11.30.08
GeShiDoMo recap
A point-by-point look at the projects I started with:
1. Must Have Cardigan – I’m in the exact same spot I was in on 11/1. No progress whatsoever in the last 30 days. Maybe in December.
2. Pi Shawl – nearly finished, but I ran out of yarn. I’ve contacted the dyer about getting more yarn in that colorway, but I haven’t heard back from them. I’ll rip out the portion of the border I’ve already completed, and do another repeat if I can get more.
3. Poisoned Waffles Socks – Completed 11/1.
4. Helical Stripe Socks - Much progress on the second sock. I’m about 2/3 done, just plugging away at the stockinette foot. Shouldn’t be long now.
5. Lost Socks – restarted on 11/23. Nearly done with the 1st leg.
6. Hermione’s Purse Socks – working on the gussets of both socks.
Clapotis – No progress. Back in the sleeping pile with this one.
So, overall, some progress. Not as much as I wanted, but it was a month from hell.
December holds 3, possibly 4, Christmas projects: socks for a friend studying overseas, a bathmat for my aunt, mittens for my grandma, and socks possibly for S. I’ve already picked out the yarn and I’m improvising a pattern for the friend’s socks, I’ll start as soon as I finish a pair on the needles, because I need the needles!
11.27.08
How quickly things change
The lesson for the week: Live. Be. Don’t worry, don’t regret. Just be.
We lost my uncle on Sunday, when he lost his battle with lung cancer. I’ve been in Chicago all week. I went away to spend the weekend with friends at a resort in Galena, and got the call when I was with my oldest, bestest friend in the world. Her sister was there too, and since we had driven together, I didn’t have to worry about driving home.
I was home less than an hour on Sunday when I turned around and drove right back to Chicago, and I’ve been here all week. It’s been exceptionally hard on all of us – my dad and his other brother, my mom, my grandma and her sister (my great-aunt), my 2 cousins, and my aunt especially. We’re a small extended family, but we’re close. I loved him so much. We all did.
The wake was Tuesday. The funeral was Wednesday. Today we had Thanksgiving and celebrated my grandma’s birthday, but it was far from normal. He wasn’t there. It wasn’t right. We laughed and we cried and we ate turkey and stuffing and pie and cake.
I’ll try to write about him sometime soon.
I want everyone who reads this to go hug their parents and their kids, their brothers and sisters, their aunts and uncles and cousins, their family and their friends. Hug them and love them and appreciate them and tell them.
11.20.08
Nerves
I just got the email that NBPTS is releasing the National Board Certification scores tomorrow. Those of you following along may remember that I came within FOUR points (274 was the cutoff, I received 270) of certifying last year, meaning that I chose to rewrite one portfolio entry and retake one assessment.
I’m much more confident than I was at this time last year. I’m also in a much different frame of mind. Last year at this time, I was totally prepared for the possibility of not certifying. In fact, I knew that to be the case (due to issues with one of my entries) and knew exactly which entry I’d need to rewrite. This time, I feel much more confident. But it’s going to be VERY difficult if I DON’T certify. I’m not even remotely prepared for that to happen.
Think good thoughts for me. Hopefully I’ll be able to get some sleep tonight, and hopefully scores will be posted early tomorrow. I’m taking the day off of work to leave early for a fun girls’ scrapbooking weekend at a resort in Galena, IL, and have no idea what my internet access will be like. I may end up calling someone with a computer to log in for me and check, if it comes to that. Or I may make my friend that I’m driving with wait until the scores are up before we can even leave.
I need to stop biting my nails now and go try to sleep. Like that’s even possible.
11.15.08
GeShiDoMo, day 15
Still plugging away, getting shit done.
I’ve nearly finished the pi shawl, I’m on the massive expanse of border. I’m a little worried about the size and amount (or lack thereof) of yarn I have left. I’m thinking that if I don’t have enough for this border, I’ll order another skein and add a few more pattern repeats.
Once the shawl is done, I’ll pick the sweater back up. I really want it finished, now that it’s cold and sweater weather and I could actually wear the thing.
I’m also working on the Deathly Hallows socks. One heel done, the other will be finished soon. I need to pull the helical spiral socks back out and work on those again, but I just realized this afternoon that sometime last week I accidentally pitched the notes that I had made when I did the first sock. It’s not irretrievable information, but it will be a pain in the ass to count everything again.
No new projects started, thank gawd.
11.13.08
Hmmm…
One of those color analysis thingies from here:
You are a very sensitive person and you try hard (perhaps a little too hard) to make favourable impressions and to be recognised by your peers. But you have that inherent need to feel appreciated and admired and you are easily hurt if all of your endeavours go by unappreciated or not acknowledged. Stop trying so hard.
For some time now you have been feeling rather insecure. You are looking for – and needing – an environment that can offer you roots, stability and a position that will relieve you of excess tension and stress.
You are feeling under considerable pressure and you are being forced to make concessions. You are not particularly happy with this state of affairs but you feel that you have no alternative. If you were to force issues you would be left out or completely ignored by one and all.
You are experiencing extreme frustration at this point of time, trying to achieve security and peace of mind, but whatever you seem to do doesn’t effect the situation. You are worn out and your energy is being seriously depleted. You may be experiencing what is known as ‘heartache’ – both mentally and physically. You are a listener and you listen and respond to everything that is going on around you. You feel that all that life has to offer should be within your grasp and you would like to participate in every part of it but the situation is such that every door seems to be closed to you. You just can’t understand why that is. But it is – and what’s more you feel powerless to change it.
Overwork – be it mental stress or physical strain, you are completely worn out and this depleted vitality has created an intolerance for any further stimulation. You feel disappointed with your obvious lack of energy and powerless to do anything about it. You are angry with yourself and this frustration shows. You are contradictory and argumentative and feel helpless to change the situation at this time. Take a break – even if it is only for a few days – allow yourself to breath, to unwind – you’ll feel much better for it. Then trust and let go.
11.03.08
GeShiDoMo, day 3
Day 3 update: Plugging along.
I’ve gotten a few more of the 576 rows done on the pi shawl, and made some progress on the Deathly Hallows socks. Definitely getting shit done!
11.01.08
GeShiDoMo, day 1
And I have my first finished object:
The Poisoned Waffles socks are complete.
One down, six+ to go.
I also managed to get a couple more rows done on the Pi Shawl. And when each row now consists of 576 stitches, that’s no small feat.
I hope to get some work done on another of the pairs of socks tomorrow.
GeShiDoMo
It’s NaNoWriMo, but I’m not a writer, so obviously won’t be participating. It’s also NaBloPoMo, but I’m a firm believer in Blogging Without Obligation, so that’s out too.
I toyed with the idea of NaKniSweMo, but the last thing I need is to cast on another project when I’ve still got several unfinished. Stuff in my Rav projects page, stuff not there, stuff snoozing, stuff frogged but never restarted.
I’m declaring November to be my own personal Get Shit Done Month, or GeShiDoMo.
My personal rules. There’s only a few of them.
- No casting on new projects. All work must be done on projects already on my Rav projects page.
- The two objects-in-progress currently found in my car don’t count – the chevron scarf and assorted dishcloths. They’re my out-and-about projects, which I pull out when I’m someplace that requires knitting, and don’t really have much to do with my day-to-day knitting inside the house.
- The afghans don’t count either. That’s not really fair. I will try to do work on both of them, though, over the course of the month. Especially the crochet one.
- I will update here whenever I damn well feel like it.
By my count, I have 7 UFOs right now. Not a huge amount, but enough to make me twitchy.
- Must Have Cardigan – currently working on the sleeves. Very little done so far.
- Pi Shawl – doing well – I work on it a little almost every day. I’d call it about 2/3 done.
- Poisoned Waffles Socks – nearly complete as we speak. All that’s left is the ribbing. (Completed 11/1/08)
- Helical Stripe Socks – 1 sock complete, 1 sock with a nearly complete leg.
- Lost Socks – these were frogged way back in April and never restarted. It’s about time I did.
- Hermione’s Purse Socks – these were a Ravelympics commitment that I never got to, so I’m not sure how to classify them. I won’t be happy until they’re done, and they’re considered a WIP in Rav, so they go on this list.
- Clapotis – I started this ages ago, and never added it to Rav until today. It’s been languishing in the bottom of a long-forgotten knitting bag. It’s time I did some serious work on it, after I finish the Pi shawl.
Should I somehow miraculously finish all of these projects before the end of November, I then can reknit the Nanners socks and complete two frogged but not restarted projects: the Falling Leaves socks (if I can find the yarn!) and the Christmas entrelac socks.
There’s no reward at the end, except for the satisfaction of knowing that I got shit done. OK, that’s not quite true – I get to cast on a few projects that I’ve been DYING to start, especially the Sooper Seekret one that I can’t wait to get my hands on, and the Evangeline sweater, which I already have yarn for. Drool.
