The One Where I Vent About Daylight Savings Time

I hate Daylight Savings Time.

There I said it.  I love the Fall Back day, and the week that follows it where you wake up early and still feel rested.  Of course, we don't need the sun setting any earlier here.  In the winter, it is pretty dark here by 4:30 pm.  And so what if the sun doesn't rise until 8:30 am?  I mean, kids have to wait for the bus in the dark anyway. 

But the really bad part is in the Spring when we Jump Ahead 1 hour.  That happened last weekend.  It's Tuesday.  I feel like I flew to France or something.  My body just doesn't want to adjust to the new time. First of all, I overslept and missed Mass on Sunday.  Then I couldn't fall asleep Sunday night.  Then, somehow, yesterday, I got up at 7 which wasn't too bad since I usually get up at 6, but then I just couldn't sleep again last night.  I went to bed at about 11:30 pm which wasn't great but not horrible.  And I woke up at 5 am.  Ugh!  So I got up and went to the Y to knit another 35 min. (More on that later.)  I did lots of financial organizing to get ready to do the taxes. And at 11 am I was knitting on the Cobblestone Socks for the Doc.  I played a little Aion, did the pvp (player vs player) instance called Dredgion where 2 teams try to kill certain monsters on the same ship while either avoiding or killing each other) and we won.  Some of my legion got on and we did a quest together.  THEN I TOOK A NAP!  I had to go lie down.  I was falling asleep while playing Aion, and since I am the legion cleric and in charge of healing the group, that is not a good thing.

I am awake now, but have that drugged feeling you get when you sleep in the middle of the day.  UGH! So,

Where in the World is f1bercat?

Yesterday I reached 34.74 miles.  Today I again knit for 35 minutes (and they were hell, well the last 5 were for some horrible reason.  My body just does not want to exercise for 35 minutes) and 6.48 miles so adding that up, I have reached a grand total of 41.22 miles.  I feel a bit like a toddler reporting hundredths, but I need every fraction of those miles to count.

Today I reached Unraveled Yarn and Artful Gifts in Federal Way, WA.

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I love their website!  it's so welcoming and well, like a blog. The shop is owned by three sisters sharing their love of fiber and crafting with each other and the community.  Isn't that wonderful?  They have a Night Knit Night, and a day Sit and Knit time.  Some really yummy yarns, as well as specialty items like Handmade Knitting Needles.  They have a nice calendar full of really cool classes with some special projects like needle felting * note to self - Learn Needle Felting. 

After my virtual visit, I continued riding.  I need to get every bit of mileage possible.  I made it to here:

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Here is my progress on the full map:

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WIP's

I have another FO to report.  I finished another Berry Baby Hat by Michele Sabitier for the Sharing our Gifts Group on Ravelry.  This hat is the Blueberry one that I started  last week, Monday.  I love this pattern.  So cute. So fast.  It is the perfect project to knit while I ride.  I was working on the Lewk Never Ending Sweater of No Return, but I don't really like how uneven the stitch tension is.  It's... ok, but not great.  The berry hat is so small and easy and just round and round, so I can keep the tension much more even. 

I cast on another one in pink, and am already almost to the leaf part.  I think tomorrow it will be long enough to add the green.  I might be able to make a hat every week this way.  There will be lots of babies wearing berry hats.  Good thing it's so cute.

Have a great evening.

Yours,

f1bercat

shaping the planet (when she's not napping) one blueberry hat at a time

A Coyote, an Eagle, and an FO

A Coyote, an Eagle, and an FO

This morning, as I was driving to the Y (late because of Daylight Savings Spring Forward), I saw a coyote.  I was about 1/2 mile from my house, and still in the neighborhood.  It quickly disappeared through a hedge into someone's yard.  I did not get a great look at it, but dogs don't behave that way.  Dogs in our neighborhood stand in the way of your car and ask to be petted.  They do not slink off.  I immediately turned around and saw it again further down the street, even closer to my house.  It quickly disappeared this time, also.  I drove back.  Partly because I had seen one of our neighbors out walking his dog and wanted to warn him, but really  because our two cats, Selena and Muffin (NO WE DID NOT NAME HER), were outside, acting wild in the windstorm that was our morning weather.  Coyotes eat cats in our neighborhood.  But not my cats.  I whistled for them, and they ran up to see what was happening.  Then much to their mutual indignation, I grabbed them both and put them back inside.  Safe and sound.

When I was driving home, after knitting my way to the next LYS (more to come on that), and after stopping at the grocery store for milk, I saw a bald eagle riding the updrafts over the lake.  It was my second sighting this year.  We have a nesting pair that live in a fir tree up our hill, and often we can see them fishing the lake.  Even better, by mid-summer, we will see them flying with their eaglet, introducing him or her to the wonders of flight.  It has been weirdly cold lately, more like winter than the spring that is coming.  But an eagle.  Yes, "Spring is a cummin' in."

Almost as exciting as a bald eagle sighting, and way way better than a mangy old coyote, is my new Princess Wrap Shawl!  Knit in Debby Bliss Cashmerino in Wine.

I knit this shawl with pixiesmom, another member of the Beginning Lace Group on Ravelry.  I have talked about this before, but I want to repeat some of it because it is great to join a group like this.  The Moderators and other helpful members are quick to answer any questions.  They hold your hand, well virtually, through the whole lace experience.  And knitting it with a buddy is especially fun because you spur each other on.  Both pixiesmom and I had lots of things on our needles and hooks, but we made sure to work on our shawls, because we were checking in on the chat thread daily to see each other's progress.

So here is my shawl, finished but unblocked:

Here it is being blocked, with Selena as official cat blocking helper:

(sorry this is a bit blurry, but it was cloudy and not so good for photos in the basement where I blocked it) this is a close up of the pattern unblocked:

and blocked:

Don't you love Before and After Photos?

This is the finished Princess Wrap Shawl. 

I love it.

Where in the world is f1bercat

I have increased my knitting while riding the exercise bike to 35 min.  Wow, it's not like I'm going fast or have super hard tension, but I did not want to ride/knit for 5 more minutes.  What a wussy.  I did it though.  So, today I rode 6.36 miles and have now knitted a total of 34.74 miles.  What's more important, I am on my second week.  I am so proud of myself.

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On the way south, I stopped off (virtually of course) at All Points Yarn in Des Moines  at 21921 Marine View Drive South in Des Moines, WA.

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This yarn shop has special events and lots of classes.  They have lots of classes in machine knitting, and are authorized Silver Reed knitting machine dealers for the Seattle and Puget Sound area.  One of the fun things they offer is a Men's Knit and Stitch Night.  Got to love a store that welcomes the male of our f1ber species. The owner is on Ravelry as AllPointsYarn and they have an active group.

If you stop by, remember to say "Hello," from f1bercat.

Here is my to-date progress map:

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Have a great night.

f1bercat

shaping the planet with 2 safe cats at a time

P. S. If I am biking/knitting (kniking?) near to you in the future, and you have a LYS you would like me to virtually visit, be sure to leave me a comment here, or send me a pm on Ravelry.