AAGGGHHHH!!!

It has been bitterly cold.  I have not wanting to take off wool socks *at all*.

Unfortunately, our heat is controlled by our landlord.  The one that sets the thermostat is from Poland and thinks 65 for the day is just fine!  (It is funny because you can tell when the woman comes home as it gets cranked up to all of 68...  We have complained repeatedly.  But we finally just gave up and have space heaters in every room.)

I went to put on my Maeve socks this morning.   Figuring cables, no yarn overs was an excellent idea.  These are the pair I just finished in May after starting on them before my DS was born.  Who was two by the time I finished them!  *laugh*

THERE IS A MASSIVE HOLE ON THE BALL OF THE FOOT!!

*sigh*

Talley of dead socks since the fall (in order of death I think...):
Maeve socks
Siouxsie the Scylla Black Dragons
Brigit Socks
Zombie Socks
Baudelaire Socks - though they might have been earlier than fall

Both pairs of handknit socks for DH also died.

So that is seven pairs of socks (maybe eight) that have died in less than six months!!

The Maeve, Black Dragon and Siouxsie socks I have less than a year! 

I confess that I am really peeved about the ones that died so quickly!  And the Maeve ones were so much work.  There is pattern on the foot, so I can't see that they are salvageable...  *sigh*

I think one of DH's pairs is just the toe of all places.  So I can add a new toe.  But pretty much all the rest are lost causes...  *sniffle*

It is really frustrating...

*sigh*

I really need to knit a whole lot more socks.  Part of me is saying nothing but SW/nylon blends in the future.  But the other side feels like the nylon makes them less warm.  (I am currently wearing my Witching Hour Socks in The First Draft Merino/Nylon sock yarn.  I love them.  But they don't feel as warm as the all wool socks.

The rational part of me knows that the reason I knit socks is because they are something I actually wear all the time.  But the emotional part is peeved that I can't keep them forever.  *laugh* 

Looking at my socks on my Ravelry page, http://www.ravelry.com/projects/akasha?set=socks&view=thumbnail I am struck by just how many are MIA or not ones I can wear on a daily basis (to thick or in one case knee highs).    And there are least three other pairs that are dead. 

It also makes me wonder where my cotton socks are...  I haven't seen them in eons.  Which makes me think they got into the bottom of a dresser drawer...  Maybe I will find them when I move.  *laugh*

I just counted.  There are currently five pairs of socks I can wear on a daily basis.  Definitely not enough with this weather!  *shivers* 

I have two pairs on the needles.  Both toe-up and past the heel turn.  But for some reason, I keep stalling on the leg of socks...  Not sure why.  The Rosebud Socks are beautiful and I can tell I will wear them a ton.  But it is a 24 row repeat.  So I have to be paying some attention.  Not a challenging pattern.  But it requires some attention.  The even rows don't have increases & decreases.  So that helps in terms of speed. 

The other are the Socks in a Week challenge that I failed.  So the logical part of my brain says just knit the freaking things.  They are socks!  It is a simple two row repeat.  Nothing challenging.  But I didn't finish them in the allotted time. 

Also, since I started them in 2013, I am not sure if they count towards the 12 in 2014 sock challenge.  Mind you, the sock challenge is a super loose group.  They don't care if you want to knit 1 pair or 12.  And I am not delusional enough to believe I will knit all 12 pairs in adult size.  I might if I knit some kids socks.  *grin*

All this is the long way of saying I need more socks.  DH needs more socks.

And I also need to knit him a hat!  I feel bad that he is outside, in the cold, clearing off the car with no handknit hat or scarf!!  He has two scarves but of course we can't find either.  *laugh*

Think I need a win.  So I should stash dive & knit a hat for him.  *smile*  I love knitting hats as they are super quick & easy.  But I never wear them myself. 

Okay.  Enough babble.  Back to work for me.  *grin*

Goals for 2013 & 2014

I am crossposting to both my personal journal & knitting one since they overlap so much.

First, last year's goals & what happened. 

- Finish the Maeve socks
Done!  Hooray

- Have at least five dates with my DH
I think so.  We squeezed some in during that last week.  I think we made it.

- Get more activity into my routine
Honestly...  Fail.  I really didn't do it.

- Lose weight in a healthy manner
Again.  Nope.  Didn't happen.

- Get any buttons or beads on finished WIPs within four months of finishing the knitting portion
Success.  But then again, I think I am also avoiding projects with buttons...

- Get out solo and/or have an evening with a friend
Got out with Meredith once which was really good.

- Sleep training with DSI won't go into this insanity.  But suffice it to say, it should have been done already... *sigh*
Done.  But it does require redoing from time to time.  He started creeping on the bedtime again & fussing.  So there is more of it again.  But seems to be working okay.

So all in all, not bad.  Most were successful.  The diet and exercise were the biggies on the nope side.  But all in all, not too shabby.

Now for the 2014 Goals

- Get more activity into my routine
Gonna put this at the top of the list.  It is very important for so many reasons...

- Lose weight in a healthy manner
Relisting for the obvious reasons.

- More solo time for me & DH
I really think it is critical for both DH & I to have some time for ourselves.  It is good for the mental health.  We had talked about taking one night a month for ourselves.  But it didn't happen.  Maybe if I put it here, we might get it to happen.

- Get my resume completed
Things with the merger are still happening.  The big systems stuff is early 2015.  So I really should have my resume brushed up & maybe contact some headhunters in the publishing field.  I really love publishing and think I would like to continue in it.

- Finish sweater for DH
I really would like to finish the sweater.  It was cast on in the fall of 2012...

- 12 socks in 12 months
Realistically, this one may not happen.  But you know what?  It is great to try and push it.  I have had four pairs of handknit socks die since fall.  I need to make more.  I joined a very open group on Ravelry that goal is to knit 12 pairs in 2014.  http://www.ravelry.com/groups/dozen-pairs-of-socks-in-2014  But they welcome anyone to set their own goals.  They have a beginner & advanced pattern for each month.  But you can also do your own thing.  My kind of group.  I am *terrible* about staying with just one thing. *laugh*

I know I could set more goals, but I think this is good. 

Socks in a Week (Actually 8 Days)

The woman who taught me to knit posted on her blog that she was planning on participating in a KAL.  It is to knit socks in a week, though actually eight days. 

When I read it, there was really just the idea with more info to come.   So I figured cool.  Let's do it.

When I checked in again, closer to the date, the pattern was very specific.  Cuff down & magic loop done one sock at a time. Ummm...

I tried one sock at a time again recently.  And what I learned was it doesn't work for me.  I want to check out of the process after one sock is done. 

Also, I like toe-up.  I like using as much yarn as I can or stopping where it feels right.  With cuff down, I always stop too soon because I think I will run out of yarn.  Even when I weight the yarn & *know* I have enough.  So I have learned that toe-up makes me happier.

So I decided to follow along the dates but not the pattern.  I figured I was following it in spirit if not to the letter.  Or maybe that is just me justifying.  *grin*

I cast on the socks Sunday, the 29th.  I got started in the car on the way to see family in CT for the holidays.  It was going well.  I got most of the way done with the increases on the trip up there.  All good. 

The trip home was in the dark.  I decided that since it was stockinette with just a few more increases I could do it.  Wrong.  *sigh*  I was trying to use my phone as a light and not blind DH while he was driving in the rain.  Yet it wasn't the increases that got me.  I was feeling it and realized I had dropped a stitch.  *sigh*  So it had to wait until I got home.  Ah well.

I was off until New Years which was Weds..  So there was plenty of knitting time.  Of course.  Right... 

Ummm.  Except one snag.  We got some used instruments for Rock Band for the Wii.  And that meant a whole lot of silliness with that.  It was a lot of fun, but it also meant I didn't knit as much as I thought I would.

Yesterday it was back to the office.  I knit for a little while last night.  But I have been fighting crud for a few days now.  So DH & I watched one show.  Then I headed to bed.  So probably less than an hour of knitting tops.

So as things stand, I think I am ready to start the increases for the heel.  But frankly, unless I do nothing but knit for the next 50+ hours, I really doubt they will get done.  I am going to give it a try, but seems doubtful.

Mind you, I think that I shouldn't ever have believed the blogger when she said it takes 14 hours to knit a pair of socks.  She insists she is a slow knitter.  That for only an hour & 40 minutes a day, you could bang out socks. 

Maybe I am an even slower knitter.  And maybe the two socks on two circs method is slower.  But other than only knitting an hour or so last night, I really have put in at least two hours of knitting the other four days of the KAL.  Some days not much more.  But I think at least one of the days it was closer to four hours.

And I am only 2/3rd of the way done with the feet...  So I have serious doubts. 

Ah well.  Either way, I will have socks and that is ultimately what matters, right?

So of course, being a crazy woman...  I found a group on Ravelry for 12 pairs in 2014.    They started in 2012.  They have a loose attitude and really just seem to be about making as many socks in a year as you want.  They have a vote on patterns each month.  But any month you can always knit what you feel like it.  So just my kind of KAL.

Knowing me, I may pigback it to the Sock Knitters Anonymous group. SKA does different themes each month as well as a couple designers.  One of the January themes is lace, another intarsia...  So you see how board that is!  One of the designers is Stephanie van der Linden.  I have been looking at her patterns for ages & even have a book of her patterns a friend gave me.  Though I also think her patterns require solid yarns which for all my sock yarn stash I actually lack!  *chuckle*

I should review my 2013 goals & try again for 2014.  But today is not that day.  I am gonna post this and then go enjoy the snow day with the kids as the work day is nearly done.  Luckily I was working from home today!  It is beastly out there.