Knit Circle

Random - that's how I feel

2011-09-10T11:59:00.001-04:00

It's been just over a year since my Mom died. Just over a year of sadness and depression that I'm still experiencing. I wonder if I'll ever get over this sometimes.

I have good days and bad days, like everyone else in the world, but when the days are so bad that I just want to crawl under the blankets and hide, I still get up and go to work and do the things I have to do to keep my life going. Isn't that the way we all live? I feel like a mechanical toy some days. I get up. I have coffee. I watch the news. I brush my teeth and take a shower and dry my hair. I figure out what I'm wearing. I drive to work and on the way to work I put on my "normal" face so no one knows the pain I carry with me every day. I don't have a lot of close friends; I do have a lot of people I like and some I love, but only one that I can talk to without feeling like I will be judged: my husband. We've been together since 1987 because we can talk to each other.

I know people who've had friends since grade school, since high school, since college. Not me. For some reason, I never had friends like that. I don't know why. It's just the way I've been my whole life. My quote at the top of the page is really something I found online; I don't have any old friends like that and never really did. Growing up, I hung out with my sister and her friends, but they were her friends, never mine. I didn't get close to anyone in school - I was always a loner. When I was being punished for something and got sent to my room, I was never upset. Being sent to my room meant I didn't have to do anything but read and maybe take a nap. That wasn't punishment; it was wonderful. Being sent to your room was torture to my sister and brother; they always had something to do and someone to do it with. Not me. I was always the fifth wheel; at least that's how I always felt.

I don't know where I'm going with this. I think it may be just a random rant because I was thinking about Mom a lot this week and missing her terribly. I was depressed before she died but that was nothing compared to how I feel since she died. I've gotten so bad that I have a panic attack when I go near her house and I can't even talk on the phone to my sister because I always end up crying. She doesn't do it on purpose, I know, but I always end up crying and I always end up even more depressed for days afterward so I just text for now until I can deal with it better. On Mom's anniversary, August 21, I was a mess. I went to Mass - I've been going to Mass for a while now - and I just thought about Mom. She would have been happy that I was at Mass. I sat in the car afterwards and cried for a bit because I missed her so much. Mom thought she was never going to die. She kept smoking and she still thought she was never going to die. And I watched her die, gasping for air, because she smoked.

Enough. I'm crying and I need to stop. I miss my Mom more than anyone will ever know and more than I can ever say.

Mom's Obituary

2010-08-26T17:48:00.001-04:00

This is the obituary I wrote for my Mom, Maureen Dumas. She was a wonderful woman and I will miss her terribly.

August 21, 2010

Mary E. Dumas (only to the nuns in school; to everyone else she was Maureen or Moe. or Grandma, or Aunt Moe.....)

ALBANY- Maureen or Moe Dumas 76, passed away peacefully at home on Saturday, August 21, 2010 surrounded by her loving family. Maureen was born in Albany, the oldest child of the late Charles and Ellen MacGowan, and was predeceased by her husband, Eugene Dumas, who died in 1986. Maureen was fond of saying that she had many lives: one life was her family; one life was theater; another was political; yet another was anti-poverty and community action. She was devoted to all of her lives and will be remembered by many. She was actively involved in the Albany Civic Theater (ACT) for many years, beginning with their days on Beaver Street and continuing through the acquisition and outfitting of the current theater on Second Avenue. She was active with ACT throughout the 60’s and 70’s. With her good friend, the late Nick Toscino, Maureen did the makeup for the Legislative Correspondents Association (LCA) Show from 1971 through 2005. In 1977, she was named to the Private Industry Council by former Democratic Mayor Erastus Corning II. In 1980, she ran for NYS Senate against Senator Howard Nolan; she lost, but by the slimmest margin that Senator Nolan ever held against a challenger. In 1983, Maureen was named by Senate Majority Leader Warren B. Anderson to the Community Services Block Grant Management Plan’s Advisory Council, a program that reviewed applications for government funding for such programs for the poor as health services, nutrition, and housing and employment; a position which she held for more than 20 years. In 1986, she was awarded the YWCA’s Tribute to Women Award. At the time of the award, Maureen was the president of the National Association of Community Action Agency Board of Directors and provided leadership for the Albany County Head Start Program, Albany County Opportunity Inc., the NYS Department of State Policy Advisory Committee for Weatherization, and was involved with local implementation of the Job Training Partnership Act – Private Industry Council. She was actively involved in the Irish Perceptions Series through the Albany Chapter of the Irish American Cultural Institute, of which she was a founding member, the Albany City Arts Office, and Centro Civico Hispano-Americano. In 1987, Maureen helped to bring the Festival of Nations to the area. In 1988, she organized the Governor Thomas Dongan Feis, an Irish dance festival that she continued to run and worked with for many years. In 1996, Maureen received the Maude Gonne MacBride Award from the NYS Irish Northern Aid Committee for her work in bringing Irish culture to the area. In 1997, she received the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “Keeper of the Dream” Award from the EOC/CEDC of Nassau County for her “Outstanding Commitment and Contributions to Empowering Individuals, Families and Communities through Community Action in New York State”. As part of this award, she was given a bronze bust of Dr. King which was displayed proudly in her home. She was a member of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, JFK Division #1 for many years and a member and past president of the Albany Kiwanis. She retired from the New York State Senate in 1993, where she worked for nearly 40 years. She started in the Steno Pool and worked for Senate Majority Leader Earl W. Brydges, Senate Majority Leader Warren B. Anderson, and Senator Joseph Pisani, among others, ending her career working in Constituent Relations. After her retirement, she volunteered at her good friend Father Peter Young’s Altamont Program, serving on the Board of Directors until her illness. Maureen is survived by her three children, Ellen (Michael) Porcari of Rotterdam, Jean (Robert) Pelton of Louisville, Kentucky, and Paul (Linda) Dumas of East Greenbush. She was the much-loved Grandma Moe of Steven Magee, Bryan Magee, Mary Beth (Mark) Ketzer, Annie Dumas, and Paul Dumas, Jr. In addition, she was great-grandmother to Bryan Magee, Jr. and Helen Ketzer. Moe was the big sister to Patricia (William) Cohen, the late Francis (Patricia) MacGowan, the late Elizabeth (Joseph) Zappone, and Charles (Barbara) MacGowan. Moe was the special cousin and friend of Lee Smith, who she loved very much and who spent most of Moe’s last days at her side. Aunt Moe also leaves behind her nieces and nephews, Keith (Kate) Cohen, Gina (Kenneth) Szesznat, Christine (Christopher) Lenaghan, Joseph (Paula) Zappone, Jr., Elizabeth Zappone, Charles MacGowan IV, and Rosalie MacGowan, a dozen more great-nieces and nephews, and many more relatives and friends.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Wednesday, August 25, 2010, at 9am in Blessed Sacrament Church, Central Ave. Albany. Relatives and friends are invited and may call at the Daniel Keenan Funeral Home, 490 Delaware Ave., Albany on Tuesday, August 24, 2010 from 3-8pm. Interment will be in St. Agnes Cemetery, Menands.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Fr. Peter G. Young Foundation, PO Box 4065, Albany, NY 12204, or to the charity of one’s choice.

Sunday morning

2010-01-24T11:00:00.000-05:00

It's Sunday morning and I'm taking a few "ME" minutes before I go to the hospital to visit my mother. It's been a really long week. My favorite uncle went into the hospital last Tuesday and passed away on Friday night. On Thursday, I took Mom to the doctor for a follow-up exam and he suggested she go over to the ER for a chest x-ray because her breathing wasn't good and she's had congestive heart failure before. Without going into detail, she had some major issues and they kept her in the hospital. She may not get out until tomorrow or later. I had to go in yesterday to tell her that her brother had died; this was not unexpected, just sooner than we thought. So, it's been a long week and likely this week will be like that, too.

I just wanted to write this down for some reason. Maybe to get it off me and onto the blog so that I could say goodbye to it. I'm going to miss Uncle Franko, but he's not been healthy for a very long time and I think it's merciful that he passed so peacefully.

Can't say more for now. Maybe I'll update this later.

On the eve of the first Fluff'N'Stuff box...

2009-09-14T21:49:00.001-04:00

Ok. I admit it. I want one. Very very very badly. The stuff in that box is so awesome that I can barely wait. I will have to bring my laptop to work with me tomorrow and take an early lunch so I can be online at noon when it comes up for sale. I'll have to. Unless I call in sick altogether...hmmm...is it worth it? YES!

Check out the links below to see for yourself!
Oh, and wear natural fibers; hug your cats!
Ellen

UPDATE: I GOT ONE!!! I'll post when I get it so you all can see the goodies I got!

Fairs & Fibery Goodies

2009-09-06T14:15:00.003-04:00

Can you all see me patting myself on the back? I'm going to have my fingerless mitts on display at Rhinebeck! Me...I keep pinching myself. I'm going to be a part of the CVM Conservancy display as my mitts were made entirely from a CVM fleece that I purchased from a Conservancy member; I washed the wool, dyed it with Wilton's food colors in a crock pot, spun the yarn, and knit the mitts from a pattern I got on the web. Credit for the pattern goes to Ms. Amy Ripton for her "Hedgerow Mitts" from Knitter's Review. I knit one mitt and made a minor change to the pattern to make them fit my hands more snugly, but other than that, they were a fabulous pattern and so easy to knit.

To find out more about CVM fleeces, check out this link: http://www.nationalcvmconservancy.com/ and to see where I got my very own CVM fleece to work on, check out Linda Hatt's site: http://www.mysticgrange.com/. Linda is a member of the CVM Conservancy and her fleeces and her customer service are exemplary.

If you get to wishing for some fibery goodness, check out the little note I've included below about the Fibery Co-Op. A Fluff'N'Stuff box just might be in your future....

Remember...Wear natural fibers; hug your cats!
Ellen

Blue Ribbon!!!

2009-08-11T21:00:00.001-04:00

I won a Blue Ribbon at the Altamont Fair for my fingerless mitts! I'm so excited that I just had to share right away! When I get my pictures out of the camera, I'll post them here, but for now I'm just telling the world that I got a Blue Ribbon for my very first entry ever into a county fair!

What's up?

2009-07-31T19:46:00.007-04:00

Let's see...surgery went well with NO complications and I feel like a new woman. I don't seem to be having any problems with hormones so may not need to worry about HRT at all! I don't need to tell you that that is a major monkey off my back, I'm sure. I was very worried about HRT and its risks and am glad I may not need to continue to worry.

I'm posting pictures of the "Hedgerow Mitts"* I just made out of the CVM wool that I processed and dyed and spun myself on my Sonata. I love the way they turned out and I love the variegated colors I got with the Wilton's dye that I used. I have officially entered them in the Altamont Fair and have to drop them at the fairgrounds tomorrow. Knitted items are judged before the Fair starts and are displayed if they win, so they need to be there tomorrow and, if they place, will be on display during the Fair in the middle of August. Once I get them back, I'll have to send them to the CVM Conservancy for possible display at Rhinebeck! Wish me luck on both counts, ok? I've never done this before, so even if I don't place, the experience will help me do better next year. In the pictures, I'm including photos of the skein, too. I didn't have a large enough skein to enter it and I haven't spun much since the surgery because I can't lift my wheel (and it's just too damn hot...), so I didn't enter a skein yet. I'll be better prepared for next year, I hope!

*The "Hedgerow Mitts" are from a pattern by Amy Ripton that I received free from http://www.knittersreview.com/. I did make some minor adjustments to the pattern to make them fit me better after knitting a 'practice' mitt from my CVM, but otherwise, they are true to the pattern and I just think they are perfect!

UPDATE: I actually entered them yesterday in the Altamont Fair, which is our local county fair, for judging. Now I wait...The Fair doesn't start until August 10, so I won't know how I did until then. Wish me luck!

'Bout time I let you know how I did....

2009-06-29T21:46:00.003-04:00

I came through the surgery very well with no complications (so far) and I feel pretty good. I don't know why now I was so frightened; for some reason I thought sure I was not going to make it through the surgery and that went very well. The growth on my left ovary was, in the doctor's words, "small, about the size of a tennis ball"....What the hell is big if a tennis ball is small?!?! and benign, which was the absolute best part of it all.

So I came home the next day and I've been home recuperating from probably the easiest surgery I've ever gone through. I've been knitting, though nothing too complicated because of the pain meds, and reading and snoozing and watching tons of nothing on TV. I've gone for walks and taken Mike to the grocery store because as long as I don't take the narcotic pain meds, I have no restrictions on driving. On the driving front, I'm not going too far because it takes a lot out of me, but the store is just too far to make Mike walk and then carry groceries home. I can take him, he can shop and do all the lugging and we do ok between us.

I'll post more another night as I'm tired tonight.
So, until next time, wear natural fibers; hug your cats!
Ellen

Odd thoughts, or maybe not

2009-06-17T22:00:00.002-04:00

Have you ever known something that made you oddly happy? Or that you thought of as a good omen in some way? Groundhogs do that to me. Groundhogs are all named "Frodo" and when I see a groundhog on the way to or from somewhere, I say I've seen a Frodo. If you've read any of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy by J.R.R Tolkien, you know that the heroes of the stories are Hobbits, who are short, and maybe a little round, folks with hairy feet who like to eat as many meals as possible in a day and live in underground homes with round doors. To me, not unlike groundhogs, hence the name "Frodo" for all groundhogs. I suppose they could be "Samwise" or "Merry", but I just like Frodo best, so that's what I call them.

It makes me oddly happy to see them busily eating on the side of the road when I'm on my way to work or on my way home from work and when Mike and I are driving somewhere on vacation, we both tend to think that the more Frodos we see, the luckier the trip will be. Is that unreasonable? I don't think so and I'm glad to see them around.

We even have our own little guy living under the shed. I suppose that if I were a gardener (I'm not), I'd care that Frodo was coming out to eat up my plants, but I don't begrudge him the odd weed or grass or whatever it is he munches on in my yard. Sometimes I know he's outside because the cats jump into the windows and chatter at him in frustration because they just can't get through the screen to catch him and play with him until he dies, as cats will.

Funny how thoughts run through your mind when things are unsettled in your life. I'm having surgery yet again on the 24th. Yes, it's necessary. No, I don't want to have it. I'm tired of being cut into and I've gone to so much trouble to avoid this surgery that it really ticks me off to have to have it in the end anyway. I'm having a complete hysterectomy and I'm wondering if what I'm feeling has to do with the fact that I feel that the surgery will, in essence, remove my "femaleness", if that's even a word. Will the removal of my essentially female inner organs make me less of a woman? I don't want to think so, but I do fear that I will somehow be less woman than I am now. Does all that even make sense? The logical part of me says it doesn't, but the emotional part of me is a whole 'nother story. My innards are not the only things that make me a woman; so why do I feel like the loss of them will make me somehow less of a woman? My friends who've had hysterectomies tell me things will be better; I won't have the issues that are making the surgery necessary and some parts of my life will be better than they were. I guess I'll just have to find out.

In the meantime, I don't want to have the surgery, and I wouldn't if a doctor didn't tell me I don't have much choice right now. If I want my problems to stop, I need to remove the sources of those problems, and that means a hysterectomy. Ah well, I can rage about it all I want to; it won't change the necessity or the date of the surgery. Wish me well and don't look for a post for a bit (like I post so frequently...). I'll try to answer comments if I'm up to it, but I'm not promising anything.

Until next time, wear natural fibers; hug your cats!
Ellen

Fiber Festivals and other fun things

2009-05-24T16:33:00.004-04:00

What sounds boring to some folks and fabulous to others? Why, Sheep & Wool Festivals, of course! Mention a S&W fest to a knitter or a spinner or other fibery crafter and you'll see the transformation take place from a mild-mannered fiber person to a rabid fondler of fibers and stash-enrichment-seeking human missile! Maybe it's not quite that bad, but close, honey, very close!

I've been to several fests this year and fortunately, I have a husband who actually enjoys coming with me (!!), even if only for the lamb-burgers, and he even finds things for me to buy! We went to Clermont State Historic site in NY for the Chancellor's Sheep & Woolcraft festival in April - the weather was fabulous - and I didn't buy much, but that's a very small fest (no lamb-burgers, either) and there really was not a lot of things that I happened to be interested in this year. I mean, I have tons of wool, both pre- and post-production if you know what I mean, so unless something really jumped on me and begged me to take it home, I wasn't going to.

Then, in mid-May, we went to the New Hampshire Sheep & Wool festival in Contoocook, NH. I got my English-style 5-pitch wool combs there; they are hand-made by a gentleman named John A. Meck, who I was told has since passed on, and they are a really nice set of combs. At least I think they are; I'm still kind of new to this, remember...

And yesterday we went to the Massachusetts Sheep & Woolcraft fest in Cummington, Massachusetts. We got there about 11:45 and stayed until 4:00 or so and had such a lovely day! It was not too hot or too cold, there was a nice breeze to cool us off when it was feeling a little warm, and it didn't rain. I saw so much stuff and met nice folks and just had a wonderful day. I ended up buying a sack of carded Shetland batts, all ready to spin! It's lovely stuff, too, and so soft. I have over a pound, so I should be able to make something nice from it, if it's as nice as I've heard others say it is. I've never worked with it so thought I'd give it a shot. I also bought some kid mohair locks (never worked with this fiber either) that are dyed a fabulous fiery orange. They look just like a sunset to me and I can't wait to see what I can do with it. I bought some Cushing Dyes to experiment with, since I've recently begun thinking about dyeing my own fibers for my own use. Right now, I have a crock pot full of a lovely green fleece and if it turns out the way I'm hoping it has, it is destined for a project I should have plenty of time to complete (more on this another day). I bought some sheepy earrings, just because I thought they were adorable. They look like members of Shaun the Sheep's flock, so I had to have them to match my tattoo, of course!

What else is new? Nothing I'm anxious to discuss right now, but I'm sure I'll be talking soon.
Until next time, wear natural fibers, hug your cats!
Ellen

Call me a sore loser, but...

2009-05-13T21:34:00.002-04:00

I really hate the Penguins and they just beat the Capitals to get into the Conference Finals. I'm talking about the NHL Playoffs, just in case you don't follow hockey, and I'm sure most of you don't because it seems to me that almost no one I know follows hockey. Anyway, the Capitals beat my NY Rangers so I guess I don't feel that bad for them, but the Penguins!?! That's another story altogether. I just don't like Sidney Crosby; I think he's a whiny little puke whose head snaps back when he's touched just like he was a human Pez dispenser. Whew....hope I've got that out of my system!

Back to the real stuff here; knitting and spinning, right? Anyway, Mike and I went to the New Hampshire Sheep & Wool fest at the Contoocook Fairgrounds in Hopkinton, NH. Nice little festival, though it took us so long to get there that we only had a couple of hours to shop. I did find the combs I've been looking for and they are really deadly looking! I can't believe how sharp the tips are and how easily they can scratch you if you aren't being careful. You really have to be paying attention when you're working with these tools.

I also looked at some natural dyes; the lady at the booth was very nice and I'm sure she had some really nice products, but I'm so new to dyeing (haven't done any at all - does that qualify as 'new'?) that I was afraid I'd be wasting her time by asking all kinds of questions. I figure it'll be better for me to learn a little more before I start messing about with expensive dyes.

I took lots of pictures, but since it was so late in the day there weren't a lot of folks around to even take pictures of. I met a nice couple whose 'Honeybuns' booth had the most luscious angora fiber. Unfortunately, angora rabbit is not my favorite fiber, and I did have a limited budget, so I didn't end up buying any. One of the lovely women in a group I belong to (HandPreparedFibers) asked me to stop and say hello and they were such a nice couple. Mike and I enjoyed talking to them very much.

Well, I'm off to bed for an early night. Remember to wear natural fibers; hug your cats!
Ellen

In a good mood

2009-05-05T20:29:00.002-04:00

It's Tuesday, May 5, and I'm officially in a good mood. I went for a follow-up visit to my gynecological oncologist (yes, I was scared) and got good news and not so good news. The good news is I do not have cancer, and believe me, I was worried for while there. The not so good news is that I will probably still have to have a hysterectomy as other issues are making my life difficult enough that it will be better for me to do this now than to live through all the mess and end up still having to do it later anyway.

The best news about the hysterectomy is that it can be done laparoscopically and there will only be a 2-week recuperation so my whole summer will not be shot because of a long recuperation.

So, let's see, what else has happened since I signed in? I was invited and signed up to make an item out of my own handspun wool from a CVM Romeldale sheep for possible display at Rhinebeck! How cool is that? All I have to do now is finish spinning the wool, finish working out the pattern, ply the wool and wind it into balls for knitting, knit the swatches, knit the project, and send it in by September 1. Whew! Thinking about it like that scares me, but I'll get it done. I can just imagine going to Rhinebeck in October and taking a picture of my work on display at one of the biggest Sheep & Wool Festivals on the East Coast. Better get cracking!

Don't forget, wear natural fibers; hug your cats!
Ellen

Random Thoughts

2009-03-12T22:32:00.002-04:00

I've become odd, I think. I wonder why I've bothered to start a blog when I post so infrequently. I wonder why I knit when I take so long to finish things, if I even finish them, for that matter. I wonder why on earth I want to make my own yarn when there is tons of perfectly good yarn out there in the world, waiting for me to do something with it. I don't know the answers to anything; I only know I like the way it makes me feel to spin and to knit. I relax. I turn from a stressed out nut who feels like I'm on the edge to a mellow woman who even lets her picture be taken and published to the web.

I hate that I've gained so much weight, but I know that some of it is out of my control. I was on an antidepressant for a couple of years that changes your metabolism enough that it makes it difficult to lose weight and easy to gain it. Fun, huh? So one of the things that made me depressed was the fact that I was fat and the drugs I was taking to make me not depressed helped to make me fat(ter). Catch 22, I think they call that. Anyway, I'm off those drugs now. I think I can control my own mind for now and I'm stressed but I'm happy, I think. It's ok to be stressed as long as it isn't so much that it makes it difficult to deal with normal life. I can leave it behind at work and relax at home. I can't always make my life happy, but it's nothing I can't deal with. Does that even make sense? I'm just typing random thoughts here tonight. I was on one of the lists I belong to and there were nearly 200 posts today! And every one of those posts was worth reading...how many times does that happen on Yahoo lists? In my experience, almost never, but it's like that here. Oh, it's not for everyone, I know, but the folks I've met there are so 'family' that it makes me happy to read and sad to read and interested to find out what everyone has to say.

Take a peek at my new Sonata! Yup, that's me over there, spinning on my new Kromski Sonata wheel. I actually let Mike take a picture of me and put it up here. I think that's a step in the right direction for me. There was a time I wouldn't have dared put a picture like that up. I'd be embarrassed; but I'm me. That's who I am and what I look like. I don't now and never will look like Marilyn Monroe and I would't be me if I did, right? So...take me or leave me, here's what I am and who I am.

See; I told you I was changing up... :o)
Remember, wear natural fibers; hug your cats!
Ellen

Another couple of days

2009-02-22T22:23:00.002-05:00

Saturday, February 21, 2009

And now for a change of pace...I need to do some things to make life more interesting so I think I’ll try writing shorter posts here and maybe a bit more often; more like a ‘diary’ or a journal. I don’t mean that I’ll post anything too revealing or of an extremely private nature, but I find I need an outlet of sorts to get things off my chest and out of my mind. So to that end, it’s Saturday, I’m working on my second cup of coffee and watching ‘fix-it’ shows on PBS.

I’m ambitious enough to want to do some work on my home, but ignorant enough to know that if I try it without the right know-how, I’ll mess up way more than I can fix. I have a small house, a Cape Cod style, with a small (very small) kitchen that has no room for a table and chairs. It barely has enough room for us to cook in. Hardly any countertops and an old sink and faucet combo that just seems to collect crud. No matter how much I clean around it, it can look nasty pretty quick. I’d really like a countertop with an under-mount sink, but I’d have to talk Mike into that. For some strange reason, he just doesn’t think that works well. My sink sits on top of my counters, which are some kind of laminate. There is a glass cutting board set into the counter and I absolutely hate it! It is lousy for my knives - dulls them very quickly if I use it - and it has an edge that catches all kinds of stuff when you try to wipe it down. It’s a pain to clean and keep clean so I end up putting a large plastic cutting board over the top of it to keep it neater and keep stuff from going into the edge.

This little kitchen also doesn't have nearly enough cabinet space, either, so that’s an issue, too. I really need to reorganize what I do have to make the most use of it and I’m still not sure how to do that.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Had to leave the computer for a bit and never seemed to get back to it last night, so here it is, Sunday night, and I’ve just finished dinner while watching the Rangers/Leafs game. I shouldn’t eat while the Rangers are playing lately; they stink out loud and it’s horrible to watch them some nights. At the end of the 2nd period, there’s no score and it’s the freaking Leafs, for God’s sake! Don’t get me started on hockey. It is not my favorite thing right now and I’m usually all pumped up when a game is on, but not the way the Rangers are playing.

So, I’m working on my ‘wedding shawl’; I’m determined to finish the damn thing before my anniversary in July, but I’m not promising anything. I also completely ripped out a pair of socks I had started because I made them too long for my feet before starting the heel and I don’t know anyone with bigger feet than mine (at least, not that I’d like to give a pair of hand-knit socks to).

I found two skeins of cobweb weight yarn in my stash and decided to wind it into balls. While I was working on that, I wondered what on earth had possessed me to buy two skeins of cobweb yarn. It’s like sewing thread! I don’t know what on earth I’d ever make with it and I have two balls of it now and I’d bet that each is about 1,000 yards or more of yarn! Even if I doubled it, it wouldn’t be lace weight! It’s really really fine. I wonder; someone on the KnitList asked about a wedding shawl that needed to be so fine it would pass through a wedding ring when knit. This stuff would probably do that. I just had a thought; the dental floss I use to make ‘lifelines’ is heavier than this yarn! I must have had a very bad case of yarn lust to buy this…

Mike is still out of work, like far too many people in this country. He’s still getting his unemployment insurance checks, so the mortgage is still getting paid. Thank God for unemployment insurance. I’d just like to make it through until he gets a job with the bills not too far behind. I get everything paid, but some stuff is late. It’s the old ‘rob Peter to pay Paul’ syndrome; some months I can pay Peter, some months I can’t. I do the best I can and I don’t spend like I used to, that’s for sure; I just can’t. I hope no one is expecting me to spend to help the economy; someone with money will have to do my part. I’m doing ok with bills and groceries and that’s all I care about right now.

I did want to take that Aran cardigan class at my LYS, and I did hoard some money for it, but the day I went to sign up, it had been filled. I figure I was not destined to take that class. I do have the book they plan to make the sweater from, though, and enough gorgeous alpaca/wool blended hand-spun to make it. If I have the nerve, I’ll give it a shot. I suppose I could go there and eavesdrop on the class for tips and kind of knit along, but that would be cheating and really not fair to those who paid the whole shot to take the class.

I think I’ll stop here and post this. I’ll try to write more later in the week as I’m finding this more relaxing than I remember. I think the ability to tell your troubles to the world like this is a good thing most days. I don’t know who reads my blog, but whoever you are, thanks for listening.
Remember, until next time, wear natural fibers; hug your cats!
Ellen

Happy New Year! 2009

2009-01-01T20:01:00.003-05:00

Sunday, December 21, 2008

I think I’ll break “tradition” and post again this month…LOL. At least I’ll try to come with something interesting to write, though I can’t guarantee anything. Christmas is NOT my favorite time of the year and I just don’t know why. I always feel kind of like Charlie Brown; the commerciality really bugs me, but that doesn’t seem to be quite all of it for me. I do love the traditional things that happen, but some things are just too much. This year I am remembering that last year I lost my beloved Miss Alvin right after Christmas and I am feeling very sad. I don’t much care about tons of gifts, either, as I would much rather give someone something that’s just perfect for them or that they really wanted than actually get a bunch of stuff myself.

That’s not to say I don’t enjoy getting gifts; I do. I just would prefer to get some little things that someone really put some thought into, rather than expensive stuff that someone really didn’t think about. Does that make sense? One of the little things I got last year from Mike was a set of Harmony cable needles from KnitPicks. They didn’t cost a fortune, in fact they didn’t cost much at all, but he knew I’d like them and he ordered them for me. I got a lot of other knitterly things too, but they were all things he knew I’d like and use. This year, I don’t care if I get a damn thing; I told him I got my gift in July when we got married. I know he doesn’t really believe me, but that’s really how I feel.

We didn’t even put a tree up this year. We always put a fresh tree up, one we’ve gone out into the woods for and cut down ourselves. It makes the whole house smell wonderful and so Christmassy that I can’t imagine having a fake tree, no matter how good it looked. We planned to go out to cut one down last weekend, but Mother Nature had other ideas…We’re in upstate NY and we got hit with a mess of an ice storm. Our power was out for four days and it was so cold in the house, I worried about my pipes freezing, though we got past that ok. Then this weekend, it’s done nothing but snow since Friday morning. I think we’ve got about a foot and a half on the ground now, though it appears to have stopped. Christmas Eve we are expecting what they call a “wintry mix” so that could be snow, sleet and/or freezing rain. I guess we’ll stay home and watch Christmas movies with a bottle of wine. On second thought, that doesn’t sound half bad.

I did buy some lovely evergreen-smelling candles, so I’ll have the tree smell, if not the tree. And I’m sure we would have had to tie it to the walls and the ceiling and whatever else we could anchor it to with these three frisky cats in the house. Miss Alvin never did anything but lie under the tree and look pretty, but I’m sure that these three would be climbing the tree and chasing the ornaments all over the house, so maybe it’s better that we didn’t get one this year. Of course, our cutting back on spending isn’t going to help the country’s economy at all, though it will help the economy of our home. Silly, isn’t it? The government wants us all to go out and spend like fiends to shore up the economy, but we just don’t have the money to do that. Is that a catch-22 or what?

I worried when Mike got laid off from his job in November that we’d have problems with money, but his unemployment insurance will get us through. There won’t be much left for frivolities, though, so it’s a good thing I’ve got plenty of stash to knit up. I did want to take a class at my local yarn store in the spring; I’ll have to put a little aside so I can maybe do that. It’s a fairly expensive class; $100 to learn to make an Aran cardigan, but it would be so worth it if I could learn to make a sweater like that. I love the intricacies of cables, but haven’t the nerve to try it on my own. All the sweaters I’ve ever made (except the BSJ, and I took a class for that) have come out so badly that I really feel I need the guidance of a class to get me through. I have the loveliest alpaca/wool blend yarn that I bought ages ago for just such a project, too. It’s a lovely creamy white and the hand is so soft. It will be a beautiful sweater when it’s knitted up; I’ve just been afraid to try it on my own.

I’ll stop for now; it’s time to go clean the car off and help with the snowblowing so I can go to the store for dinner things. Thank heaven the market isn’t far from here! I’ll write more later.

January 1, 2009

I never got around to writing more that day. Funny, I just have to be in the mood to sit down and think on paper (or computer screen…). In the time since I wrote the above, I’ve actually finished a shawl. Ok, so it’s not blocked yet, but the knitting and the weaving in of ends is done. I didn’t have quite enough of the cream alpaca to make it as large as I wanted to, so I added a few inches of a deep cranberry-red Baby Twist and improvised. I think it turned out rather well and it’s so warm. My house is a little chilly today (of course it’s about 12 degrees Fahrenheit outside and the wind is howling), so I tossed it around my shoulders until I warmed up nicely. It’s also a nice size for tossing over my lap as I sit on the couch, so I’m happy with the way it turned out.

I’m still working on my “wedding shawl” but that yarn is soooo fine and it just seems like I’m getting nowhere fast. I knit and knit and knit and it’s like I’ve done ¼ inch. I’m sure we’ve all been in that boat, though, so I just pick it up whenever I think of it and go from there until I’ve had enough. This shawl is lace-weight and I have to say that I don’t think I’ll ever buy any more lace-weight. I still have about 1,000 yards of a beautiful hand-dyed pale spring green that I won in a raffle and I actually bought a huge hank of merino lace-weight in cream on a whim. I guess that will sit in my stash until I find I like it again. Hmmm, I think I like cream colored yarn; I mention it a lot lately….

That lovely cranberry-red Baby Twist is alpaca that I bought in Kentucky when we went down to see my sister and her husband two years ago. I ordered it: 18 skeins in the same dye lot because I was absolutely going to knit a sweater from “Big Girl Knits” and I figured out that I would need 16 or 17 skeins and I better buy an extra, since Kentucky is not just around the corner from upstate NY. I made the “Cherry Bomb” from that book and it turned out so horribly that I never did start another sweater and the “Baby Twist” has been sitting idly by in my stash since then. Oh, and I started another of what I call my “office ponchos”. If you’ve read “The Knit Stitch” (sorry, can’t remember who wrote it), you’ll find in the book a “pattern” of sorts for what she calls a “Sweaterless Yoke”. I made one for myself about three years ago and I keep it at work for chilly days. Lately, it’s always a chilly day in my office as they are saving money by turning the thermostat down. I have a blower right over my cubicle and it seems that when it’s on, it just blows right down my back.

Anyway, I made one from the book and it’s all knitting on circular needles, around and around and around until you decrease a bit and bind off. So, the one I made is a variegated gray/black/white alpaca and it came out so nice that I wear it quite a lot over my shoulders when I get cold. I like that it isn’t on my arms; I’m a ¾ sleeve person and prefer to push my long sleeves up for comfort, so the fact that this little poncho just sits on my shoulders and doesn’t hinder my working is fabulous to me. A friend admired it and I told her I'd make her one. She picked out the wool - a lovely shade of deep olive green - and I started it. And I got so bored going around and around and around that I decided to change things up a bit. I put in some evenly-spaced YO’s and k2tog’s to give it a little interest and it came out so nicely that she just loves it. It's not like it's lacy or anything, but it's not all just stockinettte either.

So let me tell you a little about the one I’m working on now. Since I just finished a shawl - EZ’s Pi - I decided to do a variation on a theme type shawl and I’m working out a kind of a Pi poncho. I’ll post it no matter how it turns out, but so far, so good (keep your fingers crossed!). I'm using the previously-mentioned Baby Twist and it looks lovely so far.

Let’s see…what else is going on? We’re holding our own so far. Money is very tight, but we’ll make it, I think. Of course, having to toss the contents of my fridge, freezer, and my stand-alone freezer after the ice storm isn’t helping much. I hate to think of all the food we tossed and how much it all cost. I have to look on the bright side; my big freezer got defrosted and that’s a good thing, right? Hope all of you are doing well. I wish a Happy and Healthy New Year to all.

Remember, until next time, wear natural fibers; hug your cats!
Ellen

November, 2008

2008-11-27T15:20:00.002-05:00

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Part I: So much for posting more often….
last time was the end of September and it’s November already? I can’t believe the time has gone by so fast. Summer is over and the holidays are fast approaching. I never seem to be ready for the holidays; it’s just the way I am, I guess. Thanksgiving is just a food-fest and Christmas is all about the gifts, it seems. And with the economy so bleak, I wonder why I bother with the tree and all of the other trappings.

I stopped at Walmart the other night to pick up some vitamins and cat food and they were playing Christmas music! Christmas music was actually playing in a store during the first week of November! I wanted to scream. I remember when you didn’t hear Christmas music until the day after Thanksgiving and it doesn’t seem that long ago to me.

I’ve made a major decision; I’ve decided that I won’t let the holidays depress me this year. I refuse point-blank to be a downer when everything else seems to be that way. I will not let the fact that I’m low on cash bother me. I am doing everything I can to live inexpensively right now. I’m keeping my spending to a minimum and driving a lot less, even though gas has come down a lot lately. Oil is still up and I heat with oil. Here in the northeast corner of the US, oil is very commonly used and it’s also pretty expensive. So the thermostat is set kind of low and I’m wearing all kinds of knitted warmies and I turn on the electric blanket at night and I think we’ll make it. I keep telling Mike we’ve got our love to keep us warm! He’s not complaining yet….

Part II – Knitting…dare I say it? I FINISHED something!
I did! Really! My niece is expecting her first baby in December and they know it’s a girl. I wanted to make something for the new baby so I signed up for a class at my LYS. I made a Baby Surprise Jacket (EZ’s pattern) and it came out so cute! I used Jelibeanz yarn by Plymouth Yarns and instead of the usual baby pink or yellow or green, I used a hot pink variegated with striping in bright purple and bright blue variegated. I added a collar and cuffs in the purple and multi-colored heart-shaped buttons. If I do say so myself, it’s adorable.

I’m working on a bonnet in a similar pattern in the same colors to match and if I really feel frisky, I might even make some booties! It’s a quick knit, but I have to say that if I didn’t take the class, I honestly don’t know that I would have finished the sweater. There were so many little tricks taught that I really learned a lot. Of course, the sweater is an elegantly simple pattern, but I don’t think I would have completely understood how it all came together if I didn’t have the teacher there. She was great. She also gave us the pattern for the bonnet to match as an “extra” and in addition, showed us how to add cuffs and a collar to the basic pattern. I feel so good about this little project. It’s helped me along my journey as a knitter to know that I can complete something that isn’t a scarf.

I also started a wrap; it’s a LYS pattern from a place in Lake Placid in upstate NY (Adirondack Yarns; http://www.adirondackyarns.com/) . It’s called “Asymmetrical Cabled Wrap” and it’s all done except for the seaming. I did it in a sea green chunky alpaca and it’s so yummy soft that I can’t wait to wear it. My office is going “green” and so they’ve turned the thermostat to the lowest OSHA-acceptable level, so I expect to be chilly in the office this year. I already use a “Sweaterless Yoke” from “The Knit Stitch” that I made ages ago whenever it gets a little chilly and always get a lot of compliments on it. I even made one for a friend in another office and she swears it’s the best idea since sliced bread. When the blower in the ceiling is shooting cold air down on your shoulders, those little shoulder-covering wraps are just the thing to keep you cozy.

I’m still working on the shawl from July. I’ve gotten a few rows more done, but I have to concentrate so much on getting the right rows done and counting the stitches and making sure I’m on the right pattern row that it gives me a headache to work on it for more than an hour or so. I guess I’ll just keep going. I mean, I paid $50 for this yarn and I’m damned if I’ll let it just sit there! I’ll make it into something….

Back to the socks…I decided to just rip both pairs out and rewind the wool. I’m sick of trying to figure out the Crazy Toes & Heels method. About the only thing I’ve learned from that book is a good toe-up cast-on. I think maybe I need to take a class to get socks right. I should think about that, but I’m trying to save up for a class on an Aran cardigan. I have the wool from a sheep & wool fest I went to last year. I bought it specifically to make an Aran sweater, but haven’t even had the nerve to wind it into balls. If I can set the cash aside for the class, it’ll be worth it to (hopefully) get something finished again. I think I need to have the “homework” from the class to motivate myself. Hmmmmm…can I do that to myself somehow? I’ll have to get back to you on that.

November 26, 2008
Part I – How quickly things change…
Things changed around here in what seems like the wink of an eye. I wrote the beginning of this post on 11/11 and thought I’d get back into on the weekend. By the 14th, my DH, Mike, had been laid off without notice and I was wondering which end was up. He’s since qualified for unemployment insurance (For those who don’t know, in New York the employers have to pay a ’tax’ for each employee so that if the employees get laid off, they will get paid by the state for a while.); I’m not sure how much he will get paid get or how long he can get unemployment, but I hope it’s enough so that we don’t have to worry too much about money.

Folks have asked how he could have been laid off without notice, but he worked for the state legislature as a Receiving Clerk and when you work there, you “work at the pleasure of the legislature” so they can lay you off “at will”. Nice, huh? I’m in a union-protected job and I have health insurance and stuff, so I can make sure he’s covered there. It’s just that it’s such a lousy time of year for this to happen. Bad things always seem to happen to my family in the fall; when my Gram died, her wake was actually on Thanksgiving and when my aunt passed, it was on the same day as my Gram, but last year. I always seem to be going to wakes and funerals in the fall. No wonder I get so depressed this time of year…

And so, it’ll be a quiet holiday season here, but as long as we have enough to pay the bills, it’ll all be fine. Just say a prayer that we come through ok, please? And Thanks!
Remember, until next time, wear natural fibers; hug your cats!
Ellen

Sunday, September 28, 2008

2008-09-28T16:11:00.011-04:00

First up:

I want to find the time to post more often, and the only way to get started is to start. So here goes…the last time I posted was in July, so I’m already behind on my decision to post more often. I guess I better get going and write, right?

Part I – Knitting…and frogging…and knitting…and socks…and frogging…

I signed up for the Ravelry Olympics in the “Sock Put” category before the Summer Olympics started. I’m on the “Crazy Toes and Heels” Team, but I figured it would be likely I wouldn't finish. I started a second pair when the torch was lit, but I still haven’t finished the first pair I started in July and it’s not looking good for them, either. I can’t seem to find the time to knit and even when I can, the cats seem to be especially awake, if you know what I mean. They are very happy to see me pull out the yarn and needles. I think they must think it’s time to floss when they see the yarn.

I can’t seem to get more than a couple of rows done at home because of my kitties. I’ve been getting a lot more done during meetings at work, even though I get a lot of funny looks. I can only knit in a meeting if I’m not supposed to be typing, but I was in a couple like that last week so I got a bunch done. I actually got about two inches of the socks knit up in one very long meeting. At least my brain and my hands seem to be able to work independently of each other, meaning I can knit and think and even speak intelligently (I hope) at the same time. At least no one seemed to think I said anything stupid.

Right now the problem is that I haven’t finished a “Crazy Toes & Heels”-type sock in ages and I can’t remember how to do it. I have to keep referring to the book and even though the I through the method was great, the book is a bit confusing. It jumps all over the place and is just a little bit too full of explanations. I never thought I’d say that, but I guess sometimes there is such a thing as too much information. This book has so many pictures and explanations and information that it’s sometimes just a bit difficult to get to the actual how-to. Sometimes I have trouble figuring out exactly what the next step is. I wish there was just one or two pages that would summarize the actual instructions on how to work the pattern.

I bought the book from the Queen Kahuna website (http://www.queenkahuna-creations.com/) hosted by the author, Mary Ann Beattie, because I wanted to be able to knit two socks at once on two circular needles. I’ve graduated to using one long circular, but am still having trouble following the book’s instructions. For example, it gives instructions on adding short rows to extend the length of the sole of the sock and on how to add slip-stitch under the heel for longer wear, but it’s difficult to figure out how to accomplish both things in the same pair of socks. I’ll figure it out; I did it before and I can do it again. Of course, it’ll be too late for the end of the Olympics, but I did try so I don’t feel too badly about it. I think I won’t sign up for any more “finish this by the end of” stuff like the Ravelry Olympics, though. I just don’t seem to be motivated to finish things under pressure like that. The two pairs of socks I started ended up being frogged right back to the cast on. I guess that means I don’t get any medals, huh? Oh well, I don’t think I’ll die from that. I really didn’t think I’d finish anyway. I’m not the speediest knitter and I tend to be fussy about how things look (probably like most knitters) so I end up ripping or tinking back if I see one little boo-boo or even just something that doesn’t look right to me. I think we’ve all been through that, though, so I’m sure no one will have any problems understanding where I’m coming from.

On the UFO front, I completely frogged the shawl I started for my wedding in July. I've cast on in a completely different pattern and have knitted up about three inches so far. I know, it doesn’t seem like a lot, but I’m lucky to get a couple of rows done between mis-counting the stitch pattern, tinking back to where the error is, and keeping the cats off the yarn. Since on the day I got married it was over 90 degrees F, hazy and humid, I really didn’t need a shawl to keep me warm. I will probably finish the new pattern in time to wear for this winter and it will be a lovely accessory to my winter clothing. It’s usually a bit chilly in my office, so it’ll be nice to have something I can toss over my shoulders to keep warm that won’t be so heavy that I’ll roast. Of course, this year the office is trying to save on heating and cooling costs, so it’s been hot all summer and I figure it’ll be cold all winter. If I’m right, I’ll need some extra little wraps and shawls to throw on so I don’t freeze in the office.

I’ve gotten a lot further with the asymmetrical cabled wrap I started. We went up into the Adirondacks a few weeks ago for a very long ride (about 175 miles one way). We went through Lake Placid and Saranac Lake and up into Tupper Lake and it was just a gorgeous day for it. I even got to stop at a LYS in Lake Placid, Adirondack Yarns (http://www.adirondackyarns.com/) and picked up some chunky Baby Alpaca and a lovely pattern for a rectangular wrap with cables. It’s a ‘store’ pattern and came with the wool but it looks like it’s an easy knit so I might actually be able to get it knit up for winter. The wool is a sea-green and very soft and luscious. Maybe it’s the super bulky baby alpaca yarn and the size 13 (US) needles that I’m using. Duh…it sure goes a lot faster than the lace weight I'm using for the 'wedding' shawl. I’ve already used three skeins and the pattern calls for five, so I’m nearly finished. I really can’t keep starting things and then leaving them to sit in the UFO pile and languish; I'm going to have to finish something soon.

Mom was looking at the cabled wrap the other day with lust in her eyes. I was working on it in the waiting room when I took her to the doctor’s office and she was checking it out while I was knitting. She ‘knits’ with a loom and doesn’t use wool. She goes though acrylic yarn so fast, she probably couldn’t afford to use wool or alpaca. I know I couldn’t afford it. She does fondle my yarns when I stop at the house to see her, though. Mom really only works on the loom to keep her fingers busy so she doesn’t smoke, though I don’t think she’s really trying to quit smoking that hard. I just worry because she shouldn’t smoke at all. She has all sorts of medical problems and I don’t know what to do for her except be there when she needs me to. I’m the oldest, so I’m the one that deals with things when she needs them dealt with. Ah well, that’s a vent for another day.

So now let me get back to socks. I really want to finish up some socks. I have all kinds of really nice sock yarn and I like the going around and around part because I don’t have to think. It’s the heels and the gussets that are making me nuts. I think I’m giving up on Queen Kahuna. I was a member of the Yahoo group for a while and I read all the responses to everyone else’s problems and questions; my problem was that as soon as I posted a question, all the responders disappeared. I waited a couple of weeks and posted again and still got no response, so *poof* I’m outta there. The only good thing is that I’ve learned how to work on two socks at once on one long circular needle. I can cast on using Judy’s Magic Cast On (Knitty.com – just google it) and I can work my way from the toe to the heel. All I have to really figure out is how to put in the gussets and turn the heel. I’m sure that working from the ankle to the cuff will be just as easy as the foot part, so I’m not worried about that. I keep looking at the sock books at the bookstore and reading all the reviews on-line, and I haven’t seen anything that seems like it’s what I want, so I’ll just keep looking and knitting and trying to work my own way through.

Part II – Three cats! What in the world possessed me???

Last time I told you about Gracie and how she was joined by Ed and Gene. They are such a lovely bunch of kitties, but they are a real handful sometimes! For example, I have to remember to flip the tissue box upside down before I go to bed at night because they just love to pluck tissues out and shred them. I got up one morning and it looked like it had snowed in my living room! Pop-up tissues are apparently a lot of fun for kitties at night…The boys are also very fond of the bathroom sink and the shower. If they stay in the bathroom in the morning while I’m getting ready for work, they will even come into the shower while I’m in there! And I thought cats weren’t supposed to like water; certainly no one told these cats, that’s for sure!

They are certainly very different from what my Miss Alvin was like. She only went into the bathroom in the winter and then only because the bathroom has the warmest floor in the house. I’m just not used to young cats, I guess. I never know what I’ll find when I get up in the morning or when I get home from work at night. Every day is an adventure and none of them are boring.

Recently, the ‘boys’, Gene and Ed, also discovered toilet paper and paper towels. Help? I have been keeping the toilet paper in the linen closet in the bathroom and I don’t know what to do about the paper towels. Gene especially likes lying in the bathroom or kitchen sink (right under the paper towel roll, of course) and I’m having a hard time breaking him of that habit. I don’t so much mind about the bathroom sink, because I don’t think he can do any harm there, to himself or anything else. In the kitchen though, I’m not sure I want little kitty feet all over my counters, etc. Also, I have a ceramic cook-top and I don’t want him jumping up there when the element is hot, though Mike says “he’ll only do it once…” I don’t think I even want him to do it once.

Part III – now to the scary bits…

I have been going through an anxious period of watch and wait and wait and wait…you get the drift. Anyway, seems like I’ll have to wait yet another little bit. I got the results of the MRI last week, but the results really didn’t prove anything. I go for an ultrasound in November and maybe there’ll still be surgery after that.

Let’s see, what else has been going on in my life? Besides getting married becoming a cat-Mom and getting a tattoo? A bit of a fearful time as I wait to hear how things are going for me, health-wise. I’m having some gynecological issues and waiting to hear how I’m going to end up dealing with them. It’s looking more and more like a hysterectomy will be in the offing. All I have to do is wait for test results, watch, and wait, and wait, and wait….It seems like forever to me. I’m not going to elaborate too much until I know more, but I’ll post as I can. Another visit to the doc in August still didn't tell me what’s what, but I'm hoping I'll find out more in November…Keep your fingers crossed!

Still haven’t heard anything about what’s what in my body. I go for an ultrasound on November 10 and to the doctor on November 11, so keep your fingers crossed and I’ll keep you posted.

Part IV – Inked!

I’ve had so much feedback from my friends and family about my Shaun the Sheep tattoo and it’s pretty much all been positive. I’m just having a fun time with this. I still meet people who see the tattoo and say, “Is that a real tattoo?” Some folks just can’t believe that at 52, I actually got a tattoo. As the commercials say “I’m lovin’ it.” This is fun.

Part V – Connubial Bliss…so far, so good!

I’m leaving the slideshow up because I just want to. After 21 years, I’m happy to share my happiness with everyone. If I could figure out how to put up the video, I’d put that up too. I showed some friends and we all had a really good laugh. Of course, since we were married at an airshow, you might guess how the video sounds. You would not be surprised if I told you that the ‘dialogue’ is somewhat buried by the sounds of airplanes and other airshow type noise. When Mike set up the camcorder, he didn’t think of setting up a dedicated microphone to catch the ceremony so we have our real wedding, like I’ll always remember it. I giggle every time I see it and it makes me happy. I guess I’m not just like the rest of the world, but isn’t that what makes the world go around?

Remember, until next time, wear natural fibers; hug your cats!
Ellen

Once again, I take a lot of time off from blogging!

2008-07-19T23:37:00.004-04:00

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Where I’ve been…

I’ve never been a hugely prolific poster since I decided to do this blogging thing, but it’s really been a while this time. I’ve had so much going on that I don’t know if I know where to even start.

Part I – Knitting…as good a place as any to start

I’ve started a pair of socks; I went to Webs one weekend and bought a couple of hanks of Trekking sock yarn so I’ve got at least got one pair on my needles, though it’s been a little while since I worked on them. I’ve been working on a wrap for the last few weeks. It’s a simple wrap, all knit stitch with YOs to make the increases. Absolutely easy stuff, right? I thought so. I even spent <> $50 on the one hank of lace weight yarn (alpaca/silk blend – think it’s Adirondack, but I can’t find the label…) because I planned to wear it at my wedding. That’s right folks; I am now a married lady! I promise; I’ll get to that part soon.

I did finish a felted purse for my step-daughter, Becky, and another felted bag to carry my XM radio stuff in – pix with the post. Not much else to report on, knit-wise, as I’ve been having a bit of trouble finding time to get some knitting in. Of course, it’s summer, so it’s kind of hot to knit for some of us. I really can’t use that for an excuse, though, because the house is air-conditioned. There just seems to be so much more to do that knitting takes a back seat most of the time.

Part II – Kittens in my life!

I think I already told you that I adopted a lovely kitty named Gracie on January 11 and that I was going to try to talk Mike into a second kitty so she wouldn’t get lonesome while we’re at work. I guess I can be very persuasive… :o)…Gracie now has two little ‘nephews’, named Ed and Gene, after my uncle and my Dad. The boys are brothers and even Mike couldn’t resist them; that same good friend Sue who found Gracie for us took them and their mother into her home to foster them so they wouldn’t have to go to a shelter. Once Mike saw them, he was sunk and we had to take them home. Who could resist? Not me, certainly.

I told you they are named after my Dad and my uncle and it’s kind of a longish story, but it does explain the names. Dad and Uncle Ed, for some odd reason that only they knew, called each other “George” for as long as I can remember. Think conversations that went like this, “George, grab me a beer!” and the response, “Sure, George. Cheese and crackers, too?” Anyway, I don’t know why they did it, but they did it. We even called Uncle Ed “Uncle George” and my cousins called Dad “Uncle George” as well. Odd, I know, but the names work because I dreamt I had cats named George and Gracie…get it? “George” being Ed and Gene together, and of course, my Gracie making up the group. So now I do have “George” and Gracie, but it’s really three cats and the house is lovely with all of them.

Part III – the scary bits…

Let’s see, what else has been going on in my life? Besides getting married? A bit of a fearful time as I wait to hear how things are going for me, health-wise. I’m having some gynecological issues and waiting to hear how I’m going to end up dealing with them. It’s looking more and more like a hysterectomy will be in the offing. All I have to do is wait for test results, watch, and wait, and wait, and wait….It seems like forever to me. I’m not going to elaborate too much until I know more, but I’ll post as I know more. Another visit to the doc in August and I should know what’s what, I hope…Keep your fingers crossed!

Part IV – Inked!

Under “Life Change #1” you’ll find a picture of Shaun the Sheep knitting. He now resides on my left wrist! When I was 15, I used india ink and a needle wrapped in cotton thread to ‘tattoo’ a small heart on my wrist. I always wore a watch, so no one really knew it was there. My Mom didn’t even know about it until I was in my 30’s. I always wanted to fix it somehow, you know, put something prettier or more meaningful over it to cover it up, but never had the nerve. Becky has a few tattoos and she overheard me tell her Dad that I wanted to do that some time. The rest, as they say, is history. She told me she’d buy me a ‘tat’ and get the same one as a Mother’s Day present and I said, what the hell, I’ll do it! So there’s the picture so you can see what I did.

Part V – Connubial Bliss…I hope!

Mike and I have been living together for 21 years and neither of us ever figured we’d be married to each other or anyone else, for that matter. So go figure; on May 29th I turned 52 and Mike and I were talking and marriage came up. Surprise, surprise…I thought we were just talking so I didn’t think any more of it for a few days. Then one night we were at the mall bookstore and I asked him if he had been serious. He was…so we started to make plans. We weren’t going to tell anyone until the deed was done, but things kind of got in the way of that. We went to buy wedding rings and when we came home, Mike’s daughter Becky was at our house. She has a key and had come over to watch tv, thinking we’d be home. When we did come home, Mike and I looked at each other, both nodded, and tossed the jeweler’s bag into her lap. She was just so happy, she cried. She’s a great kid, works hard, and has worked her way through nursing school to work at the local major medical center in the Coronary Care Unit as an RN. I’m very proud of her.

Anyway, now the secret was out, at least to one person. The next day being Saturday, we planned to do some garage saling. Mom had asked me to make a deposit for her at her bank, so we did that first thing that morning. I also wanted to make sure I had enough cash in case I found something really good at the garage sales. Becky wanted to go with us and was waiting for us at the house; we were on the way back there from the bank to pick her up. In the meantime, she called Mike on his cell phone to tell him that there was someone at the house we had been trying to avoid. This guy has been trying to buy our woodstove for ages and won’t take “NO” for an answer. Anyway, I turned the car away from the house, deciding to check out one of the local garage sales in our neighborhood. Becky said she’d get rid of the guy and give us a call when he was gone, so we decided to shop until we heard from her.

There didn’t seem to be anything much of interest out front at the sale we stopped at, so I decided to see what was on the porch. Lo and behold, there was a sign on the porch…“For Sale: Diamond Engagement Ring, never worn, $300”. I couldn’t resist, so I asked to see it. It was a really beautiful ring; a solitaire with eight diamonds channel-set, four on each side of the centr stone, and it fit like it was made for me! Mike hadn’t got me an engagement ring; it was just too much for the budget; finding this ring was total serendipity. He looked at me and I looked at him, and we offered $250 and she took it! As we walked away, her boyfriend in the house could be heard to say to her, “I can’t believe you just did that!” I’ve since had the ring checked out and it’s really a nice diamond ring and more than perfect for us! We just couldn’t have afforded anything like an engagement ring, especially one so nice; it would have been too much for the budget in this age of gas being over $4 a gallon, among other things.

Now to get to the good stuff: Mike and I decided that since we go to the 1941 Historic Aircraft Group’s Airshow in Geneseo, NY every year, we would go and get married there and make it our mini-honeymoon. We decided to keep it kind of quiet and not invite anyone because we’re like that. Geneseo is our place and it wouldn’t be fun anymore if others discovered it. I don’t mean to sound selfish, but we wanted to do things our way. The last wedding I went to was so huge and impersonal that it was just no fun and I wanted to have fun at mine. Mom was a little disappointed that she couldn’t come, but her health wouldn’t allow it anyway. She’s 74 and severely arthritic – in a wheelchair for travel – and the airshow is outside, usually hot and in case you’ve never been to an airshow, there is no shade unless you’re under a plane’s wing. It would have been hell for her, and would have made the entire day awful for us because we would have been worried about her the entire day. She understood and didn’t push the issue.

But once Mom knew, it was only a matter of time before the rest of the family knew. We decided to tell our favorite family members in person after we told Mom and we did that. Since we were getting married in a matter of weeks, there really wasn’t time for anyone to make any plans for all the extracurricular ‘crap’ that seems to go with weddings, so I think we’ve gotten away with that bit. I mean, really, how many wedding showers do you really need when you’ve been living with the same person for 21 years? It’s not like we really need anything and I’d be uncomfortable taking other gifts, so it worked out great as far as we are concerned.

We got our license on Friday, June 13 – don’t get all superstitious now, ok? – and brought it with us to Geneseo. We left home on Friday morning, July 11 and drove out to the airfield. It’s a bit of a drive, about 4 to 5 hours, especially since we make frequent stops to stretch our legs because I do all the driving b. We arrived in to Geneseo at about 12:30 and checked into the local Quality Inn, where we had made reservations a year ago. We always make our reservations the day we leave – we know we’ll be back next year.

In the meantime, I checked the Historic Aircraft Group’s website (http://www.1941hag.org/) and contacted someone about finding a judge or a justice of the peace in town so we could get married out there. They didn’t think I was nuts at all; turns out there was another couple renewing their vows on the 12th and they didn’t think the judge would mind performing two ceremonies. Mike and I met the folks from the airshow and the other couple on Friday at the fly-in day. I had spoken to the judge on the phone a couple of times since we found out what we were going to do. The other couple, John and Lia, who were getting married at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday in full World War II military regalia at the WWII re-enactor’s site were really nice. John was going to be married in military garb and Lia was going to wear a 1940’s period white satin dress. It was so cool and so not us. Once we had everything figured out, Mike and I went off to buy our own wedding garb. We wore 2008 airshow tee-shirts and jeans. I was not going whole-hog on a dress and a tux and all that junk just because we were getting married. I mean, really, that’s just not us! We knew we’d be spending the day on the field; we knew the weather report usually said ‘hazy, hot, and humid’ for that weekend; what on earth was the sense in getting dressed up in hot sticky clothing?

We got to the field on Saturday morning, and the line of traffic was so long, I didn’t think we’d make it to the ceremony on time. Once we got out towards the parking area, I rolled the window down and spoke to the first person directing traffic I could find. I told him that I was supposed to be at the WWII re-enactor area to get married and we were late. He was great! He told me to drive across the parking area and park over near the re-enactor area near the tents. We got there just in time and since we’re rarely on time for anything, that was a feat for us! We only caught the very end of John and Lia’s wedding, but we didn’t miss the judge!

There is one woman that we know from going to Geneseo every year; her name Is Jean and she drives the shuttle every year at the airshow. We always look for her at the show and she always looks for us. We’ve become ‘fixtures’ to her, I guess, but she’s a really nice person and I thought that since she’s really the only person we know and look for every year, I’d ask her to be a witness at the wedding. She wasn’t there on Friday, but we found her brother and he got my cell number to her so we could meet on Saturday. She was thrilled to stand up for us; you’ll see her in the bright green “Free Shuttle” shirt on my left in the slideshow.

Did I tell you I put up a slideshow? It’s under the heading, “Life Change #2” so feel free to check it out. Mike had his camcorder set up on a tripod, so we did have a video, but I don’t have that anywhere yet. You’ll have to be satisfied with the pictures for now. So that’s where I’ve been and what I’ve been doing for so long….

Remember, until next time, wear natural fibers; hug your cats!
Ellen

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

2008-02-26T22:04:00.002-05:00

Part I – It’s been a while…

I know, it’s been a while since I was here. It’s been a tough few months since the last time I posted and I’ve been thinking and thinking about whether or not I would even keep my blog going. It’s not that I’m not having fun with my fiber-y pursuits, because I am. It’s just that so many other things have been tough that the knitting and stuff are the only things keeping me sane sometimes. I wrote all this on Monday, but didn’t get to do the post until today. I decided to write the good parts first....

Part II – Where I learn to spin…in a different way.

So, let’s see, last time I told you about learning to spin on a drop spindle. It was so much fun and I really enjoyed it. I made a bunch of singles, and then I plied a bunch, and then, because I could, I knit up a cabled headband out of yarn that I made. Can you see me puffing up and patting myself on the back?

I met a really nice woman at the spinning class and before it was over, she got a bunch of roving back from a processor that she had sent out to be de-haired and cleaned. Alpaca…can you say ‘soft’? I mean, it was so soft that I just had to have some. I bought a garbage bag full….I couldn’t help myself. I mean really, who could? And then, she showed me some other roving. The alpaca roving is a lovely milk-chocolate brown; this was a creamy off-white. I think it will be whiter once I wash it as it was just a little greasy, but again, it was so soft that I just had to have it. While I was there, she told me that the LYS where we had taken our drop spindle class was doing a class on wheel spinning…you can just see this coming, can’t you? I signed up. I rented a wheel for two weeks. I’m nuts. I don’t have it yet, but I bought a wheel on ebay…I’m really nuts, right? I bought a wheel on ebay for $127.50 + shipping from the Netherlands…The picture looks good and the seller has nothing but great feedback, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it will all be good. The wheel I rented was a Louet and this one is a Schippertje (???), double-drive, single-treadle, and flyer-driven. It looks good and I’ll post pix when I get it. According to the seller, I should get it in 7 – 10 days, so let’s see, that would be next Monday at the earliest. I’m nuts…and I can’t wait until it gets here.

Part III – Update on Mom’s sweater for {was } Christmas {now} whenever…

Last time, I was very high on the “Sonnet” pattern from Knitty.com. That was last time…
I explained about how I got it all knitted up and sewn up and the buttons on and it didn’t fit. I wrote about deciding to use a contrasting color, picking up stitches around the neckline and cuffs and then working the neckline in to a wearable sweater. Well it was all writing. Yes, it was back to the frog pond for me yet again. I ripped it all back and wound the wool carefully into nice, soft balls and put them into a large zip-lock bag and put them away. Then, I went to the bookstore and bought Jacqueline Fee’s “Sweater Workshop” and started reading.

I figure I must have a mental block about sweaters. I always seem to mess them up somehow. They’re too big or too small, too low-cut or too tight in the neck. I need to learn what I’m doing wrong, and I’ve always heard good things about “Sweater Workshop”, so I bought it. I had a 40% off coupon and another 10% on top of that, so how could I go wrong?

Well, I read a bit and then I pulled out some yarn and some needles and I followed the directions for a “Sweater Sampler” – I’ve posted a couple of pix [coming soon] so you can see what I’m talking about. It was kind of fun and I think it came out pretty well, so I started a cardigan for Mom, using Ms. Fee’s “formula” (with thanks to EZ as well). So far, so good, but don’t hold me to that until I actually finish the damn thing, ok? There’s a picture of the beginning [coming soon] and it looks pretty good, if you ask me, but then I thought the others looked good until I actually had to rip them back to the beginning, too.

Part IV – Current (and everlasting) Projects

Ok, what’s still on my needles?

(1) Those damn toe-up socks; I don’t think they’ll ever be done.

(2) ‘Branching Out’ scarf from Knitty.com DONE!!!

(3) ‘Gryffindor House Scarf’ from “Charmed Knits” – too booooooooring; ripped it out. I think I’ll use the wool for slippers….

(4) Lacy Prairie Shawl from ‘Folk Shawls’ by Cheryl Oberle in a lovely and soft cream-colored alpaca – this one’s about 1/3 done now, so I might actually finish it before winter is over. This one went to the frog pond, too. Its second incarnation is a feather-and-fan wrap that’s working out much better for me. Update on this: I may be ripping it out….it’s about 8 feet long and the width of a scarf; not much of a wrap, I think…

(5) I did make a pair of felted clogs for Mom, well, the knitting part, anyway. I still have to felt them. And I made a new sole for Mike’s felted clogs; he wears them so much, he wore right through one of them! This time I’m putting the leather soles on both pairs. These are on my radar to felt as soon as I can remember where I put them. I know they are in a Ziploc bag somewhere around here….

(6) I also started finished another ‘sweater-less yoke’ (I don’t know what else to call it) for a friend who saw the one I was wearing the other day and admired it. In cubicles in the building where I work, there are blowers in the ceiling that you can’t control that blow cold air down on your back, and this little knitted thingy – I don’t know what to call it – is just a knitted in the round from the bottom up, decreased for the neck, ‘sweater-less yoke’ for lack of a better term. It just covers my shoulders and my upper back and keeps the drafts off of me. DONE!!! And she loved it! I may have to make a bunch more in some other colors because all my friends want them now.

Part V – Me again, and RIP Miss Alvin…

This part might be a bit tough for those of you who have pets; be forewarned – you might get a little teary-eyed here.

Christmas was a very nice holiday. ‘Santa’ (my loving and wonderful partner, Mike) gave me all kinds of knitterly goodies and had a really good time watching as I opened each one. Since I had given him a KnitPicks catalog with tons of items marked off that I was interested in, I knew I would get knitty things, but I gave him tons of choices so I would not know exactly what I was getting. I like surprises, and he never knows what to get me, so giving him tons of choices in all different price ranges gave him lots of things to choose from to surprise me with.

The tough part started on the day after Christmas. Mike and I came home from work and found Miss Alvin very ill. She was weak and sick and was trying to hide under the Christmas tree. I called the vet and they were closed and the message on their machine said to go to the emergency vet and gave the phone number. I called, they said to get her over there asap and we did. They got Miss Alvin stable and comfortable, but she didn’t seem to know where she was or who we were. Mike thought she couldn’t see us either, but I couldn’t tell. Of course, it didn’t help that I was trying so hard not to cry that I couldn’t see straight. We ended up staying at the vet ER most of that night, waiting to hear how she was going to do. The vet finally told us to go home, her condition was stable, but he recommended we take her to our own vet in the morning when they opened. They kept her overnight and we went home to try to sleep.

When I picked her up in the morning at the ER, the vet on duty told me they suspected that she had had a stroke. Miss Alvin was considered to be a senior cat; she was 15 years old, so she wasn’t exactly a kitten, but a stroke?!? My vet did some tests and she confirmed that diagnosis but thought that if Alvin made it through the first 24 hours, she might make it longer. Alvin’s kidneys did not seem to be functioning and the vet thought they might come back if we got her hydrated and stable. So I left her at the vet’s and went home to worry. Mike and I went back later in the day to visit her and see how she was doing. The vet was optimistic; she said Alvin had passed a little urine so her kidneys were functioning. We left her there overnight again and went back first thing in the morning.

Miss Alvin still didn’t seem to know us, but her body seemed to be working, though not that well. The vet told us that she was a little concerned; that Alvin had some fluid buildup in her abdomen, and she wanted to do an x-ray. After the x-ray, she brought Alvin back in and I held her while we looked at it to see what we could see. Turns out that Miss Alvin had a tumor in a space that all kinds of blood vessels run through and that was, we thought, what had caused her stroke. We figured that the stroke was why she didn’t know us and didn’t seem to be able to see us. The vet left us alone with her, and we both cried a lot and made the decision that we had to give her peace. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. She was no longer the little cat that knew us and called to us when we came home and slept on the bed with us. I hadn’t cried like that in so long; I never thought I would cry over a pet like that, but she was like my child. We don’t have kids, but we had Alvin and she was family, you know? Some people won’t understand that, I’m sure, but those of you who have pets will, I’m sure. Miss Alvin died in my arms that day, with my tears and Mike’s falling on her. She knew we loved her. Heavy duty; I didn’t mean to do this to you. I had to get it out, though, and I hope you understand.

PS – you have to know that a house without a cat is not a home, so on January 11, 2008, I talked Mike into going over to the local PetSmart that my friend Sue works at to look at a kitty she thought we might like to adopt. He wasn’t our kitty, but Gracie was. She came home with us that night and has worked her kitty magic right into our hearts. Now if I can just get Mike to go for one more kitty to keep her company…

Remember, until next time, wear natural fibers; hug your cat!
Ellen

Sunday, November 11, 2007

2007-11-11T22:32:00.000-05:00

Part I – NYS Sheep and Wool Festival – RHINEBECK!!!

Can you say ‘overwhelming’? I’m serious; I don’t think I saw half of what was available and I know I saw a lot of stuff. We walked around for about 4 or 5 hours on Saturday (it sure felt like more the next day) and I think I ended up in the same places a few times. In fact, I know I ended up in the same place at least three times. Remember this bit from the last time I posted?

“And as I fondled the fleece – I’m a little weird here as I like the feeling of greasy fleece and I don’t mind the smell, either – she asked me if I’d like a chunk for ‘hand lotion’. I, of course, said sure and she came around and tore off a huge hunk of fleece, much more than I would have taken if she had told me to just pull off some, and gave it to me.

Mike thinks I’m nuts, but I fondled that hunk of fleece all the way back to the car and my hands just felt so soft and nice….but, I REFUSE TO LEARN TO SPIN! I keep saying that and Mike keeps telling me I sound intrigued, and maybe I am, a little…I just don’t need to be learning to spin my own yarn when there is such nice stuff out there for me to buy and there is such nice stuff in my own stash that is just waiting to be knit up into something. I know, excuses will get me nowhere, but I just don’t have the brain space for another new, expensive hobby.”

Do you especially remember the bit about refusing to learn to spin? I have completely blown it. I have been to four different wool festivals this year. There was one vendor at all of them and I always seem to find them; it’s like they call me. That vendor is Golding and they make the most gorgeous drop spindles (and other things, I’m sure, but all I saw were the drop spindles) and stands for the spindles. Their booth always seems to draw me like a magnet, because I never miss stopping there no matter what festival I am at. Well, you guessed it; Golding (www.dropspindle.info) was at Rhinebeck, too, and they had so many lovely hand-carved drop spindles displayed that I just couldn’t resist. The first time we stopped, I stood admiring their pieces for ages, wondering how on earth you worked with them to make yarn. There was a woman there (she may have been one of the owners) who asked if I was interested, and since I had never actually seen anyone use a drop spindle I asked if she’d show me how they worked.

She did.

It looked easy.

It looked relaxing.

It even looked fun.

I caught Mike looking at me like I had lobsters crawling out of my ears (thank you, Ralphie) and I thought about what I would do with a drop spindle and (very) reluctantly walked away.

Then we went to another booth nearby and I bought 1,000 yards of a lovely medium-weight (I can never get dk and ww and stuff right, except I do know right away what lace-weight and bulky are…) rusty red wool that was so nice and soft and just looked like it would make a great vest or hat and scarf or shawl or something…. you know? And I had to have it, so I bought it and it was the whole dye lot, so I better have enough for whatever I decide to do with it. We left Building A then, and went into the midst of the sheep and the cashmere goats and all of the lovely places to buy wooly and wooly-related goodies and I bought a few little things here and there and ate some lunch and some ice cream and sat and watched people for a bit. We headed over to the buildings near the sheep barns – I was mostly lost, but I think I checked out most of the stuff for sale – and I tried on a felted hat. I loved it, but Mike made such faces that I knew I’d end up hating it because he’d just make a joke every time I wore it. It was a bright green felted bucket-style hat with a brim and had a black and white sheep felted onto it and I thought it was adorable. While I was looking at it, Mike pointed out that I don’t own one article of green winter-wear and I thought about that while I tried it on and then put it back. The style was good, but the color wasn’t right. I hate to admit it, but he was right. I’m going to look for a pattern and make my own, I think, though I only wear hats when it’s really, really cold out. ‘Hat hair’ has never looked good on me…or on anyone else, I suppose.

Then, as we wandered around looking at all kinds of things, I saw someone that I hadn’t seen in ages and we stopped to chat. While we were talking, a woman in a red beret came over and bugged me into being interviewed for her podcast. So, I showed her what I had purchased so far and answered some questions and generally felt like I was making an idiot of myself. But, I will keep checking her site to see if I show up, no matter what I looked like. I mean, if you’re going to be on the Internet, you might as well be yourself and not stress over it, right? The site is www.knitayarn.com and it looks like it’s a recent addition to the online knitting community, with entries from October 2007 being the earliest. There is some good info and you can register to receive updates or subscribe to the RSS feed (Is that right? Even though I have a blog, I still don’t know what the RSS feed thingy is…) or just check the place out without becoming a member at all. Anyway, if you see an interview with a ‘voluptuous’ woman with glasses and dark hair and a tomato-soup-colored orange top with a drawstring neckline, that’s probably me. Don’t judge me too harshly; I’m really kind of shy in person, though you wouldn’t know it from reading my blog. Once I know you, I’ll tell you (almost) anything and I don’t usually cut corners, either. My friends know I ‘tell it like it is’ and they’re used to it. I think I just don’t have that something in my head that says ‘don’t just blurt that out – they might get upset!’. I’m sure I’ve offended people, but I really don’t mean to. I just don’t know when to keep my mouth shut is all…See, I can’t even stop talking when I’m writing!

So, back to the part about ‘I REFUSE TO LEARN TO SPIN!’. The second time I went back to Building A (you’ll remember that Building A is where the Golding booth was? I thought you might...), I again checked out the Golding booth, noting that the woman who showed me how the drop spindle worked seemed to notice that I had been there before, but had decided to let me figure out what I was going to do. I, again very reluctantly, walked away, and found a beautiful nine-piece felted Nativity set, which I ordered and expect to receive any day now. It was just too pretty to resist and I especially had to have it because of the Magi in the set. It came with the Three Kings, or the Magi, or the Three Wise Men, as some people call them, and a camel and I am kind of crazy, because if the Three Kings are part of it, I have to have it. I do have my reasons, nutty as they may seem to some folks. For instance, for years now, I have only sent out Christmas cards with a picture of the Three Kings on the front to my friends and family. When I was little, my Mom always took the first Christmas card she received that had a picture of the Three Kings on it and tacked it up over the inside of the front door and left it there all year until the next Christmas. I thought everyone did that and finally got old enough to notice that it seemed like hardly anyone did it. I asked Mom once why she did that and she told me that if I put the first Three Kings card I got over my front door like that, the Three Kings would make sure I had a good year. So I thought I would help my friends by sending them a card and telling them my Mom’s reasoning. I never wondered where it came from; I just knew that I would always put the first Three Kings card up in my house, no matter what others did, and I still do.

I always tell people about Mom’s tradition the first time I send them a card, and some interesting tales have come out of that. Once, someone told me she put her card up over the door and within a week or two, her husband got a promotion at work. Another time, a woman went away on vacation and met her future husband, so maybe there is something to it, after all. I do have some friends who call me to ask when I’m sending out my cards, because they want to watch for the Three Kings so they can put it right up. And my family and some of my friends now try to be the first to send me a Three Kings card; they don’t know I usually put them all up and leave them all year, just in case. I did try to find out where, if anywhere, this ‘legend’ came from. I even wrote to the Old Farmer’s Almanac and asked them if they knew anything about the Three Kings that might lead someone to put the cards up and they sent me this:

"Thanks for your question.We found this mention about the three wise men and good luck. C.M.B. are the initials of the three Wise Men named Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. It is a custom in Poland, Czechoslovakia and Sweden for three boys to visit homes on the Epiphany. The initials C.M.B. are written over the doors of the homes and three crosses are drawn, also. This will bring good fortune in the new year to the people who live there."

Infer what you will; I put my cards up, though occasionally I wonder how my mother, who is Irish, ended up somehow using her own version of a Polish, Czechoslovakian, and Swedish custom. I have to say it’s getting more and more difficult to find Christmas cards with the Three Kings on them; I often check many displays in many different stores before I find something to send to folks. I suppose I’ll have to print my own when I can’t find them anywhere. [I did find a gorgeous card at Barnes & Noble on Friday night while I was on my way to check out my purchase. They really are the nicest cards I've seen in ages; I hope everyone likes them.

Now, back to ‘I REFUSE TO LEARN TO SPIN!’…The THIRD time I went back to Building A, (again, you’ll remember that Building A is where the Golding booth was? I was sure you'd remember this time...), I went right to the Golding booth and looked at all the beautiful drop spindles with so much longing that I must have sighed out loud. The same woman noticed me yet again and I think this time she just knew I was going to buy something, and she thought she’d better give me some advice before I went ahead and spent a fat chunk of change on something I might never learn to work with. First she advised me that I should start with a slightly heavier spindle than the one I was fondling, explaining that it would be easier for me to learn on a slightly heavy spindle. She showed me a very reasonably priced 1.9-ounce brass, cherry, and walnut spindle that felt like it belonged in my hand. It was so warm feeling and I just felt like it was supposed to be mine. Since I had asked her to show me how they worked before, she knew I didn’t know the first thing about using it, so she recommended a ‘Learn to Spin’ kit, which came with a smaller, less expensive spindle, some fiber and a book, “Spin It”, to learn from. We worked out the package with the lovely spindle I was holding instead of the one that came with the set, and I left the booth, blissfully and ignorantly happy, with my pockets lighter by no small amount of money. I could not wait to get home and try it out. Ignorance is bliss.

Part II – Where I find out what I really don’t know how to do

You guessed it; I got home and started reading the book. I’m told that “Spin It” by Lee Raven is actually a very good starting point, but I had a lot of trouble figuring it out. First of all, I think you have to know more than the definitions of the terms to figure out how to do something. You can explain ‘twist’ to me all night, but until I can feel it with my fingers, I’m going to have trouble with the concept. I tried and tried to figure it out and I got such chunks of spoiled fiber that I wanted to cry. Then I had an ‘AHA!’ moment. I opened up my e-mail program and checked for recent mail from my LYS and there it was; a ‘Learn to Spin with a Drop Spindle' class at the Spinning Room (www.spinningroom.net)! Then I had to wait for TWO WHOLE DAYS to get hold of them because they were closed on Monday and Tuesday. I drove up to the shop on Wednesday after work and went in to find out if there was room in the class and was very happy to be told that the teacher wouldn’t mind one more student. Now I had to wait until the following Tuesday for the class and I just didn’t know if I could do it. I started looking for on-line tutorials, preferably with video of some kind. That’s how I learned to knit, after all. Thank God for www.knittinghelp.com or I would never have figured knitting out at all. Anyway, do you think I could find anything that really told me what I needed to do to get started? Nope. I did try, but I really didn’t have the success I was looking for. Some things just have to be felt to be learned, I think.

Tuesday finally came along and after leaving work, Mike and I grabbed a bite to eat and went over to the Spinning Room for my first class. I was so excited; I felt like a little kid. There were four other women in the class and we were all eager to begin. The teacher, Darla, was so patient and explained things so well and let us look and touch and took us through everything slowly, making sure we all ‘got it’. It was great! In no time, I was actually spinning! I was spinning with pencil roving, so it was coming out ‘perfect’, but I was spinning! Then we got fiber to work with – bundles of roving – and learned to draft the fiber and how to start the thread and wind it onto the spindle. It was so cool! Mike still thinks I’m nuts, but I did my homework, which was to spin for 20 minutes (or more) every day. I had one more class this past Tuesday and I couldn’t wait to go. That night we learned to set the twist and how to ply the yarn and the spindle full of what I thought was horrible stuff turned into actual yarn! Why didn’t I know before that spinning would be so calming? I don’t think about anything but the fiber and the twist and how it all goes onto the spindle. I may not get more involved with this part of working with fiber than spinning with a drop spindle, but it’s a very portable thing and I don’t have to leave it home and I can do it pretty much anywhere I go. It makes me happy; need I say more?

Part III – Update on Mom’s sweater for Christmas

Last time I talked about a pattern I found on Knitty.com called “Sonnet”. I knit it up based on the swatch I had made for “Drive Me Nuts” (see archives for more details, if you dare), and measured twice and laid it all out perfectly on the bed to measure again while I checked the dimensions on the diagram. It all measured up right, so what could be wrong with it? I sewed on the sleeves and sewed up the sleeve seams and I sewed on the perfect buttons I found for it. And just to be safe, I tried it on because if it fits me, it’ll fit Mom.

It won’t fit Mom…

Somehow, though the measurements are correct, and it looks right, it’s become an off-the-shoulder sweater, with the top of the collar just about at nipple-level. I don’t think it would keep Mom warm. So now what? I brought the sweater over to the Spinning Room last Tuesday to see if they could offer any advice. By the way, I have one small problem; I’m out of the yarn I used, except for a small ball I was using to seam it up, so there isn’t any additional knitting I can do with that yarn. Can you see me tearing my hair out by the roots about now? Anyway, I pulled out Mom’s sweater and the lovely women at the shop saw the problem right away. We talked some and I told them that I had a thought that I might pick up the stitches around the neckline with a contrasting color and knit inward, decreasing to a better neckline, and adding a decorative edge. I could then use that same color to add a slight border to the cuffs and the bottom of the sweater to tie it all in together. They thought that might work, but the wool I used for the sweater is 25% Superwash/75% Wool, hand-dyed, and hard to match because I got it at the Massachusetts Sheep and Wool Festival in May. Of course; I don’t do anything that comes easy, apparently. I finally settled on some 100% wool in a dark raspberry that will contrast nicely with the heathery raspberry tones of the original wool and might actually work. I had the nerve to start it last weekend while I was watching a hockey game, since I was going to be sitting on my tush all night anyway. I did have some minor issues and ended up ripping back and re-starting twice, but I think I’m on the right track now.

And I figure when the sweater makes me nuts, I can always stop and get out my drop spindle and spin some more…I did that last night and it smoothed me right out. Who knew?

Part IV – Current Projects

Ok, what’s still on my needles?

1. Those damn toe-up socks; I don’t think they’ll ever be done, even though I did pick them up for a little while today for a change from all the other projects.

2. ‘Branching Out’ scarf from Knitty.com (closer to six feet now, so getting there…)

3. ‘Gryffindor House Scarf’ from “Charmed Knits” – so booooooooring; maybe she’ll forget she asked me to make it?

4. Lacy Prairie Shawl from ‘Folk Shawls’ by Cheryl Oberle in a lovely and soft cream-colored alpaca – this one’s about 1/3 done now, so I might actually finish it before winter is over.

5. I did make a pair of felted clogs for Mom, well, the knitting part, anyway. I still have to felt them. And I made a new sole for Mike’s felted clogs; he wears them so much, he wore right through one of them! This time I’m putting the leather soles on both pairs. These are on my radar to felt tomorrow. It’s a holiday, so I’ll be home and I figure I can get them felted and start the drying out so they might actually be ready for Mom by Christmas.

6. I also started another ‘sweater-less yoke’ (I don’t know what else to call it) for a friend who saw the one I was wearing the other day and admired it. In cubicles, there are blowers in the ceiling that you can’t control that blow cold air down on your back, and this little knitted thingy – I don’t know what to call it – is just a knitted in the round from the bottom up, decreased for the neck, ‘sweater-less yoke’ for lack of a better term. It just covers my shoulders and my upper back and keeps the drafts off of me.

I don't think that's all, but it's all I can think of for now. Looking at that list, I really have to get something finished.

Part V – Me again

Work is better; I decided to be the ‘adult’ in the group and I went in one day and just acted like all the crap that had gone down already just didn’t happen. It worked, for some reason. We are still on somewhat precarious footing, as I’m kind of unsure of what will set her off, but I’m getting through it. Now when she tries to change something, I explain why the procedure is there in the first place to make sure she understands what’s going on before she goes off changing things she doesn’t understand. It seems to be working, but keep your fingers crossed for me.

I still have my ‘down’ days, but I’m dealing with them better, I think. The doc has upped one of my meds and is sending me for a bunch of bloodwork tomorrow. With the gastric bypass, they shortened my small intestine by 210 cm, so I don't absorb nutrients like regular folks. They watch to see what I'm deficient in and how the meds are working. Right now, I'm anemic (iron-deficient), deficient on zinc, vitamins A, B-12, D, calcium, magnesium, selenium, and I can't think what else. I do know I take about a zillion pills every morning and evening, and I'm still having deficiency issues. So keep your fingers crossed that I don't acquire any new pills after tomorrow because by the time I take them all, I don't care if I eat because I'm already full.

Money is tight and I did think for a while that I wasn’t going to be able to go to Rhinebeck, or at least that I wasn’t going to be able to buy anything, but that worked itself out. On the Thursday before the festival, I stopped to get gas for the car and picked up a few scratch-off lottery tickets. Imagine my surprise when one of them was a winner – $1,000!!!! I was able to get a few things taken care of that I had been worried about and also didn’t have to worry about what I wanted to buy at the festival! I really think that’s one of the reasons I bought the Golding spindle. I wasn’t afraid to spend the money because it was ‘found’ money and not earmarked for a bill or something.

Chloe is not knitting, but I’m ok with that. Mom was making herself nuts with needles, so I bought her a Knifty Knitter set and she’s having a ball. I printed her off some patterns from the Internet, and she’s just going to town. I gave her a bunch of yarn that I had so she could make some scarves and things and she really seems to like it. I think it’s easier for her and she's having fun with it, so what the hell?

You’ve been kind enough to read my ramblings, but I think it’s time to quit for a bit. Remember, until next time, wear natural fibers; hug your cat!
Ellen

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

2007-10-02T21:43:00.000-04:00

Part I – The end of being driven nuts – $%&#@%$ sweater frogged!

Well, I did it…I frogged the ‘Salt Peanuts’/’Drive Me Nuts’ sweater on September 20th. I finally listened to all the folks who were saying how stubborn I was being (they all said it in a much nicer way than that, though) and figured out that the only person going nuts here was ME. So, I frogged the whole thing, good parts and all, and re-wound the wool into nice, new cakes of lovely raspberry pink projects-to-be. Then I went looking for a pattern and found a nice, easy, not so nuts pattern on Knitty.com called ‘Sonnet’. It’s a lovely pattern by Kristi Porter and it’s based on some simple calculations after you knit a swatch to determine your gauge. I know, I know… knit a swatch? What’s that? Well, I decided a long time ago that I really have to knit a swatch whenever I do a pattern because I’m the only person I know who has knit a 35-pound tarp, I mean poncho, because I believed them when they wrote that ‘gauge doesn’t matter for this project’. WRONG! At least for me, it mattered or it seemed to, anyway. You could have covered a Volkswagen with that poncho…

So, all that being said, I really didn’t have to knit a swatch for this pattern. I had already knit one up for the frogged sweater and I still had it in my knitting bag so I pulled it out and started from there. ‘Sonnet’ is a square-ish sweater that is knit from side to side, knitting the sleeves separately and sewing them on later. Minimal finishing and that just sounds so good to me at this point. This sweater will be perfect for my Mom, who is always chilly when she’s downstairs in her house and she’ll love the color, too. The neckline is not too high, and Mom doesn’t like things tight around her neck, so I think it will all work out perfect in the end.

I started 'Sonnet' the next night after my trip to the frog pond, and I’m very happy with the way it’s turning out. I’ve only got one small problem and I think I know how to fix it. When I was starting the left front last night, I noticed that the box stitch section – the rest is garter stitch, how easy is that? – did not appear to be in the same place on the left as it was on the right, so I laid out the sweater on my bed according to the diagram with the pattern and went over the directions to see what I’d done. Lo and behold, there it was; I had somehow missed knitting a 4-½ inch section of garter stitch on the right front. I was checking off the pattern very carefully, too, I thought, but I missed it just the same.

Now, with my previous history of sweater frustration (see also ‘Cherry Bomb’, now a felted bag and ‘Salt Peanuts’ as noted above), you might think I would consider this to be a setback, but no, I won’t let it be. I ‘adjusted’ the pattern so that the pattern stitches match on both sides and I will pick up stitches on the right front and knit those 4-½ inches right back in because it’s just garter stitch and I think I can make it work. Besides, the buttons will be on that side, so it will be underneath the button band, and Mom might not need it to be that big, so I might not have to add in the entire 4-½ inches. As long as it turns out symmetrical, Mom will love it because I made it for her. That sounds conceited, but Mom is like that. Also, I found some lovely buttons at a LYS that was going out of business that will be just perfect for this sweater.

Part II – More wooly adventures…

This last weekend, Mike and I went to the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival in Saugerties, NY. We go to this festival every year and have done so for about 10 years now. It’s grown from a small, farmers market/craft fair kind of thing with really good food to a huge, farmers market (with top prices)/ craft fair (with top prices) with mostly really good food (at top prices) and it’s now too big to have fun at any more. We nearly lost each other a couple of times and I didn’t even buy any garlic. Fortunately, I got lots of garlic earlier at the Vermont Garlic Festival in Bennington over Labor Day weekend, so I’m not going to run out, I hope. The food was pretty good, at least the selection of food they weren’t out of was, but the crowds were just no fun. They really need to consider a bigger venue for this festival. I bet there were 30 or 40,000 people there on Sunday alone. We had to take a shuttle bus from the car to the grounds because we were parked so far away! Anyway, this part is titled ‘More wooly adventures’ and you’re probably wondering why on earth I’m going on about garlic, right?

Well, just as we had made up our minds that we didn’t want to stick around any more because we couldn’t even make our way around the farmer’s stalls easily because of the crowds of people, I spotted it! WOOL! Spun wool in the loveliest faded denim blue and sunflower yellow in a big basket at one of the garlic farmer’s stalls. That farmer and his wife also had fleeces and other sheepy goodies, but I ended up buying four nice hanks of yarn, two each of the yellow and the blue, and since they are 100% wool, I think I’ll make some slippers and felt them. I think the blue on the bottom and the yellow on the top will be lovely. And as I fondled the fleece – I’m a little weird here as I like the feeling of greasy fleece and I don’t mind the smell, either – the farmer’s wife asked me if I’d like a chunk for ‘hand lotion’. I, of course, said ‘sure’ and she came around to the front of the stall and tore off a huge hunk of fleece, much more than I would have taken if she had told me to just pull off some, and gave it to me.

Mike thinks I’m nuts, but I fondled that hunk of fleece all the way back to the car and my hands just felt so soft and nice…but, I REFUSE TO LEARN TO SPIN so I won't be more than fondling that fleece or any other! I keep saying that I won't spin and Mike keeps telling me that every time I say it I sound a little more intrigued by the process, and maybe I am, a little…I just don’t need to be learning to spin my own yarn when there is such nice stuff out there for me to buy and more importantly, there is such nice stuff in my own stash that is just waiting to be knit up into something. I know, excuses will get me nowhere, but I just don’t have the brain space for another new, expensive hobby.

Part III – Current Projects

Let’s see; what is on my needles right now?
§ ‘Drive Me Nuts’, formerly known as ‘Salt Peanuts’; Replaced with ‘Sonnet’ for Mom;
§ Toe-up socks that I can’t seem to get around to finishing; (still…)
§ ‘Branching Out’ scarf from Knitty (about five feet long, still almost done…);
§ ‘Gryffindor House Scarf’ from “Charmed Knits”; this one is all stockinette, in the round…ho-hum, boring as all get out after about two rows, but it’s spoken for, so I have to finish it; (thank God it’s hockey season – maybe I’ll get around to finishing this during a game, though my gauge might change if the game gets really intense!)
§ Lacy Prairie Shawl from ‘Folk Shawls’ by Cheryl Oberle in a cream-colored alpaca – so soft and slippery and warm that I can’t wait to get it around my shoulders during the winter (not much bigger than the original picture as I’ve only done a few rows because I let myself go so crazy on ‘Drive Me Nuts’);
§ A fun and funky scarf for a Christmas gift that is easy and fun to make (picture posted – see above for why it's not finished either...);
§ Various washcloths, etc., for spa sets, as Christmas gifts for friends at work; and
§ A couple of scarves that never seem to get done, though I work on them what seems like a lot.

Part IV – Me again

Work is still a bit difficult; the person they hired to help me out isn’t…She seems to think it’s beneath her to even talk to me. Oh well, I printed up the ‘Attitude’ e-mail that got sent to my BusyKnitting group and posted it on my cubicle wall and I just keep referring to it whenever she starts in. I mean, really, how do you deal with someone who takes everything you say as a personal insult? I can’t even leave work on her desk that she knows she’s supposed to do; she goes in and whines to the boss that I’m abusing her. If I tell her the sky is blue, she says it’s green; if I tell her the correct procedure, she tries to change it to suit her needs, not the needs of the unit. Oh well, enough venting about work. Update: had a little conversation with my boss late this afternoon; apparently the tension is getting noticeable and the comfort level in the office is going down. He understands me as we've been working together for ages and she just got here a few months ago and in speaking to both of us, he seems to think it's somehow her that's the problem...DUH...I told him that I guessed I would have to be the adult, even though she's in her 40's, and see if I could bury the hatchet (and not in her head, either!). I'll try to work with this woman because I need to keep my sanity and my job, and because she's not driving me out of a job I've had for over 30 years! Keep your fingers crossed, all, and pray for my sanity!

I’m still busy and have lots of stuff to do at work, so the days go by fairly quickly. I was hoping to get some overtime in before Rhinebeck, but it’s not looking like I’ll be able to do that, so I’ll have to content myself with fondling and not buying that much this year. Cash is a bit tight, but I’ll pull myself up and not waste as much as I have been and that will help.

The knitting lessons for Mom and Chloe went ok. I mean Chloe is just turned 8 years old and her attention span is about 5 seconds at a time. Mom didn’t turn off the TV while we were having lessons and Chloe just couldn’t get the hang of knitting as she was looking over her shoulder at the TV more than at the knitting in her hands. Mom used to knit – which I didn’t know – and remembered fairly quickly how to do it, but she tends to knit extra stitches into her projects or drop some occasionally and needs checking on periodically. She’ll be ok, though I don’t have much hope for Chloe just yet. She wants to learn, but can’t sit still long enough to try to do it. I guess I’ll keep up the lessons until they either learn or give up.

Well, I think I’ve bored on enough for this time…remember, until next time, wear natural fibers; hug your cat!
Ellen

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

2007-09-18T20:41:00.000-04:00

Part I – A pretty good month

So, here I am, back again. I had what I would call a pretty good month. Well, if you don’t include the ‘Salt Peanuts’ sweater… I’ve re-named that pattern; I now call it ‘Drive Me Nuts’. All the lovely folks I have discussed this $%&#@%$ sweater with on the knitting boards I belong to must think I’ve absolutely gone out of my mind. This sweater is taking over my life. I’ve frogged and re-written and frogged and re-written over and over and still I’ve only completed the back and part of the left front. The back was ridiculously easy and gave me no idea of what was in store for me when I started the left front. The pattern directions were, to say the least, unhelpful. I tried to write out the instructions line for line, thinking that would help me figure the pattern out. When I knitted up my ‘new’ directions, it just didn’t look like the gorgeous sweater in the picture. So I ripped it all out, re-wound my ball of wool, and read through the pattern again.

Then I re-wrote the instructions, making sure I used the original pattern and not my first effort at figuring it out on paper, and started knitting yet again. This time I only knitted up the ribbing and a couple of inches of the front before I figured out that something just did not look good. Once again, I had gotten it wrong. I thought the ‘selvedge’ stitches would be on the edge that was to be sewn to the back. I was wrong. That edge was supposed to be straight stockinette stitch so I could sew it correctly, if I ever got it made up. So that was one thing wrong. Then, in discussing the pattern with some of my Stitch’n Bitch group, we figured out that the two selvedge stitches should be along the front edge, which makes for a nice flat edge. Makes sense, right? But when I looked over the directions, I couldn’t figure out if the pattern stitches would take up five stitches in addition to the two selvedge stitches or if the five stitches would be the total of the pattern including the selvedge stitches.

When some helpful folks on my favorite group, BusyKnitting, posted the link to a KAL (Knit-A-Long, for the uninitiated) for this very sweater, I went and checked it out. Apparently, all the folks who knitted this sweater have interpreted the pattern in their own ways and there were lots of solutions presented. I tried a couple of them, but frogged them all. I finally gave in and completely re-wrote the pattern, figuring out my own solution. I went through my stitch dictionaries and found a lace rib that was very similar to the pattern in the sweater and re-wrote the left front portion of the pattern using it. I’m happy with the way the left front of this sweater looks now and it will definitely fit with the back that I’ve already completed. My biggest problem now is whether or not I’ll be able to make the right front of the sweater match the left front. I have made tons of notes to myself on ‘my’ version, just so I don’t forget exactly what I’ve done, so keep your fingers crossed. I would cross mine, but it makes it difficult to knit… ;o) Anyway, before I started this sweater I really thought I could consider myself an ‘intermediate’ knitter, but not if this is the pattern I’ll be judged by, that’s for sure.

Part II – What I did on my summer vacation…

I didn’t really take much in the way of vacation time, but made the most of what time I did take. Mike and I went to a couple (really three) of wool/fiber festivals over the summer, though I’m still saving my pennies for Rhinebeck in October. We went to a couple of air shows, too, and had a great time. The weather has cooperated beautifully with all our plans this year. Since that rarely happens, I’m enjoying it while I can. We went up north to the Lake Placid area a couple of weekends and even the long drive up there and back was lovely.

This last weekend we went to Syracuse on Saturday, then drove to Geneseo, NY for Saturday night, and on to Hemlock for the Finger Lakes Fiber Arts Festival on Sunday. That was a very nice little fair, though it seemed to be much more geared to spinners and weavers than knitters. I still got some lovely goodies and have posted pictures for your viewing pleasure. I picked up some fabulous 50% wool/50% alpaca in cream and now have to find the perfect pattern for an Aran sweater to use it on. I’ve always wanted to try my hand on an Aran sweater. My grandmother was from Ireland and we always had lovely hand-knitted sweaters growing up. She didn’t knit them, but she brought them home from Ireland when she visited. I think some of her sisters and sisters-in-law were cottage-industry hand-knitters so she could always get a fairly good price. Anyway, I’d like to try to make one myself. I’ve done cables and I really enjoyed doing them, even the ‘fiddly’ ones. I just love the way they come out looking in a sweater. I want to find a cardigan as I have a problem with anything that’s even a tiny bit close to my neck – for some reason, it feels like I’m choking when my neckline is too close. Oh well, I think a cardigan is probably more versatile anyway, at least for me. I probably won’t start anything until after the holidays anyway, so I’ll have lots of time to look for something just right.

Part III – Current Projects

Let’s see; what is on my needles right now?

‘Drive Me Nuts’, formerly known as ‘Salt Peanuts’ (pictures posted);

Toe-up socks that I can’t seem to get around to finishing because I just don’t like socks, I think;

‘Branching Out’ scarf from Knitty, about five feet long, so that’s almost done;

‘Gryffindor House Scarf’ from “Charmed Knits”; this one is all stockinette, in the round…ho-hum, boring as all get out after about two rows, but it’s spoken for, so I have to finish it;

Lacy Prairie Shawl from ‘Folk Shawls’ by Cheryl Oberle in a cream-colored alpaca – so soft and slippery and warm that I can’t wait to get it around my shoulders during the winter (picture posted);

A fun and funky scarf for a Christmas gift that is easy and fun to make (picture posted);

Various washcloths, etc., for spa sets, as Christmas gifts for friends at work; and

A couple of scarves that never seem to get done, though I work on them what seems like a lot.

So I just have a few things going on, right? At least I can’t get bored; all I have to do is pick up something else and I’ll have to use my brain again, right?

Part IV – Me again

I think I need to see the doc; I seem to be having some minor issues though they could be the result of the situation at work and not the meds. I’ll have to talk to her and see what she thinks. I’m not losing, but I’m not gaining and that’s a good thing so I won’t complain about my weight. I’ve resigned myself to always being a ‘voluptuous’ woman – doesn’t that sound better than a fat broad? – and as long as I’m healthy, I really can’t kick about it. Work is very hectic right now; a lot of high-profile projects and I’m busy all day, but that’s ok, too. I’d rather be busy than sit there twiddling my thumbs, know what I mean? The day goes by faster when you’re busy, that’s for sure. I plan to get some knitting in tonight; I really have to get close to finishing the left front of ‘Salt Peanuts’ so I can start the right front and make sure they match as best I can.

Almost forgot: I made some washcloths for Mom and she ended up giving a couple to her great-niece Chloe (7 years old) because she really liked them. Now Mom wants me to teach her and Chloe how to knit. My patience is a little thin sometimes, but I’m going to give it a shot. I think some straight garter stitch on size 8 US needles ought to work out fine, don’t you? I figure once they have garter stitch down, I can teach them ‘Grandmother’s Favorite’ and that’ll be really easy for them and result in a nice cloth. I picked up some Peaches’n Crème (about 10 balls) at a yard sale for $1 (white only) and some colors on sale at Michaels or A.C. Moore (can’t remember) so they’d have something to work with and I have two pair of needles that I don’t need, so I didn’t need to buy them. Chloe also wondered if she could make a scarf… I think I can manage that. I also have a couple of balls of lavender Debby Bliss Cashmerino that I got for free, so I think that might be a nice scarf for Chloe. Wish me luck, and remember, until next time, wear natural fibers; hug your cat!
Ellen

Monday, September 3, 2007

2007-09-03T22:25:00.000-04:00

Part I – the continuing saga…

Let’s see, it was the end of July the last time I was here. So much has happened since then that I’m not sure where to start. We went off to another air show in the Adirondacks a few weeks ago and the best part of the trip was the visit to the local yarn emporium in Saranac Lake. The air show had about 11 planes and we saw two of them fly. Fortunately, we only paid $2 each to get in, the weather was nice, and we had a lovely ride up and back. The yarn I bought was absolutely gorgeous – an almost crimson red colorway that’s a thick-and-thin yarn. It’s called ‘Painted Lady’ from Hand Paints by Catalina and it’s a superfine merino wool bulky. I’m not sure what I’ll do with it yet, but I’m sure it will make its designs known to me somehow. The following week we went back up into the Adirondacks to go to a huge flea market in Tupper Lake, which is above Lake Placid. The weather was cool and dry and it was just a wonderful day.

We strolled from booth to booth, looking at all the ‘antiques’ and other stuff for sale. Mike found a few goodies for himself and I found an old binder of knitting patterns that was one of those binders that you get a package every month or so that adds to the book. I think they still do that with some cookbook-type stuff. The patterns are so 60’s, but there are some cute toys and sweaters in there and you can’t go wrong for $1, right?

Late in the day, I was checking out a glass washboard that I thought might be useful for hand felting. I figure I could use it towards the end of the process when I might like to have a bit of control. Anyway, it was marked $18 and I was holding it up and wondering to myself if the guy might take $15 when he yelled over, “$10 and it’s yours!” I told him immediately that I’d take it. When I went to pay him, he asked me what he had marked for the price and when I told him $18 he groaned. His friend was laughing at him and telling him he “lost money on that one.” We all laughed and I dug out a $20 bill to pay him. Once I had my change safely in my pocket, I told him that I had been thinking about offering him $15 when he told me he’d take $10. He groaned, his friend laughed, and I walked away feeling like I’d picked up a bargain. Then, at the very last booth, when I was beginning to feel positively boggled by the amount of merchandise being offered for sale, I looked at something and it never registered. Mike was looking at stuff on the same table as I walked away and he called me to come back and look at something. My non-knitting love of my life found an antique swift! I hadn’t even recognized it for what it was and here the non-knitter spots it immediately! Go figure. Well, it was marked $3 and the gentleman asked me if I knew what it was and when I told him it was a swift, he said, “$2 for you, since you know what it is.” So I bought it. It works great and it’s so light, the yarn never gets pulled too tight while you’re winding. It expands and contracts to fit most size hanks and I’m glad Mike saw it for me.

Part II – ‘Salt Peanuts’ and other wooly projects

I’m still having some trouble finishing up some things. I do knit every day, though I can’t seem to knit on the same project for too long at one time. I get tired of working the same stitches over and over and pick up another piece for the change of pace. Of course, it doesn’t help that I’m still going nuts over Veronik Avery’s pattern ‘Salt Peanuts’. It’s an absolutely beautiful cardigan with a lace rib border and a shawl collar. I’d really like to finish it up and wear it this winter, if it doesn’t make me absolutely crazy first.

The back was easy…maybe too easy, because it gave me no idea of how difficult the rest would be to knit. The pattern is supposed to be for an intermediate knitter, but from what I’m going on, I’d give it an advanced rating. Maybe I’m not as good a knitter as I thought I was, but I think this pattern is either some level beyond my skills or it’s so badly written that it’s impossible to get it without help. I’ve already taken this five-page pattern and re-written the instructions into nearly 18 pages. The left front directions are giving me a LOT of trouble right now. I’ve knit and frogged and knit and frogged until I’m sure the yarn will be a mess before I can get it knit into the cardigan. I decided this morning that I would work on the pattern notes, but knit them up into a swatch so that I could rip with impunity when I needed to. Doing it that way, I came up with a way to knit the left front (and probably the right front as well) so that the pieces will match up to the back. I’ve already got 25 rows of my re-write knitted and I really think this will work out this time.

So now I come to the question: when does it go from being her pattern to mine? I’ve completely altered the edging of the cardigan and I’m going to have to completely alter the collar pattern so that I can make it work. I’ve re-written the left and right fronts of the pattern so many times now, that I feel more like it belongs to me than to the author. This time, I went through my stitch dictionaries and found a lace rib that is not the same, but is close enough so that I can work with it to finish the sweater. I’ll post some pictures and let others tell me what they think.

Part III – on the needles

Let’s see, the toe-up socks are still not done. I just find I’m not nuts about doing them. I pick them up now and then, but I never seem to get past a row or two of the cuffs.

I frogged the original shawl I was working on in the alpaca because I didn’t mark the pattern and couldn’t figure out where I was any more. I’ve since started another one from “Folk Shawls” by Cheryl Oberle. This one is the ‘Lacy Prairie Shawl’ and I think it’s working out well. It’s a nice easy project and I can carry it with me for now. It’s done with increases every row, so it will eventually get big enough to leave at home to knit, but for now, I consider it a portable project.

My ‘Branching Out’ scarf from Knitty is still going strong. I try to do a couple of repeats (10 rows is one repeat) whenever I can, but I have to concentrate a lot because the pattern is ‘busy’ and I tend to forget the occasional yo. I really have to count every st of every row to make sure I’ve got it right. That way I know I won’t have to rip out more than one row at a time if I make a mistake.

I’m also still working on the Gryffindor House Scarf from “Charmed Knits.” It’s knit in the round, stockinette, and it gets very boring very quickly, though I think it’ll be ok once hockey season starts because I won’t have to pay too much attention to it while I’m watching the games.

Now I must remind myself that Christmas is coming and I haven’t really started any gifts yet. I’m thinking about doing felted clogs for my stepdaughter and her family and maybe for Mom, but only if I can get Mom’s to be non-slip. Mom is kind of wobbly and slippery bottom slippers won’t be a good thing for her. I made the clogs for Mike and me last year and they came out really well. They are toasty warm without making your toes all sweaty and I think they’ll like them. I’d also like to make some spa sets for a few of the gals at work. I think they’d like them and I’m hoping they’ll be fast knits. I figure I can pick up some nice ‘smelly’ soap to put in the box, too.

Part IV – me again
I’m doing better this month. The meds are still doing their happy thing and I’m feeling pretty good. Work is a bit difficult, but it’s a personality conflict type of thing with the new person. We’ll work it out, I’m sure. If we don’t, it’s her loss, not mine. She’s the one with the issues, after all.

As always, wear natural fibers; hug your cat!
Ellen

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

2007-07-24T22:13:00.000-04:00

Part I – Where does the time go???

I can’t believe that it’s been over a month since I’ve been here! I know I’m not the best correspondent in the world, but really, that long? Since that time, the NHL playoffs finished up – I ‘met’ a really nice person in CA who was able to get me some really good Ducks souvenirs as she went to one of the Finals games. We started chatting on-line and found a lot in common, but mostly that we are both certifiable hockey nuts! I thought I would try to knit her up a hat and scarf, but Mike pointed out that she might not have much use for them in southern CA, so we had a good laugh over that. I still think I’ll figure something out. I’d like to do something nice for her as she went to a lot of trouble to pick out good stuff and mail it to me here in NY. Maybe a light-weight cotton ‘scarf’ that she could use as an accessory, even in sunny and warm CA? Hmmmm, I’ll have to think about it and check out some patterns.

After all the sock yarn I’ve purchased recently, I seem to have gone off socks. I’m finding that I’m really not crazy about the Cascade Fixation I bought tons of; it’s just too stretchy and I don’t like the feel of the socks it makes. I’ll have to think of something else to make with it. I know there are lots of patterns on their website, so that’s more looking around for me to do. I have to wind the other sock yarn I purchased. Fortunately, as soon as I bring yarn home from anywhere I put it into Ziploc bags and squeeze all the air out. I found a small infestation of flour moths in my pantry goods – I’m sure you know what I mean – and I’ve heard that they do get into fibers as well, so I went ballistic checking out my whole stash. Fortunately, they don’t seem to have gotten into anything wooly….whew!! Of course, I had to toss most of the pantry out, clean it completely and now I’m working on getting air-tight storage containers for everything I buy that they might want to get into.

I don’t seem to have finished much stuff up though I knit every night. I can’t seem to stick to just one project. I have a bunch going right now; I’m even carrying two of them to work with me just in case I get time to knit during my lunch break. Here’s the current count:

(1) I’ve got a pair of socks to finish (I’m on the cuffs of toe-ups);

(2) a shawl in a gorgeous natural creamy alpaca about 1/3 done;

(3) my ‘Branching Out’ scarf from Knitty is about four feet long (maybe a couple feet more will do it);

(4) I’m working on a Gryffindor House Scarf from the book “Charmed Knits: Projects for Fans of Harry Potter”; and

(5) I finally found a pattern for the hand-dyed pink/raspberry yarn I bought in Massachusetts – it’s the ‘Salt Peanuts’ pattern from ‘Knitting Daily’.

Just a few minor projects, right? All I have to do is finish something, anything now, just so that I’ll know I can actually finish something. I even brought my knitting on vacation with me and to two different air shows; I still haven’t finished anything. I did start to make a top out of a cotton/acrylic blend that looked like it would knit up nicely, but hated the pattern. I ended up frogging the project three or four times, and then finally gave up in disgust. I don’t know what I’ll do with all that lovely yarn – it is really nice – but it sure as hell won’t be that damn sweater I started so many times. It’s a modular-type knit, one of the patterns I bought from ‘Just One More Row’, and the directions are just terrible. I had no trouble figuring out how to do the first square. I could even pick up the stitches and add the second (and third and…) square(s). But when it came down to just what to knit, where, and when, the pattern was sorely lacking in direction. I suppose I could write to the designer, but I’m so frustrated with that pattern that I don’t think I’ll pick it up again for a long time. That’s too bad; because I really like the look of the sweater.

Mike took some pictures of me knitting at the air show in Binghamton, NY and at our favorite air show in Geneseo, NY. We go to Geneseo every year; it’s our mini-vacation in July. I wanted to check out some of the LYS in the area, but I just didn’t seem to get around to it. We had so much fun and the weather was just great that we were outside a lot, even when the air show was over for the day. I got a bit tan, even wearing a #30 sunblock lotion. I also wear a hat and sit under an umbrella during the hottest and brightest part of the day. I tell people I don’t ‘do’ sun; I’ve had skin cancer removed from my head, face, and back about nine times and I’m not a sun-worshipper any more. Besides, who wants to look like leather? I’ll take my few freckles any time.

Anyway, the Geneseo air show is just like going back in time; it’s on a grass airstrip and all the planes are World War I or II – the only jets are the ones that do flyovers for the crowd. This year, we saw two B-17s, four B-25s, tons of T-6s (the most efficient way to turn gas into noise), and P-51 Mustangs. I just love the old planes. If Mike didn’t take pictures with the highest resolution possible – some of his photos are three or four MB – I’d post them here for you to see, but I did take a couple with my little Nikon that came out ok, so check them out. While I was there, I did a bit of knitting – mostly on the previously complained about cotton modular-knit sweater – though I did also work on some other things as well. My diet went down the tubes for that lost weekend and I enjoyed every minute of it! Even the red hots (hot dogs to most of us), sausage & pepper sandwiches, and the salt potatoes on the field were perfect, though I had a little too much fried dough one afternoon….Mike had to finish mine. We get to Geneseo on Friday for the arrivals and leave on Monday morning while the last few are leaving. The first time we went was in 1988 and we’ve missed three shows since then. Once, when there was turmoil within the former group of ‘owners’ of what used to be the National Warplane Museum and they moved the show to Batavia, NY. A second time, because there was no show and the third time because I had surgery on July 1 that year and the show was the weekend of the 12th and I was still recuperating. This is an annual trek for us now and we look forward to it. We know where all the good restaurants are and where to stay; we even make our reservations a year in advance so we can stay right in town. The local hotel fills up pretty quickly with visiting pilots and aircrews, so if we don’t reserve that far in advance we’re likely to not get a room. If anyone wants to check it out, it’s the 1941 Historic Aircraft Group and you can find it at http://www.1941hag.org/.

Part II – me again
I’ve had a bit of a rough time lately. Two weeks before we left for vacation I found out that the credit card I had just paid off had been used to purchase something I didn’t authorize, meaning the number had been stolen. It was ‘fun’ straightening that out, though the customer service was very good and they took care of everything in time for me to go away with a clean new card.

I turned 51 with no ill effects; it didn’t make me crazy at all. The meds are working out and I’m feeling pretty good lately. I hadn’t spoken to anyone in the family in a month – for some reason, I just couldn’t talk to anyone. Thank God I had Mike or I might have gone off the deep end. He does keep me sane and makes me happy to be here. Mom was thrilled when I called her. She knows what I’ve been going through with depression and even though it was very difficult for her, she waited through my issues. We get along a little better now than we did before. My doc thinks that part of my problem is hormonal. I always seem to get worse just before my period. I don’t know if the fact that I seem to be going through menopause and my periods are getting farther and farther apart is helping or if the meds are helping. One of the meds I’m on has been used for PMS symptoms and I’m doing better since she added that to my regimen.

In the meantime, remember: wear natural fibers; hug your cat!
Ellen

Tag, you're It!

2007-05-31T14:15:00.000-04:00

Thursday, May 31, 2007
I Have Been Tagged !!!! And so Have You!!!! (This is all Penny's fault!)
Rules:

Each player starts with 8 random facts about themselves.
People who are tagged write a blog post about their 8 random things and post the rules.
At the end of your post you need to tag 8 people and post their names.
Don't forget to leave them a comment and tell them they're tagged, and to read your blog.

8 random items:

I am obsessed with really soft beautiful yarns.
I love to fondle yarn and will occasionally buy yarn I have absolutely no use for just because it feels good.
I love Italian food - any Italian food.
I hardly ever seem to finish anything, but the things I finish, I love.
I love a good cup of coffee and drink about 5 or 6 cups a day, sometimes more.
I don't have any children.
I have discovered that I love to knit socks, as long as they are done toes-up.
I went to see the Yarn Harlot yesterday and spent a bunch of money on sock yarn at Webs.

Tagged: Monica, Wendy, Lynn, Nanette, Judie, Bonnie, Donna, and Elsie

Sunday, May 27, 2007

2007-05-27T13:15:00.000-04:00

Part I – Sheep and Woolcraft Fairs and yarn and books, oh my!

Yesterday, Mike and I went to the Massachusetts Sheep and Woolcraft Fair in Cummington, Massachusetts, with a side visit to Webs in Northampton, Massachusetts. We had a great time and I picked up lots of goodies. I took a few nice pictures, some of which I’ll post today, saw a lot of sheep, and fondled a LOT of fiber. Now I can’t wait to go to Rhinebeck! It was not quite like I thought it was going to be, but it was fun, nevertheless. We got there around noon; the admission was $6 a carload, so very reasonable. We parked and then walked down to the barns to see what was what.

The first barn was mostly fiber and fiber-arts related goodies. First thing I saw as I rounded the corner was a gorgeous llama peeking around the edge of the barn at me. She was a beautiful honey brown shade and there was lots of fiber for sale for spinning and knitting. I fondled, but decided to look further before spending all my ready cash so quickly. We went up one side and down the other and checked out all of the goodies for sale. I even took a picture of the best sign I have ever seen: “Please Touch Everything.” How perfect, to be encouraged to come in and fondle all the fiber! Now anyone who knows me knows that I can’t fondle without buying something. I did restrain myself yesterday, or I could have spent much more money than I actually ended up spending (which was still too much...).

I decided that it would be much smarter for me to check it all out before I laid out any cash, so I went on to the next barn, and the next, and the next… I went on and found more and more goodies. I also found more and more sheep; there were all kinds of sheep. I didn’t even know what kinds they were. They never seemed to stop bleating as they were being prepared for their competitions. They did not seem at all happy to be washed and sheared and clipped here and there to make them pretty for the show. I even saw a girl cleaning her ewe’s hooves with a toothbrush! Talk about overkill! I do have to say the sheep were beautifully maintained and seemed to be very well cared for by their various 4-H owners. These kids were so serious about this competition. There were even some adults showing their sheep.

We saw everything from 2-week old lambs to full-grown rams and ewes. Now you might not think that sheep are that interesting, but they were all different. Some of them sounded almost human and they all had different voices. Funny, I never knew so much about sheep. The kids, after carefully shearing and cleaning their sheep, put little covers, or coats on them. I asked one of them what they were for and they carefully explained that it was to keep the sheep clean after all the prep. The sheep always want to lie down in the straw and of course, it sticks in their fleece and makes them messy again so the little coats keep them clean for the showing.

Anyway, it’s about time to get to what I actually did purchase. I fell in love with some sock yarn that came with a miniature sock blocker on a key chain. The sock blocker even came with a pattern for a sock sized small enough to cover it! I picked up a double hank of sock yarn from the same place as well (pictures on the right). I also picked up a book called “Golden Gleanings, Fifty Years of Knitting Ideas” by Joyce Englund. It contains all kinds of information on knitting, including reading patterns, stitches, finishing, and other tips and techniques. A pretty good find, I think. I picked three huge hanks of hand spun and hand-dyed wool from the Sliver Moon Farm (www.slivermoonfarm.com) to make a little something for myself besides socks (picture on the right). It’s a beautiful pink and raspberry colorway that I think will make a lovely sweater or cardigan. I can’t wait to find just the right pattern for it. Each 8-ounce hank contains approximately 560 yards of yarn so I have 1680 yards, give or take a yard.

The only really silly thing I picked up was a set of barrettes with little sheep faces on them. I don’t know that I’ll ever wear them myself, but I thought they were awfully cute so I bought them. Mike did persuade me not to buy a lamb marionette though. I get a little nuts at stuff like that and tend to buy “cute” things that I’ll never use, so it’s a good thing he was with me.

After we got some lunch (lamb-burgers, yum!) and sat a little bit to relax, we went and checked out some of the displays of spinning and weaving. I will NOT get into spinning if I can help it. I just don’t need another hobby that I can’t afford now. I can see myself getting all carried away with it, too, so the smart thing is to run, not walk, in the other direction when someone offers to show me how to do something like spinning. (Do you think I've talked myself out of spinning? I'm hoping this little rant will convince me, too.) Then we checked out the fleeces for sale. Even though I didn’t want to buy a fleece, I wanted to check them out just to see what was what. We were both amazed at the quantity of the fleeces that were available. We were also amazed at the feel of the fleeces. They were kind of greasy to the touch; I assumed it was because of the lanolin, and our hands were so soft afterwards from feeling them. No wonder they put lanolin in hand creams.

After the fair, we went into Northampton, Massachusetts to check out Webs. Check them out at http://yarn.com/ and you’ll see why I wanted to go there. I was totally boggled by the sheer quantity of yarn in the store, and then I went into the back where the warehouse (and the discounted yarn) is. I did find some lovely Rowan cotton that I picked up. I think I bought enough for a summer top, but again, I need to find a pattern. I also found two books in a used bookshop in Northampton as well. “Knitting with Hand-Dyed Yarns” and “The Knitting Directory.” Who could pass them up at under $5 each? I mean, seriously, how could I?

So now I have a bunch of new yarn to add to my stash and wind for projects and I can’t wait. Knitting is just so much fun to me and I’m glad I found that out.

By the way, I finished my SECOND pair of socks and have now started on a third. Can you believe it? Me, that hated socks, am now a nutso sock knitter. I’ve posted pictures so you can see how they turned out. I used Cascade Fixation for this pair in a mint green variegated colorway. I have included some “in-progress” pictures as well as the finished socks on my very own feet for your viewing delight.

Part II – me again
On Tuesday, May 29, I will be 51 years old. FIFTY-ONE! I still can’t believe it. I didn’t tell anyone when I turned 50; round numbers make me crazy. This year, I don’t seem to care. Is that a weird thing?

I’m still having some med issues and the doc has changed the dosages to see if that makes a difference. I did lose about 4 pounds and that’s a good thing. I’m off to wind some yarn and marinate something for dinner tonight and then to the store for picnic stuff for tomorrow. All in all, a busy day is planned, but I guarantee that I will get some knitting in.

Remember, until next time, wear natural fibers; hug your cat!
Ellen

Sunday, May 6, 2007

2007-05-06T20:47:00.000-04:00

Part I –Socks and Age and just thoughts

Well, here I am again. Today is my little sister’s birthday – she’s 50 today, and since I won’t be 51 until the 29th, we’re the same age for about 3 weeks. Mom called us “Irish twins” – no slur intended as I am Irish (and French and probably lots more, but mostly Irish and French). It kind of makes me feel old today that my “little” sister is 50; half a century, and I’m there, too, and soon I’ll be past that. I’m the oldest of three; my brother is younger than my sister by about 15 months. I never thought I’d get to be this “old”. I can remember telling my uncle when he turned 30 that “I could never trust anyone over 30”. He brings it up every one of my birthdays since I turned 30. Anyway, this is supposed to be a knitting blog, so I better get to some knitting content.

Drum roll and fanfare, please!!! I just finished my socks! I finished them during the hockey game this afternoon. My beloved NY Rangers went down in the second round in 6 games to the Buffalo Sabres and today was the last game of the series. Now the Sabres will be going to the Conference Finals, playing against the Ottawa Senators. I suppose I shouldn’t feel so bad; nearly everyone thought the Rangers wouldn’t get this far at all, so every game past the first round was great. Anyway, back to the socks: I’ve been working on them for about 2 weeks now, since I got the “Crazy Toes and Heels” book by Mary Ann Beattie. I must say that I enjoyed doing them and though there are some things I would change, I enjoyed it enough that I have actually cast on another pair already. I need to pay more attention to the length of the foot; mine are just a little too long, but I think that may change a bit once I wash them once or twice.

I’ve posted pictures so you can see how they turned out. I used Lion Brand Magic Stripes for the first pair and I’ve cast on Cascade Fixation for my next pair in a mint green variegated colorway. This is a cotton yarn with some elastic built into the yarn for a bit of stretch. It’s kind of like knitting with rubber bands, but very soft and I think it will make a nice pair of summery socks. I forgot to take pictures of them before I downloaded my pictures into my computer so I won’t be posting anything until next time. I’ll try to remember to take “in-progress” pictures so I can post them when I write again. I’m very proud of the first socks, though. Fun stuff, and I never thought I’d say that about socks!

I’ve also posted some pictures of my stash cubes now that they are all filled up with goodies. I opened up the canvas “drawers” and took photos looking down into them. They are 9-inch square canvas cloth cubes that fit into the storage cubes and have handles on the front so you can use them like drawers in a dresser. I also have some pix of my book, though not all of them, as they won’t all fit on top of the cubes. My latest find is my “Stash” jar. We went garage saling last week and one of the places listed in the paper said they had “contents of a former craft store.” Well, I missed the yarn and needles, but I found the little jar and thought it would be perfect for the top of my stash cubes. I didn’t do as well that week as I did this weekend, though…

Yesterday we went to the local public library’s used book sale. Jackpot! Even if I missed some, I still got lots. I got a whole sack full of knitting books and magazines for $5! I mean a grocery bag full of them, and even if some of them are a little bit dated, they still have bunches of “classic” patterns for men and women. I got some kid’s patterns, too, though I don’t knit for kids because my family’s kids are all grown up. I’ll probably just give those away to someone that I know will use them. I also got a bunch of magazines from another garage sale; they are all Pingouin books, which is a yarn brand I’ve never heard of. They are not dated, but have numbers in the lower right corner of the covers. They were apparently given free with the purchase of that brand of yarn.

You should see some of the patterns in these Pingouin “magazines.” They are just beautiful and the magazine contains foldout charts and some very high-end pattern goodies. I picked up about 20 of them, all they had, for $1.50! I think the luck was with me yesterday, as I don’t usually see anything related to knitting. Some stuff was stamped with the name of a knitting store that I didn’t know existed in my area. It must have been closed quite a while ago, because I pretty much know the address and there’s nothing there now. Pretty good haul, wouldn’t you say?

I almost forgot: I got 3 huge cones of cotton yarn (one may be acrylic, but I'll figure out what to do with it) at Goodwill for less than $10 and 3 wool sweaters at the Salvation Army (affectionately known as "Sally's Boutique") to felt for about $12. I'm feeling pretty rich in projects these days....all I need to do now is find the time to do them all. These have been stored in a giant Ziploc bag and will probably wait for colder weather when I can't or don't want to go out and need something to do, probably while watching hockey. ;o)

Part II – Me
Still doing pretty well, even though I’m still having med issues, I think. I may have to change up some of the supplements I take for something that is absorbed easier or just works out better for me. Keep your fingers crossed. Even though I’m still having depression issues, I think that I’m getting by for now and that’s pretty good for me.

Remember, until next time, wear natural fibers; hug your cat!
Ellen

Sunday, April 22, 2007

2007-04-22T16:35:00.000-04:00

Part I – Blogs and Socks

This is a record for me…it’s only been a week since I posted anything and I’m here again. It seems like I never seem to be able to take the time to get something in here; today, I’m making time. I got written about in someone else’s blog! Yup, me. Go check out “Chronicles of the Lazy Knitter” at http://purlsunravelled.name/. Monica liked my idea of “Zen” knitting and wrote about it in her blog. I’m glad I did something that others might find enjoyable. Monica is FAR from the lazy knitter she calls herself, though. She is a busy gal with her needles and always seems to have things to show for it. I finish things slowly, but Monica seems to finish up quickly and neatly. And she can knit socks…I’m kind of envious of that; I don’t have a good time with socks, usually.

I did just get a book called “Crazy Toes and Heels” by Mary Ann Beattie (www.queenkahuna-creations.com) and it seems to be just what I needed to conquer socks. So far, and this may be a bit premature, I am liking this. The book has a zillion pictures, perfect for someone like me that likes things to be visual. I did teach myself to knit from pictures and videos on the Internet, so it makes sense to me to have lots of pictures available to refer to. I’m working on a pair of toe-up socks, using Lion Brand Magic Stripes sock yarn. I didn’t want to spend a lot on sock yarn until I figured out whether or not I would like doing them. I had some Lion yarn from when I tried to make socks before, so I decided to use it. The blue stripes I started about a year ago only have about a 3 inch cuff so far and don’t seem likely to get much farther. I wonder if I can use them for something else? They were done cuff-down, two at a time on two circulars and for some reason, I just don’t seem to enjoy working on them. These socks from the new book are also done two at a time on two circulars, but they seem to be much more, almost fun, if you will. Monica said socks were “Zen” knitting to her and I didn’t understand it at all, but there’s a lot of stockinette in the foot part when you’re doing toe-ups and it can be kind of “Zen” doing that part, I think. I mean, I’m not missing any of the NHL playoff games; I’m still knitting tons (at least for me), and it’s not hard to do. I did have to pay a little bit of attention while I was doing the increases from the toe to the foot, but it’s wasn’t rocket-science by any definition. I’ll post some in-progress pictures so you can see how they are coming and update as I continue.

My “Branching Out” scarf (from Knitty.com) is coming along nicely. I seem to have gotten into a rhythm with it and don’t often have to tink rows because I have too many or not enough stitches like I did in the beginning. I’m even getting so I can knit a few rows while I’m talking or watching tv, and that was really impossible before I got the hang of the pattern. I still can’t remember all the repeats – there are 10 repeat rows, but only 5 of them are actually pattern stitches – but I’ve found that if I use a clicker-type row counter to keep track of where I am instead of writing a tick mark on paper, I can keep track better and even put it down for a bit and come back to it and still know where I am.

I’m not working on much else right now. It’s beginning to get warm here in upstate NY and I’m getting so I’d like to be outside doing something instead of inside knitting. It is still the playoffs, though, so if there’s a hockey game on, I’m probably watching it or recording it to watch later. My team, the NY Rangers, actually swept their first-round series against the Atlanta Thrashers, so I had a lot to cheer for last week. I hope they can keep going and I will be watching all the games, whatever happens. Keep your fingers crossed….

I completely forgot to include something else I bought at Chancellor last week: it’s called “Heal My Hands” and it is available at www.healmyhands.com. I am not affiliated in ANY way with these folks, just a very satisfied customer. I picked up one “cake” of their hand balm and I’m thrilled with the way my hands feel after using it for a week. If you have chronically dry hands, you just have to try this stuff. If it works for you like it did for me, you’ll want to keep it around at home and at work and use it everywhere. I also like the fact that it contains nothing but natural ingredients and they are all listed in English so you know what you’re getting. Ok, enough commercial from me; I just really like this stuff.

Part II – Me
Still doing pretty well, though I do have some minor med issues to work through. I am due for some blood work before my next visit to the doc to see if the supplements I’m taking are adequate. I’m severely deficient in some vitamins and minerals due to malabsorption issues relating to my gastric bypass. Like I said, I’m feeling pretty good this week, so maybe everything is falling into place. I’ll see how it all goes and post back again.

Remember, wear natural fibers; hug your cat!
Ellen

Sunday, April 15, 2007

2007-04-15T11:35:00.001-04:00

Part I – Chancellor’s Sheep & Wool Festival

Yesterday, Mike and I went to our very first Sheep & Wool Festival ever. Not just of this year, you understand, but ever. We had a great time! We went to the Chancellor’s Sheep & Wool Festival at the Clermont State Historical site in Germantown, NY. What a beautiful place it was, right on the Hudson River, up on a hill. The weather was kind of gray and a little bit cold, but we enjoyed ourselves a lot in spite of it. I did feel sorry for some of the vendors, though; they had no place to go in out of the cold and couldn’t even walk around to keep warm. I did notice a LOT of hand-knit sweaters keeping folks warm, though. ;o)

There was a fellow who was demonstrating how to shear sheep with hand-shears and talking away at the same time. There wasn’t a nick anywhere on the sheep that I could see, and even though the poor sheep looked so uncomfortable, they were all kind of mellow about it all. He sheared three sheep during the course of the day, and not once did he get kicked that I could see, and I would have kicked him if he had man-handled me like those poor ewes. I’ve put up some pictures today, including one of the shearing, for your viewing pleasure.

Now for what you really want to know; what goodies did I get? It was soooo hard to decide what to actually buy; there was so much stuff there and much of it was so gorgeous that it was just hard to make up my mind. It was not a very large festival; it kind of reminded me of the small Garlic Festival we go to on Labor Day weekend every year in Vermont. Not a large area, but maybe 20 (maybe a few more or less) tents of vendors, some crafts for kids, some historical things going on, and, of course, food. The vendors sold everything from pillows stuffed with wool to jewelry to weaving supplies and woven items to spinning supplies and equipment to roving and wool from sheep and alpacas and pretty much any other animal you can get fiber from.

I saw some gorgeous hand-knits and felted items and it was just so difficult to walk away from some of the stuff. I’m sure you can understand how I was feeling. I finally narrowed it down to two places that I wanted to go back to; one had some lace-weight in the most beautiful colorways and the other had alpaca from her own animals. I did decide finally on the alpaca; I’m not really a lace person, though this was pretty stuff, and I finally just decided that I would probably not use it. The alpaca I bought is a nice weight, maybe you would say it was worsted weight or a little thicker, but so soft I just could not leave it behind. I picked out a beautiful soft creamy white – four two-ounce hanks at $10 each. The owner said it would be about 130 yards per hank, so about 520 yards. Now I’m not sure exactly what I can make from this amount and type of yarn, but even if I only fondle it periodically, I consider it worth the price. I also bought, from the same vendor, the most adorable felted llama (see the picture I’ve posted with the yarn). It was so cute; how could I leave it behind? The yarn and llama came from Aspenwood Alpacas (http://www.aspenwoodfarmalpacas.com/) and the name of the alpaca that my particular wool came from is Ultimo. Ms. Serino, the vendor/farmer, had all the wool sorted by which animal it came from and had pictures and the name of the particular alpaca with each animal’s wool. The felted llama came from Peru via Spruce Ridge Farm (http://www.spruceridgefarm.com/). When I checked out the websites, I found that both are very near me, within ½ hour, driving.

I also bought a 6.4-ounce ball of variegated roving. No, I don’t spin. No, I haven’t done any felting other than knitted fabric. No, I don’t know what on earth I am going to do with it. BUT, I fondled it and I couldn’t leave it behind. I did find something I might consider trying, but I will have to do some research first. We watched a felting demonstration where the woman did both needle-felting and wet-felting to make hats. She explained that she had been a milliner by trade and wanted to try her hand at actually making the materials for the hats and that’s how she got into felting. Anyway, she had on the most interesting scarf I had ever seen. She allowed me to check it out and it appeared to be woven strands of roving, fairly thick strands that is, woven together and fastened somehow on the long edges, and with roving “fringes” or maybe you would call them tassels, on the ends. I have a picture of her wearing the scarf and have cropped the picture to show only the scarf as I don’t think it would be cool of me to post her photo on the Internet without her permission. I did want you to be able to check out the scarf, though, because I think I might try something like that with the roving, though I might also try felting a bit of it or…I don’t know, whatever takes my fancy, I guess.

I also found the cutest silver jewelry; the earrings and the necklace have amethysts set into them, along with a Celtic-style block and a little stylized sheep at the bottom. How could I resist? They also came from near me – go figure that I didn’t know all these places were so close to where I live. The jewelry came from Millpoint Emporium in Amsterdam, NY (http://www.millpointemporium.com/) and that’s only about 20-30 minutes away from me. I’ve posted a picture of the jewelry as well, with a detail shot so you can really see the sheep.

The best part of the day was the present that Mike bought for me. He told me he was going off to the porta-john while I was looking at the roving. When I came out from buying my roving, I looked for him, but couldn’t find him. He showed up a couple of minutes later with a box in a bag – he snuck off and bought me a ball winder to go with the swift he’s working on for me! He is a really great guy, don’t you think? I mean, here’s a guy that doesn’t mind going to see sheep, suggests that we check out yarn shops while we’re out on a ride, buys me yarnie things, and has a good time doing it all; how great is that? I am really a lucky gal.

Part II – Me
Doing better the last couple of weeks; doc changed up my meds and I’m feeling a little less down. I still have some health and diet issues, but I’m trying to work through them. I’ll get there; it’ll just take time. In the meantime, I’ll keep knitting and writing my way through. I think it helps, so why not?

Remember, wear natural fibers; hug your cat!
Ellen

Sunday, April 8, 2007 - Happy Easter!

2007-04-08T11:30:00.000-04:00

Sunday, April 8, 2007
Happy Easter!
Part I – General Rambles

Good morning and Happy Easter to all. It’s early as I write this and Mike is still asleep. It’s very quiet here. Just Alvin and I are up, hanging out on the couch – me with my coffee and her asleep next to me, as usual. Later I’ll do some baking though nothing special. It’s just Mike and I today. We didn’t color any eggs or make any baskets for each other, though he did buy me some Lindt truffles (one of my favorite things) and surprise me with them late last night. I gave up chocolate for Lent, so he didn’t bring them out until after midnight. One of the lawyers I work with in the office had given me a 2-pound box of chocolates for helping out on a contract negotiation and they had been staring at me from the top of my dresser for about 3 weeks now. He knew I had given up chocolate, but gave me the box anyway. Of course it was from a very good local chocolatier, Krause’s, if you’re ever in the Albany, NY area, and it was a lot of temptation, but I didn’t crack.

I really think I just transferred my chocolate cravings into yarn. I’ve bought so much yarn lately; I don’t know what I’ll do with it all. I did order a bunch of patterns recently from http://www.justonemorerow.com/9/cat9.htm: (not affiliated with this site in any way, just like the patterns)

· Tapestry Shawl (K-23)
· Heartbeat Sweater (K-24)
· Lightning Lace Jacket (K-15)
· Pacific Grove Pullover (K-12)
· Himalaya Tote (K-19) (pattern, not the kit)
· Ocean Lace Stole (K-06)
· San Francisco Shirttail (K-08)

I think they’ll inspire me to use up some of my stash. I wish I hadn’t found the site, though. They have patterns for just about everyone, in just about every size and they were having a sale! I just can’t resist a sale; can anyone? Once the patterns come (and my last email said they’d been shipped), I’ll sit down with them and see if what I have can be used for any of them, then I’ll start swatching. I’ve been so “off” lately that even a simple dishcloth has given me problems. I frogged a dishcloth last night about 5 times and then completely gave up on the pattern and wound the entire pile of “froggings” into a new ball of cotton. Maybe I’m “over” dishcloths for a while. Maybe I’d rather do a project that I can wear, so I’ll wait to get the patterns and see what I can do with them.

I do have some lovely baby alpaca to knit up into something. I bought 18 skeins (I think) when I was in Kentucky visiting my sister. I had planned to make a sweater from the book “Big Girl Knits”, but found I wasn’t quite ready for a project like that yet. I made such a mess out of “Cherry Bomb” from that book that I’m reluctant to try anything that complicated right now.
I’ve been reading over EZ’s “Knitting Without Tears” (Mike bought it for me for Christmas last year) and it makes so much sense that I think I’ll just make some swatches with the yarns I have and note the needle sizes, etc. so I’ll have an idea of what project each yarn might be good for. Swatches ought to be “mindless” enough for me for a few days. I mean, how hard can it be to cast on enough for a 5 or 6-inch square swatch and knit it up in stockinette? I saw Lily Chin once on “Knitty Gritty” and she suggested that, when swatching, you knit a couple of rows and then do YO, K2TOG for as many times as the number of your needle size so you don’t have to remember which needle size you used for the swatch. I thought that was a great idea and I’m planning on doing that with my swatches. I can just store the swatch in the ziploc bag with the yarn and I’ll have it and know immediately what size needles I can use to get gauge.

I’m also making plans to go to some sheep and wool festivals in the next couple of months. Fortunately, Mike likes to do stuff like this….at least with me, he does.
Here’s a list of the ones I’d like to go to, with links so you can check them out, too, if you want to:

· The Chancellor’s Sheep and Wool Showcase, April 14, 2007:
o http://www.friendsofclermont.org/events/sheep.html

· Massachusetts Sheep & Wool Festival, May 26 & 27 (Memorial Day weekend):
o http://www.masheepwool.org/aboutus.htm

· Finger Lakes, September 15 & 16:
o http://www.gvhg.org/fest.html

· New Hampshire, Columbus Day weekend:
o http://www.miragealpacas.com/MA.artstour.htm

· NYS Sheep & Wool, October 20 & 21, Rhinebeck:
o http://www.sheepandwool.com/

· Vermont Sheep & Wool Festival, September 8 & 9, Essex Jct.:
o http://www.vermontsheep.org/festival.html

The first one is just next weekend and I’m trying to organize a car pool with my knitting buddies at SNB. It might be easy, as it’s only about an hour or so away and has the added attraction of being close to the Webs shop (www.yarn.com) in Northampton, MA, so I don’t think it will be too terribly difficult to get folks to go there, too. Mike has even found some places he’d like to check out for his hobbies, so he’s pretty much sure he’ll have a good time, too.

Update on my WIPs: (Sorry, no pix updates today)

“Branching Out” – made the mistake of trying to work on it at SNB and messed something up. My stitch count is way off, so I’ll have to carefully tink until I get back to where it’s right and then keep going. This is NOT a project for any time that I have anything but the scarf to pay attention to. Not at SNB, not during a hockey game (PLAYOFFS ARE HERE AND MY TEAM IS STILL IN IT!), and not when there is anything distracting going on at all. Which of course, leaves not a lot of time to work on it. I figure if I can get a row or 3 done every day, I might make it by next fall….

Socks – can’t seem to make myself pick them up. I just look at them and think, “those are NOT fun to knit” and leave them in my project bag. Funny thing is, I want a pair of hand-knitted socks so I can see if they are worth spending time knitting. Is that weird or what?
Otherwise, I’m going to do some swatching and wait for my new patterns to come.

Part II – me
I’m doing a bit better this week. I saw my doctor this week and she put me on some new meds and we’ll see how that works out. I still haven’t joined the gym like I wanted to, but I think that might come this week. It’s been hectic for me this week.

My boss, who is very well liked, is retiring and doesn’t want a party. She is letting our office take her out to lunch, though, and I’m organizing it. We’re also having an “open house” type thing tomorrow so that others can come and say goodbye. I have folks from all over the agency calling me to see if they can contribute to a gift for her; she doesn’t want one, but she’s getting something anyway, and I’m trying to handle that, too.

I wonder if being so busy keeps me from being as depressed? That is something to think about, certainly. I know that the type of busy that I am makes a difference. When I’m doing things that I don’t perceive to be “my job”, I get stressed so much that I just know I’m going to screw them up, but when I’m doing things that I’ve taken on willingly and I think they are my job, I just deal with it so much better. Go figure.

Once again, I won’t promise a date for my next post, but I will promise to try to get here more often.

Until next time, remember, wear natural fibers; hug your cat!

Works in Progress (continued)

2007-03-30T22:44:00.000-04:00

Thursday, March 29, 2007
Works in Progress (continued)
Part I – Me…and unfinished projects

Here I go again…haven’t been here in ages and I think I am better when I’m here, so it’s time for me to write again. I’m still mostly in limbo, project-wise. I did finish (FINALLY) my felted clogs – BOTH pairs. Can you believe it? I mean, they have been stuck for ages. I think I must still have a problem with shrinking my knitting on purpose.

Anyway, the pair I was making for me was mostly done. I just needed to finish the second sole on one and stitch it up, but I had almost a whole slipper to finish for Mike’s pair. I don’t know if it was a breakthrough or not, but I sat down last Sunday and finished them both. Then on Monday night after work, I felted them. Check out the pictures; mine are the green/brown ones and Mike’s are the blue ones. Of course, his came out much better than mine. Like when you’re making breakfast and everyone’s eggs come out perfect and your yolk breaks, you know? One of mine is a little too small and totally misshapen – it looks kind of deformed even though I can get it on my foot. Mike’s are a little odd too…one is a bit bigger than the other, but not so much that it would be uncomfortable or even really noticeable (I hope). I haven’t put the leather bottoms on them yet. I’m not sure if I’ll bother or just save them for a better pair. Also, they seem to be taking forever to dry. I even put them on a cookie rack on the floor because I have radiant heat in my floors, thinking that might make them dry a bit faster. I mean it’s Thursday and I felted them on Monday and they are still very slightly damp. Is that normal? I’ve never felted anything before. Well, except for the red sweater from hell and that doesn’t count because I dried it in the dryer to make sure it made really thick heavy fabric. I plan to use it for a laptop case, so it has to be sturdy.

Update #1 (Friday morning): the clogs are actually dry. I’ve posted some pictures in various stages for your viewing pleasure.

Update #2 (Friday night): I can’t put the leather bottoms on them. When I held them up to the slippers I found out they are way too small. I think I’ll have to bring the slippers when I buy the slipper bottoms and use the ones I’ve already bought for another pair or two for someone with smaller feet...

I also seem to have a “thing” for washcloths…I have done about 6 now. See the pictures on the right for some examples. The only one I haven’t taken a picture of is supposed to have linked hearts on it, but I missed a row in the middle somehow, or maybe I knitted an extra plain row, so the pattern is off. I’ll keep that one for myself, I think. I won’t care if it’s messed up, but I wouldn’t give it to anyone like that. I did give my Mom one and then she called me up the next day and asked for more. Of course, I gave her 2 more yesterday and I’ll probably give her a couple more because she likes them so much. I suppose I wouldn’t do that for just anyone, but Mom being Mom, she can ask and I give. She’s mostly been there for me, too. At least since I’m an adult she has. She had her own life when I was a kid. I don’t always like her for that, but she is still Mom and I love her. How did I get off on that? See, the meds must be doing some good because it’s a bit easier for me to talk about things. Well, some things.

The “Zen” knitting piece got frogged. Yup, you heard me, uh read me, right. When I had used up all my yarn, it wasn’t big or small enough for anything. Not wide enough for a shawl and not big enough for a lap robe but too big for a shawl, so I frogged it. Well, most of it anyway. I kept a small piece and bound it off for a smallish scarf for under my jacket to keep my neck warm. Then, I got a pattern from a friend who had altered a pattern from a book and I liked what she did, and I knit it up. I cast on 200 stitches, joined the round, and knit, Zen-like, for 7 inches. Then I did some decreasing and knit another 4 inches. Then I did some more decreasing and knit another 4 inches and bound off all the stitches. Then I tinked the bound off stitches and frogged about 2 inches back because I had decreased too much and it wouldn’t go over my fat head. Baby Alpaca mohair-like yarn is NOT a happy thing to frog once and twice was a nightmare, but I managed it and it actually came out pretty nice. It’s kind of like a collar – picture a large soft Elizabethan-like collar. It comes down to just around my breasts and is so toasty at work where the vent blows down on my back all day. I’ve posted a picture of it, but not on me, so you’ll have to figure out what it looks like on me from the picture.

I started the “Branching Out” scarf from Knitty.com about a week ago and it’s taking a lot of my mental capacity. I’m not a lace-knitter, but when I saw this pattern and read it, I figured I’d go for it. I got a great deal on some Malabrigo in a beautiful burnt-orange colorway and when I swatched it, the stitch definition was gorgeous, so of course, I had to use it for this pattern. See the pictures for where I am right now. I HAVE to pay attention to this pattern, so I can’t do it at Stitch’N Bitch because I end up tinking more than knitting. I can’t bring it to work because I only get a half-hour for lunch and I’d get about 2 rows – maybe – done a day, and that’s if the phone doesn’t ring or someone doesn’t come up to my desk wanting something or whatever else might happen. I can’t knit it while I’m watching a hockey game because I either miss the game or screw up the knitting. So, I can only pick it up when there’s nothing else going on – it may never get done at this rate, BUT, it’s getting done right! Personally, I think it’s gorgeous and I don’t care how long it takes. I may just have to make or buy something to go with it, though, because it just does not go with my mauve coat… Can’t help it though; I just love the color and it works really well for me.

About the Socks (Capital S is how I think of them)…the black ones are still about an inch of ribbing. I just can’t seem to make myself like knitting socks. The blue ones haven’t been touched since I took their picture. I just don’t know why I keep them except that they taunt me. Why is it that I have so much trouble with socks? Everyone else seems to think they’re so easy and my friends at SNB wonder why I can’t seem to make myself get to them. Someday…maybe.

Now for my stash…I don’t have the stash I wish I had, but I still had some storage issues. I picked up some lovely storage shelving recently – it’s supposed to be for inside your closet, like mine’s got this kind of room – and Mike put it together for me with all the right stuff glued nicely together and nailed and screwed or whatever so it stays together the way it’s supposed to. There are 8 square cubicle-type boxes on the bottom part and 15 shoe-size cubes on top. I bought some nice 9-inch square cloth “drawers” for the cubes and filled them up with all my stash after putting it into Ziploc bags to keep the beasties out. I don’t want to encourage anything to munch on my goodies, after all. And since they are all stored neatly where they can’t be seen, the baggies are not too ugly. I put my knitting books on the top with some nice bookends and filled up the “shoe” cubes with needles, cotton yarn, and other “smalls”. I like this a lot. I don’t even mind that it is in my living room. I don’t have room for a knitting-only room, so I do it all in the living room. All my knitting magazines are on a bookcase that I got at a yard sale for $1 – never let it be said that I’m not a bargain-hunter – and I can find the stuff I want so easily now. The only problem is that I do have to stop buying yarn for it’s own sake. I tend to fondle yarn whenever I go to the LYS – which is all too often – and then, of course, I can’t resist it. I MUST buy some. It calls me. I’d like to stuff my mattress with it…well maybe not with the Malabrigo – that’s just too expensive to sleep on….maybe under it….

Part II – Me and my surgery

Well, I left off last time after I had finally told Mike I wanted to have the surgery. That’s when I started doing research in earnest. After about 2 years, and my weight jumping up to its high of 286, I had a gastric bypass at Albany Medical Center on July 1, 2003. I woke up with a raging fever to nurses packing me with alcohol-soaked cloths to try to get my fever down. A shot of morphine and I was out again. My fever was gone in the morning, but my mind woke up. I wondered what the hell I had done to myself. I remembered others telling me to expect this feeling of doom that was now hanging over me.

I didn’t have a lot of pain, really, so can’t blame my feelings on that. My doctor had recommended an epidural (those of you who’ve had children will know what I’m talking about) and I was pretty much numb from my breasts to my knees. I’ll spare you other details – I don’t even like remembering some of them myself. Anyway, I went home on July 5 and found out that I couldn’t lie down on my bed. I felt like my incision would open up and spill everything out. I had been in a nicely reclined hospital bed, surrounded by pillows, so I didn’t know what to expect when I got home. A friend came through with a recliner, which I literally lived in for about 4 months. The hardest part was keeping Miss Alvin (the cat) from jumping up on my tummy. Whenever I sit anywhere, she likes to be on top of me. I had to sleep every night with a huge pillow over me so that in case she did jump up, it wouldn’t do any damage.

I had a terrible time with eating anything, and I mean anything. Almost everything I ate came up as soon as it went down. I cried all the time. My surgeon told me that it would get better. My “new” tiny little stomach, or pouch, was healing. I was supposed to eat protein as much as I could to help the healing process, but I couldn’t keep anything down. If the water was too cold, it came up. If I had a hot beverage, like tea, I couldn’t drink it hot – I had to drink it warm or it would make me sick. Broth made me sick. Bread still makes me sick sometimes. I found that about the only thing I could eat was yogurt and then only a spoonful or 2 at a time. I missed food. I knew that food was not my friend, but I missed it. It had always been there for me, to comfort me, to make me happy, and now, I couldn’t keep it down. I was so miserable; all I could do was hope it would get better.

I like my job – I know, I must be nuts – and I was going stir-crazy at home, so I talked my surgeon into letting me go back to work after 4 weeks. BTW, I didn’t knit then, so I really didn’t have anything to do except watch TV. I do have a thing now for the Tour de France. It was the only thing on sometimes at night, so I watched it and got hooked. Who would ever thing anyone could sit and watch guys riding bikes all day, but for some reason, I enjoyed it. I haven’t missed a Tour since. Anyway, I have a desk job; no lifting, mostly computer work, so I figured it would be ok if I went back to work and my surgeon agreed with me. If I got tired, I could go down to the nurse and lie down. I was all set to go back on August 4, a Monday. On Sunday, I ate a soft-boiled egg, thinking that eggs would work as protein and as long as it was soft, it would work great for me. On Sunday night, I was in the hospital. That egg set me off on a 6-hour spree of almost continuous vomiting. I literally could not stop. When I finally called the surgeon, I was told to get to the ER immediately. At that point, I was so dehydrated that they could not draw blood and it was difficult to start an IV. They had to give me 2 liters of fluid before they could draw blood and they had to give me the anti-nausea drugs through the IV because they couldn’t find another vein. Needless to say, I did not go back to work on Monday. That was really my lowest point. If I could have reversed the surgery that night, I would have. In 4 weeks, I had lost about 50 pounds, but I felt so lousy that I hated everything and everyone, including myself for doing all this to myself.

After about 15 months I lost a total of about 150 pounds, so I went down to 236 pounds, and that was the lowest weight I had been in years. I went from a size 32 to a size 18 so I suppose I’m a success. At least my surgeon thinks I am. Apparently, I’ve lost more than some folks and kept off more of what I lost than some folks, so I’m considered a success. Of course, I have had a lot of problems since that surgery. It affected my hormones and apparently “excited” the fibroid tumors I had that I didn’t know about and that made me have gynecological issues that are still going on even though I’ve had surgery to correct most of it. My gyn wanted me to have a hysterectomy and I absolutely refused – they still know almost nothing about hormone replacement and I wasn’t going to go into surgically-induced menopause without knowing how it would affect me. I ended up having a kind of new surgery where they actually block the blood vessels that feed the fibroids, which kills them, and that has worked up to now. Now the real menopause is on me and things are crazy, but at least it didn’t happen overnight, so I can get used to it, I guess. From the gastric bypass, I also ended up with an incisional hernia which caused me to have emergency surgery to repair it on Valentine’s Day in 2006. I’m waiting now to hear whether the mesh that they used to repair that hernia is the one that has been recalled by the company that makes it because the mesh, or the expandable ring that holds it in place, I think, can cause “severe health problems, up to and including death”. I’d say death is a pretty severe health problem. I don’t know if that’s what they used, but it was used exclusively for the type of hernia that I had and at the time that I had the surgery, it was the standard. So, I’m waiting to hear.

I’m still having problems with depression and I still feel like crying more often than I don’t. I see my doctor next week and she’ll evaluate my meds then. I don’t know if this latest round of meds is really working for me. I’ve also been having some problems with my weight lately, and I’m up again to about 270 and a size 20-22, and that is certainly contributing to my depression as well. I really wish someone had sat me down and told me that after going through all this, I could go back to eating the way I have. I thought that I would always have a little tiny tummy and only ever be able to eat about 1 cup of food at a time. Wrong!! I can eat again. Maybe not as much as I could put away before, but I can eat. I still have problems with pasta, bread, and rice (especially rice), but I can eat pretty much anything else, and that’s not good because I will eat. I know this. I know I need to do something about this or I’ll end up at 386 again. I have been thinking about joining the local gym. There’s one around the corner from me and they are open 24 hours. I don’t have to sign a contract and I can pay month-to-month, so it might be a workable option for me. I’ll keep you posted.

Frankly, I mostly feel lousy but I’m trying very hard not to let it all get me. I think if I didn’t knit, I might just go right off the deep end. Knitting has been one of the things that has helped me to relax and not take things so seriously. It has been almost spiritual in the way that it works for me. It seems that even if I don’t finish projects, I enjoy them. I know I’ll get to them sooner or later and they don’t mind languishing on my needles until I get there.

This has been a very long, rambly post, but even if you’ve just skimmed through it, thank you for reading it. I just needed to get it out of my head, so thank God for blogs…I won’t promise a date for my next post, but I will promise to try to get here more often.

Until next time, remember, wear natural fibers; hug your cat!

Work in Progress, February 18, 2007

2007-02-18T22:39:00.000-05:00

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Work in progress, Part I – Me

Now what? It feels like forever since I was here and it has been nearly a month, so I thought I’d better start typing. I do like to write but I have been feeling kind of down lately and I didn’t want to inflict my mood on anyone who might actually read my blog. Then I thought, sometimes I just need to write things down and not worry about who is actually reading. So, where to begin?
The last time I wrote anything was on January 27th, and it seems to have gone downhill since then. I can’t seem to finish anything – all my projects are in limbo. I pick one up and start it and then before I’ve finished it, I pick up something else. The simplest things sit on my needles, waiting for me to pick them up and get them done. Part of the problem is that I am in the middle of changing meds, yet again. I’ve been under treatment for depression for a long time. I have good days and bad days, but I generally get through without too many problems.

I think I’ve been depressed most of my life. I’ve always been overweight, but I hit my low point about five years ago when I realized that I was nearly 400 pounds and that if I didn’t do something soon about my weight I’d probably die young or be stuck in a wheelchair like my Mother. Mom is now 72 (73 this July) and has arthritis and degenerative disc disease. She is in constant pain and this is all because of her weight. She’s been heavy her whole life, too, and doesn’t do anything to change it. Of course, she can’t exercise as she is mostly confined to a wheelchair during the day. She can still walk, and when she is at her own home, she goes up and down the stairs to her bedroom and from the chair in the living room where she watches TV to the bathroom in the back of the house, but that is the extent of her physical activity. She has been staying at my sister’s house in Louisville, Kentucky for the last few months. Mike and I drove her there before Thanksgiving and she should be home, courtesy of one of my cousins, tomorrow or the next day. Anyway, while she was there, she had no stairs to maneuver daily like at home, and she didn’t do much but the crossword puzzles in the paper, smoke, and eat. I expect she’ll have gained a few pounds when I see her again. So this is my “role” model, the woman I grew up with, and I damn sure did not want to be in her shoes when I turned 65. So I started doing research and this is what happened.

I was 386 pounds at my highest weight, my blood pressure was being controlled with medication, I was borderline diabetic, and I was so depressed that all I wanted to do was cry all the time. My family knew I was “down”, but the only person I felt I could talk to was Mike, the love of my life, who has been there for me every time I needed him to be and a few times when I didn’t know I needed him to be. It was at this low point in my life that I decided that I would consider gastric bypass surgery. I was terrified to tell him that I was even considering this drastic step. I knew that a good friend of Mike’s had his stomach “stapled” – a totally different surgery – and had almost died from it many years before. I knew Mike would be against my having this surgery from the moment I brought it up, so I started my research and didn’t say a word to him. Having never hid anything from him before, I found this terribly difficult. Hiding things is like lying, you know? I don’t lie to him and he doesn’t lie to me. Past relationships taught us both that lying can cause the destruction of the relationship and since both of us had been lied to, we made a pact that we would not lie to each other. Anyway, I felt terrible about not talking to him about what I wanted to do. When I knew I couldn’t handle it alone any more, I knew I had to discuss it with him.

Mike and I finally talking about it happened in a strange way. We went to a retirement party one night for a fellow I worked with and while we were there, I saw a friend (also a co-worker) that I hadn’t seen at work for a couple of weeks. I asked him where he had been and where his wife was that she was not at this party, not knowing that she had just got out of the hospital for gastric bypass surgery. When he told me that, I asked if he would mind talking about it in front of Mike so I could bring the subject up. The rest, as they say, is history. Mike and my friend and I talked about the surgery my friend’s wife had gone through, where she had it, who her doctor was, all the things I wanted to bring up with Mike but was so scared to. On the way home in the car, I told Mike that I wanted to have the surgery and that I had been researching it for a while and that I wanted his support in this decision. I cried, he held me, and we talked pretty much the rest of the night. I showed him what I had already found out and we talked about my friend’s wife and, in the end, he told me that whatever I needed to do, he would be with me the entire way. To be continued….

Work in progress, Part II – Knitting

Picture #1: This is the infamous “Cherry Bomb(ed)” in its next incarnation. Right now I’m in the process of sewing up the felted pieces to make some semblance of a bag that I can carry something around in (maybe my laptop?). The bar lying across the bag is a red and black stick-type handle I picked up at one of my LYSs on Super Bowl Sunday at a sale. Now all I have to do is figure out how to attach it….

Picture #2: No matter what it looks like, this is NOT a knitted black bra…it is two socks on two circular needles, started the week before the Super Bowl for DH. Now if only I could get past the first inch of ribbing……

Picture #3: This is the oldest project currently on my needles; it is a pair of socks made with self-striping yarn done on two circular needles. This project has been “in-progress” since March of 2006. I don’t know why on earth I can’t finish socks, nor do I know why I started another pair (see the pair above), but I think I am determined that they will not beat me. So far, the socks are winning.

Picture #4: This is the ever-present cabled scarf that I started before Christmas. Maybe, if I work at it a little every night, I could finish it before winter is over. You can see the beautiful bamboo cable needle I’ve been using. I picked up some very nice cable needles and also some bamboo sewing needles to use, if I ever get anything done enough to seam up.

Picture #5: This is my “mindless” or Zen, if you prefer, knitting project. I love the yarn; it’s Baby Alpaca by Plymouth Yarns and just so soft and lovely. Since this picture was taken, I’ve used up one of the two balls left in the picture and most of the second. When they’re done, it’s done, whatever it is. All I did was take size 13 needles and CO 100 sts and then start knitting every row. I wanted something that I didn’t have to concentrate on as it’s been a very tough couple of weeks for me and I wanted something that wouldn’t tax my brain. It’s worked; I don’t have to think about it or anything else, for that matter, while I’m knitting it. I’m thinking it will be a shawl or just a wrap for whenever I need something to make me feel cozy.

Picture #6: This is the project that is currently calling me. I picked up 8 balls of Mohair Kiss Ombre (73% Mohair, 22% Wool, 5% Nylon – 98 yards/90 meters per ball) on Super Bowl Sunday on sale. Couldn’t resist it! So now, I need to find a pattern that will do it justice, unlike the camera I took this picture with. All the colors are kind of jewel-tones, but so soft and, I think, flattering to my coloring. Anyway, I’m on the lookout for something to do with, but I don’t want anything too complicated as I’ve heard horror stories about frogging mohair….

So that’s the current update on my Work in Progress. As I go along with this blog I’ll continue my story. I need to get things off my mind and this is the place to do it, I think.

Until next time, remember, wear natural fibers; hug your cat!

Good Saturday, bad week

2007-01-27T20:54:00.000-05:00

Here it is, Saturday already. I thought it would never come and it’s finally here. I haven’t thought much about posting or even knitting for that matter, because it’s been a really long tough week for me. It seems like some days are longer and harder than others and this week was pretty much a week full of those days. Work was difficult; there’s a lot to do and not enough staff to do it. I’m sure that’s pretty much the same everywhere, though. “Do more with less” seems to be the mantra in our place, though I hear they are going to put on some new staff soon.

Anyway, I went to our local SNB on Tuesday night and it was so nice to just sit down and knit and talk to people and not think about work or bills or my Mother and her issues (believe me, you don’t want to know). I don’t even think sometimes when I’m knitting. It’s just “check the pattern, k1, p2, k2, p6 …….” and so on and on and on and I don’t have time to think about anything else. That’s what I really like about knitting; it takes me somewhere else. It takes me to a place where the only things that matter are what stitch comes next and what color yarn shall I pick out of my stash to knit with and what will I want to do for my next project? I’m sure those of you who are knitters will know exactly what I mean. Some days I really need my knitting time and I make myself take time to do some and some days, no matter how much I need it, I have a really hard time squeezing it in. So this week was one of those weeks. Pretty much the only time I got any knitting done was on Tuesday night at SNB and I didn’t get too much done then either. I find it difficult to concentrate on a pattern that is more complicated than knit and purl when I’m trying to hold up my end of a conversation, so I try not to bring anything tougher than that to SNB. This week, I packed badly and ended up bringing DH’s felted clogs. I’m on the short row part and I kept losing track and having to frog the row, so I finally put it down and just chatted. We had two new members this week and one of them came because I invited her. DH and I usually go to the local bookstore on Friday nights; we check out magazines and books for our respective hobbies and I knit for a while as well. Well, I’ve been posting to my SNB list in the morning when I know I’m going to be at the bookstore that night and on this particular night, someone showed up that I hadn’t met before. Turns out she has a hard time at the meeting because it’s at a coffee shop and she’s sensitive to smells, being pregnant, so she hasn’t been in a while. We sat down at a nice big table and knit and chatted and got to know each other a bit and found out we actually live near each other. Small world, you know? Turns out there was another woman in the place who was interested in our knitting and kind of joined in on our conversation as she was seated at a table near us. I don’t mind anyone kibitzing; after all, DH often says I’ll talk to anyone as long as they listen… So, this woman got to chatting with us and ended up giving me her email address because I expressed an interest in her wool. Yes, she has sheep! Only four, but she has sheep and she shears them and spins their wool and knits. You never know who you’ll meet at the bookstore, do you? When I got home that night, I sent her an email and told her about the SNB group on Tuesday nights and asked her if she was interested. She turned up at the meeting on Tuesday night, having joined our Yahoo group that day. She also brought some of her wool to show us and some roving and other things for us to check out. It was fascinating. Turns out she also teaches spinning at a local historical site during the spring and summer months. Also, small world that it is, turns out DH knew her 35 years ago and they had a lot of friends in common, so they spent a while talking, too. That’s right; DH comes to SNB with me. And he likes it. He also tells me things like, “If you want that yarn, buy it.” and “Did you know there’s a yarn shop on the way? Do you want to stop?” Really. He is an amazing man and I am so lucky to have him.

Yesterday, Friday, was a very long day for me. DH had taken the day off and I had to go in to work early. I went in to work at 7 am and didn’t leave until 5 pm. I had to be at a meeting that took about three hours in the morning. It had been scheduled to run from 9 to 5 that day, but we made good progress and were able to finish up early. When I went back to my desk, a friend of mine in the office came over and absolutely made my week. She gave me an autographed copy of “The Friday Night Knitting Club” by Kate Jacobs. Ms. Jacobs was at another local bookstore last Sunday, doing a reading and book signing. I wanted to go, but no one wanted to go with me, so I ended up staying home. My friend got two copies of the book; one for each of us and both autographed by the author! Of course, this means I didn’t knit last night because I just couldn’t put the book down; it’s so good. I’m already more than half way through it and can’t wait to pick it up again. Julia Roberts, who knits BTW, has purchased the film rights and will be making a movie out of it. What you need to know is, if you can get your hands on this book, pick it up. I guarantee you’ll love it.

This morning I didn’t feel like doing much after such a tough week, but DH suggested we hit a few garage and/or estate sales. It sounded like a good idea until I found out the temperature was 8 degrees, it was snowing and the roads looked slippery as hell. We went anyway. We weren’t in a hurry, so I drove slowly and carefully, probably pissing off other drivers, but I eventually made it home in one piece and didn’t even slide a little when I stopped on our road. After stopping at two estate sales, a moving sale, and a garage sale, we decided to hit the local diner for some breakfast. This was at 11:55 am, so we just made the breakfast specials, too. After a leisurely breakfast, I asked if he minded if we stopped at a yarn shop since I wanted to get some dpns (yes, I’m going to “get” socks, if it kills me). I had planned to go to the new LYS that just opened in December, but DH surprised me with a different suggestion; why not go to a LYS that we just found the other night? I had heard about it a few weeks ago and completely forgot it was there. When we did find it earlier this week, it was closed so I couldn’t go in and check it out. Today, it was open. That was a good thing and a bad thing. I say that it was a good thing because it was open and a bad thing because it was a really nice little shop and they had lots of goodies for me to look at and buy at good prices. Bad things happen to me in yarn shops, especially yarn shops like this … I take out my credit card and use it. I do try to buy things I will actually use, but sometimes I go a little overboard. Today I bought not one, but two sets of dpns: bamboo, in two different sizes. I also bought two skeins of sock yarn, a “clicker” type row counter, some point protectors, and felting needles. I finally felted the “Cherry Bombed” sweater, after taking it apart into its separate pieces, and I plan to make a bag of some kind out of it. I have some roving in pretty colors that I got when I visited my sister in Kentucky and thought I might try needle-felting some patterns into the felted bag for additional interest. I’ve taken some pix of the felted fabric and will take some in-progress pix while I am figuring out and sewing up my bag. Once it’s all done, I figure I’ll post it here all in one set of pix from beginning to end.

Anyway, I think I’ll go off and look at my groups and check my email and go to bed early. The pipe that empties my washer into my dry well is frozen and I have to go to the laundromat in the morning to catch up on laundry. Fortunately, we had enough clean clothes to get through the week, so if I go tomorrow, we should make it another week. Maybe by next week, that pipe will either thaw or we’ll figure out a way to thaw it so I can do my laundry in my own washer. At least I don’t have to dry it there, too. I can still do that home. Till next time,
“Wear natural fibers; hug your cat.”

Sunday Morning

2007-01-21T10:57:00.000-05:00

Well, somehow I just screwed up last night and lost a long, rambling post that took me about an hour to write. I wanted to just cry. This blogging can be so frustrating to me at times. I never seem to have time to sit down and write and when I do, it all goes up in a puff of computer "smoke". So, if I can remember what I wrote last night, I'll give re-creating it a shot here.

Let's see, I think I started with my new pictures. I posted a shot of my WIPs. There are (finally!) more than one at a time. How all you other knitters manage to keep everything straight I'll never know. Anyway, the lavender-gray cabled scarf on the left side of the picture is something I liked and started around New Year's but haven't finished because the weather around here has been so wacky. I mean, in the middle of January, we had 70 degree (F) weather in upstate NY! Go figure. I think if it stays like that, I won't mind so much. At least we don't have to shovel. I know lots of people are unhappy that there is no snow (or at least very little right now), but I'm not a skier and I don't do outdoor winter stuff, so it just doesn't bother me. I like hockey, and that's winter, but it's indoors, so I'm not missing anything. There I go, rambling away again.

Back to WIPs: I also have, in the upper right corner, some funny looking green and brown thingies that are going to be Fiber Trends Felted Clogs when they grow up (or shrink down...). Near them is a navy blue pair that I just cast on last night for DH, although since I took the picture, they've grown a bit. In the upper left of the picture, you'll see a lovely light purple ball of yarn on top of a (hard to see) denim blue swatch. The swatch is to be felted so I can figure out how big the unfelted part of my laptop case needs to be. The purple is Berroco Ultra Alpaca (yummy soft yarn) and I've started my first sock of a pair on dpns. I have done one pair on two circulars, but Mom got those and I thought they were tedious at best. They were all 1x1 rib and stockinette on little tiny needles. I felt like I was knitting on toothpicks with string and couldn't wait for them to be done so I could give them away. Mom does like them, though. These are the "Thuja Socks" pattern from Knitty and are a "men's" sock pattern, but I have big feet, so I think they'll work out fine. I am using size 5 dpns which is a size smaller than called for in the pattern, and I plan to lengthen the ankle and leg part a bit to make them more "lady-like", but I think they'll work out ok. The pattern is very pretty and is NOT all rib and stockinette, and that really makes me happy because if you're going to do something over and over and over, you might as well make it something you have to think about while you're doing it. The only dpns I have are aluminum, though, and I'm finding them to be very slippery. I'm wondering if I'd like working with wood or bamboo better. I may just buy a set as my "frequent buyer" card at the LYS is nearly full and a couple more purchases will give me some extra yarn money. I don't really need more yarn, but as DH says, "It's not a question of 'need'; if you want it, get it." He's very reasonable about things like that. Probably because he's a musician and he feels the same way about his instruments the way I do about my stash.

In the meantime, my faithful personal assistant, Alvin, has come to join me on the couch. She can't get into my lap because that's where the laptop is, so she'll settle for laying next to me (for a while, anyway). DH took a picture of us knitting; I've also posted that. Those of you whose cats also own them will understand when they see her "helping" me knit. She often lays on me or near me when 'we' knit. She's kind of an "old lady"; she's 13 now, give or take, and she decided she owned me about 12 years ago. I guess she was right.

The picture labelled "Cherry Bombed" is the sweater I wrote about in my last long ramble. I'm in the process of decontructing it and I think, no I'm sure, that I'm going to felt it and see what I can do with it from there. I may try sewing it into a bag for my knitting, but I'm not quite sure what it wants to be yet. I'll put a picture of the FO when I know.

I'm sure I've forgotten something, but for the life of me I can't remember what it was. Oh, yes. Author Kate Jacobs will be at the local bookstore doing a reading/signing of her new book "Friday Night Knitting Club" at 2:00 p.m. I plan to go, but we'll see. I will be getting the book, either way and will 'review' it here when I've finished. BTW, Julia Roberts has bought the movie rights and will be making a movie of it; she knits too, in case you didn't know. I didn't, until recently, that is.
Bye for now.....keep your fingers crossed that I don't lose this one, too.....I WILL cry, then.

I want to cry now

2007-01-21T01:32:00.001-05:00

I just spent an hour writing a post and I lost it. I don't have brain space to do this all over again tonight so I'll be back tomorrow.

Now I'm cooking with gas

2007-01-07T19:49:00.000-05:00

Hooray! I can finally put pix up. DH (Mike) took some photos of me with my 'personal assistant' today so I could put them up on the blog. Miss Alvin is my personal assistant, as evidenced by the picture at left. She has input on everything I do; in fact, parts of her are included in all my knitting as well. ;o)

So, here I sit, typing madly, with my faithful personal assistant lying on my left arm. I have a laptop, which I use mostly in the living room. When I'm knitting, Alvin sits on my lap to keep me warm and the laptop is on a tv tray so I can refresh it once in a while and check on my lists. When I'm typing, the laptop is on my lap and Alvin sits on the arm of the couch with some part of her usually on my left arm, making sure I don't go anywhere. If I knit, she occasionally puts a paw up to touch the yarn, effectively letting me know that it's really hers; she's just letting me use it for now. If you look at the picture below left titled 'Alvin & Cherry Bomb(ed)' you'll see her guarding "her" yarn.

That sweater will be the one thing that makes me nuts. It's the first sweater I ever did and so far, the only one. The pattern is from "Big Girl Knits" and it's called 'Cherry Bomb', hence the name 'Cherry Bomb(ed)'. It is supposed to be a sleeveless tank - not likely with my arms. Anyway, I checked out a list I belong to where the posters work exclusively with the patterns from that book; they informed me that the designer of the sweater had included sleeves that could be knit up to fit on her website (http://www.whiteliesdesigns.com/patterns/lpullovers/fbd.html) so I decided to try it and add sleeves. You'll notice that the sleeves in the pattern are short. I wanted it to have at least 3/4-length sleeves but ended up with full length sleeves. Once I got them started, I found out that in order to fit my arms I had to CO 90+ sts, so to make it all work out, I ended up doing the whole sleeve. Once I got it all fit together and sewn up, I decided to try it on. Let's just say I should have done that a long time ago. I discovered that the amount of cleavage on display was not something I was comfortable with. Turns out the neckline ended up being below my boobs. Now they are ok to look at, but I didn't plan on showing everyone....I'm glad I didn't weave in the ends yet.

So, it's now classified as a "needy" project and I'll be trying to figure out what to do to fix it because I don't want to frog the whole thing. The body came out well and the sleeves fit perfectly. That said, if I can't fix it, I'll felt it and make mittens or something. It's made from nice wool so it will felt if I want it to. I suppose that's a plus in the long run.

Tonight I'm working on the second of a pair of wristwarmers using a super soft merino wool from Italy that shows the cables beautifully. I had planned to make something else with the wool, but when I saw the stitch definition, I had to do these. I've put up a picture of the completed wristwarmer. I think I can finish the second one tonight; there are two hockey games on, so I'll be parked on the couch for the rest of the night.

"Wear natural fibers; hug your cat."

What am I doing here?

2007-01-03T20:22:00.000-05:00

What am I doing here? What on earth made me think I could write something that others might actually want to read? And does it really matter? There are some things I just can't worry about. Who did I start this blog for? Me - that's who. Me, who wants to have a place to write down things I think about when I'm knitting and things I think about when I'm not knitting.

I was home sick today from work - you don't want to know - and I decided to lie on the couch with the cat and watch hockey, which is the only sport in the world worth watching (this is NOT debatable, by the way). The US and Canada were playing in the World Junior Championships. I don't normally follow Juniors; I'm an NHL gal and I watch 2 to 3 games a night, on average, depending on which teams are playing. We have a hockey TV package, and my DH and I are totally addicted. I tell folks we have a mixed marriage; he's a Bruins fan and I'm a Rangers fan, but we get along well on games, as long as the Rangers aren't playing against the Bruins, that is. Anyway, he was at work and I was home alone with the cat (her name is Alvin - that story another time), watching Junior hockey, yelling for the US and knitting furiously to keep from biting my fingernails off. And then Canada won, after one of the most thrilling games I've seen in years, and a 10-minute sudden death overtime, and a 7-round shootout. I felt totally washed out. What a let-down to see our kids lose after working so hard for so long. I'd really like to see a 7-game series between the US and Canadian teams that played today. I'd pay good money to see them play and I bet there are a lot of others who would, too.

Anyway, isn't the name of this blog "Knit Circle"? Where did that ramble about hockey come from? So, what am I working on while watching all this hockey? (Buffalo is playing Ottawa right now - no score yet, but it's a good game.) I started the "Irish Hiking Scarf" on December 28 or 29 - I'm not sure which. I had already made a pair of wristwarmers that I got from a blog at http://irishhikingknitalong.blogspot.com/ . The wristwarmers match the scarf and the blogger also has a hat designed to match. I may do that next. I did my wristwarmers in Cascade Pastaza - 50% llama/50% wool - in a soft grayish-lavender color. I'm doing my scarf to match and, if I have enough yarn left after the scarf, I'll try the hat. I'm kind of a one-project-at-a-time kind of person, but I will occasionally pick up more than one thing at a time for a change of pace.

I've also discovered that I'm an insatiable yarn-ho....I looked into my stash and can't imagine what I'm going to do with all the yarn I have. We went to visit my sister in Louisville, Kentucky before Thanksgiving, and folks on a list I belong to suggested I check out Sophie's Yarn Shop. OOOOOOOHHHHHH, I liked it. Such very nice people working there and I ended up spending a little (yeah, right...) on some new additions to my stash. I got 18 skeins of baby alpaca that's just dying to be knit up into a lovely soft something, but I don't know what yet. I thought I'd make a sweater from "Big Girl Knits", but I'm leaning in a different direction right now and I might make it into a vest or a cardigan, if I can get the nerve up to try something like that. It's a lovely deep cranberry color, and if I ever get a picture up on this blog, you'll see that I have dark hair and fair skin, so it would suit me well. I've heard of folks saying that the yarn will tell you what it wants to be, but it's not talking right now, so I just take it out and feel it and sniff it and wonder when it will talk to me.

I also have some lovely merino in a soft forest green that shows stitches off beautifully. I had started a sweater, but I don't like the drape and I think the needles are too small for the project as it seems stiff so I'm thinking of frogging the whole thing and re-winding the balls and seeing what else I can make with it. DH bought me "Cables Untangled" for Christmas and I may look in there to see if something jumps out at me. Cables would show up so well on this yarn that it might be a shame to just knit a flat fabric like stockinette with it.

"Cables Untangled" has something like 12o+ cable stitches in it and I'm thinking that I should get some yarn just for swatching cables. I figure I could do each of the cables in a swatch big enough to practice on to see which I like doing and then keep them all and stitch them together into a blanket for couch-lounging. I'll keep that thought in the back of my mind for my next shopping trip. My local Stitch'n Bitch did a "yarn crawl" recently that I couldn't make it to. They had a great time and we talked about doing it again when we met last night. We meet on Tuesday nights and knit and talk and have a great time. Even DH comes with me; if he gets bored, he just plugs into his Ipod and tunes out with a hot chocolate, though that really doesn't happen often. He says I go to stitch and he goes to bitch, so it works out well. Enough for tonight; I need to pay attention to this game, there's goal under review and the score is Buffalo - 0 and Ottawa - 4 and it's getting interesting.

First Day, First Post

2007-01-01T22:38:00.000-05:00

This is my First Post in my First Blog on the First Day of the New Year, 2007. I figured today would be a good day to start a blog, so here I am, joining the ranks of those who write about whatever takes their fancy.

My particular fancy is knitting. I am a "picker", meaning I knit Continental style, holding the yarn in my left hand. I also try never to knit with straight needles; for some reason, I just don't like them. I use circulars almost exclusively for projects, whether knitted in the round or flat. I guess I just don't like long needles. They are awkward to handle and they make my hands and arms ache after a while, so I just don't use them. If I have to knit on straight needles, I prefer the shorter ones, but that's a rare occasion.

I just started knitting last February, teaching myself from places on the Internet. Now I'm absolutely hooked and knit whenever I can. I've joined a local Stitch'n Bitch group and met some really great people. We meet once a week at a local coffee house and have a great time stitching and bitching together. I've learned so much from reading blogs on the 'net and from knitting groups on various sites and sometimes I just want to talk about what I'm doing. I also hope this will be like an online journal of my projects; that way I can keep track of what is finished, especially since I can't remember everything I've done this year and I didn't write a thing down.

I started out planning to keep a knitting journal, writing everything down about projects I start. I wanted to include a swatch, the ball band, info on the project and who I knitted it for (if it wasn't for me, that is...). But that plan went by the wayside quickly. It's much more fun to knit than it is to write about knitting. I hope that doesn't mean this blog will go by the wayside, too, but for some reason, I find it easier to type than to actually put pen to paper and fill out a paper journal.

So here I am, typing my thoughts into a brand-new forum for me and hoping it makes me keep track of my knitting life. Feel free to add your thoughts at any time. I am open to all kinds of communications and/or constructive (please) criticisms with regard to what I write here. I will try to keep it as interesting as I can, but I'm warning you, I can be very boring sometimes and I don't always realize it, so if it gets really bad, let me know. I'll do what I can......
Ellen