A Little Hike in Alaska to Symphony Lake

 

On the hottest day of the year (91 at my house), a friend and I decide to go on a little hike.  She is in far better shape than I and kept pushing me on, beyond where I should have gone.  The hike, one way was 5.3 miles so, I walked over 10 miles.  It took us 10 hours, I was walking very, very, very slow towards the end (blisters on my feet, so it was very slow going).  I will let the pictures do most of the talking!

Looking back towards where the we had come.

The valley - towards where we were going.  The little river is the South Fork of Eagle River.

Our destination

A bull moose - we had to wait for him to get off the trail.

Part of the rock moraine - and one of the many little puddles on the way to Symphony Lake

More of the boulder field of the rock moraine.

At Symphony Lake - still had snow on the shores in pocket.  Was very hot, we took off our shoes and put our feet in the icy water - it felt so great!

Looking back to Symphony Lake and part of the boulder field we had to scramble over.

Rock Moraine

Eagle Lake - the prettier of the two lakes.  Glacier fed, so has a beautiful blue/green color.

Eagle Lake and the boulder field we needed to traverse to get home.

Eagle Lake

Eagle Lake -- and 5 miles left to get to the car.....

Project not doing it for you?

Last year, I knit three different projects from a skein of hand spun yarn before settling on the Helix Scarf.  One of the projects I liked knitting, but it just didn't match the yarn, was the Birch Leaf Shawl.  I would show up at my weekly knitting group unraveling one project, while knitting another before settling on the Helix Scarf.  We joked about how much knitting I got out of that one skein of yarn!  It bothered my mom to see one beautiful project unraveled and knit into something else!

July of 2012 I cast on another Birch Leaf Shawl with lace weight yarn; it was such a quick knit with the hand spun, and I really loved the look of the shawl!  It was one of the three UFO projects I started 2013 with.

So?  What's the hold up?  I am just not enjoying the knit.  At one point I was ready to frog it. 

I was knitting them on KnitPicks Sunstruck interchangeables, I tried KnitPicks Harmony, and wasn't happy with them either.  I wanted to finish the shawl, but it was a huge black cloud over my head.  TI struggled with getting the stitches off the cable and onto the needles, and then the stitches would fall off the needles.  Dropping stitches while knitting a lace pattern, well, in a word?  It SUCKS!

I have started and finished several other projects, while growling at the Birch Leaf Shawl.  I was really beginning to HATE that shawl.  It would migrate to the bottom of my knitting bag, then I'd see it and feel guilty for not working on it.  I'd knit on it, fight with the needles, the yarn, the cable, hate the project and contemplate frogging it.

When casting on Lucy with my Knitter's Pride Trendz Acrylic tips, it got me thinking.  I liked the grip of the acrylic tips and wondered how they would be for the dreaded Birch Leaf Shawl.  Only problem was I didn't have the size I needed.  I went to our LYS and they didn't sell acrylic tips.  So, an order from KnitPicks was in order. 

The tips arrived this week and I think I have a match.  There is just enough "stick" that the stitches don't slip off the needles!  I only wish that Knitter's Pride sold the acrylic tips individually. 

So, when a project isn't doing it for you, try different needles!

FO 7

It has been a very busy spring, but the school year has come to an end and I am spending the first week catching up.

I am trying not to let my perfection get in the way of just getting it done.

Here is FO #7 for 2013.  Still need buttons and have to weave in ends, but the knitting is done.

Seeds and Vine Baby Sweater

 

I was afraid it would be too small, but a dip in the sink to block it left it growing!  hmmmmm

Forced Relaxation - Celtic Visions Bracelet

I am a migraine sufferer; have been since I was 12 years old.  I remember the doctor telling my mom that the "good news" was that, generally, people who start having migraines as a child tend to have milder versions as an adult.  He was spot on.

As a teen I got what I call "grand mall migraines". Blind spots; auras; nausea & vomiting; sensitivity of sounds, smells, light; and an excruciating headache!  As I have gotten older, they have gotten more tolerable, sometimes I can do live while dealing with a migraine, but most of the time, they sideline me, especially when my migraine medication doesn't work.

One of my many triggers is the let down after stress.

Interviewing has been exhausting and stressful.  In all honesty, there was really only one of the five that I really wanted, and when I got the rejection call for that position, it hit me hard.

So, this morning, as I was about to walk out the door for work, the migraine, although a not totally expected, it wasn't a surprise.

It was one of my "baby migraines," bad enough that I couldn't leave the house, have taken naps, but not knock me out to sleep for many hours.

It has been forced relaxation and between my naps I played with my new pretties.

This is where the fall down the Rabbit Hole began: I had fallen in love with this bracelet (which I bought!):

One thing lead to another and I ended up at the Blue Buddha Boutique website and decided I wanted to try chainmailling and ordered some starter kits.  One of them was the Easy Pack, which came with instructions and all the supplies to make the Celtic Visions Bracelet.

First you have to open and close certain jump rings, then the fun begins!

 

Start hooking the links together.

 

At first, it can be a mess.

And then you add a certain ring in a certain way and your item begins to take shape!

After a couple hours opening and closing rings.

 

I ended up with this:

 

 

And here she is all done!

The Last of Five

 

I have been interviewing for a new teaching position for the last couple weeks.

These interviews have had me leaving middle of the school day (during my prep), early at the end of the day (again during a time I do a lot of prep), and this morning I will arrive late (missing my before school prep time).

I didn't realize how much this has taken out of me until last night.

I decided to try chainmailling and ordered some kits. They arrived yesterday and I was excited to see them when I got home from my last interview.  Because the interview was right after work, I made it home earlier than usual.

After cleaning up from dinner, I sat down at my desk, started reading instructions, and following the directions to create my first chainmailled bracelet. Suddenly, I realized how incredibly tired I was despite the early evening time.

I should know by Friday if I have a new position, or if I have to continue the process.  I have a contract for full-time for 2013/14 school year, but have yet to secure a position.

FO # 6

It has been crazy busy here with state testing, district testing and job search for me.  Today I will have go to my fourth interview in the last couple weeks.  It has been nice to work on this Nautilus Scarf as it was nice mindless knitting. 

I bought the yarn on April 13 while on a "yarn crawl" with one of the knitting groups I belong to.  Started the next day and finished it yesterday.  I was going to post pictures of all my new yarn, but time just got away from me.

Saturday my honey and I took a drive to Talkeetna, Alaska, I took advantage of seat time and knit most of this cute little scarf Saturday, finished up yesterday and wore it to my mom's birthday dinner!

What Spring? Round 2 = Snow Day!

Does that picture look familiar?  Well it is, I didn't waste time taking another picture yesterday, but the deck looks like this again.

Monday we got another foot of snow, so since Friday we've gotten over 2 feet of snow.

My school district closed schools due to poor driving conditions on the back roads.

I spent the day trying to catch up on Special Education paper work as well as a call to the State of Alaska to get questions answered for my Professional Teaching Certificate application.  That call involved being on hold, and something I haven't been able to do while at work.

I didn't get to knit, or bead, or read.  I just worked on school related "stuff".  I got my aforementioned teaching application in the mail.  As I was standing in line at the post office to mail it certified return receipt, I looked down and saw I had my pajama bottoms on.  No big deal, they really are yoga pants, but I sleep in them and had planned to put jeans on.

The sad thing is we will make up this day in the REAL spring!