Coin Girl Would Be Proud

Posted on January 10, 2010
Filed Under organization, personal, general | 5 Comments

In case you don’t know who Coin Girl is, I highly suggest you go read the Non-Consumer Advocate’s blog.

Tonight, after I assembled a second bookcase for our dining area, I started going through the stack of things that had been leaning in the space intended for the bookshelf in order to put them away. Most were framed art and the like, but there was this big scrapbooking bag/box I picked up a few years ago at Target. Originally, I got it to transport my art supplies around ConnectiCon while I taught classes, and then it just became a carryall for my growing art marker collection. When we moved, though, I had used it to carry some other things that I didn’t want to lose. Among those things were a bowl and a mug full of coins.

When we lived in an apartment, I needed coins all the time for laundry. Of course, only quarters were valuable to me, so I still needed a place to put the random pennies, dimes and nickels. By the time we moved, I just started tossing ALL coins into the bowl or mug, and then when we moved, the bowl tipped over in the bag. Betcha saw THAT coming!

I kind of put it off and put it off, but then I realized what an AWESOME bag it was–I could use it for knitting, artwork, AND carrying my laptop all in one package. There are elastics for holding knitting needles and scissors, pockets for small things, big dividers in the main body of the case, and even more pockets in and around the bag. It even has a flap that buckles over the top to keep things safe inside. Wish I’d thought about it for the big trip this summer–it would have come in SO handy.

In order to use the awesome bag, however, I would need to clean it out. It was time to go through the stuff and get the scattered coins from the bottom. I scooped out handful after handful of pennies, but had nowhere to put any of them. I got frustrated, which is usually what motivates me to do stuff in the first place. I decided to count the coins and see what I had.

The grand total? $31.75. Plus three Wheat pennies, all three of which are worth about 30 cents. Just from the random change that was unwanted and leftover.

Something I noticed tonight while going through these coins was that I had not really thought about coins as money for a long time. Coins are small, annoying, heavy, and slippery. They fall between cushions and car seats and under cabinets. I rarely use them except to ensure that I won’t get more coins back from a cash transaction. Now that I have my own washer & dryer, I don’t need to collect quarters, and I don’t often drive on a toll road that needs coins, either. They were a nuisance.

But flipping coins over, counting them with my fingers, smelling the dusty metallic scent of money was as startling as a whiff of coffee. The little clink, clink as I counted out two, four, six, eight; the sparkle of new coins amid old, dull ones…it all made me really think about money in a tangible sense. I love my debit card, but even with that, there’s a disconnect. For a sensory person, counting coins is as real as it gets.

To put this in knitting terms (and you knew I was going to do that, didn’t you?), every penny is a stitch. One stitch plus one stitch plus one stitch isn’t much. But then you have fifty stitches, or fifty cents–that’s a round of knitting, half a dollar! Plus another fifty–another round! A whole dollar! And then you have three thousand, one hundred seventy-five of them, and you have a sock or a sweater or $31.75 extra to put in your rainy-day fund.

By today’s standards, $31.75 isn’t much money. It will fill my gas tank and put some in Bunny’s. It will buy a meal out for both of us (but probably won’t cover the tip). It will pay most of my phone bill for the month. But it’s money I was ready to throw away, little by little. I think it’s time to get a coin bank and start saving those pennies again.

Once & Future Fiber Meme!

Posted on January 8, 2010
Filed Under Guild, Socks in 2009, Out and About, Brown Sweater Project, sewing, organization, yarn | 1 Comment

Yeah, yeah, so sue me. I liked this meme. The lovely Rows Red and The Painted Sheep both did it, so why not follow in the footsteps of greatness? :) (Love you both!)

Looking back, what was your major knitting/crochet/spinning accomplishment for the last year?

Surprisingly, it was the Mullins Bay scarf I knitted for my MIL for Christmas. Not only because the project was really beautiful, but also because it was so well-received. Everything about that project just worked out perfectly. I am thinking about doing one for myself now in different colors.

What was your biggest lesson in 2009?

That when I set a goal for myself, I need to stick to it instead of letting things slide. I did that with my Socks in 2009 project, by not immediately starting a new pair once I got ahead of myself in the first third of the year. If I’d done that, I would have been farther along when the house move and the big trip happened, which would have meant that taking off 5 weeks from knitting due to pneumonia would NOT have put me irretrievably behind. Next time, I make hay while the sun shines.

What skeletons are in your project basket?

The Eleanor wrap that I’ve been working on since…uh…2003. I can’t bring myself to frog it but there’s always something else I want to work on. I’m not entirely sure I want to keep working on it in that yarn, anyway, so it’s been in limbo. I frogged and finished everything else that was that old in 2008, so it’s the lone holdover. It has its own hatbox and everything. Idunno what I should do with it.

What’s your favorite yarn from the last year?

If we’re talking FINISHED yarn, then I think I’d say it’s a tie between Dream in Color Smooshy and the Laughing Rat handdyed yarn I used on Mullins Bay. For unfinished handspun, it’s the bobbin of brilliant peacock-green silk that will take me forever to finish. That yarn will be SEXY.

List your active works in progress.

Knitting: Still working on last year’s socks–Bunny’s red socks, Bunny’s grey alpaca socks, my Tango Nouveau socks, Spiral striped Autumn colored socks, bias ribbon scarf.

Spinning: Superfine laceweight alpaca, earthy flowery colored BFL, hand-combed Romney fleece, hand-combed black fleece, remaining Brown Sweater Project yarn

What are your knitting/crochet/spinning goals for 2010?

Knitting – frog the inactive WIPs and finish the active ones; make a decision on the Eleanor

Crocheting – try crocheting a pair of socks again. Last time was not such a great experience, but I’m ready to try again.

Spinning – finish the BSP yarn and the alpaca. Wash the rest of the two fleeces and get them combed. Spin 1000 yards on a spindle during Ravelympics.

What knitting or crochet projects are on your radar for the New Year?

The Totoro mittens I found on Ravelry; the BSP

Anything else you’d like to tackle?

Like Kris, I need to destash something fierce. I also need to go through my fabric collection since it’s all now finally in one place. I culled that stash years ago but now that my life has changed yet again, I need to shed some more. Aiming to have that done (or at least started) before the Guild auction! Oh, and it’s not fibery, but I really want to draw more. I was doing an art meme that has you choose four images per year for the last 6 years…and two of the years I didn’t even HAVE four drawings done. How embarrassing.

The Obligatory Resolution Post

Posted on January 3, 2010
Filed Under Brown Sweater Project, Socks in 2009, organization, personal, admin, yarn, general | 1 Comment

Ok, so honestly, I don’t believe in resolutions. Like many people, I find that forcing a major change on oneself just leads to frustration and disappointment if one fails to meet that change. Instead, I like to set goals for myself. If, at the end of the year, I have not met that goal, I will look back and figure out WHY it didn’t work. Then, the next year, I will adjust my goals to something that is still a challenge but not unattainable.

The other thing that people often fail to take into consideration is that life simply DOES NOT WORK OUT the way one expects. In my last post, I talked about how in January, I had absolutely NO plans to move again and certainly never planned to buy a home! Yet I did it, because the time was right for me. That messed with my financial goals bigtime. It also meant that I had to delay some major business plans because there was no way to do both a new business AND a home purchase. It just wasn’t possible for me. I don’t consider my business plan a failure; it is just something I will have to revisit another time when I’m ready.

So here, in no particular order, are my goals for 2010. Some are big, some are trivial, some are important and some are simply wishes. Let’s see if I can meet them this year!

In 2010, I will…

…participate in RavOlympics, which is a Ravelry.com-wide event where you choose a fiber goal to achieve while the Olympics are in session. As mod of Abby’s group on there, I am a de facto Captain of Team Suck Less. My personal goal will be to spindle-spin 1000 yards of yarn in a single batch. Why I chose this goal: I tend to spin small batches on my spindles and large ones go on the wheel. It would be nice to have a real quantity of yarn spindle-spun for a single project. Level of difficulty: Medium. It’s going to be a real challenge but I totally believe I can do it.

…finish spinning the yarn for my Brown Sweater Project, and then knit the sweater. Why I chose this goal: The Project is over a year old and the remaining 2/3 of the fiber is taking up a lot of room in my stash. Plus, I want the sweater. Level of difficulty: Easy. The yarn is being spun long-draw on the wheel, and can be spun very quickly. It’s just a matter of sitting down to do it.

…build up my emergency savings fund. Why I chose this goal: Everyone should have a cushion of money for emergencies. I am determined to never need the sole credit card I own. Level of difficulty: Medium. I need to buckle down and stick to my budget.

…finish the socks from Socks in 2009. Why I chose this goal: I want to wear my socks! Also, I have too many projects on the needles at the moment, so it would be nice to clear out a few. Level of difficulty: Easy. Just knit! I can probably have most if not all of them done by the time the RavOlympics start if I’m diligent.

…set up my studio for real. Why I chose this goal: My studio room is an utter mess right now. After the move, my poor studio yet again turned into the storage room and the place where we toss stuff and close the door. No more! Now that the living room, kitchen, dining room, and bedroom have been organized, it’s time to get to work on the studio. I think I could do it in two weekends if I get some help–clear it out and paint one week, then move things back in and arrange them the next. I would really like this to be done perhaps over February vacation. Level of difficulty: Medium. I need help and a plan, and I will desperately need to go through my art & craft supplies before putting them back in. Sentimentally, it will be a very hard task.

…schedule four one-on-one classes per week. Why I chose this goal: If I can do four 1-hour classes a week, I will be able to achieve my financial goals. I also enjoy teaching individuals rather than large classes, so it works out well. Level of difficulty: Medium to hard. There are a few people who would be good candidates, and once I have spoken with them, I’m going to advertise in the paper. I can probably get two people fairly easily but finding more may be a challenge.

…set aside several times every week for exercise. We love our Wii Fit, and I have my Hoop, so why not put them to good use? Why I chose this goal: It’s obvious–I NEED to lose weight and get in shape. My eating habits have already gotten worlds better over the past few years, but now I need exercise to strengthen my body. The pulmonologist chided me about my overall fitness level (or lack thereof) after I recovered from pneumonia, and he said I would have been much better if I’d been in shape. Level of difficulty: Hard. I know myself, and this WILL be the hardest goal to achieve. I will never be skinny, but I can’t justify my current shape. I will need a lot of encouragement and help to keep at it.

I think that’s it for my major goals. There will be smaller ones that I’ll make over the course of the year, but these are the ones I’ve been thinking about for the past couple of weeks. I am realistic about them; I am sure I won’t see major improvements in my bank account for a few months, for instance. But I know that a few changes here and there will help me succeed.

Thanks for reading this far! I think this blog tends to be a lot of stuff for me and a few other people. Today’s question is: What are your big goals for the year? I am always interested to know what other people plan for themselves. Share in the comments!

Better do this now…

Posted on January 1, 2010
Filed Under Socks in 2009, tour de fleece, personal | 2 Comments

…because if I don’t, it’ll be like four months before I remember to do it. It’s time to take a quick look back and then look forward to the coming year (and years!)

If you had asked me in January 2009 whether I believed that I’d be living in my own home instead of my old apartment, I would probably have laughed. Yet here I am, sitting on my couch in the living room of the condo we bought this summer. Yeah, seriously–us! Homeowners! The process was pretty smooth compared to what I know others have gone through, especially considering how little we planned beforehand. We made the decision to buy in April, worked out the financing in May, found a place in June, closed in July, and moved in in August. We love having our own place! The mortgage is similar to our rent and we don’t feel the difference as much as I feared. In the past, we have had apartments we liked but have never felt truly at home. Now, we do.

The next big thing this year was our trans-continental train trip. Funny enough, we bought our tickets literally two weeks before deciding to buy a house. Can’t believe we pulled both those expenses off, but we managed it! The trip was amazing. My brother got married, we visited California for the first time, we got to explore Santa Cruz’s boardwalk a bit, and then we had a four-day train trip through mountains, deserts, corn fields, and cities that we’d never seen before. I have already decided that we need to take another trip by train, and soon.

Other big stuff:

I taught my first festival class this year, an extremely successful drop-spindling group class at New Hampshire Sheep & Wool. Bunny & I made a weekend of it since it was his birthday, and we saw Star Trek in a NH theater after finding a massive game arcade that we had all to ourselves for half an hour. We stayed in a nice hotel room for a couple of nights and had a great time.
In the autumn, I got my usual cold/allergy thing that suddenly turned into pneumonia. Never had THAT before and it was scary at times. I missed Thanksgiving dinner with my family but everyone pulled together and took care of us so we didn’t feel left out.
Two new spinning wheels arrived in my house this year. The Hitchhiker was picked up at New Hampshire, dropped off at Merlin Tree’s booth the same day for a bit of an overhaul, and picked up at MA Sheep & Wool. I won 2nd place in a spinning contest on that wheel the very day I picked it up! The other wheel is, of course, Ulla, my Haldane Harris that came home with me in October.
I won several ribbons at New Hampshire. I also got a few at the Big E, and did pretty well at their spinning bee, too. Unfortunately, that was the only chance I had to enter anything this year since I didn’t make the deadline for MA and I didn’t go to Rhinebeck.
I didn’t make my goals for knitting, sadly. I worked really hard on my 12 pairs of socks, and I even had 12 pairs started. Seven were completed, three are nearly done, and two have just been cast on. If I’d worked on them one after another, I might have finished all of them in time for the end of the year. Instead, I figured I’d do a lot of sock knitting over the autumn. Then I got sick and couldn’t manage even to knit…which means I found myself needing five pairs of socks to be done in one month. At that point, I decided it wasn’t worth killing my hands to finish them AND my Christmas gifts AND all the catch-up work I needed to do when I got back to work.

So what’s up for 2010? Tune in tomorrow for the not-quite-resolutions for the New Year!

Ack, CHRISTMAS ALREADY??

Posted on December 17, 2009
Filed Under Socks in 2009, Out and About, baking, personal | 2 Comments

Seriously. It’s in a WEEK. I’m a bit panicky right now, though in reality I am in better shape than I normally am this time of year. I have only one gift left to make, and it’s been started, and should be finished tonight or tomorrow. Not only that, but I have wrapped all but a few gifts, and those will be done when I get home on Sunday after baking cookies with my mom. Monday will see me finishing the Spring brochure for Adult Ed; Tuesday I will clean up any loose ends at work and deliver the brochure to the printer; Wednesday I will decide what to wear (and if I’m going to make anything) for the myriad parties we’ll be attending over the weekend; Thursday I will do some laundry and clean the house, and then, when Bunny gets home, we start our Christmas celebrations with his dad’s family. And then it’s a whirlwind of visits, dinners, presents, parties, food, and music until Sunday.

This is the part where I admit that I will NOT be making my goal of twelve pairs of socks in 2009. I just won’t. I can blame some of this on being too sick to knit, and too busy at times, but honestly, I should have just cast on as soon as finishing the third and fourth pairs of socks instead of waiting for their months to arrive. My hubris meant that when I inevitably got busy or sick, I fell farther and farther behind. At this point, I have at least STARTED 12 pairs; I have finished eight and am at least halfway done with three, and the last pair is about 3 inches along. Maybe if I killed myself making them, I’d finish, but I do have a life and other things that need to be done. Ah, well. I’ll finish these in my own time. There will be another self-challenge for next year–not sure what yet, but I’m working on it. I think it will be spinning-related.

The new year will also bring a new website design. Got some ideas, nothing major or jarring but a reworking of the current layout would be lovely. New hosting, too!

What are your upcoming plans for Christmas, if you celebrate it?

Something I just discovered that I want (and will probably get right after Christmas):

The Deluxe FreedomFiler System

Expertise and Verbosity

Posted on December 12, 2009
Filed Under personal, yarn, admin, general | 2 Comments

This may shock and surprise some of you, but…I like to talk a lot.

No, really, I mean it. I like to talk a lot. I know you’re stunned at this revelation. Even more shocking, I like to talk about TEXTILES. A lot.

I’ll wait until you stop laughing. Okay, seriously, enough. You can stop laughing now.

SO ANYWAY, I have discovered several ways to combine my love of textiles and talking a lot about them in order to make money. One way, which is always fun and lucrative, is to give talks about spinning to local groups. While I don’t have enough credentials to feel comfortable addressing, say, a group like my guild, I know quite enough to talk to the DAR or an Arts organization. Events like these are somewhat rare for me but I highly look forward to doing them. (By the way, you can take that as an open call for any groups you may have that would appreciate this kind of thing. Email me.)

Another way is by teaching, which is more regular and predictable and very flexible. I teach both classes and individuals, and it is something I vastly enjoy. I also teach indirectly, by answering questions on Ravelry and weighing in with my opinion on textile-related discussions. The latter doesn’t pay, per se, but I have gotten referrals for students and buyers for my yarn this way, so it contributes.

The newest way I’ve found is to join Mahalo, a question-and-answer site, as a manager for many of their yarn-related pages. For every page I create, I earn a little money, and then pageviews and clickthroughs add up to more. I get to go on and on and on about textiles, and they get the benefit of my expertise, and we both earn a little bit of money. It’s a win-win situation.

I would like to invite you all to check out the various pages I’ve created so far. If you see anything that needs to be fixed, added, or otherwise changed, please let me know. I am responsible for updating the pages regularly so adding info is always a good thing. Help a girl out and click on the ads every so often, too–they’re usually for wool wash or WEBS or something. :D The links are below.

Today’s Questions: (If you participate) are you ready for the holidays yet? Are you making or buying gifts this year? Tell me in the comments!

I would just like to say…

Posted on December 7, 2009
Filed Under personal, general | Leave a Comment

I AM THE NERD QUEEN!!

That is all.

On the Road to Recovery

Posted on December 2, 2009
Filed Under Socks in 2009, personal | 1 Comment

Things are looking up. I went to the pulmonologist today and he says the pneumonia seems to be gone from my lungs, so that’s great. He ALSO said I can start moving around again, though to be careful and there may still be some residual stuff in my bronchial passages. I’m going to attempt a day at work tomorrow just to catch up and get a few things done, and depending on how I feel, I’ll go to SnB as well. I miss those guys SO much.

Also, thanks to all of you who left me encouraging comments after my last whiny post. I did end up going to see my parents on Friday, just for a couple of hours while they decorated their Christmas tree. My sister, brother, and new sister-in-law were there, too. I was still pretty tired but I had a nice time. All I had to do was put one ornament on the tree, stand for a couple of family photos, and then I got to sit and enjoy the company of my family. That did a lot for my spirits.

In other news, I have been WHIPPING by on the Nouveau Tango socks, moving along on the striped Autumn socks, stalled on the red socks for Bunny, and SUPER stalled on the grey socks (also for Bunny). I need to step up my game if I’m going to have finished 12 pairs by the end of the year. I can still do it, but I need to buckle down. In addition to finishing the above list, I need to start and finish one more pair as well. Hmmmmmm…

Oh! Here’s some cool news: Abby Franquemont (yarn dork and textile evangelist extrordanaire) has just come out with her book Respect the Spindle, which is a must-read for any spindle spinner. Hundreds of gorgeous photos and intelligent instruction make this a book I will go to for a long time to come. SO anyway, Abby has been hounded by some of her fans for a T-shirt design, and she asked me to do it. I reworked the design I did for her Sock Summit spindle class into one that reflects her book. Check out how my shirt looks:

You can get the shirts at the AbbysYarns Cafepress store. I do get a small cut of each sale as the designer of the shirt, so feel free to buy as many as you like. ;) Seriously, though, every little bit helps these days.

I’ll leave you for today with a cute image of my cat that I call, “Behold, My Noble Mount”:

Bummer

Posted on November 25, 2009
Filed Under personal | 6 Comments

So today I made the decision that I was not up to going to my parents’ house for Thanksgiving. I am seriously bummed about it but it was the right decision. My parents were VERY understanding–my dad had Pneumonia when he was my age and they still remember how sick he was–and I still have the invitation to come over on Friday if I’m up for it while they decorate the tree.Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, even more than Christmas. Bunny is making it up to me by promising a Chinese Food Feast.

I’ve never celebrated TG away from my family, not ever. Even the one year we went to my MIL’s instead, we still visited my parents that day. It feels very strange and sad not to be there this year. I thought about it for days, though, and I have to admit that I really am not well enough to go. I went to the doctor yesterday for an unrelated thing and after being out for half an hour, I came home and crashed. I KNOW I’m not well enough. I just have to reconcile that with how I WANT to feel.

It’s hard to write this because I know a lot of my readers have dealt with far worse for far longer. I don’t have cancer or some other debilitating illness. This WILL go away entirely. I will definitely feel better soon. On the other hand, this is the worst I have ever felt for any reason. It’s also disrupted my life in many ways. I have been homebound because I’m too dizzy to drive anywhere, so I’m lonely on top of everything. I’m just all around bummed. It would be worse except I have great friends and a wonderful Bunny, all of whom have called to check up on me, have given me rides, and generally just been very sweet. I love all of you, e-friends, family, real life friends, everyone. Thanks for listening to me bitch and moan about how crappy I feel. I’m most vocal about how I feel on here, because I don’t want to whine in real life. And I appreciate that you all care.

And the Verdict Is…

Posted on November 19, 2009
Filed Under personal, admin | 6 Comments

PNEUMONIA! It hadn’t shown up on the X-ray because of when the X-ray was taken, but apparently it was practically glowing on my CAT scan. Hurrah.

What this means for me: I had to cancel all of my classes, can only check in at work by phone or internet, and I have been ordered to REST. I had to go out this morning to get my prescription for antibiotics filled and I thought I was going to pass out after twenty minutes. What sucks more is that now Bunny has a bug; nothing huge but he’s feeling crappy as well.

My sister and I were talking on the phone last night and we realized something. Our dad has always been the type who didn’t want to raise any sissies. ;) This has been good in some respects, because when adversity strikes, our first reaction is to figure out how to solve a problem on our own. All three of his kids (my brother, my sister, and me) are independent and creative people. Unfortunately, this also has caused a problem when it comes to our health. All three of us tend to ignore the signs of fatigue, choosing instead to ‘power through’ and not to complain when we’re a little under the weather. Maybe that kind of action was okay at age 21; at 34, though, it’s not as good an idea. I’m not old but I am at a stage where I need to consider how my current health will affect my future health. Decisions I make now could have far-reaching consequences.

So, although I may feel guilty for sitting around ‘doing nothing’, right now that’s what I NEED to do. The fact that I started to feel ill just from being out for an hour this morning is proof that I can’t just power through as I might have in the past. I need to rest, and that means REST, not ‘work less’ or ‘justify the occasional errand’. It means REST. So that’s what I’m going to do.

keep looking »