But Are You Knitting?

I could answer with some quippy cliche' about the Pope or bears in the woods, but the short answer is yes. At any given time, there are about a half a dozen projects 'on the needles' in and around my house. Most of them, right now, are in a box somewhere. That being the case, I'm a little low on gratuitous fiber shots, but I am getting a lot done on the projects I am working on.

Project 1 is a lace stole for DT, a teacher friend who is tutoring MUC in reading over the summer. This stole isn't anything fancy in the way of technique or design. I chose the pattern out of Treasury of Knitting Patterns, VL. 1 because it was mind-numbingly easy, making this a great travel project. The yarn is Knit Picks Bare, and I dyed it with some not-quite exhausted blue, but I did this sort of paint on thing. The yarn came out with this distressed denim type effect, which actually works, since the yarn is already starting to get a bit fuzzy from the stitch work. By the time I get this thing all sized and pinned out, it should be a really relazed, but comfy casual stole, which fits DT perfectly. The big news from this project is the Addi Turbo Lace circulars. Boy do they make all the difference in the world. I really recommend these needles if you're working with laceweight yarns or complicated stitchwork. The sharper points work so much easily than traditional Addis.

Project 2 is a rescue of some Alpaca Sox yarn sock I started some time ago and forgot. I ran across them in The Great Unpacking and decided to frog some unsightly patterning that just wasn't working and go for plain 'ol socks. They're not the fanciest in the world, but they are some kind of warm and fuzzy. They're going to make great Birk socks.

And, there's no picture, but I always have some kind of cotton project going, like market bags or dishcloths, which I generally work while at the pool with the kids. Yes, I even knit at the pool. And the movies. And while waiting for the doctor in the exam room. What can I say?

Small Post Script: Spoke to Dr. Lucy at length today. She is doing well, other than the 2 shots she must give herself each day. Fortunately, those end soon. Thank you for your kind thoughts for my friend.

I Touch Myself

Last week, I had another appointment with my rheumatologist. All I can say is, it was a little bit better than the last visit, no thanks to Dr. Rheumo. The real thanks goes to the cute, young Dr. Peter that was following her around. I go to a teaching medical hospital, so I see lots of medical students, interns and residents. I don’t mind. I figure they have to learn somewhere, and they might someday discover the cure for cancer or Alzheimer’s. At any rate, cute, young Dr. Peter came into my exam room and asked if he could ask some questions. Basically, he asked me my medical history, so he got the full story, complete with depression history, my two C-sections, prolonged, induced first labor, and everything leading up to my current state. We were in there about 45 minutes talking, and he really was sweet and incredibly, terribly earnest. Bless his heart.

So, while talking, I mentioned that often, I feel a lot like I used to after REALLY overdoing it at the gym (back in the Stone Age when I was rather fit and did this on a regular basis), where I didn’t want to move, and I didn’t want anyone to touch me. Of course, that feeling would pass in a day or two, and I’d be better. The trouble now is that the feeling never passes; it just stays there, or gets worse. The pain and discomfort grinds on you, not just physically (which can be difficult), but emotionally and psychologically. In my head, I KNOW there’s so much dog hair on the carpet you can no longer tell what color it really is, but I also know that using the vacuum cleaner, even for that little bit, could cause untold agony the next day. So, I have to weigh the pros and cons for everything I do. I told cute, young, earnest Dr. Peter that my family was really understanding at first, but now, it looks like I’m just lazy, since I don’t LOOK sick. It often appears to others that I have plenty of energy to do the ‘fun’ things, but no energy to do the work type things. In some ways, that’s true, since I often try to balance a certain amount of activities, like this past weekend’s trip to the Ren Fest, for my children’s benefit against how desperately the compulsive need to load the dishwasher hits.

I also told him that I got the feeling, right or wrong, that the doctors were thinking it was all in my head. I was trying to do my part, losing weight gradually (the scales backed me up on that one), slowly increasing my exercising (a delicate balance, to be sure), but when I needed the help to get there, namely pain management, I felt like I was getting the run around, being prescribed the baby aspirin of pain meds.

Like a good little student/intern, cute, young, earnest Dr. Peter ran and tattled to Dr. Rheumo. So, when she came in the room, practically the first words out of her mouth were, “We don’t think it’s all in your head, and we do believe you.” Then she gave me a prescript for some better pain meds. They don’t work great, but she also gave me the nurse’s number and her email address. I feel more like she’s with me now than before.

While visiting Dr. Rheumo, she and cute, young, earnest Dr. Peter threw out a new word – polymyalgia. Apparently, this is different than fibromyalgia. And after looking it up online, I have to agree that my symptoms do more closely align with poly. The part that’s hard to swallow? The average onset age of polymyalgia is 70. It’s unheard of in anyone under the age of 50. Necropolis says that’s because I’m aging in dog years. This brings me to something the online research suggested. Yoga.

If you had told me even 6 months ago that I’d be in a yoga class, I’m sure I would have laughed at the idea. However, even with my limited experience, I have to admit it’s been a real turning point. I haven't really bought into the whole meditation thing yet, but I do give it an honest attempt while I’m in the class. What I can’t dispute, however, is how much more loose, less tense, less stressful, just….less….I feel when I leave. It’s been amazing. I’m sure I’ll be writing about this more as time goes on and I get more involved in this. I’ve actually bought my own mat and a DVD of easy beginner stuff to do at home on the days I don’t have class. I bought a pair of yoga pants. And, I’ve knitted some yoga socks. Yeah, my feet get cold. I’ll probably knit fingerless gloves too, since my hands get cold too. Anyway, back to the socks. I looked around, and all the socks I saw looked okay, but I thought I could do better, so I came up with my own design. I have an easy-peasy version, and a more fitted version (which I prefer). I plan to put them here on the blog to share very soon. Once I actually get the second fitted sock finished. Hopefully tomorrow.

Blog entry title courtesy of The Devinyls

Dancing with Myself

Every so often, I get in a weird place, where I just want have to back away and sort of crawl into myself. It’s a combination of avoidance and self-preservation, I think. I’m not a huge believer in astrology or that kind of thing, but my birth sign is Cancer, the crab.

Exactly.

So, apparently, I’m allowing my more social personality to venture forth. And, truthfully, getting back into the swing of work has been tough, as well as dealing with the current health issues. But, enough of that. Today is for fiber.

I’ve been knitting like a fiend in my spare time. Here are the fruits of my labors.



Mananita Magic. Pattern from Shawls and Scarves: The Best of Knitter's Magazine. I did it on sz 9 needles with a lace weight yarn (most of a 900 yrd skein) by The Plucky Knitter I got from The Loopy Ewe. It's a colorway called Wuthering Heights, a fabulous burgundy with some dark grays throughout. It turned out rather well, and was an easy knit. I added an additional row at the bottom, and I did a different border than the one called for in the pattern.





Black Water Socks. Pattern is my own. It's a generic toe-up pattern with the waterfall lace pattern chosen from Barbara Walker's Treasury of Knitting Patterns Vl. 1, with some slight alterations to accommodate knitting in the round and the look of the sock. Yarn was most of 1 skein of Lorna's Laces sock yarn in the Black Watch colorway (hence the name). Again, a totally easy knit. Pardon the dangly in the above pict. MUC took these photos for me. Not bad for a 6 year old.

The HUGE bag I knitted with idea of felting it. It's supposed to be a messenger style bag. It felted nicely, by the way. I knitted it on a sz. 8 in stockinette. Looking at the kids with the bag makes me laugh, because it really was a freaking huge bag before I threw it in the washer. I'll have to get a pic of it all nice and felted. Knitted with Lion Brand Wool.

Shawl knit on No. 9 needles out of a mohair/wool blend that I found at my LYS. I can't remember the name at the moment, but I do remember there are about 400 yrds in the shawl. The pattern is my own, something I kind of made up as I went on, in keeping with Aunt Dion's Shawl, since I'm still working on making something out of that, eventually. The last photo is the truest to the colors. They really are that vibrant, and that's what drew me to the yarn in the first place.

And, this is just what I had pics of. I still have 2 socks on needles, completed a Baby Surprise Jacket that I forgot to take pics of, have since completed another BSJ and it's awaiting buttons, with no less than a more BSJs on the needles. I have an Elizabeth Zimmerman Tomten Jacket on the needles for MUC, another planned for GLB, a Shapely T on the needles, and a mitered square blanket on the needles.

Those are just the projects I can think of off the top of my head. I'm sure there are more. Oh, and I have a 2 garb projects coming up at the end of the month as well.

I'm Not Crazy, I"m Just a Little Unwell

Blogs are a strange beast. As you type out your thoughts and then press the 'publish' button, you put yourself out there for the whole world to see. As a result, I don't really put a bunch of personal information in my blog. First, it's not really my style, and two, I can't get past feeling I'll divulge some salient personal point will come back to haunt me some day. And yet, there are times when reality creeps into the realm of blogsphere to such a point that they cannot be separated.

This is one of those times.

I originally set up this blog to be the way I share some of my hobbies and interests. Fiber, letterboxing, general interests, travel and whatever else I decided would merit worthiness. And, over the past couple of months, I've found no lack of things the talk about, which is really no surprise. I have no lack of things to talk about now. What I lack is the energy and motivation.

For the past couple of years, I have been plagued by some mysterious illness that apparently is nameless and doesn't show itself on any tests. I've been to half a dozen doctors, been subject to sleep studies (oy vey), physical therapy, x-rays, MRIs, have given what seems like gallons of blood, all to be told that everything seems 'normal'. That there's no discernible reason for the pain, fatigue and headaches I've been experiencing. I endure as much as I can, but some times, it's too much, even for me. This is one of those times.

So, that brings me to the blog. There just isn't much interesting going on in my hobby world at the moment. But, as weird as it may sound, I am knitting compulsively. It helps to take my mind off of some of the discomfort and to distract me. However, it doesn't make for interesting knitting, since I can't concentrate on patterns or charts. As a result, The Stoli has been sidelined. My EZ Pi shawl is sideline, as it's in the middle of a pattern. I am knitting a generic pair of sock with an easy repeat pattern as well as a huge messenger-style bag that requires only endless stockinette at this point. I'm also working on a mitered square blanket, but I find myself frogging about every other square when I miscount and mess up the miter.

Not only that, but I start work on Tuesday. This isn't inspiring the usual enthusiasm. I'm doing the doctor rounds again, in the hope that something, anything, will show up. It would be easier knowing what direction to take than just wondering what the hell is wrong with me.

Title taken from the lyric of Unwell by Match Box Twenty

Knitting my life away!

I've got a couple of FO! Woo HOO! And, I've got a few in progress as well. And, I've been letterboxing a bit as well since my last post. So, what's in the mix:

The finished objects:

Tabi Socks.

I am really pleased at how these turned out. I first posted about these here. And, it took me a couple of months to finish them up. Now, they're ready to be washed and blocked. It's a basic toe up pattern, with a lot of liberty taken from a tabi style pattern from Knitty. (Yes, I know the picture shows one cuff turned up and one down, but that was more just to show the socks.) I'm totally excited to wear these during the school year, to which I don't generally wear closed shoes anyway, but it's sometimes too cold for even ME to wear flip flops. And, let's be honest here. That's the REAL reason I knitted the things. So that when the want or need arose, I could do this:

Another Finished object: my take on the Summertime Tunic in the Summer 2007 issue of Interweave Knits.

There were several things about the original pattern that I wanted to change, so I did some playing around while I knitted and came up with a bit different top. My yarn was a heavier as well, since I used Blue Sky Cotton in Thistle as well as an accent yarn that I can't remember at the moment. I pulled the ribbing up, shortened the body, changed the body shape to a more fitted one, and came up with my version. And, despite actually taking the time to do a gauge swatch (which I rarely do), the top is still too big. I may go back and do some sewing decreases, but for now, it will stay as is.

A current WIP is some Big Black Socks (BBS) for Socks for Soldiers. They are a really helpful and fun group of people from all over the world who are knitting objects for military personnel serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. So, here's my BBS, in progress. These take more time than you might think, given that it's a basic pattern with a 4x2 rib, as the black yarn is so difficult to see at times. As a result, they are my current pick up/put down project at the moment.

As for letterboxing, I haven't been missing out on that either. MUC and I have picked up the stray box here and there, as well as a couple of gatherings. The first was in Madison at the end of April. Small and cozy, but nicely done by the Smith Family Trekkers. Then was the big south east event at Stone Mountain. Somehow, I neglected to take my camera to both of these events, so I had to pilfer StarSAELS copy of the group photo from SM. Next on the list? More knitting (of course), more boxing (of course) and a lot of beaching! Hopefully, I'll remember to take the camera!

Going to the dogs

I finally finished some knitting projects I was working on, with mixed success. The first was a mitered square rug. I was inspired by the cover of a knitting book I saw, but I had no real pattern or any specific idea about how actually create the rug. So, I did a bit of online searching about mitered knitting, bought some fairly inexpensive wool yarn, and knitted up some squares. After completing the first two, I realized I would not have enough yarn to make two more, and I decided to try some smaller square accents on the top. Well, they looked okay BEFORE felting, but after felting, there was obviously some error here. Finished dimensions are 30x24 and the color way is just what was available at Micheals at the time.

I knew going into the project that it may not do what I wanted, so I wasn't too upset with the uneven felting and buckling, and I learned a good deal. For future reference, all the squares will definately be the same size next time. However, if you come up with a suitable alternative, let me know. I'm definately interested. And, since I'm not one to let a good, felted wool rug go to waste, it's now part of the canine dinner collection at the McD house. She likes it, and it's nice to not have crusted dog food on the floor any longer.


I also finished my first pair of toe-up socks. There was a learning curve with this project too, but I now feel fairly confident in tackling a pair of toe up's. And, I didn't really use a pattern. It was more like a guide. And, on Knitty, they also had a whole article on how to do toe-up cast ons. I worked the figure 8 until I could do it, and I haven't looked back. The socks are a little looser in the cuff than I would like, but all in all, they're not a bad first effort. The yarn is a Lorna's Laces, but I can't remember the exact colorway.

My newest project? Flip Flop socks. I started here, for the two toe caps, and then went on with basic toe up socks. They're working up beautifully. The yarn is Panda Cotton, which is 55% bamboo fibers, 24% cotton, and 21% elastic. I like the higher elastic content, and it makes working the socks to size much easier. The colorway is 0438 College Prep, and I got this from The Loopy Ewe. More to come on this one.

Knitting ADD

I've decided I have knitting ADD. There you have it. Otherwise, there would be a rational explanation as to why I have tons of yarn, a dozen projects half started or in various stages of completion, and now I'm researching my newest knitting obsession.

Entrelac.

It's so cool. Basically, you knit little squares, then switch colors and directions. Like this:

The first is someone's entrelac scarf I found on Flickr. The second pic is entrelac socks in the Spring 2007 edition of Interweave Knits. And, I'm totally enthralled. Not just your normal, "Oh, what a cool pattern" enthralled, but obsessed and consumed. Oh, yes, I will make it mine.

But, I also have the half dozen projects lying about. I've finally found a sock pattern that makes sense. Toe UP! Who'd of thunk it? I have had to start, frog it and re-ball about 3 times before I figured out the right gauge and such, but I've got it now. I've also decided to work the socks in tandem. When I get to a major changing point or increase or decrease, I stop, work the second sock to the same point, and move forward. It less than a day, I actually have two toes. I'm pretty pumped about that. Here's the mostly done toe, and the just started toe, in Lorna's Laces Bucks Bar colorway. Maybe it's supposed to stripe, but I kind of like the color blocking.

And, just because it's so scary, here's a picture of what I'm working on for the hubby. He says I never knit anything for him. Well, that's true, basically. He wouldn't WEAR it, so why waste the yarn? But, in a fit of total insanity, I purchased some of the most God-awful hunter/blaze orange acrylic yarn, and I"m working on a simple skull cap. You must share in the horror:

Oh...and my to-be-knitted entrelac project? Yes, I (almost) have a colorway picked out: