Mark Twain

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do ...
Explore. Dream. Discover." Mark Twain

Friday, May 3, 2019

BIG Deep Breath

Ahh, done!  
A-2-Z Challenge 2019 is finished.

Post Challenge Update

Big Deep Breath. I must admit, I am kind of glad to be finished - and free once again to blog in "any direction" that I want.

Blogging in this challenge is only limited by the letter of the alphabet - and that you post on the assigned days.  But I limited my posts by picking a theme. If I was tempted to do this challenge again I would omit the theme.  Beyond that, this challenge was very well organized and managed by the lead team and I applaud their efforts.  Thank you!!

One unexpected discovery I found on the last day:  I had noticed that responses to my posts during this Challenge were few.  Not really typical but understandable if Aging is not an interesting topic for some.  On the last day of the challenge I noticed over 160 messages in my Gmail Spam Folder.  Yikes!  I opened some of the messages and noticed that many them were not one message, but a collection of 10 or 12 messages grouped together within the message.  Then I discovered that there were post responses in Spam from new and established readers.  A ton of them!!!   Gosh.  I have corrected this situation by sorting out that mess and getting visitors comments posted appropriately to each April post.  It took hours to fix.  Thank you to all that commented.  Not sure how this happened, and sorry your comments didn't make it to my blog in a timely manner.   All that has been fixed.

(This is my scheduled post-Challenge update.)


Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival

Next up is Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival scheduled for this coming weekend (bigger deep breath.)



Already I have sanitized - cleaned everything in the guest bedroom (aka - yarn room, craft room, mental health space) - and it is flu free.  The windows in the condo have been open and fresh air has filled our space.  The attached bathroom is also 'company ready.'  Now onto the rest of the condo. The big event is Saturday!

Knitting

BIGGEST DEEP BREATH OF ALL.  I am back to knitting.


Pictured above is a knitted dress I am working on for my grand daughter.  Right now it looks like cat vomit!  I am hoping that when I cast off in another few inches - and block this sucker - a beautiful swan will emerge from this ugly duckling.  Blocking always improves the look of knitted items - and it better not fail me now!!

I am also hoping I don't regret using this speckled yarn in a dress that has a knitted pattern.  I hate when the knitted pattern competes with the yarn and they both lose.  I know better than that, but sometimes get blinded by the razzle-dazzle that caused me to purchase the yarn originally.

The yarn is fingering - so it is slow going to knit, but it is super wash so easy care.  The body is A-line with the pattern repeated on the back as well.  It is hard to get a sense of the line of the body because my needles (still attached) are holding it in.  The buttons shown are there to give a sense of where buttons will go - maybe I will find the perfect buttons at the fair!  This project should have been finished by now - but I was too sick to work on it.  Trying to catch up now.  When done completely ... it better look like this. 😂



That's all for now folks.


8 comments:

Leigh said...

The knitted dresses are adorable! Beautifully done.

The A to Z challenge was a huge accomplishment! I haven't had a lot of computer time lately, so I'm not keeping up with blog reading. What I read, however, was well written and thought provoking. I'm sure you're glad it's over though.

Sam I Am...... said...

You are too funny...cat vomit! I would not use that to describe that sweet little dress for your grand daughter. You're too up close and personal right now. Blocking and stepping away from it will make it blossom. I too feel that way sometimes when working on a project but after it's done....voila! It's beautiful.
Lucky you to go to a wool festival...we don't have anything around here. Everything has to be ordered online. But I am grateful for that! Your bedroom looks so nice. With my elderly dogs becoming incontinent at times I am constantly Spotbotting and shampooing and it is very hard to feel like I have cleaned sufficiently. Plus, I am ready for a smaller space. It is getting to be too much to try and keep it all clean which can be frustrating. Glad you are better and have fun at your festival!

Marie Smith said...

Such a pretty little dress for your little sweetie!

Michelle said...

I wondered why I saw a lot of comments coming through at the end! How weird; maybe I should go check my spam folder. 🤔

I think the dress will be cute once finished and blocked, but do think the simpler solid version blesses the pattern more.

happyone said...

Weird about the comments!!
I check my spam folder often.
Cute little dresses. I'm sure the one you're working on will be just perfect when it's done. :)

Sandy said...

I know what you mean about colors and patterns/textures too they can fight with each other. It's a cute pattern, hope it works out well for you. Congrats on being finished with A to Z. Sorry you had that comment problem. I was always disappointed at how few comments I got when I did the challenge. People weren't good at returning visits or comments. Some had comments closed and so clearly had no intention of returning the visit, because they wouldn't even know who had taken time to read their post. It's been a few years, but many of the rules of the challenge weren't followed by a good number of people in the challenge and so I wasn't very happy those people weren't removed like they were suppose to be. Maybe it's better organized now. Perhaps I'l consider doing it again sometime.

Little Wandering Wren said...

Yay well done you finished, I'm still going! And off to check my Spam folder!
Happy Sunday.
Wren x

Cat said...

Congrats on the A to Z! I think the spam folder goes a bit nuts when lots of folks start leaving messages, just a thought.

The dress is nice, but I agree with you, a pattern, and lots of spots or color, makes it look busy to me...

OH, DO I ENVY YOU AND THE MARYLAND SHEEP AND WOOL FEST! I am not brave enough to fly across country, and then go, so won't happen, but dang, it looks like fun!!!

Cat