Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Lace update

I decided that if I'm not going to neglect this blog that I need to put it on my weekly to do list. I look at that list every day, and having it on there will mean at least weekly updates. At least that was the plan last week. But between an extended weekend, due to snow and ice, I had to cram most of my stuff into fewer days and sadly the blog suffered. It wasn't alone--many things got carried over into this week. Anyway I did manage to copy these two pictures:

This is the lace I've been working on. In this picture I can totally see the error I made in the simple lace part. More on that later. Let's just say knitting this without a lifeline means that some mistakes are staying and I'm calling them humble mistakes.

It looks more purple in real life. Also I can see the error I made....

A photo posted by Jodie (@ja_gardner) on

Last week, I did try to do one self-care item every day. SOme were not fun--like I had a dentist AND eye dr appointments, but some were totally fun like using this fabric to make some pajama pants for me. I even had forgotten I had this fabric!

Just to be clear, these are becoming pj pants for ME. #selfishsewing

A photo posted by Jodie (@ja_gardner) on

Ok, but that was last week--what's up this week you might ask.

Well the lace continues to grow.

Getting longer

A photo posted by Jodie (@ja_gardner) on

I took this picture minutes ago. Again you can really see the error, but I'm humble. I also made another error (in that same simple lace part) while I was knitting at the car dealership today (new car oil change!) and while I think I got it sorted out, I must have twisted a stitch because it looks a little funny to me. When do you suppose I'll give up and start running a lifeline?

I've also been sort of puzzling over what will I do with this when I'm done? How will I wear it? Where will I wear it? And frankly, I don't think I'm fashionable (or warm enough) right now to know. Hopefully something will come up. The end product is too long and too wide to use as a scarf, but might be too narrow (we'll see after blocking) to wear as a full wrap. I guess I'll just have to ponder that.

Some people might wonder why I keep knitting something that I don't really have a use in mind for and whenever I ask myself that question, I always find that the anser is--I'm enjoying knitting this. I think it is beautiful and I'll find some use for it.

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

new year

Dear reader, when I finished what would be my last entry for 2016 so many things were happening. I was frustrated with my knitting, and feelign stuck in my life. Then two things happened that have kept me from updates until now. First I got sick. Really sick. Basically a cold or maybe a flu. And seriously, I was sick for 4 weeks. I spent a whole week not working, which for me is amazing. I went to urgent care right before Christmas, because after I finally went back to work, I suddenly went right back downhill. So cold, that turned into sinus infection. While the antibiotics worked, they did not actually clear up the congestion and so another two weeks of sneezing and blowing and hacking.

And also dear reader, I figured out the heel to this sock:

Sock has a heel

A photo posted by Jodie (@ja_gardner) on

I ended up using a heel pattern that looks like the picture that came with the pattern. And it does look like the picture. My problem is that it isn't a very high instep and so it feels tight across there. And even though I don't have a finished picture--I did finish the sock. I THOUGHT I put it on instagram, but alas, I did not. I did actually take a picture though. It's on my phone somewhere.

I developed a terrible case of second sock syndrome. I ripped out my baseball sock that was too small--the whole thing. With the intention Christmas night to start a new sock and take it traveling with us. However, my mother in law got me yarn and a pattern (that it sort of goes with--the store she bought it at put them together for her) and well I was hooked.

New year, new lace. Always hard to see what it will really look like while it's on the needles.

A photo posted by Jodie (@ja_gardner) on

Honestly, lace was probably not the best project to travel with. But really most of the mistakes I've made have been since school started back up again and we're back to being exhausted. SInce I took this picture, I've knit more and wished that I'd had a lifeline because there is an error, which I can see if I look. I'm leaving it though (Maybe to prove to myself that to err is human).

And then, as if I wasn't distracted enough.
One of my daughters has been chilling out in the evenings by braiding embroidery floss into bracelets. So for Christmas we got her a friendship bracelet kit--more for the instructions on making different patterns. She had mastered a basic knotted bracelet and wanted to try chevron. So, we tried with her instructions. Sigh (they're probably translated into English using google translate). However, a you tube tutorial filled in the missing pieces and I decided to play with sock yarn, while she does her embroidery floss. I didn't really like the color combo on this, but she did!

So that dear reader is what I've been doing this last month. I now have 2 single socks that don't match, a half completed lace thing that I don't know how I'll wear and a sock yarn friendship bracelet.