Ten on Tuesday- blah edition

Ten tips for fighting the winter blues? As a winter-lovin' girl... I don't see much of the blahs that most complain about, but here's what I like to do in the winter:

1. Go skiing. Find a slope nearby and take a lesson. The sensation of going downhill is amazing. My 2013 goal is to get back on my skis.
2. Try a new tea. Sounds odd, but I like to have "wintery" teas, like chai, to add some spice to the season.
3. Yoga. I'm a new convert to the bendy world of yoga, but the studios are warm and you can be in shorts and t-shirt while you do it...
4. Swim. Find an indoor pool and swim.
5. Snowball fight. Sled. Ice skate. Pick a "childhood" favorite and try it again as an adult.
6. Stay in bed. *ahem* No more "it's a nice day out, we should go outside" excuses. Spend a morning in bed. I'm sure you'll find something to do.
7. Knit. Sew. Quilt. Take on a project that will cover your lap. (my blanket, anyone?)
8. Host a dinner party. Cook something that heats up the house. Get good wine. Friends and laughter always brighten the winter.
9. Curl. This one's PC's, but he has a winter sport that he loves.
10. Hug a cat... my cat really loves me in the winter. Mostly because she can warm up on me. But, hugging the cat makes me happy...especially when she hugs me back.

Friends and Photo-bombs

  Last weekend, I set out for my annual guild knitting retreat along the coast of Maine. A gorgeous location, the York Harbor Inn, and great friends, the funniest 25 women I know, and food to die for. I'm one of the organizers, but I surprisingly find a lot of time to knit! 

My friend, Mariuca, knitting while listening to the Berroco rep discuss fit.

Trying things on and listening went hand in hand.

A rare Mini sighting, with an FO! lobster pot cashmere, 2 skeins, knit up into the Yucca cowl. I love it,but the yarn had a lot of cuts in it....sadly. A worsted weight, it has a lot of spring to it. 

And, a Pumpkin photo-bomb....

Ten on Tuesday--- w/ the stuff in my car.

My little Subie (Subaru Forester, 2010) isn't the biggest car I've owned. She's not the fastest car I've owned, but she is the favorite car I've owned... and the most expensive. Subie, as her friends call her, came into our lives at a crucial time: my Vue was intermittently dying on while driving and nothing short of a miracle would fix it. A dear friend had at the time: 3 Subarus. She adored them. I test drove one and fell in love. PC drove it to NYC on the curvy Hudson Parkway and fell in love too.

So, what do I keep in the Subie? Right now, she's a bit of a mess.... and desperately needs to be cleaned, but let's see what's in her normally:

1. Snow brush/scraper. I have remote-start, so i rarely have to scrape, but the snow brush is always there... usually in the "way back", near the jack.
2. Manual--- i needed it last night! I never pop the hood on Subie (Mike, the mechanic, does that) and couldn't remember where the hood latch release was!
3. Extra shoes. Right now, it's a 2nd pair of hiking boots, but throughout the year, it's flip flops, sneakers. I hate wet feet and sometimes i can't drive in the shoes i'm wearing.
4. Towel. I don't know why, i always have a towel in the car. Due to my love of all things Douglas Adams? Maybe.. but more likely--- good for wiping off sandy camping feet, and driving off wet feet.
5. Pen. Self-explanatory.
6. Registration.
7. Change. Quarters to be exact. I live in one of the wealthiest towns in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and it costs me $0.25 to park for 15-20 minutes ANYWHERE.
8. Mittens. I have spare mittens from Halloween to Easter.
9. Cell phone charger. Always. Always. Always. I only select cell phones w/ crappy battery life...lol.
10. PC. PC's in my car way more than I'm in his... i'm the driver in the family, grudgingly, so he's often found, in the passenger seat, as the navigator.

The never ever blanket

Not one to normally to knit blankets....actually, scratch that. I have repeatedly said I detest knitting blankets. I would rather quilt than knit a blanket. But, this...this blanket is different. I have had the pattern in my stash, thinking that one lucky babe would merit a hand knit beautiful blanket, and while I love my nieces and nephews, they have all slept under hand made quilts. 

So, why this pattern? I'm not sure. The texture, the lace on a large scale, and potential for amazing stitch definition. Ad the yarn? Been in my stash since 2006. It is 7 years marinating in my stash. I've swatched it twice....never wanted to knit a sweater with it. Ad I have a "sweaters worth" of yarn (10 skeins)... Of beautiful, discontinued Jaeger Shetland Aran. It's a mix of wool and alpaca. Delicious in your hands, excellent stitch definition. 

Modified the pattern ( Baby Chalice) as follows: doubled the stitch count for the pattern, increased to a US 9 needle and knit, knit, knit... I love everything about it. The weight. The scale of the project. The yarn and pattern have married beautifully. 

Marriage. Could this be meant for a wedding gift? For the right couple, at the right time...just like the pattern and yarn? We shall see. 

Oh, and did you notice my new bag?  A Jessalu original. I'm loathe to tell you about her new shop, as then you can shop there too.   And take all the bags.  My new bag ( my fifth or sixth Jessalu bag) is a woodland critter pattern. 

Oh, ok...here is how to find her. And, yes...my knitting loves its new home.

  

Photoshop...

Wow, you guys!

The awesome comments on the blog yesterday made me feel really encouraged... thanks!

My work week varies from the standard 40 hours to 60+, depending on the week. I'm often found lugging my new MacBook Pro home (yay for fantastic work computers!), and there's some great (and not so great) aspects of this job... but one super-secret-fantastic perk? I have a full Adobe Cloud Creative license. Yup. Monthly subscription, paid in full.

I'm going to spend some time over the next few months taking Lynda.com lessons, learning photoshop and lightroom... hopefully improving my photo processing.

Ten on Tuesday- Goalsetting!

Ten on Tuesday...10 Goals for 2013.

Resolutions? Goals? Pie-in-the-sky dreams? I have them in spades. I do like the approach of this thought: goal setting. I'm forever setting goals, but (and big BUT) if i can create a static page for these... maybe we can cross some off my list.

2013 is the year of Mini...

1. Complete 60% of my MS degree coursework
2. Run one mile w/o stopping. Just 1. 
3. Make yoga and swimming a regular part of my week. Walking- daily. 
4. Eat food that makes me feel good--- remove the starches from my diet. And take my medicine
5. Knit my stash down by knitting 3 sweaters and 3 blankets
6. Knit one hat per month.
7. Track, document and blog my knitting
8. See the waterfall...twice. (it's a waterfall that i've made it w/in 1/2 mile hiking of seeing...)
9. Kayak.
10. Downhill ski again. 

Notice something? No weight loss. If I eat good (for me) food and exercise more, i will lose weight. My goals aren't for skinny jeans, they are for being able to do activities: like skiing and kayaking. I can't at my current weight and that really ticks me off.

Knitting- I love it, but it's owning me right now. I need to knit down the stash and have stronger control.

Not My Nana's Knitting

ECAL Low-Tech Factory/Rocking-Knit from ECAL on Vimeo.

Yes, that's a rocking chair that knits for you. Looks like it's based on the crank-style knitting looms that are used for sock knitting machines. It takes the rocking chair image we've worked so hard to remove and places it front and center, but this is definitely NOT how your Nana knit.

Technology is great, but look at exactly how low-tech this is. You are motor. Two gears. Small footprint. Output is a physical object of value, not data.

... and think of how many flippin' hats you could have made for Christmas gifts!

Don't Stop Believin'...

...Hold on to the at fee-ling! 

Yeah. Journey. Been stuck in my head for hours. I've tried everything from singing "you are my sunshine" to "peanut butter jelly time" to get it out of my head. But it won't stop.

Why?

Well, it could be a typical earworm and I heard it, now it's stuck.

Kinda. 

I purposely sought out this song yesterday because I was losing hope. Hope that I would be able to pull all of this off. "this" being work, home, blogging, friendships, relationships/partnerships, and school. 

Oh, did I forget to mention school? I start my graduate work in 2 weeks. As I began my new career as a marketing director for one kick-ass start up company, I realized: I should learn some marketing. Yes, they hired me without any "real" marketing experience. Shh. I'm not sure it's occurred to them yet. (Or I'm dazzling them with my ability to send emails)

I'm fully intending to blog as much as I can in 2013, which will hopefully be more than 2012. 

Cold hands, warm mittens!

  

Starting off January with some mittens. I'm joining Ruth and others in the NaKnitMittMo ( national knit mittens month). This entry was begun on 12/31, but since I am 1.15 mittens away from completion, I say it counts. 

Pattern: Sprig mittens

yarn: pink is louet river stone chunky, brown in s cascade 128 super wash. Both are lovely and I think the recipient will love them. 

The first person to comment will have a copy of this pattern gifted to them, simply leave a comment with your Ravelry name. 

Welcome 2013...

  Happy New Year! Yes, it is January 2, but it's still new, right? I am really into resolutions, and overall self-improvement, but I keep my plans grounded in reality. 2012 was not a great year: illness in our families, unemployment in our home, changes to the status quo... But it had some great days, 2012 did. My brother found his soul mate and proposed marriage ( she said yes), I found a new, challenging job that frustrates, satisfies and embraces me and PC has turned a few personal corners himself. I have lived with and dealt with some health issues....and 2013 is really about getting rid of them. 

I break down my resolutions into categories, like health, money, love.... So here is a smattering of craft and more:

1.  Knit more for me. 

2. Quilt, because I enjoy it.

3. Less chat, more listen.

4. Carbs are not your friend, they hurt your body... Learn to live without.

5. Move. Hike. Dance. Ride. Walk. Boogie. Twirl. Stretch. 

6. Learn. Accept new knowledge and absorb from those around you.

7. Teach! Offer to teach a guild month instructional. 

8. Design. Take them from your head to the paper. 

9. Decide. Put yourself and your desires first, because no one else will.

10. Knit down the stash....yarn diet 2013 begins today.