Knitting from coast to coast

Wii Sore

2008-05-24T17:56:00.000-07:00

My back hurts. My thighs hurt. My arms hurt. My feet even hurt. Thank you Wii Fit! For so long now I've been hearing about something called "abs" but I was convinced I didn't have any, instead I just had this soft cushion all around my tummy. But lo and behold, as I pulled myself out of bed I felt it - soreness underneath my tummy flab. This is it I thought, the ab muscles everyone talks about it! I do have them! And boy do they hurt. Ah, but it's a good hurt.

Every day since Wii Fit came to live with me I've been doing aerobics (fun!), strength (intimidating), balance (ha!) and yoga (who knew?). I have roasted, torched and incinerated calories all while having fun jumping around on this little white board.

I feel real hope for losing weight and getting in shape with Wii Fit. Other forms of weight loss and exercise bore me but this has me looking forward to getting in my exercise time. I've logged at least an hour every day and I feel good. Just gotta keep it up for 20lbs. but I don't think that will be much of a problem with encouragement from Jenniffer and the Wii Fit group on Ravelry.

Maybe I'll just sleep downstairs tonight. Hurts to climb up the stairs.

We Knit, Wii Fit!

2008-05-23T04:35:00.000-07:00

Whoo hoo! Jenniffer and I aim to be the fittest of knitters with our newly acquired Wii Fit systems! Both of us have repeatedly whined to the other about how we were unhappy with our current bodies but yet we both kept stumbling through the realm of diet and exercise. Until May 21, 2008, that is. I had been on the fence about whether or not to purchase the new fitness system for the Wii but on the morning of May 21, I decided to see if I could track one down. Media reports that the newly released system would be hard to find strengthened my resolve to get one lest I kick myself in my extra large backside (provided my foot could reach it) later on for not getting it. My 6 year old and I headed down to Target once the 8 year old was on the bus where I found an entire endcap devoted to this glorious new promise of weightloss and fit. There were less than a dozen on the shelf - it was meant to be! I came home and took a picture of the box and patiently waited for the sun to rise on the West Coast to show Jenniffer my new hope for a slimmer, healthier me and to tell her to wake up and get herself to Target ASAP and snag one of her own. (She didn't get it at Target, but she did get one! Go Jenniffer!)

My first venture onto the Wii was a hoot. Hula hooping, getting hit by flying shoes and panda heads as I attemped to balance myself and head some soccer balls. The Wii Fit let me know that my BMI showed I was a little overweight (duh!) but promised me we'd work together to lower it. I set a goal and thus began the funnest weight loss/fitness routine I've ever done. Any time I can I run over to the tv and turn my Wii Fit on and do some aerobics, balance, strength and yoga exercises. After 2 days of fun exercising I was rewarded by my Wii Fit telling me this morning I had lost a little weight and my BMI was lowering as well. My kids love it also and they love to be my cheering section too (and sometimes my annoyance section). When my thighs stop rubbing together like two sticks trying to start a fire I will be in heaven.

Jenniffer is doing great with hers also and we text back and forth about how we do and offer lots of encouragement to each other. And wouldn't you know it, Ravelry has a Wii Fit group too and we are so there posting and encouraging on an international level.

So now we have our knitting skills improving and soon we'll be fitting into those too tight clothes shoved to the back of the closet.

Knit and Fit. That's us.

Lace, not for the faint of heart

2008-03-10T06:52:00.000-07:00

Okay, what was I thinking? I had just finished knitting sweaters for each of my girls and I was full of confidence in my knitting. Before I had come down from my high of the success of my sweaters, I found this: http://millepassuum.co.uk/lizveil.htm, an absolutely gorgeous First Holy Communion veil that I just had to knit. And I could do it too! I had knit 2 sweaters, I could do anything! My own daughter's First Communion is coming up in May. That gave me a few months, no biggie. I read through the instructions, ordered the books for the patterns, went so far as to track down the woman who knit these veils on Ravelry (she turned out to be quite a nice woman, advising me on the lace yarn - all the while probably laughing her head off at me) and eventually ordered my yarn from England (http://www.heirloom-knitting.co.uk/cart/ordermerino_lace.php - a very pleasant company to do business with I might add). I was so excited waiting for it to come! I bought some Addi Lace needles and finally the yarn arrived and I cast on! And cast on again. And yet again. I think I could have knit about 10 of these things by the time I finally got it going. Slowly, slowly I've been working on it. It's been about a month and I'm on row 71 now. Only about 100 rows to go! Not including the crochet edging I will want to put on it. Today is March 10. First Communion is May 3. I don't feel so confident any longer. I've had days where I have had to do one stinking row over and over and over again. Twenty four hours it took me to get one row right. But I persist. I sit at my kitchen table until my back aches and my right thumb has pains shooting in it. Yesterday I went shopping for the dress and found the perfect one for my daughter. And it's a perfect match for the veil, even in it's half (maybe 1/3) finished state. Lace is scary. But it's beautiful. And it's difficulty is matched by my desire to complete the project. It reminds me of childbirth, the long and agonizing hours spent to bring forth a child which when put in your arms, erases all that it took to get to that moment. I know when I see my daughter in church wearing this veil that I am hoping to create to give glory and honor to God, all the hours and pain invested will be gone. And I'll pick up my size 3 Addi Lace needles and another ball of Heirloom Knitting's merino lace and I'll knit another one for my next daughter. Only I'll start much sooner! (hey, I've got 2 years!)

A tote of my own

2008-02-23T19:17:00.000-08:00

Today Jenniffer went to Stitches West - whaaaaa!!! But she got me a Ravelry tote bag and some adorable pins! Is she a great friend or what? I can't wait to get my goodies in the mail from her. She's the best! Thanks Jenniffer!!!

It's all Ravelry's fault!

2008-02-21T14:02:00.000-08:00

So it's pretty obvious, I stink at blogging. All day long things are happening in my life and in my knitting and I think to myself I should blog this and yet, I don't. So from now on I will try to be a better blogger and hopefully get a few updates a week in here. I blame Ravelry. Laundry not done? Ravelry's fault. Dinner not on the table? Again, Ravelry. Nothing to even make dinner with? You guessed it, Ravelry. How in the world can I be expected to do anything when Ravelry is just too interesting, too fun? But I'm not addicted to it I assure you. Nope. Not me. Can quit going there any time I want. I just don't want to - so there!

See you soon with my latest knitting torture, err, I mean project, updates. And this one's a doozy - lace! (again, it's all Ravelry's fault)

A New Year Indeed

2008-01-02T19:08:00.001-08:00

Yes, we have arrived at a New Year. Sadly, my heart is still in the old one but I must move forward and keep moving in that direction.

So the New Year is only 2 days old and already with one exception (and a very exciting exception at that!) has been pretty crappy. My FIL was hospitalized yesterday and was told he will need a triple bypass. And after happily sending my 2 little ones back off to school today they came home with one having a relapse of the strep throat she just finished taking medicine for and the other crying over an earache. I know where I will be tomorrow. But there is one thing I know I know that I will not be doing in 2008 and that is making that stupid pig that I began with high hopes way back in June! The pig is cute, the yarn a pain. Thank you Knit Picks for the free pattern but what were you thinking with that yarn? Anyway, as of 11:45 a.m. on January 1, 2008 I officially had my first finished project of the New Year! What a way to start the year off. And now that I have set up my Ravelry account and have all of my unfinished projects staring me in the face every time I log on, I hope to add more FO's to my list. And speaking of Ravelry, it's my new favorite place to hang out. It's like heaven for knitters. And probably a very dangerous place for Jenniffer and I to be because we are both so addicted to knitting and the stash and accessory acquistion that goes along with it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2008-01-01T19:37:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to stop by and say happy new year! Hopefully it will be a productive knitting year. Louise has some knitting news already! I'll let her post about it.

That's it for now!
Jenniffer

End of 2007

2007-12-31T11:27:00.000-08:00

So today is the last day of 2007. I must say good riddance to this year. Our blog has been sadly neglected but as a resolution to ourselves we are going to try and maintain it more in 2008. (ya easier said than done right?)

As Louise posted we have plenty of projects for 2008, but trying to find the time do them is the key issue. We're both working on the Cat's Paw Lace Scarf. For Christmas Louise spoiled me with a new pair of Lantern Moon circular needles! Oh my talk about heaven while knitting. I'm still an addi girl but Lantern Moon is a close second. Although Addi's are much more affordable therefore I can splurge on those a little more often.

Off the knitting note probably one of the best things of 2007 is my friendship with Louise. We must thank Verizon and our ENV phones. Once we found out we both had the same service and the same phone, text msgs have gone flying. It's quite a crack up to compare our monthly text msgs totals. Louise- You're a doll and I really don't know what I'd do without you. You're always there to listen to my complaints, my heartaches, share in my joys, and just general banter. So to that Thank you my friend! Looking forward to 2008 with you.

So being New Years Eve and all I may or may not bring in the new year with a pair of knitting needles in my hands. But rest assured I'll be busy throughout the new year!

Jenniffer

P.S. In regards to the sweater sampler well let's just say it's hit the frog pond. I tried to take it off the needles and I messed up somehow so sts were dropped. I doubt I'll ever finish it but I am planning on working on a sweater with the instructions from the book.

Starting Over

2007-12-31T04:44:00.000-08:00

Okay, here we are. December 31, 2007. I worked a little on the sweater sampler and then realized I was knitting something that was never going to turn into a finished product so I put it aside to actually make stuff! The sampler was fun but my fingers were itching to make things that I could present to people and say, "here! I made this for you!" So it was put down and thus began a whirlwind few months of starting projects, putting some aside to start others and actually getting a few things finished. For Christmas I made several dishcloths to give as gifts to some of my fellow religious education cohorts at Church - did I get any pictures? Sadly, I did not. So that will be a definite rule for me in 2008 - photograph all finished projects! Jenniffer is still doing her thing on the West Coast and we exchanged Christmas gifts to ensure that we would have projects to begin the New Year (yeah, like that was going to be a problem!). We're both so pathetically hooked on Addi Turbo needles and our love of fine yarn it's not even funny.

So here's to the end of the year that was the absolute worst in my life. I'm not sure the new one will be much better but I've got a family that I love no matter how much they drive me crazy at times, a good friend across the country, lots of yarn and needles, and hopefully more good knitting friends as I'm finally also getting my Ravelry account up and running as well.

Happy New Year!

Well that wasn't so bad...

2007-08-02T06:21:00.000-07:00

Yay! I made it through the first few pages of instructions for the SS yesterday. The cable cast on was a lot easier than I thought it would be (the name sounded pretty scary to me) and after some discussion with Jenniffer over the garter stitch section I got through that and headed into the stockinette section. Since it was getting late I decided to set it aside and go to bed. Of course, being on opposite coasts, Jenniffer was just getting going with hers so I'm anxious to hear how she did. It's almost 9:30 a.m. here, I'm guessing that's a tad too early to text her and find out! Jenniffer is an awesome knitter and crocheter so I'm sure she'll just whip right through this.

Doomsday

2007-08-01T05:53:00.001-07:00

Boy, August 1 comes a lot sooner here on the East Coast than it does over on the West Coast. Jenniffer is still probably still snug in her bed while I am up and facing the Sweater Sampler (hereinafter referred to as "SS" - or "*&%^$" at times I'm sure) I was all excited about doing this project until I sat down last night and read through the instructions. The cable cast on AND dpns? That pretty much stretches my abilities here - seriously! I have chosen some leftover wool-ease yarn in fisherman for the task at hand and have a size 6 16 inch circular needle ready to do battle. I guess this morning my first task will be to tackle the cable cast on and go from there. I've had my coffee so let's get to it. Will report later on how it's goes. Happy knitting!

Sweater Sampler KAL

2007-07-31T21:40:00.001-07:00

So Louise and I have decided that we need to try and challenge ourselves in our knitting capabilities. We figure if we can take on the challenges in our daily lives that we can overcome a knit project.

So our project that we are going to do together is from The Sweater Workshop . It is the sweater sampler. We were skeptical at first because it involves a lot of new techiques that we haven't attempted yet. BUT WE SHALL OVERCOME.

August 1 is our start date for this.

I will be using just an acrylic yarn for this. I have some spare white yarn and odds and ends of different colors. I'm excited to start this. Both of us will update the blog with our progression.

A LITTLE ABOUT US

2007-07-31T21:29:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to our blog. I am Jenniffer and i live in California near San Francisco. I am married with 2 young daughters. I also have a 3 cats and 2 dogs.

As a young child I always to learn how to knit and crochet. Finally after many years I tried my hand at crocheting. And so entered my new love. I started a crocheting group on yahoo and there I met Louise. I did take about a year hiatus from my crocheting addiction. But luckily I was able track Louise down again and we picked up right where we left off. We had both started talking about how much we wanted to learn to knit so we tried and here we are today. I consider myself an average beginner with out of reach expectations. We won't talk about my experience with trying dpn's for the first time....

Hi there! I'm Louise and I live in Central NY just north of Sryacuse. I'm married with a combined total of 4 daughters (his, mine and ours). One is grown and in college (mine), another entering her senior year of HS in NJ (his) and our two young ones. I have 6 cats and 2 dogs.

My mother was always knitting or crocheting when I was a young girl and I always wanted to learn. I was a lefty and she a righty and it just never came across to me. Finally as an adult a fellow lefty taught me how to crochet and I was hooked (no pun intended). I had no desire to learn how to knit. I kept losing track of one crochet hook how was I supposed to keep up with two knitting needles? Finally last fall I got the calling to pick up the sticks and learn. I am self taught and very inexperienced but for some reason I feel the need to pursue this knitting thing so here I am - doing the sweater sampler with Jenniffer. I'm pretty much a person who does my craft for charity, making blankies and hats but this has me intrigured so here I am!