Easy like Sunday Morning

Hey Everyone!

Sundays have become my favorite day of the week.

Beings that Saturdays are my friday at work, Sunday means getting to sleep in, drink all the tea I want, knit, and watch shows.

I had started the pair of “Kate” socks last weekend after I finished the “Santorini” socks. I had only knit about 5 or 6 rounds on the cuff, and then it sat my entire work week. I finished the cuff of this first sock and started the leg portion of it.

The song Easy (Like Sunday Morning) had come to mind as I was knitting and drinking tea yesterday morning.

Mondays can be busy. This morning I had a few things I needed to do. I took my vehicle through the car wash and vacuumed it out after (most of the sand is now gone from the beach trip I went on a month ago, which is sad), I took my bottle drop bags back. Here in Oregon, our cans and single use drink bottles have bottle deposits that we get back when we return them. Several years ago, they started the green bags, where for a small fee, the employees, as the bottle drop locations, will count the cans and bottles in the green bags for you. I got coffee from Black Rock, stopped at the pharmacy, made an appointment, and then came home. I thought about going for a drive but decided not to because I needed to use the bathroom, and I didn’t want to spend money on more gas right now. I also wanted to spend more time knitting.

After a couple weeks of very hot weather (in the 90’s for highs), the last couple of days have been dramatically cooler and cloudy which I have loved. It has made me wish it was Fall all over again. When it’s hot, I literally have no energy (which is in short supply anyway), and don’t feel like tea, or knitting. Any of you who have followed me for any length of time know that I am all about the tea and the knitting. This weekend has definitely made me want to knit like nobody’s business and has inspired me to want to do more craft projects.

I would love nothing more than to get out of the city rat race and spend more time doing the things I love. Those include knitting, being outside, growing a garden, cooking, canning, reading books, all the things that an introverted homebody enjoys. Then I would throw in coming into the city every so often to go to yarn stores and for supplies (can anybody say Smith Teamaker and Bob’s Red Mill).

Beach Day

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A few weeks ago I had put in to take PTO this weekend to make sure I got my storage unit moved. With some help I got it done a couple weeks ago.

This was all before this weekends weather forecast was even a thing. It turns out that Friday was almost 90° here in the valley.

Beings that I already had requested the weekend off (Thursday – Saturday shifts) to use rain or shine, I got paid for the days I was off and did not accrue any corrective action steps for going to the Beach on Friday. And yes, I was laughing at my coworkers who were stuck at work, the whole way to the beach and back.

It was 63° and perfect right on the beach, and about 67° on the highway, which was a few hundred yards up from actual beach. It was a perfect summer (in spring) day at the beach.

Thursday I had worked on my first sock from the passprt Mediterranean mystery kit I had ordered from Forbidden Fiber Co, part of the time while watching Mamma Mia. The colorway of yarn from this kit seriously gives me Mamma Mia and & Santorini vibes.

I always seem to have a hard time coming back from the beach, even if I go for a day. I don’t know why leaving the beach affects me so much, but it does.

My beach day, and going through the towns I lived in while I went to college on my way to and from the beach have definitely made me think about my life and the direction I am going. I never would have thought I would be where I am today, and each day I want to be a better person and to make a difference. I am still trying to figure out how.

In 10 years’ time

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

In 10 years time, I see myself living a simple life in a small town or out in the country on some property, with a husband and family of my own. I would have found a church community to belong to and serve in.

If I am still working, I would be working at a small lys or book store in the small town.

I would still be living out here in the PNW, trying to give my children a simpler childhood without all the technological distractions and let them be kids.

I would still be knitting, of course. I couldn’t give up knitting unless it was literally taken from me.

If I lived on some property outside city limits, I would have a garden and grow a lot of my own Berries and vegetables. Maybe have a few fruit tress, and plenty of flowers.

Rhinebeck Is Goals

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This morning I finished up the first sock in the pair of “Road to Rhinebeck” socks I am currently working on.

This was a sock set with a main variegated hank and a smaller contrast / coordinating tonal hank for at least heels and toes. I have gone on the conservative side and not tried using the contracting tonal for a top rib in the cuff. I may kick myself later for that, if I end up with a decent amount left over. I just wanted to make sure I had enough for the heels and toes for two socks.

This sock, seriously evokes all things fall for me. Cozy Sweaters, Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes, turning leaves, fires in the fireplace, Gilmore Girls, Mel in Virgin River – the scene from the first episode or two when she is walking down the street in Virgin River talking to her sister on the phone in the cute sweater and boots.

Yes, one sock made me think of that. Well, it did have the help of visiting two local yarn shops yesterday. Those made me think of rainy Portland October days, with a cup of tea, hunkering down in a cute yarn shop working on a knitting project, or squishing the yarn. For me, Starlight Knitting Society was the coziest and most inviting of the two. It also really made me miss Happy Knits. Happy Knits was a yarn store here in Portland, on SE Hawthorne Blvd, that I fell in love with. They closed a few years ago (Pre Pandemic) they had a very light, airy, welcoming shop that wasn’t super crowded but had an amazing selection. In the back, they had a large table to sit around and work on projects as well as a couch that faced the natural gas stove. It was amazing in the colder wet months to go hang out, look at yarn, squish yarn, get inspiration, work on projects. I miss that space.

I have known about the Rhinebeck sheep and wool festival for several years. It is the big festival. I really want to go, and I want to try to make it happen next year. This year isn’t going to work for me, since I have other things I need to deal with first. Rhinebeck is one of things that I feel like I should experience at least once.

We don’t have many fiber festivals out here on the West Coast, and the ones we do have aren’t on the same caliber as the ones that take place back east.

All the smaller indie dyers I follow and typically buy from are from east of the Mississippi River, and the “better” fiber festivals are part of the circuit that most of these dyers go to.

Which is why I would love to go to Rhinebeck, especially, as well as some of the other fiber festivals back East and find more small, Indie, US based dyers who have amazing yarns.

Kodiak: The Conclusion

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I finished up the second Kodiak sock this morning!

The yarn is from Deep Dyed Yarns, and it this colorway is on the Figment yarn base.

This pair of socks took about a month to knit up, as life has been busy with work, Dr’s appointments (I am on the road to recovery, it’s just a long road), and just life happening.

It’s been a hard month, with a lot of life changes, and feeling overwhelmed, so knitting has been the one thing that has helped me refocus and destress with all the changes that have been happening.

There are still a lot of unanswered questions, unknowns and uncertainties. Hopefully over the next few months, as more appointments happen, I will get some answers and things figured out.

While I keep pushing forward to find the answers to my health issues, I will keep knitting and getting back to other healthy coping mechanisms as well. Things that have taken a back seat over the last year like walking and Journaling as well.

Unicorn Night Mares

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This evening, I finished up the pair of “Unicorn Night Mares” socks that I started right before I interviewed for my new job. This pair of socks has taken me about three weeks to knit up, since life has happened.

The colorway is: Unicorn Night Mares, the yarn base is: Fingering, and it’s from KnittedWit.

My first week of the new job went well. I am definitely looking forward to life after my first paycheck. This fall and winter, I am definitely going to be checking out some yarn stores and tea shops. This is going to be an awesome fall and winter

I am also waiting for my knit picks orders to arrive this week.

Project Bag On The Go

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I had an interview this morning, across town. I knew where I was going as it was right on the route I took to one of my old jobs. I left early as usual, and took the sock I had cast on last night with me in my new sock project bag.

I got a couple rounds done while I waited for my interview time to get closer before going in. I have found that being early and getting a bit of knitting done always helps me be a bit calmer and not as nervous.

I started keeping a “purse project” with me when I went places I might have have to wait, or have down time where I really couldn’t go anywhere back, like a decade ago when I worked for a short time at a daycare. Days where I worked 6 hours or more, at that company I had to take a mandatory hour lunch. State Law only mandates a 30 minute meal period for 6 hours+ worked, but the company scheduled us such that if we worked over 6 hours we had an hour lunch. So I had started taking a dish cloth WIP with me to work on. Having knitting to work on helps pass the time.

Now that I am into working on socks, it is definitely my “purse project” or “on the go project”.

As I mentioned yesterday, I definitely want to try out different brands of yarn, besides for my own curiosity as well as for content. I have been looking at local yarn shops to see what they have. I know it takes money to buy the yarn, which is part of why I want and need a better job.

Sitka National Park

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This afternoon, I finished up the pair of Sitka National Park socks.

The yarn is from KnittedWit, and on the sock base.

I have had this yarn in my stash for a while, and last time I checked, it is still no longer available.

As I work through the yarn I have, I am also looking at other brands with fingering weight / sock yarn to see what I want to try. I am always wanting to try new yarns and see how they wash, wear and hold up over time. Once life calms down, I definitely want to get out hiking again and really start putting my different socks to the test. I would love to know which brand and base are the best, and last the longest for me.

Goals and Dreams Change

Hey Everyone!

To my American readers and followers, I hope you all had a safe and happy 4th. To our neighbors to the North, I hope you all had a good Canada Day!

I had the 4th off which was nice, though I worked Friday, Saturday and today. With the truck being delayed until Saturday and then showing three hours late on Saturday, stock crew was asked to come out for am extra shift this week, as our availability allowed. I was able to go in today and got a bit done.

For so long I have been anti TikTok, but with a little convincing from one of my coworkers (she uses it to share her art), I finally created one to share my knitting. While most of my first few videos aren’t knitting related (only 3 of them are), I have been kind of getting a feel for the platform. IDK how far I will go with it, but I am still testing it out.

I keep hearing on the news, that employers in my current industry (retail) as well as others similar to mine (grocery/restaurants/ manual labor) keep complaining about being short staffed. Some people not wanting to work is just a fraction of the problem. I have been back at work post furlough for about a year now, and looking for another job in my industry or a similar industry closer to home for said year (and many years pre-COVID). My own experience this past year, has been one of Cricket’s (aka silence). I have applied to many jobs that I can reasonably do with minimal training (ie how that specific company does things), yet I have only had three phone calls, and two interviews in the past year, and all of them were in the past 2 months. Yes, I was only at Home Depot for a short time, for various reasons that all boil down to it not being a good for for me. So I don’t totally buy the “we can’t fill all our open positions”. From my own experience, they aren’t calling everyone who applies and are choosing to not fill said positions. It is definitely frustrating for someone like me, yet, I feel like the past two months have made me rethink some things.

One of those things is possibly starting my own business one day. If I were to start my own business, I am strongly leaning towards a yarn dying business. I have also thought a yarn making business would be cool, where my company would buy raw wool and processing it into wool. Or doing the whole thing, from processing the wool, spinning it and dying it. If any of it works out, it’s still a ways out.

Not counting my KnitPicks socks, all my other socks were at least dyed here in the USA.

One of the things I definitely want to do more of it test out the different bases I have knit socks out of, while hiking and really see how they hold up / last with a bit rougher wear and washing after each wear. I want to know which bases hold up the best boot socks for hiking.

A few of the places I want to go hiking and test the ruggedness of my socks include: Mt Saint Helens, Sun River, anywhere really in Alaska, in Banff / Lake Louise as well as Jasper Alberta.

Working Hard and Projects I am working on

Hey Everyone!

Between constantly being at work, being exhausted from work, eating and sleeping, it has definitely been a struggle to fit in knitting.

The first weekend of this month, I came down with a cold. I had to call out of work a couple days last week. As I was starting to feel better, but still home sick, I made a fair amount of progress on the second Heirloom Pumpkin Sock I was working on. I finally got the second sock finished up yesterday, since I was off.

I had been wanting this colorway for several months, before it was brought back and I was able to order a hank for myself. I ordered the Heirloom Pumpkin colorway on the Fortitude Base from Forbidden Fiber Company.

I also started the next pair of socks. I grabbed the hank of Campfire colored yarn, on the Gluttony Sock Yarn base. It is also from Forbidden Fiber Company.

Today, I have watched a few vlogs, filmed in Southeast Alaska, and it’s still the dream that I am working for. I am dreaming of moving up to Southeast Alaska. This is part of why I am knitting up socks. I also have another project I want to make, that would be amazing to have done, before moving to a colder climate. I am also wanting to order a pie of xtratuf rain boots, while not absolutely necessary here in Portland, would definitely make some winter adventures more enjoyable, and are pretty much necessary in Southeast Alaska.