January 31, 2010
~ hibernation ~
I have been in hybernation mode for a few weeks. Contributing to this lethargic state has been various weather systems; high barometric pressure, grey skies, rain, and other general conditions facilitating my lack of motivation for outdoor activities. Last weekend, however, some glorious sunshine poked out and I took the opportunity to go on a fun bike ride. This weekend, there was neither sunshine nor anything glorious about the weather, and yet Josh and I rode in the Owyhees - - a cold and grey ride that failed to lift our spirits.
In an effort to ward off the January blues I have been more of a home-body and am accepting that this as a natural hibernation period. My home-body coping mechanisms have included listening to music and knitting. In the way of music, I've been listening to a lot of alternative country. As for the knitting, here is an update on what I've been working up.
Pattern: Autumn Rose Pullover
Source: Simply Shetland 4
Yarn: Jamieson's Shetland DoubleKnitting
This is the latest installment of my Autumn Rose saga. You may or may not recall that it used to look different. I have had a few false starts with this project and am currently on my third version, having knit and unravelled two previous sleeves. Heavy sigh...
Despite the frustration of frogging such a time-intensive project, I am confident and satisfied that I have it right this time. As opposed to my two previous versions, this sleeve fits properly and has color changes that I like. The current "plan" is to make this into a jacket, instead of the pullover of the pattern.
Pattern: Alpaka Tunic
Source: Interweave Knits Fall 2009
Yarn: Noro Cash Iroha
Here is my take on the Alpaka Tunic, which I am working in Noro Cash Iroha, a silk, wool, cashmere, nylon blend. I am very excited about this yarn/pattern combination. You may recall again that I was using this yarn previously for a different pattern. That other pattern failed to hold my interest and I sought another pattern idea that would work well with this yarn. As I previously discussed, this yarn stretches about an inch over 30 rows, a quality that made me carefully consider my pattern choice. Ultimately, I decided that a drapey tunic would work nicely with this yarn. And voila!
This particular pattern is sized very large; the smallest bust size is at 43 inches. After fanagling with the pattern for a while, I omitted several of the lace panels, thereby taking out 11 inches of ease. For the interested, I am keeping my Ravelry page updated with the specifics. Overall, I have really been enjoying this project. It is a lovely, stress-free contrast to my Autumn Rose, and has been knitting up quickly and easily. I anticipate that I will be happy with the finished tunic.
Pattern: Silk Diamonds Scarf
Source: Simply Shetland 4
Yarn: Simply Sheltand Silk and Lambswool
This is another pattern in the Simply Shetland 4 booklet, along with the Autumn Rose pattern. When I purchased the booklet, I only had a desire to knit the Autumn Rose pattern, but was pleasantly surprised to find that I like many of the patterns, including this scarf.
I've been trucking away at this project for a while. It is my movie-watching project, or my on-and-off project that requires no mental energy. I have approximately three times the amount of scarf completed than what is depicted in the photograph. And I am about halfway done with the full scarf.
Pattern: Cocoon Scarf
Source: Barbara Walker's Second Treasury of Knitting
Yarn: Berocco Jasper, repurposed
The yarn for this project is a repurpose project from an older project, my Neaty Cardigan. Having greatly enhanced my knowledge of wool and yarn since I knit my Neaty, I have ascertained that the Jasper yarn and Neaty pattern combination were a poor match. This is particularly true because I have worn the cardigan in ways that the yarn was not durable enough to handle well - - for example, camping. After years of solid use, the cardigan was looking very ratty. Rather than allow the cardigan to sit in my closet being unworn (because no one wants to wear a ratty cardigan), I decided to unravel the entire sweater and reuse the yarn to make a big scarf.
January 22, 2010
~ Snowshoe Fun ~
Over this past weekend, I went snowshoeing with a group of friends, to include Josh, Elizabeth, Amy, David, my Dad, and dogs Buddy and Lebowski. We shoed near Idaho City and had a fun time. It was not the most glorious day, weather-wise, but I was very pleased that we were able to get out of the rain that was happening at the lower elevations. The snow upon which we shoed was on the crusty side, but perfectly snowshoeable.
As can be imagined when one gathers a group of friends wearing silly footwear in the snow, the maturity level did not always remain at high levels. This was evinced by several snowshoe races. Wow, running whilst wearing snowshoes is extremely hilarious! In addition, later in the shoeing, Elizabeth abandoned all self-composure and ran down several hills with her arms, legs, and hips flayling everywhere. She explained to us that such form served to maintain the ideal stability when running down hills in snowshoes. To test her theory, I tried it, but did not feel particularly stable...
We shoed around for a while until a few peeps had to return to Boise, and those remaining chose to hike up into the mountains farther. The below photo is not the greatest of all time, but I like it because it shows the pre-existing snowshoe trail that we found and that it took us up some mountains and through the trees.
Once we quit the snowshoeing, we enjoyed some greasey food in Idaho City. I salivate just thinking about my onion rings... yum!
January 10, 2010
~ Wilson / Reynolds Creek, China Wall ~
On Saturday, Josh and I went out to the Wilson Creek area for a hike in the Owyhees. We started from the main trailhead and trekked along some various trails eastward, towards Reynolds Creek. We lost the trail a few times and had to bushwhack to our way to the next trail. The inversion over Boise had caused depression to accumulate, however, the clouds broke over the Owyhees and we were able to experience some glorious sunshine. The light was particularly stunning that day.
We hiked to the top of one of the buttes to take in the view and admire some interesting geology. There were odd boulders with distinctive striping. Later, we discussed how the Owyhees contain many fascinating geological features.
A few ridges later, we happened upon a trail that Josh hypothesized would lead us to the China Wall, a trail we have been trying to find. We hike and hiked, and just has we were coming up over a ridge, someone called out, "Hey, it's Josh and Jennifer." I was totally weirded out that someone would recognize us in the middle of the Owyhees. It was a group of friendly mountain bikers who were just coming out of the China Wall. We stopped and chatted and they suggested that we hike the China Wall and that we would be able to get back to the Wilson Creek Trailhead from there.
It was an awesome hike through the Reynolds Creek Canyon, along this rocky trail-bridge ("China Wall"). I was curious about the history behind this trail and I discovered that the trail is formally known as "China Ditch" and informally as the "China Wall," and that it was built by Chinese laborers who were diverting water from Reynolds Creek for irrigation purposes. The trail took us down to the bottom of the canyon, with what seemed like the cliffs of Mordor rising above us.
Eventually, we hiked out of the canyon, where we were faced with several trail options. We decided to follow the bike tracks from the group of riders we had chatted with, a plan that proved very wise. Tracking their tire prints allowed us to navigate back to the trailhead with great ease.
During the hike, we also decided that we would return the next day with our mountain bikes, and with Elizabeth.
The bike ride was awesome. We rode a few different trails to access the canyon area, most of which were in pretty good condition. The trails were rougher than the previous day due to horse travel; Josh and I felt bad because Elizabeth isn't accustomed to the rough trails in the Owyhees, but she seemed perfectly fine. One trail traversing the backside of a butte was particularly muddy and we had difficulty riding to the top. I worked up a sweat and got my heart racing because I was dead set on riding it - - meanwhile, Josh and Elizabeth were hiking behind me, having faced reality in a more timely fashion. Otherwise, the trails were dry.
Descending into and through the canyon afforded us an opportunity to practice some technical skills.
Riding along the wall was fun. More photos on my photoset
January 8, 2010
~ Ella ~
Pattern: Ella
Yarn: Drops Alpaca (2 skeins)
Needles: US 3
Ravlink
Here is my Ella shawl, a free pattern from Knitty. This pattern has been on my list to knit for years and I finally cast on a few weeks ago with the Drops Alpaca yarn. What drew me to the pattern was the hybrid shawl/scarf construction - - by which one has the neat corner of a shawl and the long ends of a scarf. What also drew me to this pattern was the stitch design, with its nifty scale or armor appearance.
The yarn is lovely; so soft and warm. And I love the color. You'll be seeing a lot of this yarn come off my needles in the future, as I procured a ridiculous amount of it at 60% off during the LYS "GOOBS" sale.
January 4, 2010
~ new year stuff ~
Being of the mind that every day is a new day to live better than the previous, I do not normally go in for new year's resolutions. This year, however, will have a few notable milestones and turning points that justify a chronicling of my hopes and goals. In particular, at the end of spring/early summer, I will be both graduating with my masters degree and turning 30 years of age. Both of these events mean a lot to me personally and professionally.
Cycling
My primary personal goal involves putting in a lot of miles on the bike. With school soon no longer being an impediment to being able to ride my bike everyday, not only do I want to ride my bike everyday, but I want to ride it over longer and longer distances everyday. I feel a strong desire to embark on long bike adventures, including the multi-day/week variety. Additionally, I will continue to improve my technical skills, downhill speed, and I hope to complete at least one race.
Sometime around my birthday, Josh and I are going to go on a two week bike excursion. And I've recently been inspired to pair it with a brewery tour. The tentative idea being to drive down through Utah, stopping possibly at Park City and maybe hitting Arches, and then doing a tour of Western Colorado, camping for cheap on BLM lands, spending a day or two at each location, mountain biking the days away, and somewhere in between enjoying some quality beer. This plan is by no means certain, another strong inclination I have is to head north into Alberta. Furthermore, the plan seems to rest on my feeling inspired and excited, and I continue to search for exciting resources on the internet. My two primary sources for Colorado/Utah excitement include the Beer Drinker's Guide to Colorado and Mountain Biking Mayhem which has a lot of neat info about the trails in CO and UT (including fun videos!).
Food
Working full time and going to graduate school is a great opportunity to forget how to cook and to develop a love of processed foods. By the end of last semester, I was eating microwavable burritos every single day. The combination of my stomach virus and eating nothing but greasy food in Arkansas served as a reminder for me that there are better ways to eat.
Since my return from Arkansas, I have been cooking and loving it. Last night, for example, Josh and I made beef gorditas (a recipe from my my new cookbook) and they were delicious and satisfying. Over the weekend, I made an exciting chickpea stew. Tonight, I will make a curried sweet potato and chicken dish. No more microwavable burritos.
Furthermore, I am going to have a real garden this year. I've got a compost pile (sorta) going and a mulch system in place, and lots of enthusiasm. I also hope to buy more from the farmer's market.
Knitting
Over the past few years, I have developed a more meticulous attention to detail. I still tend to knit by the seat of my pants, but it is a little more structured and planned. A huge knitting goal for me is to implement a more rigorous approach to planning out my projects, which would facilitate my then being able to translate them into patterns. Last year, I succeeded in accomplishing my goal of writing up a real pattern - - I don't know if I'll ever make it public - - and it was a significant learning experience for me, instilling in me the understanding that a rigorous planning process would make pattern-writing A LOT easier. Lesson learned.
A second knitting goal is to expand my skills and learn new ways of knitting. I am pleased to have recently incorporated doubleknitting and seamless set-in sleeves into my knitting repertoire; my hope is to continue to expand it.
A third knitting goal is to knit exclusively from my yarn stash.
Here's a mosaic of my 2009 finished knitting projects.
I have a sense that my mosaic for 2010 will contain considerably less stockinette, more stranded knitting, more obscenely complex cables, fewer sweaters and more mittens.
