A Little Spring, Despite the Weather

Technically speaking, it is spring here in Maine. For the most part, though, you would never have guessed. It's been bitterly cold, and we've been ruthlessly pounded with snowstorm after snowstorm. Everyone here is....well, READY for spring to actually arrive (in the form of milder weather).

While I have continued working on my two new designs that I can't show here yet, I have also managed to squeeze in some other spinning and knitting as well.

I made some rainbow socks for my daughter, using basic sock math. No pattern to link. She loves them, and plus they are bright and cheery during this 2nd winter we are having. There is enough yarn leftover that I will try to make another pair for myself, perhaps a toe-up version so that I don't run out of yarn before I get to the toe. This way, as long as I get past the heel, I can just stop when I run out of yarn.

Around December, right before my surgery, I realized that I had lost one of the convertible mitts I made last year.

The convertible mitts are great for feeding the rabbits in the winter. I then had my surgery right before Christmas and inexplicably with all that knitting time on my hands did not give a thought to my missing mitten or perhaps replacing it. By mid to late January, I was reasonably healed and found myself having to venture out into the frozen tundra with no mittens...or at least, no mittens that matched. It was about this time that I was feverishly trying to finish my husband's Captain America sweater for his birthday, which was clearly no time to be selfish and knit something for myself to keep my hands warm (despite hubby telling me there really was no rush).

I finished his sweater on February 21st, and honestly I was concerned that it was going to get warm before I could get a replacement mitt. My options were:
1) Pay $27 for yarn and shipping to get the same yarn and knit one mitt to replace the one I had lost.
2) Knit a mitt out of a different yarn and live with mismatched mitts.
3) Knit a new set of mitts in a different color and have a new set.

I was convinced that all the cold weather would be gone by the time I could get the first mitt done, let alone a set. I did end up going with option 3, and I finished the set on March 10th. Let's just say that I have gotten PLENTY of use out of them so far.

I used a combination of the patterns for Broad Street Mittens and Podster Gloves. I really liked the pair I'd had before, but I decided I wanted the thumbs to flip open also. The yarn is Mountain Maple Sock, which is 100% superwash BFL from Highland Handmades. The colorway is called Immutable, and it was the January feature of the Snapshots of Maine yarn club. I've already received the February and March shipments as well, and I've been thrilled with each one. I would definitely recommend checking out the website. I've loved everything I've gotten from there.

As for spinning, I have finished my August 2013 Roving of the Month from Purple Fleece...4 oz  each of superwash BFL (what can I say, it's just been a SW BFL kinda month) in the colorways Mountain Laurel and The Grass is Always Greener.

I spun this up intending to knit socks with it, so it's got a generous amount of twist, and since I wanted to preserve the color changes in the Mountain Laurel fiber, they are chain plied. I am very pleased with how it came out...now to pick a pattern. Any suggestions?

In other (non-fiber) news, I have only 4 workouts left to become a Couch to 5K graduate. Hopefully I will be posting soon that I finally made it through the program...plus I am signed up for a 5K on April 13th.

I Think I Can; I Think I Can; I Think I Can...

Today's post has somewhat of a theme....I feel as though I am slogging through things that will never be finished. First up is knitting: The Captain America Hoodie. This is a birthday present (by request, no less) for my husband. His birthday was a week ago. He's a good sport and says that he is totally fine with having it finished after his actual birthday, but wowsa does it take a LONG time to knit a man-sized sweater...with a hood. Did I mention the hood? I am starting to wish my husband resembled Captain America before he took the super-soldier serum, also known as Steve. I have made progress, though.

Since these pictures were taken, I have actually finished and attached one sleeve, and I am about 5 inches into the ribbing on the second sleeve. The sleeves on this pattern have really long cuffs that get folded up to look like Captain America's gloves...12 inches of ribbing. Hopefully I will finish this sweater soon, because I have an embarrassing number of projects lined up behind it.

Next up....spinning. I am a member of the Roving of the Month club at Purple Fleece. I get 4 oz of the club colorway and 4 oz of the solid complement each month. I have been a member since June 2013. I am seven months behind in actually spinning the fiber. My goal for February is to spin at least 4 oz of my club fiber and at least 4 oz of anything else from my stash. Currently, I have some Game of Thrones themed fiber on my wheel. It is a blend of alpaca, merino, bamboo and a bit of angelina, and the theme for this one is House Lannister.

These batts are from Camelot Dyeworks. The finished skein of the first 4 oz is pictured here on top of the other two 2-oz batts. I am working on the last batt now. I actually finished this first skein months ago. I decided that I wanted to knit a Sweet Dreams shawl with it, but I wasn't sure if I had enough yardage. I convinced Stephani at Camelot Dyeworks that I just had to have another 4 oz, and she was kind enough to card up another 4 oz for me. Here's a close up of that finished skein:

The other area where I am frustrated with my progress is running. I used to be a runner. I used to run a lot. I used to run fast. Then life and work and kids happened, and I woke up one day not being a runner. Last spring, I started the Couch to 5K program so that I could once again be a runner. Thursday, I started it again for the 5th time in less than a year. I would like to take a moment to let you know that I am not a quitter. Quitting things really bothers me, and I will actually continue to do things past the point of ridiculousness just to avoid "quitting." So how is it that a non-quitter has started the same running program 5 times in less than a year without once finishing it? I was embarrassed to fire up that app yet again. I wondered how a 5th attempt with no finishes was possible. So I went back and looked at my workout log.

I started my first attempt at the end of March 2013. I didn't find it to be very challenging in terms of cardiovascular fitness...meaning that I do exercise occasionally, and I have great lungs, and I just didn't feel like I had to stop to walk. I did about 2.5 weeks of workouts, then I actually just ran two 5Ks during April 2013. I was slow and didn't break any records, but I was running, and I was quickly improving. Then shin splints happened. I rested for a couple of weeks, and started back up in May. I persevered through May, then started a group fitness challenge/contest where I work, called Big Bears to Little Bears. Your group meets twice a week with a personal trainer and you have several goals by which you are measured. It was a 12-week program, and it was very intense. Running was an integral part of the program, so I decided the Couch to 5K plan on top of it might be too much for my shin splints. I finished the 12 weeks, improved a lot, lost 8 pounds, but still struggled with shin splints. This was the end of August.

It was about this time that I discovered that my ridiculously expensive shin-splint-preventing sneakers were actually causing my shin splints. I ran out and bought 2 pairs of non-shin-splint-preventing sneakers for half of what I had spent on the marketing-fail sneakers, and I started the old Couch to 5K again. About a week or so after starting, I climbed Mount Katahdin with my family. It is a very challenging climb. I was sore afterwards, but that was to be expected. My knees were hurting, but I continued my running/walking anyway. I made it through another 2 weeks before I went to see my doctor. I had tendonitis, an overuse injury, and it simply would not get better unless I rested. I was told to rest for at least 2 weeks, but not to resume activity until the pain had resolved. It took 2 months to stop hurting. At the beginning of November, I started Couch to 5K for the 4th time. I continued until about a week before I had scheduled surgery for an umbilical hernia repair a few days before Christmas.

Now here I am, recovered from surgery, with my doctor's blessing to engage in physical activity, still not a runner and starting the Couch to 5K for the 5th time in less than a year. I think I'll keep trying. I am signed up for the same 5K in April as the first one I did in 2013. My goal is to beat last year's time.