I knit, therefore I . . . blog?

So yeah, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?  There have been some ups and downs.  Last fall, we lost both my uncle and Pete’s grandmother (who had just turned 100 in June).  And last month, Pete was laid off, meaning we are both currently unemployed and job hunting.  On the up side, the holidays were nice, we are both healthy and happy, and some good opportunities have come our way.

As for knitting . . . . well, there hasn’t been all that much of that.  I was dealing with some wrist pain last fall that prevented me from knitting for more than five or ten minutes at a time.  That seems to have cleared up, although I’m pretty sure I have frozen shoulder now.  As painful as it is, I’m glad to find it doesn’t hinder my knitting as much as the wrist pain did.  So guess what that means?  It means . . . .




I finally finished a pair of socks!!!!  Yay!!!  I was originally knitting these for my ballroom dance teacher, but unfortunately we decided to take a break from our lessons before I finished them.  And now she’s left the studio, so if we go back she won’t be there anyway.  (And considering we have no jobs right now, going back is off the table for a while.)  So my “Socks for Juliet”  are now my “Socks (not) for Juliet”.

Here’s a look at the leg cable, and all of the sock info.

St. Brigid's Carnamoyle Stockings
Cast On: 16 November 2010
Completed: 6 February 2012
Yarn: Socks that Rock Heavyweight - Jasper
Needles: US4 (3.5mm) DPNs

So.  These socks.  They are pretty enough.  I love the cable pattern on the leg, but the seed stitch on the foot makes the whole thing a little too busy.  If I were to ever knit these again, I’d keep the ribbing on the foot but ditch the seed stitch for some stockinette.  That said, this pattern was such a mess that even with the corrections I found I needed to re-write and re-chart the whole thing anyway.  Maybe I was just too dense to understand the instructions?  Could be.  And the pattern was free so I can’t complain too much.  But it wasn’t my favorite.

Okay, no more ranting . . . . on to more knitting!!

Irene and iPhone

Hurricane Irene hammered my little costal town over the weekend. Luckily we came through safely with very little damage.

On the downside, we're going on twenty four hours with no power. Not to mention the wire the fell from our house yesterday evening and is drooping precariously close to traffic coming down the street - the garbage trucks barely cleared it this morning. The fact that the crews haven't been by yet to fix it is probably a bad sign. News reports are saying it could take a full week to restore power to everyone.

Thank goodness for my iPhone, which has kept us from feeling cut off from the rest of the world. (My laptop is now simply a large iPhone charging device.) Thank goodness also for my neighbor with a generator who remembered that I'm diabetic. He came over yesterday to take my spare insulin and will store it in his refrigerator until our power is back. It may have lasted the outage, but better safe than sorry - or better safe than insulinless.

I hope all is well in your corner of the world. Until the power is back, you'll find me knitting and reading and cleaning (but not vacuuming).

Sent from my iPhone

Out of Sight, Out of Mind . . .

Have you forgotten I existed?  Have I been away too long for you to remember me?  Yup, out of sight, out of mind, right?

Well, the same goes for knitting!!  I suppose it would come as no surprise if I fess up that my knitting dry spell has stretched on through the summer.  It’s not that I don’t think of knitting often.  It’s not that I don’t admire my pretty yarn and dream of the projects I’ll knit up.  It’s not that I don’t long for yarn running through my fingers.  Because trust me, I do.

Maybe part of the problem is that I’m just too darn neat.  I’ve got my WIPs tucked away in project bags, all tidy and organized.  And since I don’t see them, I tend to forget about them when stolen bits of knitting time are presented.  Because, you know, out of sight, out of mind.

So I decided to loosen up a bit.  I pulled out my sock project and left it splayed out on the living room table.  And I found rows are getting knitted here and there.  A few rounds got done while the morning coffee was brewing.  It rode along to the train station for some knitting while I waited for Pete’s train.


It may not be much, but it’s a step in the right direction!!  And it helped get knitting back on my mind!

Thank goodness for Knit-Therapy

This morning started much like any other Monday.  The alarm clock went off way too early.  I packed a lunch for Pete, threw on some sweats, and headed out to drive him to the train station.  As we neared the end of our street, I heard Pete yell.  Then I heard a crunch.  Then the car began to spin and I realized it was no longer under my control.  Luckily, this all happened in a flash and before I knew it our poor car was wedged into the snow and ice on the side of the road.  We were stuck, but we were both just fine.  Everyone in the other car was fine too.

 

My blood sugars stayed amazingly stable throughout the ordeal.  I knew that once the adrenaline subsided and the stress took over, they were likely to skyrocket.  But I can take it.  All that matters is that everyone involved in the accident is fine.  And now that I am starting to feel completely frazzled?  I’m going to grab my knitting and let it sooth me.  It really is the best therapy around!

What do you think non-knitters do after a crisis?  (Probably drink . . . )

Bite me . . .

 

Hey, Sweater Weather, you can kiss my aaaa . . . . ddi turbos!  And while we’re at it, Mother Nature needs a fleecing attitude adjustment.

 

I am so done.

January Sock Fail . . .

In the interest of New Year, Fresh Start, blah blah blah, I vowed that I would get back to knitting one pair of socks each month.  I even paired stash yarn with patterns, printed the patterns, dug out the yarn, and bagged them all up for a Personal Sock Club like many other knitters are doing.  I had a pair on the needles that I planned to finish up in January, and then I could start picking a random bag each month and knit a pair of sock.

 

So, with just over 10 hours left in January, how do you think my plan is going?  Any guesses?

 

 

Yup, big fail!! 

 

New plan?  Finish the January socks during the first few days of February.  Then knit really really fast on the February pair.  I could work, right?

Eye Candy Friday . . .

The long over-due one with the Christmas Loot!!!!


Clockwise from top left:  Bare Stroll Fingering to dye, acid dye starter set,  Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders, a lovely skein of Colorado Merino Wool my brother brought from Colorado - home spun (not by him) and naturally dyed, two yarn ball ornaments, Wool of the Andes Bulky in Wallaby to knit Sigil , and Folk Socks.  In the middle: Interweave Knits Winter 2010 and a crock-pot for acid dying.

Although as far as K.C. was concerned . . . .


she is the only present that needed to be under my tree!!

Goals, not resolutions . . .

I’m great at making resolutions.  I’m a champion list maker for anything and everything.  I’m also really great at picking area of my life that I feel I’ve done an utterly crappy job.  So resolution lists get made every New Year’s, and often at multiple times during the year as well.

As great as I am at making resolutions, I’m not so good at keeping resolutions.  Yes, I do make sure my resolutions are measurable and attainable and all those other tips we read about resolution making.  The problem, I think, is that I try to change too much at once.  I have my long list of what I’m doing wrong and what I need to fix.  And after a few days, I get totally overwhelmed and discouraged and just give up - one resolution at a time.

This year, I’ve decided to do something different.  Instead of making a list of resolutions, I’m going to work throughout the year on improving myself and my life, one small step at a time.  Each week, I will take a baby step toward doing something in my life better.  The next week, I’ll pick something new to focus on - hopefully while keeping up on the “resolution” from the week before.  If I start to slip on one of the goals, there will be no reason to abandon the whole process, because I can just restart that goal again when another week starts.  The idea is to be constantly moving forward throughout the year, one tiny goal at a time.

The first goals that pop into my mind are mainly health related.  My goal for this week is an easy one, yet one that is pretty important.  Throughout the month of December, I’ve been really (really really) lax about taking my cholesterol and blood pressure medication, as well as my iron, Vitamin D and Vitamin C pills - which are all very important for a girl with Type 1 Diabetes like me.  There really is no reason not to take five seconds to swallow down these capsules, other than pure laziness with a bit of forgetfulness mixed in.  So, since January 1st, I take my morning pills while waiting for my coffee to brew.  And I take my evening pills before hopping into bed.  Easy as pie.  (Mmmm, pie.)  A goal that I know I can continue through the year.  Which leaves me feeling good and ready to choose a new goal to work on next week.  Maybe that goal should involve knitting every day??? 

Yes, we CAN eat those . . .

Part of the reason I’ve slacked on my knitting quite a bit this year is because I spend a lot of time in the Diabetes On-Line Community (or D-OC).  Just like with knitting, it’s incredible to interact with a group of people who “get it”and know exactly where you are coming from.  (And we talk about “needles” in the D-OC too, although unfortunately we don’t use them for knitting.)

When one of my dear D-OC friends mentioned that her blood glucose meter was missing, I offered to send her one I had but never use.  You see, it was included when I received my insulin pump, but I prefer to use my old meter instead.

How does this story tie in with knitting?  Well, sending her the meter spurred me to finish up a little surprise I had been working on for this friend . . . um, since July.  (Yes, yes, I know, I really need to get my knitting mojo back.)

Cupcake from One Skein by Leigh Radford

Cast on: July 2010

Completed: December 2010

Yarn: Misc. from stash

Yes, it’s a cupcake.  For a diabetic.  Because cupcakes are quite a hit in the D-OC, with long debates over where to get the best ones (maybe Crumbs or Magnolia?).  And before you call us a bunch of “bad diabetics'” it’s important for you to understand that it is a misconception that people with Type 1 diabetes can’t have anything with sugar.  (We also didn’t get diabetes from eating sugar, but that a whole other rant.)  In fact, most of us find our blood sugar remains more stable after a cupcake than it does after an order of French Fries.  Sugar raises our blood sugar, yes, but so does fruit and bread and any carbohydrate.  Gone are the days of restrictive diets and taboos.  Now it’s all about understanding what foods do to our blood sugar and dosing our insulin accordingly.

So yes, we CAN eat those cupcakes . . . . except the ones that are made from yarn.

Fall Fiber Fests in Pictures, Part 3

Are you tired of the parade of yarn yet?  I hope not, because this year a new fiber festival started near me, The Fiber Festival of New England.  So of course, I had to be supportive and check it out.  And yes, maybe a few skeins followed me home . . .

Aisling Yarns Merino Superwash in The Green Mile

Mistralee Farm Studio Prime Alpaca in Chocolate

As you can see, I had much less money more self-control at this last fiber festival.  But I couldn't resist these two beauties.

Phew!  With that, you are completely up to date on my ever expanding stash.  Except, of course, the yarn Santa left under my tree . . .

Fall Fiber Fests in Pictures, Part 2

Welcome back to “This Girl Has Way Too Much Yarn”.  Today, we’ll take a look at what followed me home from Stitches East!!

Conjoined Creations Flat Feet

The Sanguine Gryphon Little Traveller in Rojas

Miss Babs Yummy Superwash in Forest Afternoon

Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Heavyweight in Jasper (already on the needles - go me!)

Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight in Strange Brew

Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Mediumweight in Briar Rose

Isn’t it funny that I swore I wouldn’t buy any sock yarn (because I have more than I could ever knit) and then it turned out sock yarn was all I bought?  Willpower?  What is this thing you call “willpower”??

Fall Fiber Fests in Pictures, Part 1

I never did get around to blogging about the Fiber Festivals I attended this fall.  So since time is short with all of the holiday bustle going on, I figured I’ll catch us up on them with a barrage of pictures.  Because really, all anyone wants is to see the pretty loot, right?

First up is Rhinebeck!!

The entire haul of goodness!!

Fiber Optic Foot Notes in Passion

Crystal Place Mini Mochi -sooooo soft!

A great kit containing a sock pattern, a skein of Noro Silk Garden and a basket!

Grey wool from Wild Apple Hill Farms to knit Stilwell . . .

and some Natural for the contrast.

Gnomespun Yarn Phouka in Mountain Trails.

All this new stash should keep me busy for quite a while, no?  And we still have Part 2 and Part 3 to go!!

Ketchup . . .

Well, it seems we are long over-due for some ketchup catch-up.  Although I suppose you don’t relish the fact that this post is peppered with lame little puns.

As you mayo may not know, I’ve been buying much more yarn than I’ve been knitting lately.  But at least I have finished one project.

I started these in August so I could complete a quick pair of socks for the Sock a Month knit-along.  The fact that they ended up taking me three months to knit really rubbed salt into my knitting wounds!

Little Pansy Socks (pattern is my own)
Cast On: August 2010
Completed: 14 November 2010
Yarn: Cascade Yarns Fixation Spray Dyed/Effects
Needles: US 4 (3.5 mm) DPNs

Now that this honey of a project is off the needles, I can move on to knitting some of the new yarns I bought at the fall fiber festivals.  But don’t worry, we can ketchup on those in another post. 

Story of a Sweater

One day, Knitty caused a break in my sanity.  Somehow, I convinced myself I could knit this sweater in two weeks and wear it to Rhinebeck.

Next thing you know, I was hit with a bad cold.  And that, my friends, was very very good.  Because after two days on the couch I had this.



The sweater body was pretty.  So so pretty.  But a little voice inside my head was trying to speak.  Ah, but we all know it’s never good to listen to the voices in your head, right?  I kept on knitting.  I knit the first sleeve.  I started the second sleeve.  It was very tiring work.


Well, it was tiring to K.C., who found it very difficult to watch yards and yards of pretty yarn running from the yarn cake and not be allowed to chew on it!!

And suddenly, I wasn’t knitting.  The second sleeve was only half done as Rhinebeck came and went.   I told myself it was fine, I’d finish the sweater up and wear it to Stiches East.  But still there was no knitting.  I just had no desire to work on the pretty sweater.  So I finally listened to the voices in my head . . . . and this is what they were telling me:

“Girl, it’s not working.  Your swatch lied.  There is no way on Earth that sweater is going to fit you.  Frog it already.  It didn’t take that long to knit - so frog the darn thing and re-knit it in the next size up.  Get out of denial and listen up!!!”

 And now that pretty sweater is nothing but a few newly wound cakes of yarn.  *sigh*

The End.

No D Day

Today is No D Day in the Diabetes On-Line Community.  What is No D Day?  It’s a day where we don’t blog about diabetes, we don’t Tweet about diabetes, we don’t put anything about diabetes on Facebook.  We still count our carbs and test our blood and take our meds . . . . we still do everything in “real life” that we need to do . . . . but in our on-line world we focus on all of the other aspects of our life besides diabetes.  Since this blog has been a quiet this week, I thought you might enjoy reading my No D Day post here . . .

The Power of Twins

I believe there are things in the world we don’t quite understand.  To some extent, I believe in spirits and psychics and energies that have no explanation.  (Although I also believe many cases are pure flim-flam.)  My mom is not much of a believer in these things, but there is one we both agree on.  And that is the power of twins.  The “other-worldly” connection twins have that defy any reasonable explanation.

You see, my father is a twin.  Uncle J, my godfather, is my Dad’s twin brother.  My mom tells me that long ago, when I was very little or perhaps before I was born, my dad caught a terrible flu and came home from work early for the first time since she had known him.  That afternoon, my uncle called to see how my dad was feeling.  Mom asked who told him my dad was sick.  Uncle J said nobody told him, he just had a feeling and knew he should call to check on his brother.  ** cue Twilight Zone music **

The instance that really convinced me of the power of twins happened a few years back.  You see, Uncle J had been diagnosed with cancer and had a tough surgery coming up.  A few weeks before the surgery, Dad came down with what seemed to be a terrible cold.  He got worse and worse and worse, until he finally went to his doctor.  She immediately called an ambulance and rushed him to the hospital.

Tests confirmed there was some kind of virus that had attacked the fluid around his heart.  The problem was, the doctors couldn’t figure out what the virus was.  They ran test after test and tried treatment after treatment - just like an episode of House.  We didn't find out until later just how serious things were and just how dire the situation was.

A week went by, with Dad in the hospital getting worse and no answers to be found.  The day came for Uncle J to have his surgery.  It took hours longer than the doctors had expected, but in the end it was a success.

As soon as Uncle J was out of surgery and starting to recover, my dad started to recover too.  The doctors couldn’t figure out what caused the sudden improvement.  They continued to test and test until the insurance companies balked at keeping Dad in the hospital since he no longer needed to be there.  In the end, the doctors had to admit they would never know what virus had attacked his heart.  They also admitted they would never know which medication had healed him.

A few weeks later, Dad suddenly got sick again.  This time, he went straight to the ER and was admitted.  They believe it was a reaction to one of the medications he was being weaned off of.  That evening, we found out Uncle J had also been admitted back into the hospital that day.  It seems a sponge was left in his body during his operation and they had to do emergency surgery to remove it.  Two days later, Dad and Uncle J were both better and were both released from the hospital on the same day.

I know doubters will laugh at me and say that this story is just a bunch of coincidences.  But I disagree with my whole heart.  I know for sure, with every fiber of my being, that what happened is an example of the connection twins have that we just don’t understand.

Y@rn P0rn Friday . . . Discontinued Edition

Is it unfair to feature a discontinued yarn on Y@rn P0rn Friday?  If it is, then I’ll apologize in advance.  But I’m doing it anyway.  I received this pretty yarn years ago as a gift from Keohinani in Hawaii.  (Unfortunately, I don’t think she blogs anymore.)

Sorry for the dark picture, we've had very little sunshine here this week.

Zen Yarn Garden Merino Sock in the colorway Tuxedo Royale.  Although this yarn isn’t available anymore there are plenty of other pretty Zen Yarn Garden yarns to choose from!



The colors of this yarn remind me so much of a pink and gray phase I went through in Junior High or High School.  I vividly remember my favorite outfit.  Gray corduroy pants, a light pink button down shirt with 3/4 sleeves, and a pink and gray argyle vest in the exact colors of this yarn.



Too bad I don’t still have that pink and gray outfit . . . . because now I could knit some snazzy socks to go with it!

Bruised by not Broken . . .

Last week I posted about knitting taking revenge on me.  Apparently, it wasn’t done.

This week has brought cold, rainy weather.  That in turn brought a strong urge to pull out my Hemlock Ring Blanket.  I settled in front of the T.V and consulted the chart.  I noted that the lace repeat included 14 k1, yo repeats.  Then I proceeded to knit 12 k1, yo repeats . . . over and over . . . until I had almost reached the end of the row.  And then I cursed.  A lot.



But then, I tinked.  A lot.  And knit the proper 14 k1, yo repeats . . . over and over.  And I finished that row.  And the four stockinette rows that followed.  And then I knit another lace row.  And some more stockinette.

Take that, Knitting!!  You may have beaten me up quite a bit.  But you haven’t broken me!!

Y@rn P0rn Friday . . . Stitch n Pitch Edition

It’s been quite a while since I’ve done Y@rn P0rn Friday.  Since projects haven’t exactly been flying off  my needles and onto my blog, I’m thinking Y@rn P0rn will 1) give me something to post about and B) help inspire me to knit up some of those lovely yarns in my OMGsoFlippinHuge modest stash.

Today I’m taking the easy (lazy) way out and showcasing the yarns I received in my Stitch n Pitch goodie bag.  After all, they’re the newest yarn and therefore not buried in the recesses of my stash.  (Say, speaking of Buried, have you seen the trailers for this movie!!  Wow!!!!  Limited release in select cities today!  In theatres nationwide on Oct. 8th.  SEE IT!!  Confession time: My good friend's husband wrote the screenplay.  But it seriously looks like an amazing movie - and who wouldn’t mind seeing Ryan Reynolds on screen the whole time?)  Ahem, back to the yarn talk . . . I also needed to take pictures so I can add it to my Ravelry Stash page, making the yarn a no-brainer for YPF.

Enough chatter.  Let’s get to the P0rn!!


 Mmmmmm . . . . looking yummy.  Let’s take a closer look, shall we?


Three . . .  count ‘em . . . . THREE lovely skeins of zealana eco (yes, that does say 20% possum) in a lovely brownish purple shade named 112.  Because nothing says brownish purple like the numbers 1, 1 and 2, right?  Funny thing is the website lists color names but not numbers.  I'm guessing my skeins are boysenberry, or perhaps dark earth.


And two gorgeous hanks of AslanTrends Glaciar Del Cielo in a very pretty pinkish colorway descriptively named 2655.  Although it is also called Orchid on the web-site, which makes me happy.  I like to know actual names of my yarn colors, as opposed to the numbers.  I’m demanding like that!

So there you go.  My newest pretty yarn.  Next week, maybe I’ll highlight an older skein that’s Buried (shameless plug again!!) deep in the bowels of my stash.  Any requests??

Revenge of the Knitting . . .

I’ve come to realize that T.V. is partially to blame for my missing knitting mojo over the summer.  Or more precisely, lack of T.V. is to blame.  Sure there were a few shows on cable networks like TNT and USA that I enjoyed, but for the most part there isn’t much to watch.  So my attention gets sucked up by my computer and my hands are too busy typing to knit.

Luckily, the new Fall season is off to a start.   I’m watching my favorite returning shows and sampling some of the new ones.  And my hands are once again reaching into the WIP pile.  All is right with my world, right?

Maybe not.  I picked up a baby sweater that is pretty close to being done.  I’m on the easy lace pattern the decorates the bottom half.  I put on an hour  long drama.  And as I got to the end of the first row . . . . .



I had one extra stitch left over.  One.  Extra.  Stitch.

Upon examination, I seemed to have K2 when I should have K3, less than 40 stitches into the row.  I had to rip back almost the entire row to fix it.

My neglected knitting is pissed off over being ignored all summer long . . . . and it’s exacting it’s sweet revenge.

Everything is better with knitting . . .

Think about it.  Being on hold for 45 minutes?  Sucks.  Being on hold with your knitting project in your hands?  Cool.  Traffic at a dead stop?  The worst.  Traffic at a dead stop with a sock in progress?  Awesome, and beyond awesome if you are in the passenger seat.  Doctor running over an hour late on appointments?  Okay, okay, I’m sure you’ve caught on by now . . .

For me, baseball fits into the scenario perfectly.  Nine innings of men hitting a white ball with a wooden stick?  Boring!  Stitch n Pitch?  The best afternoon ever!

This was our third year attending our local minor league Stitch n Pitch.  Somehow it seems to get better every year.  There were plenty of knitters . . .

The stadium was kind enough to provide yarn holders with each seat.  My sock-in-progress got in on the pictures, as did the corner of my awesome SnP goodie bag!  I wonder what non-knitters use the yarn holders for?


We had a great view of B.B., the official Bluefish mascot.



Oh, and baseball.  I almost forgot about the baseball . . .



It's true, knitting makes everything better, even for this non-baseball fan.  Knitting in the sunshine while my husband enjoyed the game was the perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon.