Resolution #2: Knit Ponchos for Penguins!!!
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Date: 1-2-2014
Due Date: 1-2-2015
Resolution: A friend on Facebook posted this link The Worldwide Campaign To Knit Sweaters For Penguins… The article’s from an organization looking for people to knit sweaters for penguins affected by an oil spill that took place down in New Zealand.
Some heartless bastard pointed out that the oil spill in question took place a few years ago and that these penguins may no longer be in need of these fancy man-made clothes, but that's not going to stop me. Once I figure out how to knit I'm going to knit one sweater for Doug the Truck Penguin, then determine how many sweaters I can knit to donate to this organization for the next big disaster, because we all know the one thing we like more than burning through oil with our cars is dumping oil into the ocean with our boats!
Loophole: No matter what I own one sweater for Doug. I will set the number of sweaters I plan to knit at a later date once I learn how much time goes into knitting one.
Credit: Morgan Brayton for posting the link that inspired this.
Meet Doug The Truck Penguin
Result #2: The Resolution That Solidified My Commitment To 365 Days of Resolution.
Update #1: The Learning Process…
Date: 2-1-2014
So this is what I learned today! For those of you who know what you're looking at it's flawed, but it's my first attempt ever.
Now I am confident that Doug the Truck Penguin will be getting his sweater.
Thanks… Rachel… You are a great teacher.
Update #2: Continuing To Figure It Out…
Date: 2-2-2014
I'm beginning to figure out both this knitting thing and this resolution thing.
As I said in The Daily Breaker I set up today so that I would have a lighter workload. I got most of my stuff done early in the day but still felt like I was slacking, even though I spent the last five hours working on Resolution #2.
Since this is still the learning phase and I'm not working on the end product I couldn't help but feel like the day was a waste. This is going to be something that I'm going to have to get over.
I need to remember that there is no way that I will be able to work on every resolution every day, and just because I spend a lot of time on a less glamorous Resolution I'm still making progress.
I need to remember that this whole project is meant for me to experience things and grow, and then share the results with you.
I need to remember that I'm the only one that feels let down when I don't get to everything on my list of things to do on a given day.
I need to remember that even though I may not get to everything I continually finish most of what I set out to do in a day and I'm still on a good pace for everything I set out to do.
That's what I did today.
Update #3: Knit and Sip…
Date: 2-3-2014
One of the reason that I'm struggling so bad today is because last night I invented a game that I like to call Knit and Sip. In this game I would knit a row then take a sip of my cocktail.
Believe it or not… I've cut down my drinking immensely over the past year and a half but when it's go time I GO.
As a daily drunk I never really experience hangovers, and I've still yet to wake up to a head-pounding hangover but boy I now know the struggle of the social drinkers waking up after a night of going hard.
Update #4: Restocked With Yarn…
Date: 2-5-2014
This should keep me busy for a while. They're not exactly the same colors as what I started with but I'm fine with showing the beginners flaws of poor planning. Hell… that's why that why I started this entire 365 Days of Resolution… to begin with… to work through those flaws.
I'll be back later tonight to share my progress.
Update #5: Today’s progress…
Date: 2-5-2014
Tonight I got this far while watching Benjamin Button. I figure I'll switch colors every day to make it easier to gauge the progress. It took two days for the first two colors, and one day for the third so I figured why not run with it.
Update #6: More Progress…
Date: 2-6-2014
This is what I did while watching the Rifftax version of Fantastic Four.
See how much smoother that color transition it?
Update #7: This Is What I Did With My Friday night…
Date: 2-7-2014
I took a little break from writing to watch the movie The Conspirator and got this last strip of knitting done while I watched.
Update #8: And my Saturday night is just as exciting…
Date: 2-8-2014
So this is what I did for tonight's break while watching The Muppet Show.
Stay tuned. I will be posting my Muppets findings tomorrow. It requires too big of a write up for me to work on tonight.
Update #9: Moving right along...
Date: 2-12-2014
And this is how far I got while watching four episodes of The Muppets Show. It's actually beginning to look like a real scarf!
Update #10: Way Past The Halfway Point!!!
Date: 2-16-2014
Update #11: It's Getting Hard To Fit This Thing In The Picture!!!
Date: 2-18-2014
A couple more sessions and this thing is going to be done!!!
Update #12: I've Officially Completed My First Knitting Project!!!
Date: 2-23-2014
Next step, learn to knit a cap.
Update #13: Practice Is Over, Time To Knit This Penguin A Sweater!!!
Date: 5-14-2014
The other day I actually went into the local knitting shop and bought one of these doohickeys to knit in the around as they call it... that's right, there's a knitting shop within walking distance of my apartment.
I think I'm doing it right!
Update #14: Continuing To Make Progress…
Date: 5-24-2014
Update #15: Finally more progress to share!!!
Date: 7-3-2014
I've actually been working on this pretty consistently, unlike the scarf, it takes a while for any progress to be all that noticeable. It's a long way around to finish off the loop that causes this thing to grow.
I'm getting the hang of it and am able to make the rounds much faster. I figured since I'm about to switch colors again this would be the perfect time to share.
So, here you go!
Update #16: Continued Progress On Doug The Truck Penguin's Sweater…
Date: 9-23-2014
About a third of the way done!!!
I really want to get the AFI list of Top 100 Movies done which equals more knitting. Hopefully… this will be done soon.
Update #17: The Conclusion.
Date: 1-2-2015
Two years ago I created TheWickerBreaker.com in an attempt to get my writing out to the public. I started with a project where I watched the movie Southland Tales once a week for an entire year and wrote a new review following each viewing.
Last year that project was starting to wind down and I was trying to figure out my next step.
On New Year's Day 2014 I jokingly posted that I was resolving to party like it's New Year's every time the clock struck 12:00.
I took a nap right after posting this joke and instantly missed my first noontime celebration.
The next day, a friend posted a link about Penguins in New Zealand that needed sweaters to help them through some sort of oil spill. I instantly resolved to learn to knit to save the penguins.
Soon after posting my resolution to a knitting group… I was instantly yelled at that this article was from a few years ago and the people who put this call out were still getting flooded with sweaters they no longer need.
I instantly shifted gears because I wanted to knit a sweater for my buddy Doug the Truck Penguin (a three-foot plastic penguin that's been by my side for over 15 years).
Today I completed this challenge.
I made a few beginner’s mistakes toward the top by tapering in too much too quickly leading it to be a tight fit.
It's still a fit though so I'm considering it a success.
That said I'm going to leisurely knit a second one as I continue to try to master the techniques.
I'm now pretty good at scarves. If you are interested in purchasing a Bunker knitted scarf visit my IndieGoGo campaign and donate.
Thank you.
