Ok, I’m trying to knit Guy (the boyfriend finally has a name on here that isn’t his real one!) some socks, but I don’t know what the circumference should be.
Yes, I’ve knit my Dad socks but my Dad also puts up with a whole lot of sock trials to get a proper fit over his extra large calves (Dad if you’re reading this sorry but it’s true, and it’s all muscle to your benefit!).
However Guy is built more like your average tall man in his 20’s so my best guess is a leg circumference of 9.5 inches, is this a good estimate?

p.s. Yes I’ve tried the good old fashioned ask him to measure thing three times, but he only tells me his shoe size, which doesn’t help me too much for circumference.

So proof that I’ve been doing other things. I’ve finished this:

It is the pattern Elegance from the book Tatting Patterns by Lyn Morton, I used Lizbeth size 20 thread in Country Side.

I liked it, tough enough to reteach myself how to tat, and complex enough to keep me entertained. Of course it has now bitten me in looking for new things to tat that I should try designing some things, but we’ll see. I do have a big summer all stretched out for me with nothing other to do than job hunting. However considering that it’s now 2 am I shoudl really go for the night. Until next time…

I’ve been mulling over what to do with this blog since frankly, I can’t pick a topic to stick with to save my life, but I keep thinking of all these designs I want to do and make. Knitting has sort of taken a back seat to tatting and spinning since my quarter life crisis back in March. So I guess I’ll just explore dabbling in things.
Not sure what’s going to happen, but I’ll try to keep my camera in tow and post as often as I can, even just to keep a record for myself, I guess I’ll just have to see how this works out.

I guess you could call this a monthly update, but honestly I just don’t know what to write about. My birthday has come and gone and now I’m 21 and feeling a bit overwhelmed. Not by my age exactly or by growing up, more like frustrated that things aren’t happening according to my plans for my life (which might be the problem here but I’ve always been told I needed goals for my life, why are they the problem now? grrr). It feels a bit lonely too because either I just can’t explain it to people well enough or I’m really the only one feeling like this. My sister’s view is why on earth do I want to get married and have kids. My mom’s is that I’m not being proactive enough and I should be doing more, though she’s always thought this and at the moment I feel like if I do more I’ll drown. My best friend that I’ve known since kindergarten is completely oblivious, she’s still in the world where she can’t decide with which guy to flirt with, high school in my opinion, she isn’t interested at all with long term, which in a way could be a good thing. Then there is my amazing and unbelievably patient boyfriend, he comes closest to understanding by just hugging me and telling me not to worry so much, “In due time.”

I know for one the whole baby and want to be a mother thing is bothering me way too much than it should. I just keep feeling like I’m running out of time, and I wonder sometimes if it’s just how I’ve grown up. How my paternal grandmother never used birth control but couldn’t get pregnant for years until she and my grandfather were surprised with my dad in their 30’s and then again my aunt nearly another decade later. And then me growing up hearing so much about how like my grandmother I am, down to even having some mysterious hormonal imbalance. As if that weren’t enough my own mother got shocked with early menopause at around 35, so many women put things off till then because yes we are still young then, but what about me? What if I follow the same physical path?

Time, I hate it. It’s closing in on me, all the horrible mights that are looming so close and yet far still, if 35 is it, that leaves me with 14 years. 14 years to get married have some time to just be a couple and then bring kids into the equation. It doesn’t seem like enough, and now I’m wondering if this is why I always get so up front with guys and ask them if they could adopt.

And to think, I was just going to write a sentence.

Ok, well first off my Grandmother’s surgery went surprisingly well. She decided to come home the day after (doctor said she could stay another night but the singing nurses were getting on her nerves) and the hard part was getting her to sit still and rest.

Life apparently still goes on, I’m back in school and currently avoiding the couple of chapters for school I should be reading but I thought I’d post quickly and then go work (bad me I know).

Knitting sadly has come to a near grinding halt (because I refuse to cast something on with my sweater unfinished but all that is left is seaming and tying in ends). I could finish my dad’s socks, but they’re cotton ad I’m rather fond of keeping my wrists at the moment.

So that’s all for now, though I do hope to finish that sweater this weekend after I’m caught up for school. Ciao.

That wasn’t at all fair and almost cruel. Please be nice and let Wednesday go smoothly.

~Drea

 

(I just found out a few hours ago my paternal Grandmother (the knitter) was diagnosed with breast cancer and is going to be in surgery Wednesday. Prayers and good thoughts are welcome, but I’m delaying posting until tomorrow when I don’t feel as emotionally drained.)

Hope you all have a much much better weekend. See you all later.

Because, well I haven’t done a thing since last September (oops!) at least not blog-wise. So in an effort to get back to typing, because really, I *need* to, I’m going to write on here more. Granted anything at this point would be considered more, but I’m not going to tie myself to topic or require pictures for everything which basically overwhelms and frustrates me.

The following is me smooshing almost 6 months into one page so skip if you don’t want to read, I’ll do a flash tidbit of my knitting progress at the bottom but I’m hoping to get back to knit-blogging in the next few days/week.

Ok, onto what’s happened in my life, and the bit of crazy that made me stop writing for a bit. First, I got a tattoo. A beautiful rose that is conveniently hidden on my back for any work-wear I may need to don but that I can still see the days I wear tanks and camis (because really, summer doesn’t exist here too well). On parental reaction, my Mom kind of got the big-eyed look and muttered about it being too big (it isn’t) and about ruining my skin for a wedding dress (granted I’m not even engaged but that doesn’t stop her, she also almost tried booking a hotel for said future wedding a couple months ago, a look from my Dad stopped her thank goodness. I do have to admit though a wedding in the Caribbean isn’t that horrible.) My Dad liked the tattoo however and was glad I didn’t get a skull, though why he would ever have expected that I don’t know.

Then my health also took a bashing over the holidays. I lost about 20 lbs. from the beginning of November to the end of December which really isn’t good when you’re tiny and don’t have the weight to bargain with. Things have been getting better however and I’ve gained back about half of the weight, and getting out of the house and getting some more sun again.

About the same time my health nosedived my car decided to follow. Long story short, I now get to pop the hood to turn on the battery before I start it and then turn it back off when I park for the night. The only nice thing I find about this, is that no one could possibly steal my car now even if I leave it unlocked because they wouldn’t know about the switch (well except all of you, but you don’t know what I drive).

During this mess I also dropped Nursing as a major, I nearly passed out when drawing someones blood and I could barely stomach (literally) some of my science classes, so I’m now trying to figure out what I really would like to do. More on this later though when I haven’t kept myself up with allergy meds and soda.

I have realized that my boyfriend is seriously amazing, he’s dealt with all my mood swings and frustrations through all this and treated me better than I expected or deserved. (The whole running off with him idea is rather appealing as time goes on to be honest, but I won’t do anything rash or that spontaneous) We’ve hit and passed the 1-year mark and things are great. I honestly never thought I’d fall in love before I met him (ask my Mom, I told her to arrange a marriage for me if I was 25 and still single, because I’d be out of school and way past ready or so I thought then). The funny part is that for me, a lot of this is so new and all full of firsts, because seriously out of the first 2-3 guys that called me their girlfriend back in middle and high school not one of them even bothered to hold my hand (exempting the one that would grab my wrists or my hands to push me around).

So yeah life is getting to something called *normal* and I”m actually knitting again.

****Knitting Section (Tiny I Know)****

So, what does a girl do in 6 months? Sadly very little. I’ve finished one small anklet pair of socks that I’m still debating the pattern over in my head but I *love* the color.

Then I finished knitting up the Apres Surf Hoodie sans hood, it simply awaits blocking which I’ll be doing tomorrow.

And the first sock that were my Dad’s Christmas present. Thankfully he said something along the lines of “Oh don’t worry, I can wait for [hand knit socks]“  so the final sock will be finished in the next month or so as I cry about how he wants cotton socks. (Side note: Why do guys in warm climates always refuse woolen socks? I live here too but there are days that wool socks are a must.) Boyfriend asked for black cotton socks as well when I offered to make him a pair, though he did specifically ask for black for work appropriate attire since these are special socks (at which point my heart kind of squeezed and I didn’t care that he asked for cotton, just that he knew they’d be special with out me saying anything about that).

Ok, that is way more than enough for one night. And now there will be more now that I don’t feel entirely swamped. Hope I didn’t bore any of you to death and I’ll be back again!

…in a couple days or so. I’m busy finishing the strap and seaming so I’ll show when that’s done, then again once the lining is in.

Happy weekend all!

It’s been 7 years, and I still think I’ll never forget that day. Pray for our troops and thank them and their families for their sacrifice. And if any of you are coming across this, thank you.

I think I’m going to light a candle in the window tonight.

Ok, so I have been knitting, I just hate posting when it isn’t that apparent. So, I might as well show you what I have.

First a Pair of socks by Eunny Jang (Bayerische):

These are fun and I’m actually another repeat through now, but I had to make bigger charts and I have to watch every row which makes them a little slow going. (Also, I’m knitting these with size 0 needles US, so the gauge is tiny.)

Then there is what I tried for the Ravelry Olympics. This was the starting photo, but really I just got throught the back and stopped. The pattern is the Apres Surf Hoodie by Connie Chang Chinchio [Ravelry Link] although I think I’m going to omit the hood because I just don’t like having hoods on my sweaters (curly hair thing I think).

And then what has really been taking up all my knitting time:

This is the Scoubidou Bag (large version) by Linda Medina. I have no links here because technically she hasn’t published this pattern yet (hehe, a little benefit of sharing an LYS with a designer who’s trying out teaching classes there). This is a great bag and I’ll post pics once it’s seamed up and I finish the handle, and then again when I finally get to lining.

So lets see how much I get done in the next week. Since I now have photographic proof of where I was this week. Have a great weekend all!