A disappointing realisation.

It was always going to be a challenge to finish my Chicknits eyelet cardi in time to register a success in the Knitting Olympics. That's the way it's meant to be. 

Unfortunately, my bad wrist started to twinge about halfway through the week, and despite an effort to take it easy since then, it's now clear that I pushed it a little too hard, and while it doesn't actually hurt to knit, I can feel the pain in my wrist afterwards. 

I'm quite disappointed. I really enjoyed the feeling of joining in on this global knitting challenge and I was making good progress. To come to the realisation that there was really no way I was going to finish unless I turned my full length, long-sleeved cardigan into a short-sleeved shrug was...hard. I didn't want to fail.

But, as Stephanie says in the Knitting Olympics pledge, "... I will remember that this is not the real Olympics, that I'm supposed to be having fun and that my happiness and self-worth ride not on my success....but on my trying."

And you can bet that I will keep trying....just a little bit slower!

And now we cross to the studio for an update.....

Garry: It's over to you, Larry and Barry!

Larry: Thanks, Garry! Welcome back to day 3 of the 17 day Women's Seamless Cardigan event. We've had a great three days of competition here and we've seen some absolutely amazing knitting, haven't we, Barry?

Barry: Yes, Larry, it's been really tough out there but they just keep coming up with the goods. After the really tense moment on day one when the Spanish competitor was nearly disqualified, everyone seems to just be getting on with the job.

Larry: So what happened there, it was all a bit confusing.

Barry:  The judges thought she was knitting a pullover rather than a cardigan. Once she explained that she was intending to steek at the end it was all sorted. 

Larry: I'll bet that was a relief for the entire Spanish team. She's got a real chance at a great result this year!

Barry: Oh - and here we get our first look at the Australian. It looks like she's catching up after the debacle at the start.

Larry: Yes, Barry, that was really unfortunate. She was out shopping when the flame was lit so she got a really late start, and 12 rows in she realised that she'd missed two increases on every right side row so she had to frog the lot and start all over again. 

Barry: She must have been pretty upset, but at least it was only on day 1.

Larry: So what do you think of her chances?

Barry: Well, Larry, I think it was a risky move to attempt this event while working full-time but I think she's travelling pretty well at the moment. 

Larry: Well, I think that she really thought about the amount of knitting time she would have available before she chose this event over something a bit tougher like the "Knit an adult pullover with your own handspun for novice spinners". That decision is definitely paying off with her progress over the last couple of days.

Barry: Yes, Larry, she's up to the eyelet rows already, so that means it won't be long before she divides for the body section. But we have to remember that this part of the event is her best, and I think we'll see her struggling a bit when it comes to the sleeves. That'll be the real test. 

Larry: And of course, her personal best on this project is about three months, so attempting to complete it in 17 days has got to be a real risk. 

Barry: I asked her about exactly that question just before the start on Saturday, and she said that it's a concern, but the last time she made this cardigan she wasn't really trying, so she really thinks that she can do it this time. 

Larry: Okay, Barry, we're really going to keep an eye on her over the next two weeks. And now it's over to Harry, who's over at the arena, for the latest on the Fun Fur and Mohair Poncho's...........

In which I prove my complete inability to tell the time.

For anyone who actually knew what time the Winter Olympics started today, my post from yesterday must have looked a bit silly. Two people pointed it out politely in the comments. The opening ceremony started at 12noon Brisbane time today, not 4am, as I said yesterday. I had looked it up online and found a way to display Vancouver time against Brisbane time. The only problem was that it also displayed GMT, and somehow, I looked at 6pm GMT and not 6pm Vancouver time. 


Once I worked all this out, I spent the morning picking up and setting up my new laptop and skeining up my first handspun yarn. I decided to stay true to the Knitting Olympics rules and not cast on until after I could confirm that the torch had actually been lit. That happened while we were out shopping so it was nearly 4pm before I got started.


In the end, I'm really disappointed with how little I got done. Of course, the realisation 10 rows in that I had made an error on row 4 and every right side row after and would have to frog the lot didn't help.  I've only done about 12 rows so far, so this is looking like I'm attempting the slalom in the wrong direction - up the hill rather than down. Oh well, I'll have to see how much I get done tomorrow.

On your marks, get set....

I signed up for the Knitting Olympics this morning. I wasn't going to do it as I've got unfinished projects that I want to complete and taking on a whole other project that had to be started and finished within 17 days just seemed beyond me, but as I thought this morning, the Knitting Olympics only comes round once every 4 years so I should at least have a go. If I fail, at least I failed while having a go, and that doesn't seem any worse than not failing because I was sittting on the sidelines not even trying. 

I will be asleep during the actual opening ceremony (it runs from 4am-6am tomorrow morning where I am) but I will be casting on soon after I get up. I'm attempting the Chicknits Eyelet Cardi, which I've had on my queue for a while. I made it once before but it was a little bit small so I'm making the next size up. 

I'm even making it in a beautiful forest green that could represent my country with a little yellow thrown in!

Go team Lexy!

You spin me right round, baby, right round.

At the end of last year, I went to support some of my Stitch 'n Bitch friends at the Queensland Spinners and Weavers Christmas Fair. It's one of only two days per year where non-members are allowed into the hallowed hall of the Emporium, a large room full of fibre-y,  yarny, equipment-y goodness. The very lovely Miss Vicki helped me to choose some lovely Merino from Treetops and a gorgeous silk hankie and recommended that I should find a nicer spindle than the plain Ashford beginner's spindles they had available.

So the fibre has sat, largely unregarded in its bag in one of my sneaky stash spots, under my desk, until this last weekend. The also very lovely Fee decided to hold a crafty day at her cosy abode and there was the suggestion that instruction in the fine art of drop spindling may be made available.

(side note. I have no idea why my language has suddenly become extremely flowery.Please bear with me. Hopefully it will sort itself out!)

With the prospect of some assistance in getting started, I thought it would be a good time to buy a drop spindle and found a lovely looking one at Spun Out, for a very reasonable cost. This is Emma, made by Kevin Rhodes. She's got a 3" cocobola whorl and a 10" purpleheart shaft and she weighs 47g. I think she's beautiful.

I watched a couple of YouTube videos for background and only needed a little encouragement when I tried to spin at Fee's place. I was pretty pleased when a couple of the girls said "Are you sure you've never done this before!". This is what I have made so far. I'm pretty happy with it, although I'm sure when I come to learn how to ply it, it'll be overspun and underspun and everything in between. All in all, pretty good for a first effort, I think!

In knitting news, I've finished the Bendigo cotton Pinwheel Baby Blanket for my Sister's expected baby, who has the nom-de-womb of Munchkin. I took a punt on the edging and did a slightly ruffled garter stitch border. It turned out absolutely perfect and I am so immensely pleased with it. Sometimes something simple just works out really, really well, and it certainly seems to be the case here. The cotton yarn is stunningly soft ("softer than any Bendy cotton I've ever worked with" seems to be the consensus from virtually everyone so I don't know whether they've improved it or I just got a good batch), the swirl pattern of the eyelet increases is simply beautiful, and the edging finishes it off with a stylishness I wasn't expecting. This project just fills me with such pride that I've been able to make something so gorgeous for this much-loved and much-anticipated little person. I live 1000km away from Munchkin's home and so it is incredibly important that my Sis can wrap her (or him - the scans seem to indicate girl at this stage but you never know) up snuggly in my love, even when I'm far away. 

Healthwise, I'm well enough to go for six months before I see the gastroenterologist again. That's a good thing, but he did say that I have some narrowing of the small intestine where my ulcers form, and my haemoglobin count is on the low end of normal, which could have contributed to my tiredness. He also thinks that it's possible that the drugs I'm on are not really doing anything as there's no significant scientific evidence that they do anything for Crohn's, but I'm staying on them as they're relatively non-noxious and this is the longest I've gone without a flare, so there's some possibility that I'm getting some benefit from them. I haven't needed prednisone in nearly a year now, which is brilliant. I'm lucky enough not to really get any of the nasty immediate side-effects of prednisone on the short bursts I've needed, but the Doc said that everyone who takes prednisone gets some side effects eventually, and I do tend to put on weight and get a little bit puffy in the face, so staying off prednisone is a good thing in my opinion.

On the work front, my performance review was really good - better than I expected, and while the mountain that is my to-do list is still resembling Everest, I really feel like I've achieved some important things lately. I have a new boss, who is really supportive but firm and won't put up with any crap, and just in the last day, I've started feeling optimistic about the future again. This, of course, goes in cycles, so I know there'll be downs again, but it feels good to be feeling up, even if it's only short-lived.

I think I'll end there today. Sorry this post has been long and all over the place, but so much has been going on and I haven't felt up to blogging most evenings so it's all piled up. I think I might go and knit a bit more on my Margot sweater. It's been a bit neglected lately and it will be nice to finish something for myself!

Slow going.

Everything's been a bit slow lately.

I'm still advancing slowly on the baby blanket - I'm up to the 540st rounds, which according to my calculations is 57% of the minimum size I want the blanket to be. I've joined on a new ball of yarn, using a russian join (the first time I've tried it and I love it - will use it for cotton yarn from now on!). I haven't taken photos but it looks just like it did in the previous photo, only bigger. I've got it on 120cm cables now. It feels like it's going really slowly but I don't think I will have any trouble getting it finished.

I completed my self-review part of the performance review cycle yesterday so there's just the review from my manager and the meeting to discuss it all to go. That's on Thursday morning. I've also got to write manager reviews for two of my three staff (the third is on leave so we will need to do his next week), and hold review meetings with them on Thursday as well. I hate performance reviews. I always feel like I'm failing in my job - we're overloaded and understaffed so as I see it, there's "doing well", and there's "doing well under the circumstances". I know I'm not "doing well" but I'm not certain if I'm "doing well under the circumstances". I guess I'll know on Thursday!

I seem to be tired all the time now, and I don't know why. I'm not getting the awful cramps and "other revolting digestive symptoms" that I normally get in a Crohn's flare so I don't expect that I'm anaemic. I have an appointment with the Gastroenterologist on Thursday morning so I guess I'll find that out on Thursday too. I was meant to go to Stitch n Bitch tonight but I've spent most of the afternoon crashed out on the couch and I feel washed out and bleaugh so I'm going to stay home. I feel awful as it's been weeks and weeks since I've been to SnB. Hopefully I will feel better next week.

If you've been thinking of buying any patterns on Ravelry, there are a lot of designers who are donating a percentage of their profit to the Haiti relief effort until the end of January. Casey has set up a special link so you can search all the patterns with some profit going to help Haiti. You can even see which patterns in your queue or your favourites will help. I've bought Owls and Leisl and Rainbow Dress(the big sis and little sis versions). There are only a few days left in January so it's a good opportunity to get some patterns you love and help out in Haiti.

If you don't need any patterns, you can always donate to a charity of your choice. There are lots out there who are helping in Haiti or continuing to help elsewhere in the world, because people elsewhere in the world don't stop needing help just because of a disaster in one place. My personal choice is MSF, for ...well, a lot of reasons that make sense to me, but I think you've got to choose where your money goes based on what makes sense to you. If you do choose to donate to MSF, let Stephanie Pearl-McPhee know so she can count your donation towards the Knitters Without Borders total. We're up over $1M so far and there are more donations that haven't been counted yet. Knitters continue to amaze me every day!

Can't blog, too busy knitting!

I've been in a bit of a blog slump lately.

Which is funny, because there's lots going on.

I've been knitting away on Margot, and she now has about 26cm of one sleeve (not certain if it's a left or a right, the pattern is completely reversible, so I guess it depends on which way around it is when I go to put it on). This is more sleeve length than is called for in the pattern but I've decided to make the sleeves full length.

After getting that far, I decided to enforce a go-slow on Margot for a bit, for a couple of reasons. One, I've found that knitting with the 30cm circular needle I'm using for the sleeve is hurting my dodgy wrist a bit so I'm trying to only do a couple of rows at a time, a couple of times a day. Two, and this is the more important reason, it suddenly occurred to me that my little sister is due to give birth to her first baby in about 15 weeks, and I didn't have anything finished for the little munchkin.

It was clearly necessary to redo the knitting plan and to get a move on.

New plan:

1. Dig the hibernating Little Petal out of the pile and sew on the remaining sleeve and buttons. I started this some time ago and put it aside when I started Margot. It is now all done, but is in desperate need of a good blocking. This is the 3-6 month size and I only made a couple of mods - I knitted the body in one piece rather than three, and did the skirt about 1cm shorter than called for in the pattern as I was concerned about running out of yarn. I didn't measure the leftovers but there wasn't much left. The scans are strongly indicating "little girl" at this stage, which is a good thing, as the Little Petal is unfussy, but in my opinion very girly.

2. Start a Felix's Cardigan, a Ribbon-tied Wool Vest or a blanket. I didn't start the Felix as I didn't have enough of one colour of superwash wool to do one in. There will probably be enough left over from Margot, but I'm not entirely certain and I don't want to run out later when I finish Margot's sleeves. I'm waiting on needle tips for my 40cm Knit Pro cable so that I can do a Ribbon-Tied Wool vest in the round, so I dug out the BWM Denim Cotton 8ply that was meant to become a dress for my (other) neice and started a Pinwheel Baby blanket.

I'm using my KP Harmony/Symfonie needle tips for the cotton as I suspected that the yarn might feel a little bit slippery on the Options nickel tips.

It's a pretty simple pattern, more or less - increase 10st in every second row, knit until your hands drop off, or something like that. I worked out that the minimum diameter I want the blanket to have is 1m. I'm getting a row gauge of 3 rows to 1cm, so every 3 rounds gives me 2cm more on the diameter of the blanket. It's deceptive at the beginning because it seems like you're getting heaps done, but then you realise that the rounds are getting larger and larger, and over time it feels like you've slowed to a crawl even though you're still knitting the same number of stitches.

So despite the really exciting nature of the recipient of the blanket, I realised that I was in real danger of losing momentum on the project due to the perceived lack of progress. My solution was to devise a small excel spreadsheet to work out how many stitches in each round, how much I gained in diameter with each milestone, and, calculated on number of stitches, the percentage of the minimum size I have completed. It's made it a bit of a race with myself - how fast can I get the next milestone completed, and it means that even on days like today when I didn't feel like I got much done, I know I did about 3%, and that the blanket is 28% of the minimum size. Since I only started on Saturday, I don't think I'll have trouble finishing by the due date!

Work is very busy at the moment - one member of my team is on two weeks leave, and we're lending one member to another team, so that leaves me, our remaining normal team member and one person we're borrowing as backfill for the person we loaned out. The borrowed person was off on carer's leave today, and is inexperienced in some of the systems we support anyway. Added onto that is the fact that it's performance review time so we're all needing to do our self-reviews on top of the ordinary workload. I see the point of performance reviews, but I hate doing them. I'm more in favour of continual feedback to my team so they always know how they're going. I'm always put in mind of all those report cards at school - "Alexia is a conscientious student and a pleasure to have in class", or the report I got for Textiles and Design in year 7 (and I'm paraphrasing from memory here) "Alexia seems to be an intelligent student but has no aptitude for this subject". Note: they didn't teach knitting that year!

So I will apologise now if there are few posts in the next couple of weeks and if what I do post is rambling, sparse or nonsensical. When work becomes a big mountain of stress, like it is now, I tend to get a bit tired and grumpy, so it's probably a good thing that I have my knitting to restore my sanity!

I hope things are less stressful for you at the moment, or at least, that you have knitting or something else to take your mind off it!