Not Afraid 2 Knit

Yarn Lust and Project Desires!

2011-09-29T17:34:00.000-04:00

KnitPicks is making it hard for me to not want things. Lots of things. Their latest catalog came in the mail yesterday, but the husband was home so I had to put it aside...until today. As a treat to myself I took it outside in the brilliant sunshine and read every single article and made mental notes of what yarns, if I could purchase any, I would choose. *sigh* Being poor sucks when you feel like knitting and not like absolute crap any more!

One thing that caught my attention was Biggo Yarn. It looks intriguing and I have read you can sit down with super chunky yarn and knit an entire sweater in a weekend. I don't know if this is true or not, but I wouldn't mind trying it out. There is another sweater idea I have in my head this could be tried upon, as well as several patterns and books call for super bulky yarns. Here it is, tantalizingly close and ever so far away.

And, of course, all of the lovely Palette Yarn and sock yarn throughout the book and fingering weight yarns that call for smaller needles and endless hours of joy - not just for knitting socks! Scarves, hats, fingerless mitts, and of course socks can be knit from these wonderful shades.

Still, I am not yarn-less just yet. There is a sweater on my needles, and if I look really hard, or have someone get into the yarn room for me to look really hard, there is probably some lovely sock yarn just waiting to go onto needles!

Returning With A Sweater

2011-09-20T15:02:00.000-04:00

It has been a while since I have posted anything here. It has also been a while since I have actually just sat down and played with yarn. Since I have begun playing with yarn again, my nerves are better, and my attitude about a lot of things has improved greatly. A friend of mine once called my knitting "yarn therapy" and he was right! It is the perfect therapy, especially now that I can sit and knit without being completely exhausted and fatigued or in deep internal pain.

See, I had to have an emergency appendectomy June 29-30th. According to all of the test results that came back, my appendix was nasty for a very long time and was probably causing me to be sick in so many ways, different from the arthritis. In the spring of this year I was so exhausted and so tired I was in misery, and by the time the pain began with the appendicitis I was in pretty bad shape. Still, once the offending organ was removed and I healed, well, things have begun being better in ways I am finding quite surprising.

There is energy in me to DO things other than just sit and be as quiet as possible. I am writing again. I am knitting again. Life is on the positive side instead of just mere status quo.

In order to celebrate this wonderful new me, I have decided to make myself a sweater, and it is going to be my own design (probably a boat-neck sweater). Knitting is exciting again, just as is writing, and being with friends.

The appendicitis wasn't the only thing to happen this year. My mother-in-law, my beloved Frogmomma passed away suddenly 12/24/10. None of us were prepared and we have had a hard time adjusting to life without her.

But, I'm back, and I'm excited to be back.

A New Scarf Just Before Christmas

2010-11-29T22:03:00.000-05:00

I need a new scarf.

Swatching and Wishing

2010-11-22T18:18:00.002-05:00

http://notafraid2knit.wordpress.com/2010/11/22/swatching-and-wishing/

Thank God for Yarn

2010-11-04T21:19:00.002-04:00

http://notafraid2knit.wordpress.com/2010/11/05/thank-god-for-yarn/

Knitting Has Begun

2010-10-25T20:27:00.002-04:00

http://notafraid2knit.wordpress.com/2010/10/26/knitting-has-begun/

Knitting Ideas Are Now Overflowing

2010-09-12T18:08:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I succeeded and made it to Barnes & Noble and ordered another copy of Rowan Vintage Knits so I can complete the sweaters for my husband and best friend for Christmas. I also picked p a beautiful planner for the remainder of this year and next year, mostly for the look of it: Since I am going to be selling Avon now, I wanted a nice planner that would be pretty when I pulled it out of my purse or bag and still have my Moleskin planner for all of the mundane, wild and wooly stuff that actually keeps me organized on top of everything else. In many ways I didn't need it, of course, but it looks so good! I guess it was an impulse by that I fell in love with and couldn't put down. I'll post a picture of it as soon as possible. It's adorable.

On the knitting front there are ideas flipping and flopping over themselves in my brain for position to be put onto the needles first. I need a scarf to go with the hat my sister Becky got me for winter - it's a gray and pink hounds tooth newsboy cap that looks perfect with my purse and simply should have a scarf to go with it. The only problem is...I don't have the correct colors currently in my stash for the scarf at the moment and, quite honestly, no cash to go purchase or order the yarn for it at the moment (which has made me purposely stay away from KnitPicks so I wouldn't be tempted to order yarn I don't have money for at the moment. Next comes socks. I do have sock yarn that does need knitted up at the moment, the only problem is I haven't selected the pattern for my next socks. Since they are for me I don't have to worry about the heel because of the weird feet I possess, which suits me just fine. Another thing that could go onto the needles are the fingerless mitts out of the Wicked green and black fingering weight yarn for the next Harry Potter movie I'd like to do for myself, which would also require a nice scarf and a hat of some sort. Could I also throw in a pair of socks before November 21? That would be a lot of knitting, and it would also take away from the sweater knitting for Christmas.... As I said, there are a ton of ideas floating around in my head all of a sudden for knitting, PLUS I need to finish the pillow I want to do for my neck. I really do need that neck pillow.

Now, along with knitting, I have also begun thinking of tons of other things to sew as well as several other money making endeavors. Yarn is not cheap or free. *sigh* Everything always has a price doesn't it, and time is never as abundant as you need, whether or not your body requires an extra amount of rest or not, and yes, this does concern me, but there isn't anything I can do about that - I have to make some money and I have to make a little extra cash for books and cafe mocha's and Christmas presents for the folks who simply don't like handmade presents (they simply don't understand the time and love it requires to make those).

This means I have three businesses to run more or less and a lot of time to put into a 24 hour span and a body that simply doesn't appreciate me as it is. Hopefully there will be time to give it as much TLC as possible.

Knitting, Knitting Books, and Knitting Plans

2010-09-09T15:57:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow I am going to Barnes & Noble for a bit of writing and, if all goes well, to pick up a replacement copy of a knitting book I cannot find at all here in my humble abode. I just cannot find my copy of Vintage Knits: 30 Knitting Designs from Rowan for Women and Men. I have looked everywhere and I simply cannot find it! Yes, annoying is not the word for the feeling I have at the moment. It is downright...flabbergasting! This means I am going to have to use one of my Barnes & Noble gift cards to replace a book I already own in order to complete a couple of sweater projects for husband and best friend for Christmas! I am really not liking this, but there is nothing else for me to do other than just swallow hard and go on and make the purchase and then start knitting like a mad-woman.

Since the weather has turned off cooler I am actually looking forward to knitting again. For one thing it will help with calming the nerves and for another it will provide two of the more important Christmas presents on my Christmas list. I am also thinking of looking into knitting a little something for another friend of mine. It should be delicate and possibly pink. The only problem is - I am not at all positive she likes pink at all! It could be Christmasy colors, of course, but I'm not at all certain I have enough red and green to to what needs to be done for the project I have in mind.

Another friend of mine has also been talking about loom knitting and how she did some loom socks. Loom socks have me just a little intrigued. That would indeed be faster, but I'm afraid I would make them too tight for my own feet, much less anyone else's. How would that work? She said she learned from watching a video on YouTube; she also said she had to watch it over-and-over again before she figured out the binding off process for the loom. Would this make sock making easier for me? I know just straight tube socks for me it would make a snap, but the intricate pattern socks would still need to be done with my needles because, well, that is just the way it is done and how I know I can make the pattern turn out the way it is supposed too: some things are best not fiddled with in my world.

Since the weather is cooler it would be best if a couple of pairs of socks were indeed finished in my world: a) my feet would be warmer; and b) no one else would have the socks I would have, at least more realistically. Lately, being individual and being me has been far more important (and being warm) than almost anything else. Perhaps it has something to do with age, perhaps it doesn't - I haven't quite made up my mind on that one yet.

Happy Labor Day Weekend Everyone

2010-09-04T17:32:00.000-04:00

Check out The Kentucky Mountain Girl News for the post for Labor Day Weekend. Hope everyone has a fantastic Labor Day and a wonderful, safe weekend, as well as a productive knitting one!

Feeling A Little Like This Today

2010-09-02T13:11:00.002-04:00

The Months Are Changing

2010-08-30T17:25:00.000-04:00

As August is changing to September my mind is turning back towards knitting. Is it unusual to put down the knitting needles for the Summer sometimes and pick them up again for the Fall and Winter? This summer I have knit very few stitches. I've thought about knitting a lot, but I've actually done very little of it. Now that August is preparing to vanish it seems as if I have suddenly come out of a long knitting slumber to rediscover my knitting needles and all of my stash and my books and kits and feel like a brand new knitter! I just hope this doesn't happen every single summer. This would really annoy me, and my husband, since he expects sweaters in the Fall and Winter, especially this Fall and Winter and he won't get them until the Winter and probably then until deep winter, i.e. January and February.

Last night I came up with a wonderful little idea for a gift for a friend of mine. A cute little sweater that would just make her look absolutely adorable and make her so warm in the winter! I'm hoping I can save up the money to get the money for the yarn for the sweater. She is so very tiny I don't believe it would take very much to do the project for her.

The yarn for Hubby's sweater I already have, I just have to make sure and just locate the stupid book or buy another one, which I really would hate to do because I've already had it purchased for me once before. Having two copies of the same book would really make me feel silly, but, I suppose, it could come in handy in case a friend and I were working on similar or same projects and needed to compare notes.

I am ever so glad the knitting mojo has returned in its proper proportion. :)

Books and Knitting ..... Perfect Birthday Happiness

2010-08-13T20:02:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is my birthday.

Most of what I have asked for my birthday this year has been Barns & Noble gift cards. Can you guess why?

Finished Magic Bites a couple of days ago and simply couldn't wait to get it from the library or to see if Sniffles had it on her shelf so I went ahead and splurged and got the second book in the Kate Daniels urban fantasy series.

I was SO impressed with this book. It was just what I needed. Now we have headed on to the second novel, Magic Burns.

Casting Forward

2010-08-05T18:29:00.002-04:00

Believe it or not but I've cast on for a new project and actually got a couple of rows done! I'm so excited I could spit fleece!

Found Pups and Rearranged Knitting Baskets

2010-08-02T18:25:00.000-04:00

This morning I was awakened with news that a pup had been found when Cheyenne and Jake had been out for their morning constitutional. He is a beauty as you can see. He looks to be about 4-6 months old. A pitbull terrier and as friendly a fellow as you would ever wish to meet. He is well-fed and appears to be kept mostly outside, although, of course, he had to come inside to meet my pack who greeted him and then accepted him as easily as possible. I was a little nervous about how he would react to the wheelchair and wheels, but once he realized that I and the wheelchair were connected, well, he decided we were all right and since there was much pettings to occur from the woman in the wheelchair there wasn't anything bad to occur. He especially decided it was a good thing since he discovered he could jump up onto the couch and be reached much easier for petting and playing, which made his eyes glitter with absolute joy. Because we didn't know his name - he just had a choke chain and tether when he was discovered - we called him Buford.

Sadly, Buford had to go to the Humane Society until we discover if someone is looking for him and until Hubby could meet him and decide if he is possibly welcome into our home. Part of me is hoping and another part of me is really trying not to to get my hopes up - mostly because he is a pitbull.

I've done a lot of research on the breed today and most of what I've discovered is that if there is a lot of exercise, love and basically "a job" for the breed to do they don't turn like I've often heard people talk of the dogs doing. You have to be very observant and keep the dog active and loved and disciplined. The more I learn about the breeds of dogs the more I believe Cesar Millan has it correct - exercise, discipline, affection. Give a dog a job, let him/her work, let the dog know who is boss without cruelty, and love the dog unflinchingly just as they do you, and everything falls into proper place for them as well as for you.

At any rate, I've put my name on the call list just in case no one claims the fella after10 days. Hubby can go meet him and check him out and see if he agrees on him and then we'll bring him home if all works out and I can start training him. It was nice having three dogs again in the house. Bu actually lowered his head to Gabby and let her sniff him and check him out without fuss. I was quite proud of him. Like I said - trying not to get too hopeful. We'll see.

As for the knitting, well, I've gone through the knitting basket and moved a few things around and rolled up a couple of balls of yarn. I should be spinning up the blue roving instead of blogging and preparing for knitting Christmas presents, but I am actually more interested in knitting up the neck pillow I've got in my head.

The first one is just going to be a simple straight felted tube. It's going to be done out of wool, of course, felting requires wool, and it's going to be done out of purple yarn. See it there? It is very prominently seen in the basket. It isn't balled yet because I haven't set myself down to doing that yet, mostly because I wanted to wait until Hubby got home and we kind of settled in for the evening and just hand a quiet few moments together before I dived into yarn and such. The thought of knitting and making something for myself has made me smile some today, as well as a sweater for Hubby.

I've decided on my own stitch pattern and a construction pattern out of a book I have. Hopefully the two will mesh well. Keeping track of stitch numbers, increases and decreases is going to be the hardest part for me. I guess I could just go for a sweater pattern I have, but the sweater he wants I have misplaced the book, and I simply do not have the funds to replace the silly thing. So, this means I do what I have decided and just go for broke with the yarn I have and let everything be as it should.

If all goes well and this sweater turns out as it should - Cheyenne will end up with a sweater, too. That will stop his bitching! LOL!

Hope Awakens

2010-07-31T18:45:00.000-04:00

There have been a few books between the last Patricia Briggs novel and this one. There have been posts over at The News but no knitting. Why? Depression. Serious depression and a loss of hope and the return of a fighting spirit and then...well, then came a different type of hope and finally the pain got better then worse then back and forth. It's been an odd summer folks.

The long and the short of it is, over. Yesterday my buddy moved my knitting basket, one of my knitting baskets I should correctly say, close to where I could get it and I picked up my drop spindle and spun a few inches and then I looked at the yarn that hadn't been touched in ages and my hands tingled.

They tingled and they twitched in that knitterly way, not in the pain way they've been doing for most of the summer.

There are tons of presents to knit for Christmas and promised thises and thats and I decided there are things I could actually make for myself that might actually benefit my neck and maybe help me sleep of a night much better than what I am doing now. I could actually knit a nice felted pillow, fill it and make a couple of back-ups if needed and then make pillow slips for them and maybe that would help me support this neck of mine and then I could rest more peacefully and not have some of the pain and migraines I am currently undergoing. PLUS I could also undergo some of the presents I need to make for Christmas before Christmas could even get close!

I kept looking at the basket and my heartbeat just eased up a little as if everything was slowly beginning to ease back into its place.

Since I've never felted anything before but have always wanted to do so, and since I need to pick up the needles and start do my knitting again, everything is right about perfect to begin again. It's wonderful, and I don't feel so lost any more somewhere inside.

Taking Up the Hubby's Challenge

2010-06-29T16:45:00.000-04:00

Finished the previous book and have begun this one you see here. I have completely fallen in love with the Mercy Thompson books! I am caught up in the series and am seriously going to hate to see it end if it ever does. Not thinking about this. Not thinking about this. NOT thinking about this. LOL!

The pain is better in the left leg. I believe it is due a lot of prayers by myself, friends, and family, qi gong, and the water exercises that were begun. The water exercises seems to have helped my arthritic body more than they have helped the nerve pain, but I am taking the good in any form I can receive it these days. The beautiful summer days are not hurting in the least of course. Today it is just 84*F and not so humid with beautiful fluffy clouds floating blissfully in the most beautiful of blue skies.

A while ago the Hubby challenged me to knit a book in a year and make every single item in the book fit either me or him out of the yarn of choice of him or me. Yeah, do you who knit see a problem there? Well, in an argument that happened this weekend he called me a coward and said I didn't have the tits for the challenge and that I wasn't a true knitter. So, now I ask you - How do you take a pattern that calls for two strands of fingering weight yarn and use worsted weight yarn because that's what the husband wants and make a sweater that fits? He says its just numbers. I'm not at all sure. Anyone have any advice?

Hubby, Books, Knitting, and Friends Makes Me Happy

2010-06-01T17:31:00.000-04:00

I am in a very strange place at the moment emotionally and physically: the pain is different and quite bad in the left leg these days. Thankfully the A/C is fixed, thanks Rae, and the pain is better in spots. So, I am knitting as it hits and I am reading. Currently I am reading the book you see here and working on dishcloths because I need some in order to get the work around the house out of the way when I feel like doing any work at all that is - I am just taking one day at a time and being as positive as I can.

Sunday was mine and Hubby's 12 year wedding anniversary. It was a sad one in some ways because I had a migraine and so we celebrated it more on Memorial Day, which was yesterday, Monday, than on Sunday. We went to dinner with some friends and a movie. We saw Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and, to be honest, we really should have waited until it was out on Netflix or something. It needed something, like real Persians/Arab actors for instance, and real stunts, not CG. I won't get into too much detail for those of you who haven't seen it - let it suffice to say I was disappointed.

Still, Hubby and I were together, and that's all that mattered. We have been together through the good and the bad, and that, I know, is all that really matters.

I love you my darling.

Currently No A/C but Knitting is on the Brain

2010-05-29T21:25:00.000-04:00

Hubby is trying to fix the A/C. He is a bit on the frustrated side at the moment, which I can totally understand at the moment. For myself I am trying very hard to stay out of his way and just letting the world and my body relax as much as is possible because my body, especially the left leg, just doesn't like me at the moment. Hopefully the physical therapy that is slated to commence this next week will help me begin to correct that problem, although it is going to be painful, or so I've heard.

Since there is even more pain on the horizon, I am planning even more knitting. Currently I am working on a dishcloth that was already supposed to have been mailed off. Unfortunately, when migraines are really bad you can't knit. I know because I have discovered the varying degrees of migraines and exactly what you can and cannot do when you are having one of those suckers! However, with pain and its varying degrees, there appears to be much you can do to distract yourself and make the days better. So, I am planning more knitting projects as well as some much needed sewing projects, and am really going to just listen to my body and sleep when the body decides it is time to do so, because otherwise I am just going to remain exhausted on a semi-continuous basis.

Sometimes it feels as if I am not taking full steps forward, just tiny little jerky ones, but forward is still the direction I reckon I'm still moving, so this is good.

Test

2010-05-29T21:08:00.000-04:00

Test

The Fingerless Mitts for Mary Beth...

2010-05-11T16:21:00.000-04:00

The fingerless mitts for Mary Beth are finished! These are the mitts that actually got me motivated for doing something once I was out of the hospital.

She is a weaver and owner of The Weft Handed Weaver site and blog where she is on the adventure of weaving and making the an authentic 18th Century cloak! I personally am finding this very interesting and exciting.

She asked me to make her the fingerless mitts because in the winter she cannot work well because her hands get cold. Since she does not knit, she asked me to knit her some fingerless mitts.

I was, first of all, hugely flattered, and second of all, I was thrilled to have something to knit in general. It was just the perfect project.

The yarn wasn't even a problem because Mary Beth had even spun some home spun in sock weight and had said she would provide me with equal amount of the yarn she had given me to knit the mitts in, which was a nice big ball of at least 50 grams at the very least! There is enough left over of the ball to do another set of mitts, which I am sincerely thinking of doing or adding it to the beautiful white she has given me for my own set of mitts for this winter.

Since Mary Beth is a "living museum" person, I did some research and came as close to an authentic 18th-19th Century set of working fingerless mitts as possible. Several articles I read debated on whether or not the fingers were "separate" or not, so I decided to just leave them free; if she decides she would like to have the fingers separate I can do this in less than 10 minutes time.

Because of this request, however, I have come up with some questions on my own:

What did women use to keep their heads warm, especially their ears, in winter for the inside of the drafty houses?
How many knitted items were used during the 18th and 19th Centuries for warmth for the lower, middle, and upper classes?
How affordable was yarn and fleece during these time periods and did everyone knit? Were there thriving yarn stores or did everyone just have a sheep or two in the back yard (which I simply can't see since even then sheep were expensive to keep I would imagine)?

Of course, I am going to have to do a little more research into these questions and see what answers I can come up with because there should be answers for these questions you know.

Settling In For The Future

2010-05-06T16:06:00.000-04:00

I have decided that tomorrow I am going to plant as many seeds as I can in the pots I currently have and just hope for the best. The Hubby doesn't have much clue about how to garden and even though I tell him that we need to get the seeds into the ground now as well as the plants he says "not this weekend", which is annoying, but there is nothing I can do about that. So, I'm going to get as much done as I can as much into the dirt as possible.

On a good, positive note, the mitts are completed except for the sewing up part and weaving in the ends. I still haven't done that yet, nor decided on what the next knitting project is going to be, but, at least there are ideas and I just have to choose between several.

Check Out The News

2010-05-04T19:51:00.000-04:00

Today has been a day of migraines and thinking once the migraines were over. I wrote about it over at The Kentucky Mountain Girl News, and since I didn't want to cross-post it to death I am just putting a link here.

In other news of the knitting variety, I have the mitts knitted, now I just need to sew them up and weave in the ends! Now I have to decide what I want to do next!

Blue Skies and Yarn - A Perfect Day in the Making, Literally

2010-05-03T17:50:00.000-04:00

Today has been a good day. I have knitted and roamed Ravelry for most of the day and just let myself take deep breaths. Yes, it has been another day of relaxing, mostly because a migraine and I have been sparing for much of it - and I won! Well, I don't have a full-blown migraine. Part of the reason, I am pretty sure, for not having the migraine has been because of the knitting.

I joined two more groups on Ravelry and left two others for no particular reason other than I just wasn't involved any more.

The fingerless mitts for my friend should be done tomorrow at the very latest. Since this project is almost finished there has been some time spent on deciding what the next project should be. If something doesn't change, I am pretty sure I will do some spinning on the drop spindle and knitting on a sweater for the hubby as well as maybe a shall for myself. My sister's scarf is just going to have to wait. I have realized, at this time, lace isn't where I need to be as far as knitting skill is concerned. I'm not giving up on lace-work or this particular project - just putting it aside for a little while so I can get myself prepared for lace. This particular sister may get a faggoted lace scarf first before anything complicated.

The scarf I have in mind is simple and looks beautiful in my head. I'm going to work on it some tomorrow, if the mitts are finished as I expect them to be, and get things lined out in my head. It is simple "lace work" but I can finish it and get it blocked and to her in time for her birthday. This is my goal at least and I am still going to keep it.

Hubby is going to have to go back into the "craft room" (which is really just a junk room again) for the spindle and roving. There is something about knitting and spinning right now that is helping me to keep my shoulders and neck relaxed, which, in turn, is keeping away the migraines. It is important for the migraines and arthritis not to meet up again like they did this weekend. (It was unpleasant to say the very least.)

On a sad note, actress Lynn Redgrave lost her battle with breast cancer. She was 67. You can read more here

Thunderstorms

2010-05-01T22:40:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was the perfect day to be outside. Today has been the perfect day to be inside: It has rained almost all day and we've had two pretty heavy storms. This has added to the knitting desire. Hubby has also played video games and I have knitted, blogged, and just relaxed.

X-Post: Aunt Rose

2010-04-28T17:09:00.001-04:00

This has been the strangest of days so far. Got up to realize the cell phones were dead because the payment had not gone through because of the McAfee problem from a while ago. Luckily it was handled in relative time and speed; i.e. it was handled relatively quickly and semi-painlessly. Then, while I was just beginning breakfast I received a call from Sister1 who had bad news: One of my favorite aunts had passed away last night.

Back in the mountains family is the center of everything. You know your lineage and you keep in touch with as many people as possible if you move away. When I was young and oh so very sick, there were just some truly special people who made life feel more normal because they treated me as a normal child even though I realized I wasn’t just like everyone else – everyone else got to go to school and play games outside, run, and didn’t have to go to the hospital all the time with high fevers and didn’t have near death experiences.

My Aunt Rose was one of those people who made life “normal” or at least treated me normally. I wasn’t the family kid who was constantly sick; I was just me. Aunt Rose married my Uncle Ova and they were in existence long before I was born so I never knew anything different than Uncle Ova and Aunt Rose together. When he passed away it felt as if things had changed forever in the fabric of my reality because he was one of those people you always expected to live forever because he had that huge love of life very few people exude any more. Aunt Rose was a very special woman to keep up with him.

Of course, they had the perfect children to keep up with them. Two girls. One athletic and one just the sweetest, dearest person you could ever meet. Both of them were my best friends while growing up, and except for Boon-Boon and his family, my only friends. They helped me understand what being a “real girl” was like. Their acceptance of me actually gave me confidence to go through life because if they accepted me, other “real” people would as well.

When you lose your Mom, a part of you forever is lost and you feel it down to the very depths and core of your soul. My heart goes out to them. I want to be there for them. I need to be there for them.

Why wouldn’t I be there for them? Because my husband is very protective of me at the moment, and the migraines can come at the drop of a hat and I’m not supposed to get over exerted or exhausted to make sure they stay as far away as possible.

I love my Aunt Rose so much.

A Lot of 'Splaining To Do

2010-04-27T16:55:00.000-04:00

Hello all, I am back again. I am also knitting some again. Thank goodness!

OK – so let me ‘splain.

On April 6 I took a nice ambulance ride to a local hospital emergency room. I had all of the symptoms and signs of a stroke: my left side was weak, numb, and unresponsive. I was in the hospital for seven days and six nights. The upshot of this was that no, I had not had a stroke, but I had had a rare migraine that is essentially a body migraine (the name is very long and I don’t know its correct spelling yet).

A neurosurgeon said there was a bone spur on a part of my spine that was putting pressure on my spinal column and could be causing my migraines. He said operating wasn’t currently in my future because it would be extremely tricky because of my medical problems with arthritis and osteoporosis. He also said that it could just be migraines but he wasn’t sure. The final conclusion was that the bone spur is putting pressure on my spinal column and could be causing these migraines and I need to keep a close eye on it, which means I now have a neurologist, which I see regularly beginning this Friday.

Since having the migraine my left side has slowly been returning to normal. My left arm and hand are almost back to normal, but my left leg isn’t quite. This means there is therapy in my future.

Since being home from the hospital I have had two migraines, just not the “body migraines”, thank goodness! I also had two pretty good ones while in the hospital. Also since being home from the hospital I have not worked because I have been weak as the proverbial kitten and am only just now getting caught up on rest and feeling normal.

Luckily, I have felt like knitting and nearly have a pair of fingerless mitts made for a friend of mine. Knitting and qi gong have helped me to start getting back to normal. Will post pictures of the mitts when they’re finished.

The Sun is Shining, I am Sick, and My Thoughts Turn to Knitting

2010-03-23T15:01:00.002-04:00

I can't help but think sometimes that God lets us get sick so we can just take a few moments for ourselves and remember what is important and what helps us to be happy.

I am sick and have been for the past couple of days. It started off with a very upset stomach and is now in my head. I have had to take off a couple of days from work and sleep. This has helped more than anything I do believe. Tomorrow I will go back to the grind. But, today is for thoughts of knitting.

Not just any knitting of course, but possibly lace knitting!

I need project ideas. Any come to mind? I believe I'd like to do a scarf.

A New Challenge and a Hat!

2010-02-07T15:04:00.002-05:00

Well, the husband never did get the yarn I wanted out of the "knitting room" for me, but a friend did, so there is a hat almost finished. The husband wants "ears" on the hat, which I am going to provide in my own special way, of course. The hat is quite interesting looking actually. It has a lot of room for hubby's dreads and is extremely warm. With the addition of "ears" the hat is going to be toasty warm.

Since the knitting mojo has returned, so has my curisoity about knitting in general. Part of this knitting curiosity has been pricked because of an episode of Knitting Daily TV on our local PBS station about Portuguese Knitting.

In this style of knitting the yarn goes on a knitting pin at your left shoulder or around your neck. The yarn is held differently but has less movement, which is making me thing that this way of knitting might be just a little faster than what I normally do - English style - of knitting.

Since I do have a hat almost completed I am not going to attempt it yet, but the next project is going to be done with the Portuguese style just to see if it is indeed faster and easier on my hands.

For reference and to let you know what I am talking about if you haven't seen the show, here is a video for the knit stitch as well as one for the purl stitch.

And the purl stitch....

Perfect Knitting Weather

2010-01-31T21:07:00.002-05:00

This has been an odd week for yours truly. My right shoulder has been absolutely unhappy with me. Then, Thursday, I slid and injured my shoulder, which has not made me a happy person at all! There was a very loud *crack* and then lots of pain, plus a nice knot.

No, I didn't go to the doctor right away because there really isn't anything they could do for me, especially since I walk with my crutches underneath my arms due to my hands having set wrists already. So, in order to fix the shoulder I wouldn't be able to get up and move around or do anything independently. Plus, there wouldn't be any work for me. No work means no paycheck. This is simply unacceptable at the moment. Thankfully the knot has gone down and the pain is just a little better.

There was snow this weekend, up to five inches around my house and in Lexington. (This is a picture of the land snow we had: I just didn't feel up to grabbing a new picture just now.) Since knitting doesn't really take movement of the shoulder, I have begun the husband's newest hat.

Thanks to all of you with the suggestions! I actually held his hat ransom until there was yarn to work with! It made me feel all piratey. Arhhhh! Or, in this case.... Yarhnnnnn!

'Tis Finished!

2010-01-25T19:38:00.002-05:00

My hat is finished! Everyone says it is very girlie, and I have to agree. Believe it or not, but I have gone through all of this winter without a good warm hat. Now, this has been corrected. I am a happy, warm headed knitter.

Now that this has been accomplished, when I am up to it, I'll begin working on Hubby's new hat. Plus, there are four other items of interest preparing to go on the needles. More about that later!

The First Knitting Project for 2010

2010-01-23T18:14:00.002-05:00

I guess as with all things, we must take breaks from the things (and people) we love in order not to develop a dislike for them. It was this way for me with knitting. I took a break from it for several very long weeks of actually doing the craft; instead of knitting I read magazines and books, and watched Knitting Daily in re-runs, and just let the thoughts and ideas just stew somewhere deep in the psyche until it was ready for actual yarn and knitting needles.

So, here is the first knitting project for 2010, and, what else: it's a hat. However, instead of a hat for someone else it is a hat for me! What is even MORE spectacular about this project is that I am enjoying it!

It's wonderful to have yarn in my hands and the soft click of the needles as they work. It is just a simple one-one rib hat, but it just looks adorable in my head and will be so warm for my head once it is finished.

Of course, since I have begun knitting again, Hubby has declared he wants his new hat now. I was quite surprised when I heard myself say, "You'll get your new hat, but it is going to be after this one is finished. It didn't bother him. In fact, he smiled and said he also needed a hat for the summer since his really nice tam vanished at some store while he was shopping. Hubby truly loved that hat and it is going to take some time to actually find another sock yarn I want to knit and make him a new one.

How can you go wrong with that, though? Really. I mean, having to shop for yarn to knit something. It really is a win/win situation for both of us.

Rooms. Yarn. Needles. Want.

2010-01-20T16:02:00.002-05:00

I must admit, I am now in knitting withdrawal. At first it was just a break. Christmas had worn me out and then New Year's and then...nothing. I haven't knitted for quite a while now, and, at first it felt good, like a break, but now my hands are itching for yarn and needles again!

The really sad part is that hubby put lots of furniture in what was to be my craft room and since I foolishly believed it was going to actually be a craft room, I moved all of my yarn and knitting items in there with dreams of inviting friends over to come and just knit, spin, read, and relax in there. Of course, now that there is a ton of furniture in my way I cannot get to the knitting supplies or to the yarn itself.

Yes, I am sad. Really sad. However, along with being sad I am also getting just a wee bit upset. Hubby, of course, won't do anything to move the furniture out of the craft room, I will have to depend upon the kindness of strong friends and the kids next door to get everything out that doesn't need to be there and back into its proper craft room goodness. I am also going to depend upon the kindness of friends, and possibly the husband, to grab me some yarn and my special knitting needle case from in there so I can begin knitting again. Probably a hat because the husband is requesting a new hat since he lost the other special one I had made for him. I am sad it is gone, but pleased there is a reason to knit.

Plus, there are two sweaters to complete in as quick a fashion as possible!

New Year's Day and a New Decade

2010-01-01T17:40:00.002-05:00

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There is quite a lot to say, but I've actually said it better of at The News so I would appreciate it if you would check it out. Over there you will find my New Year's Resolutions and thoughts on what I'd like to happen for 2010 otherwise.

On the knitting front there are likewise some resolutions to make, and keep.

I am going to get ALL of the sweaters I promised the husband and friends done.
The project of knitting through the book Romantic Knits is going to begin and be completed in one year.
Socks are going to be made for yours truly and sock making is going to be mastered in 2010.
I am actually going to make a pretty scarf for myself.
I am going to be brave and knit up the designs I see in my head and have even written down and drew out in non-artistic means.
The craft room will be reorganized and used this year
The knitting book library will grow, just not by leaps and bounds.
Spinning on my brand new spinning wheel will be mastered.
I am going to begin, and actually keep a knitting
journal with progress on pieces, swatches, and thoughts and feelings about each
piece being knit.
I am not going to be such a stranger to Ravelry this year.

This is a little daunting in some ways, but doable. Right?

No More Knitting Blahs; Am Now Knitting Frantically

2009-12-07T17:54:00.001-05:00

And feeling a little like this....

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The Knitting Blahs

2009-11-04T19:17:00.001-05:00

I think I have the knitting blahs.

Halloween was Quiet

2009-11-01T18:16:00.000-05:00

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2009-10-30T18:46:00.000-04:00

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This Made Me Laugh In My Sickness

2009-10-29T19:40:00.000-04:00

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2009-10-24T16:49:00.000-04:00

Officially have the flu.

Not H1N1.

It is kicking my butt.

A Thanksgiving

2009-10-09T17:56:00.001-04:00

All I can currently say about today is: Thank God for KnitPicks.com!

Gauge Problems Almost Solved

2009-10-08T16:59:00.002-04:00

I tried to add a picture to this post, but Blogger was not cooperating with me, so here is my thought for the day sans photo enhancement....

If I am very careful and hopeful and optimistic, the gauge problem has been solved. I dropped from a US 5 all the way down to a US 3! This means I have to dig out my set of US 2s for the smaller needle required. I haven't reached the end of the swatch yet to make sure, but I am pretty confident this is the needle I need to use for the breeches. Now all I have to do, once they are done, is to swatch for the little sweater.

Gauge Problems

2009-10-07T16:11:00.002-04:00

I am having gauge problems with the little leggings I want to do for my niece's new baby. It says, quite simply, 22 stitches & 32 rows = 4 inches. The problem, when I do it with the suggested needle of US 5 it is not any where near the correct gauge. Last night I did a swatch - yes, it is surprising! I am swatching! - on US 4 needles and it was better, but still not spot on. I am nearly getting truly disappointed and have considered, albeit fleetingly, of just giving up, but I can't. I can do this! I have correct gauge with other things, I just need to find the correct size needle darn it!

So, today, since I am still recovering from the stomach ickiness, I am going to try a size US 3 and see how that goes. If it does not get me gauge I am going straight to a US 1 and see how it does. I may just make it a little larger than just 3 months.

I am just a little bummed, but still determined. Any suggestions?

???

2009-09-28T19:48:00.000-04:00

A Tool Being Considered

2009-09-26T18:06:00.002-04:00

Earlier in the week I received a wonderful surprise: The PatternWorks.com catalog for fall (with some wonderful things for winter in there as well. One of the things that caught my eye this time was the Cro-Knit Tension Keeper. This actually seems like an answer to a prayer, especially since I am "encouraging" myself to use the Continental style of knitting for the larger projects because it is faster. Since I am also an extremely loose knitter, I thought this just might help my problem. Actually, the loose knitting isn't really a problem because all I have to do then is just to change down a needle size. Still, as far as holding the yarn on bad hand days, though rare in number, could help me get through the difficulty of such a day.

Has anyone out there used one of these doowhickies? Is anyone using them now? I am quite curious to know before I put down money on it. I can't afford to purchase something just on a whim, still, it is intriguing.

Baby Knitting is Taking Over!!!

2009-09-25T19:50:00.002-04:00

Here is the burp cloth I made for a friend's baby. I am going to have to mail it off, but it is so cute I wanted to share it with everyone!

Going onto the needles next is a little pair of breeches for my niece's baby, and then the sweater. November is going to roll around here before you know it and I want the package to be in the mail and already there before November. Yeah, I am kind of pushing it, but little things go so very quickly!

I am also contemplating put a sweater on the needles for my DH. If I am diligent it should actually be done by his birthday, 01/31. Right? Yeah, my first attempt at making a sweater is still sitting in there in its bag looking forlorn and lonely. My thinking is: If I begin from scratch with brand new/different yarn, the knitting should actually go quicker, especially since my knitting confidence is a lot higher than what it was so many long months ago. Plus, since obtaining the nifty Options Acrylic Needles from an anonymous giftter for my birthday, I can knit longer than normal!

My only remaining question is - how am I going to get all of the Christmas knitting completed?

Quickly

2009-09-21T19:26:00.002-04:00

I am knitting.

I am getting things done.

There are pictures to post.

There just isn't enough time to post the pictures today. Alas.

It has been Monday. All. Day. Long.

AND no one picked up the gift I made for a friend's baby. This makes me sad and feel just a little odd. I understand time constraints but.... I'll get over it. I'll mail it to them!!!!!

JoJo

2009-09-15T18:36:00.002-04:00

The baby of the family got really sick at the beginning of September. She became lethargic and not wanting to do anything. Several times between September 1 and September 9 we were told she might not make it through the night. She kept surprising the doctors.

It became so scary that we took JoJo to Richmond to one of the best vets I believe I have ever seen, Dr. Taylor at the Barns Mill Road Animal Hospital. He did tests and said she had an autoimmune disease that cocker-spaniels were susceptible to: it caused the body to stop making red blood cells. He gave her a blood transfusion and it seemed that she was going to make it, but she suddenly had a turn for the worse. Dr. Taylor gave her another blood transfusion, but it just didn't take. JoJo passed away on September 9 around Noon.

Not having her around for the time she was in hospital I came to realize just how much life she brought into our home. She was always loud and ready to play or bark so her voice would be heard. JoJo was Mommy's girl down to her very core and she was never more than three feet away from me at any given time. When visitors came she was the perfect little lady (usually) and let everyone know she was available for petting and didn't mind loving you back with her great big brown eyes!

It may sound silly to you, but I had her cremated and she is now sitting over there in her box back here in the office. Hubby said he would bury the box if I wanted him. I haven't decided on that yet. In some weird way, having her ashes here is like she finally made it back home to me.

For the past couple of nights I have dreamed of her and different puppies, one of which was named Glory.

As you can imagine, the knitting has been both a blessing and a curse. I have baby shower to get ready for this weekend and I still don't have the burp cloth ready. I have it begun, but there is still a lot of knitting to do on it. Hopefully it will get done, especially since it is also part of the decoration!

It's Friday

2009-08-14T17:58:00.001-04:00

It is Friday.

It is my birthday.

I am happy.

Let the Baby Knitting Begin!

2009-08-12T14:32:00.003-04:00

My own "dred sock" is nearly completed, which opens up room on the needles for the things I want to knit for my new great-nephew who should be arriving in November. The yarn is the softest of baby yarns, and acrylic for ease of washing. The only part that remains is for me to decide what to knit.

I am leaning toward the classic sweater/leggings set. They are simple, but look so wonderful. It worries me just a little that it is so simple, but there are other projects, too, that could be made. However, for the one sweater I would like to make requires different yarn than what I have already acquired for the baby knitting projects. Still, so what if more yarn needs to be purchased for said baby knitting?

Pictures will be posted soon.

Can It Be Done?

2009-08-11T17:35:00.004-04:00

Hubby and I went to see a movie I could hardly wait to come out Julie & Julia. From the first moment I saw the trailer I couldn't wait to see the movie. Then, when I discovered that the movie was based upon a book, I simply had to read the book! Now that I have seen the movie and read the book, I must own the movie when it is released! It is becoming a never-ending cycle.

Sunday, at lunch with some friends, Hubby turned to me and said, "I think you should do it, too."

"Do what?" I asked around my twice-cooked tofu and rice.

"I think you should do what Julie did in the movie."

"Cook through Mastering the Art of French Cooking in a year? That's already been done, baby, and quite well, I might add."

"No, not cooking - knitting. You knit all the time, but I never see anything you've knitted from one of the many knitting books that are beginning to over-take the living room. And the yarn, of course."

I smiled at him and nodded. I was humoring him more or less. Then the friends agreed. If it could be done for a cookbook, why couldn't it be done for a knitting book? I just sat there in stunned silence for a moment or two. Of course, the people with whom I was sitting were a) all men; and b) non-knitters. They did not understand how long it took to knit something, even if it was a small something.

Hubby let it drop at the restaurant, but when we actually made it home he picked out two books from my knitting bookshelf and handed them to me. One was Romantic Hand Knits: 26 Flirtatious Designs That Flatter Your Figure and Knitting in the Sun: 32 Projects for Warm Weather, which also just happened to be my most recent purchase in the knitting book arena.

The first difference I saw immediately was the numbers: 26 vs. 32. Twenty-six is smaller than 32.

"If Julie did it in a year, so can you!" Hubby looked at me with such encouragement in his eyes and such hope reverberated in his voice. He was really wanting me to try this! Part of me was pretty sure he was mad, as in cuckoo, but another part of me wondered if, indeed, it could be done. There sure was a lot of knitting involved.

But, what about the newest nephew needing his wee garments? And what about the sweaters I had already promised and not delivered on? And what about all of those hats that Hubby wanted and his mother wanted to sell at the up-coming festival? There was already a majority of knitting practically on the needles already!

"Are you going to wuss out on me?" he asked, and I didn't have an answer for him...then.

I am going to take his challenge, but only after the other things are off my needles first. So, which book am I going to knit from cover to cover? Yeah, that one is easy - Romantic Hand Knits (I like lower numbers).

Am I insane? Yeah, I just might be.

The Dred Sock!

2009-08-01T16:18:00.003-04:00

I have been working diligently on a "dred sock" per Hubby's desire and request. He needed something that would be cool for the summer and keep his dreds in line and protected, but he also needed something that he could close up and make a tam also if necessary. Thus, the creation of the dred sock!

As always, he chose the colors, and, I must say, a very nice cotton blend yarn that was a true pleasure to work with: Cotton Fleece by Brown Sheep. It was one of the more enjoyable knitting projects I have played with.

The opening is the red section that was done in a k1p1 rib that turned out beautifully and the blue "end" is open. The end, which you can't see very well here, was done with a simple yarn over opening for the threading of a closing piece.

The "string" was actually a 3-braid of all three of the colors used in making the hat, and I am actually quite proud of how well the string itself turned out.

And here is Hubby with his new favorite hat as well as just a little more detail. And, just for those who were wondering, no, I didn't get a chance to block the project before it was worn.

This one is a little blurry, but you can still see how it is supposed to protect the dreds.

Here is a better one.

I am actually quite proud of this little creation of mine, and am working on another form of "band" for non-dreds or even dreds I suppose.

There is more to come, too! I have a skirt planned for winter/fall and possibly a couple of sweaters once I have ventured into the sweater knitting again. My brain is suddenly full of possibilities where knitting is concerned!

It Isn't Just the Needles That Have Been Productive!

2009-07-21T18:52:00.002-04:00

The knitting is moving along so quickly these days I haven't really had time to spread out everything and photograph them, but this shall be done and lo! you will be amazed at what is on the needles as well as what is coming off of them! I am so excited there is boundless squeeee involved!

Not only do I have tomatoes, but there are cucumbers, and herbs, and hot peppers! Look, I'll show you!

Cucumbers!

I Raided the LYS

2009-07-11T22:16:00.002-04:00

I feel as if I have raided the LYS of Stone's Throw with all of the goodies I have waiting for me to work with! It is a relaxing moment for the mind and heart. It is good. Very good.

Wednesday. It's Wednesday.

2009-07-08T20:07:00.001-04:00

Surprisingly, for a Wednesday, this hasn't been very bad at all. In fact, this has been a genuinely awesome day and I am feeling SO accomplished. I would even say I am a quarter of the way through with one of my footies and can't wait to wear them this fall! There is excitement!

Plus, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince comes out next week! EXCITEMENT! EXCITEMENT!

Nite Nite

2009-07-07T22:00:00.000-04:00

Last night I didn't go to bed early, but tonight.... Tonight I am on my way.

Monday Goes Down - One! Two! Three!

2009-07-06T21:58:00.002-04:00

Despite a squeaky voice and feeling pretty rotten, I survived Monday!

The footies I am making for myself are actually progressing faster than I thought they would. The baby blanket yarn is looking at me almost forlorn, wondering when it is going to be worked up into a cute little blanket for a brand new person coming into the world!

2009-07-05T14:45:00.000-04:00

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Socks, Rain, and a Soggy 4th Makes Peoples Happy

2009-07-05T12:42:00.002-04:00

Happy belated Fourth of July everyone!

Here at the Notafraid2knit homestead there was frantic preparations for getting everything ready for a party that ended up being in, thankfully, SS's garage! I need to do something super special for him because he deserves something special for all of the wonderful things he does for us here, as well as everyone else he can. You simply cannot beat him, except for maybe DH when he isn't grumpy, which is hard to do these days- not find him grumpy. Can grumpiness become a habit instead of how you are truly feeling? Sometimes I wonder, and yes, I digress. My apologies.

DH put together a brand new grill (in the rain) and then cooked some mighty tasty hamburgers and brauts (in the rain) and then proceeded to eat (in the rain) because he didn't want to bring his grumpiness into the garage with everyone else. This caused some amusement for some of the guests, especially RQ who has known DH for over 20 years and brought it up to him that"his wife" had "suggested" he put the grill together in the garage, but he had to be contrary. Surprisingly DH agreed and finally came in, literally, out of the rain to play a game with us and thus enjoy the rest of the day.

About 8:30 p.m. everyone packed up and headed to the fireworks display downtown and I gratefully went to my own home where I took more medicine for a probably sinus infection and just proceeded to rest.

Today I have little to no voice, and am slinging snot and feeling none too wonderful, but I am alive and the party was a success. It is amazing how some of the smallest things remind you of how great and grand life truly is and how it is always important to live it, no matter how badly you feel. Even feeling bad means you are alive enough to feel something.

The knitting projects are finally almost organized. Since I still do not have the sweater pattern for the baby item I am beginning on the blanket today. It is such a happy yarn. It is variegated white, pastel greens, blues, and yellows and so soft t is an absolute treat for the fingers to work with it! I am debating on two patterns for it, the slipped chain or something else. I am favoring the slipped chain because it just looks interesting and the pattern is not too hard to remember, as long as I can find it again, of course. I am simply going to have to buckle down and collect all of my pattern stash together into one place and just keep it there for future reference. Still, it is going to be quite a big chore when it eventually does begin.!

Planned Projects for July

2009-07-03T19:30:00.002-04:00

~~Scarf for Roots & Heritage Festival booth~~
Footies for me
Blanket for LB's baby
Sweater for LB's baby
Booties for LB's baby

What is already on the needles? The footies for me. Several other things need to go there pretty quick.

The World, As I Know It, Has Changed

2009-07-03T18:38:00.003-04:00

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A lot has been going on of late. Everyone knows I am working from home and that this has caused me some ups and downs emotionally, well, I have more news to share with you.

A couple of weeks ago the chiropractor my husband goes to sent me word through DH that he thought he could help me with my migraines despite my arthritis. So, armed with old copies of an MRI I had taken in 2003 I went to visit said doctor. Dr. Krackles is a nice man, smaller than I imagined, and he has quiet, tender hands that do help to make my back feel better.

After seeing my condition he said he thought he could help me and needed to look at the old MRI as well as some new x-rays he himself took. In the mean time I was sent to a different room and nice heat was applied to my back and a small tenz(sp?) unit was on my back and I found muscles that don't normally relax begin to do so. That alone was worth the $15 co-pay DH had to pay!

When it came time to the actual adjustment and consult, Dr. Krackles had some interesting news for me. My neck is broken and has been broken since at least 2003 when the migraines began. The injury itself is actually life-threatening and many doctors have missed it or just simply not cared. According to Dr. Krackles, as well as my GP, the place where my neck is injured is very dangerous - if I move my neck too quickly or receive an awkward jar, or even a jar I am not prepared for, I may die because my neck will snap and it will be all over.

That is VERY sobering news.

It has been a lot for me to deal with, actually, and the questions have not stopped since the discovery of the injury: Why didn't the doctor I was seeing for migraines back in 2003 catch the problem? If he did catch the problem why didn't he try to have it corrected? Is my osteoporosis so bad the injury cannot be repaired by the fusing operation several physicians have talked to me about? Has God kept me alive for these 6 years for some greater purpose?

Last week I had a small meltdown and temper tantrum. There just isn't any other way for me to describe the horrible crying jag and yelling fit I took, and sadly DH received the brunt of it all with as much patience as he could muster. Since then I have been having a hard time working and taking the calls and accepting being yelled at on a regular basis. The hardest calls for me to take have been the ones where people have been upset at me when I have had to ask if their injury was due to an auto accident or work related incident. It has set my teeth on edge when I have heard, "I am disabled. I cannot work!" They usually then proceed to explain to me why they cannot work. Sometimes I agree - silently - with them, but the majority of the time I just listen and do my job and hurry through the call as best I can so that I won't have to talk to that person any longer than is required.

It is wrong of me, I know, to be this way, but I have been, am, and am trying to encourage myself just to do the job and keep on going. My life could be really too short to dwell on their fear.

So, today, the first Friday I have not had to work in ages and ages, I have relaxed and prayed and thought and planned and hoped. Realizations and knowledges have made themselves present and I came to a conclusion: I am going to LIVE my life and going to make the best time out of what I have since, right now, I could literally die at any weird moment.

All of this actually began last night when I cast on a pair of footies for myself. Since they are for me I am not going to worry about a heel - you know, the foot size difference I have, lol - and could actually feel the tension leave my shoulders and upper back as I began to slowly knit. Since it felt so good, I picked up the "fake lace" scarf I promised my mother-in-law for her booth at the Roots & Heritage Festival this year and finished it before going back to the socks. Again, the tension continued to evaporate. There was peace on the inside again, which actually got me to thinking just a little more about what type of life I would like to live and what truly made me happy.

Since knitting has become so important to me I have made the decision to organize it and for an entire year, I am going to knit my way to prayer and peace. To that end I picked up two "spare" journals and made one my Christmas Journal and one my Knitting Journal. Because this is a knitting blog I am going to incorporate it into this year long trek of creating the life I want for myself, as well as leave behind for my husband, should the not-so-impossible happy, some truly good memories of us together, as well as the rest of my family and friends.

I have often read and heard how people, when faced with the knowledge of cancer and dying that they finally become the people they always should have been, but never fully understood it completely until now.

I am truly frightened - not so much of dying, but of leaving behind those I love with fewer happy memories than what they deserve. If something were to happen, I want the love of my life to smile at memories of me and not recall all of the arguments we have had or the cruel words we have said to each other.

This plan of mine, this project, if you will, is going to be quite difficult because there are a lot of changes that have to occur, but they are not changes that cannot occur. Much like knitting, each day, each moment of the day, is like a knitted stitch in a garment or project: each stitch fits with the next for something beautiful in the end; and when mistakes are made the wrong stitches are frogged and good ones knit in their place. This year is going to be the frogging of the old stitches of the garment that is me, and in doing this, I am going to knit and write as hard as I can, because there literally may not be a tomorrow for me.

Hopefully some of you will go on this journey with me for at least this year. If all goes well, there will be another year of this project of mine, but I am not going to take it for granted that there will be - not ever again - and I am going to be the person I truly am and enjoy my life without any pretenses. There isn't time for pretending or delaying any more. Now is the time for living and being...me.

2009-06-23T21:22:00.001-04:00

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The world is a strange place these days for me. It is a dangerous and yet wonderous place all at once. I guess it really hasn't changed that much, but some new information from a doctor has me worried and confused and nervous. Keeping all of that out of the mind and keeping going has been difficult. Yes, I know I am being cryptic, but it won't be very much longer until I can explain completely.

An Open Letter to Knitting

2009-06-16T20:26:00.004-04:00

Dear Knitting,

Yes, it has been a long time since I have picked up the needles to communicate with you and reset the emotional batteries for myself. No, it hasn't been anything you have done or not done - it has just been me letting everything else out there get in the way of us enjoying one another.

The washcloth that was begun is indeed almost completed and the baby sweater ideas are flowing, and the thought of knitting while watching So You Think You Can Dance practically makes my mouth water.

I have no forgotten you, my dearest friend, and I am coming back to you on the backs of shiny sheep and excited heart. Just be patient is all I ask.

Love,
Me

Looking to the Summer

2009-05-27T20:03:00.002-04:00

Sitting quietly today after work, I inhaled deeply and reveled in the knowledge I was wearing a tank top and I wasn't at all cold or chilled. In fact, it was warm outside and thus my arthritis wasn't bothering me nearly as much as it has all winter.

The knitting bug has firmly taken hold again and I am contemplating even more projects and what to do. The family is expecting a new baby in November and Sissy2 informed me that it even gets cool in Florida around that time so knitting something sort of warmish for a baby is absolutely grand.

There is some wonderful baby yarn I have left over from a previous hat project and now am debating if I want to make a little sweater, hat and booties out of it and throw in a nice little blanket because a friend of mine gave me some wonderful yarn that, I believe, would make a beautiful little baby blanket. I don't want it to be anything overly fancy, just simple and pretty. Currently we don't know what the baby is going to be, but neutral colors, greens and yellows, always go over well, or so I have been told.

Now all that remains is deciding on the sweater. I do have a pattern already for a baby kimono and, quite truthfully, I am leaning toward it heavily.

Besides the little baby things, I am preparing to delve into my first lace knitting of any summer, and socks. My goodness, how busy we knitters are! There is so much to knit and so many different things to try, or learn!

Nails and Yarn Its Surprising How Well They Go Together

2009-05-17T17:37:00.002-04:00

Friday after work, Sniffles and I headed out to my nail place for a "fill and paint" with Tim, the guy who does my nails at Foxy Nails here in Lexington (in the Pimlico shopping center). Getting my nails done has become as important, maybe more so, than getting my hair done, because getting my hair done requires a LOT more trouble and work for me as well as for any stylist willing to work with someone in a wheelchair that tilts. Most stylists get really weird when I go in to ask about prices, so have stopped doing that. However, getting my nails done does not require so much stress and thus it is that little girlie treat I let myself have along with make-up and smell-goods. Still, having my nails done is my treat for me and I always tip well, because Tim cannot just sit there in a comfy chair and do my nails, he is on his feet just as much as he is sitting. I commend his spirit and will tip him each and every time I go.

After having the nails done and walking back to a house full of friends for the weekly role playing session - we are doing Feng Shui now - I felt relaxed and more...in control of everything while accepting I am truly not in control of anything. And, as often as not, yarn and knitting came into the forefront of my brain. One woman looked at my hands once and declared, "How on earth do you type, much less do anything else!" My response was that it was quite easy, I just do it. Now that I have pretty nails more attention is drawn to my hands and thus to the pieces I am knitting and this comment is coming more and more.

Plus, there have also been comments of how frivolous having my nails is since my hands look so weird any way.

Walking back from the nail place Friday with Sniffles I realized I am actually quite proud and happy with my hands. After all, my hands still work - just a little differently than most peoples because of the arthritis and might not be quite as strong - and I love them as well as love seeing what the can do with sticks and strings. It is like magic. So, OK, my hands are beautiful, perhaps, to you, but to me they are and they are quite accomplished hands. Who cares if I am never going to be a hand model. I sure don't! :)

O How the Needles Do Sing!

2009-05-13T19:12:00.002-04:00

Work today was perfect for the day: It was gray and gloomy and drizzled rain here and there. The phones were not bad and there was space between calls for just some simple relaxation, so I brought the summer purse I am working on into the office and just let my hands and mind relax into the yarn and the process of knitting.

It was wonderful. Beautiful even.

It Feels Soooo Good!

2009-05-09T19:32:00.003-04:00

Yesterday when I got off work I actually relaxed and picked up the knitting needles and some yarn. I have decided to make myself a beautiful summer purse in the Pink Lemonade range of Sugar & Spice cotton yarn. It is going to be a long shoulder-strapped purse with room for only a few things and my ever-present cell phone and now the ever-present Nintendo DSi.

Picking up the needles and playing with the yarn has already begun to wash away some of the stress I was unaware of in my shoulders until it began going away as I began to cast on. The knitting projects are all there, patiently waiting for me and I must admit I have missed them.

One of the coolest things about the DSi is that it has a camera (which was one of the reasons why I was not going to get it in the first place!) and I can take pictures of my knitting and post them here soon without too much trouble. I just have to get myself an SD card in order to transfer them back and forth.

Have Ya Missed Me?

2009-05-03T00:18:00.002-04:00

Much has happened - I am now working from home for the same company. This is taking a bit to get used to, actually. It began this past Wednesday (04/29/09) and is supposed to continue from here on out.

There have been some hurdles. Small ones. I will explain them later on. Right now I just wanted to sign in and touch base with you all and to also let you know I am still alive and kicking and itching to knit again! Now that I am home and don't have to worry so much about transporting the knitting, the floodgates have opened in my brain and I am dying to get back into the yarn!

Return of the Knitting Bug

2009-03-28T18:44:00.002-04:00

Friday, in order for me to get by with the mundane at work I took back some knitting. Having dusted off the old knitting needles I must say my world slowly began to fit back together. Until Friday, when I began knitting, I knew something was out of place, but I did not know what. Still don't. The thing I do know is that the raised bumps of things settled into a little better semblance of a normal landscape. Hubby's operation was not exactly simple, but it went well and I am relieved. The thing that really was upsetting was the fact there was something wrong with him. Now that he is home (and still sleeping off and on on the couch)my world is once again more orderly.

So, I have grabbed the wonderful sweater called Clark and have everything ready to begin working on it again. Plus, because it was small, I began working on a dishcloth. My next project, small project, will be dishcloths as a baby gift. They are going to be made out of chenille. As things are finished I will post them. The image here is just of the dishcloth I am working on...almost. It is a "chain" dishcloth, but not quite this one. This was the closest picture I could find to the dishcloth I am making.

I also discovered my sock yarn! I can't wait to begin working on a pair of magic loop socks so I can learn the technique as well as making myself some socks. Excitement is deep in the heart of me right now. Knitting. Games. Cooking. Spring. Life.

This Day at Last Relaxes

2009-03-26T19:55:00.003-04:00

Hubby had to have his operation today and I stayed home from work to make sure the house was as close to spotless as I could get it with Cheyenne's help. Today has been one of the more worrisome days that I have had in quite a while.

There was so much housework and cleaning to do today (OK, maybe not that much cleaning) that I have not really picked up the knitting needles yet. Now that Hubby is sleeping peacefully on the couch my mind is beginning slowly to turn toward yarn and and needles and knitted items.

Knitting will help me settle down a little more.

Firsts!

2009-03-15T19:03:00.000-04:00

see more dog and puppy pictures

I am working on my first set of baby booties! So excited!

Serious Sock Thoughts

2009-03-08T21:50:00.001-04:00

When my paycheck is here I am going to order me some sock yarn and I am going to get a nice book for doing magic-loop socks and I am going to make me a pair of socks darn it!

That is all.

'Nuff Said

2009-02-28T17:40:00.001-05:00

more animals

The Needles on the Bus go Click Click Click

2009-02-23T21:59:00.002-05:00

Today there was a very long wait while the bus I was on picked up another rider. So, to help pass the time I took out the knitting and worked on the second of the fingerless mitts for the pair. It was wonderful. Yes, I know, I have read of people doing this on buses, but I myself had never done this before today. So, what do I say? I am going to do it more often!

Beginnings and Endings

2009-02-22T16:13:00.002-05:00

The very last pair of fingerless mitts is being finished and I have realized I really do enjoy making them - I am just tired of making the very same ones repeatedly. So, I am going to make some pretty ones with lace-weight yarn, I think for myself, or a lace scarf for myself. I am torn. Still.... There are just so many wonderful things to knit!

I still haven't tackled "magic loop" yet, but I am determined to begin this week, or as soon as I find some more sock yarn I would like to work with. I may have to do a KnitPicks shopping spree for some new sock yarn. And, of course, I must finish the baby gifts I have begun for an LJ friend.

At last, though, the knitting mojo is back! I am so very relieved!

Plus, I have also figured out how to make something to hold my yarn at work and keep it orderly and neat: Coffee can yarn caddies! I just have to find some weight to put in the bottom of a coffee can to make it heavy so the weight of the yarn itself won't drag it all over my desk. Does anyone have any idea about how it should be decorated? I am thinking of some shelf liner as decorative wrapping around the can itself. A hole in the top of the lid for the yarn will let the yarn out of the can. I am kind of excited now about knitting projects. It could be possible now to take the sweater I am still working on.

A Reflection

2009-02-20T21:40:00.002-05:00

The work week has finally come to an end. I was able to relax this morning with a little knitting before the bus arrived to take me to work. It felt good. I need to let myself sit quietly at the end of each day to just relax and let the day drift away in the yarn and wonderful stitches. *sigh* The knitting world is a wonderful one. Don't you agree?

That Wonderful Day After Valentine's

2009-02-15T17:32:00.002-05:00

moar funny pictures
Yesterday was Valentine's Day. Yeah, most people in the world knew it and enjoyed it. Remarkably, so did me and Hubby. We didn't do anything overly romantic, but we did make sure to spend the day together as well as alone together, which was absolutely wonderful beyond belief.

We went to see the movie Push at The Movie Tavern where we enjoyed buffalo wings, french fries, and just being together.

As for presents, well, he got me both seasons of Shimmy and I got him some wonderful masculine cologne that smells wonderful on him!

And today is, well, the day after Valentine's Day and I must admit it has been one of those slow days. I did quite a bit yesterday and moved more than what I had been moving because of the pain in my back, so I did not make it to Church today, but it was for the best because I feel better. The back is still not happy, but it is better. Hopefully I will be back to normal in a week or two more. This is my hope, however.

While Hubby napped on the couch this afternoon, I realized I had not knitted anything I had not wanted in a long time. So I began a dish cloth just for me...

And I have tried several times to upload a picture of it, but technology is foiling me!

I feel so much better now. I feel so good in fact, I will probably attack the wonderful sweater called Clark!

'Splaining and Stuffs

2009-02-12T17:11:00.002-05:00

Things have been exceptionally quiet here of late and I have left you all hanging with almost an explanation as to what actually happened, so I understand there is some 'splaining to do. So, I dood it now:

Sunday, the 8th, I used WHEELS to go to Church because I was planning on going shopping later at the mall. The driver who picked me up from Church to take me to the mall did not secure my wheelchair down properly. I knew this when I slid out of my slot and almost hit the lift, which is made of metal and has many sharp parts, and also rocked up on one line of wheels and then rocked back to the other side. It is a miracle I did not actually turn over and get hurt even worse than I was.

The entire incident hurt me pretty badly. I missed work on Monday and attempted to go to work Tuesday, but ended up having to leave and go to the ER because the pain was pretty bad: I was hurting from head to toe and had actually had to go to the bathroom and vomit because of the pain. My manager and supervisor threatended to call 911 if I vomitted one more time. Luckily Hubby arrived before that happened.

The ER basically said my body had been in a car wreck without me actually having been in a car wreck. The x-rays showed, thank goodness, that I did not have any broken bones or hairline fractures. This was a miracle in and of itself. This prompted me being off from work from Tuesday through today. I am actually going to work tomorrow. It is my short day. *sigh* The paycheck is going to suffer, but I still have my job which means a lot to me.

Hurt back....

2009-02-09T19:38:00.001-05:00

I did not make it to work today: There was an exceptionally rough ride on a WHEELS bus yesterday. It hurt my back. Tomorrow I will be going to work.

2009-02-07T19:03:00.002-05:00

Today has been one of those days where I have just relaxed and rested. Yesterday I ran away to Barnes & Noble for a couple of hours and made a couple of purchases for writing as well as reading. However, I have been a bad girl on the knitting from - I have done nothing.

It isn't that there isn't any inspiration, or that there are not things to actually finish and others to begin. It has just been so difficult this week to manage my station and get the knitting needles out during the quiet times, which have not been all that many, but there have been a few. Instead of knitting during the down times I have been reading.

Sunday I am going to go shopping for a Valentine's Day gift for my guy, and I am also going to plan my knitting time a little more, and I am also going to organize a few more things at my desk. I am also probably going to order myself a yarn bowl or pick up a nice heavy-ish bowl of some sort so I can use it while at work. Or, I could also go to Jo Anne's and pick up a couple of those "yarn caddies" that zip. Until I get some bills paid I have to be very careful with indulging in the knitting world.

Work is really going well for me. The one thing I need to do is to make sure and organize my relaxing points while there. I need to make sure the old bp doesn't spike on me while there.

2009-01-31T19:18:00.001-05:00

A Cute Little Bag and Yarn Therapy Commense

2009-01-30T17:43:00.002-05:00

This cute little bag has caught my attention. Valentine's Day is closer than what I am comfortable with, and I am trying to be up on the possible knitting projects I can use as giving as gifts or parts of gifts. I am thinking that this little thing would be perfect for putting a small gift or two in for my own special Valentine. Since my paycheck is waiting for me at work instead of being deposited like I expected it to be into my checking account, I think the purchase of some yarn for such a cute little creation would be wonderful for my guy. The only other thing I need to need to figure out is what to put inside said pouch.

The instructions are not going to be posted below, and if you would like a copy of your very own, you can click on the title above and be taken to the Lion BrandTM site where the page for the project is available for your very own download. I was going to post them, but didn't want to step on any copyright toes - I am too poor to pay for copyright infringement. LOL.

On other knitting news, I am going to kick the knitting into high gear and finish at least two sets of the fingerless mitts for two or three people in my office. I am going to try my very best and get three sets done so that when I go in on Monday I will be bringing gifts for my co-workers who have had to take over the calls I should have been taking while off due to the ice and snow conditions that are trapping me here in the house.

I was reading today in an article I received about dealing with stress in a creative way. The article suggested either writing in a diary or journal; writing a short story, and, of course, knitting and other hand crafts. After taking a nerve pill the thought of knitting made me ease up even more.

The possibility of losing my new job over this is very real. Hubby keeps telling me not to worry about it, but it is so difficult not to do so. Sister2 suggested just keeping busy and prepare for work on Monday as if everything was going to work out perfectly. Positive thinking can hopefully get me through this current bout of nerves that feels as if it is bordering on a panic or anxiety attack.

Hubby came home from work tonight and worked a little on the porch and the ramp a little before coming in and promptly going to lie down for a little. Me thinks he isn't feeling all that great. He is such a macho guy he does not like to admit he does not feel well and I have to guess or ask many times how he is feeling before he gets annoyed enough to tell me. Since my own nerves are a little jangled at the moment, I am just going to let him relax for a while before finding out how he feels or even what he would like for supper. I know he is also under stress because of all of this himself in trying to support me, in his own strange way, through this.

Tomorrow is also Hubby's 40th birthday and, just possibly he might be feeling this one, but he hasn't said anything specifically.

It's white outside my window still.

2009-01-29T15:45:00.003-05:00

The back yard looks beautiful today in the cool gray afternoon light. The dogs have run and played in the snow and left their tracks and trails mingling together until the snow looks rumpled, like rumpled sheets on a large bed. Ice still clings to the trees and makes them droop, each branch outlined in icy clearness like some alien landscape suddenly come to life before my very eyes.

Like every day since Monday I am stuck in the house unable to get out safely, which means work and my paycheck is suffering. Today, though, I have been practically depressed over the fact I am not out at my job: I feel as if I am failing. Everyone says I am not, but, still, this is how I feel. Working is a serious matter for me, and not working now makes me feel as if I am letting my employers down after they gave me such a big chance.

There is part of me that is still coldly rational about everything. If I am fired I should probably be able to find another job. If I am let go there will be someone else who can quite easily do my job. If. If. If.... So, to keep my mind busy and my body, at least my hands, active, I am working on the fingerless mitts I have promised my co-workers. There will be one pair finished today and another pair begun. Hubby said he would dig me out a path today when he gets home. SS tried but could not. Hopefully it is warm enough for the snow/ice-melt stuff to work now at 24*F. If I am unable to go to work tomorrow I will go on Monday and be more prepared for the next storm that is preparing to hit Lexington at the beginning of next week.

I am being as optimistic as I can as well as appreciate the beauty and knitting around me.

Check out this.

2009-01-28T21:22:00.001-05:00

http://www.kentuckymountaingirlnews.com

Tired. Check out the link above.

Ice

2009-01-27T19:23:00.003-05:00

moar funny pictures
Last night there was a major dumping of ice on the Lexington area. Because of the ice I didn't make it to work today, and it felt odd. Yesterday, once everyone saw my supervisor's fingerless mitts, everyone nearly in my unit has requested them. Since I can't take large knitting projects to the office I figured these would be perfect to do there in those down times.

According to the weather and news, tomorrow is supposed to be more of the same. It didn't get above freezing today so my ramp is still iced over. Tomorrow is probably going to be another stay-at-home day. SupervisorB said that I wouldn't lose my job since the ice was beyond my control. This means, from my understanding, I am still going to have a job, but the paycheck is going to be somewhat smaller than it would have been with a full week of work.

I live! And so much more!

2009-01-24T14:43:00.002-05:00

Sorry my friends, but the world is topsy turvy with all of the changes going on and the work schedule getting used to; however, you can catch up with me a little by following this link:

http://kentuckymountaingirlnews.blogspot.com/2009/01/it-feels-like-i-am-home-for-weekend.html#links

I get to knit at work!

Knitting Has Already Invaded The Work Place

2009-01-16T19:18:00.002-05:00

Today was my second day of training at the new job. When I was putting my bag together for work this morning I discovered some knitting at the bottom - unfinished fingerless mitts - I decided to leave them there so I could actually have something to do should the bus get me there extremely early or I had to wait a while on it to pick me up. Well, the bus did indeed get me to work extremely early so I sat and had some quiet knitting time to help me prepare for the training. The supervisors ( I love them!) arrived and we sat and talked while I knitted. Supervisor2 is a wonderful young woman and I just couldn't help but volunteer to make her a pair because she was just so cold in the office. Supervisor1 is a very interesting man who cracks me up and is so laid back he just simply encourages a good working environment by his very presence! He was so cold I also volunteered to make him a pair as well. He was adamant to let me know he preferred masculine colors. I couldn't help but smile, because Supervisor2 and I had already been talking about colors for hers and she loves pinks and purples. A girl after my own heart on the purples.

As luck would have it, there was also some waiting involved and thus more knitting at the end of the day. It was wonderful! Just knowing I will be able to have my knitting around at the job, when not working of course, that the stress-reduction has already begun. And, since I don't have any pink yarn I get to go shopping for a skein this weekend! I am happy.

The job is a call center position and we have had training yesterday and today, as well as get-to-know-each-other time, which is actually very good. The training, however, is going to be over on Tuesday and we go live on Wednesday or Thursday. I am nervous. We all are. Still, there is also an excitement there as well. We found out today we are not going to be sharing our desks with anyone else so we get to decorate them as we like and call them ours. We even got to pick our stations/desks today. Mine is next to the windows and light. Hopefully the blinds will be open more than they will be shut. I need sunlight or I feel quite draggy and low.

Speaking of being draggy and low: The doctor had another potassium test run on me. The potassium was low, which means I have to go back on potassium, which does not surprise me. In fact, I am somewhat relieved because this should help me feel more energetic and able to handle the job and this new life I am suddenly living. (I am also going to store a couple of 5 Hour Energy Drinks in my desk for those super lazy days, or days following an insomnia night.) Hopefully the doctor will be able to figure out soon why I am losing my potassium and we can, again hopefully, correct the problem. Who knows, I may have to be on potassium for a while this year.

Oh, and one girl at the office has asked if knitting was difficult to learn.

*insert grin here*

The Third Day of the New Year 2009...

2009-01-03T15:27:00.002-05:00

...brings quietness and my darling husband snoring on the couch.

He actually made it to tai chi this morning, but when he came home he went and laid down on the bed "to stretch his back out" and fell asleep. He got up from there and went into the living room where he sat down on the couch and fell promptly asleep again. I am not going to wake him as I had ample sleep myself today and am feeling much better for it.

The first project for 2009 I am bound and determined to complete is going to be the wonderful sweater called Clark. It has been sitting around and sitting around and other projects have been being pushed and pulled and slipped in front of it until it has taken me a very long time to even get back to it. However, as one of my New Year's Resolutions (surprisingly I actually made a list this year) I am getting all of the old projects under my belt and getting them finished so that by the time summer rolls around I can pick up a pair of socks or some lace - still determined on the lace - without feeling one bit of guilt.

The year 2008 was a very important learning year for me where knitting has been concerned, as well as a little more of life in general. I have learned that if I actually plug away on a project it actually gets completed and looks wonderful, and that small projects are quick ego boosters when the larger projects seem to be taking forever to complete. Many of you probably already knew this, and I know I did at some point in my brain, but it was nice having the knowledge re-awakened in my head and heart. I also learned that when I don't knit for a considerable period of time I get really grumpy, grouchy, meanish, and my blood pressure refuses to stay in the nice levels and tries to kill me. Yes, an important reason to keep knitting. I have also learned and accepted that my nearest and dearest friends watch my knitting progression and when I am not knitting immediately know something is horribly wrong in my world somewhere - either I am sick or I am under a larger-than-normal amount of stress and come to my rescue.

I have also learned that all of the friends I have made on Ravelry.com are some of the dearest to my little heart. Thank you guys for sharing this wonderful...hobby with me.

2008-12-31T18:28:00.000-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

KNIT ON!

Pre-Christmas Ill, Right on Time

2008-12-22T13:08:00.002-05:00

I am sick. I am dog sick, not just 'sick as a dog' but dog sick. I have the flu according to my doctor, who has graciously called in some antibiotics for me and which my loving neighbor is going to get for me on the way to purchase groceries. However, I am not alone in the sick. Hubby has the sick as well, as does Sniffles, and even Haro (although Haro claims he is turning the corner on the ill and is thus proclaiming himself better).

Despite the ill, I have indeed knitted like the wind and finished up with a hat and one fingerless mitt I will now have to sew up and the second mitt is begun and is looking more like a swatch than anything else, but it IS a mitt, or soon will be. The scarf to match is just going to have to arrive at some point after Christmas, maybe by Old Christmas on January 6th; although, to be quite honest, it will probably be by Valentine's Day. One gift will not be given at all because it is no where near completed. *insert large, sad sigh here*

Knitting, even though I have been sick, has been a joy, a release for all of the illness that currently inhabits this ol' body. No matter how badly I am feeling, once a few rows are knitted on a project, the better I feel, at least emotionally.

One of the side effects of this flu is that I cannot hear. Both ears are stopped up and one is probably infected. This means there is quiet and stillness during the knitting that otherwise would not be there; the knitting would be accompanied by the noise on the TV or radio. Hubby is looking at this with a wry smile and he keeps trying to help me listen to my favorite shows by turning the TV up quite loud. I can hear it, sometimes, but, if I had my druthers, I would just knit, right now, in the stillness of my own head. However, I do miss hearing conversations and what is being said to me.

I hope your all holiday gifts are finished and ready for their recipients and, just in case I don't make it back before then: Have a wonderful Merry Christmas!

Progress Has Been Made

2008-12-17T18:50:00.003-05:00

I don't know about you, but sometimes I need something to boost my spirits when I am stressed. So, I am sharing with you one of my favorite spirit-boosters - Shemar Moore. There are several things I could think of knitting for him!!!!

Still knitting like the wind, but not feeling quite so over-whelmed. That will probably happen next week. So far the hat I need to have done for my mother-in-law is growing and should be finished this week, if not tomorrow.

Tomorrow I am going to finish up my Christmas shopping if at all possible and the wrapping of presents can begin along with the much-needed knitting.

2008-12-15T16:41:00.000-05:00

Knitting. Like the wind.

A Test

2008-12-11T18:24:00.001-05:00

I am trying things out because I am filling up places to hold pictures quickly. I may have to just start downloading them to Box.net or to some other place. The only problem is that I am going to have to begin paying some place it seems, and I do not have my first paycheck yet!

Seasonal Countdown and Time Consciousness

2008-12-08T18:32:00.001-05:00

Things have been strange for me here at the Lexington homestead. Ricyos's father passed away Friday morning after a brief battle with cancer. It was a big surprise for the family, and everyone else. Only four or five weeks ago Ricyos's dad had to have a quintuple heart bi-pass and some scarring was found on his lungs. The scarring turned out to be cancer that had spread from some place else into his lungs. (Only within the past week had the doctors discovered some cancer cells in his stomach where another doctor had diagnosed a “bleeding ulcer” years before.) Having lost my own Dad 4 years ago this past year, I knew what the family was beginning to go through, and, for the first time in a long time I was able to be there for someone else and not my own family. It did not cause me to 'feel good' as some people would say, but it did let me be grateful to help someone else through this tragedy. Personally I would not wish losing a family member, especially one of your parents, on my worst enemy if I had one!

As usual, when stressed any more, I turn to the yarn and needles. This time I discovered that the knitting has again taken a different perspective and changed its place – going ever upwards on the needed-for-life scale as I currently know it. Having the massive amounts of knitting to do wasn't a drag or drudge, but it was a necessary part of having my day and hours filled. Knitting helped the burdens to ease and the time to pass in peaceful rhythm, and, for the first time this Christmas season, there was time for me to actually sit and think about what I would like for Christmas in the swag department.

So, for those of you who have asked I send you to http://www.knitpicks.com and the pattern collections with the following list:

Knitting Classic Style, by Veronik Avery
2-At-A-Time Socks, by Melissa Morgan-Oakes
Knitted Socks, by Anna Tillman
More Big Girl Knits, by Jillian Moreno & Amy Singer
Knitting New Mittens and Gloves, by Robin Melanson

I also need some 42” cables for the Interchangeable circular needles. I also need U.S. 5 replacement tips.

Subversive Knitting ....... GASP

2008-12-08T13:43:00.000-05:00

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Nailed 'Em - Radical Knitting

Colbert at Christmas
Colbert Christmas DVD

Green Screen
Bill O'Reilly Interview

Some History and a Link

2008-12-03T18:02:00.003-05:00

As most know, I am a member of Ravelry as NotAfraid2Knit. Big surprise, right? Well, one of the groups I am a member of there is JWS Knit and Natter led by the indomitable jmcarlisle who posted some wonderful information about Aran stitches. I am posting it here with permission. I hope you find this as interesting as I do.

Basket stitch = the fisherman’s basket for abundant catches.

Irish moss = symbol of the gifts of the sea-carrageen moss, a delicious food harvested at low tide.

The Link = the eternal link with those who have left the islands.

Diamond = represents success, wealth, and treasure derived from land and sea.

Honeycomb = tribute to the bee and hard work; considered lucky for fisherman to see a swarm of bees.

The tree of life = symbolizes the hope of Aran islanders for strong sons and family unity.

Trellis = represents the pattern of the small stone walled fields of the west acting as protection against the wind.

Double zigzag = the marriage lines suggesting the ups and downs that make life worthwhile.

And here is a link to a creative knitting site you might find interesting:

http://www.creativeknittingmagazine.com/newsletters/creativeknitting/index.html

You can also click on the title to go to the site as well. Happy knitting today y'all.

It Has Arrived

2008-11-26T20:48:00.000-05:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

All My Rowdy Friends Are Knitters

2008-11-25T18:36:00.002-05:00

OK, not all of my "rowdy" friends are knitters.... I have just been listening to a lot of country music today.

The nice line of dogs you see here is usually the site I see when my "secretaries" wait for something to do like be petted, help mom with important character decisions; decide on yarns, needles and a good next project. When their services are not called upon they take naps.

Today more stitches were put down on The-Wonderful-Sweater-Called-Clark. The back is nearing completion at a much faster pace (probably because I am working on it). I should be able to cast on for the front by the end of the week, Thanksgiving withstanding. Knitting is the continual thing that helps me relax and lately I have needed relaxing for various reasons.

There is good news on the job front: Two places have responded positively to my resume and said they would be notifying me again soon! *swoon* I am so pleased. I hope the hours work out well and I get paid for training because I could really use it. Yes, I know - I sound like a broken record on that front. Maybe everything is going to open up soon.

A job also means something even more splendid: More yarn!!!

My Mind Roams Today

2008-11-24T18:50:00.002-05:00

There are moments when all you can think about is being someplace else. Some place where you feel as if you have escaped into a quiet place to rest for a while. It doesn't have to be a place far away. It can be quite near. Like the cafe' at your favorite bookstore. Yeah, I'd like to be at Barns and Noble's right now sipping on a cafe' mocha and munching on a sugar cookie surrounded by books and people that I don't have to talk to if I don't want. Tonight, though, I would also be surrounded by yarn and knitting needles and books on knitting because this is a knitting night. Yessir, a full-fledged knitting night.

DH has gone to his tai chi practice and I am alone. Instead of making me feel all depressed and itchy to have company, I feel as if I am actually getting a good treat. I measured The Wonderful Sweater Called Clark against its recipient and feel good about how it is turning out. Tonight I am going to concentrate a good portion of knitting time upon said wonderful sweater and, once I find my Interchangeables - Hubby has put them somewhere - I am going to cast on a sweater for him.

Yes, I can mention knitting projects here without worry he will find out. He looks at my knitting and all of its many projects as almost a disease. It is a good disease as far as Dear Hubby is concerned, but a disease none-the-less.

As if the plans for knitting were not enough, I have spent a wonderful hour roaming Ravelry.com and seen so many projects I would like to undertake one day.

All in all, this has been a yarn-filled day more or less. SS came over for lunch and while he was here he helped me de-tangle a couple of masses of yarn. According to him, de-tangling yarn and other things is a stress-reliever for him. I, personally, consider it a miracle and will help him de-stress sometimes (although unintentionally).

Today I re-discovered a pair of nice worsted weight fingerless mitts, a hat, as well as the worsted weight pair of socks I made for myself. I wish I had had these this past Friday! Perhaps my hands would not have gotten so cold! (I am now determined to make myself some mittens for such occasions; I am just not sure which yarn to use from my stash.)

!@#$$%$%$&!!!!!!

2008-11-21T13:46:00.001-05:00

Bobby. Bobby. Bobby. You really aren't that trendy right now. How about picking up some knitting needles for a good sweater and if you don't like pants, how about a skirt?

Wonky. Weird. Wundernuts!

2008-11-20T16:38:00.003-05:00

Things are...unusual here. A wonderfully good friend has recently discovered his father has cancer and today it was told how long he could expect to have his father around. It isn't as long as anyone would have hoped.

It has also made me remember all of that long year when I was with my Mom and helping her as much as I possibly could and making mistakes as I did so. A lot of old memories have returned and it hurts.

Isn't it odd how some pains never truly go away or are 100% healed? Grief is like a scar that never completely closes. It is always ready to tear open a little and bleed. In my long years of overcoming the grief of the losses I've suffered that fateful pair of years, I have discovered nothing makes it completely all better, but there are a few things that make coping a little easier to do. For me one of those things just happens to be yarn. Since all of this has begun with our dear friend I have found myself planning projects as well as working on all of the current WIPs lying about. I wish I could just spread the peace of knitting a little further into this situation, but I can't, and the memories I have, though bittersweet, are my memories and I can stand them...now.

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