Yes, someday I'll attach head to shoulders before I start typing. Surgery is May 14th, not May 7th. But we won't dwell on that. First because I really get annoyed by people who have no other conversation skills beyond their health. That's a personal and individual thing, so let's keep it personal and not inflict it on others. Second, yes, it makes me nervous. I've been exceedingly healthy for the majority of my life and this is major surgery. While I'm napping, they're going to cut a big hole, remove some parts that used to be quite handy and then sew me up. I'll be sore, I'll be cranky and please feel sorry for my poor husband. The girls can notes for someday, but my poor husband. I'll go to sleep with some fading hormones and wake up without them. I have no interest in HRT, so this poor man will live in lack-of-hormone-hell until I adjust.
~~~~~
Nuff said about that issue.
~~~~~
Widdershins. This pattern still bothers me. So I have some wonderful Plymouth Happy Feet yarn that I'm going to play with. I have some ideas on how to adjust Widdershins so I actually like it. I'm just not going to use expensive hand-dyed yarn while I'm playing. Happy Feet runs about $6/skein (2 needed for a pair of socks), so I don't mind playing with that. OTOH, I also won't make the second sock before I put them on feet. I'll try first and if that one doesn't work, make more adjustments on the second until I get it right.
~~~~~
In the meantime, I've pulled out some of the oddball skeins from my big stash steal and I'm making a slant-pocket bag. I think that's one of the new felting patterns over on Knitty.com. It's a fairly mindless pattern, but I really like it. So I'm making the first and see if I like the size so I can make others as Christmas presents for this year's holiday. (Geez, Louise! It's only April and I'm already beginning to think on Christmas, for Christmas' sake!!! Well, if I don't think on it now, I'll surely be in trouble come September... /g/)
~~~~~
If the size felts down to a good size -- yeah, how do you explain that one other than... not too big, not too small... LOL! Anyway, if I like the size of the final bag, I'm going to make one adjustment to it. I'd like to extend the top of the bag so it folds over. Maybe add an I-cord frog or something so you can close it, but keep the slanted pockets and be able to fold the top of the back panel over the front. I'll also have to test the length of the strap. Most straps are too long for me. I'm short at only 5'3". Not tiny, by any means, but I like a bag to hang about waist-length. Not down at my hip and not short enough that I can't tuck the strap over my shoulder comfortably without the bulk of the bag under my elbow. Most straps tend to hang the bag down around my hip and I don't feel comfortable because I can't tuck my elbow against it. Remember, I'm a safety girl and I always worry that someone is rumaging in my bag whenever I'm forced to enter a mall. So I like to tuck it against me with my elbow, which is at my waist.
~~~~~
What else? I have the Claudia Hand-paint in Bearded Iris on the needles. Very lovely yarn to work with. And I had no trouble with running short. 70 rows on the cuff and my usual 55 rows between the heel gusset and the toe decreases. (Yes, I resorted back to my usual cuff down construction until I can get Widdershins to my satisfaction.) I also cast on my first pair of Colinette Jitterbug in Monet. Wonderful, lovely yarn to work with. It's a bit heavier than the Claudia, so now I understand why Brenda Dayne ran short the time she worked with it. As usual, skeins are sold in weight, not yardage. These skeins only have about 180 yards in them because it's a bit heavier gauge, though I'm still knitting with my trusty 2.25mm Options circular in a Magic Loop. Stitch definition is wonderful in Colinette because of the heavier yarn and the colors really do remind me of lilypads in a pond with those splashes of color for the flowers.
~~~~~
The Pi Are Squared Shawl continues a few rows at a time. It's now remaining at home for night knitting because it's large enough to be a bit of a pain to carry with me. That and the alpaca does have a tendency to shed a bit, which can be annoying at work. A navy blue uniform makes shedding yarn a real pain because I'm constantly having to lick my palm and roll the hair into little tufts to remove every few hours. So that's going to stay at home and be my at-home project.
~~~~~
I'm not sure yet if the bag project is too large to carry around. It does squish down quite small and I'm past the halfway point on the pockets so that should work up quickly. Then I have the strap to knit and I can put the whole thing together before felting it all. It's kind of a mishmash of colors because I began with a yarn that was mostly a moss green with some flecks of orange and mauve. Then I switched to a variegated mauve with no green whatsoever. (This, though, is the section that the pockets will attach to so it will mostly frame and peek from behind the pocket.) The pocket is a wonderful bright purple and mauve and pink with touches of green and yellow. Very cheery and bright and I really love the way these colors are working up for the pocket. Then I'll take the remains of the variegated mauve and, if needed, any leftover bright whimsy to knit up the strap. It's kind of patchwork, but that's okay. The felting should make the color changes a bit less obvious and, even if it doesn't, I don't mind. Even though it sounds like a strange mixture, it seems to work.
~~~~~
This coming week is nothing special that I can think of. Just work on both jobs and an uneventful weekend. Nothing planned yet, but I'm sure my family will have lots of ideas for what I should do with all that extra time that we know I have no clue how to fill... LOL! Today is shower, laundry, change bed and catch up on LOTS of programs that I've previously recorded.
~~~~~
I'm SO spoiled. Two years ago, Mark bought me a DVD recorder for Christmas. So I have the ability to record all the programs that I'm not home for. Yes, I have a secret obsession for "People's Court", "Judge Judy" and "Dancing with the Stars". I feel like the first two help me keep sharp and honed mentally. Testing what little I know of legal proceedings (which amazingly helps a great deal with my 2nd job doing accounting... especially for the bums who wrack up huge bills and think they can't be held responsible for it) and I've watched "DwtS" since the first season. Having been an ice dancer in a very young and very long ago life, it's interesting to see how the stars grow as dancers as well as how the professionals interpret the stories behind the various dances. (Yes, in the Paso Doble, she is not the bull and him the matador. She is his cape and she is his instrument used to entice the bull that cannot be seen. And do you know why she turns her head away from her partner in the Tango? Because the men were usually just into town from the plains and quite sweaty. It has nothing to do with whether she wants him or not. He's paid his money for his dance -- and other various possibilities for the night /g/ --she will deliver what he's paid for. OTOH, she doesn't have to smell his sweat in the meantime... LOL!)
~~~~~
"Judge Judy", though. Read her books. Ladies, you're really missing out if you don't. Her advice is timeless and her experiences in her life as well as her experience in the family courts is invaluable. You're never too young or too old to learn something new and something eye-popping.
~~~~~
Before I blather on about whatever next pops into my head. New task for today. Mother-in-law nagging husband to pick up and put together a new entertainment center. She has the patience of a mayfly, so I'm going to help out. That way I can treat myself to catching up on recorded programs.
~~~~~
Have a wonderful week!
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Saturday, March 29, 2008
More bat poop and graduations
I hate Widdershins. There, I said it. I didn't frog that first heel and try decreasing instead of increasing. I actually figured out that I was wrong and you really should be increasing toward the heel because when you knit top-down, you decrease as you're turning. So, in essence, if you're working in reverse, you should be increasing as you turn.
~~~~~
Yes, she did get that right. Unfortunately, I screwed up big time because it decreased the number of stitches for my gusset, which shortened the foot of my sock. I know, I know. I should have been measuring with my trusty tape measure as I went along. I would have seen that the sock was running short. But I didn't.
~~~~~
I know with complete accuracy that, when working a cuff-down sock, I turn my heel, decrease for my gusset and then I knit 55 rows before I decrease for my toes. Doesn't matter what the yarn is as long as it's knit on my trusty 2.25mm needles. My gauge is almost perfect regardless of what yarn I'm working with and any variation in yarn thickness is so minimal that it's negligible.
~~~~~
So I knit my trust 55 rows, did my gusset, made a few adjustments for the heel but I turned that and knit about 80 rows up the cuff and cast off. What's the problem? Short foot. I need another 10 rows in my foot measurement to match the socks I make cuff down.
~~~~~
Big sigh....
~~~~~
So I have a pair of absolutely gorgeous Great Adirondack socks that are now useless to me and anyone in my family because I have the smallest feet.
~~~~~
Argh!!! Oh, and to add insult to injury? I've finally figured out what my problem is lately. I have dry skin. We're talking alligator skin. You could make a very fashionable pair of shoes out of my skin if I came in another color besides "pink" or "nude" or whatever you want to call "pale"... LOL! And I've been itching like crazy. My arms. My legs. (It's real tricky to try and scratch your inner thighs at work when you work in a bubble booth... /grin/) I have patches of itch on my belly, etc. It finally dawned on me this week that we'd changed our laundry detergent. I can't use major brands because they add perfumes and softeners and all kinds of additives. Generic brands tend to work for me because they keep the price down by sticking to soap and that's about it. So I think that's what my problem is.
~~~~~
It's gotten so bad in the last week that I'm waking myself at night, feeling like one big allergic hive. I was blaming it on the dry air that seems to have huddled over Connecticut. Everyone around us for the last month or so gets all kinds of rain and snow. We get the clouds and the clouds try to drop precipitation, but it's evaporated into the atmosphere before it can hit the ground. That's how dry it is. Weird to think that it's raining at 20,000 ft but not a drop is hitting the ground, but there you have it. Anyway, I thought the dry atmosphere was affecting my skin, but now I'm thinking it's the new laundry detergent.
~~~~~
So oldest daughter picked me up some generic stuff last night. Today I'm going to wash the whole wardrobe and see if that helps.
~~~~~
Quick update... surgery is set for May 7th. The only day of work I'll miss is the big graduation. Classes end the week prior and then I'll be able to work the law school graduation on Sunday. It pushes back the date I wanted by two weeks, but that's okay. It's still early enough not to totally erase my summer, and late enough that I won't have to use all my accrued sick time. That's a good thing because I figure you can always use sick time. God forbid someone in the family got really sick and I needed to take care of them. The job allows me to accrue up to 6 months of sick time and my goal is to do just that. Vacation time doesn't carry over from year to year, so save sick time whenever possible and let that build up.
~~~~~
Anyway, this is all good. The only day I'll miss of work is the 10-hour, 12,000 person party. Hmm... while it's nice to be able to be there on graduation day for those kids I've seen come through the university, it's not always one of the easiest days to work. Kids moving out is the worst because half the kids don't pack before their rides come to pick them up. Kids moving in runs about equal because the freshmen parents never quite figure out when it's time to move on so we have room to move more kids in. Third to those two is the big graduation just because of the sheer numbers.
~~~~~
These are the three events where I get used to being called a "b*!(%" on a regular basis.
~~~~~
Now, I doubt I have more than 10 people who actually read my blog, but can I make a request to those few who do? If you have kids in college or friends who have kids in college, can you please understand the reality of what's about to happen? It's about 6 weeks or less until the big move-outs all over the country. Can you try to understand that it really is not our goal to make this as difficult as possible for you or us? We have approximately 3 days to move out about 4000 students from approximately seven areas where we can park cars.
~~~~~
Ship your child some boxes and bags. Tell them to have their stuff as packed and ready as possible. (Yes, I had a freshman one year who carried his chair downstairs and proceeded to sit in it to work on his tan while his parents packed his room. I told him to get his @ss upstairs and move his stuff or I'd have him hauled away on the hook of a tow truck... /g/) Yes, trust me, I know your child will have 43 friends that they still have to say goodbye to, so please move your car to another spot to wait for them to track down said friends. We need every inch of parking we can get our hands on, so please don't take this moment to stand in line at the bookstore to return books or have that last lunch. You and I both know that your kid waited until the last moment, hoping that you'd do all their packing for them. Don't let them get away with it. Get back in your car and go to lunch. Tell them to call you when they're packed and ready to load. Then please do it as quickly as possible. I have 200 people waiting for your parking spot.
~~~~~
Graduation Day? I know it's a HUGE moment. Unfortunately, it's a huge moment for every one of our 1500 graduates and their families. That's why there are 12,000 people squished onto the quad. I know that you paid $200,000 (give or take) for that "forever photo". Trust me. I've been doing this for five years. But also understand that every other parent is feeling exactly like you and they paid the same amount of money. We have a system set up and, if everyone does what they're supposed to, it works for everyone involved and you'll have those "forever photos". But there's always that one (generally at least a dozen) who feel they're above and beyond everyone else. To us, every single one of our graduates and their respective family members are special. Smile and be polite. You're there for that one moment. We're doing our best to accomodate 1500 of those moments and juggling 12,000 people in order to make sure each of those moments are captured on film.
~~~~~
Okay, 'nuff said.
~~~~~
Laundry today. And more laundry. Oh, and grocery shopping. Oh boy. What fun...
~~~~~
Yes, she did get that right. Unfortunately, I screwed up big time because it decreased the number of stitches for my gusset, which shortened the foot of my sock. I know, I know. I should have been measuring with my trusty tape measure as I went along. I would have seen that the sock was running short. But I didn't.
~~~~~
I know with complete accuracy that, when working a cuff-down sock, I turn my heel, decrease for my gusset and then I knit 55 rows before I decrease for my toes. Doesn't matter what the yarn is as long as it's knit on my trusty 2.25mm needles. My gauge is almost perfect regardless of what yarn I'm working with and any variation in yarn thickness is so minimal that it's negligible.
~~~~~
So I knit my trust 55 rows, did my gusset, made a few adjustments for the heel but I turned that and knit about 80 rows up the cuff and cast off. What's the problem? Short foot. I need another 10 rows in my foot measurement to match the socks I make cuff down.
~~~~~
Big sigh....
~~~~~
So I have a pair of absolutely gorgeous Great Adirondack socks that are now useless to me and anyone in my family because I have the smallest feet.
~~~~~
Argh!!! Oh, and to add insult to injury? I've finally figured out what my problem is lately. I have dry skin. We're talking alligator skin. You could make a very fashionable pair of shoes out of my skin if I came in another color besides "pink" or "nude" or whatever you want to call "pale"... LOL! And I've been itching like crazy. My arms. My legs. (It's real tricky to try and scratch your inner thighs at work when you work in a bubble booth... /grin/) I have patches of itch on my belly, etc. It finally dawned on me this week that we'd changed our laundry detergent. I can't use major brands because they add perfumes and softeners and all kinds of additives. Generic brands tend to work for me because they keep the price down by sticking to soap and that's about it. So I think that's what my problem is.
~~~~~
It's gotten so bad in the last week that I'm waking myself at night, feeling like one big allergic hive. I was blaming it on the dry air that seems to have huddled over Connecticut. Everyone around us for the last month or so gets all kinds of rain and snow. We get the clouds and the clouds try to drop precipitation, but it's evaporated into the atmosphere before it can hit the ground. That's how dry it is. Weird to think that it's raining at 20,000 ft but not a drop is hitting the ground, but there you have it. Anyway, I thought the dry atmosphere was affecting my skin, but now I'm thinking it's the new laundry detergent.
~~~~~
So oldest daughter picked me up some generic stuff last night. Today I'm going to wash the whole wardrobe and see if that helps.
~~~~~
Quick update... surgery is set for May 7th. The only day of work I'll miss is the big graduation. Classes end the week prior and then I'll be able to work the law school graduation on Sunday. It pushes back the date I wanted by two weeks, but that's okay. It's still early enough not to totally erase my summer, and late enough that I won't have to use all my accrued sick time. That's a good thing because I figure you can always use sick time. God forbid someone in the family got really sick and I needed to take care of them. The job allows me to accrue up to 6 months of sick time and my goal is to do just that. Vacation time doesn't carry over from year to year, so save sick time whenever possible and let that build up.
~~~~~
Anyway, this is all good. The only day I'll miss of work is the 10-hour, 12,000 person party. Hmm... while it's nice to be able to be there on graduation day for those kids I've seen come through the university, it's not always one of the easiest days to work. Kids moving out is the worst because half the kids don't pack before their rides come to pick them up. Kids moving in runs about equal because the freshmen parents never quite figure out when it's time to move on so we have room to move more kids in. Third to those two is the big graduation just because of the sheer numbers.
~~~~~
These are the three events where I get used to being called a "b*!(%" on a regular basis.
~~~~~
Now, I doubt I have more than 10 people who actually read my blog, but can I make a request to those few who do? If you have kids in college or friends who have kids in college, can you please understand the reality of what's about to happen? It's about 6 weeks or less until the big move-outs all over the country. Can you try to understand that it really is not our goal to make this as difficult as possible for you or us? We have approximately 3 days to move out about 4000 students from approximately seven areas where we can park cars.
~~~~~
Ship your child some boxes and bags. Tell them to have their stuff as packed and ready as possible. (Yes, I had a freshman one year who carried his chair downstairs and proceeded to sit in it to work on his tan while his parents packed his room. I told him to get his @ss upstairs and move his stuff or I'd have him hauled away on the hook of a tow truck... /g/) Yes, trust me, I know your child will have 43 friends that they still have to say goodbye to, so please move your car to another spot to wait for them to track down said friends. We need every inch of parking we can get our hands on, so please don't take this moment to stand in line at the bookstore to return books or have that last lunch. You and I both know that your kid waited until the last moment, hoping that you'd do all their packing for them. Don't let them get away with it. Get back in your car and go to lunch. Tell them to call you when they're packed and ready to load. Then please do it as quickly as possible. I have 200 people waiting for your parking spot.
~~~~~
Graduation Day? I know it's a HUGE moment. Unfortunately, it's a huge moment for every one of our 1500 graduates and their families. That's why there are 12,000 people squished onto the quad. I know that you paid $200,000 (give or take) for that "forever photo". Trust me. I've been doing this for five years. But also understand that every other parent is feeling exactly like you and they paid the same amount of money. We have a system set up and, if everyone does what they're supposed to, it works for everyone involved and you'll have those "forever photos". But there's always that one (generally at least a dozen) who feel they're above and beyond everyone else. To us, every single one of our graduates and their respective family members are special. Smile and be polite. You're there for that one moment. We're doing our best to accomodate 1500 of those moments and juggling 12,000 people in order to make sure each of those moments are captured on film.
~~~~~
Okay, 'nuff said.
~~~~~
Laundry today. And more laundry. Oh, and grocery shopping. Oh boy. What fun...
Sunday, March 23, 2008
I have a stash and a realization...
Lots of things happened in the last couple of weeks. First, I have to tell y'all about a sale. (Yes, that's read as SALE!!!!) Connecticut Yarn and Wool in East Haddam. I got the email on Friday morning that they were getting rid of their old fall and winter stock because of the arrival of the new spring stock.
~~~~~
Fill a 30-gal bin for $300. Now, yes, $300 is a lot of money. But I'm facing surgery. (Yes, I picked a date. I have to call on Tuesday, but I'm shooting for April 23rd for some very strange reasons... /wry g/) So I'm going to be sitting on the couch for a couple weeks in recovery mode. That means time for knitting next year's Christmas projects as well as finally breaking the seal on all those DVDs I've bought last year and haven't had time to watch.
~~~~~
So I picked up my friend Linda and we descended on CT Yarn & Wool. Now, they always have a "remainder" room where you can get bargains. I can choose from that room and they had bin after bin on the porch. All kinds of colorways. Practically everything is hand-dyed. Yes, most of it is worsted weight and spun singles (think felting). I loaded up. At first, I was very careful to match things, but I lost that ability soon after. I dug into every bin so I could check everything. I unloaded some baskets so I could see what was on the bottom. (Yes, I was careful to put everything back so I didn't make a total mess of the place. /g/)
~~~~~
I picked up 14 skeins of this gorgeous silk/cotton/wool blend. I looked it up on the Internet later. $20 a skein. That's $280 right there and that was a small portion of what I'd stuffed in my bin. Then I found an absolute treasure. A cotton/rayon blend that they call "I'm Allergic to Wool". It's soft and cushie. A wonderful thick n thin that would make some gorgeous sweaters (and scarves and even another shawl). It runs $30 a skein and I've got about 50 skeins of this stuff. Okay, some of the skeins are pretty short, but others were full and fat. That alone is about $1500 worth of yarn.
~~~~~
Oh yeah, I easily stuffed at least $2000 worth of yarn into this bin. Believe it or not, the woman working at the shop suggested that we untwist the skeins and lay them flat. Worked well. We got more into the bin. Course, it really helped that when I thought the bin was pretty full, Linda looked at me and said, "Oh, no, we can fit more" and she sat in the bin... /wry g/
~~~~~
Okay, so I'm going to be laid up. Basically, I talked with the doctor and we agreed that the fibroid needs to go. It's a good size. We also agree that I'm at that age that the plumbing serves no purpose either, so she's going to remove the whole shebang. It's simply a matter of picking a date. Lots of things to consider and not that simple. I'll be laid up for approximately 6 weeks before returning to normal. And since I do a LOT of yardwork in the summer, I don't want to wait too long or we can just forget summer entirely and that's not an option. After all the work I did last year, there's no way I'm going to let my yard go to hell. Another thing to consider is I really can't do without the paycheck. So I looked and I have just shy of 3 weeks sick time accrued. Back up from my last week of work and that means April 23rd. I should be cleared for regular life by the first week in June and, since I never plant much before Memorial Day (danger of frost any time before that and don't let anyone tell you otherwise), the timing would work well.
~~~~~
And this all leads back to my shopping spree. I imagine I'll spend a mimimun of two weeks laying on the couch. Okay, maybe the first couple days I won't feel much like knitting (is that possible?!? /g/), but then I'll have lots of time and lots of boredom to fill. Hence, knitting. Now, all these yarns are in fall colorways. If I start Christmas presents now, all those colorways will be back in vogue by the time I give them away. Sure, it'll be weird to be knitting with oranges and yellows and browns (autumn leaves) in April and May when I'd rather be working with yellows and purples (think crocus). But I'll also have a huge jump on Christmas knitting. Purses and clogs for everyone! LOL!
~~~~~
Now I can finally move the the update seciton... Let's see. I finished the Diamonte socks. Okay, I call them "Cat Yak". The yarn is lovely. The pattern is lovely. Put the two together and it's definitely something the cat yakked up. I don't like it and they would NOT be a favorite pair of socks. But Younger Daughter likes them. So they now belong to her.
~~~~~
Pi Are Sqaured Shawl is coming along. About 3 more rows and I can move to section four, which will double the number of stitches. I think I'll be up to about 1000 sts or so. Yup, a long-term project. Another one to keep handy when I get tired of extremely big knitting for felting.
~~~~~
I just turned the heel for the Widdershins sock last night. I got the increases for the gusset okay. That was fine. But I followed the directions for the heel and it was way off. Not the direction, mind you. I was way off. So I frogged back and did it again. Hmm... definitely something skewed here. I frogged it again. Then I sat down with my trusty pencil and worked out the math from an entirely new direction and it clicked. I turned the heel and I'm now working my way up the heel flap. Again, I looked at her directions and they didn't work for me, so I didn't even try. I read through about three times and got the overall concept, worked up my own math and it's working beautifully.
~~~~~
Okay, how to explain my math (for someone who doesn't understand her concept of math)? I put a stitch marker at the center of the heel. Now, you have to remember that you're coming toe up, so you've got to begin with the largest part of the heel first. So, as you work the short rows, you'll be decreasing the number of sts that you work with, rather than increasing like you do with a normal short row heel.
~~~~~
Wow, it just dawned on me what's wrong with the directions. She makes stitches as you add your short rows. You make a stitch before you wrap and turn to create the short rows. No wonder the heel looked weird when I was looking at it this morning. I haven't tried it on yet, but I think I'm going to have to frog again and decrease, rather than increase in the short rows. Hmm... have to check that out.
~~~~~
But anyway, I started with working 8 sts out from the center before the "m1, k1, w&t". Then I'd work 8 sts in the other direction from the center marker on the purl row. Then I'd work 6 sts from the center marker on the knit row, come back to center and work 6 sts on the other side of the stitch marker. Back and forth in decreasing numbers from the marker as I worked closer to the heel itself.
~~~~~
Bingo! Heel is turned. Now you have to work up the gusset and decrease all those stitches you'd added to make the gusset.
~~~~~
Again, it's really easy if you simply think of working a set number of stitches to each side of the center marker on the heel.
~~~~~
IOW, I like 60 sts overall and I work Magic Loop. So my heel should ultimately end up with 30 sts on that needle. At the beginning, I didn't count, but let's say I have 50 sts, so I want to decrease 20 to get back to 30. As I knit each row back and forth, I only have to remember to knit 15 to each side of the center marker. Then I ssk on my knit rows (pulling one stitch in from the gusset and decreasing on each row). As I purl back, I don't have to remember anything except to purl 15 on the other side of the marker and my last stitch is p2tog, again, pulling one guset stitch in and decreasing). I go back and forth in this manner, almost like working a short row heel, until I have no more to decrease at the end of the needle and then I can begin knitting all the way around again.
~~~~~
Hmm.... now I'm really curious if that heel turn is wrong. Well, not wrong for her or anyone who loves it, but I wonder if it's wrong for me. I think, rather than w&t, I should also be doing an ssk and a p2tog on the heel. It should be pulling in towards the end of the heel, not getting wider and adding more stitches.
~~~~~
Oh dear. I've already frogged it 3 times. Now, I not only have to frog it again, but also about 20 rows of heel flap.
~~~~~
Bat poop... /sigh/
~~~~~
Fill a 30-gal bin for $300. Now, yes, $300 is a lot of money. But I'm facing surgery. (Yes, I picked a date. I have to call on Tuesday, but I'm shooting for April 23rd for some very strange reasons... /wry g/) So I'm going to be sitting on the couch for a couple weeks in recovery mode. That means time for knitting next year's Christmas projects as well as finally breaking the seal on all those DVDs I've bought last year and haven't had time to watch.
~~~~~
So I picked up my friend Linda and we descended on CT Yarn & Wool. Now, they always have a "remainder" room where you can get bargains. I can choose from that room and they had bin after bin on the porch. All kinds of colorways. Practically everything is hand-dyed. Yes, most of it is worsted weight and spun singles (think felting). I loaded up. At first, I was very careful to match things, but I lost that ability soon after. I dug into every bin so I could check everything. I unloaded some baskets so I could see what was on the bottom. (Yes, I was careful to put everything back so I didn't make a total mess of the place. /g/)
~~~~~
I picked up 14 skeins of this gorgeous silk/cotton/wool blend. I looked it up on the Internet later. $20 a skein. That's $280 right there and that was a small portion of what I'd stuffed in my bin. Then I found an absolute treasure. A cotton/rayon blend that they call "I'm Allergic to Wool". It's soft and cushie. A wonderful thick n thin that would make some gorgeous sweaters (and scarves and even another shawl). It runs $30 a skein and I've got about 50 skeins of this stuff. Okay, some of the skeins are pretty short, but others were full and fat. That alone is about $1500 worth of yarn.
~~~~~
Oh yeah, I easily stuffed at least $2000 worth of yarn into this bin. Believe it or not, the woman working at the shop suggested that we untwist the skeins and lay them flat. Worked well. We got more into the bin. Course, it really helped that when I thought the bin was pretty full, Linda looked at me and said, "Oh, no, we can fit more" and she sat in the bin... /wry g/
~~~~~
Okay, so I'm going to be laid up. Basically, I talked with the doctor and we agreed that the fibroid needs to go. It's a good size. We also agree that I'm at that age that the plumbing serves no purpose either, so she's going to remove the whole shebang. It's simply a matter of picking a date. Lots of things to consider and not that simple. I'll be laid up for approximately 6 weeks before returning to normal. And since I do a LOT of yardwork in the summer, I don't want to wait too long or we can just forget summer entirely and that's not an option. After all the work I did last year, there's no way I'm going to let my yard go to hell. Another thing to consider is I really can't do without the paycheck. So I looked and I have just shy of 3 weeks sick time accrued. Back up from my last week of work and that means April 23rd. I should be cleared for regular life by the first week in June and, since I never plant much before Memorial Day (danger of frost any time before that and don't let anyone tell you otherwise), the timing would work well.
~~~~~
And this all leads back to my shopping spree. I imagine I'll spend a mimimun of two weeks laying on the couch. Okay, maybe the first couple days I won't feel much like knitting (is that possible?!? /g/), but then I'll have lots of time and lots of boredom to fill. Hence, knitting. Now, all these yarns are in fall colorways. If I start Christmas presents now, all those colorways will be back in vogue by the time I give them away. Sure, it'll be weird to be knitting with oranges and yellows and browns (autumn leaves) in April and May when I'd rather be working with yellows and purples (think crocus). But I'll also have a huge jump on Christmas knitting. Purses and clogs for everyone! LOL!
~~~~~
Now I can finally move the the update seciton... Let's see. I finished the Diamonte socks. Okay, I call them "Cat Yak". The yarn is lovely. The pattern is lovely. Put the two together and it's definitely something the cat yakked up. I don't like it and they would NOT be a favorite pair of socks. But Younger Daughter likes them. So they now belong to her.
~~~~~
Pi Are Sqaured Shawl is coming along. About 3 more rows and I can move to section four, which will double the number of stitches. I think I'll be up to about 1000 sts or so. Yup, a long-term project. Another one to keep handy when I get tired of extremely big knitting for felting.
~~~~~
I just turned the heel for the Widdershins sock last night. I got the increases for the gusset okay. That was fine. But I followed the directions for the heel and it was way off. Not the direction, mind you. I was way off. So I frogged back and did it again. Hmm... definitely something skewed here. I frogged it again. Then I sat down with my trusty pencil and worked out the math from an entirely new direction and it clicked. I turned the heel and I'm now working my way up the heel flap. Again, I looked at her directions and they didn't work for me, so I didn't even try. I read through about three times and got the overall concept, worked up my own math and it's working beautifully.
~~~~~
Okay, how to explain my math (for someone who doesn't understand her concept of math)? I put a stitch marker at the center of the heel. Now, you have to remember that you're coming toe up, so you've got to begin with the largest part of the heel first. So, as you work the short rows, you'll be decreasing the number of sts that you work with, rather than increasing like you do with a normal short row heel.
~~~~~
Wow, it just dawned on me what's wrong with the directions. She makes stitches as you add your short rows. You make a stitch before you wrap and turn to create the short rows. No wonder the heel looked weird when I was looking at it this morning. I haven't tried it on yet, but I think I'm going to have to frog again and decrease, rather than increase in the short rows. Hmm... have to check that out.
~~~~~
But anyway, I started with working 8 sts out from the center before the "m1, k1, w&t". Then I'd work 8 sts in the other direction from the center marker on the purl row. Then I'd work 6 sts from the center marker on the knit row, come back to center and work 6 sts on the other side of the stitch marker. Back and forth in decreasing numbers from the marker as I worked closer to the heel itself.
~~~~~
Bingo! Heel is turned. Now you have to work up the gusset and decrease all those stitches you'd added to make the gusset.
~~~~~
Again, it's really easy if you simply think of working a set number of stitches to each side of the center marker on the heel.
~~~~~
IOW, I like 60 sts overall and I work Magic Loop. So my heel should ultimately end up with 30 sts on that needle. At the beginning, I didn't count, but let's say I have 50 sts, so I want to decrease 20 to get back to 30. As I knit each row back and forth, I only have to remember to knit 15 to each side of the center marker. Then I ssk on my knit rows (pulling one stitch in from the gusset and decreasing on each row). As I purl back, I don't have to remember anything except to purl 15 on the other side of the marker and my last stitch is p2tog, again, pulling one guset stitch in and decreasing). I go back and forth in this manner, almost like working a short row heel, until I have no more to decrease at the end of the needle and then I can begin knitting all the way around again.
~~~~~
Hmm.... now I'm really curious if that heel turn is wrong. Well, not wrong for her or anyone who loves it, but I wonder if it's wrong for me. I think, rather than w&t, I should also be doing an ssk and a p2tog on the heel. It should be pulling in towards the end of the heel, not getting wider and adding more stitches.
~~~~~
Oh dear. I've already frogged it 3 times. Now, I not only have to frog it again, but also about 20 rows of heel flap.
~~~~~
Bat poop... /sigh/
Saturday, March 01, 2008
I'll Be Back...
Let me say upfront that I'll be back later today to post pics of the sweater that's finally in my brother's possession. Yup, it's finished. It was washed and blocked (more on that later because it took me four days!!!! Yikes!!!!) and sent off via overnight mail, which of course took two days to get to him. It turned out even better than I thought it would.
~~~~~
Okay, here's the deal and I'll get to more knitting later. I actually finished it right on schedule. It was Feb 16th when I finished the last stitch. I took all day Sunday and steeked and sewed and did all those little finishing touches. 10PM when I ran downstairs to stick it in the sink so I could wash and block. A quick squirt of dishwashing detergent and this was a BIG sweater, so I didn't have a lot of room left in the sink for water. The sweater soaked up every last drip of liquid. So I did the best I could without having to resort to filling the bathtub and then I went into the basement and stuck it in the washer for a quick rinse, drain and spin. It rinsed. It drained. But I couldn't get the damn thing to spin. Yeah, yeah, a real slow spin, but that's not going to get the 42 lbs of water out of the sweater.
~~~~~
So I restarted the cycle again. It rinsed. It drained. But it wouldn't spin at a high speed. We're now getting upwards of 11PM and I get up at 5AM. So I grab a towel (or two), lift the 40 lb sweater out of the washer, roll it up and stomp on it a few times. Then I take it over to my handy drying rack and pull, yank and mold it into the shape I want. Yup, looks gorgeous.
~~~~~
I check on it Tuesday after work. Wednesday after work. Finally, I gave up and gave it the weekend to finish drying. I'm guessing that my basement isn't as warm as I thought it was and I can't put it anywhere else or the cats would have a nice white layer of fur all over the thing. Sunday night. YES!!!! It's dry. It's lovely. And tomorrow is my brother's birthday.
~~~~~
So I call him the next morning, sing him "Happy Birthday" and tell him that if Mom doesn't see this after work before I pop it in the mail, she'll die of disappointment. He says that's fine, he understands and it's okay to show it to her tonight and pop it in the mail on the next day.
~~~~~
That's what I did. He finally got the sweater on Feb 28th. He's thrilled. He hasn't mentioned if it fits, but he did say that he's going to wear it all weekend because he's also got a cold spell down South. Rather than turning up his heat, he'll just live in the sweater all weekend.
~~~~~
Now, during the last couple weeks while I've been waiting for that sweater to dry, I made socks and mittens. Remember those Thick Woodsman's Socks that I made for the Hubby? Well, I made him another pair and used reverse stockinette under the footbed. He doesn't like the first pair because the purl nubs under his feet are like wearing those Adidas sandals with the torture devices they call "foot massagers". Yeah, like walking on nails. So I reversed the purl nubs on the next pair. He says they're definitely more comfortable, but he can still feel the lines for the st st. So I'm making LOTS of mittens out of the yarn I'd bought for more socks. I'm going to have to break down and make him socks out of fingering weight.
~~~~~
But I also did a couple other things this week that I found are really neat little mental tricks. I'd started a pair of Jaywalkers in Lisa Souza's "Joseph's Coat" colorway. Now, those are on a size 1 needle (2.25mm) and I make the mittens on a size 8 (4.0mm?). So I'd work 10 rows on a sock and then 10 rows on a mitten. Go back and do another 10 rows on a sock, then another 10 rows on a mitten. Wow, time flew! In the past two weeks, I've finished the Jaywalkers and make about 3 or 4 pairs of mittens as well as finishing the socks for the DH.
~~~~~
Because I was never very long on any given project, they both kept my interest and I never got bored. Okay, after two weeks of nothing but mittens and socks, there was an overall boredom, but never on the individual projects. If anything, I felt this driving need to cast on even more projects... /g/
~~~~~
So I pulled out my Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitting Around and I've been dying to make a Pi Are Squared shawl. I find myself wearing my shawls more and more. I do love them, but there's one thing that annoys me. This is just a personal opinion, but why do shawls have to be lace?!?!?! I live in the North. It's cold here. I don't want a shawl that has holes to let that cold air infiltrate. I like my shawls solid and warm! /g/
~~~~~
So yesterday, as soon as I got out of work, I buzzed off to my LYS and found the last two skeins of that wonderful Peruvian Tweed. It's 100% alpaca in all natural fleece. There's a light, medium and dark colorway. Each skein is plied with several different natural fleece colors to get that tweed effect. I'd used the dark colorway (think dark almost black, dark chocolate and a thin strand of med caramel) to make a basketweave stole which is my favorite and most often worn. So I picked up a skein of the light colorway, which has two plies of almost white/creamy and a very light, almost white caramel. I also picked up a skein of the medium colorway which has a thin ply of the natural cream, the light caramel and then a rich golden caramel is the heaviest strand. Hmm... really gorgeous and very "neutral" so I'll be able to wear this with anything.
~~~~~
Came home and pulled out the nearest Addi Turbo (I think it's a size 5 or 6... Does it matter? /g/) and cast on 20 sts to begin a Pi Are Squared. To keep it interesting, I looked over the instructions and there are 5 sections. So the first section is in the light tweed and I knit that in stockinette stitch. Then I did the increases for section 2 and changed to the medium tweed and knit that in garter stitch. Changed back to the light tweed for section 3 and have reverted back to stockinette stitch. Looking really pretty and this is where I left off, so I'll keep that pattern going. I should end in the light color in st st, so I think I'll do the "traditional" sawtooth border in the medium color in garter. But I can check again when I get that far.
~~~~~
While at the store, I found some Claudia Handpainted in the colorway Irises. What can I say? I have this driving need to keep my stash well stocked for socks... /g/ We'll ignore the point that I have enough yarn to make at least another half dozen pair of socks already.
~~~~~
The other great deal that I stumbled into was some Araucania Nature Wool. They had a table of mark downs and this was calling my name. I already have 5 or 6 red sweaters, but this was a different red. This is color 25 RO 12-0400. A gentle variation that goes from a med brick red down to a deep, rich brick. All my other reds tend to have a cool undertone, not a warm one. This is warm. And what can I say? I like red! /g/ It's 100% wool, 4 ply, and 242 yds per skein. There were 6 skeins and they were chanting, "Take me home! I'm yours!" LOL!
~~~~~
I've been watching and rewatching the Meg Swanson DVD called Cardigan Details so I didn't screw up my steeking and I could really use a couple new cardigans. Most of my sweaters are pullovers but there are times you want a nice cardigan. And I really like the simple design she adds to the top of the sweater. So I grabbed those 6 skeins and, lo and behold, there were 2 skeins of Nature Wool in a soft creamy white, color 01. It will be a perfect addition to the red. A sharp bright white would be too stark against the soft brick of the red, but that creamy off-white will be perfect. And they were marked down from $7.50 a skein to $5.50. Hmm... a Meg Swanson EPS cardigan in 100% wool for $44.00?
~~~~~
Uh, yeah. Duh! I'm SO there and it just naturally found its way into my arms... /g/
~~~~~
Oh, before I forget! New trick!
~~~~~
I'm now knitting the Diamonte sock pattern from Knitty.com in Araucania sock yarn. I'm knitting them top down instead of toe up, but that's besides the point. I wanted to mention something that I discovered yesterday while knitting along (and dreaming of yarn stores when I left work /g/). To do the increases, the designer uses the M1 and says to pick up the strand between stitches in the row below. Pick it up with your left needle from front to back and then knit through the back loop to twist the stitch and make it virtually invisible. Hmm... great idea except it's really hard work (at least for me) to get the right needle into the back of the stitch once I've picked it up with the left needle. I don't knit all that tight, but I tend to split the yarn with my right needle regardless of how careful I am when trying to wedge it between the stitch and the p-u.
~~~~~
So what I do is pick up the yarn with my right needle from the back to the front. And then I simply have to slide my left needle into the front of the loop. Because the yarn is on the front of the needle and the stitch is right in front of me, I can slide the left needle between the yarn that's picked up and the first stitch on the right needle much easier. It still has the same effect in twisting the stitch and, yes, it really is virtually invisible, but it's easier to pick up with the right needle and then insert the left needle.
~~~~~
Does that make sense? If not, let me know. But try it. Especially if you're a tight knitter. I think you'll find this is much easier for you.
~~~~~
Okay, enough talking. Time to get daughter up for her dentist appointment. I have a few errands I have to do while out, but then it's picture time when I get back. My goals today are to upload pics of projects, clean bathroom, do my taxes and then back to my Pi Are Squared shawl. Yeah, I think that's enough for today. A little bit of work and then lots of fun!
~~~~~
Okay, here's the deal and I'll get to more knitting later. I actually finished it right on schedule. It was Feb 16th when I finished the last stitch. I took all day Sunday and steeked and sewed and did all those little finishing touches. 10PM when I ran downstairs to stick it in the sink so I could wash and block. A quick squirt of dishwashing detergent and this was a BIG sweater, so I didn't have a lot of room left in the sink for water. The sweater soaked up every last drip of liquid. So I did the best I could without having to resort to filling the bathtub and then I went into the basement and stuck it in the washer for a quick rinse, drain and spin. It rinsed. It drained. But I couldn't get the damn thing to spin. Yeah, yeah, a real slow spin, but that's not going to get the 42 lbs of water out of the sweater.
~~~~~
So I restarted the cycle again. It rinsed. It drained. But it wouldn't spin at a high speed. We're now getting upwards of 11PM and I get up at 5AM. So I grab a towel (or two), lift the 40 lb sweater out of the washer, roll it up and stomp on it a few times. Then I take it over to my handy drying rack and pull, yank and mold it into the shape I want. Yup, looks gorgeous.
~~~~~
I check on it Tuesday after work. Wednesday after work. Finally, I gave up and gave it the weekend to finish drying. I'm guessing that my basement isn't as warm as I thought it was and I can't put it anywhere else or the cats would have a nice white layer of fur all over the thing. Sunday night. YES!!!! It's dry. It's lovely. And tomorrow is my brother's birthday.
~~~~~
So I call him the next morning, sing him "Happy Birthday" and tell him that if Mom doesn't see this after work before I pop it in the mail, she'll die of disappointment. He says that's fine, he understands and it's okay to show it to her tonight and pop it in the mail on the next day.
~~~~~
That's what I did. He finally got the sweater on Feb 28th. He's thrilled. He hasn't mentioned if it fits, but he did say that he's going to wear it all weekend because he's also got a cold spell down South. Rather than turning up his heat, he'll just live in the sweater all weekend.
~~~~~
Now, during the last couple weeks while I've been waiting for that sweater to dry, I made socks and mittens. Remember those Thick Woodsman's Socks that I made for the Hubby? Well, I made him another pair and used reverse stockinette under the footbed. He doesn't like the first pair because the purl nubs under his feet are like wearing those Adidas sandals with the torture devices they call "foot massagers". Yeah, like walking on nails. So I reversed the purl nubs on the next pair. He says they're definitely more comfortable, but he can still feel the lines for the st st. So I'm making LOTS of mittens out of the yarn I'd bought for more socks. I'm going to have to break down and make him socks out of fingering weight.
~~~~~
But I also did a couple other things this week that I found are really neat little mental tricks. I'd started a pair of Jaywalkers in Lisa Souza's "Joseph's Coat" colorway. Now, those are on a size 1 needle (2.25mm) and I make the mittens on a size 8 (4.0mm?). So I'd work 10 rows on a sock and then 10 rows on a mitten. Go back and do another 10 rows on a sock, then another 10 rows on a mitten. Wow, time flew! In the past two weeks, I've finished the Jaywalkers and make about 3 or 4 pairs of mittens as well as finishing the socks for the DH.
~~~~~
Because I was never very long on any given project, they both kept my interest and I never got bored. Okay, after two weeks of nothing but mittens and socks, there was an overall boredom, but never on the individual projects. If anything, I felt this driving need to cast on even more projects... /g/
~~~~~
So I pulled out my Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitting Around and I've been dying to make a Pi Are Squared shawl. I find myself wearing my shawls more and more. I do love them, but there's one thing that annoys me. This is just a personal opinion, but why do shawls have to be lace?!?!?! I live in the North. It's cold here. I don't want a shawl that has holes to let that cold air infiltrate. I like my shawls solid and warm! /g/
~~~~~
So yesterday, as soon as I got out of work, I buzzed off to my LYS and found the last two skeins of that wonderful Peruvian Tweed. It's 100% alpaca in all natural fleece. There's a light, medium and dark colorway. Each skein is plied with several different natural fleece colors to get that tweed effect. I'd used the dark colorway (think dark almost black, dark chocolate and a thin strand of med caramel) to make a basketweave stole which is my favorite and most often worn. So I picked up a skein of the light colorway, which has two plies of almost white/creamy and a very light, almost white caramel. I also picked up a skein of the medium colorway which has a thin ply of the natural cream, the light caramel and then a rich golden caramel is the heaviest strand. Hmm... really gorgeous and very "neutral" so I'll be able to wear this with anything.
~~~~~
Came home and pulled out the nearest Addi Turbo (I think it's a size 5 or 6... Does it matter? /g/) and cast on 20 sts to begin a Pi Are Squared. To keep it interesting, I looked over the instructions and there are 5 sections. So the first section is in the light tweed and I knit that in stockinette stitch. Then I did the increases for section 2 and changed to the medium tweed and knit that in garter stitch. Changed back to the light tweed for section 3 and have reverted back to stockinette stitch. Looking really pretty and this is where I left off, so I'll keep that pattern going. I should end in the light color in st st, so I think I'll do the "traditional" sawtooth border in the medium color in garter. But I can check again when I get that far.
~~~~~
While at the store, I found some Claudia Handpainted in the colorway Irises. What can I say? I have this driving need to keep my stash well stocked for socks... /g/ We'll ignore the point that I have enough yarn to make at least another half dozen pair of socks already.
~~~~~
The other great deal that I stumbled into was some Araucania Nature Wool. They had a table of mark downs and this was calling my name. I already have 5 or 6 red sweaters, but this was a different red. This is color 25 RO 12-0400. A gentle variation that goes from a med brick red down to a deep, rich brick. All my other reds tend to have a cool undertone, not a warm one. This is warm. And what can I say? I like red! /g/ It's 100% wool, 4 ply, and 242 yds per skein. There were 6 skeins and they were chanting, "Take me home! I'm yours!" LOL!
~~~~~
I've been watching and rewatching the Meg Swanson DVD called Cardigan Details so I didn't screw up my steeking and I could really use a couple new cardigans. Most of my sweaters are pullovers but there are times you want a nice cardigan. And I really like the simple design she adds to the top of the sweater. So I grabbed those 6 skeins and, lo and behold, there were 2 skeins of Nature Wool in a soft creamy white, color 01. It will be a perfect addition to the red. A sharp bright white would be too stark against the soft brick of the red, but that creamy off-white will be perfect. And they were marked down from $7.50 a skein to $5.50. Hmm... a Meg Swanson EPS cardigan in 100% wool for $44.00?
~~~~~
Uh, yeah. Duh! I'm SO there and it just naturally found its way into my arms... /g/
~~~~~
Oh, before I forget! New trick!
~~~~~
I'm now knitting the Diamonte sock pattern from Knitty.com in Araucania sock yarn. I'm knitting them top down instead of toe up, but that's besides the point. I wanted to mention something that I discovered yesterday while knitting along (and dreaming of yarn stores when I left work /g/). To do the increases, the designer uses the M1 and says to pick up the strand between stitches in the row below. Pick it up with your left needle from front to back and then knit through the back loop to twist the stitch and make it virtually invisible. Hmm... great idea except it's really hard work (at least for me) to get the right needle into the back of the stitch once I've picked it up with the left needle. I don't knit all that tight, but I tend to split the yarn with my right needle regardless of how careful I am when trying to wedge it between the stitch and the p-u.
~~~~~
So what I do is pick up the yarn with my right needle from the back to the front. And then I simply have to slide my left needle into the front of the loop. Because the yarn is on the front of the needle and the stitch is right in front of me, I can slide the left needle between the yarn that's picked up and the first stitch on the right needle much easier. It still has the same effect in twisting the stitch and, yes, it really is virtually invisible, but it's easier to pick up with the right needle and then insert the left needle.
~~~~~
Does that make sense? If not, let me know. But try it. Especially if you're a tight knitter. I think you'll find this is much easier for you.
~~~~~
Okay, enough talking. Time to get daughter up for her dentist appointment. I have a few errands I have to do while out, but then it's picture time when I get back. My goals today are to upload pics of projects, clean bathroom, do my taxes and then back to my Pi Are Squared shawl. Yeah, I think that's enough for today. A little bit of work and then lots of fun!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Dragons be here...or should I say alien babies?
First, thanks to everyone who left comments on my sweater pics. It's so wonderful to know that people actually stop by. I've been trying to wrangle youngest daughter for pics of the sweater for my brother, but it's like trying to capture the wind. She's a teenager. I'm not. That means we live on totally different schedules. She's still on the phone at midnight and I'm up at the crack of dawn. (I have no idea what time I'll be done, so let's just say that my computer clock says it's 8:21AM and I just put my last load of laundry in the dryer. I was up a bit after 5AM.) My daughter? I think she's breathing, but I don't want to check. It gets ugly if you disturb her "before her time". She's like a fine wine. Too early and you get grape juice. Too late and you get vinegar. I guess that means there's never a good time to wake her...
~~
If her presence floats through before I'm done typing, I'll see if I can get a pic. But she's like smoke in the breeze. Here now and gone before you can even blink.
~~
Oh well....
~~
So what are the dragons? Be warned anyone of the male persuasion. I'm gonna talk about female stuff for a few minutes, so you might want to make like my daughter and disappear until the next post... /g/
~~
I do listen to Lime & Violet. Yes, they're a secret obsession. Definitely gets me some very strange looks from the students as they pass my security booth and hear wild cackling and lots of giggling. And, yes, I follow the Boob Rock discussion. I'm curious. What can I say? I'm female and Violet is going through every woman's fear of discovering the Boob Rock. But I'll trade her Boob Rock for the Perimenopausal Basketball...
~~
About two years ago, my gyn found a fibroid tumor on my ovary. No big deal. Not unusual for women who are staring down menopause. Yes, I'm a bit on the young side, but is there really a young side? I mean, c'mon, is there an age when menopause starts? I've heard everything from 45 - 60, so let's just say there are no hard and fast rules as to when this stage is supposed to start or (God forbid) how long it'll take. I hear through the grapevine that my ex-sister-in-law is deep in the throes of menopause and she's two years younger than me. So I wasn't surprised for the doc to say, "gee, honey, you're on the edge"...
~~
Let's be real. I've been on the edge ever since giving birth, right? /g/
~~
So anyway, I've been living with the tumor ever since. It actually took me a whole year to get up the nerve to ask the doc just how big this tumor was. She tells me it's the size of a grapefruit. Hmm... come to think of it, maybe THAT explains my obsession with fruit. (If you've followed, as I paint my rooms, my Hubby says I have a fruit theme going on in the house. My hallways are lemon colored. My living room is the color of a honeydew melon. And I've threatened to do my dining room in a strawberry.... LOL!)
~~
Okay, back to grapefruit. Fine. I can live with it since she assures me that this sucker will start shrinking once I hit the official menopause. This was last year.
~~
Fast forward to this year. I go for my annual and she discovers the damn thing is getting bigger. Rather than shrinking like the nice little PITA it is, it's growing. Again, maybe this explains another strange recent obsession. I've been watching Alien and Aliens (yup, parts I and II) with strange fascination lately.
~~
You know the scene from part II where she's dreaming in the hospital and wakes to have an alien almost burst from her bellybutton? Well, this past week, my alien baby was trying to scoop me out from the inside with a very dull spoon. Argh!!!! Very weird because it was certainly centered right below my bellybutton. Pain sharp and dull at the same time. Luckily, it was just one day. Period from hell. And, of course, that was the day that my boss at work felt it necessary to flex his non-existent muscles. He gave me a letter of suspension for reasons I won't go into. Let's just say he threw a tantrum and, like any good two-year-old, I really wanted to spank him. I could, but I won't. I'm a better person than he is. Let him have his tantrum and maybe he'll leave me alone for a while.
~~
Back to alien baby... I have an appointment with the doc next month. We'll "discuss our options then". Hmm. I have a feeling they'll want to remove this baby before it explodes on its own. That's okay with me. Think I can get them to remove the ovaries while she's in there? What do you think of the chance that I can get a tummy tuck tossed in for my trouble? /g/
~~
Course, I have to tell the joke of this whole new episode. She sent me for an ultrasound. I'm watching the screen while the technician is moving the thingie around. Yup, there's my left ovary. Tiny little peanut on the screen. Pretty little spot. Yup, that's it. Looking good and she turns on the sound to show that it has good blood movement. (Why? I don't know, but they feel this is important.) Then she moves the thingie over to the right side. This large mass fills the screen, looking like I've sprouted a new brain in the wrong place. Yup, alien baby. Big mass that even I can see with no training whatsoever.
~~
So I say something to the effect of, gee, it's no wonder all those ab crunches weren't flattening anything. She kind of laughs and says that they'd have to remove my intestines for my belly to be flat. Again.... Hmm.
~~
So Violet? I'll trade your Boob Rock for my Alien Baby.
~~
And now I'll apologize for such a crass and rude comment. I've gotten it off my chest.... er, well, not the correct anatomical location, but you get the drift. I just had to say it. I don't mean it and I wouldn't trade with her. I wouldn't wish this on anyone. I'm not worried. My doc is tops in her field and I trust her judgement. If she says remove it, we'll remove it. I just wanted the opportunity to kvetch for a minute and sorry you had to listen. Now that I've had my moment of panic, I'm not worried at all. I've been lucky in that I've always been healthy and never had to worry about anything. I'm not worried now. If my doc was worried and wanted me back in the office immediately, then I'd be worried. But she's waiting until next month and that means this is not a problem.
~~
So now I'll get back to knitting on my brother's sweater. The sleeves are done and, in about 7 rows, I'll be at the midway point on the body. If I knit my little fingers to the bone this week at work, I'm hoping to finish this thing and be able to steek and sew and wash and block and my goal is to get it in the mail to him by 2/20.
~~
If you want to send prayers, pray that I can get the sweater done. In the meantime, I love having the excuse for not holding in my stomach every time I stand up. I have a reason it sticks out more than I'd like. The bad thing is that I might look heavier than I'd like, but you would too if you were about to give birth. At least I don't look as pregnant as I feel...
~~
/g/
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If her presence floats through before I'm done typing, I'll see if I can get a pic. But she's like smoke in the breeze. Here now and gone before you can even blink.
~~
Oh well....
~~
So what are the dragons? Be warned anyone of the male persuasion. I'm gonna talk about female stuff for a few minutes, so you might want to make like my daughter and disappear until the next post... /g/
~~
I do listen to Lime & Violet. Yes, they're a secret obsession. Definitely gets me some very strange looks from the students as they pass my security booth and hear wild cackling and lots of giggling. And, yes, I follow the Boob Rock discussion. I'm curious. What can I say? I'm female and Violet is going through every woman's fear of discovering the Boob Rock. But I'll trade her Boob Rock for the Perimenopausal Basketball...
~~
About two years ago, my gyn found a fibroid tumor on my ovary. No big deal. Not unusual for women who are staring down menopause. Yes, I'm a bit on the young side, but is there really a young side? I mean, c'mon, is there an age when menopause starts? I've heard everything from 45 - 60, so let's just say there are no hard and fast rules as to when this stage is supposed to start or (God forbid) how long it'll take. I hear through the grapevine that my ex-sister-in-law is deep in the throes of menopause and she's two years younger than me. So I wasn't surprised for the doc to say, "gee, honey, you're on the edge"...
~~
Let's be real. I've been on the edge ever since giving birth, right? /g/
~~
So anyway, I've been living with the tumor ever since. It actually took me a whole year to get up the nerve to ask the doc just how big this tumor was. She tells me it's the size of a grapefruit. Hmm... come to think of it, maybe THAT explains my obsession with fruit. (If you've followed, as I paint my rooms, my Hubby says I have a fruit theme going on in the house. My hallways are lemon colored. My living room is the color of a honeydew melon. And I've threatened to do my dining room in a strawberry.... LOL!)
~~
Okay, back to grapefruit. Fine. I can live with it since she assures me that this sucker will start shrinking once I hit the official menopause. This was last year.
~~
Fast forward to this year. I go for my annual and she discovers the damn thing is getting bigger. Rather than shrinking like the nice little PITA it is, it's growing. Again, maybe this explains another strange recent obsession. I've been watching Alien and Aliens (yup, parts I and II) with strange fascination lately.
~~
You know the scene from part II where she's dreaming in the hospital and wakes to have an alien almost burst from her bellybutton? Well, this past week, my alien baby was trying to scoop me out from the inside with a very dull spoon. Argh!!!! Very weird because it was certainly centered right below my bellybutton. Pain sharp and dull at the same time. Luckily, it was just one day. Period from hell. And, of course, that was the day that my boss at work felt it necessary to flex his non-existent muscles. He gave me a letter of suspension for reasons I won't go into. Let's just say he threw a tantrum and, like any good two-year-old, I really wanted to spank him. I could, but I won't. I'm a better person than he is. Let him have his tantrum and maybe he'll leave me alone for a while.
~~
Back to alien baby... I have an appointment with the doc next month. We'll "discuss our options then". Hmm. I have a feeling they'll want to remove this baby before it explodes on its own. That's okay with me. Think I can get them to remove the ovaries while she's in there? What do you think of the chance that I can get a tummy tuck tossed in for my trouble? /g/
~~
Course, I have to tell the joke of this whole new episode. She sent me for an ultrasound. I'm watching the screen while the technician is moving the thingie around. Yup, there's my left ovary. Tiny little peanut on the screen. Pretty little spot. Yup, that's it. Looking good and she turns on the sound to show that it has good blood movement. (Why? I don't know, but they feel this is important.) Then she moves the thingie over to the right side. This large mass fills the screen, looking like I've sprouted a new brain in the wrong place. Yup, alien baby. Big mass that even I can see with no training whatsoever.
~~
So I say something to the effect of, gee, it's no wonder all those ab crunches weren't flattening anything. She kind of laughs and says that they'd have to remove my intestines for my belly to be flat. Again.... Hmm.
~~
So Violet? I'll trade your Boob Rock for my Alien Baby.
~~
And now I'll apologize for such a crass and rude comment. I've gotten it off my chest.... er, well, not the correct anatomical location, but you get the drift. I just had to say it. I don't mean it and I wouldn't trade with her. I wouldn't wish this on anyone. I'm not worried. My doc is tops in her field and I trust her judgement. If she says remove it, we'll remove it. I just wanted the opportunity to kvetch for a minute and sorry you had to listen. Now that I've had my moment of panic, I'm not worried at all. I've been lucky in that I've always been healthy and never had to worry about anything. I'm not worried now. If my doc was worried and wanted me back in the office immediately, then I'd be worried. But she's waiting until next month and that means this is not a problem.
~~
So now I'll get back to knitting on my brother's sweater. The sleeves are done and, in about 7 rows, I'll be at the midway point on the body. If I knit my little fingers to the bone this week at work, I'm hoping to finish this thing and be able to steek and sew and wash and block and my goal is to get it in the mail to him by 2/20.
~~
If you want to send prayers, pray that I can get the sweater done. In the meantime, I love having the excuse for not holding in my stomach every time I stand up. I have a reason it sticks out more than I'd like. The bad thing is that I might look heavier than I'd like, but you would too if you were about to give birth. At least I don't look as pregnant as I feel...
~~
/g/
Saturday, January 26, 2008
I did it!!!!
I did it! I sewed and cut and put all the pieces together blending a variety of techniques, and above is the finished product. I actually finished the knitting itself on Friday night, Jan 18th and took Saturday to sew and cut and piece together. Then I had to work on Sunday and couldn't wait to get home so I could toss it into the sink, spin out the excess and block it to dry so I could wear it Monday night when I went to the other job.
~
The nice thing is that I was going to call youngest daughter on my drive home so she could take pics, but I didn't have to. When I walked in the door, she immediately asked me if this was my newly steeked sweater and went for her camera. I can't blame her for the delay this week. She was great. She took the pics and uploaded them to the computer as soon as she got home from school on Tuesday. I was the one who dropped the ball on this one.
~
I've been a bit sick with a cold. A bit of stuffiness in the head, but I've got the voice of a 12-year-old boy who's in the throes of his voice changing. We're on day 9 now and getting better, but it's still a bit froggy. Anyway, I spent non-working hours this week in bed.
~
But back to the sweater!!! I've learned a LOT! Mostly, I will never be scared to steek again. Yup, I made a big fuss over not a lot. But I think I'll take a few more precautions on the new sweater I've started. I only gave myself one extra stitch for steeking on my own sweater. Not that this is a big deal. I know how to sew and sewing down the edges before cutting wasn't a big deal. But I'm dying to try Meg Swanson's crocheted steek on the new sweater and I need a minimum of 3 steeking sts for that.
~
Also, remember my question about the weaving in and out of the ends and how I was going to cut that one side in the steek? Well, on the new sweater, I'm not as worried about making those ends as long. After all, they only have to hold until I steek, so what's the big deal? I not only cut the side that had the weaving in and out, but also the other side that had no weaving whatsoever, so I tossed that question out of my mind entirely. I was going to cut the side with no weaving, so why was I worried about the side that had the extra yarn woven in? Yea, I know. A duh moment...
~
Second, remember all the calculations I was sweating over on this sweater? For the most part, they all worked perfectly. The sleeves themselves are a bit tight on my forearms. Not enough to keep my from wearing my sweater (I wore it to last night's hockey game and I was nice and warm!!!), but enough that I'll increase right after the cuff next time. I didn't add any immediate increases on my sweater, so I don't need a lot of additional, but I will add a few to loosen that up. In fact, I've already changed that calculation on my brother's sweater. (Pics in next post to show what I've done and how I'm recalculating that one.)
~
Second learning curve is that the sweater is a bit shorter than I'd like. Yup, I can compensate for that through blocking. Not a problem. But I'll recalculate length better on this new (and all future) sweaters. Add 10% or 20% to be lost in initial wash and the fact that I really hate pulling and yanking on wet sweaters. I like to wash and simply toss it down to dry without having to worry about what shape to give it. Luckily, this sweater (again) isn't too short so I won't wear it. It's just a bit shorter than I'd initially wanted, but add another 3 or 4 inches to length next time.
~
OTOH, I do believe that if I'd gone with the original dimensions suggested on the Pbilosopher's Wool pattern, I'd have ended up with a sweater that was big enough to tuck one of my kids inside it with me. So I'm glad I recalculated in the long run.
~
And the nice part is that I have enough leftover yellow yarn from my own PW kit that I can add single rows of yellow into my brother's sweater. I'm making him the Timber-Framed, also in the Fire colorway. His kit wasn't offered with the "Fire with Yellow" and I really like the zing of adding a bit of yellow to the fire. So what I'm doing is playing with the background color changes in his sweater. The timbers themselves are black. It's the background that changes every so often. I have 5 colors to work with so I'm doing bands of 6 rows, 5 rows, 4 rows, etc right down to 1 row and that's where I'm adding single rows of the leftover yellow from my kit. After I reach the yellow band, I repeat the colors in reverse (2 rows, 3 rows, 4 rows, etc). I keep the colors the same that I did in descending order, but once I reach back to the 6 rows, I change up the color sequence. So it goes: 6-5-4-3-2-1--2-3-4-5-6-5-etc. The only color that will remain constant is the single row will always be yellow. The others will vary so I can use the colors at the same rate. So the colors I use in band 2 and 3 rows will become 4, 5 or 6 in the next.
~
I surely hope that's all making sense.... LOL!
~
Anyway, it looked kinda weird at first, but the more I get into the sleeve, it's really coming together and looking nice. I liked the suggestion of using dice to determine how many rows of color I used, but I also don't want to be TOO random in what I'm doing. So I could either vary the colors or I could vary the number of rows. I'm choosing to vary the colors so I have a static number of rows to the overall pattern.... Er, not that anyone is going to look at Tom's sweater and see what I did or even notice that there's a rhyme and a reason to how everything comes together. But I like some sense of symmetry or it'll drive me nuts. It's my way of making things much harder than they have to be....
~
Deadline for this new sweater is Feb 25th. That's Tom's birthday and this is going to be a big one. He turns 50 this year and I need his gift to be something special. He tends to take things like a new decade very hard. I can guarantee that this one will bother him. Hence, a sweater made by his baby sister. I'm just hoping I can get it done in time. I've determined that at least 4 hours every day at work will give me a minimum of 20 hours a week. I have another 4 weeks to finish this thing and get it to him. I figure, if I'm really cruising on the sweater and enjoying the process, I'll work more than 4 hours, but if I make sure to get at least the 4 hours 5 days a week, I should make good progress.
~
Other projects OTN are socks in Happy Feet. Gorgeous, gorgeous yarn. I almost gave up because I'd tried about 3 or 4 different patterns, trying to do justice to this colorway. I forget the colorway. Don't ask. I'm too lazy to go look for the ballband. It's got olive green and navy and burgundy and a fantastic peach. Anyway, I almost gave up after frogging for the 3rd or 4th time. Regardless of what pattern I did, none of them looked right. So I finally just did 10 rows of ribbing and the rest of the sock is straight stockinette. Bingo! This is a yarn that needs to shine without any frills. So this is also in my bag at work for those times when I've had enough sweater and need some "mindless" knitting for a change.
~
Also OTN.... er, not technically, though, because the first is completed, is another pair of socks for the DH. I'm doing another pair of the Woodman's Thick Socks in Knit Picks' Shamrock, which is a heavy worsted weight yarn, but I'm putting reverse st st under his foot. He likes the socks I gave him for Christmas, but the purl nubs under the ball of his foot annoy and actually begin to hurt after a while. So the second pair look weird because the purl nubs are on the outside and under the foot, but they'll be much more comfortable to wear. First sock is done and the fit is good if he'd stop trying to stuff his toes outside the front.
~
After years and years of tube socks, he tends to pull the sock really tight against his toe so he can yank it up his calf and practically to his knee. He's trying to do this with his handknit socks and I keep telling him to stop. The sock should fit comfortably and not squish his toes. He's just not used to it yet. The funny thing is that he always wears holes in the toes of his socks and can't figure out why I don't. Er... honey? Because I don't try to squish my toes to the point where they'd be outside the sock....
~
I have faith that I can retrain him.
~
Let me see... anything else? I did up a quick pair of mittens for my Mom. She has a really nice brown Aran sweater coat and I got some of the KP Shamrock in a rust color. So I knitted her a pair of mittens that compliment her coat. Considering winter finally decided to appear here in the Northeast, I figured she'd like them. She does.
~
I think that's it for now. I have TONS of laundry to get through today before tonight's hockey game. We got WHOMPED by Niagara last night so tonight should be... er, interesting. I hope we have different referees. When the penalty judge is skating ahead of the players down the ice, that doesn't bode well for anyone. And, not for nothing, but one call was beyond abyssmal. A Niagara player had Marshall by the shoulders, holding him, and after the whistle was called (because their goalie put his shoulders under the net and knocked it loose deliberately so the ref would wave off the goal), the guy throws Marshall to the ice. Yes, Marshall gets up and the two start a scuffle. But the ref calls two penalites on Marshall and not the Niagara player!!! Scuse me?!?!
~
Just bad calls. Bad reffing. So I expect tonight to be a grudge match that isn't gonna be pretty.
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