A slight case of over packing

I am home from my retreat* and once again, I find that there are projects that I took to work on that never made it out of my bin.

I did start this hat...formerly known as the End Paper Mitts. I'm thinking that if this had been the only project I had taken, I would have been finished it.

This is my 10 stitch blanket...3rd time lucky. If it had been the only project that I packed, I wouldn't be finished but I would be further along than on the second colour.

This was a good choice to pull out of the bin. The pattern is simple enough that I could still visit with my friends and see progress on the shawl.

I also knit on another Lady Eleanor shawl for a short time. The other projects were only pulled out to show other knitters what a yarn looked like. I didn't knit a stitch on them. I also didn't look through the books I brought.

Perhaps the real problem is overestimating how many hours there are in a weekend.

*The retreat was sponsored by The Calgary Guild of Needle and Fibre Arts.

Packing for a Retreat

Yesterday, while I was out knitting with my friends, I found myself in a dire predicament. I ran out of knitting.
It started innocently enough. I ripped out my 10 stitch blanket...my second start at the 10 stitch blanket. This is not a difficult project. I had slipped the stitches purlwise instead of knitwise and it changed the whole look of the blanket. It had to go.
I ripped out my End Paper mitts. They have been hibernating for a year or two and I just wasn't feeling the love for them. They were the next project to be ripped out.
I was left with my Dorothy Gale socks. I knit on the first sock until I realised that I had left the pattern at home.

I was out of knitting. There was nothing I could do except go home. (we will totally ignore the fact that I was knitting in a yarn store and that I could have started a new project...which I just realised now)

This leads me to the subject of this post. I am packing to go on a two day retreat. I will be away from the city and any yarn shops, without my car, and I will have to knit only only the projects I have managed to stuff in my Rubbermaid tote.

Keeping mind that this is only a two day retreat, I have packed

1. Ladybug Socks (they might get ripped out and turned into Nutkins)
2. Dorothy Gale Socks (pattern is packed)
3. Fern Leaf Shawl
4. Mystic Light Shawl
5. 10 stitch blanket (started for the third time...I think I've finally gotten the hang of it
6. Lady Eleanor
7. Raining Cats and Dogs Socks
8. the hat that used to be End Paper Mitts

I was also going to pack Mystic Roses and the Crown Prince Shawl but then I remembered that I was only going to be gone for two days and that I had to leave room for the wine, chocolate and chips.

A Multiple choice Quiz

This is
A) The Breakfast of Champions?
b) the lunch blue plate special?
c) an elegant desert after the evening's dining?
d) a nice light snack?
e) leftovers from the previous night's potluck?

It's a trick question because the correct answer is all of the above.

Pumpkin Cobbler... a great recipe*

And I wonder why my jeans are tight!

*send me a message on Ravelry with your real address and I'll send the recipe as an attachment. No more typing than is absolutely necessary.

Destined to fail?

More Math?

It Ain't gonna happin! All possible titles for this post.

We headed up to Edmonton on Wednesday. I was sure that I was going to have 2 and half hours uninterrupted knitting time on the way there and then again on Thursday. We were heading up to visit a relative in the hospital and since they only allowed two visitors at a time, I would have more knitting time in the waiting room. There would be nothing to prevent me from finishing Dracula's Bride.

As we drove past Balzac, I pulled out my knitting to discover that I had left the pattern at home. I knew exactly where it was. Mr. B asked if I wanted to go home to get the pattern but I realised that I didn't want to add an hour onto the total driving time.
I was disappointed but I since there were only seven rows, I was pretty sure I could finish them when I got home.

Last night three more rows were done and I woke up early this morning to finish the last four rows. It was still doable. Finish knitting before 9, wash and block it and it would be ready to wear to Make 1's Halloween party at 5.

There was this little doubt that kept bothering me. The pattern had no instructions for the final edge. I had printed the original pattern fours year earlier and there were comments on the Yahoo group that the last clue was just blocking instructions. I still didn't feel comfortable. I downloaded the pattern and my worst fears were realised. There was another whole chart that I had been missing. 28 more rows. 17948 more stitches.

I may come up with some crazy ideas, but I do know when to admit defeat.

And what did I do while on my way up to Edmonton? Started a new sock of course. I thought I was packing too many projects for a quick trip, but it pays to have multiple projects around at all times.

edited to correct the math...again.

9 rows.
5373 stitches. I will then cast off Dracula's Bride.

16. The number of new projects that I have planned while knitting this shawl.

I am not a fast knitter

I am an obsessed knitter but not a fast one. So when I decided that I should knit a shawl for Halloween, I realised that I was making an unwise ...no, an insane decision..

I started anyway...last Saturday. Yes, on the 17 of October, I thought I would have enough time to knit a shawl. Finished measurements 84 X 41. Total stitches (not including the ones that I knit twice) are 62,156.

At midnight, I had knit 46224 stitches at least once.

74% of the shawl is complete.

How much time did I spend figuring out the math? Too much! I must get back to knitting now. It's a busy week ahead and I didn't account for blocking time.

Warning -Rant ahead
Does anyone else believe that if the powers that be want us all to get flu shots, that they shouldn't make it so difficult?
Four flu clinics for a city with a population of over a million?
The addresses of the clinics were listed in the paper but if you wanted to know the times that they were open, you had to go on-line. How many people don't have access to computers?
If I go and stand in line at 6:00, will the doors close before I get to the front of the line at 8:00?

*edited to correct the math!

Dare to Dream....

Madrona fiber arts