The Halfway Point

Today, I am half way through my month-long journey. So, I think a little celebrating is in order! The above picture is one of my favorite things at Disneyland. The Soundsational parade is pretty great. But my favorite part is the very beginning. There is a drum line and Mickey Mouse is playing the drums. I love it. I still haven't figured out why they chose to start the parade with it, though. To me, it would make a much better ending. I included it on this post because I was flipping through my pictures on my phone and it jumped out at me because it was so bright and cheerful. Happy memories are a fun way to celebrate. Plus, I'm going to Disneyland tomorrow for my birthday trip. So, it's helping me get in the mood to wake up way earlier than normal.

State of the Goals:
Goal 1: Complete BEDA.
Well, I'm half way there! I have been able to post something every day, even when I was in LA with no wifi. I'm pretty proud of that one.

Goal 2: Knit/Crochet two projects I am proud of.
I finished one already, so I guess I'm halfway there on this one, too! The Capitals-inspired Slapshot Baby hat is cute. And I saw a picture of the baby in it today and she looks pretty adorable in it. (Though, I was right, it is a bit too small. Sigh.)

Goal 3: The Piles:
I have almost finished re-reading Twilight. So, that's one from the already-started-reading pile. I read a book that wasn't in either pile, so that technically doesn't count, but it did add to my books-read count, so it's good. Also, I started reading A Discovery of Witches. I'm hoping to have enough time to get it finished. I have some upheaval going on in my personal life, so this goal might be a little harder to reach than anticipated.

Goal 4: 30-Day Walk Challenge
This goal is a big fat fail. My knee was hurting for much longer than the one day. I am pretty sure a doctor's visit is essential at this point. Sad to miss out on this goal. Especially because I really need to get training for the Disneyland 10K that's coming up!

BEDA Tracker:

4/1/15    4/6/15   4/11/15   4/16/15   4/21/15   4/26/15

4/2/15    4/7/15   4/12/15   4/17/15   4/22/15   4/27/15

4/3/15    4/8/15   4/13/15   4/18/15   4/23/15   4/28/15

4/4/15    4/9/15   4/14/15   4/19/15   4/24/15   4/29/15

4/5/15   4/10/15  4/15/15   4/20/15   4/25/15   4/30/15

Chemo Cap

One of my projects for this round of Nerd Wars is this chemo cap. I had started it before this round, so it's going into my WIPs category. I made it for someone I know who has recently lost all her hair because of chemo.

Nerd Wars

For the past couple months, I've been in a competition on Ravelry, called Nerd Wars. It's tons of fun, but takes up a lot of my time. The competition basics: 3 month-long competitions with 5 projects each. You can knit, crochet, spin, or weave. While it's been challenging and time-consuming, I've discovered it is a great way to finish projects and meet new people. Here are some of the projects I've completed!

Tea Cozy for my Aunt

Baby Hat

Diamond Scarf

Jayne Cobb Hat Tea Cozy

My first ever Lace Shawl

Basket Weave Stitch Dishcloth

Waffle Stitch Scarf

The Wrong Side of the Scarf is Pretty

Success and Failure

My Ravellenic Games Team Ravatar

Official Ravthlete Ravatar

My official Scarf Hockey Medal!

The 2012 Ravellenic Games are over. I completed one project and received a lovely badge for it. Success!

 

 

 

 

Rose Tyler BoomTown Scarf

Unfortunately, I did not complete my other event(s). Most specifically, I did not finish Tinker Bell. She's still technically not finished. The pattern was just too confusing, leading me to have to frog a couple pieces, then start them over. Tinker Bell is still not finished, but I'm hoping to power through and get it done this weekend.

Tinker Bell's Current Condition. Boo.

So, I didn't get everything I intended to done for the Ravellenic Games, but I learned a lot about knitting. Specifically yarn overs, decreasing, and that ribbing in the throw(?) method is painful for a girl with tendinitis. Because of that, I'm thinking I may have to switch back to Continental. I'm almost a week out from the contest and my arms are still hurting.

Ravellenic Games Update

Nothing is finished yet. And now I've run into some pretty major tendinitis pain, not unexpected, though I didn't really foresee just how much of my arm would be in pain due to knitting. I'm using the throw (?) method, which may or may not be called English. At any rate, I think going forward I'm going to have to re-train myself to use Continental because there is less movement, which would be key for me.

The Tinker Bell pattern has been kicking my ass. Not because it's hard, but because I don't understand half of it. I'm fairly certain it was translated from another language and there are quite a few places that I literally have no idea what they are asking for. I've googled and everything.

Ravellenic Games - Day 5?

Rose Tyler's BoomTown Scarf - Progress

So, I'm not sure what day of the Ravellenics this is. I can't decide if Friday the 27th counts, or not. Regardless, this post is just to show the progress I'm making on the Rose Tyler scarf. It looks really pretty, though I'm not sure it looks enough like the original. The yarn coloring is finally getting to what I thought it would look like and not so pastel, so that's good. I'm just a little bit frustrated that it takes so much time to make. Knitting is slow. Plus, I'm not quite good enough to watch the Olympics while I'm knitting, so the events I actually want to see, I'm having to put it down. (Go Team USA Swimming/Gymnastics/Tennis/Beach Volleyball!)

I'm using a Yarn Bowl to hold my yarn. It was made by my friend Ariel's dad. And it is full of awesome. I've gotten so many compliments and tons of people want one. One person literally said to me: "Oh, when I start knitting, I will definitely use one of those." So, the actual crafting of scarves and sweaters and animals isn't enough to entice them to start, but a pretty bowl to hold yarn is. :)

Ravellenic Games 2012

Rose Tyler's BoomTown Scarf (modified)

TinkerBell's head

The Ravellenic Games have begun! Ravelry, a site for yarn-enthusiasts, hosts a competition every two years (during the two weeks of the Olympics). People all over the world join teams and get to crocheting, knitting, weaving, and other yarn-related events.

There are different sport-themed events. I'm participating in Scarf Hockey, Toy Toss, and Holiday Hurdles.

I'm on two teams, Team TARDIS and Team Disney.
For Scarf Hockey I'm making the Rose Tyler scarf from BoomTown (Doctor Who).
For Toy Toss I'm making an amigurumi TinkerBell.
And for Holiday Hurdles I'm making some TARDIS ornaments...if I can finish the other two projects first. :)

The Sticks Matter

In my attempts at knitting I have learned a very important lesson. Using the right needles is important! So important, that using the wrong needles will make the whole knitting process intensely more difficult. When you're crocheting, as long as you have the same size hook, really, you can use any hook. Some people swear by wooden or bamboo hooks, but really if it's the same size, it'll work. With knitting...not so much. (Or at least, not for me.)

For me, bamboo hooks (which I started with) stick to the yarn. A lot. My knitting was really really tight (so much that my friend commented that my needles were squeaking) and it was pretty much a painful miserable experience.

Then, I tried a friend's nickel plated needles and the loops wouldn't stay on the needle it was so slick.

So, the other day I went to an LYS (Local Yarn Store) called Yarning For You. It's nice and everyone was so helpful and nice. I picked up some Knit Picks Interchangeable Circular Needles. And I looove them. They're wood, but it's super polished wood, so it's really smooth, but not so slick the loops fall off. They're also really pretty because of the different colors.

They inspired me to start another project. When I get to a point that I'm happy, I'll share it on here. So far, (fingers crossed) it looks really good. :)