Four Years and Many Knitting Projects Ago...

...I was finishing up my Olympic Knitting. I had completed my cabled sweater, had my photo shoot and proudly wore it to many post Olympic Celebrations.
There was no question in my mind that this time around I would indeed compete AND complete the challenge I signed on for.

I prepared, as I said I would:

I dealt with and overcame equipment malfunctions (as any true Olympian would):

I patiently waited until the opening ceremonies to officially cast on, because that's what the rules stated.

There was a bit of a restart that first weekend...see the wine glass? Not the only one enjoyed at the ceremony...just sayin'.
I devoted as much time, in all conditions possible, to the completion of my task, and I'm very pleased with my results...

So Far.

I will be awarding myself a DNF for this round of Olympics.

I'm somewhat disappointed, you know like the Canadian Women's Curling team, but while I didn't actually complete my sweater (almost two sleeves and a back did get done, however) I do have a design on paper. I've made changes to my design based on how the knitting looked while being worked up. (I wish that "The Yarn Whisperer" wasn't already taken...although I just went to find a link and while there seems to be a number of Yarn Whisperers, none of them seem especially current. Hmmmm....)

And most importantly, my family and my sanity are still intact.

Maybe next time.

It's Friday...again! And now it's Wednesday!

Hello there Fan's of Friday!! I've just named anybody who reads this a Fan of Friday, well, because it's Friday and really, who doesn't love Fridays? After the child commuting part of it is over anyway.

So, when last I wrote, I had shown you the quilt I had started. Here's a pic of the next stage in assembly, as it happened:

My mom taught me the just keep sewing the pieces together as you go. I thought it was the coolest thing when I saw her doing it. I was probably about 12 or 13 and I didn't know that you could run the machine without fabric in it to sew! I remember her at her sewing machine working away at making quilts for a shop in Hamilton's Hess Village. I've found that I feel close to her when I'm sewing and I can only ever hope to be as talented as she was. Quite honestly, though, I'm not even trying to be as good as her, I just enjoy spending the time sewing and feeling her presence.

Quilt making, at least piece quilt making, is very much like an assembly line...or maybe it would be better to say that, this quilt, that I'm making, right now...is very much like an assembly line project. Now, because I'm a numbers and pattern kind of person, and also somebody who likes to take notice of how things work out the way they do, even without our manipulation; I found it quite interesting that I chose to divide my assembly line tasks into groups of three. I was working with 192 triangles and so it worked out that I put 63 triangles together 3 times. '63 triangles' does not sound like a typical way to organize your work; let me back track here. I did not do any math prior to beginning the assembly process of said triangles. That's just how many I pieced and then I went for some more and then the third time around they were all put together! Do you know how that was decided? Do you know how funny it felt to sit back and realize that it just worked out? It was decided...

...by the number of pins I have! I just started pinning and when I was done it turns out that the universe gave me just enough pins to work my groupings 3 times...and I do enjoy it so much when things work out evenly!

(ring, ring...I have to get that, it's my dear friend C and I'm not going to miss a chance to talk with her!)

Wednesday Feb. 10

This is what happens when the phone rings and your kids come home from school and then the weekend and then, and then, and then...I have to admit though, with the amount of kudos I was giving to the Universe there on Friday and then to have not been able to get back to this until now...I'm wondering if I was supposed to post this post?

I'll take my chances and see how it goes....

So, to continue, I was all keen on posting this blog entry (last Friday), because I had just spent the last two days reading a new magazine (among a few other treasures) that I picked up on Wednesday while I was waiting for my son to finish his drum lesson. Artful Blogging is a wonderful magazine! I had thought that I would only kind of leaf through it and then pass it on; I don't see that happening. First off, I read every single word in there front to back! I enjoyed all of the photos and was inspired by some of the ideas. One of them, which I'll have to try for maybe next week, is "Most Favourite Photo Mondays!" A blogger, and I'm sorry I'm not getting the link to you (not now, anyway) posts whatever picture strikes her fancy on a Monday. Old, new, light, dark, whatever calls to you on that Monday, no topic, don't worry about how you want to tie the picture into a story, just post a picture that makes you happy;

I LOVE IT!!!

So, yeah, I picked up some books.

And I had an idea!

My parents always laughed at how my 3 year old son would come up with "an idea!"

It's not quite a new idea, but I'm still feeling pretty clever about it!

A few years ago, and I believe I've written about this before, I loosely set a schedule for myself, so that I might at least accomplish some part of the various disciplines that I had hoped to someday complete. ie. I've collected fabric, yarn and various needlecraft kits and and instead of getting overwhelmed (HA!!) I thought if I just set aside certain days for certain crafts then I might actually get something completed.

In theory, this should work:

Monday: Knitting

Tuesday: Knitting

Wednesday: Sewing

Thursday: Knitting

Friday: Finishing...whatever might be at the 'finishing' stage, could be hand sewing or it could be sweater blocking

Saturday: Sock Knitting

Sunday: Cross Stitch or other embroidery type projects.

I have more knitting projects on the go than anything else...so four days devoted to knitting, WHEN TIME PERMITS IS THE UNDERLYING PREMISE TO ALL OF THIS, makes sense. I stuck to it for a little while and did actually complete some things...anyone remember 'waste canvas'?

See that 'HA', up there? Right after the word 'overwhelmed'? Yeah, well all the planning in the world doesn't help when you hit the end of your rope and then, well, it's everyman, woman or knitting, quilting project for themselves!

It's my schedule and I don't have to follow it if I don't want to! Yes, maturity did not make an appearance in my schedule...so maybe a 'suggested list' would be a better description.

So here we are in 2010, yes, it's already a month and a bit into it, but stay with me...

In my "Suggested List of a Schedule" I've allotted Fridays for Finishing.

How about we make 2010, The year of the F.O.?! (Just to clarify, F.O.=Finished Objects)

That's Right! "Let's Make 2 Oh 1 Oh, the Year of the F.O.!"

Does starting a group on Ravelry sound like a good idea? We could maybe come up with a point system...you know, so that there is real incentive to address that second sock syndrome!

For those of us signed up for the Knitting Olympics? Well, that's one project in February taken care of! You see, one of the beautiful things about this idea...is it doesn't matter how many projects that you cast on, how much stash enhancement happens...I'm not talking about a yarn diet here, just a fun little attempt to use this year to inspire those of us who have a eensy-weensy problem committing to a project through to the end...to tally up the F.O.'s

Let me know what you think? These are the F.O.'s that came off my needles this past Friday! I started the Brown sock in 2006...yay me! The knitted squares are for a charity project that's been in the works for a couple of years too, but this year will definitely be the year that it finds its home.