Secret knitting

Most of my week has been spent knitting on a project that I can't share, as it is a secret test knit. The pattern should be out in early October and I can share pictures then.  I can say it was a hat for Lucy and she sported it around town today and loved it.  I learned how to do an applied i-cord, which was a neat way to finish an edge. It was a bit time consuming, but I really like the finish product. Lucy's new hat also has a *giant* pompom on top and that is amazing. I can share a picture of that. :)

Other than that, I have been battling sick kids (conjunctivitis is going around and it sucks) and just trying to stay afloat.  Weston has had a busy schedule and he is actually out moose hunting now, so it's just me trying to manage the kids and the dogs. Hopefully he is able to get a moose and come home soon! 

I checked out a book from the library this week that I am almost finished with.  It is called The Martian by Andy Weir and it is a great read. I guess it is going to be a movie with Matt Damon soon (I don't know what goes on in the "real world" anymore) which should be interesting. The book is really great. If you like to read, and you enjoy space, go pick it up. 

Other random things, I am still loving my fitbit. In the past 7 days I have over 95,000 steps and 36.6 miles. This sounds a lot more impressive than it is, as most of the steps are taken with the kids and not really exercise.  While walking this week I have been listing to knitting podcasts and I have found a new one I enjoy.  It is called "Yarns at Yinhoo" and it is great.  The host has a very clear speaking voice that is relaxing to listen to.  She is a school teacher and discusses knitting and foodie stuff. It's fun. 

One other thing I want to mention is a new KAL that is happening with Tot Toppers. Here is the link to the thread of Ravelry.  From now until October 7 you can get 35% off select patterns from Kate Oates. HUGE deal! There are two new patterns that will be released soon from Kate that I will be knitting. One is a sweater for Sawyer and the other is a hat...not sure if it will be for me or Sawyer. I feel like poor Sawyer has been neglected with knitting projects lately...for some reason I have a ton on the needles for Lucy.  Silly, as Sawyer is much more willing to wear what I knit for him! That will be resolved shortly.

Fair fun and knitting woes

I just got back from a quick trip to Anchorage to see my family and go to the Alaska State Fair.  The fair has long been one of my favorite summer activites and I look forward to it every year. I was so excited to go this year with my good friend, Josh, and get to see Jim Gaffigan.  As expected, the fair did not disappoint. I ate so much food and just had a blast. I found a selfie stick on clearance and had to have it for the fair...it was so obnoxious and crazy fun. 

Here we are posing with Obsidian the highland cow. He was not being cooperative. 

I had a fair amount of knitting time which I spent working on Weston's gansey.  I got about an inch of it finished on the ferry and then (smartly) decided to check my gage.  I had to have Weston look at my design notebook here at home to see what my gage was supposed to be and realized it was off by a whole stitch. So off I went the next day to the LYS to buy a new needle.  This solved the gage problem, but after knitting another inch, I did the math and realized the tighter section was going to be a whole 5" tighter than the normal section.  I didn't think I could block that out....soooo....sadly, I ripped back. 

Two inches may not seem like a lot of knitting, but at 328 stitches per round, it really is.  It hurt me to do it, but it needed to happen.  I am about an inch and a half into the sweater now with the proper gage. This is the knitting that lives in my purse at the moment as it is just stockinette for about a billion inches. I figure if I can chip away at it one day I will look down and have a sweater in my lap. HA! 

I have quite a few other things on the needles at the moment. I did get the yarn for the rainbow blanket I mentioned a few posts ago (actually, two of them....there was a sale...it was a great deal....) and have started that. That is just knitting for a million miles as well, so I have it in the house to pick up and knit when I have a few mins.  The other thing I am actively working on is a test knit for Kate Oates at Tot Toppers, which I can't say much about, other than I am **loving** it. Which is not at all a surprise because I just LOVE her designs.  The pattern should be live in about a month at which point I will have pictures and rave reviews galore. 

In random other news, I earned a new FitBit badge this morning on my walk, the London Underground, which means I have walked 250 miles since July 29th of this year.  Crazy.  I will say when I was in Anchorage there was only one day that I hit my 10,000 steps and that was when I was at the fair with Josh. It is a challenge to stay active when you don't have to be.  Where I live now, if I want anything, I walk. I walk to get my mail, my groceries, to the park, to drop the kids at school, everywhere. I really enjoy walking. After dinner today, I went for a walk despite the pouring rain, by myself....I just needed to decompress. And I loved it. I listened to a knitting podcast (the Knitting Pipeline) and felt a lot better when I got home. 

Alright, off to knit something mindless and watch The Good Wife. Happy knitting!