Kninja Knitter

It’s hard to believe we’re already at the end of July. And as much as I enjoy sharing lots of fun things with everyone, I’ve had a couple challenges. Still, I prefer to look on the bright side of life, so I’ll start off with the happy news.

Stitched or Still-in-Progress

I had very busy fingers this week as I”m trying to complete projects before the Down Cellar Studio Splash Pad Party ends on Friday. I’m on track to complete at least two more projects, plus I finished this one last week! I’m particularly proud of my yarn chicken success, as I ended up with two yards of yarn after I bound the shawl off. The grandson has been playing with that leftover strand, but I might be able to toss it shortly while he’s away.

I’m sure my next finished object will be my pair of socks that I specifically started for Knitty Natty’s Sock Week challenge. The second sock is nearly complete! Natalie posted a video in which she tracked the amount of time it took her to knit a sock, so I pulled out the stopwatch on my phone. In a short period of time, I clocked my speed in knitting around this sock, and I averaged two minutes per round – some quick bathing tells me that I could knit a sock in just under nine hours then. I’m not looking to test that calculation, but note that I have knit a pair of socks in under 36 hours before, while also eating and sleeping. So anything is possible!

The tank top I had shared last week under my new cast-ons is coming along quite nicely. After snapping this photo this morning, I continued a few more rounds and then bound off the armholes/ Now I’m working on the back, and I’m eager to finish this by Friday, though it’s going to be tight. (Time, not size) Full disclosure, I also am curious about the fabric as this is working up. It feels a bit dense. After I finish it and block it, I’ll take a closer look. If it’s still dense after blocking, I’ll rip it out and knit it up on the next needle size. I know now that I’ll have plenty of yarn to do this, and it’s only because I want the semi-imaginary internet points for completing the thing by the deadline!

I’ll also point out here that as I was building out my spreadsheet to be sure I’d finish on time, I took a closer look at the pattern. I found a couple things to ask the designer about. She confirmed one error I spotted, and I have since spotted another.

Cast-on Conversations

Since I finished a shawl I’d started during Zombie Knitpocalypse, I cast on a new shawl. My grandson helped me wind up the yarn, and then I looked for pattern options. I’m trying hard to choose from my pattern library when I can, and upon further reflection when this one popped up, I decided it was perfect. I’m using a sport weight yarn that I received in my goodie bag from the Into the Wool Fiber Retreat in Crossville, Tennessee, back in 2018. The pattern I received for using with the yarn I mittens that I’m not keen on knitting right now. Instead, I opted for another shawl – one geared towards knitting while on a retreat. I’ll take the approach that I can reflect on the retreats I’ve been on while knitting the pattern. The main body is knit in garter stitch, then a lace section follows. I might switch yarns for that…we’ll see!

Fiber Fun

To help me remember to share, I’m adding a new section for my spinning adventures. Athena, my Daedalus Dove, is behaving quite nicely. I even upgraded so it can run on a battery, and I got a possible case to store it in. I haven’t opened that package yet, though. It’s a little harder to see progress week over week, but it’s also been three weeks since I last shared my progress. I’m targeting to spin half of this eight ounces of roving, then I’ll change up to a different project before returning for the remaining four ounces. Solid color fiber is not exactly exciting, lol.

Grandson Glimpses

We had a relatively low key week, though I’m contemplating some fun in the near future. The most fun came from the kiddo spotting my stack of blocking boards (a subset of my collection). On my son’s birthday this month, the munchkin received a present, lol: a large set of magnet tiles, and he’s been learning how to build with them, and it’s clear they’ve given him an appreciation for three-dimensional building. When he spotted my mats, he immediately wanted to build a house. Without magnets, he needed some assistance. Grandma was happy to oblige.

I did have to appropriate most of the blocks, though, to block my shawl. Hopefully soon I can locate the rest of my collection.

Movie Moments

This week I made it to the theater to see a couple films on the big screen. First, the blockbuster of the summer (at least until Spider-Man comes out this week) is The Odyssey, directed by Christopher Nolan. In typical Nolan fashion, this is a very BIG movie. The cast is star-studded, the explosions are impactful, and the sound is…loud. My Apple Watch warned me more than once that the volume was dangerously high. Fortunately the loud moments are broken up significantly.

I read The Odyssey in high school, but it’s been over forty years. I also knew a number of the characters from the Orlando Bloom/Eric Bana/Brad Pitt “epic” Troy. The performances of our core actors was truly stellar. And I got a good chuckle seeing Tom Holland and Jon Bernthal walking together – they’ll be in the aforementioned MCU movie.

The other movie I saw was Young Washington, which I was excited to see since it features experiences from the future president’s life that well precede his looming presence in Hamilton. The biggest surprise to me, though, was realizing that Mary Louise Parker was cast as George’s mother, Mary. And it took until her second scene before I recognized her by her voice – and then I was able to distinguish her facial features. It’s interesting how cosmetics make such a difference in this recognition process, eh? I doubt she was NOT wearing makeup, but I’m sure it was subdued from what I’ve seen her wear previously.

I’ve got a couple more films on my watch list for this week – hopefully I can make them both happen!

Environment Evolution

Here’s where my biggest disappointments showed up this week. First, I had scheduled a meeting to learn more about going solar last week. On Monday afternoon, I received a confirmation text ninety minutes before the scheduled appointment. And that’s the last time I heard from that organization. Crickets.

Well, I’m not going to sit around and wait for them to reply. This coming weekend, the city of Columbus is hosting an information session about a co-op they’ve organized for Franklin County residents to save money through some kind of bulk purchase arrangement through an organization. There’s also a rebate available to residents that would be credited upon installation. Once again, I missed the opportunity to receive federal tax credits for an upgrade investment in my home. But I won’t let that deter me from the potential to save money on my future energy costs. I’m still just collecting information, so we’ll see how quickly I move on it.

My other frustrating experience happened this Monday morning when I woke up to River zooming around the house. After listening for a couple minutes, I realized she was playing Cat and Mouse with a live mouse. Sigh. It’s an unusual time of year to have a rodent invade, but I’m glad my cat is up to the task. I’ve placed a couple traps out of her reach, so hopefully this is quickly resolved.

Exploits in Exercise

I’ve got a few health-related tidbits to share here. Exercise is part of the picture – I’m continuing my membership with OrangeTheory Fitness, though my activities have been rather limited. I’ve been attending Open Studio sessions where I set my own workout, primarily on the treadmill. My goal with each session is to cover at least a mile, and I even managed a two-mile workout last week, moving at varying paces at timed intervals. Last week I finally dipped my toe into shoulder/arm efforts on the weight floor. I’m easing in after dealing with a “frozen shoulder” issue for over a year. So far so good, though I’m starting very slow.

Last week I also had my annual(ish) physical exam with my primary care doctor. Before my cruise, I managed to complete several tests so that we could talk about the results. My primary area of concern has been my A1-C given that both of my parents developed adult-onset Type II diabetes. That ended up being less of a concern for my doctor, as she noted that my cholesterol levels – following a recent change in guidance – may benefit from medication. I’m inclined to defer any maintenance drugs as long as possible, so we discussed options. I’ve scheduled a scan to check for any physical evidence that my cholesterol levels are a cause for concern. In about a month we’ll know. Given that my numbers have been consistent, not increasing, it’s quite possible that this is my baseline level.

Still, I’m making some small changes in my diet. My weight is not where I’d like it to be, and addressing that only gets harder as I age. My doctor also added one more test to my next round of blood work to see if I have a particular genetic marker that would impact my cholesterol levels – something that medication and diet can’t do anything about.

And my last item here, I’m glad to know that the sleep apnea device I ordered has finally shipped. I should have it by the weekend. This is a dental device that is an alternative to the CPAP machine, and my hope is that it will reduce the elevated breathing disturbances my monitoring devices have been reporting, and in addition, it should also address my higher-than-ideal resting heart rate.

I believe that’s all the fun I have to share this week. I’ve got plenty of fun on the horizon, and I’ll share what I can when I can! Enjoy what’s left of the summer!

Knit on. 🧶