Lots Going On!

So it has been about 3 weeks since I last posted and it seems like a lot and nothing at all has really happened. I feel like there is big new exciting news to tell, but past that I am not really sure what to say. So the big exciting news......ROLLER DERBY!!!! Yep, that's right I am going to be going to recruit night for the local roller derby team on May 9th. I am excited and nervous. My skating skills need a lot of work between now and then, but the good news is I have a buddy. April is also going to join me in roller derby...so we have been working out skating schedules and learning as much as we possibly can about roller derby. I am excited to being playing a sport again. I have played sports as far back as I can remember and have always had a blast playing them.

Let's see what else?? Abby's 4 month heartworm check up is officially scheduled for April 12th. I am really excited to get her checked out. I really curious to see how much she weighs. She is doing so well though. She really is the most amazing dog I could have ever dreamed up.

March nerd wars has 9 days left. I have 2 projects almost completely finished and one more to cast on and finish. Wow! I really need to get busy. Speaking of knitting....I sent in a application to GWR to try and break the current World Record for the longest hand knit scarf...the current record is 2.15 miles. I also got a bunch of yarn from Julie at her destash. So thankful for it. I am already using some of it for Nerd Wars projects!!

Still need to finish getting all of my crap for school together.

Nerd Wars Update!

So we are only 3 days in and I have one project finished (Elvish Leaves Dishcloth), yarn dyed, & beads sorted. I am feeling pretty good about Nerd Wars this time around. A bit nervous about the beading and the colorwork and the dolls, but I think it is all doable if I continue to stay this organized.

Tuesday, while finishing up the dish cloth I decided I would go ahead and start working on dyeing my yarn. Dyeing is a long process, but not one of those processes that requires you attention for the entire process. So I pulled out the lovely sock yarn blank that Francesca had sent me (90% British Wool, 10% Nylon) and stuck it in a bowl with 1 cup of vinegar & 3 cups of water. I then added 1 cup of vinegar and 4 cups of water to the crockpot and turned it on high. It took about 2 hours before I could see steam just starting to form in the crockpot. I knew it was time. I then heated (remember, heated not boiled) up some water on the stove...I would say about 4 cups. I heated this water so that I would have something to dissolve my Wilton's Food colorings in. I pulled out 4 plastic cups & four bamboo skewers. The four colors I chose for this particular dyeing session were: Kelly green, royal blue, sky blue, & teal. I was trying to go for a waterfall look. Inspired by this photo:

Basically, various shades of blues and greens. So where were we...oh yes, I had dissolved the dye in the cups and then I moved the yarn from it's vinegar bowl into the crockpot. Well, then I just began pouring in the dye, little bits at a time. I waited until the dye had exhausted (water was clear) I think flipped the yarn over and repeated. I continued in this manner until most of the yarn was colored. I wanted to keep a few white bits. I took the yarn out, rinsed it, & then put it in the washer on the spin cycle (how nice this was...my first time dyeing yarn since moving into a place with a washer/dryer hook-up). I then took my yarn out of the washer and to my horror it was a GIANT TANGLED MESS!! So I spent the better part of yesterday untangling the yarn and sorting my beads. I am excited to go home and actually cast on this scarf after 2 days of preparation!

Nerd Wars March

So the challenges for March were issued at 12:01am and well I am pretty excited to get started. Hoping I don't overwhelm myself and can get everything accomplished and have a good time doing. I was hoping to be able to find a way to fit in my mittens and my cardigan that I want to knit, but I can not think of how they might meet one of the challenges. So the challenges and my ideas are as follows:

Category: Nerd Culture
Challenge: Don't hide your light under a bushel!
Idea: Basically what you need to do for this challenge is take a photo of yourself knitting/crocheting in public. Easy enough I do this all the time!

Category: Intellectual
Challenge: Warrior's Friend
Idea: This challenge was about shield and protection....this month I am aiming high for team spirit points so I am knitting a Gondorian Shield. It should look something like this:

Category: Team Spirit
Challenge: In like a lion, out like a lamb.
Idea: This challenge is all about the soft and harsh sides of one thing/person/animal. So for this I will attempt to knit 2 dolls. One to represent Gollum and one to represent Smeagol and a ring joining them.

Category: Scientific
Challenge: Capillary Action
Idea: This is just what it sounds like. You are to knit something that represents capillary action. So I am knitting some dish/wash cloths.

Category: Technical
Challenge: Polytech
Idea: For this challenge you must use more than one technique to complete a challenge. For this I will be dyeing my own yarn and then knitting a scarf from it. This scarf also has beads worked into so that will be a new adventure for me.

Category: Giving Geeks
Challenge: WIP Help
Idea: So I don't really have a plan for this one. The challenge is to help someone finish a WIP who is no longer capable of finishing the project themselves for whatever reason. Not sure that I know anyone who has any WIPs they would want me to finish for them.

So there you have it! Those are the challenges and my plans! Wish me luck!