Ranting Knitter

The bag shown here looks cute and innocent enough.  Sadly, it’s not.  This is what I lovingly refer to as my knitting bag.  A knitting bag holds different meanings for every knitter.  For me, this holds a number of my UFOs.

For those un-knitters, a UFO is Un-Finished Object; mainly geared towards the number of unfinished knitting projects laying throughout the home.  A personal, unspoken secret to many knitters is to one day finish her/his UFOs.

I have decided that enough is enough with the unfinished objects and projects laying about my home.  I either become so ingrained in one project, while overlooking a few others, or I will start another project and then forget about the zillion others gathering dust in the corner of my room.  Not good.  I know that yarn was once (and still very well could be) a living thing and therefore has feelings.  Neglect is not something we ever want to experience.  I feel for the yarn sitting in the corner; it knows it could be paraded about once a finished object for all to admire and praise.  There need to be more finished objects out there.

And so, I am making serious strides to finish the unfinished.  This is hard.

Looking at my Ravelry site, one may notice there are a few UFOs dubbed ‘UGH!’.  This is one too many for me.  No desire there to finish them.  Well, guess what, RK?  They are there, finished but unfinished.  Small, yet important touches are required to make these projects not only complete, but fully-functional.  I will feel a weight lifted off my shoulders should I finish these projects.  Not to mention extra room in my closet.  I’m mainly talking about a few pairs of socks, a sweater for my some random child, a sweater for my sister, and a sweater for me (that has to be frogged and reknitted into washcloths, talk more later on that one).  I didn’t even touch the potential Christmas presents there are.  No less, there are quite a bit of knitting UFOs to tackle.  I’m not sure when or how it will be done, but it will be done.  As well, I am sure the yarn will feel confident and secure to now be dubbed an FO, as opposed to a UFO.  Yarn has feelings, someone needs to stand up to for the yarn.

From time to time, I will be mentioning these finished objects of mine.  They are but works of joy and struggle.  As knitters, we need to praise ourselves for the tremendous sweat/blood/sacrifices/missed dates/family avoided/movies watched/cleaning ignored/work/effort we put towards knitting an object.  We should be thrilled when the object is completed and eager to share.  We should, so why are we not?  Let us unite as knitters and change this mentality.  Let’s finish some objects!

And besides, who doesn’t want more excuses to just sit and stare at her/his amazing stash?  The gaping of one’s stash stirs up all sorts of butterflies of new projects to start and yarn to hold and caress.  Though, just to gaze at one’s stash is a wonderful thing in and of itself; a stash allows one to think in colors.  Beautiful.

Woah.  Okay.  No posts for a solid few months.  Do I ignore my web absence and go about the blogs as though nothing has happened?  Or do I explain the absence however long and unintended it was?

I would have such a guilty conscience to ignore my lengthy absence.  Where to begin?

I’m getting my life in an awesome order.  I’m feeling the good vibes all the way.  Working The Secret into my every day life and it’s working!  Who would have thought?

I’ve been reading a variety of books.  I don’t critique them too much.  I read everything: the goods and bads.  I need to exercise all parts of my mind and imagination.  And what better way to do so than with a story spurred by someone else’s imagination?  I love it.  Beats watching soaps all day.

More importantly to me, I’ve been traveling.  I am having an absolute blast.  I have been to a few places and done a few things.  My traveling companions deserve a great deal of credit for the amount of fun that I have where ever I go.  And I get so excited waiting for my next big excursion!

And photography.  I have been snapping quite often.  Though, I haven’t been good about uploading all my pics to flickr, I’ll get there.

I have had a nice break away from a hectic world.  I re-energized my spirit.  And now, it’s time to get down to what matters.  I’ll get back to you on that last bit…

How am I doing?  Well, much better, considering my mind is gaining clarity.

Half-way through this year I realized that my biggest gripe is not time, but doing what I want to: my wants and desires.

Life has taken another round about with me, thus allowing me to focus more on what I want and have wanted out of my Life.

I finished reading Getting Things Done by David Allen.  Great book and worth mentioning again and again as a suggestive read.  I have developed some better organizational skills.  Though I find that the hardest part is to maintain the organizing.  Life so easily slips by us, that we let other matters fall by the wayside; not a good thing. 

I recently purchased OmniFocus as a means of organizing all my thoughts and projects.  So far, I am quite impressed with this program.  After watching the online video how-to, I went to town on in-putting everything bogging my mind down.  What a release!  And what a great program!  So far, I have no complaints.  In-putting and retrieving  information is done so in a relatively easy and simple manner, why bother to complain?

As for the site - uuummm…..right.  Well, I’ve made some serious attempts at writing and posting.  It has worked here and there.  I have not posted regularly, which is another goal to do.  I’ll get there.  I’m feeling better about writing more and more; it’s not the enemy, but the truth.

I have discovered a new passion for photography.  Though I feel most of my best work is done in black and white film, I am experimenting more with digital.  I intend to use all original photos on this site, as I have always done.  Perhaps one day, they will become well-known.

For the next six months, I intend to do more: reading, knitting, photographing, and posting.  Hold me to it!  ; )

Miguel de Cervantes once commented, “facts are the enemy of truth.”

The fact - what actually occurred - is the ultimate; the sole proprietor of the incident.  Whereas, the truth is also what actually occurred, though much more relative to the individual.  Each of us is but living her/his own dream.  We see colors, interpret signs, and share ideas all in our own, unique way.  This also known as individualism.

Individualism is not a concept.  Individualism is who we are, how we are, what we do, and how we do it.  Our actions are based on the form of our Self.  We exist as both what we know and what we do not know.  We possess Love and Fear, both simultaneously and interchangeably.  Some of us know this while a great majority of us do not.  Most of us struggle to find this; discover that one point in our lives when we can put our finger on precisely what we are.  This coincides with the process/journey/craziness of Life.  Lessons are forever learned and thus our Individual Self is consistently and constantly changing and forming.

Goals fit into this ideal.  Setting goals for yourself is a positive thing; there are matters to conquer.  Having goals, however vast or unique, are individualistic.  A goal for one person will not have the same passion as being a goal for another person.  My concern lays when one person steals another person’s goal.  Here is a better layout:

1) Person A has a goal.

2) Person A shares this goal with Person B.

3) Person A sets out to achieve the goal.

4) Person B completes the goal of Person A, making it known to Person A of the accomplishment.  Person B never shared the desire to complete Person A’s goal; just up and did it.

Sound insane?  Yeah, it is.  But it happens. Though it does sound like animosity, that never originally existed between the two people.

Yeah, yeah, there are a zillion excuses to use for why Person B never shared the goal.  But then there lays the actual fact: if Person B is a weak person (which is true), having personal goals is not a well, thought-out concept.  New ideas are considered foreign, thus leading to Fear.  Where there is Fear, there is no passion.

I find goal stealing rude.  I also see it as a blessing, as this action allows the reality of the person’s essence to come forward.  For then, the supposed passion to reach the goal is fueled by Fear and quite possibly Jealousy; so not a good thing.  Person B Types are needy, clingy, and incapable of having an independent thought.  Not even that, these sort of people have no aspirations; they cling to others for a sign of the future.  These are people to stay far the hell away from.  These types do nothing but drag you down.  Where is the loyalty to one’s Self?  Where is the ultimate sense of achievement?

People should be respectful and follow some sort of goal etiquette.

Now that I am out of Sock Wars 3, I think I’ll still knit socks. Of course not for me, but as gifts.

Currently, I’m working on a toe-up pair for my mom. These socks were meant to be her birthday present, but that has since come and gone. I’m hopeful that I will finish and get them to her within the month. : )

The yarn is Cherry Tree Hill. This is my first time working with this yarn and I’m loving every minute of it. This yarn knits up great. Not to mention that the colorway is great: so bright and cheery - making the work all the more worthwhile.

I finally finished the Detonation Socks for Sock Wars 3. Unfortunately, not in time for me to be ‘killed.’ I’m officially out of the War. Bummer, I was hoping to last at least two rounds, but I’m happy to have finished the socks anyway.

My reaction: I’m not too impressed. This is more centered on the pattern, as well as the yarn. The pattern was a bit confusing. I spoke with a few other knitters in the War that gave me some pointers and suggestions. I also made contact with my Assassin who furthered these suggestions. At this point, I had already completed one sock. This sock was a complete mess; I was very disappointed with the results. Before attempting the second sock, I gathered the suggestions together and set about altering the pattern to make more sense and thus work for my socks. This helped immensely. I frogged the first sock.

I was not thrilled with knitting the Tofutsies yarn. For some reason, I had the hardest time working with this yarn. Others seem to have done well, which is good. I have no idea what my problem was. However, I mailed the completed socks to my Target, who praised them. She loved them; I’m very happy that she does. Well, enjoy them!!

As for my socks…..I received my socks without my knowing. [A long story that is too warped to tell]. My socks are FABULOUS! I really enjoy them! My Assassin did a truly amazing job - THANK YOU!! I am so impressed and so thrilled. The picture does them no justice. I will enjoy wearing them; you can tell she had fun knitting them, which makes all the difference.

As for Sock Wars, I love it. I think Sock Wars is a great idea that spreads across the globe. I am looking forward to next year. I’ll bring my A-Game.

But there is also Hat Attack…..

Sock Wars. I am also quite confused at this whole procedure.

The pattern was given to us a few days prior to our actual start date. The suggestion was made to be careful about knitting before receiving your Target. So, I waited. I read the pattern, saw that I could technically begin without knowing my Target’s sock size. But I waited.

Now, I stand four days into the War and about three-quarters of the way done with my FIRST sock. Yikes! As I’m knitting the pattern, I’m finding that I’m not seeing the actual pattern. AND, my gauge is off. Double yikes!!

I have read the discussions in the Boards. A few people tend to feel the same way, which is cool. I also heard that the pattern was off. Well, not one to frog, I’m leaving my sock three-quarters of the way done and just going to finish it.

My gauge is off. I can just tell my looking at it. My Target is a size smaller than me. And yet, these socks are looking a bit big. I knitted gauge in the beginning, only to discover that I was knitting too small. I’m now making the sock with the larger needles to no avail. Oh boy….

I am sharing the sock with you. It is knitted with Tofutsies, which is recommended.

I’m also sharing pics of my new Lexie Barnes bag. So cute! I didn’t have time to sew one of my own and then I found this one. Almost the right size!

I am debating on what to do: clean house, put stuff on ebay, knit the socks while watching a movie, or workout. The choices are making me insane!!

Thank God knitting is tonight!

Happy Cinco de Mayo! I am SO happy it’s a decent holiday to celebrate. Not that excuses are needed. I just feel it more when the rest of the world is in on the celebrating. More excitement in the air, similar to that feeling prior to a thunderstorm; lots of negative ions.

I had lunch with a person that is now becoming a good friend. He’s great to lean on for support and good thoughts. And there are NO STRINGS. I love that care free feeling. Him and I are in the same line of work and interestingly enough, have the same feelings and opinions. I find this great, that there are others out there that feel along the same lines as I do. Of course that is always a great feeling to encounter, thus how friendships are born.

After leaving any sort of discussion with this friend, I always seem to ponder certain things in my life, such as what I should be doing, what I want to be doing, and what interests me. On the car ride home, I was stuck on one word: creativity. So, with the music blastin’ and my windows rolled down, I thought long and hard about this one word. I have always wanted to write a book. Not sure where I will go with it when I sit down, however, I always wanted to be a published author with a few books under me. A personal goal of mine for the past 20 years or so.

I should get in the habit of taking a voice recorder with me at all times. There are numerous times I develop this incredible concept, only to have it forgotten when I finally have the time to write anything down.

I recently discovered that SARK is going to be in Massachusetts, which is in driving distance. She will be doing a three-day conference on her upcoming book, ‘Juicy Pens Thirsty Paper.’ I would LOVE to attend this conference. I feel it is what I need to give me that kick start. Unfortunately, funds are an issue right now, and I do not find myself able to attend.

I know I should have posted this blog a bit ago, in celebration of Cinco de Mayo. However, I am proving a point that I have been writing, just not posting. I’ll get on a good schedule soon enough. ; )

I cannot believe that I have not written ONE THING for the month of April. Something Freudian going on? Doubtful. I utilized the past month to concentrate more on me. Yes, I should have been writing all along, but honestly, I wasn’t feeling anything. I came up with a few ideas here and there, but nothing really stuck.

I will tell you what I did find: photography. In particular, black and white photography. I enrolled in a class where I am able to develop my own prints. I am quite intrigued and would thoroughly enjoy doing this for the rest of my life, provided that I gain more of a clue as to what I am doing.

Photography may very well be the next best thing for me. Not proclaiming myself as the next Ansel Adams, I do enjoy art and if I am able to create art (other than knitting) well, hell, then why not?

I am not putting my knitting aside. Actually, I signed up for Sock Wars 3 - I am so nervous!! But, I am thoroughly looking forward to it. I can just hear myself now: turning down a date because I have to knit a pair of socks before I am assassinated! What a great excuse!!

My knitting has picked up some (no pun intended). Within reason. I am sure there are many knitters out there that always wish they could knit more. I am one of them. I’ll be more than happy just to finish at least one project a month. My secret? Netflix and Podcasts. I have a pathetic number of movies in my Queue, as well as a number of subscriptions to podcasts. Of course there are a few on photography. ; )

Speaking of…I need to figure out my gauge for Sock Wars 3….

A few months ago, there was an article depicting the next great place to meet a mate: an Apple Store. I thought this was hysterical. This day and age, there is much possibility behind it. However, how is it any different than the grocery store? Apparently, an Apple Store will determine more of the character of the person, as opposed to the type and kind of loaf of bread purchased.

Hmmm…we could be onto something. And if I were doing a thesis, this would be it: determine the correlation in character based on the individual’s loaf of bread as compared to hanging out in an Apple Store and the products purchased at said store.

I would love to see the results. My guess: we’re all tech-crazed, tree-huggin’ vegetarians that where Birkenstocks all the time. But hell, that’s just my guess.

So now that an Apple Store is the current dating hot spot, and all the store employees will be deciphered by shirt color, where is the man with the fire-engine red shirt that just says ‘heartthrob’?