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January 27, 2023 Leave a Comment

False Starts, Good Starts, Startitis, and No Starts

I finished my first class sample (for 2024!) on Wednesday evening. Well, I am still making i-cord, but I purposely put that aside to work on something that required a bit more attention.

False Starts

If you follow me on Instagram (really? you don’t?) you know that I started said class sample not once, not twice, but three times. First time I counted incorrectly, plus didn’t get the pattern set up properly. I ripped it out and spent some time untangling the yarn. Urg. The second time was again operator error. At that point I decided maybe it wasn’t good vacation knitting and put it aside to start once I got home.

The false starts ate up about 6 hours of knitting time, plus 2 hours of untangling yarn.

Good Starts

Anzula is so generous with providing yarn to designers that I always seem to working with their yarns!

Once I got home from Mexico, and back on the couch, I got the class sample on the right track. The casting on and the first two rows took four hours. I wrote down these stats:

  • Cast on: 320 stitches.
  • Increase to 440 sts on Row 2.
  • Bobblet Row with 40 bobblets (love backward knitting (kb): (k4, kb4, k4, slip 3 over) was a total of 600 stitches.

After I got through that and back to 320 stitches, each round took me 20 minutes. By the end of the Decrease segment (40 rounds) I was knitting at about 12 minutes a round. I figured I got back 1.25 minutes every decrease round I worked (minus 20 sts). Nice!

Then it was knitting even and some short rows, and I didn’t pay any attention to how long anything was taking because the end was in sight! The successful sample took about 15 hours to make (less the i-cord). I worked on it for about 8 evenings after completing the Bobblet round. I had figured it would take me about 20 hours, so I have some unused knitting time back.

Startitis

This has been a long week and I was tired on Thursday. Mitch and I took turns yawning deeply and we finally decided to crawl into bed to read. When I left the couch I had two new projects going! Neither was intended. You know how it goes.

  1. The next class sample seemed tempting, and the yarn was nearby (there are only 288 sts in each round for this one!), but I got to the Bobblet round and decided I should wait until I wasn’t so tired. Better safe than sorry!
  2. Then I picked up yarn I had brought down to swatch with and began making a hat. It is an idea I’ve been pushing around, but not having a clear solution I have not let myself start it. I guess I was ready to give it a go!
  3. Tonight I plan to knit a swatch with another yarn I found for an idea that started brewing in Mexico. I love swatching at the end of the week when my brain is tired and less rigid (i.e., I can push myself around a little easier).
As I said, Anzula is a friend to designers!

This week in the kitchen it has been the same thing.

  1. I have made Bolognese sauce,
  2. oatmeal cookies (most went to a grieving friend),
  3. chili,
  4. black beans, and
  5. chicken soup.

At one point I had 3 burners going on the stove and had to shift things around to cook meals. I don’t usually do that much at once. Tomorrow I plan to make more tomato sauce.

No Starts

Although this seems almost impossible to me, there are times I don’t start something I want to. I try not to wind skeins into balls to keep myself from easily grabbing things to start. It is a good thing when I can put things off, but it isn’t nearly as much fun as starting.

More False Starts

Bullet Journaling

Lots of lists, nothing in the Bullet Journal.

I got started doing Bullet Journaling again but I have to say I have had a number of false starts on it. Usually I just give up. I am crap at keeping up on anything like that, but I have decided that I am just going to restart every time I quit but will simply get back to it without fussing about what I missed. Maybe I’ll get some momentum. I always do lists, but I’m trying to keep them organized and focused. Ha ha. 😅

Food Journaling

I cannot keep complaining to myself and Jamie about the four to six extra pounds I am carrying around. Food journaling is a good way to look at how indulgent I get in my portion sizes, and how treats sneak into our evenings. Noom’s app lets me log meals without paying for it, so I’ve been trying to do it again. I ran off that track when I had a complicated dinner that I just couldn’t face toting up. I am again back on board.

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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: false, hours, knitting, start, started, startitis, starts, time

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