Wrapping Up 2022

I'm generally not one for year-end wrap-ups, but so much has happened and been accomplished this year, that I'm feeling a strong urge to document some of it in one place.

In 2022:

• We moved the last of our animals from the old farm to the new farm.
• We finished significant improvements to the old farm and sold it.
• We completed a few significant improvements to the new farm
• Removed the eyesore glass "sun" room
• Painted all of the exteriors and repaired some previously unknown damage
• Removed the large dead and mostly-dead trees
• Had a termite inspection, with favorable results
• Improved access to the Alpaca Barn
• Continued to find and dispose of trash left by the former owners
• Replaced the gutters
• Began showing dogs again, after losing Ramen unexpectedly at the end of last year
• Worked thru Wilma not wanting judges to touch her in the ring
• Had an actual vacation and attended the AKC National Championship for the first time
• Achieved a couple of significant milestones at the Day Job
• Dispositioned, Frogged, and Completed a large, long-lived Box of Unfinished Knitting and Crochet Projects.
• Made Strawberry Jam after years of Hubba asking
• Hubba and I celebrated 25 years of marriage
• Attended the presentation ceremony for the Katharine Wright Trophy to a dear friend.
• Doing much better about having regular rest and boundaries
• We added beef to our list of foods that are only hunted or purchased directly from the source.  Thereby decreasing our carbon/plastic consumption just a little bit more.
• Took fiber classes for the first time since I learned to spin and weave in 2007/2008.

I generally also don't make New Year's Resolutions, because I'm extremely goal oriented so I am adding and revising goals all of the time.  There are several things I want to achieve in the coming years and I feel we have momentum on some of them.

Happy New Year.  Be safe.  Have fun.

Fiber Arts Friday: Summer Cardigan, part 7

Since last time, I have separated the Upper and Lower Panels, stitched the Upper Panels together, and made the Sleeves.  I also added a row of Single Crochet to the bottom of the Upper Assembly to aid in joining to the bottom panel, and counting stitches...

After counting and marking stitches on both the Upper Assembly and Lower Panel, I was stunned to realize they match.  Exactly!  182 stitches, each.  This is a wonderful result and not, at all, expected.

So I seemed them together using the counting stitch markers as reassurance along the way.

With all of the pieces joined together, it looks a bit like a doll dress. :-/

So I'm not loving this as much as I hoped, yet.

Blocking helped, but it still seems fat around the middle.  :-/

I may take it apart and re-seem the Upper Assembly to the other side of the Lower Panel, which is the cast on edge.... But in the meantime, this project is complete.

I am now at four active projects.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Vacation

Yesterday was my first day back "in the office" after a 2.5 week vacation.

I spent most of the day triaging emails and completing an online training course.

As I was thinking about it, I realized that this was only the second time in my entire career that I was able to take more than 2 days off in a row from a day job.

The first time I tried, was a trip to India in 2008.  I brought my work computer because they were concerned about me being gone for two weeks.  I logged in while I was gone.  Remote work was nascent, so it was a challenge and hung over my entire trip.

Then I tried to take one week off in 2013.  It was a family trip to Mexico over the new year that was planned well in advance, and I ended up having to work every day... and got the flu.

Then Ramen and I took one week off to attend the Westminster Kennel Club Show in June of last year (2021).  I was a consultant at the time,  so I told them that I was not bringing my computer and would not be checking email.  This was the first time I had a true vacation from work.  Prior to this, even if the company had a shut down, I had to work.

And now for the second time ever, the last 2.5 weeks... Wilma and I went to the AKC National Championship.  I did not bring my work computer.  The internet wasn't working in the hotels anyway... and I truly had a vacation.  I'll post more about this trip later.  :-)

Happy almost New Year!

Fiber Arts Friday: Black Hat, part 5

After Binding Off last time, I began the washing process with a salt bath.

Then a vinegar bath.

The dye didn't really start to bleed until the first soapy bath.

So I did a second round of salt, then vinegar, then soap, and two clear water changes.

I then blocked to dry.

I felt I blocked it a tad too severely, so I did another soaking round... and the first soapy bath resulted in more dye bleed.  sigh

So another round of salt, vinegar, and soap we go... and everything looks good now.

It's always interesting to me how a project comes together... for me it almost always starts with a clear vision of the finished product, then building the plan around how to accomplish it... be in gaining tools, supplies, and/or skills.  However, this project was about the yarn first.

Yes, I knew I wanted to make a hat, but the details around how the hat was constructed or would look as a finished object was flexible... as evidenced by the fact that I made it one-and-a-half-and-a-half times.

AND I now have only five active projects!

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Summer Cardigan, part 6

Since resolving the 6-row mismatch on the upper panels of my Summer Cardigan last time, I began pinning the pieces together.

There is a suspected 3-stitch discrepancy on each of the front panels.... so 6-stitches over all.  But I decided to start the join between the upper panels and lower panel as indicated by the instructions.  Then I decided that I needed more safety-pin style stitch markers to pin the rest of the piece together.

I set this project aside to wait for the stitch markers, and somehow lost the crochet hook.  ???? 

Then, as I made a plan to purchase a new one, I found it. whew.

I pinned the upper and lower panels together, and felt that I might be able to make up the stitch difference.

But that was not the case.  There is a lot of curling at the ends.

Here, you can see the starting point, and the 3 extra stitches on the upper (floral) panel.

And here you can see that I still have 3 stitches to account for on the lower (Solid) panel at the other end.

So for now, I think I am going to separate the upper panels from and lower panel, then stitch the upper panels together, and remove the 3 extra stitches from each of the Upper Front Panels.  Then I will block all of the pieces together again.

I'm almost resigned to re-making the lower panel, but I want to be very sure how many stitches to cast on.

So, Happy Fiber Arts Friday?

Fiber Arts Friday: New Normal Socks, part 5

Since last time, I finished both cuffs and did Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-off in pattern at the top of the 2x2 rib cuff with the supplemental black yarn.

Next up is the Inserted Heel at those two pink lines of scrap yarn.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Too Many Tabs Open

As I mentioned in this Fiber Arts Friday post that I generally have several projects on the go.

The thing is, I typically have projects on the go in multiple disciplines.

As an engineer and project manager, I am comfortable with multiple projects on the go, but there is a limit to how much I can have open at once... and I've been beyond that limit for a while.

The good news is that most of the ongoing fiber projects are coming to a close, as you'll see in the next several weeks.

Also good news is that pieces of information needed and tasks to be completed in advance of an upcoming road trip are finally starting to come together.

The details for an upcoming major remodeling project are mostly worked out now with a few really big tasks remaining in order for that project to begin construction in about 6 weeks.

There is a major deadline/milestone for the Day Job that I am woefully behind on.  The date will come whether I'm ready or not.  :-/

The bad news is that I've had to speak to far more people than my introverted constitution is comfortable with.

I look forward to a lot of quiet time soon.

Fiber Arts Friday: Black Hat, part 4

Since getting home from the Dog Show, I have knit the last row and reset the needles for the Kitchener Stitch.

The working yarn is in the middle of one side.  So I set the hat aside for a couple of days to contemplate cutting the yarn, or carrying it along without cutting and capturing the float in the Kitchener Stitch.  In general, I think fewer ends to weave in is always better, so I decided that the second option was better.

I always have to remind myself how to do this one....

I think the finished edge looks nice.

Next up is washing.  As mentioned last time, I'm expecting a lot of dye to exhaust into the bath, so I will start with Salt, then Vinegar, then soap.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: New Normal Socks, part 4

Last time I was finishing up the New Normal yarn.  

I have since finished the tubes and topped both with the supplemental black yarn and began working on the cuffs.

Both black balls are close to a full skein, so they were a bit challenging to work with at two-at-a-time.  Therefore I decided to put the socks on separate needles, which is allowing the cuffs to move more quickly.

I think such long socks need a good, long cuff, so I'm aiming for 3 inches of 2x2 rib.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Alpacamundo Monday: Improving Barn Access

Over the summer, we removed most of the dead and mostly-dead trees from our new property.

One in particular was near the door to the Alpaca Barn.

I still need to remove the stump, but having this tree gone improves access to the barn for our Hay Supplier.

I had been told by the previous owner that the barn could store 150 bales.  So I ordered 147 bales last winter, which did not leave the aisle accessible.

  

So this fall, we also removed one of the cabinets the previous owner had installed.  The first being just inside, so it prevented the door from being fully opened, which made it difficult to bring in hay bales.

Hay Delivery occurred over the weekend and my Hay Supplier agreed that access was much easier this time.

After picking up the spilled hay near the entrance, we have a full barn (126 bales) and an accessible aisle.

Fiber Arts Friday: Black Hat, part 3

At last posting, the Black Heel-Stich Hat was just about half-complete.

I took it to the Dog Show last weekend and had a lot of time to work on it.

The first day of the show was cold.  Fortunately I had woolies with me.

I also got a lot of time in at the hotel.

Given the color of my fingers, I plan to do a salt and vinegar bath when it's done.

You can see exactly where I wrap the yarn around my left finger to hold tension...

At the end of the weekend, I only have one row and then the Kitchner Stitch to close the top remaining.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Dog Shows: Southern Colorado Kennel Club, 2022

After our breakthroughs at the Buckhorn Kennel Club shows last month, Wilma and I have taken up Rally... the goal here is mostly about learning to focus and capture attention on each other... we've had two classes thus far, are having fun, and our Rally work appears to be paying off.

Last weekend was the Southern Colorado Kennel Club Shows at the State Fairgrounds in Pueblo, Colorado.

Wilma is a great car dog, and this was our longest car ride thus far at about 3 hours.  One day she'll decide to nap in the car, but that has not happened yet.

Since we drove down the day before, we were one of the first to set up in the Grooming Area.

We took the opportunity to walk around the grounds so she could start to get her bearings.

This was also her first experience with a Hotel Room.

As expected, neither of us got much sleep the first night.  With all of the different sounds and it being an entirely new location, she was on guard most of the night.

Fortunately, she did nap in her kennel in the grooming area.

Wilma also came into season again.... a split season.  Seriously, what a weird year.... So we did our best to stay away from the crowd and took the opportunity to sit in the bleachers.  Watching the action from above and away from other dogs, helped her to stay relaxed.

LGDs in general, and TMs especially, prefer to watch the world from above.

She also took a nap in the bleachers, which tells me that she is trusting me more to have her back while we are at a Dog Show.... though, you can see, she still has me behind her.  ;-)

She showed extremely well, in spite of being in season again.  She was awarded Winners Bitch all three days and Best of Winners (meaning she defeated the Winners Dog) two of the three days.... adding 6 points toward her Championship.

With 9 points now, she needs six points and two majors to complete her Championship Title.

We will continue to work on her holding her stack a bit longer as well as continue to focus on focus.

I'm so incredibly proud of the progress we have made over the last two months.

Fiber Arts Friday: Black Hat, part 2

Per my plan last time, I attempted to add an After-the-Fact Life Line on my Black Hat.

Given the color saturation and lack of stich definition I mentioned, coupled with my getting-older eyes, this was not going well... I did go further than this picture shows, but you can see how difficult it is to see what's what. sigh.

So I decided to switch yarns and start over.  After all... if I'm not enjoying making it, what sort of energy am I working into the object?

The new yarn is still black, but kettle-dyed with blue, which is very apparent in the above photo.  This yarn is a 4-ply, so it has excellent stich definition and better bounce.

I did some more TINKing... :-/  But I am now caught up to where I decided to change yarns.

I have missed my goal of getting this hat finished before the snow flies at the recipient's home.... they got about 6.5" last week, when we got about 1".

I have on the order of 10 hours of work remaining, and a busy couple of weeks ahead.  So I continue to move forward... and it will be finished when it's finished.  :-)

This new yarn was acquired at Yarn Fest earlier this year.  It is small-batch dyed by Teton Yarn Company.  The colorway is Black Magic.  The fiber is 100% Superwashed Merino.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!