7/8/2011 - Cleaning house

Knitting:
We have a knit nite here in town. Used to be held at the yarn store, but now that we're LYS-less, we hold it at the campus Starbucks. Things were getting downright rowdy yesterday! Kestrel came in her awesome pants and brought Rebekah (why do I assume Rebekah is spelled that way? It's almost certainly not.) with her. Rebekah attempted to educate me in anime. I may be hopeless. Still, I managed to knit an inch or two on the Liesl cardigan, which means that it looks essentially exactly the same as it did last time we saw it. I think I'm nearing the end of the body, at least, and the sleeves should be super quick!

Love that texture photo.


Running:
Thursday was meant to be a crosstraining day, but I was so tired when my alarm went off that I decided to switch it with my scheduled rest day on Friday. Which means I slept in yesterday (until 6:40!) and went off to cross train at the gym today. I do an endurance weights routine with some cardio thrown in. My trainer, who's a firecracker, says it's meant to raise my lactic threshold. I followed it up with some time on the elliptical. Tomorrow is my long run of 4 miles and, luckily, the wind is supposed to be under 10mph when I plan to go out! Hooray!

Other:
I seem to be terrifically linky today. How about that?

I've changed sizes recently. Enough so that the closet of clothes I'd been cultivating for years no longer fits. I'm trying my luck with a bit of an internet yard sale. If you're interested in XL, XXL, 18-20 (with some 14-16 tops), hop on over to Crazy Froggy's Internet Yard Sale. Everything must go! Will accept yarn in trade!

7/6/2011 - Slow Knitter to Conquer Half Marathon

About a year ago I started the Couch to 5K program. Why? Because I couldn't run a mile and that seemed like something a body ought to be able to do. Of course, by the end of the program, you're running nearly three miles! So I did that and then followed it up by alternately running for a while then not running for a while. Winter, you know. When spring came, I got my mojo back and began to set goals. I decided to run 5 miles. I did. Then I started to look around for half marathons (13.1 miles). Eventually, I found one that seemed awesome! So I signed up. It's the Columbia Gorge Half Marathon. It'll be held at the end of October and is a pretty hilly course - perhaps not the wisest choice for the novice racer, but I think it'll be fun.

It's kind of awesome that I've gone from dismissing runners as merely crazy to embracing the whole thing. I realized that, when I go out to run, I freaking look like a runner. Maybe a fat, slow runner, but a runner nonetheless.


Click through for a ton of notes.

This week is week one of half marathon training. I'm doing three runs a week with 2-3 days of cross training, 2 of which include a strength training regimen. My long run this week is 4 miles. Woo hoo! I'll hit 6 miles by the end of the month and up up up from there. I also run the only hill in town once a week to get the feel of that kind of challenge.

Let it be noted that I am breaking no land speed records here. My fastest mile ever was 11 minutes, but I average more around 12 minutes. I'll probably be even slower once my mileage gets up there. My husband can literally walk as fast as I run. If I can do this, anybody can.

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.

FO: Featherweight Cardigan

Oh, my Featherweight cardigan. I love it. I love it like I've never knit any sweater I've knit. It's light, it's breezy, it's easy to wear.

Vital Stats
Pattern: Featherweight Cardigan
Yarn: Valley Yarns 2/14 Alpaca Silk, a little more than half a cone, maybe?
Needles: 6? Whatever the pattern asked for.
Size knit: 42", I think
Time to Completion: 3 or 4 months



Did I mention that I love this cardigan? I do.



The arm holes are actually enormous. That would bother me on some sweaters, but it's perfect for this one. Knit in an 80% alpaca yarn, I wouldn't want the arm holes too tight in summer. It weighs practically nothing.



After knitting the sleeves, I noticed that one was about a half inch longer than the other. I didn't fix it. I tried to make them the same during blocking. I think it was successful, although it's hard to tell due to the loose way this cardigan sits on the body.



Picking up stitches for the band was the hardest part. The pattern is a ton of stockinette, so that actually slowed me up some. I didn't have the inertia to finish for the longest time. But I'm glad I finally did!


See that shoe box on the floor? Those are my new running shoes. I'm training for a half marathon in October. I'm thinking about blogging my training here. Any strong feelings about that?

FO: Acer Cardigan

What? I didn't blog my completed Acer Cardigan? Well! I'll have to remedy that.

Vital stats:
Pattern: Acer Cardigan
Yarn: Cascade Lana D'Oro, color 1052. About 6 skeins. Maybe 5.
Needles: Size 6
Time to completion: About 5 months.



I finished this cardigan at the beginning of May. Just in time for warm weather! Nothing like a wool/alpaca blend to welcome the sun. I was mostly just glad to finish this cardigan. It was a long knit. It wouldn't have even taken that long if I'd been committed to it, but I wasn't.



I do really like this sweater. I hope it gets a lot of wear next season. The pattern is really a very flattering style. As I knit it, the arms are a bit tight, which seems to be a pattern with me. I've historically had very large upper arms.



The buttons are some inexpensive plastic ones from the tiny sewing shop in town. I like the sort of retro look they have.


And that's that cardigan. I think I'll queue up a post about my exciting new Featherweight cardigan.

Hellos and Goodbyes

It's sad, but my local yarn store, The Dancing Ewe is closing for good. They had a close call last summer, but this time is really the end. It was a lovely shop and a lovely community of knitters (and crocheters), but all good things must come to an end. Thank you, Kathy, Jami, and all those who have helped make it great over the years.

Closing up shop means sales, and sales mean I end up with a great deal of yarn. Particularly of the luxury variety. My stash is now stocked up against the soon-to-come yarn drought in this town.

Also on the yarny front, my good pal Diana from the days of grad school has started up a fabulous etsy shop - Keystone Art & Craft yarns. She specializes in up-cycled or recycled yarns, many of which she then redyes. She sent me some pretties!


That's an indigo-dyed silk-cashmere blend, cashmere in Orchid, and merino in Wild Rose. I'm seeing some new lace shawls in my future.

I feel like I've been doing a lot of knitting and not finishing. I have a sweater that's been done for a month except to sew on the buttons and block it. But I have at least finished my Porifera socks. I started them in October. October. What can I say? I'm not a fan of ribbing. But the Malabrigo sock yarn is amazing and the pattern is lovely.




I think I'll get that sweater finished up tonight. Maybe it will help kickstart this blogging thing again!

Valentine's Day

I've spent the day sick in bed, but this card from my aunt made me smile.