[starpuck]

Oof!   Well the school thing definitely has the priority button right now, so if the other stuff has to be set aside for a moment or two, it makes sense.  But deffo try and get some rest!!

 

[KB Girl]

Fingers crossed they accept and get on with it!

[Mistr]

Catching up and following!

 

Nice work on getting your books sorted and packed, and old emails deleted.

 

I hope the school lets your son in soon. I would think they would have placement tests they could use for students coming in from other districts. That would be more informative than saying someone had taken Intermediate English.

[juliebarkley]

  

On 9/21/2022 at 11:24 PM, Jupiter said:

Oh boy. Hope you're able to get some rest tonight. *hugs*

  I did. Thanks!

 

15 hours ago, starpuck said:

Oof!   Well the school thing definitely has the priority button right now, so if the other stuff has to be set aside for a moment or two, it makes sense.  But deffo try and get some rest!!

9 hours ago, KB Girl said:

Fingers crossed they accept and get on with it!

Me too! I still haven't heard anything, but apparently a couple of students at the school went and asked the principal today why he isn't enrolled yet. 😆 Really hoping I hear back from them with good news tomorrow, so he can start Monday.

 

8 hours ago, Mistr said:

I hope the school lets your son in soon. I would think they would have placement tests they could use for students coming in from other districts. That would be more informative than saying someone had taken Intermediate English.

The issue is that he's never been in a school system before, so he doesn't have transfer grades, official transcripts, or anything like that, and we'd be bypassing the grade 11 prerequisites, so they need something else to evaluate him on. The guidance counsellor said that in cases like this, they mostly go on the parent's word as to the child's abilities, but I totally understand that they don't want a situation where the parent was like "oh, we went to a nature museum a couple of times, so that's high school biology done". It's a very small school in a small board, so they probably wouldn't have the resources to have placement tests set up for special situations, or much demand for them. I'm hoping, absolute worst case, that they admit him but make him take the grade 11 courses rather than grade 12. It would be less than ideal obviously, but then we'd have transcripts to make transfer to ILC (where you can do the courses as quickly as you want) very easy, and he'd still get the school experience and practice taking tests and whatnot.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

STR/DEX: Cycled to and from the International Plowing Match. Was exhausted, and only realized when almost home that I'd left my gear shifted too high by accident.

INT: A little. I need to look for a relaxing fiction item to take to bed.

WIS: Did both the morning thing and a bit of reading.

CHA: Plowing Match.

Occupational: Finished a box, except for the taping up. Lost energy by then. Changing status on all of the items, labelling them, and going through the little admin things in the shipping record takes quite a bit of time!

Organizational: No.

Language: Basic Duo.

Other: No.

 

Had my first shift at the Plowing Match today. Got to crank up my accent a notch or two to fit in. My partner in the information booth was a veteran of these events whose son was competing in the plowing portion of the event, and was pleasant company. For the first hour I felt like an impostor - didn't know where anything was, but was supposed to help people somehow. Then some of the questions started to repeat, I got a bit more familiar with the vendors and the layout - and most especially, better at reading the map than most visitors - and I was half-decent by the end. Which is good, because Saturday will be super busy! The most common question asked was not "where is the bathroom?", oddly enough, but "can I look at your shed?". We were in sheds donated by a company with a booth at the Match, and they were very nice sheds too. We had their information prominently displayed inside the shed, so those were easy questions to answer. It got very cold by the end of my shift and it has taken most of the evening for me to warm back up, so I am looking forward to warmer weather Saturday! (And also browsing the list of vendors, so that I know who to visit before my shift starts.)

[juliebarkley]

STR/DEX: Nope.

INT: This will be my evening. I have gotten several chapters into my fiction choice, A Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue, which is a teen gay romance by the looks of it. I picked it up because the historical adventure aspect looks fun, and I liked the writing style. Now that I'm reading it, I'm loving the style, so it was a good pick.

WIS: Morning thing is a good little habit.

CHA: No.

Occupational: Finished packing the box from yesterday and took them to the dropoff. First boxes for Amazon, on their way!

Organizational: No. Though maybe I should count all the email I've been going through?

Language: Duo will happen after this post.

Other: No.

 

I feel worn out. Yesterday and tomorrow at the plowing match was/will be fun and all, but it's still a position that requires you to approach people to help them all day. Based on past experience, this is fine at the time, but energy levels crash afterwards. Meaning today is crash day. I still got something done for all except the exercise outdoors thing, because it is cold and I'm tired and that was just a bridge too far. For the rest of the evening though? I just want to curl up in some blankets and read.

 

Oh, and when I got back from dropping off my boxes (and several minutes after the school was closed) I got an email that my son was accepted and can start on Monday.

[KB Girl]

21 hours ago, juliebarkley said:

 

Oh, and when I got back from dropping off my boxes (and several minutes after the school was closed) I got an email that my son was accepted and can start on Monday.

Ah great news!  

[juliebarkley]

STR/DEX: Cycled to and from the plowing match. Had a short night walk while sore and tired.

INT: This is all I want to do right now.

WIS: I am liking this morning habit, I am.

CHA: More volunteering.

Occupational: I didn't actually set up the microphone, which I should have, but I did do a practice thing as if there were a microphone there.

Organizational: Nothing.

Language: Yes, done.

Other: No.

 

I'm worn out from the plowing match. It was fun, I went early and toured around and picked up cycling maps for virtually all of Eastern Ontario, and the person I was volunteering with was nice and all, but I had to be in Friendly Customer Service mode for hours and I didn't get enough sleep last night, and both of those things tend to lead to a mental crash later on. Which is where we are now. Just want to read. Maybe popcorn. Maybe a task later that is rather mindless. I actually got all my challenge tasks accomplished at some level, and that is absolutely Good Enough for right now.

[Mad Hatter]

On 9/24/2022 at 3:30 AM, juliebarkley said:

Oh, and when I got back from dropping off my boxes (and several minutes after the school was closed) I got an email that my son was accepted and can start on Monday.

Yay!

 

I'm amazed that you're even attempting to do anything after the plowing match! I remember my conference days and the only thing I could possibly do was, umm, drinking. 😛 (Partying was semi-required at that company.)

[WhiteGhost]

On 9/24/2022 at 8:30 AM, juliebarkley said:

my son was accepted and can start on Monday

Yay!

[juliebarkley]

On 9/24/2022 at 6:08 PM, KB Girl said:

Ah great news!  

20 hours ago, WhiteGhost said:

Yay!

He started volunteering today at 8am, then worked till 10pm, so he should get LOTS of sleep before he starts tomorrow.

 

21 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

I'm amazed that you're even attempting to do anything after the plowing match! I remember my conference days and the only thing I could possibly do was, umm, drinking. 😛 (Partying was semi-required at that company.)

It felt a lot like the days I worked at ComicCon, except that I wasn't actively hustling people to my booth. But the mental energy required was the same.

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm going to say right now that I haven't done great today.

 

STR/DEX: Never set foot outdoors.

INT: I still want to read.

WIS: Okay, I did the morning habit.

CHA: No.

Occupational: I did not. I should have, but now it's too late and the willpower just isn't there.

Organizational: Nope.

Language: I did this too. It was a close-run thing though.

Other: No.

 

My pre-cold list of stuff is not much closer to being done.

[Jarric]

Congrats on your son getting in to the school; I bet that's a weight off your mind?

 

What did you used to do at Comic Con, out of interest?

[juliebarkley]

16 hours ago, Jarric said:

Congrats on your son getting in to the school; I bet that's a weight off your mind?

 

What did you used to do at Comic Con, out of interest?

YES.

I worked the library booth, showing off our 3D printer and promoting our makerspace stuff. It's a fun place to hustle because the peoplewatching is good.

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

STR/DEX: Went for a night walk, but that's it.

INT: Haven't! Will.

WIS: Morning habit.

CHA: No.

Occupational: Transferred the contents of one box to Amazon, which also involved editing some listings and changing the box contents a couple of times.

Organizational: Nope.

Language: Yes.

Other: No.

 

I meant to do more today, but I traded by plans for the chance to be social. 🤷‍♀️

 

First day of school went well. He seems to be at roughly the right level in everything, has met almost everyone in his grade now, and has already found people to hang out with at lunch and such. He's always had a magic touch with these things, but it's still impressive to see because I am not even a little bit like that.

[Mad Hatter]

14 hours ago, juliebarkley said:

He's always had a magic touch with these things, but it's still impressive to see because I am not even a little bit like that.

I've always wondered how those people do it and how it comes so naturally to them!

 

14 hours ago, juliebarkley said:

I worked the library booth, showing off our 3D printer and promoting our makerspace stuff. It's a fun place to hustle because the peoplewatching is good.

Fun!

[Mistr]

Great job on helping people at the plowing match AND getting stuff done. I am not at all surprised that you need a couple days to recover. Give yourself the time and stop beating yourself up over it.

 

Congratulations on your son starting at the local school!

[starpuck]

Woot!  Awesome news on the acceptance and start date!

And man... my mind is all over the place on this plowing match talk lol.    I half want pictures, and half want to just let my brain imagine it as it is.

 

[juliebarkley]

10 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

I've always wondered how those people do it and how it comes so naturally to them!

Right?! I swear within three months of taking his job at McD's he knew half the town. Like, he's got a kid trying to get him into band when he doesn't even play an instrument.

 

10 hours ago, Mistr said:

Great job on helping people at the plowing match AND getting stuff done. I am not at all surprised that you need a couple days to recover. Give yourself the time and stop beating yourself up over it.

I'm not really beating myself up over that. I wasn't expecting it, but I should have. It's normal for me.

 

7 hours ago, starpuck said:

And man... my mind is all over the place on this plowing match talk lol.    I half want pictures, and half want to just let my brain imagine it as it is.

How about I give you a little of both? I took only one picture, of the cow they set up outside gate 3. You can see just enough of the tents beyond to spark the imagination.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

STR/DEX: I will take a walk. Haven't yet though.

INT: Yes, a little. Probably won't get these books finished by month's end either. Sigh.

WIS: Ooh, I think I messed this up today.

CHA: No.

Occupational: No.

Organizational: Emails.

Language: Yes.

Other: No.

 

I do not even remember what I did when I got home from work, but when my son got home from work, we crammed chemistry. There is catching up to do here. I had an hour to try to relearn stuff I hadn't touched in two decades so I could help, and will be doing the same for the foreseeable.

[Scaly Freak]

15 minutes ago, juliebarkley said:

Right?! I swear within three months of taking his job at McD's he knew half the town. Like, he's got a kid trying to get him into band when he doesn't even play an instrument.

 

Does he sing?  Every band needs at least one singer.

[Mad Hatter]

13 hours ago, juliebarkley said:

Right?! I swear within three months of taking his job at McD's he knew half the town. Like, he's got a kid trying to get him into band when he doesn't even play an instrument.

 

He can always learn on the job! Embrace the DIY punk ethos and all that.  

 

Kinda unrelated but my friend told me about about a cool event/project(?) and how she ended up in a band herself. Basically there was some kind of meet up thing for adults that wanted to play in a band but didn't have any friends or any skills (at least in her case) and they grouped people together randomly based on interest. And now she plays bass in an all women rock band. I just think it's a such a neat idea for enabling adult friendships and trying new things. Especially for us more awkward people.  

[juliebarkley]

22 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

Does he sing?  Every band needs at least one singer.

The world is a better place when he doesn't sing.

 

9 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

He can always learn on the job! Embrace the DIY punk ethos and all that.  

...Maybe don't get your hopes up too high. 😂 I had trouble teaching this child to tap out basic rhythms.

 

9 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

Kinda unrelated but my friend told me about about a cool event/project(?) and how she ended up in a band herself. Basically there was some kind of meet up thing for adults that wanted to play in a band but didn't have any friends or any skills (at least in her case) and they grouped people together randomly based on interest. And now she plays bass in an all women rock band. I just think it's a such a neat idea for enabling adult friendships and trying new things. Especially for us more awkward people.  

Cool! Makes me think of the old-time jam session they talked about in the fiddle book I was reading. Musicians of different skill level play together, and the beginners learn by listening to an copying the more advanced players, the advanced ones learn tricks and new songs from each other, and everyone meets other people who are into music and can have fun together.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

STR/DEX: I took a walk. That's it though. In terms of expanding into other things, this hasn't gone well.

INT: Yes, from both books.

WIS: I got back on track with my morning thing. It really does set the day off nicely.

CHA: No.

Occupational: Did some labelling. Learned that, unfortunately, I can't print labels for all of my inventory to save time. I could if I gamed the system by temporarily moving it to FBA, but I don't want to mess up my order right now while I have shipments in process. Oh, and one of my boxes has arrived and is being processed! So I have to watch and see how that works and what problems might come up before I send more in.

Organizational: No.

Language: Yes.

Other: No.

 

We did more chemistry today. A little more relaxed, so I could read the instructions a little more slowly and correct some errors in the naming that we were doing. (It's really all about knowing where to start counting your carbons from. Get that and the rest is pretty easy.) Otherwise I've mostly just been hanging out and reading, and plan to continue to do so.

[juliebarkley]

STR/DEX: Just a walk again. No wait, two, because I ran some errands as well. But nothing specifically exercisey.
INT: I am almost finished my fiction book. It's been a lot of fun. In case anyone else is interested in giving it a try, it's a romance (but not an explicit one) and adventure story, set in about 1720. The historical notes at the back list the following important topics: the Grand Tour, politics (Bourbons/War of the Spanish Succession), epilepsy, race relations in Britain, and queer culture. I would also add pirates and alchemy. 

WIS: Just the morning thing

CHA: No. Darn. I should have.

Occupational: I did not, but I got a lot of other things done today. Perhaps I'll try to get myself set up for auditions before I turn in.

Organizational: Email.

Language: Yes.

Other: No.

 

I had a long list of things to do today, not all of which have gotten done, but quite a few have, and I'm pleased with that.

 

I've started looking for snowflake patterns to make for coworker gifts, because December comes too fast, and 'tis the season for small presents. I've found a few that I'm going to trial, but if anyone has a particularly awesome tatted snowflake pattern that they know of, please send it my way.

[juliebarkley]

STR/DEX: I will head out for an evening walk by myself before bed.
INT: Finished my fiction book and read a touch in the non-fiction one as well.

WIS: I may not have even done the morning thing. I don't remember. I do have a khutba queued up though.

CHA: Ooh. Really should have. Because Truth and Reconciliation Day.

Occupational: Okay, I need to do something before I turn in. It'll be small, but it'll be something.

Organizational: Email.

Language: Yes.

Other: No.

 

I had a (paid) day off for National Truth and Reconciliation Day, which I didn't use for (much) thinking about reconciliation. (Though I did a little, I swear.) I continued on my list of tasks from yesterday, which yes, is still not done. (I'm really really bad at estimating how much time things will take.) I also started getting stuff ready for coworker gifts, and for another gift I am making where I needed to check gauge. The gauge I am measuring is significantly fewer sts/10cm (pattern wants 38, band says 40, I am getting 28/29) than it should be according to both the pattern and the ball band. I could drop, but I'm already on 2-3/4, so there's not a ton of room there. But it's going to be colourwork, and the person probably has bigger hands than is standard, so.... @Harriet, what would you do? I'm very tempted to just go to 2-1/4 and hope for the best.

[Harriet]

7 hours ago, juliebarkley said:

 I also started getting stuff ready for coworker gifts, and for another gift I am making where I needed to check gauge. The gauge I am measuring is significantly fewer sts/10cm (pattern wants 38, band says 40, I am getting 28/29) than it should be according to both the pattern and the ball band. I could drop, but I'm already on 2-3/4, so there's not a ton of room there. But it's going to be colourwork, and the person probably has bigger hands than is standard, so.... @Harriet, what would you do? I'm very tempted to just go to 2-1/4 and hope for the best.

 

 

When my stitch gauge is wrong, I will often knit a new swatch on a different sized needle. But if I like the fabric (don’t want it too loose or tight), or there’s no needle size that will get me closer, I use the needles I like but recalculate. E.g. I want a 40 inch sweater and the pattern says 7 sts per inch but I have 8 sts per inch. 40 x 7 is 280, so that’s what the pattern cast on would be. If I cast on the stated number, I’d only get 35 inches with my gauge. That’s the difference between a slightly loose sweater and a very tight one. I need 320 stitches for the same width. If there’s a pattern size close to that cast on, I use it.

 

That said, if you’re knitting gloves, the difference won’t be as large. Let’s see..  I’m going to guess that gloves are 22 cm. If you had the correct gauge of 38, you’d need 83 sts. At 28 gauge you’re going to end up with almost 30cm  instead of 22cm, if you cast on the recommended number of stitches. That’s actually a really big difference and will make for a bad glove. Instead you’d need 62 sts. Can you do the same maths (sorry, I’m terrible at maths so this is my probably inefficient process) and figure out if there’s a pattern size close to what you need? Otherwise just cast on with the stitches you need. And most patterns give length by cm/inch, not rows, so you can just measure as you go. But if the length instructions are given by row, you’ll need to calculate that, too.

 

Or you could change needles until you get the right gauge. I think that might be best for something  like gloves, if it has fingers or gussets rather than one unchanging width. You don't want to have to recalculate every tiny change, and some tight manoeuvres work better with more, smaller stitches. It doesn’t take long and I find patience serves me well in terms of knitting results, though I understand why it might be a bit irksome for small projects where the swatch takes as much time as the project!. Anyway, hope that helps and good luck!

ETA when I size down needles, I get an increase of one or two stitches per needle size. So if you're going down two needle sizes (if I understand right) I don't think you'll add 10 stitches to your gauge. Also, I see you said colourwork. Colourwork pulls in a little compared to stockinette, but not hugely. If you didn't swatch with the colourwork, but with stockinette, then I would guess the colourwork will have a couple of extra stitches per 10cm. I think it's roughly the equivalent to going up maybe one needle size--a small change rather than a huge one, though it depends on the individual. Personally I knit the colourwork and stockinette sections of my last sweater on the same needle size because I have excellent control of my gauge.

Hmm, sorry for the book!

[juliebarkley]

17 hours ago, Harriet said:

 

 

When my stitch gauge is wrong, I will often knit a new swatch on a different sized needle. But if I like the fabric (don’t want it too loose or tight), or there’s no needle size that will get me closer, I use the needles I like but recalculate. E.g. I want a 40 inch sweater and the pattern says 7 sts per inch but I have 8 sts per inch. 40 x 7 is 280, so that’s what the pattern cast on would be. If I cast on the stated number, I’d only get 35 inches with my gauge. That’s the difference between a slightly loose sweater and a very tight one. I need 320 stitches for the same width. If there’s a pattern size close to that cast on, I use it.

 

That said, if you’re knitting gloves, the difference won’t be as large. Let’s see..  I’m going to guess that gloves are 22 cm. If you had the correct gauge of 38, you’d need 83 sts. At 28 gauge you’re going to end up with almost 30cm  instead of 22cm, if you cast on the recommended number of stitches. That’s actually a really big difference and will make for a bad glove. Instead you’d need 62 sts. Can you do the same maths (sorry, I’m terrible at maths so this is my probably inefficient process) and figure out if there’s a pattern size close to what you need? Otherwise just cast on with the stitches you need. And most patterns give length by cm/inch, not rows, so you can just measure as you go. But if the length instructions are given by row, you’ll need to calculate that, too.

 

Or you could change needles until you get the right gauge. I think that might be best for something  like gloves, if it has fingers or gussets rather than one unchanging width. You don't want to have to recalculate every tiny change, and some tight manoeuvres work better with more, smaller stitches. It doesn’t take long and I find patience serves me well in terms of knitting results, though I understand why it might be a bit irksome for small projects where the swatch takes as much time as the project!. Anyway, hope that helps and good luck!

ETA when I size down needles, I get an increase of one or two stitches per needle size. So if you're going down two needle sizes (if I understand right) I don't think you'll add 10 stitches to your gauge. Also, I see you said colourwork. Colourwork pulls in a little compared to stockinette, but not hugely. If you didn't swatch with the colourwork, but with stockinette, then I would guess the colourwork will have a couple of extra stitches per 10cm. I think it's roughly the equivalent to going up maybe one needle size--a small change rather than a huge one, though it depends on the individual. Personally I knit the colourwork and stockinette sections of my last sweater on the same needle size because I have excellent control of my gauge.

Hmm, sorry for the book!

Goodness, don't be sorry! Thanks for your time and attention!

 

I figured "swatch again, but in pattern this time" would be the answer. I just didn't want to hear it. The mittens (rather than gloves) are 22cm, true. But there is variation in hand sizes, no? That seems a little big for my hands, but might be small on someone else. I think I can get away with the finished size being a little bigger than the pattern because I strongly suspect the recipient has hands that are bigger than mine given their height, but it still has to be a reasonable human-sized end product. Better too small than too big - at least you could pass it on to someone else. My trouble is that I can't realistically go lower than 2.25 and still have a smaller needle for the ribbing. The pattern actually calls for 2.5 and 1.5mm. I have 1.75, but even those were very hard to find. At 1.5 or lower, I may as well be making my own needles out of wire. I suppose I could just say screw it to having a smaller needle for the ribbing, but that seems mildly unwise.

 

Okay, I'll reswatch. And do some basic math. In stranded colourwork and everything. But I won't like it. (Grudging, sulking acceptance of the need to swatch is normal, right?)

[juliebarkley]

STR/DEX: I did not walk yesterday; I opted to eat instead. Which means I really must walk tonight.
INT: No.

WIS: I did do the morning thing.

CHA: Crap.

Occupational: I have a thing in mind, but I have not yet done the thing.

Organizational: Email. Also library books

Language: Yes.

Other: No.

 

What the heck did I do all day? It's a fair question. Apparently not my challenge things.

[Harriet]

4 hours ago, juliebarkley said:

Goodness, don't be sorry! Thanks for your time and attention!

 

You're most welcome!

 

4 hours ago, juliebarkley said:

I figured "swatch again, but in pattern this time" would be the answer. I just didn't want to hear it. The mittens (rather than gloves) are 22cm, true. But there is variation in hand sizes, no? That seems a little big for my hands, but might be small on someone else. I think I can get away with the finished size being a little bigger than the pattern because I strongly suspect the recipient has hands that are bigger than mine given their height, but it still has to be a reasonable human-sized end product. Better too small than too big - at least you could pass it on to someone else. My trouble is that I can't realistically go lower than 2.25 and still have a smaller needle for the ribbing. The pattern actually calls for 2.5 and 1.5mm. I have 1.75, but even those were very hard to find. At 1.5 or lower, I may as well be making my own needles out of wire. I suppose I could just say screw it to having a smaller needle for the ribbing, but that seems mildly unwise.

 

2.25mm is indeed quite small. I would swatch in pattern and choose the needle size that gives you the best fabric, not the closest gauge. If you force a tiny needle size on a bigger yarn it will give you a tight crunchy fabric. Then I'd just math the number of stitches needed for the circumference* I wanted. If there are no fingers, only a thumb, you should be able to fudge those numbers with a little math and common sense, too.

It sounds like you're talking about a large woman, not a man. I have fairly large hands for a medium sized woman (5' 5.5")--long and thin though--and they're 18cm around the palm (22cm at the widest part of the thumb if I stretch my fingers out maximally. That wouldn't be the cast on number, though, that's what you'd reach with the gusset). A tall woman with muscular or fat hands could add a few cm... I can't imagine more than +5cm? I'm just guessing, though, now. Obviously a tall, fat and/or muscular man could have much larger hands. I think looking at other patterns could help here for guessing the needed size. And you're right, a little snug is better for mittens. Zero ease would be ideal, I guess. I knit some loose mittens (no swatch don't laugh 😅) and they just aren't warm.

 

4 hours ago, juliebarkley said:

 (Grudging, sulking acceptance of the need to swatch is normal, right?)

Certainly. Until you reach swatch enlightenment, surrender to and learn to love the swatch process, and achieve radical swatch acceptance. Then you'll be like "Ah, lovely; a relaxing square of nothing."