Ana's Frog Pond

Happy Monday

Is it hard coming up with name for posts or is it just me?  How do you come up with the title for your posts?  I'm probably asking this question and no one in blogland is reading my blog.  Oh well.

Well I blew off going to the gym today during my lunch hour.  I had wanted to do the spinning class that is offered during the lunch hour but decided that I may want to wait a bit until I start getting back into a little bit better shape.  There is a step class that is offered during lunch that I may try instead.  I did take a giant and step and finally brought my gym bag to work.  Now the next big step, getting my butt into the gym.

M current project right now is Marlene by Cookie A.  I am almost finished with the first sock.  Once I got the hang of the problem I ran into few issuers.  It did help me out tremendously to have a written version of the pattern versus using the chart.  There is an errata in the pattern in that the picture features a K1tbl, p1 foot but the pattern is written for just a straight knit toe.  It's been interesting trying to figure out how to knit the toe.  I have just been following the pattern.   I did try the sock on for the first time last night.  It does fit very good.  I am now just worried that the foot might be just a bit too big.  We'll see what ends up happening.

Rain Rain Go Away

It has been raining all day today.  We are starting to get lakes in the driveway and along the back sidewalk.  If I would be more talented I would take a picture of the lakes and post them here but I am just too lazy.

In the midst of all this rain, hubby, my daughter and I went trekking out in the rain and bought my daugther a new mattress set.  There went a lot of our tax refund.

Today was my Weight Watchers meeting I gained .4.  I was surprised that it wasn't a lot more.  I am slowly coming around about following the plan and getting back to exercising.  I just need to reach down deep inside me and find my mojo.

Work is going to start another round of the Body for Life challenge.  Sign-ups are on Tuesday and I have made my mind up to do another round.  I am not worried about the eating portion but rather the exercise portion.  I am supposed to exercise 6 days a week but what do I do for the days when I am not at work.  It'll also be interesting for when we go to St. Louis.  I'll just have to figure something out.  The exercising may not be the issue but rather the eating.

I found this beautiful shawl at The Woolen Rabbit.  I ordered the kit in the New England Red colorway but now I am second thinking my choice.  I all ready have this colorway in the same yarn but I am not sure what I want to do.  The lady who designed the pattern Anne Hanson from Knitspot knit the shawl in the New England colorway and it looks absolutely gorgeous.  Check out Anne's blog to see the shawl it is unbelievable.

Next month, I am making a trip to The Loopy Ewe in St. Louis for a weekend of knitting.  I am hoping that I get picked to take three classes while I am there.  I have signed up for Advanced Lace Knitting with Anne Hanson, Sock Innovation with Cookie A and Heels and Toes with Wendy Johnson.  These are three women that I admire very much in the knitting world and I feel priviledge that I will get to meet them.

Magic Loop

It's a rainy dreary cold day here.  It's the kind of day where you just want to sit back in a comfortable chair with something good on TV and knit.

This morning started out with my husband and I taking my daughter to the hospital for a test.  She needed a CCK funciton of a gall bladder.  From what I understand they put a tracer in her system to get the gallbladder to show up then they do a second part that makes the gallblader function so they can see if it is working properly.  If her gall bladder isn't working properly then she'll probably have to have it removed.  She has been experiencing a lot of nausea and stomach pain lately.  She has also missed a lot of school due to that.

This afternoon, I took a Magic Loop class at my LYS.  I learned a couple of things from that class.

1. I do not want to knit 2 socks at once using Magic Loop

2. I prefer DPNs over Magic Loop
3. The instructor in our class was not very good
4. I've come a long way with my knitting.

In the beginning of the class, the instructor did a little introduction.  Then she went around the table and asked what we wanted to learn.  Most everyone mentioned socks.  Then she proceeded to mention that you can knit socks 2 at a time using Magic Loop.  Most of the class (there were 6 of us) wanted to learn that .  My thoughts were if you don't know Magic Loop yet why would you want to learn two at a time.  There were a lot of times during the class where students were left waiting.  I felt that the instructor spent too much time knitting on her own project versus helping the group.  She stayed seated for a majority of the class.  I didn't have many issues because I had tempted to do Magic Loop before.  If I had known that the class was going to be like it was I would have been better off looking at You Tube for How to videos.

In a couple of weeks I am supposed to be taking a class on steeking.  I am hoping that it is a different instructor.  I think that I may just call the shop to find out who is teaching the class.  Today is a prime example as to why I am not too happy with the classes but then again, am I signing up for classes that are below my knitting ability.

As I was knitting along, I realized that I really do prefer knitting with DPNs.  For me they seem to go faster, no messing with positioning the cable.

I was also thinking that I wouldn't mind teaching knitting but I would rather do that with one student in the beginning  just to see if it is something that I really would like to do.

I've been doing some thinking about going back to school.  I was thinking about switching gears.  Rather than going for my MBA or masters in Accounting.  I was thinking about looking into a major in IT.  Time to start the research.

Tonight is bowling.  Should be fun once I get the secretary/treasurer stuff out of way.

 

 

Jackpot

I hit the jackpot today in the mail.  I got two packages from Sundara and my Woolgirl Sock Club package.

  View from the Top - Sundara

Polar  Ice - Sundara

 

Zen Yarn Garden - Gold Dynasty - Woolgirl Sock Club

Update Wednesday

I bowled like crap last night.  Hopefully, I will bowl better tomorrow night.  Tomorrow night I start with a new league and a new team.  I'm a bit nervous about it, mainly because I do not know the other members of the team that well.

My latest WIP almost came to a standstill.  I am almost to the point where I am knitting the heel flap.  There is a specific row that needs to be knitted and the next round is just two stitches.  I just didn't realize that.  Thank goodness for Ravelry.  I just posted my question and someone came to rescue with the answer. 

Just a quick post tonight.  Good night all.

Blah Monday Ick

We were saved yet again.  To the north of us, the airport in Milwaukee was reporting 7 inches of snow.  The good news is that we got just a dusting.  Yay!  The drive in this morning was interesting to say the least.  When I left for work there was no snow but as I drove further west big fat snow flakes were coming down.  Yep, lake effect snow.  As I drove to work, it would be snowing and then not.  I also kept thinking that I am glad that I am not out east where they are getting hammered by a nor'easter.  When I was watching Good Morning America they were interviewing a reporter that had been stuck on the interstate since 2:30 am (et).  I can not imagine nor would I want to be stuck in that kind of traffic in the cold.  I shudder just thinking about it. 

I had to work last night.  I was very thankful that support was very quiet.  Not one single email came in with an issue that needed to be resolved.  So I just spent the three hours parked in front of the computer knitting on my latest WIP.

I am working on Marlene by Cookie A from the Knit.1 magazine.  The sock is knit in Fiesta Ballet but I chose to do Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock yarn.  I am 4 1/2 repeats done.  The pattern calls for 6 repeats to be knitted but I am not sure if I am going to knit the 6 or do only 5.  I don't know if I had mentioned or not but the pattern does have a chart.  There are times when I am not too fond of knitting from a chart and this is one of them.  So I decided that I would make myself a written version of the chart.  The first go through was a bit though.  I had found a couple of errors so I had to fix the written version.  But now that everything is fixed the pattern is coming along quite nicely. 

Last night, I finally opened up my heart monitor that I had gotten back in January.  I got it set up so it's almost ready to go.  The only thing that I have left to do is get it set up for my "own zone".  My own zone is basically for my target heart range for exercising.  It will also help to determine how many calories I burn while exercising.

I accomplished the next step this morning.  I went down to the gym here at work and signed up for a 3 month membership and picked up a schedule of classes.  I am interested in the spining classes.  From the schedule that I got the next one is on Thursday during lunch that I am going to go to.  I was also thinking about going on Wednesday for a Cardio & Sculpt Class.  They have Strength Circuit on Tuesday that I may look into also. 

I had made the commitment in my Weight Watchers meeting yesterday that I would go down to the gym and get myself signed up.  That is accomplished. 

Sunday Hodge Podge

I finally took some pictures last night of my last two completed projects.  First up is Rivolo by Anne Hanson of Knitspot.  I knitted these in Handmaiden's Casbah in the Flirt colorway.  I have yet to give it a good soak and block it out.

 

Next up is my Roll Top Socks.  Using the same yarn.  These are really super comfortable and by far will be my easy go to sock pattern.  They were a very quick knit.  When I sit down to think about it they were literally knit in about two days.

 

Last night we went to see my son play hockey.  His team lost.  I forgot what the final score was.  We also learned last night that he lost his job.  His fiancee said that they were getting kicked out of her dad's house (where they are living now) because of her dad's girlfriend.  What's the saying when it rains it pours.

Today was my Weight Watcher's meeting.  I didn't do too well this past week.  I gained over 2 pounds.  I also made a commitment in my meeting that tomorrow I am going to go down to the gym at work and sign up.  I need to learn how to use the heart monitor that I bought over a month ago.  It's still sitting in it's original packaging.

I finally casted on for my Marlene socks by Cookie A.  I am using Lorna's Laces in the colorway pictured below.  It took me a few starts to get the rhythm of the pattern but I finally got it.  I have about 2 1/2 pattern repeats done. Here's how far I am.  I am using a colorway called Satsuma.