Stash Dash started last month. I didn't really think anything of it, but I'm suddenly motivated to compete with myself to see how many WIPs I can finish this summer. The goal of Stash Dash is to get as many meters and WIPs out of your stash as possible. My meterage goal is going to be 1,000 meters, since that's the lowest finish line thread. There is almost definitely more than that in Nightingale, but I'm not confident I'll finish that one this summer. As of this morning I have 6 WIPs and 1 FO. I took pictures of all of them today, and I'm going to post everything on Ravelry. Stash Dash ends August 24th, which gives me 69 days to finish 2 (4 if I actually keep up with my monthly sock kit) pairs of socks, 3 shawls, and maybe 1 sweater. That should be over 1,000 meters, right? It also assumes I don't cast on anything new. I'm running out of fixed needles and cables for my interchangables, so that might not be a problem. But I will be freeing up needles as I finish things, so there is possibility of cast-on-itis.
So what are my WIPs? I'll start with the socks.
Around this time last year, I told my costumer friend that I'd knit her a pair of alien socks by Christmas. I got the gauge completely wrong and had to give up on those. I tried again but hated maintaining the proper gauge, so I frogged those. Now I am knitting her a pair of vanilla socks. I am using Twisted Owl Fiber Studio yarn in the colorway Raz Ma Taz. I was going pretty well for a while. Then I got to the point I wanted to start the heel and just stopped for a while. I finally put in a Fish Lips Kiss heel and am now on the foot, where I've paused for a few weeks.
The other sock is for me. A couple months ago, I got a kit from Knit Picks with all the yarn needed for all the Toasty Toes patterns. It's a different pair of socks to knit each month of the year. At the beginning of this month, I cast on my first pair. The pattern is called Wildflower. It's toe up, and so far I've gotten the toe and the first 8 rows of the first pattern repeat done. That took a weekend, and I haven't knit on them since.
The shawls, which I seem to just keep casting on
The oldest shawl is only a few months old. It is the Butterfly shawl I talked about previously. It hasn't seen much growth since I last posted. The short rows involve a lot of counting, which takes some energy. I haven't really felt like thinking about my knitting for a while. It's made from Urth yarns. It looks so gorgeous. I love how the self striping colorway looks with this pattern.
The next shawl, I got the yarn for at the Powhatan Fiber Festival. It is the Local Yarn Shop day pattern Magical Thinking, and it is obnoxiously yellow. I love it. I put it down just before starting the 3rd section, because it requires some thinking, mostly counting to 3 and remembering to slip purlwise instead of knitwise. I have been working on it again this week, but I keep being slightly off right after the increases, so it went into time out yesterday. It might be coming out soon. The needle is a bit annoying because it's cheap, and I've been using Chia goos for most of my projects.
The newest shawl is the PANK Experiment (it's a man about cake reference.) It is super bright and fun. I'm not really following a pattern. It supposed to be a circular shawl with a slit to the center so that it can drape over my shoulders nicely without having to be folded. Basically I cast on 9 stitches and am doubling them every so often. Each section has twice as many rows as the last. If it was a true circular shawl, I would have joined it in the round instead of just turning and going back and forth. There's not going to be any lace or anything on it, because I was trying to use a different style of knitting. It was still English flicking, but I was trying not to take my right hand off the needle as I was doing it. Usually I let go of the needle and move my whole hand to wrap the yarn around the needle. The new method is supposed to be faster because it's smaller movements. The only problem is that my hand doesn't want to do it that way because of muscle memory. I've been taking it to work to not knit on during my break. The rows are long enough that I can't get through a whole row in the time I have after I eat.
The sweater
I had gotten into the actual cabling on Nightingale, and then stalled out. I do not like purl through the back loop, and so it sat for quite a while. Then I decided to frog it and start over in the round. I am about 2-2.5 inches in, and it's a lot easier now. I pretty much know the chart for the one row I'm repeating twice per round. I just don't feel like paying attention to knitting right now, so it's just sitting in the bag.
I have also been working on drop spindling. When I actually do it, I have a lot of fun with it. I'm going to use the yarn to make a hat, even though the yarn is going to be really thick and thin. It will end up being barber poled with blue, pink, and purple
So what about that finished object? I signed up for the Darn Good Yarn of the month subscription, and I got my first box yesterday. Yes, I immediately cast on with wild disregard for my other projects. I started off following the pattern they provided. I didn't really like it so I switched to just rib, then stockinette. I got up this morning (at 3:30, I'll get to that later) and decided I didn't like the look of the changing stitches, but the stockinette looked good. I ripped out everything I had done and cast on again. I finished the cowl around 11:00 am. It's worsted weight, single ply, silk roving. I don't know how I feel about knitting with pure silk. It's pretty and has a nice sheen, but I'm not thrilled with how it feels. I've decided I'm sending it to my teacher friend in upstate New York. I did a three needle bind off on it, so I don't have to seam it. It still really needs to be blocked, though, which means getting blocking mats. That's not a big deal, but it's another step.
That should be plenty of meterage for Stash Dash. I just don't know how I'm actually going to figure out how many meters each project uses.
Non Knitting Stuff
I've been getting up at 3:30 every morning for the last week. That seems hellishly early,, but I have to be at work at 5:00 am, and getting up at 4:00 doesn't give me enough time to actually cook breakfast and clean up. I've been getting up that early on my days off because I'm trying to develop better sleep hygiene. My body is happiest when it knows what to expect. Since Monday, I've been feeling really good. I've been a bit grumpy but only right after a nap, so I've decided no more naps. I have been drinking coffee in the morning to help keep me awake, it is always well diluted with dark chocolate almond creamer. I know black coffee would be healthier, but I don't like the taste.
The sleep hygiene improvement was inspired by a book, Get Your Life Together (ish). It's a series of easy, medium and hard challenges to help you improve your life. The first challenge was get up 15 minutes early, then get up 30 minutes early for a week. My next challenge is to get up early every day for a month. It was hard to get through this week, especially when I realized I have to continue to get up early for work until Thursday, because even though I'm scheduled for 10 am tomorrow, I have to be in at 5, since Little Miss Call Out probably won't come in because she got suspended for next week (which starts on Tuesday for our schedules). I got through this week because I bribed myself with the promise of yarn for a two skein crop top. I think my bribe for the doing the whole month is going to be getting a new set of interchangable needles. The ones I have are not terrible, but the joins aren't the best, and I broke one of the tips, so I'm probably going to go with a set metal needles.
A while back I read a book on Lagom, it's a foreign word, I don't remember which language it's from but it means something close to "not too little not too much." One of the things it mentions is how in the country, kids only get candy once a week on Saturdays. Part of the point is that it makes it more special and less likely to be abused like unlimited access. I've taken this idea and applied it to my Starbucks Frappeccinos. Basically, I can have one a week, on Sundays since that's been one of my days off lately. If I have one another day, I don't get to go out to Starbucks and knit Sunday morning. I really like the almost ritual of going out while it's quiet just enjoying my morning and the drink. Though today, it's more afternoon than morning since I was so focused on the cowl.
Since the last time I posted, I moved out of my parents' house and into my brother's apartment. I've been feeling pretty lonely because both brother and wife spend a lot of time at work, not that I don't, my hours are just really early, so I'm alone most of the afternoon. The loneliness is part of the reason I started talking to teacher friend again. I know I need to make more friends, I just don't really know how. Mom suggests taking classes. I've started looking at taking dance lessons at the studio near the apartment. I think it's the same one brother and wife took the lessons for their first dance. I keep meaning to talk to her about it, see what her opinions are.
Mr. Kitty's Adventures
I was not able to take Mr. Kitty when I moved out, so he's going to have to go with Mom and Dad to the mountains when they move next month. He was apparently very good at avoiding capture while they were getting ready to show the house. His new favorite spot is on top of the back of Dad's computer chair. He loves bounding up there, but if nobody is sitting in the chair when he does it, the chair tips over and he bolts from the room.
Mental health has been really good. I think the efforts with sleep hygiene are helping a lot. I am generally positive and calm, minus some moments at work when people are being annoying. I'm not hating my job right now, which is a big improvement. I've really noticed that since my promotion. My next test is supposed to be scheduled soon, since someone has to come to the store to actually test me. I'm doing well, even with the loneliness, I'm doing well.