Today has been an odd day health-wise. I don't know exactly why, but I just simply haven't felt well. My BP did go up a little, but it is back to normal now and I am a little on the tired but antsy side. Hopefully this will pass soon.
To help get over the whatever-it-is feeling I relaxed into some spinning. This time the wool is close to falling from my fingers the way it does from Beth's, but, possibly, there are a few more spinning sessions I need to just let it flow the way she does. Either way, I am quite pleased with how the spinning of this particular batch of roving is turning out.
There is a dishrag swap going on through Stone's Throw. My dishrag/cloth is finished and I am selecting the treat and goody I am going to be sending with it. I just adore these things. The last person didn't tell me if she had received her package. I guess it doesn't matter, really: I had such a blast playing it the last time!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
A Need Discovered
I need two more hands.
With two more hands it would be much easier to get ALL of the knitting I would like to do done, as well as begun.
Does anyone else wish they had two more hands for knitting or some other task?
With two more hands it would be much easier to get ALL of the knitting I would like to do done, as well as begun.
Does anyone else wish they had two more hands for knitting or some other task?
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
My First Official Yarn - Pictures to Soon Follow
more cat pictures
Last night while watching So You Think You Can Dance I loosely balled up my first spinning project, now properly single-ply and ready to make the hat the roving was intentionally spun for. I am so proud of myself! Seeing the yarn, even its imperfections, was beyond satisfying. I have new roving which I have already begun to spin and it is doing much better than my first attempt, and it makes me feel so ... accomplished knowing I am doing this myself.
Since this is my second spinning project (with a drop spindle), the procedure is working much easier and is a lot more "even" than the first go, which is to be expected and sought after. It is SUCH an accomplishment to me. Unlike knitting, which is its own sort of accomplishment and satisfaction, spinning is a different sort of relaxation and peaceful pursuit. It is too bad I won't be able to take the spinning with me tomorrow to the test appointment.
According to the procedures I have to take three doses of Gas-X today and be NPO (no food or drink) from Midnight on. Since I will be NPO this also means I won't be eating anything until after the test is done. As to what exactly is going to happen tomorrow is unknown, I am not at all sure how to prepare myself for relaxing while waiting on the test to begin. I am assuming I will be lying down so I don't believe I will be able to take any knitting with me. Le sigh.
I have pictures of the roving-now-yarn in my camera-phone, so will take it off this weekend and put up a picture of my two beautiful balls of fantastic purple, handspun yarn!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
more cat pictures
The knitting has been progressing magnificently recently. The dishcloths for Sister2 are finished as well as another tam, which I am going to try and sell. There is another tam getting ready to go on the needles and the the magnificent sweater called Clark is there, curling his finger at me seductively. Ahhh, this has been the perfect knitting summer so far!
There is a big medical test for me on Friday. I'll let everyone know how it turns out later. Right now I am just doing the required preparations for the thing, which I will try and remember to post tomorrow. They are kind of odd
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Dishcloths Everywhere!
Thank you to everyone that commented here on the blog and through e-mail about what has been going on with the blood pressure problems.
Just to settle your minds, I want everyone to know I am not just "letting this go" by any means. I am indeed taking my blood pressure medications and keeping up with what it is running during the day, as well as making sure to keep the doctors' appointments and everything else that goes along with this sort of development. I have come too far to simply sit and not do anything about it. I have finally reached a point in my life where the pain is tolerable, and this means I want to enjoy the rest of my life as much as possible.
Since the doctor said to knit, I have been doing exactly that - knitting like the proverbial wind! Right now I am working on some dishcloths for my sister in Florida. She is coming up to Kentucky for a family reunion (I won't be able to go because I need to stay close to the doctor right now) and I really want them finished for when she comes by to visit me. Because she lives in Florida I have selected some Lily cotton that reminds me of sand and sea and am knitting them up for her as quickly as possible. Hopefully she will enjoy them. I know I am enjoying knitting them for her.
There are so many projects in my head to knit that I am seriously considering keeping notes in a notebook and not just on Ravelry.com. I mean, there are so many!
Just to settle your minds, I want everyone to know I am not just "letting this go" by any means. I am indeed taking my blood pressure medications and keeping up with what it is running during the day, as well as making sure to keep the doctors' appointments and everything else that goes along with this sort of development. I have come too far to simply sit and not do anything about it. I have finally reached a point in my life where the pain is tolerable, and this means I want to enjoy the rest of my life as much as possible.
Since the doctor said to knit, I have been doing exactly that - knitting like the proverbial wind! Right now I am working on some dishcloths for my sister in Florida. She is coming up to Kentucky for a family reunion (I won't be able to go because I need to stay close to the doctor right now) and I really want them finished for when she comes by to visit me. Because she lives in Florida I have selected some Lily cotton that reminds me of sand and sea and am knitting them up for her as quickly as possible. Hopefully she will enjoy them. I know I am enjoying knitting them for her.
There are so many projects in my head to knit that I am seriously considering keeping notes in a notebook and not just on Ravelry.com. I mean, there are so many!
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Sunshine Outside My Window. Fiber Waiting To Be Spun. Knitting On Short Needles. Life In The Knitting Lane.
I have been sitting here for a while trying to figure out how to describe my weekend. It has been superb. A weekend that will never ever come again. I suppose I could go in great detail, but then I am afraid I wouldn't be able to describe it in proper fashion with the necessary words of glory and praise. So, I will just leave the weekend in all of its expanse alone for the moment and just concentrate on the fibery goodness portion.
Saturday, after tai chi, DH and I went to Stone's Throw, of course. We were able to glimpse Megan and the childrens as well as hubby, and then spend wonderful time in the store surrounded by fiber and yarns. DH picks on me for just going into the shop to simply feel the fiber and plan projects as well as just visit with Beth or Megan or both depending on the happenings in the store at the time; however, DH understands just how much I love it. The fiber. The yarn. The knitting needles, spindles, niddy noddies and so many more wonderful tools.
Right now Beth has a wonderful loom in the "soap room", which was once called the "nap room" or "meditation room" (I think DH misses the nap room personally). I can't wait to see it in operation! Anything to do with fiber has begun to fascinate me, as well as history and fiber properties. DH says, or hints, I am crossing some threshold, but, for the life of me, I can't figure out what kind of said threshold it could possibly be. Seeing fiber, thread, becoming fabric thrills my heart in that deep down good way that actually means CREATIVITY.
Before now the mere act of knitting, of creating something beautiful and useful has been all that I have needed to give me great peace and happiness. Now, it seems, not only does this wonderful peace and happiness occur in the actual knitting process, but in the planning stages, choosing of yarn, and even fiber now.
My hands, head, and heart are choosing fibers that work well and are enjoying the working with the items. It is as if my hands have sight of their own and by touching the yarn is easily put with this project or, sometimes, kept from a project because of said properties. This wasn't apparent to me until yesterday when I was telling Beth the flaws of Maizy yarn I had discovered: It practically melts!
Maizy was used for the main top of a tam for DH. The lower section of the hat was done in bamboo and the bottom was a good grade of cotton. The cotton and bamboo get along fantastically, but recently the Maizy section of the hat just melted and then proceeded to unravel. Maizy doesn't wear well at all for garments. DH went so far as to say the top of his hat looked as if a mouse had eaten the very top!
Now, you have to understand: DH LOVES the tam. He wears it every day. He knows where it is at all times. He washes it by hand and lets it dry flat. He takes care of the thing better than a lot of items I have given him. He was upset when he told me about the hole he had discovered. He also wanted it fixed ASAP.
When removing the Maizy yarn it wasn't difficult to see just how worn it looked and felt. The bamboo section was absolutely perfect, considering all of the wear and tear it has gone through since its original completion date, and, though there was some wear, the fibers of the bamboo yarn was still very strong.
When I was describing the wear and what I wanted to get to fix it with, DH told me I had changed and was crossing the threshold mentioned earlier. Then, when I was talking to Beth, it was easier for me to see what DH was talking about. It is as if a new level of language has opened up for me. I am no where near as knowledgeable as Beth and Megan, but I understand more now than what I did before, and it is knowledge that has been obtained through working with the fibers and different yarns themselves.
Now I want to know more, but am not rushing out to buy books or look up things on the Internet. This sort of knowledge I want to learn because of the craft itself, and so, through the crafting of garments and thread is how I feel it is to be learned, with a few well-placed questions (OK, more than a "few" probably) here and there to those more in the know than I am.
Isn't life wonderful in the knitting lane?
Saturday, after tai chi, DH and I went to Stone's Throw, of course. We were able to glimpse Megan and the childrens as well as hubby, and then spend wonderful time in the store surrounded by fiber and yarns. DH picks on me for just going into the shop to simply feel the fiber and plan projects as well as just visit with Beth or Megan or both depending on the happenings in the store at the time; however, DH understands just how much I love it. The fiber. The yarn. The knitting needles, spindles, niddy noddies and so many more wonderful tools.
Right now Beth has a wonderful loom in the "soap room", which was once called the "nap room" or "meditation room" (I think DH misses the nap room personally). I can't wait to see it in operation! Anything to do with fiber has begun to fascinate me, as well as history and fiber properties. DH says, or hints, I am crossing some threshold, but, for the life of me, I can't figure out what kind of said threshold it could possibly be. Seeing fiber, thread, becoming fabric thrills my heart in that deep down good way that actually means CREATIVITY.
Before now the mere act of knitting, of creating something beautiful and useful has been all that I have needed to give me great peace and happiness. Now, it seems, not only does this wonderful peace and happiness occur in the actual knitting process, but in the planning stages, choosing of yarn, and even fiber now.
My hands, head, and heart are choosing fibers that work well and are enjoying the working with the items. It is as if my hands have sight of their own and by touching the yarn is easily put with this project or, sometimes, kept from a project because of said properties. This wasn't apparent to me until yesterday when I was telling Beth the flaws of Maizy yarn I had discovered: It practically melts!
Maizy was used for the main top of a tam for DH. The lower section of the hat was done in bamboo and the bottom was a good grade of cotton. The cotton and bamboo get along fantastically, but recently the Maizy section of the hat just melted and then proceeded to unravel. Maizy doesn't wear well at all for garments. DH went so far as to say the top of his hat looked as if a mouse had eaten the very top!
Now, you have to understand: DH LOVES the tam. He wears it every day. He knows where it is at all times. He washes it by hand and lets it dry flat. He takes care of the thing better than a lot of items I have given him. He was upset when he told me about the hole he had discovered. He also wanted it fixed ASAP.
When removing the Maizy yarn it wasn't difficult to see just how worn it looked and felt. The bamboo section was absolutely perfect, considering all of the wear and tear it has gone through since its original completion date, and, though there was some wear, the fibers of the bamboo yarn was still very strong.
When I was describing the wear and what I wanted to get to fix it with, DH told me I had changed and was crossing the threshold mentioned earlier. Then, when I was talking to Beth, it was easier for me to see what DH was talking about. It is as if a new level of language has opened up for me. I am no where near as knowledgeable as Beth and Megan, but I understand more now than what I did before, and it is knowledge that has been obtained through working with the fibers and different yarns themselves.
Now I want to know more, but am not rushing out to buy books or look up things on the Internet. This sort of knowledge I want to learn because of the craft itself, and so, through the crafting of garments and thread is how I feel it is to be learned, with a few well-placed questions (OK, more than a "few" probably) here and there to those more in the know than I am.
Isn't life wonderful in the knitting lane?
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Numbers....
Hello all. It has been a while since I have popped up here, but I have a good excuse. Numbers.
Being knitters we all understand the importance of numbers, however, it is even more important when the numbers happen to involve your blood pressure. A week ago yesterday I had a pretty bad headache and still went on to school. The headache became worse so I had the EMT/security guy take my BP mostly because of a nagging little voice that wouldn't leave me alone. My BP was 200/100 at that time. I thought it was probably because I had the headache and if I just went back into the library and finished some work that it would go down. A friend, MN, came and "encouraged" me to go back and have my BP taken again after I told her my left arm felt heavy. The BP had shot up to 230/140. This prompted me to call DH and we went to the ER.
Things became a little hairy a couple of times, but I was able to go home. Sadly - my BP hasn't gone down the way it should have even after having taken my high blood pressure medication for over a week and a "water pill" (which I hate). It is running 120/100+, which isn't good.
This has prompted me to withdraw from school for about three quarters and concentrate on myself. My heart must work extra hard because of my arthritic body as it is, and I would really like to concentrate on losing even more weight, getting my body back into as good a healthy condition as possible.
According to my brand new doctor, knitting is an excellent way to get the BP down. This doesn't really sound like news to me, but it made her feel good to tell me, and now I have an actual *health* reason *why* I should knit! Does it make me weird this thrills me to no end?
I don't feel well, though. I feel as if I am weighted down all over and I am so tired!
Tomorrow I am making a short trip to Sullivan to withdraw from classes, and already it is a big emotional deal for me. I keep telling myself I am only withdrawing for a short time, not forever. It doesn't help that I was supposed to have graduated in December with my A.S. and a job while working on my B.S. in the paralegal program.
So, yours truly is going to throw herself into the joys of knitting, being a homemaker, and a part-time employed person...as soon as the BP is down, of course.
Being knitters we all understand the importance of numbers, however, it is even more important when the numbers happen to involve your blood pressure. A week ago yesterday I had a pretty bad headache and still went on to school. The headache became worse so I had the EMT/security guy take my BP mostly because of a nagging little voice that wouldn't leave me alone. My BP was 200/100 at that time. I thought it was probably because I had the headache and if I just went back into the library and finished some work that it would go down. A friend, MN, came and "encouraged" me to go back and have my BP taken again after I told her my left arm felt heavy. The BP had shot up to 230/140. This prompted me to call DH and we went to the ER.
Things became a little hairy a couple of times, but I was able to go home. Sadly - my BP hasn't gone down the way it should have even after having taken my high blood pressure medication for over a week and a "water pill" (which I hate). It is running 120/100+, which isn't good.
This has prompted me to withdraw from school for about three quarters and concentrate on myself. My heart must work extra hard because of my arthritic body as it is, and I would really like to concentrate on losing even more weight, getting my body back into as good a healthy condition as possible.
According to my brand new doctor, knitting is an excellent way to get the BP down. This doesn't really sound like news to me, but it made her feel good to tell me, and now I have an actual *health* reason *why* I should knit! Does it make me weird this thrills me to no end?
I don't feel well, though. I feel as if I am weighted down all over and I am so tired!
Tomorrow I am making a short trip to Sullivan to withdraw from classes, and already it is a big emotional deal for me. I keep telling myself I am only withdrawing for a short time, not forever. It doesn't help that I was supposed to have graduated in December with my A.S. and a job while working on my B.S. in the paralegal program.
So, yours truly is going to throw herself into the joys of knitting, being a homemaker, and a part-time employed person...as soon as the BP is down, of course.
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