will publicly criticize you or will reject your email so that the rest of the group cannot see it.  Talk about controlling!

The above questions in pink are actual questions/statements I have emailed and I was treated harshly in response (was told my email about sending needles to anyone who wanted them was a “vent”.  Whatev.) FYI: if I hate plastic needles, it’s nothing personal. Not even to the manufacturer/designer of such needles.

I strongly believe that volunteers should not be made to feel like crap without just cause.  I guess I’m funny that way.  I also believe that in order to keep a group motivated it is important to ensure that they feel they are part of a group, connected personally to others who support the same cause, but this type of thing seems to be discouraged in the group I am talking about.  It seems all that you are allowed to say is:  “I ordered yarn”, “I got my yarn”, “I sent my project” and, of course, any glowing compliments about the leader are more than welcome. errrm.

Unfortunately, it isn’t always easy to discern what this kind thing will bring in advance, so you may end up making a zealous kind of “commitment” to something before you can really understand what it’s all about…. or what price you really have to pay for it.

It is in my best interest to leave the group.  Yes, I purchased yarn through them “at cost” (I think the Hearth and Home Cooperative, generally speaking, is getting better prices than the group I am leaving does) but I did purchase it.  I have found nearly the same prices on the internet for the same yarn: roughly $6/ball.  If a business can charge that and stay in business, I don’t think I’ve taken advantage of the group that charged me $24 for 4 balls even if they spent $3 on shipping. I actually sent them $80 for 8 balls of yarn and a few cheap trinkets.  I don’t feel guilty about leaving; I feel relieved.  (and the “exclusive pattern”?  just a basic one.  nothing special or different about it.  same cast on, same structure, typical parts and ways of doing them.  In having access to the copyrighted pattern, I really didn’t see anything new… but I won’t use it in the future.  No problem, no loss.)

So!  On to better things!!!!!!

Here is a sock I am working on…. well, trying to work on….

I’ve gotten about 3 more inches of the leg done since I took this photo.

I was pretty excited a couple of weeks ago or so when I found some yarn!!!  I cleaned out our “school supply/craft closet” and found a box and a large bag with yarn in them!  WhooHoo!  It was like getting a surprise gift, even though I am the one who bought it!

Well, I’m off to do math.  Hopefully I can sneak a little knitting time in today.

My IBOL Bundles… P.I.E.

NO. Not Pie, P.I.E.! Photo Intense Entry. Now, on to the entry!

Iraqi Bundles of Love

Wow. I did it. I let go of A LOT of stash. Believe it or not, I think that as hard as letting go of some of the yarn stash was, my one, measly bundle of fabric was harder. Maybe because it was more like the widow’s mite. I gave them all of the fabric I had. It’s not THAT much, but it was all I had. Honestly, even though much of the yarn gave me pause as I went through it and packed it, it was from my abundance. I still have about as much yarn left. Nicer yarn. maybe even more than I bundled.

Sorry, I flipped this before I uploaded, but it flipped back in transit, I guess!

The bin and 2 boxes are only some of what I bundled.
There is another box, a much, much bigger box that I bundled as well.

Well, first, yarn is harder to bundle than fabric. I needed a plan for how to get this bundled. I asked IBOL Guy about it and of course, he was grateful for any donation, but told me that bundles really do work best. So… what to do? Ahhhh! Inspiration strikes!!!! Cheap (clearance is preferable!) pillowcases. And I found some at wallyworld! Not quite as lovely as some of the bundles I’ve seen on the IBOL site, but it worked. And those who benefit from this project will probably repurpose them. Nice.

so, i started with the pillowcase like this

Ack! I almost forgot to mention my helpers!!! This is "Milky White" (named for a character in a play she did)

The Mad Hatter also helped, but I didn’t get a picture of her helping with this project So I will share this one again.

No? You want something new? Okay. It’s not really “new” but new to my blog(s). It’s actually almost a year old.. but I think it’s great. I know. My friends are going to think I’m off of my rocker. Maybe I am.

Yes. The Joker. NO. She did NOT see the movie!
Anyway, The Mad Hatter helped, too.

We really did think we were going to send it all in these boxes
Then we realized there was NO. WAY.
It would cost WAY too much.
You just can’t fit much yarn in those flat rate boxes.
Yarn just doesn’t weigh much, ya know?
Unless you have three 16X16X15 boxes.

That adds up.
So, While flat rate boxes make sense most of the time,
they didn’t make sense this time.

That is my lone fabric bundle.

I really like the fabric in there. It wasn’t expensive
Real seamstresses or quilters would probably laugh at me
But that’s okay.
I really, really liked it.
And I let it go.
*sniff*

But it’s all good!

OH! I almost forgot my other helpers! My package inspectors:

Spidey

Tubby. Bird Murderer in predawn darkness,
Package Inspector by daylight.

Pre-Bundle Peek

You can’t see all the nicer stuff. I can’t remember all that I sent
I do remember some Wool-Ease
and a bunch of other stuff.
I’m really tired. I can’t remember.

Building Bundles

By the way, each bundle has a set of needles in it.
I suppose I should be honest and admit
that I did NOT let go of my own needle stash.
No, I didn’t share my Addi needles.
Instead, I bought some Boye needles when I bought the pillow cases.

Here they are. The finished bundles! Wow!

What? No? You can’t grasp the enormity from that angle?

Okay. Here you go.

And, finally, a picture for Mr. Ibol Guy.

(If he comes here to see)

I have honored your request.
This thing was half-full.
He fell asleep in front of the TV
in an “ice cream-induced” sleep
or crash
or something.

That is almost the whole process. I will get a picture of the packed boxes tomorrow and add them to this post. If I remember.

(This entry cross-posted at my “regular” blog)

Getting a Grip on Knitting

Before I share the things I have been pondering and the decisions I have made and the approach I am going to take, I want to remind everyone that this is my way to do it. It might not help you. If it does, you’re welcome. If not, I’m not sorry because I really think it is going to help me.

The major key to succeeding in the plan, I believe, will be my will. Having the will to commit to being methodical and realistic is what I need more than anything.

The first thing I did was ask myself some questions. I answered them honestly. Here are the questions:

What are your knitting goals/purposes?

What are the “issues” or problems with knitting overload and how can each be addressed? In other words: HOW DID I GET HERE? HOW CAN I GET TO A SANE PLACE?

Where does charity knitting fit?

What about “challenges” and KAL’s and so on?

The following link is to a PDF with my answers:

Q&A Knitting

My plan for now (and I’m sure it will have to be tweaked) is to knit 3 times a day during the school/work week. (Yes, really!)

I plan to knit in my quiet morning time while I pray, once during school hours (specifically those times when the kids are [quietly] working on Math or reading history or writing a paper and don’t need my constant, direct, one-on-one attention) and in the evening while watching TV or, more accurately, watching my family watch TV (I almost never have a say in what is on!)  Further, I am going to AVOID knitting during the times not allotted so that I can be faithful to what I really need to do and not live by catering to my every want.  Because seriously, I’d rather knit than clean the toilets, do laundry or cook.  Surprising, I know.  If I cater to my every want, well, the bathrooms would be gross, we’d have no clean clothes/towels, etc., and we would live on cereal alone.  Not. Good.

I am still undecided about whether I will devote entire days to particular areas of knitting (charity, gift, family, Christmas) or if I will give each a time slot each day or what. That will likely have to remain flexible as when I have a suspense date for a project, I may want to work on it “all day” every day until it is finished, but later, when there is no suspense, I might want to alternate somehow to have some variety and meet my ADD needs. Starting tomorrow, I will work exclusively on the two baby gifts until they are done and I will work on them in order of due date! Once those are completed and delivered, I will be able to work on other things. While I work on the baby gifts, I’ll hammer out my knitting priorities and fill out Project Pages on them.

Here are my project pages:

knitting page sample (a filled in one, PDF, just a sample)

Knitting form (blank, PDF)

If you looked at my own Q&A for myself, you probably saw at the end that I have decided to drop out of the 52 Pair Plunge.  I am also committed to NOT joining any other challenges or knit-alongs.  The truth of the matter for me is that they quickly cease to be fun (i feel burdened by them!) and they serve no good purpose but to stroke my ego. “Look what I did!” (I suppose a project linus knit-along could serve a purpose, but those aren’t the ones I join!)

This “plan” isn’t big or difficult.  It’s not even brilliant, but I realized that I really just had to make some choices.  Choices for some things and against others.  All of life is like that, isn’t it?  When I over-goal, I end up with nothing…. or nothing for a long time…. except for frustration, of course.  Being more realistic, more methodical will get me to the finish line faster and more often.  I really don’t have to knit everything that I see.  Hard to believe, I know.  But it’s true.  I can stick with what we want and need and once it becomes “second nature” to discipline myself with knitting, it will be easy to add things in a sane manner.

……………………….

Iraqi Bundles of Love

This is a great idea! “IBOL Guy” is currently serving in Iraq and is running a one-time charitable activity for the local population. He is collecting “Bundles of Love”. The bundles are sewing and knitting supplies that are so welcomed and needed by the local population. If you want to clear out some closets and let go of some stash, this is the way to go.

The suspense date for mailing bundles is 8 September. Click on the logo above to learn more about what to send and how to send it.

Knitters/Crocheters, initially I had a hard time finding info about yarn and needles/hooks, but eventually I did find the info… and yes, they want our stash, too.

Uh Oh!

It just occured to me that is is September 2d.  (yes, I’m quick!)  I have a project that I’ve been working on (and off) for months that is a baby gift.  The baby girl it is intended for is due in less than 2 weeks!  OY!

I don’t know how I allow myself to get so distracted.  There really are too many projects and not enough time.

In the rest of my life, I’ve been working on getting more organized, writing and following a “Rule” (sort of like a schedule, but much more than that), I have finished writing 36 weeks of lesson plans for three children, have gone back to using menus and all sorts of other things.  It has proven very helpful to go this route in the rest of my life.  I think I need to take a similar approach with knitting.

When did it ever become a good idea to be ruled by whims and fancies?  Oh, sure, there can and should be room for spontaneity and last minute fun, but living like that all of the time is counterproductive to, well, a productive life.  The rhythms and rhymes of knitting itself, the rules by which it works are time-tested.  Slowly and methodically, stitch-by-stitch, following a pattern (and the rules for properly executing it) allows us to take a plain piece of “string” and create something beautiful, useful, practical.  Perseverance and sometimes even long-suffering are the keys to success in knitting and in life.

Over the next couple of weeks, I am committed to determining how best to approach my knitting so that I can be successful and not scatterbrained.  I am also committed to finishing that gift and, I suppose, much to the momma’s consternation, I hope that the baby stays put until I am done!  If I come up with any plan for myself and my whim-directed, ADD Knitting, I’ll share it.

An Interesting Theory

I recently read something that I thought was interesting to say the least.

Your knitting varies each day with your mood, and what is going on around you. This affects your speed and gauge a bit.

I completely understand how speed can be affected (if you have kids tugging on you or calling you every 5 minutes one day and then hardly at all the next, you will see varying rates of progress) but honestly, I don’t see how the statement can apply to gauge. If it did, wouldn’t you notice changes on anything you knit that takes more than an afternoon to complete? Wouldn’t our sweaters and afghans or individual socks have noticeable variances? Wouldn’t we look at our work and laugh (or be completely discouraged!) and point out that, “that section must have been knit when junior totaled the car!” or, “oh yeah, I had some serious PMS when I knit the last 2 inches on the leg of that sock!”

This statement was in reference to the suggestion that it is good/necessary to knit the two socks of a pair concurrently. I had believed that this suggestion had something to do with “SSS” ~ second sock syndrome. If you work on two socks concurrently, you don’t have to worry about whether or not you’ll actually cast on that other sock!

Maybe I’m just missing something, but I just don’t see how my mood and circumstances can have any real or significant effect on my knitting tension. What do you think? What has your experience been? Please answer my poll.  Thanks!!!

………………….

UPDATE:  POLL  MOVED TO SIDEBAR!  PLEASE VOTE THERE

Not Abandoned…. Really!

I’ve not abandoned this space as quickly as I came back.  I’ve just been busy with lesson plans…. which I am proud and THRILLED to report are completed for all three girls…. for all 36 weeks!!!!

I cleaned out a closet today and found something exciting! (okay, maybe exciting, maybe more like “thrilling” but it was good either way!)  More tomorrow after the pictures are downloaded from my camera.

Wow…. I really abandoned this blog

I did.  I got lazy.  I made a knitting page and interspersed knitting talk on my regular blog and never bothered to come over here.  I think maybe I didn’t feel like I was enough of a knitter to have a knitting blog… or something.  Or maybe I just felt that knitting does not have a life of its own (really, it doesn’t!) but is just an important part of my entire life.

Whatever the reason, I intend to move/copy my knitting posts over here and give this blog a try again.  I’m still not “enough of a knitter” and I am not offering free patterns or anything, but I’ll do it anyway.  Or at least I’ll try.

My Knitting Basket: 9 August 2009

9 August

I’m still not done with MissKaboom’s socks. I took a break to work on something different. I am only going to hint a bit at it for now and I’ll talk more about it later. I have things to work out before I say much more.

I have been knitting baby bonnets in all kinds of sizes, from teeny-tiny (micro-preemie) to full-term size. I will be donating these, so I guess this is charity knitting, even though there’s not an official charity I’m working with. I will share pictures after a while. I’m working out the best/fastest pattern to do these in. I will also make little matching booties and some afghans to go with them. I hope to have a good bit of this stuff “together” before September 10th. When I do, I’ll be elaborating more.