The Novel Knit Girl Blog

I'm behind on everything lately. And tired. I've been running - up to 20 minutes on a treadmill a few times per week if I'm lucky (I won't be lucky this week), but having difficulty running for 10 minutes sprints outside. And I traveled to Texas and back - the getting back part always makes me happy. And most recently, Daylight Savings Time happened, which means I'm ready for bed at around 6:45 each night (yes, I know I gained an hour, but it gets dark so early now). And, it is almost the middle of November and I have not started my Christmas knitting. I've been trying to finish a wrap, which is so easy and hard all at the once -but I think I have to get down to business here. The first step would include not falling asleep on the couch before 8:15 each night. The second step includes putting projects for me on the sidelines until I get stuff made for other people. Seems reasonable. So... until the Christmas gift posts come pouring in (ha ha), here is my mos...

A Tangent. I'm running. Like, really running. I've never gotten this far before. Today, if I go for a run after work, with my couch to 10K app, I will run for 10 minutes, walk 5 minutes and run 10 minutes again. If you don't know me, this is a big deal. As a figure skater, I never had to do anything without a break for longer than 4 and a half minutes. The last time I ran a mile was when I was 13-years-old and in 8th grade. This. Is. Big. For me, at least. So, I'm still knitting. And, in general I feel good. My app has me running for 20 minutes in just 3 more runs. I don't feel like I will be ready for that. But, maybe I will. My husband has offered to go for my first 20 minute run along with me - he does have some nice qualities. But, here are the Bellisima mittens that I made out of a Vampire Knits book. I know - you really don't have to say anything or judge me - but, when I saw these mittens, I had to make them. They are warm and it gets cold in Wisc...

The kids are back in school. Kid 1 is in 2nd grade and Kid 2 is in 4-year-old kindergarten. And I'm more tired than ever. I had my first and likely only pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks yesterday. It was good, but for $5.25 it will not happen often. Also, I don't need the calories. I'm trying to run, which I can do with some success in the fall when it's not so hot out. And, I'm finally really succeeding on a my first pair of mittens. Of course I went with the difficult Bellisima pattern with cables and weird stitches. I'll see how I feel at the end about the final product. I wanted something warm and cosy and I'm not sure how these will be in the end. But, I'm getting it done. That seems to be a bit of my mantra lately. Getting it done! Speaking of getting things done, I finished the blanket I made for my brother-in-law and future sister-in-law for their wedding next month. I'm happy with it. Apricot/Pumpkin colored Lion Brand Thick and Quic...

I made a pair of super soft gray socks. I used the My First Socks Class with Lucy Neatby on Craftsy and I made it through turning a heel and grafting the toe- which I did effectively enough, but there is room for improvement. Here they are - and here is to many more socks. (Photo note: It's more difficult than you would think to photograph your feet well).

Although it seemed for a while that I wasn't. Even though I was. I'm here. I'm knitting. This is the first summer where I feel like I've just taken on too much. I am the working mom who is barely coping - and I look like I'm barely coping. I'm so tired. No one is looking at me thinking "I don't know how she does it all!" If anything, they are whispering behind my back saying I should lay off the gin and tonics. We all have to cope somehow. So I was knitting, but in total disarray. My crazy-side took over and I suddenly had about 12 projects started and nothing finished. When this happens, I tend to go for what I like to call a small win. A smaller scale project where I can start and finish something in a few days or a week. This is good for me. A beginning with an end in sight. I had two small wins this week, and now I feel I can go back to the huge blanket that I must finish sooner rather than later. My first win.... I call this "My Som...

Does anybody else get to the end of Season 3 of Downton Abbey and just want to go back to season 1? I do this over and over. I think season 5 was good and season 4 was okay - but every time I get to the end of season 3 I just want to go back - and it becomes a cycle. I want to watch Tom and Sybil fall in love again and the triangle of Mary, Matthew and Lavinia. I want to watch Edith's moments of growth and listen to Lady Violet and Lord Grantham make the world seem like an insightful and funny place. I want to laugh and cry at all the right moments. I don't want to be stuck in season 4. Yes, I end up rather fond of Rose in the end, but it takes a while and I don't quite get there in season 4. And so many plot lines seem forced. And, why do the characters always have to die? And so I think I'm going to go back to the beginning - to the scandal that begins it all (Kemal Pamuk). OK - now that that is out.... I have been knitting - I just have nothing to show for it...

I've been having a tough time. To get through it, I've made hats. On for my son (kid 2), one for my husband, and one for me. They are all patterns by Stephanie Japel - one of my favorite knitwear designers - two Wheeler hats and a Sawtooth hat. I have enough of the grey and white ecological wool that I can probably make many (many) more hats. SAWTOOTH - Photo taken June 1, 2015 (it's still cold in Wisconsin)  A couple of Wheelers.... for the men in my life.... On the needles this week. Still working on the wedding blanket, but I've taken a bit of a break. I cast on for my first top-down sweater (grey, of course) and started a hooded top for Kid 1 in yarn I bought for a different project. I have 3 weeks to make hooded "Woodsie" tops for both kids before they go up north. With my mood lately, this task seems totally doable.