Piling on the miles

I'm knitting this fabulous sweater, Aidez, out of that bulky weight yarn I wasn't sure what to do with.  On my Rav projects page I'm calling it the Aidez of uncertainty because I don't know if I have enough yarn. It knits up fast though, that's for sure. Faster, if I spent more of my time knitting and less of my time ripping out all the stuff in my enormous frog pond. I've got the back and part of the left front done. I'm also a little worried that it won't be the right size. It looks so small and scrunched together....

The back of Aidez, partially done. This photo is not up to date.But it's pretty, no?

Anyway, I want to tell you about the frogging project, and I'd like to tell you about my long neglected Tiong Bahru, but what I'm going to do is talk about running.

See, I signed up for this thing. It's called Pile on the Miles, and it's organized by Monica of Run Eat Repeat. You sign up, set a mileage goal for the month of November, and can get prizes for commenting and updating your progress.

I set my goal kind of high. Like, really high.

100 miles.

Yeah, I said I would run 100 miles in November. I did the math; it's totally possible on my three day a week schedule. I'm working my way up to a 15 mile long run during the same period, so that helps. And I'll probably do a few miles of walking, too, since I'm going to lay off the elliptical for cross training and just do incline walking. (Incline walking is brutal! I was walking at a 12.5% incline today and I was drenched.)

Oh yeah, my knee has been bugging me. It feels crunchy or something - I don't even know. Sometimes it's fine, sometimes not.  But I'm doing everything I can for it short of actually not using it. I'd been doing elliptical instead of running because of it, but it actually seems to get worse after the elliptical. I guess that plan didn't work. Current plan involves supplements, ice when I need it, and hoping. So we'll see how this goes.

Anyway, I'm kicking this thing off on Thursday morning with a five mile run, and following that up with eleven fine miles on Saturday. Assuming my knee doesn't fall out or something.

Even if you're not a runner and just want some incentive to get out and walk more this month, sign up! There are about 700 people signed up right now, with goals ranging from 20 miles to 200 miles. It's not about being the fastest or the best, it's about giving yourself a challenge and some motivation.

I can do this. So can you.

Recapping the week

I had a heck of a week. Easily the craziest week I've ever worked. I work for a museum and we were changing over the gallery. One show came down on the 21st, and two more were up by the 28th. Including one that required us to produce all of the text panels. I worked at least 9 hours every day, full tilt.

I did manage to get a little bit of knitting in. A few times I just knit on my plain jane stockinette sock, but once in a while I got up the energy to work on my Evenstar shawl. I don't have a recent photo, so this will have to do.


I'm now on chart three - one round is 560 stitches. Tiny stitches. In Alpaca with a Twist Fino, which is one of my absolutely favorite yarns. Still, it will be a while before this shawl gets finished.

And I started half marathon training this week. Here's what the week ended up looking like:
Monday - 4 miles, speed intervals
Tuesday - full body strength circuit (x3), 17 minutes of cardio
Wednesday - 2 miles running, 2 miles on the AMT (like an elliptical, but better), followed by an hour of power yoga. (Should have been 4 miles running, but I ended up on the corner treadmill at the busiest time - that treadmill had its own climate. The air was completely still and humidity was high. I swear there was condensation on the machine. It was awful.)
Thursday - Rest day (okay, I was actually on my feet all day assembling exhibits, but no additional exercise.)
Friday - 30 minutes recumbent biking, 15 minutes incline walking
Saturday - 6 mile long run. Ran the first three in Yaktrax on snow and ice. But it was outside, which was awesome.
Sunday - Upper body strength (x3), 15 minutes recumbent biking, 34 minutes brisk walking.

Looks like a lot when I write it out like that! Here's the schedule for the upcoming week:

M- 5 miles, hills
T- Strength, 30 min interval cardio
W - 4 miles easy
Th- Strength, 30 min interval cardio
F-Rest
Sa-7 mile long run
Su - Rest

Let's see how it goes!

Salad and a sweater

I made another pasta salad this past week for my lunches. It was more successful than the previous one, with the tuna and the bacon, but it got a bit old eating it everyday, plus once for dinner. Still, it gets a mention - Pesto Turkey Pasta Salad.


Ingredients: pesto mix, turkey breast (only used maybe half of it?), grape tomatoes, mushrooms, and pasta. Oh, and I tossed in some carrots for good measure.

Nothing fancy, just cooked the pasta, sauteed the mushrooms, and cut up the turkey, and mixed it all up. Oh, and the pesto mix which required a full quarter cup of olive oil. Hello!


I'd put some grated parm on it before eating it at work, and that improved things as well. Cheese usually does that. I'd call this a success, but it made too much food. I think I'm done with this whole pasta salad thing for a while. Three weeks is enough. But what should I do for lunches next week?

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Thursday, at knit nite, I finally finished knitting my Liesl cardigan. It's a pretty fast knit, actually, but I am just not a fan of cotton. Or bulky yarn. I played fast and loose with gauge, which means that even though I knit a size up, it may still be just on the small size. Also I did not wash a swatch, so I don't know how it will behave when washed and dried.


Unblocked.

I picked some buttons out of my button collection - I like them a lot, but they're pretty heavy. I'll have to see if the cardigan can handle them.


I took pictures of the buttons while the sweater was soaking. I used a sample of Soak which must be several years old, but still smelled nice. I was surprised by how much dye came out of the sweater, especially considering none ended up on my hands during knitting.


And the sweater spread out to dry. I managed to make it a little bigger, but time will show if I was successful.


Now I think I'll work on my sock yarn blanket for a while.

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Running! I finished my running for week 2 of training this morning. I did a 5 mile long run in what constitutes highly unusual weather for this area - humidity. It was very very strange. I ran just over 11 miles this week and will likely do about the same for next week. I did join RunKeeper.com to track my runs and connect with other folks. It's got some really neat functions - I think I'm going to like it. Track me down and join my "street team" if you've got an account!

7/5/2011 - Questionable Pasta Salad

I'm not so great at post titles. It's easier to classify things by date.

Summer is finally hitting - it's been a long cool spring with moments of warmth. It doesn't help that our house is a cave, so until yesterday I was still under a fleece blanket while sitting on the couch. But the heat is here and will probably be for at least a couple of weeks.



I'm working on another summer cardigan - Liesl. I'm knitting it with Rowan Cotton Tape which is very interesting. Not, I would say, my favorite yarn. I'm not a huge fan of cotton. Nor am I a huge fan of bulky yarns. It's knitting up fairly nicely, though I worry the finished product may be on the heavy side.



At least it's a pretty fast knit. I should be done with it in a week or so, momentum permitting, and may actually be able to wear it in its appropriate season.



To me, summer is the season of the pasta salad. Last week I made a nice salad of chicken, tortellini, and grape tomatoes. I got a little more... creative this week. This week's salad includes: Whole grain shells, tuna, bacon, bell pepper, peas, carrots, onion and garlic (sauteed in bacon fat), and a dose of Miracle Whip. It's... passable. I don't think it would be a hit at a party, and the colors leave something to be desired. It screams 1970s kitchen to me. Eh, I'll eat it anyway.

Block(ing) Party

Woo hoo! Blocking party going on in the Spare Oom at my house!


Ishbel.2 and Clapotis blocking at the same time. Clapotis is being blocked rather firmly, and unevenly (yes, I know), while I took care to be firm but quite gentle with Ishbel.2. Ishbel.2 is made out of my own handspun, which is generally a laceweight, but there are a few places where is decreases down to fine thread. So I tried to be a little more gentle with it.

I started my felted cat bed. Turns out I have a lot of partial and odd balls in red and brown. But mostly red. And I've probably got enough more to do a second on in mostly blue... In fact I think I might just do that.


I think I'll finish the knitting of the cat bed today, most likely. And I've got the itch to cast on something new, but I have two brand spanking new books that ought to arrive in the mail tomorrow, so I think I'll definitely be waiting for those before beginning a new project.

November 26th: New socks

There are a lot of things I'm thankful for. But I'm not going to speak to that today, not really. I hope you had a calm and fulfilling Thanksgiving holiday, or just a truly excellent Thursday (for those of you not in the US). Our holiday was quiet. We went to go see Fantastic Mr. Fox (which is really good, by the way, and very much a Wes Anderson film). Since I like to keep my hands busy at a film, I cast on a sock.

I chose a yarn that I had picked up one day at Joanns. I don't usually shop at Joanns; at this point I'm a pretty hardcore yarn snob, but I was engaging in retail therapy after a dentist appointment and noticed on an endcap Premier Yarn's Deborah Norville's Serenity Sock Weight. Why Deborah Norville has her own line of yarn, I do not understand. But the fiber content is 50% superwash merino, 25% bamboo, and 25% nylon. And it was like $3.50 for 230 yards, so $7 for a pair of socks? Not bad.*

So today I cast on 28 stitches at the toe and increased to 68 stitches around. I'm using size 2 needles - maybe 2.5; they're 3mm anyway. The fabric produced at this gauge is decidedly a bit loose, so I think smaller needles would be better. I'm really surprised and pleased with how this is knitting up. The bamboo gives it a silkiness and a drape which is lovely. The fabric is very soft. And the self-striping/self-patterning is fairly subdued in the purple spice colorway I chose. So far I'm really enjoying it! I'm surprised.



And also? I am loving this whole casting on thing. I cast on for this sock and a Christmas gift today. Wheee....


*Note: I would not, under most circumstances, pay $7 for a pair of socks from the store. But for sock yarn this is a good deal. So it goes.

November 24th: Neckband

I've bound off the body of the Amelia Cardigan and started in on the neckband. Which, actually, shouldn't take very long. I am, however, becoming very concerned about the size of this cardigan... The yarn needs to grow during blocking for it to fit properly.

The camera flash washes out the black pretty severely. The neckband isn't much to look at, but it's quite a step.


And look what I picked up! 13 issues of The Workbasket from 1949 to 1958. Lots of great ads and a variety of patterns. I couldn't resist.

November 22nd: Doubt

I got up this morning, bought a coffee, and settled in to knit and catch up on some shows. I knit while playing a board game with Pants. I knit while watching The Apartment (I didn't love the movie, but Jack Lemmon is very entertaining). So I got quite a bit of knitting done.


That's somewhere over 5 inches from where I attached the sleeves. And I just started binding off the neckline.


But I'm very concerned. I tried on the cardigan this morning. And despite adding in several stitches at the top of the sleeves, it's still very tight. I am crossing my fingers and toes that I can gain at least an inch in them during blocking. And I'm hoping the problem is just my sleeves, and not the whole thing. Watch and find out in the coming week...

November 18th: All together now

Eek! I almost forgot to blog! And where would we be then? Where I ask you? I was so caught up in the finale of America's Next Top Model that I almost missed it (shush, ANTM is a fine show and I'm not afraid to admit it).

Yesterday, as things were breaking right and left, I attached the sleeves to my cardigan body. I'm currently working on the raglan decreases; I'm about 1.5" into them. As I laid out the cardigan on the kitchen table to take a photo of it, I got a little worried - the body is looking kind of short, but I swear it measured what the pattern said it should. Maybe it's just the comparatively longer sleeves confusing me...


Of course, it looks okay from the angle I photographed it at. Go figure. :P

Now, in confidence, I am having urges. Urges, I tell you. Urges to cast on for new things. Urges to start new projects. But I must stifle them. I know I said that I would finish every thing I'd started before casting on, but in the face of my decision to knit for Christmas, I think I need to amend that somewhat. I will cast on no new personal projects until the ones I have are finished. I will work only on existing projects up to and through next week Thursday (Thanksgiving). After that, I may cast on for and knit Christmas gifts. Luckily for me, family won't be visiting until two weeks after Christmas, so there's some extra time.

And, in the meantime, I'm cautiously optimistic about finishing this sweater by next Thursday.

November 13th: To Washington!

Pants and I just finished watching Mr. Smith Goes to Washington for the first time ever. It's a wonderful film.

I spent the movie (except our break for popcorn - I <3 my Whirley-Pop) knitting on my mom's lap blanket. I'm very nearly done. I need just to finish the row I'm on, and I think then I'll move to a crochet loop bind off. I think I'll just wing it.


Size 15 needles.... what size crochet hook do you suppose I ought to use to bind off?

November 3rd

What's that? It's about 14" of Amelia Cardigan laid out on my lovely couch. It used to be my ugly couch with the cheap white ikea cover, but now it's my lovely couch with the discontinued-but-I-got-it-on-eBay red corduroy cover. I love it more now.

The important thing about the photo above is that it means I stop knitting the body for a while and knit the sleeves. And thank goodness for that. I am not a fan of twisted rib. Especially when I have to twist purl stitches. I complain a lot about the more fiddly knitting things, but they do have a rather lovely effect, don't they?

Still, the sleeves will be an excellent break before I get to the end. I'm going to knit the sleeves two at a time, for maximum excitement. I think I'll go wind some yarn now!

The Green Mile vs. the Edging

Sunday, 1:43 pm PST: I have 8 repeats of the edging left to go on the Diamonds and Triangles Stole. I have about 3 hours of the Green Mile to watch. How far can I get? My money is on three repeats, when you count in interruptions. Hoping for more. Wish me luck.

Cast on frenzy continues!

I have six more or less active projects on the needles right now. That's a lot for me! I usually have a couple going at the same time, and maybe one other one sitting aside waiting for me. Since last we met, I've cast on two more projects: a plain stockinette sock for knitting in movie theaters and Laminaria.

The plain socks are nothing special. This is the yarn's second try at making socks. Previously, I tried doing a Cat Bordhi sock with it and didn't care for how it came out. Plain jane is the way to go here.


And Laminaria. I have had a love affair with this pattern. I adored it as soon as it came out. I even cast on for it in some super splitty two ply lace yarn. That did not work out at all. I've re-cast on for it in Blackberry Ridge silky merino. I had a hank and some change left over from my Shetland Tea Shawl, which should (fingers crossed) be enough for a nice triangular shawl.


The stitch pattern scrunches up pretty easily. Here I've spread it out (the color is also truest in this picture).


So many projects! Who will be finished first? I suspect it will be the May mystery socks which I intend to work on almost exclusively later in the week - to try to finish them before the end of the month.

Mmm kauni

I am loving the way my Kauni Shawl is knitting up. The color changes are gorgeous; I love watching the yarn transition from one color to the next.

Unfortunately, there's not a great deal more to be said about it. It's all stockinette and yarn overs for a good while longer. Three pattern repeats, at least. I am nearing the end of my Simurgh stole though! I've finished the body and need to do the last bit of knit on edging. 165 or so annoying little rows. I haven't started on that part yet. Here's a photo of crumply, pre blocked, incomplete lace:


A little while ago, Marnie posted a video of herself spinning. Now that I've been bitten by the spinning bug, I asked Daniel to film me spinning. Here's a short video of me making yarn:

I'm actually finished with that yarn, although I haven't done the finishing. What I have finished is reading Spinning in the Old Way which has a lot of good information. I'm a little too set in my ways, a little too cantankerous, to relearn to spin in a different way, so I think it's a good thing that I seem to be doing most things okay. But definitely a resource I'm glad to have.

Oldest WIP

This is my oldest WIP (work in progress):


That's the Shetland Tea Shawl(ravelry link) from A Gathering of Lace. I began knitting it up way back in the spring of 2007 with Blackberry Ridge Silky Merino from my pal Madam. Now, the yarn is fabulous stuff. I used the same in white to knit my wedding stole, which, for the record, I knit much more quickly than the Tea Shawl.

I stopped about 10 rows after you increase to 574 stitches - 574 stitches is a lot. Especially with blunt bamboo needles. What was I thinking when I was advocating bamboo needles for lace? Sure, the stickiness is great, but the pokiness leaves something to be desired. Another argument for the Knitpicks Options set I've been pining for. This pattern is based on the Pi Shawl formula, so you only increase in certain places, not continuously. Since I picked it back up again this weekend I've knit about 7 rows - so that's over 4000 stitches. Maybe an inch? Tops.

But it is pretty and I feel a commitment to it. Here's hoping I can get this finished and off the needles before the new year, taking into account my various Christmas projects.