Xmas is next week!

I need to catalog my needles. I don't know what I have and in what UFO it's currently hanging. I can't determine and obtain the other needles I need unless I do this. One more thing to add to the to-do list.

I also am discovering that I have problems with most patterns that involve a lot of YOs. It's like I have a mental block keeping track of patterns with a lot of stuff in them. A shame, but I suppose I'll be a happier knitter focusing on what I do really well. Not to say I won't keep trying to increase what I know, but I know where my comfort zone is.

Forest Canopy Shawl is progressing slowly. I've had to rip back to the 2nd repeat lifeline 4 or 5 times now, but have now managed to get to the halfway point in the repeat, so I am optimistic.

I still need to put something mindless on the needles for when I just can't seem to follow the yo, sl1-k2tog-psso stuff in the FCS.

Last week, I got back on the bandwagon of exercising and eating right. I'm using heart rate training, getting on the bike for 30 min 3x per week and doing yoga for weight loss 1x per week and doing a 10/10/10 on the bike/rowing machine/elliptical.

Going to do that again this week, and adding C25K workouts on the elliptical after the bike. Eventually, want to get up to 2x/wk yoga for weight loss.

Did well on food tracking last week, and when I got on the scale on Saturday, it said 4 lbs gone. I won't get that every week, nor do I expect it, but it was nice to see. :)

My inducement to workout? I can't knit in the evenings unless I've done some sort of workout, unless I'm injured or sick. It worked well last week.

I'm going to bring workout clothes to work and do workouts at work during quarter-end close, so that I don't muck up the good foundation I'm setting here.

When we go to Iowa next week, I can bring workout clothes and do bike/elliptical, probably, and once we get to Denver, I can go for 60 min walks every day and that will tide me over.

projects!

My second Clapotis found its way to its home, in scenic San Bruno, CA. California's in the middle of a cold snap, and it seems that something snuggly to wear such as a Clapotis is a Good Thing. Glad you like it, tk.

I went to find yarn with her in mind, knowing she likes oranges and browns, and the autumn colors in this one are nice. She's been one of my best friends for 10 years now, and I wanted to make her something that was one of a kind.

I have now cast on for the forest canopy shawl twice. I now have a 3rd start on the needles, and am hoping it'll work this time. I'm having a hard time getting the pattern in my head, so I may be missing yarnovers or something. I may not have chosen the best yarn for 1st lace project, but I'll keep at it. It's also not easy to un-knit, so I guess I'll learn to knit more slowly/carefully. I need to get a mindless project on the needles - I was exhausted last night and wanted mindless knitting, but all of the projects I have on needles are complicated for me.

I should start a basketweave blanket or something. I seem to have more luck when not knitting for myself.

Finished Object!!

Knitting, knitting, knitting! Haven't been working out or watching what I eat, but I have been knitting!

My second Clapotis was finished yesterday.

There are more photos up on Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/empire74/sets/72157622830119597/

I'm casting on for the Forest Canopy today. Cast on last night but managed to mess up near the end of the setup rows. So, I took it all apart and will start over again tonight.

Stitches and stitches and stitches.

Hey, it's December tomorrow!

I haven't been posting regular updates... but I have been knitting!

I'm feverishly working on my 2nd Clapotis, and am about halfway through the straight rows section. I'm trying to finish that so that I can start on my first lace shawl, the Forest Canopy, which I am making to wear to a wedding next May.

Also on the needles is a Sooper Sekrit project that I really need to put the hammer down on to complete by May.

Sean's socks are on the needles, but pending the completion of the Sooper Sekrit project.

I survived the crazy month of October at work, and we went to Puerto Rico in mid-November for a long weekend to celebrate. PR was wonderful and I highly recommend it, particularly the western-coast town of Rincon and the Lazy Parrot Inn on hwy 413.

We hosted Thanksgiving for the first time. Our friends danRay and Panda were in attendance, as were my in-laws. danRay made a beautiful turkey, and Sean and I made side dishes and Mom brought pie and kolaches!

Good thing about having company - the house looks a lot cleaner! Now to keep that up!

Sean got a new workbench - he's getting into electronics again, as well as r/c airplanes - he's building his own r/c airplane now. I have been working on beginning electronics projects too, which is fun.

We're definitely keeping busy.

This coming weekend, we'll be in the greater Milwaukee area, which will help my homesickness. Might be in Chicagoland next weekend, not sure, and we'll be doing Iowa/Denver over Christmas and the week after.

Looking forward to 2010, also. 2009 hasn't been a bad year, but it's been a tough year. Onward!

In it to win it!

Still knitting, mostly. Work's starting to eat my life again, but that'll be over soon enough.

I had a wonderful birthday - came in to work in the morning for a few hours, and my office mates had decorated the whiteboard outside my cube for my birthday. I left at 11:30, and met up with Sean. We went and he flew airplanes and we visited with friends, and then we ran some errands while listening to the Twins game on the radio in the car, got service arranged on my new (to me) iPhone (eee!), and then went to Great India in Brooklyn Park for dinner, which was *so* good. And Sean got me into their kitchen to see the tandoor. :)

Then we came home and I was mellow and helped Sean pack.

Got up at 5 am yesterday, took Sean to el aeropuerto (he -is- in Mexico, after all), and came home. I sat around like a lump all day yesterday. I had to rip out and restart the sekrit project, due to my inability to currectly knit a seed stitch border the first time through. I'm now halfway back to where I was when I ripped it out, so that's good. Watched the Twins game yesterday and cheered on the boys to a win in the 162nd game of the season.

I rooted for the White Sox to beat Detroit, which they couldn't pull off, and so the Twins will go to a tiebreaker game tomorrow @ the Dome. If I didn't have year-end stuff at work, I so would have tried to get tickets to the game.

I'm looking forward to tracking the game tomorrow at 4 pm Central.

Also looking forward to hopefully getting in an hour or two of knitting on the sekrit project tonight. Might also get some knitting done on Clapotis #2 during lunch this week, maybe. Probably no progress made ont he socks till Sekrit Project is done. Sorry, sweetie.

So, still here, still knitting, still trying to keep my wits about me. :)

Updatey.

WEll, the Magic Scarf referred to in the last post is hereby off the needles for another sekrit project. I bought the yarn for it yesterday and cast on. I can't wait to show you the finished result. .... at some later time, when it's done. :)

I've got the Clapotis in my bag for quick knitting here and there, and this new project is primarily an at-home project.

It was raining so hard in downtown Mpls this morning that I could barely see. It's 8:30 am and it's so dark outside it looks like dusk-veering-toward-the-blackness-of-night. Hello, fall!

Knitting update

I now have project #3 on the needles (4, in you count the Mitered Squares blanket, which I haven't worked on in a long time). I bought some Hempathy yarn, which was originally scheduled for the Clapotis I now have on the needles. But the yarn wasn't lending itself well to the Clapotis application. I tried a few other things, none of which worked, so now I'm making another Magic Scarf (Crazy Aunt Purl's inspiration), in stripes of my MC, CC, and both together. I hope it works. It'll be a faster knit, even though it's DK yarn on size 3 needles, because it's just knits and purls and making sure my squares are 10x10.

Clapotis work continues during lunch, as I can. Socks, well, I need to get to the socks. Maybe the weekends can be for socks. :)

I'm in a knitting phase. Probably because the weather's getting colder and I love snuggling inside my warm loft space, knitting away, while the wind howls outside.

Sean's home from VA on Friday night, and though I have to work on Saturday, I'm hoping to be able to get out by 2 so that we can go to the AT&T store and get my plan set up for my new (to me) iPhone. I'll have to change the phone number I've had for the last 6 years, since AT&T will only port your phone number if it's ported within the same local area as the # itself. If I had a way to port it in 262, I totally would, as changing one's phone number is a PITA. But, I shall do it, because I want the iPhone that badly, and 612 is where I'm at.