Riding the struggle bus

 This week has been a struggle.  I'm working 7 consecutive days thanks to the retail world in general and my company's Thursday-Wednesday work week specifically.  I'm used to my old job where I got off every Wednesday and Sunday, which was bad in that I never got a "weekend" to recoup, but at least I had a day off every 2-3 days, so that I never burned out.  By the time I get home, I'm so exhausted that I barely eat, listen to some videos on my phone and crash before my bedtime alarm even tells me to.  Last night I fell asleep so early that when I woke up at 11pm, I thought it was morning already.  

In the small amount of time I've dedicated to crafting so far this week, I have crocheted on my Piper Pocket Dress.  The yoke is coming along. I'm not quite satisfied with how the join is looking, but I'm hoping that I can smooth that out in the blocking process.  It is a nice soothing motion - the half double crochet.   

No photos today, since I'm updating this from my MacBook on my lap, sitting on the floor in my work's break room. 

Substitution, not quitting

 Well, I had one heck of a time trying to work on my Emerald Isle Cabled Sweater this weekend.  I got so frustrated by row 3 that I gave up and admitted that my skill level with crochet isn't there just yet.  Plus, my mind isn't in the right place to focus on such a commitment when I have other things I should be doing, like organizing my home.  So, I scoured Ravelry for a pattern that was still crochet and would pose a challenge to me like the cables, but something I could handle.  I set the filters to show me crocheted, fingering weight, single color projects.  And I fell in love with a crocheted dress as soon as I saw it.  It's called Piper Pocket Dress by Tinderbox.  

I couldn't wait to get started on it, but first I created a presentation book of the pattern.  I love how she has it broken down into steps that are in small boxes that read left to right instead of just written out in lines down a page.  So far I'm only on row 9, but I've reviewed the entire pattern and there aren't really any hard parts.  The challenge with this one is to crochet such a high volume of material with a size 2.75mm hook and fingering weight yarn.  But it's mainly half double crochet, which I find to be soothing to work.  The smaller gauge does make it a lights-on project, otherwise I can't see the stitches I'm working into and it's more difficult to find them by touch in the dark. 

3rd FO of 2023

 

So a sleepless night and early zoom call did equate to more knitting time, and I was able to finish my vanilla socks knit with Knitpicks Stroll Tweed yarn in the color Lapis.  No matter what light I used, the color on camera is off.  They are a royal blue, not periwinkle like this picture I took under my Ott light. I got a little distracted while I was on my zoom call and knit a bit too much instep before starting the toe decreases, but I think they will be fine.  I was pleasantly surprised that I'd already woven in the beginning yarn end, so I just had to kitchner the toe closed and weave in that end on each sock and they are now ready to wear.  Now I have a clean slate to tackle my crochet projects for the CYC Crochet Instructor's Certification program.  less than 6 weeks to go for that.  I may have found some people to teach to crochet in my beta testing group for my certification requirement, so that's exciting.  

Right now I'm waiting for Jo to get out of the shower so we can hit the library for a book that I'm interested in.  She's a slowpoke.  After the library I might visit family before I come home and get back to my yarn.  Or I might paint.  I got some online painting videos last night from Painting To Gogh ($10 off from my link: http://paintingtogogh.refr.cc/shannonlathrop?t=em)

O Sleep, Where art thou?

 One of the biggest annoyances in my life is the fact that I'm a terrible sleeper in my old age.  I wake up every 1-2 hours and am wide awake and unable to fall back asleep.  I take medication to help me get and stay asleep, and last night I forgot to take it.  I remembered after I woke up for the 3rd time at 3am and was still awake at 4am.  By which point it was too late to take it because I have a Zoom call for my beta test group at 7am.  Sigh.  At 5, after it was clear I wasn't falling back to sleep, I got up and took a shower and got dressed.  Since I'm going to be meeting with my crafting group via zoom, I wore my Flax Light sweater, which is super comfy for my day off.  While I was awake earlier, I did manage to get within a half inch of the beginning of the toe decreases on my tweed socks.  During and after the call I will try to get those done so that I have another FO in the books for 2023.  

Yesterday I got some training at my new job from 2 different people who are both very nice & helpful.  Hopefully I remember what they taught me and I did take some chicken scratch notes to jog my memory.  I was so relieved to see a co-worker from my old store that I asked for pull into the parking lot behind me. My boss had said that someone I didn't know was coming from a different store, so it was a relief to see someone familiar.  The other person was the woman who had my position before me.  She taught me some of the shortcuts she uses to get around different problems that are unique to my position.  It was all a little overwhelming.  But in a good way.  An exciting way.  I don't leave my car in the morning filled with misery as I walk in, so it's a win.  One of my other old co-workers texted me out of the blue to ask how I was doing at my new store.  I told him about some of the different challenges we're facing as we go into the dreaded "INVENTORY" day next week.  

I did break the crafting no-buy this week to get a dress form in my size.  I like when people show a project in progress on a dummy.  I got an email from Joann's that dress forms were on sale, but my size was out of stock locally and online, so I checked Amazon and they had it even cheaper with Saturday delivery, so that will be here tomorrow.  I look forward to taking better photos of my sweaters on the mannequin and also maybe sewing garments that fit me in the near future, if I ever get my sewing area straightened up.  It was difficult to choose the size small-medium based on my measurements when I typically still buy size Large/XL by default.  But I wanted it to be accurate.  Now I won't have issues like I did when I tried to sew a skirt to wear to my aunt's funeral only to find out after it was done that it was too small around my waist.  And I will be able to mark for a hem on pants & dresses without too much trouble.  

Second FO for 2023

 

Flax Light by Tin Can Knits is complete!  I cast-on for it on 2/11 and finished it on 3/11.  I'm not quite happy with how I cast it off the body, but I'm not upset enough to undo it and start over.  I wore it on Sunday without blocking it, since I was so desperate to wear it.  It's comfortable and I'm happy with the size ML+ a few stitches on the sleeves.  If I make it again, I think I will do reverse stockinette instead of garter stitch on the sleeves.  That was a struggle I did not enjoy.  I did entirely too much tinking and reknitting when I found that I'd autopiloted thru those sections and did the wrong stitch.  It was a great pattern, well written, and good for beginners as well as experienced knitters looking for a good, classic garment.  I knit it with 6 balls of Knitpicks Stroll Tweed in the color North Pole Heather.

Now I'm back to my Lapis Knitpicks Stroll Tweed vanilla socks.  I was excited when I realized at lunch this week that I was done with the gusset decreases already - I thought I was still in the middle of those when I'd put this project down to work on my sweater.  That meant I could just pick this up and knit while I'm at work without thinking about it for a while.  I usually make my socks about 6 3/4" before I start decreasing for the toe.  I think this pair I might make a bit longer so they have a little more toe room.  

The leftovers from this pair will probably join the leftovers from my sweater to become another pair of socks with contrasting toes & heels.  At least that's the plan.  I have so many things to work on, I have no idea when those will be done.  I need to get back to my Craft Yarn Council Crochet Instructor's Certification work as soon as these socks are done - hopefully this week.  I'm down to 6 weeks to complete the program.  Time to hurry.  I am finding that monogamously working on one project at a time is very rewarding.  I don't forget where I am like I did with the socks when I'm only working on one project at a time.  And the urge to start something new makes me work faster to complete what I'm on so I can get there.  

Wow! What a Week!

 So, after a 6 day work week, I'm finally getting a proper weekend at home.  And with the snow storm we had last night, I'm not sure I will be leaving my house today.  I have a video call "Movie Night" with my beta tester friends at 2pm this afternoon, so I will be home knitting at that time.  We haven't decided what movie we are watching yet.  I voted for Where the Crawdads Sing, but right now it looks like there are more votes for Dune 😜.  I'm not a fan of sci-fi.  My sweater is about 11" of sleeve from completion.  I can't wait to finish it so I can wear it.  And I overestimated the amount of yarn when I ordered it, so I will have 2 balls left to make matching socks & hat at some point.  When I finish my sweater I will try to complete the royal blue stroll tweed vanilla socks, so that I'm at a clean slate.  I need to crochet a carrot for my CYC crochet sample of spiral technique, then on to my cabled crochet sweater.  I'm trying to stay monogamous to a single project so that I actually finish projects now.  Hopefully this will keep me from having so many abandoned wips.  Also it's a better use of my yarn, since I'm just tossing out yarn and half done projects as I find things I have no plans to finish as I'm cleaning my house. 

Needle Love

 For all the knitters out there that struggle to find circular needles with good joins and flexible wires with no memory, I can not say enough good things about Chiaogoo Red Lace needles.  I switched my sleeve from a Knitter's Pride Royale to a Chiaogoo and the project is now flying.  No more struggling at getting the stitches onto the left needle from the cord.  Sleeve 1 still has about 2" to go before I start decreasing, since I didn't knit at all yesterday.  I'm hoping to have the first sleeve finished on Saturday.  

I got my work schedule for the rest of this workweek from my new store yesterday, and I do work on Sunday, so my wallet will be happy.  Then on Monday I have a short day so that I can attend a video call about the beta test I'm participating in.  Super stoked about that starting.  I can't wait to meet the other participants and see what this new platform looks like.  The creator is focused on building a community and I commend her for filling this gap in the crafting ecosystem of the 2020's.  Yesterday I applied to be recertified for my Pharmacy Technician certification.  It was approved when I checked this morning, so I can rest my mind for 2 years on that front.  Now I have a fresh certificate to take to my new store to hang on the wall.  My promotion went into effect yesterday, so I'm now a CPhT Lead.  Unfortunately, that isn't an option on the name tag generator.  I am excited to get to work on Sunday morning.  Tonight I work almost until close with one of my favorite pharmacists.  I will miss our Friday nights together, as we were commonly scheduled these shifts together.  I think I will get pizza and cannolis to celebrate the bittersweet ending.  The weather is supposed to get pretty bad here in Rochester, NY, which is good because it keeps people at home and out of my store.  

This weekend I am planning to get my nails done, knit, do laundry and work on the bedroom reorganization.  We also have a birthday dinner planned for my brother-in-law Saturday night.  One of the difficult things about working with split days off from my job, is that I have to try to squeeze a whole "weekend" into Saturday.  And my new store's hours make it so that I work later on Sundays, but not by much.  Monday-Wednesday I get home in time to eat dinner with my family for a change.  So all is good in the Shannanigans household. 

March 1st Recap

 It's late and I was supposed to post today but I just wasn't in the mood for it today.  I didn't sleep last night and had to get up early this morning to take Jo to doctors appointments.  I worked on my sweater sleeve but got frustrated during the 2nd appointment where I'd made the same mistake of knitting 2 rounds in a row thru the garter stitch section.  I decided to stop working on it until I got home and got my new 12" chiaogoo needle to unknit the round and fix my mistake.  I have about 2" more to knit before I start the decreases.  I was exhausted so I took a couple short naps today.  I did manage to get the bedside cubes into place and my houseplants have been rehomed to the top of those cubes.  I have 1 more planter that needs to find a home  but I haven't made room for it yet.  I found an audio book I like and was listening to that this afternoon while cleaning and then again tonight while Dan was watching The Mandalorian.  It's a fictional romance story which is refreshing after my non-fiction, self-help jag I was on.  Tomorrow I'm only planning to sort all my writing utensils and move the Cricut to the office finally.  I don't want to have to push that forward on my task list for another month.  I haven't heard any news about my new schedule yet.  Hopefully I get some update tomorrow or Friday.  I typically work Sundays, and while I won't be totally upset if I have the whole weekend off, my budget prefers that I work that day.  Friday night I'm working my last shift at my current store and it's going to be bittersweet.  I think I'm ordering a pizza and cannoli's  to celebrate.  That's my favorite meal at work.  

Entering Sleeve Island

 

Ok, so I finished my Flax Light sweater body this afternoon.  Hooray!  Now I'm entering the Sleeve Island.  I tried on the sweater to make sure it would fit.  The neck is fitted a little closer than I would normally like, but I can block that a little looser.  I didn't cast off the bottom ribbing very loosely on purpose because I don't want it to flare at the bottom.  I did make a mistake of starting the ribbing with the bigger needle and rather than unknitting a round and a half of 1x1 ribbing, I just knit off the big and onto the smaller needle when I realized the mistake.  Not sure if it makes that much difference, but I'm willing to deal with it.  Now we're back to the sleeves and those cursed garter stitch panels down the sleeves.  Hopefully after working the body on so many hundreds of stitches, the sleeves will go faster.  I broke into ball 5 of 7 to finish the last of the body ribbing, so about a ball and a half goes into each sleeve.  I can't wait to finish this sweater so that I can get back to focusing on my crochet certification course and get that completed before the deadline.  I will also need to finish the tweed royal blue socks I am at the gusset decreases on.  I've decided that I much prefer the flap & gusset heal versus the shadow wrap short row heel.  That one doesn't stay in place on my heel.  My socks kept slipping down off my heel in my boots.  As much as I enjoyed not having to do the pickup stitches and decreases of the gusset after making the flap, it fits better for me.  

The bedroom organizing is still incomplete, but I did get all the bins labeled with clip on chalkboard labels I got on Amazon after 2 different types of labels wouldn't stick to the bins or the cubes.  New deadline to have it done is this coming Saturday.  I can't get over how many notebooks I own... piles all over the place.  And I don't want them in the bedroom, so I have to haul them all to the office/craft room. That room is also overflowing, but that mess is probably a problem for April's Shannon, since I will be busy in March.

March 9th I start my new job at a new location within the same company.   For the past 3 years I've been working at a pharmacy as a technician.  I applied for,  but did not get, a position last fall that was more managerial.  A different opportunity was presented to me a week ago and I accepted it on the spot.  My current location has become a toxic environment for me.  I love the job, the store, and the customers, but my coworkers have become unbearable to work with.  I'm unsure why they don't like me, but it's been the case since I started there and is getting progressively worse, not better.  I work too hard to come home feeling defeated.  So I jumped at the option to transfer to a different store where I will be taking a quasi-management position.  I'm still not sure of the job title, but I'm going to be in charge of the store part of the pharmacy.  The pharmacist and lead technician were so nice when I stopped in today to introduce myself and the pharmacist was super excited that I was going to be starting there.  It was such a foreign experience for me.  People excited to see me.  People who look forward to working with me.  But, I was also a little nervous that I'm going to let them down.  That will be a problem for March 9th's Shannon.  ;) 

March will also be busy with Beta-testing a crafters community group, which I'm super excited for.  Unfortunately, I won't be able to make the first "introduction" video call because it's at 2 in the afternoon on a day I'm scheduled to start work at 2 o'clock.  But other than that, I plan to spend a lot of time on the platform making friends and learning about the platform before it's opened up to the public.   I'm so stoked to be a part of the day one crowd for this group.  I tend to shy away from getting involved in any groups that are established because I don't like feeling like an outsider, but this time I'll be there from the beginning.  Hopefully I'll feel like I belong there, and I will make it my mission to make the newcomers feel they are welcome after it opens to everyone. When testing is complete, I'll be sure to tell you all about it so that you can join us if you wish!

What projects are you working on?  Leave me a comment.  

Bedroom Overhaul

 This week I was supposed to get my bedroom redone while my husband was on a work trip.  Unfortunately, I ran out of time & steam before it was finished, but I'm still inspired to keep going.  My room has no aesthetic to speak of.  We have modular cube furniture covering all the walls.  My cubes were full of forgotten books, notebooks, craft supplies, clothing I don't wear, you name it.  And they were overflowing - the bins long since removed and objects were crammed in all willy nilly.  I managed to empty all the stuff that was in them, but haven't gotten them all filled with new stuff yet.  I bought all new white bins, which I love the look of.  I bought white labels to put on the bins, but they won't stick to the non-woven material that the bins are made of.  My fear is that if they aren't labeled in some way, I will forget what's in them and therefore rebuy items I've forgotten I already own.  I found 2 of my misplaced Dior Addict Lip Glow lipsticks - I bought a 3rd one last weekend at Sephora.  The sad part is that I only remembered owning one - I was shocked to empty a discarded purse and find another one in it.  I emptied the rolling cart that I had been using as a night stand and moved it into the bathroom off my bedroom until I figure out what I'm going to do with it.  I took out 6 garbage bags of stuff I didn't want or need anymore. Most of it was paperwork and study guides I didn't need anymore, drawer units that were inefficient and/or damaged, expired vitamins and over the counter medications I bought and never used.  Clothing that I didn't need or that was beyond usefulness.  Craft projects that I had no intention of finishing.  But you would never know that I removed that much stuff, because my side of the bedroom is still overflowing.  It's all so overwhelming, being a hoarder.  Every decision can become a struggle.  It's mentally and physically exhausting.  I figure I need about 12 solid hours of work to get it completed so that I can move the newest cube unit to the wall beside my bed and have my "night stand" in place.  Then I can bring up the houseplants I bought last week and get them off my stovetop where they are living right now.  Because that was the only place I could find to store them.  I'm dreaming of having a neat and orderly bedroom, and hopefully by next weekend, it will be a reality.  

Tomorrow we are going skiing.  Probably the last time for the season.  I booked Jo another lesson with the fabulous Jocelyn.  The opening she had was for earlier in the morning which means we have to get moving early on a Saturday to make the 45 minute drive to the mountain and then get Jo situated with her rental equipment.  I'm hoping that I have better luck going down the mountain now that I understand that the "slow down" signs are not directed at me.  I always panicked when I got to that area.  It rained here this week, causing a lot of ice, so who knows what kind of snow will be on the mountain.  I'm not a fan of skiing on icy conditions.  Next year I'm going to take some lessons to get my confidence back.  I also downloaded a bunch of playlists to my phone so that I can listen to music while I'm skiing.  The cellular data is weak there, so streaming it from the cloud wasn't cutting it last time.  

Sunday it's back to the grind at work.  But with a crew that I enjoy working with.  Monday I'm not scheduled but I think I will go check out the new store I'm transferring to and introduce myself.  I was going to volunteer to work there that day, but just my luck, they don't need anyone that day.  I have plenty to keep me busy if I don't have to work, so that's fine.  Wednesday we are tied up with 2 appointments.  Then next Saturday I have a nail appointment in the middle of the day to work around.  I'm still nervous about starting the new job, but I keep trying to remind myself that this is a good move.   I'm leaving behind toxicity.  That's always a good thing.