Just Sit Back & Knit

Sock Links

For the hell of it here are a few sock sites I found helpful...

The Knitting Fiend's Sock Links Page

How to knit small circumferences
using one long circular needle

Denise's Toe-up Sock

Sock Sizes & Measurments

My Husband Just Doesn't Get It

It's not his fault. I don't blame him one bit. It is possible that no non-knitter, or at least no non-crafter, would get it. Last night when I showed him my SKP in progress, the one with all the cotton/wool blend yarn (that I picked despite that nagging part of my brain that told me it wasn't a good idea to substitute in a cotton yarn...) and all the ends that need to be woven in, and all the places where I have woven in the yarn and it's not staying woven in properly but popping through the rightside and generally making bumpy, ugly stitches, you know, that one? I showed it to him and said, "Don't tell me it will be fine, just look at this." And he looked and he said, "It will be fine. It's homemade."

Yes, BUT! I know what he means. It's homemade with love and attention and the best of intentions and no one should expect it to be perfect and the recipient will love it anyway. Okay, I get that. BUT. I want it to be known for being "Hand-Knit" not "Home-Made." This isn't kindergarten where everything is lovely because it's finger-painted with gusto. A better comparison, in my mind, is home-cooked food. What do you hear about home-cookin'? That it's great, it's wonderful, it's better than a restaurant, it's better than the freezer aisle offerings at the grocery store. No one (except my husband) ever says it's home-cookin', made with love, doesn't matter that it doesn't taste that good. You know? I'm going for great home-cookin' here! I don't want my quaint, finger-painted offering to be adored because I tried so hard!

So, two lessons learned the hard way here...DON'T use cotton yarn (even when it's 25% merino wool) for your first major project unless the pattern calls for it. If you don't heed lesson one at least remember lesson two, defy the pattern and make sure your yarn ends end up in place that doesn't matter, rather than the part of the piece that people will notice first!

Oh, and one more thing? Let your loved one's know that you are working on a hand-knit project, not a home-made project. They might not know the difference, but you will.

No Brain = No Title

First of all, a correction. In my last post I said

but I don't like it as a hat because the hat isn't big enough for the hat to repeat.

when I meant to say

but I don't like it as a hat because the hat isn't big enough for the stripes to repeat.

So the hat starts out with the light greeny colors and then has a dark black stripe right at it's waist line (if hats had waists, which I guess they don't) then goes into the darker greens & browns. To me it looks like a hat with split personality disorder. Two different hats smooshed together with a black stripe dividing them.

Onto other things. Day light savings time just isn't fair. Especially not this year. First, I lose and hour which makes getting out of bed that much more difficult. Then I started my period yesterday morning and that's no small thing for me. I know there are people out there for whom getting their period is nothing more than an annoyance, but for me it's a sickness. I'm exhausted. I don't sleep well. From my rib cage down I feel swollen & like my circulation is half-way cut off which makes sitting in a chair all day a real pain in the ass (literally). I get cramps that feel like hot iron bars with spikes on them are stuck through me from back to front and some evil little gnome is twisting them back and forth so the spikes grab onto my muscles and tear them up (corn bags are my only friends at this point). My tummy hurts. Maybe from all the ibuprofen I take to get rid of the iron bar carrying gnome, but still. I'm thirsty and no amount of water helps but it sure does make me have to pee every half-hour. Last night it was so bad that I climbed in bed at seven o'clock and didn't even feel like knitting! I did knit, of course, but it was lackluster, required knitting--none of the spark and pizazz of I LOVE KNITTING & CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT IT knitting. I really just wanted to lay in bed and moan. You know, like in When Harry Met Sally when Harry and Sally are each at home in their beds talking to each other on telephone (and watching Casablanca, see? it really is one of my favorite movies> and Sally asks Harry what he'll do when they get off the phone and he says he'll just lay there and moan. Then he practices on the phone for her. That was me last night. Only I moaned and knit really sloooowly. And you know the worst of it? I know there are people out there (the kind for whom a period is an annoyance, a slight inconvenience) who don't believe me. They think I'm exaggerating. They think I'm a whiner who can't handle pain. And you know? They just piss me off. Period.

Onto project updates. Matilda's bear still lacks a face. I'm on the second version and am taking meticulous notes in order to write out the pattern and I'm actually almost done. I'm kicking myself a little, though, because I should have taken better notes the last time even though I did the weird shoulder thing that I don't want to repeat. If I had notes from that part I could just change them rather than make up a new way. But, I'm working on the head (and the pattern starts at the feet) so I'm close. I am thinking of trying to make dog ears for this one so it can be named Theodore. But I'm also thinking of making a bear ear and a bunny ear and a cat ear and attaching them to the body so I can see how they felt & then I'll just cut them off. Oh, and also I'll make tails. Then I'll just knit up a little sweater to cover up the scars.

I ripped back the messed up short rows on my dad's sock and knitted them up again easy-peasy. Now I've moved onto the ankle/calf tube of the sock and have about three inches of 2x2 ribbing done. And either I have one strange looking sock or I've discovered the reason that people always post sock picture with a foot in the sock or they sock laying on it's side. Cause handknitted socks look funky. Or at least this one does. But the closer I am to finishing this first sock the happier I am that I already have the toe of the next one done. Smartest knitting thing I've ever done. Once I'm done with this one I can just pick up the next one and knit in the round for 7.5 inches rather than having to start over with the tough stuff. Yipee! Easy knitting ahead!

I've gotten a little work done on the "My Computer Sucks But At Least I Can Knit Scarf." This has become my carry-along knitting project. You all know how I feel about scarf knitting. So between Olivia's choir performance on Friday, Jason's poker tournament at Outlaws on Sunday and a power outage at work yesterday, I've added on about a foot. Or maybe nine inches. At least seven.

A funny thing happened on the way to the washing machine

      
Believe it or not, these hats are in reality unfelted bowls!!!  I am pretty much digging this pattern - which was  so quick - as a rolled brim hat, which I am convinced is the only kind of hat that looks good on me.

Stash Alert:
Well, I can't believe it, but I am getting to the bare bones of my wool stash, and I have no more Noro.   No, thats not true, I have my blossom slated for the purse from Simply Noro.  No more Kureyon though.  I am going into withdrawls!!!!  Breath, just breath.

OK, just for laughs:  when I wake in the morning I don't look like this

is my nose growing, or has it always been this big?  Please don't answer that.  Self portrait pictures of self knitted hats (well bowls pretending to be hats) can be so gruesome.

And, just to keep you up to date.  I have not stuck to my strict diet, but have kept myself away from sugar, yeast, and most diary.  As a result the thrush is getting MUCH better.  Thanks also to my neighbor Melissa, and my friend Karen who both gave me probiotics to take.  Nursing is almost pain free.  While that may not sound so great, because there is still some pain, the comfort level has greatly improved.  After what I put myself through in ignoring my problem  for so long, this is huge. 
An added bonus:  I have lost some weight and have been feeling really good, more energy and awareness of what my body does and doesn't need.  Wow.  They (being experts, friends, loved ones and even your own smart alec brain) tell you all this good stuff will come from cutting out crap and including more good in your diet.  I did not even realize how little veggies I was truly eating.  You just don't know what can happen till you jump in.  I am greatful our bodies are so resiliant and forgiving and hard-working!

KING OF THE HILL
Fletch and I went to the beach on Saturday and over to the Morro Bay Famer's Market, I am looking forward to true spring and then summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Who'll Stop the Rain?

I do remeber the subject of my last post, but that was way back in MARCH.  We've arrived in APRIL!!!!  We got caught by the fever bug and went out to buy flowers and veggies for gardening. 
We spent yesterday afternoon stacking wood and filling our empty pots with tomatoes, peppers, herbs, lettuce seeds,  and three pots of beautiful bug attracting flowers for Fletcher's garden.

So first thing this morning I jumped into my rain boots and jacket and ran out to cover all thos pots with a tarp that is too small to cover them.  First I had to drag Fletcher's galvanized tub of soaked soil and drooping flowers over to my little pots-o-garden to try and get them into a  group that could be covered together.  What fun.

Fletch is in the living room right now singing Ring of Fire - he loves that song.........

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words...Or So They Say

Matilda's Nicholas Bear
First of all, Matilda's bear has been felted! He still needs a face and clothes but I think he's so cute! (I say "he" because he's the same color as Ted & I have therefore dubbed him "Nicholas" after my dad's Nick-Name (ha-ha) for Ted.)

Here's Nicholas pre-felting (Snoopy too, for scale):

And post-felting:

And because I think he is just so very, very cute:

You may have noticed that Nick has strange shoulders. This is due to my creative attempt to do fancy knitting. It was totally unnecessary, time consuming and, obviously, not very effective. I am in the process of knitting another bear (or maybe a bunny! it's all about the ears after all) so I can re-write the pattern without the crazy shoulder shaping.

Ill-Fated Hat of My Own Design & Better Pictures of the "My Computer Sucks But At Least I Can Knit Scarf"

Here's the hat I designed for myself. I've lost it (or Jason's been putting things away again!) but when I locate it I am tossing it in my stash to be frogged. This is the same yarn as Jess used for her purse but I don't like it as a hat because the hat isn't big enough for the hat to repeat.

Self-portraits can be difficult to take (and I have LOTS of eyebrows!):

Better:

With THE scarf & Denise Needles:

And Artistic-Shot of Scarf in Tree:

The Coolest Thing Ever
I stole this idea from Streets & YOs (the blog of a knitter who could make us all green with envy!) after reading the May 5, 2005 post:

I'm almost done!

But...My Husband's So Cool & I'm Kinda Dorky

And, finally, because a photo-filled post just wouldn't be complete without Ted & Special Guest Star: Nala!