Tag: Knitting

Projects, or, Wonder Woman Does Not Live Here

3-365-corner-of-the-world-autumn-rain

We have been enjoying rain for the past several weeks, and it shows.  Colors are more intense as the winter grasses emerge, the cold is shaking the leaves into color, and the subdued light intensifies the beauty of the trails nearby.  Of course, post-production helps, too.  I’ve enjoyed the weather – wind, rain, clouds, sunshine, cold.

The variety of weather has really helped, too, as this past week I’ve been dealing with dental problems and dental pain.  I didn’t know my teeth could be so annoying!!  However, things are calming down, and thank goodness for dental insurance, and good dentists.

Around here, there are a lot of things afoot, and not enough time to do them all.  I have been doing the following:

I thought I would be able to do it all, and still work my silly schedule, but it may be that I will need to scale back a bit.  I really want to do all these things, but find that an 11-hour day is so long that by the time I get home, I can just function.  This means eat dinner, do the dishes, and either fall asleep or watch a bit of TV, and then fall asleep.  How dull, eh?

What I am finding useful, though, is to actually schedule my creative time.   This means sit down and decide what I want to do on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  If I don’t, I get distracted, and other things just won’t happen.  And trust me, there are lots of things to distract me (besides aching teeth).  If I stay focused on my projects, I become a recluse and don’t get out of the house.  Friends and family help to keep me human, not a raving, obsessed something.

Some Yarn at Last, or, Asta Sollilja

Asta Sollilja

Beginning mid-December, I started this sweater, designed by Kate Davies, and available in her book Yokes.   Asta Sollilja is a sweater derived from traditional Icelandic sweaters, but with waist-shaping (not that I have much of one!) and short rows to make a distinctive front and back. Traditional Icelandic sweaters have neither, but are wearable in any direction, although with regular wear, take on, perhaps, more of the owner’s body shape.

I used Cascade 220 and changed the colorway a bit, cutting down on one color and using navy blue for the dark brownish color as well as the navy.

I just finished this sweater and was soooo excited, I just had to take pictures of it! I used Jeny’s Stretchy Bind Off, which is fantastic in that it is tidy, and stretchy, and can be done quite nicely with 2×2 ribbing at the neckline.  You can see the video here.

I still have ends to weave in and armholes to graft before the final wash and blocking – but this is the first Finished Object of the season – my New Year’s resolution – the BIG ONE – is to finish up my plethora of UFOs.

 

 

I Needed a Change!

I have just written about how I am disgusted by becoming obsessed with photography.  What that means is that I don’t like getting so focused on one thing that everything else I like to do takes second, third, or some place down the road.  Life then becomes – for me – rather dull and quite uninteresting.  And way too focused.  It becomes a trap.

I don’t like thinking of only one thing at a time.  I like being in different areas of interest in my head, and in my daily life.  It keeps everything in balance.  Creativity is an energy which can become quite wonky if not properly directed.  It becomes a chore, and downright unpleasant when decisions are not being able to be made.  Stagnation then sets in.  And frustration.  And so on.

To break this up, this is what I have been doing these last few days:

Other Things to Do (5 of 11) Other Things to Do (3 of 11)Other Things to Do (10 of 11)

Other Things to Do (9 of 11)Other Things to Do (7 of 11)