Back on track

Wow, it's been a while since I've managed to get a blog post out.  After a summer at camp I'm pretty wrung out and drained.  I love camp, it's truly my passion, but like all things that matter it is completely exhausting, emotionally, physically and spiritually. 

However, over the past few months I've managed to refill my cup (so to speak). 

I've been working on lots of knitting, as well as adding lots of new artistic and physical pursuits to my schedule.  During each week I manage to go to an Irish Dance class, swimming lessons, choir, board game meet-up, watercolour painting class and an online course in Adult Education. 

So here's a little taste of what I've been up to, and I look forward to getting back into the swing of blogging, as I really enjoy sharing on the blog.

Taking Stock

Here it is, August 29th and I am sitting in my bed at 8:20 on a Monday morning and just feeling happy, sad and grateful.  After 8 weeks basically non-stop chaos, craziness, stress, love and light, I'm done camp for the summer.  For the next couple of weeks I will be cleaning up and packing up camp and then it's back to the real world.  Of course that's not to say that what happened at camp isn't real, it's just that there is no way of explaining it to someone who wasn't there.  Trying to explain why Cowboys vs. Baboons made such a great theme day is futile, but know that I had a smile on my face during each one of those skits.

This was very funny at the time, so funny that I took a picture of it, however I have no idea what it means right now.  Which is very much the truth of camp. 

One thing I didn't do much of this summer is knit, or make in any way.  During the quiet weekend between week 6 and 7 (around mid-August, I'm not great with exact dates during camp) I started a fingering weight mitered square blanket and it was the best knitting I had all summer.  It was so wonderfully bite sized and all the colors and textures was really interesting to the kids.

It does mean that Henry (my darling nephew) turned 1 yesterday without a hand knit birthday gift, however I don't think he noticed! 

So I'm taking about 10 days of slow reintroduction, I'm going to be up at camp getting the closing chores done, completing my end of season paperwork and also working on a whole pile of knitting. Hopefully, I will finish up Jim's birthday socks (his birthday was back in January!).

New Design | Swift Rapids

Finally, more than a year after finishing them, this design is finally ready for publication!  Since these were originally designed a whole bunch of life happened that kept them from being ready for primetime, but I'm really proud to finally share them with you.

These guys are knit out of my favorite sock yarn, Georgian Bay Fibre Co.'s Bayfield Sock.  This sock yarn is just perfect, round and bouncy with softness, shine and a little bit of fuzz.  Being superwashed BFL and nylon it has just the right balance of strength and softness.  Now, it's not going to be buttery soft like an MCN, but it's also not going to pill or wear the way those soft yarns do.

The colorway is another favorite if mine, Grondine Swell.  When Carla first created this colorway two summers ago I tried to "steal" the very first skein from her.  Since then, I've worked with it a few times and it remains one of my favorite colorways in the collection.  Also, I've kayaked around Point Grondine and this colorway perfectly captures my memory of the roiling waters on that treacherous point.

And finally the sock.  With a main lace panel down the centre, and two flanking mirrored lace columns, this sock is quickly memorized and flexible in sizing.  If you wanted to make this pattern smaller or larger, you could easily add or remove some of the plain stitching in the "side seams" without changing the overall effect of the socks.  I like building in these small areas so you can fiddle with the sizing to make them work perfectly for you.

I'm so glad to have these socks out in the world and you can find out more and purchase them on Ravelry. 

2016 and Looking Forward

Here we are, just a few days into 2016 and it feels like I've been here for ages.  Although that may have more to do with the fact that my brain has been working on the 2016 camp season since mid-October than the calendar itself, however it is actually the new year and it's time to think about what I want out of my making for 2016.

I did a longer blog on my personal page about my personal goals for the year but my crafting goals are going to follow a similar vein, of figuring out how to improve what I'm already doing.

So, without further ado, here are my goals for 2016.

Make More!
Over the summer and into the fall my life took up a tempo I haven't experienced since grad school, with stuff going on all the time. So when I actually had down time I would veg in front of the television, and didn't make very much (although I did make up for that with some manic knitting binges).  When I'm most tired is when I need knitting the most, because it makes me feel better. So this goal is about making sure I make the right choices to managed my stress with making.

Consume Less!
And by that I mean consume less of the knitting/crafting/making social media.  Over the summer I went on an unintentional social media diet, consuming only what I could get quickly and on my phone and Instagram was the clear winner and I was relieved to not have to keep up with Twitter.  So my goal for this year is to spend less time trying to keep up with all the latest and greatest, and just work on enjoying what I enjoy, some blogs, Ply Magazine, Instagram, and forgetting about the rest. 

Keep Blogging!
This summer really threw me for a loop, and while I kept drafting posts, I never sent them.  And I missed sharing with you folks out there and so I'm wanting to make a commitment to do my best to keep on top of blogging.

For 2016, I think less is more in the goals department, and these are them.

Happy new year!

Happy New Year. Love, Jack.

2015 and looking back

Another year has come and gone, and despite my long absence from this blog, I still think about you often.  It's been an exciting and crazy year and after a certain point I was so overwhelmed by all the changes that it was hard to sit down and blog about it.  However, I'm looking forward to get back at it, so I thought I would do my 6th Annual "Looking Back" post. 

Well, socks really are my favorite, so this result shouldn't be a big surprise. #2015bestnine

"Well, socks really are my favorite, so this result shouldn't be a big surprise. #2015bestnine"

While over the years I've given you tables of numbers, but this year was a big year, that caused my traditional productivity to take a big of a dive. 

However, I managed to knit by new nephew (who is now four months old!) sweaters and socks, made my first adult garment (a vest) and designed a bunch of patterns I hope to release at some stage. 

Some @tincanknits little squirrels for a little monkey. My nephew Henry has long skinny feet and these will keep them warm. #gbfibreco #gbbaby #babyhenry

"Some @tincanknits little squirrels for a little monkey. My nephew Henry has long skinny feet and these will keep them warm. #gbfibreco #gbbaby #babyhenry"

I also destashed a bunch of yarn, and still have more (if anyone wants to check it out - you do need to be a Ravelry member to view), but my official stash gives me joy and makes me want to work with it. 

So in the end I think I've met my 2015 goals, with a few exceptions. 

Knit socks, lots of socks, and any other patterns that inspire me.
Done! Despite my crazy summer of working I knit 9 pairs of adult socks and 3 pairs of baby socks.  Two of those pairs were new design that haven't been released yet!

Spin & weave as much as I can without it feeling like a chore.
I actually taught one of my camp counsellors how to spindle this summer, and while I did bring my wheel and looms to camp, I didn't do any of either. I still love both of these, and so I will call this one a half win, because I tried, but the reality of the year got in the way.

Keep the stashing to a minimum, but buy and use the yarns that inspire me.
YES!!!  I took on little yarn and continue to destash and make myself feel better and better about my stash.

Work on other crafts like cross stitch, needlepoint, tatting and crochet, to keep my fingers and my brain working.
Yes!  I'm working on a cross stitch pattern that is coming along slowly, and my main creative outlet for the summer was making friendship bracelets.  Also, I have a crochet blanket on the go that I expect I will work on next summer when I'm back at camp.

Blog more - because I enjoy doing it and I think you folks out there enjoy reading it.
Sort of, I had a good start on this, then I went of to work at camp and my life went a little haywire and I didn't really get things back on track.  So I need to reevaluate this goal when I review my 2016 goal setting.

Still waiting on @bell 2hrs after being told the technician was on their way, good thing I have #crossstitch to keep me busy. #satsumastreet

"Still waiting on @bell 2hrs after being told the technician was on their way, good thing I have #crossstitch to keep me busy. #satsumastreet"