Sooo.... Nice to See you again.

Where does a 21 year old female disappear to?

Well, the question is, where would a 21 year old knitting, juggling, noveling, Paramedic Student Disappear to?

Relax all.

Let me dust off the camera, push aside the textbook, and remind myself that my word count for NaNoWriMo is a lot higher than it should be, and the scarf is a lot shorter than it should be.

So. Enter the last time that I wrote. August. It's not like I cancelled September and October, but I'll let you know- having 12.5 credits is far more work than you think, until I tell you one is 7.5 creds on its own.

According to this blog, the last time you saw this scarf and the knitter, the scarf was only 14 feet. I am quite pleased to say that it is way longer than 14 feet now. At least, the one section is, and the two accompanying section.

By the way, there's a lot of words involved in this, and not so many pictures.

Pictures will be available tomorrow, barring any tragic disasters.
So, I sit here with a 42 thousand word novel in the making, one needing editing, about four feet of scarf, some juggling balls on the table, and an ocarina and pouch from halloween, wondering where to start. Add in the fact that I'm not sure why I thought I ate breakfast but the bowl is right there, still filled with scrambled eggs, and I'm sure that I'll figure out something.

So, this morning, I sit here with this weird cough in my throat, wondering if its about to snow, and having a second cup of coffee as I try to cut back on the energy drinks.

Till tomorrow,
TKJ

Days 18-22

Ah. Yes.

Well, it seems that this week, Scarf and I aren't too friendly. I've just been busy with other things.
For one, its the end of summer. Usually, I'd be packing away the camping supplies, throwing out the old clothes that were eaten at camp, and find the clothes that I need for school. I'd buy some books.

So..
The past couple of days, I've upended all of the stuff in my room. Yup. All of It. I have three bags of clothes, purses, backpacks, and books to go.

I went out and bought school books.

I had a sleep over with a friend. 

I've been working on a novel. 

I've been studying. 

I've been cleaning.

I've been knitting. 

Thats about it. There's nothing really exciting going on at the moment. 

I think I need a boost, lol. 

Nerf gun fight, anyone?

                      

Days 14-17: and a couple questions.

  If you read through the blog post of doom yesterday, thanks! I'm glad you did. I just had this big idea I needed to work out. So.. here's the photos of the last few days!

    

So.. as you see, I've started my descent down the stairs. Yup, ran out of room upstairs for it.
So...

here are a couple questions and answers! It is Friday after all..

A while back, ACWMaiden asked: Was there a Guinness Representative there?
Nope. There doesnt have to be an adjudicator there at all, as long as there is ample proof that we are abiding within GWR regulations. I plan on having one there at the end. Still looks like I have 25-30 years left.

ZsaZsa7 asks: "How long is the world's longest scarf and how much more do you want your scarf to surpass it by?"
Good question! The current scarf is sitting pretty at 2.15 miles. Yup. I'm aiming for 2.5, but it may end up longer if someone breaks it before I finish it.

So.. that's about it today. I'll be updating some other places too, don't worry!
Till then,
Stay Crafty!

KJ

¢hange the world: The Knitting Chronicles

For a while, I've made vague hints to my friends about ¢hange the world. I think its high time I explain it, don't you?
Okay, here it goes.

What is ¢hange the World?
It’s an idea.

Really, that’s all that it is. It’s an idea that I had when I was staring at an empty water cooler jug that was in my brother’s room, and now it’s in my room, covered in paint.
The idea behind it is simple. I want to fill it. I want to fill it and give it to charity. I want to do this repeatedly, and I want it to grow instead of burning out. I want other people to take empty water jugs and wonder “Is there something I can do with this instead of getting rid of it?”
Yes, yes there is.

The idea behind it was simple, I would fill the thing. It isn’t going to be as simple as “Hey look, I’m trying to do this… can you fill it for me?” Honestly, that’s expecting a little too much from people. Some of them would- a lot of them would. Yet I know that the easiest way to get people to give is to give them something back. Really, that’s how it works. So, “what do I have to offer?” is the next question. Well, I’ve had two things to offer for a while now.
1. I can juggle. I may not be the best, but a few tosses of the clubs or rings or spheres have caused people to donate before.
2. I can Knit. In fact, I’m in love with knitting. I love knitting, and people love that I knit. I’m not working on the World’s Longest Scarf because I hate knitting.

So, I can juggle, but that’s not going to sustain this project.
No, I realized pretty early on that knitting was going to be the main driving force for me.

But how are you going to get in on the action?
That’s the thing. ¢hange the world doesn’t have to be just me knitting, or you watching me knit, or you only learning to knit and selling those.
No.

This is about what you can do, and how you can use it. 

Can you cook or bake? Find a local food pantry and get in on it, whether through donating food, or selling things that you make to raise the money for them. 

Can you bartend? Work out with your friends how you can do a local fundraising night, and you get to showcase your skills. 

Can you knit or crochet or weave? Then you can do amazing things. You can make hats and blankets and scarves and mittens and clothes, and you can donate them. Or, you can sell them, and donate that to charities that don’t accept knitting. 

There’s a lot that we can do, all it takes is a bit of ingenuity, and a little spark. 

In fact, here’s a little challenge right now. 

Take your purse or bag or tote or whatever you carry with you everywhere, and turn it upside down. Take everything out. Sort out what you have in there, toss out the trash, and find the change. Take the change, and sort it into two piles. Don’t pay attention to what coins go where, just sort out the change into two piles. Now, pick up the one on the left. Look at it. 

Is it that hard to split and give those coins on the left to a charity? 

You know, if 100 people had change in their pockets, and gave a few coins to a charity, that’s a lot of money adding up. That’s the idea. If you see change on the ground, pick it up and put it in a donation jar somewhere. 

That’s the idea behind ¢hange the world. Its collecting the bits that people rarely remember until their bag needs cleaning, and challenging them to do something greater. 

We can all ¢hange the world, I know it. All it takes is one step forward from a few people, and for them to help others move one more step.. 

And that is why I want to fill that jar, so others can fill the jar, and so I can say “Hey- you helped do this. You helped. I bet you didn’t even know you did.”

So.. Here we go, this is what’s on the blog today. 

I have a few bugs to work out, but the idea is there. Its solid. Its what I want. 

So, if you’re reading this, please comment. Please message me or email and say “Yeah, I get this.”

I’m not asking for you to donate, or to help out with my own jar. I just want to know that you read this, and you thought about it, that sort of thing. 

Thank you, 

Kaley. 

Hear Ye, Hear Ye! Days 11, 12, and 13~

I went to the festival!
It was exciting. It was fun. The "queen" bowed to me, and I got complimented by the "prince" and I got kissed by a sword swallower. Yes, it was awesome. Instead of talking, here's some photos.

because I shouldn't always have to use words. 

Days 7,9, and 10, and... You've got Questions, We've got Answers!

Yes, I know that Day 8 is missing. I accidently unformatted Day 8. Not that I managed a lot of knitting on day 8. Seriously, I have other things going on too! And I even almost had a photo! Not that I know what happened, since I unformatted the last four photos.

Okay, we'll start with Day 7. The First of August. And boy, did I like August First. It was a day split between spinning yarn, making fish, and starting my camp NanoWrimo novel. Horror novel, of course! I love horror. I one day wish to be a Master of Horror, like Stephen King. 

DAY 8 : The Invisible Photo!!

Yup, that's about right. 

Yeah, I was spinning yarn that day, as I didnt have enough homespun. That's where the majority of the work went. I may have managed a couple inches of knitting instead. 

Day 9 was similar, except.... 

Thats right! Six feet! I have completed the first six feet, so now I'm getting out of the handmade yarn and into the machine made. I never thought I'd miss acrylic, but hey, I dont have to spin it before I knit it! 

Which leads to day 10. Can you guess the color scheme I'm using?

Yes, that says I made a costume. Still working on it too! 

Now.. how about the Q&A?

FlyKytten asks: How many stitches did you cast on, what weight yarn, and what size needles? ;)

Size 6 US, 33 stitches, with something similar to worsted weight. I made the first two yarns, so I'm not sure what the weight actually was. 

Wren3447 asks: Where do you keep The Scarf when you’re not working on it?

Wherever it fits! Right now, it still fits in my purse or backpack. Later on, it has a nice home under my sewing desk, once it gets to big to carry. After that.. well, we don't use the guest room! 

 Txfish wondered: are you (for your own personal tastes or for world record regulations) tied to any particular type of fiber for your donations, or will this be a who-cares-what-it’s-made-of-it’s-AWESOME thing?

WHO CARES WHAT ITS MADE OF ITS AWESOME THING!!! personally. I take all types of fibers and colors. I tend to be drawn toward variated yarn, it makes it more interesting. I do have a ton of solids, so Its getting stripes! What? I have to figure out how to keep it interesting. 

And.. for the final question this week....

What are you doing with the Finished Scarf?

Honestly, I'm not keeping it. There may be a few sections I keep, but its not staying in one piece. I'm selling it to charities, and donating what isn't sold within a year of it making the books. Because what am I going to do with a 2.5 mile scarf? 

So, thats all the time we have for this week! I'll see you Monday, with fun filled photos of where I am going this weekend, and, of course ThatScarf. Which is now on Twitter! Dont ask, lol. 

TheKnittedJuggler

Day 4,5, and 6.

Hello There! The  last time you saw me was on Day Three, where I admitted that once again, I ran out of yarn.

Its okay, if you know me, this isn't a surprise. Hat day, anyone? Both times?

Running out of yarn halfway through things is the story of my life, I think. So..here's the catch up for Days 4-6.

Day 4 was the day that I really had to push the fact that I didnt have yarn. I spent some of Day Three spinning- the blue/grey was new. As for day four, it was the bright shock of color from an Amy batt, who makes the batts in Bohemia Fibers.

  

Day 5 was also spinning. It was more of blue. There's a lot of blue involved. I've been spinning blue a lot.

 

Day 6? More blue. I own a lot of blue and grey. 

So, here's some more stuff. 

I've been working on other things too, like spinning yarn for The Scarf, working on a baby blanket.. and.. you may have guessed it was coming. 

Here we go. 

Its a Ravelry Group. 

The Scarf Spotter Group

Day 3- Here Fishy Fishy!!!

In case you're wondering about the title, blame my friend Kat. She's having a baby, and I am making a blanket. Out of fish. My days are counted by fish right now.

Along with the fish, I present to you my other thing I'm working on- The Scarf. What? You think I wouldn't work on it?

Its day three, and I've run into a slight snag.

I'm out of Handspun.

You see, for the first six feet, I wanted to make it all out of hand made yarn. So.. I've gotten all of what I had floating around my room in it. Most of it was made by me. Godric's Fire and the following yellow/blue/green were not mine. The First was made by Kell, and the second sent by LupinGirl.

So, its going to be fun. I'm definitely going to have fun tomorrow..I'll be using the fun, bright fiber I bought from Bohemia Fibers on Artfire. Amy is really amazing, and I love all the batts. Really! I can't wait till the brown bags get here.. She's got some spunky stuff that makes me excited! Be ready for some tomorrow !

For now, this is where I stop until more is spun..

Look how much it grew~!

The red/yellow and green/yellow and blue/grey are brand new pieces today. Tomorrow's will be really obvious!

Cheers,
KJ

Day 2: Lets have some fun with math...

Okay, that was a bit of a lie. Its not so much fun with math, as staggering realizations.
If I knit one foot a day, and only one foot- It will take me 36.14 years to finish the scarf. I hope you realize that I'll go crazy if thats the case.
So, I'm hoping to accomplish 1.5 to 2 ft a day, therefore, not work on this for the next 36 + years. You get the idea right? more than 1 ft a day > 36 years.

Anywho..now that I've made you sit through that thrilling mathematical journey.. Here's the photos of the day! Someone (meaning not me, but Zabbers) thought that making a time lapse video of the scarf would be good. So...this will probably end up being photo 1 of that.

PS: all the black was written upside down. yup, I was that lazy. 

Tomorrow, there probably wont be much progress due to two things: The handspun I was working on isn't finished, and its needed for The Scarf, and I have a baby blanket to finish for my niece! Have a good night! 

♪Happy Birthday To Me...♫

Well, if you are reading this post, hello there? How are you today?


Today is July 27, and yesterday was my 21st birthday. It was spent in a different way than normal.. Instead of going out and getting sloshed, I decided to prepare for something. It was a different way to spend my birthday.

Yesterday, I went out, had a drink with my parents, got a cake with a clown on it, and then went home to do what I really wanted to do.


Yesterday, I cast on for the World Record.

Instead of explaining everything today, I'll let you in on tidbits as  I go through this, year after year type of deal.
Today, I'll just say Happy Birthday to those who I haven't wished it too, and raise a glass with those of you who are over 21, but never over 27 in my head.

Psst- Totally had Spiked Strawberry lemonade

This wasnt my cake. but its pretty boss.

And this is what I did for my birthday :) I got through all of my Clopin yarn, which is what I wanted to do.

 

And meet the scoreboard!! 

Why sticky notes?

I haven't worked at this since february..the marker's not coming off. 

Today, I have other things to work on as well, mainly spinning and a baby blanket for a friend. I might even go running this afternoon. It'd be fun, you know?

Anywho..I'll see you later for Todays update. I was tired last night. Hopefully, I'll get through "The Color of Blood" yarn, then I'll have to try to work on some more handspun for the first six feet, before I tackle That Stash.

Some Other Stuff

Her stomach had settled in a twisted knot, and she fought the urge to let the tears out. It was stupid that she was upset, she didn't even know why. It was somewhere between an old crush haunting her thoughts and upset at her birthday that hadn't come yet. Her heart felt heavy, as she looked at the images, the fire goddesses juggling flames, dancing before her eyes, or the fierce girls juggling knives and she felt something close to disappointment. Her own clubs- five pro clubs- lay in her room, and she felt a guilty jolt, knowing that they had been neglected too much lately. She was loosing the J, and that was somehow equally or more important than the K lately, in KJ. Somewhere between "I'm not a superhero" and "I wish I was a superhero again." 
Today was the day of floating in between, of neither here nor there. She was tired of standing, and summer at home was eating her away. She wanted something more, so much more. She wanted to run and dance and play, and teach girls that life was meant to be fun and free. She wanted to go to the city and juggle in the streets. She wanted to stay here, but have a sheep farm and share it with That Someone, whoever he was. She wanted to quit feeling sad and sorry, she wanted to be able to run marathons, or bike thousands of miles in less than a month. She wanted to quit being afraid of cars and highways. She wanted to burst out and tell her mother that she wanted to knit the worlds longest scarf, and tell her dad that she was K.J., and that she could juggle clubs and wanted to do so much more than that. She wanted a guy that she could just know was around, that understood that her life was already hurt, and that she would never be able to tell him All Of It. Somewhere between that motorcycle crash, and hearing the tones drop for an airplane crash. She wanted to own a yarn shop, but wanted to be a Paramedic, who would go and try to save lives all over the world at the drop of a call. 
Honestly, she wanted to be More. So Much More than where she was, sitting at the desk in the tight tank top and flowy skirt, realizing that she was crying, over something as silly as that guy not talking to her, and realizing that her goal of buying juggling knives this summer wasn't going to happen. 


Somewhere in the Land Of Between, between being who she was at that moment, and What She Wanted To Be. 

           And that something was So Much More. 

Day 11- Falling asleep

Last night I slept good. I woke up 8 minutes before the start of the tour, got some coffee and some food, and retreated upstairs to watch the tour. It was a very good day- one crash and no injuries. I've been yelling for a few days about this.. and well, here's how it would've gone down. Mind, this is me putting myself through what one of the riders went through in the tour..

Somehow, she had worked her way into another breakaway. This one was bound to succeed. KJ of team HPKCHC was in the lead five. Her heart was hammering- she felt invincible. She was riding smooth, and happy. She was a bit sore, that was sure, but the rest day was tomorrow- good recovery time. She was excited. They had made it through the late sprint this stage, and, slightly winded, she was doing good still. She was speeding now- there were only the policemen in front of them. A rider behind her yelled out a warning, but in front of her, the rider was slammed by the car that was trying to pass them. She felt the pain as it rammed her too, and she shot off across the road. Her bike collapsed, and she felt her head smash into the ground. She was thrown into the air again, off the road. She had no time to react, but found herself twisting, and flew backward. She hit an object, and felt something slice into her. She screamed in pain, her voice echoing across and back to the peloton. She struggled to move, unsure of what had happened...she knew she had to get up, and go on. And she did.. she got up and started riding again. 

Yup, two days ago, two riders were struck by a media car, and were really beaten. They both got back on their bikes and continued, through unbearable pain and bleeding from where the rider thrown from the road landed in a barbed wire fence. I'm still disgusted by it.

I didnt spin too much today- had some other things to do.

Day 10- "Rest" day- Harry Potter Style

What have I been up to?

Well, I thought I'd take you through the average day of TKJ.

Normally, at 4:30 AM, I am sleeping. My music is just turning off, and I am dreaming really weird things, like always.Like a haunted sheep/goat farm. Haunted Yarn? Indeed.

This morning, I was awake because a mosquito bit my sunburned face. It kind of sucked. But I get over it. I couldnt get back to sleep, suddenly aware that my face felt horrid. So.. I just tossed and turned, and then read a chapter of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire at 5ish, when the sun started to rise. It was a weird yet nice start.

Around 8, I normally wake up and get some work on the internet done. Then, I'll eat breakfast and go running.

At 8 today, I decided that I wanted to read more Harry Potter.

9:30 is when the block of cartoons that I watch in the morning comes on. Ben 10, Bakugan, Beyblade, Pokemon, and Hot Wheels Battle Force Five were on. I watched all of them and finished "grey". It was a good feeling.

12 is lunch and Deadliest Catch. When I am at home, I never waver from this 1 hour block.

This afternoon, I puttered around doing some cleaning. All while reading Harry Potter. In case you dont know, the Premiere is Thursday /Friday at Midnight. I have a day for each of the remaining books. Scary, aint it? So.. thats my day. I avoided yard work more strenuous then feeding the chickens, and thats all that there was. Finished Grey and started spinning laceweight.

I still have 50 pages of- you guessed it- Harry Potter.

So.. here's some photos of grey. This is what I've been spinning since day 2. I'm glad I'm done with it.


Here's some before the Grey

During the Grey

After the Grey

Needless to say, I'm glad its over. Here's to tomorrow- a day with The Order of the Pheonix and Laceweight! thats GREEN!

Tour De France- Day 7, the day of pain

The team sat at the finish line, as if they couldn't possibly believe what they were hearing. How could the all stars fall in a crash? TKJ was nervous, and waiting for her teammates to come in in the second group. The cameras flashed around her, but she ignored them. Who cared if she was That Rookie, she was busy waiting to see if her team was safe. Katiemc1229 pulled in, and she threw her arms around her, glad to see she was safe. "Thank God," she muttered. "I was so worried! The house would be in bad shape without you!" Seashelly pedaled in next, and KJ greeted her as well. "Good to see you're safe- cant have my future housemate hurt!" she added. Then, IsisonEarth came through, looking irritated that she was delayed so much. KJ greeted her as well, welcoming her to the finish. The HPKCHC team had made it through safely. 

Yikes! If you were watching the tour, then you know how bad it was today! There was a horrid crash, and its looking bad for Chris Horner. :( So.. lets hope that he's okay! The verdict is still out on whether he can race or not. So.. *fingers crossed* Here's the little bit of spinning I managed between classwork and watching the most intense bike crash I've seen yet.

Expect other things other than spinning soon. I need a break from this high fiber posting.

Day 6- Tour de fleece

"Yes, we've recieved news from the front. It seems just before the racers started today, that one of the HPKCHC team started quite a ruckus. Turns out, today she was waiting for a very important phone call from home! Now, usually, these racers would not mess with phones at all! It must have been very important..lets head down to the front..." At the front in the start line, TKJ was yelling and jumping excitedly. She's covered in bumps and bruises, and lots of scrapes. CG is also with her again, looking equally beat up. She seemed to be yelling the same phrase over and over again, and it seemed like all of the HPKCHC riders were also celebrating. Honing in, the camera caught one phrase. "IM A PARAMEDIC STUDENT!!" she shouted as she jumped, her voice getting hoarser as she yelled it out. Her team was cheering. "Right- it seems that her other occupation just got the green light! Let's give her a hand then.. TKJ, of the HPKCHC, on to fulfill her second dream!" 

 Yes. Finally, after a year, I am getting into the Paramedics program. Its a long and bumpy road, but MAN AM I EXCITED!! Its been a long day with waiting for the "call" (I was in her office when she told me congrats, and then my mother wouldnt stop calling so the program director told her that I was in, lol) and BAM! I'm wicked stoked. It'll be two years of intense study. Lets get this party started. :)

Day 5 Tour De France- There will be blood.

Today was nervous- you could feel it in the air among the riders. There was an anticipation among them. Team HPKCHC was well in the yellow- a good thing for a team. It would be up to them to set the pace today. It was hard to believe that their team was on the leader board. TKJ found that the spotlight had been thrust upon her- and she was terrified of that. It made her jumpy, and that was never good. The rain the day before had made them all wet and miserable and cold. Now- it was sunny, with high winds today. She was reminded of this several times. "Watch your tires" her more experienced teammates said. TriGirlJ spent extra time talking to them before they lined up. "Watch your tires, and waterbottles and things," she warned them. She nodded her head. "Its a tough thing, and it hurts. We're going fast- looks to be about 35 mph is the set." she said with a frown. KJ nodded. As they started, she set off. Keep to the front, watch your wheels, make sure to stay vigilant- and she was nervous. Very very nervous. She ended up in a group of some other riders from her team. CraftyGryphon was right behind her, and Andryl was to her right. She stayed constant. Then, the wind changed. It caught them in a cross, and she watched as the bike diagonal to her blew in from the left. Stuck in the pack, the wheel clipped her tire. With a CRUNCH, she flipped over the bike, and felt CG slam into her. Luckily, Andryl had been spared the crash. They sat, and she looked at CG, who was looking at her, concerned. Her ears were ringing, and she noticed that her helmet wasnt on her head. She looked up. "What?" she asked, dazed. She tried to stand, but the school nurse managed to catch them. "KJ- keep a seat," BoppingBeth said. KJ shook her head and stood. "I'm fine, I'm fine." she repeated. She knew she was bloody and her uniform was in shreds, but she had to keep going. 'I'm fine," she added. She wasn't, she was sore and hurting. Her shoulder burned. She had to finish today. If she was hurt, she'd drop out that night. But for now, she'd push through. With a disapproving nod, Beth let her go through. She knew what KJ was like. All young and rash. best to let her do it and fix her later. She got on a new bike and started going, with CG. SarahTheEntwife dropped back, and she noticed Andryl did too. This was their team. They stuck together, no matter what. CG and TKJ- both slightly bloodied and bruised, weren't giving up without a fight. 

Yes- Day Five of the tour is full of crashes, and two of the real racers had to fall out today already. Its been a bloody affair with ambulances and plenty of bruises, cuts, and abrasions. Don't worry, I'm not really hurt, but I had to just capture the idea that in the tour, you could be half dead, but you still dont want to give up. Wishing a speedy recovery for the dropped riders.