Friday, June 13, 2008

I'm getting nowhere...

I'm knitting and knitting with, I think, not so much to show for it. For example, here's a month of knitting, from here:



to here:
Not much to show for a month, is there? Ah, the vagaries of lace and the patience required. I do love the color and texture of the yarn, though.


Whatever! I did knit a clapotis, two hats, and part of a sweater in that month, too, right? That counts, yes? Oh, ok, here's the sweater:

I'm a big girl--it takes a long time to do a sweater. Mind you, I'm doing the entire body in one piece. Once I'm done here, I'll only have two sleeves before I can put a fork in it!

BUT! My AWOL sock jonz is back! Well sort of--

These I like a lot--the yarn, the fabric, the pattern. I'm so crazy about the yarn, I ordered it in 4 more colors. Stash vow, shma-tash vow. I figure multiple skeins of the same yarn counts as ONE YARN, right? Also, this isn't really a color that appeals to me, but my mother might like it in socks. Her birthday is in two weeks, so I gotta keep crackin' at these. These are, as one might graciously put it, a HOT MESS.

Anybody know what to do with Tofutsies yarn? I thought it would be nice to have less-woolly-intensive socks, and I like the general colors, but it's a unmitigated, variegated disaster! I'm taking suggestions. WILL FROG FOR GOOD SOCKS!

Saturday, June 7, 2008

You can't keep a knitter DOWN!

Ah yes, I have survived Arthroscopic Capsular Release on my left shoulder. It was no fun. I don't like IVs, general anesthesia, hydrocodone, nerve blocks, post-surgical nausea, or, well, surgery. Here's what I did learn about me and my knitting:

1). I can knit with an IV in my right hand. Even though I cried before the nurse put it in because it was the first time I had an IV and was scared out of my mind. I managed to pull myself together and knit while waiting to go into surgery while my husband read to me. (I am relieving you of a picture of it, however.)

2) I can knit with three puncture wounds in my shoulder. (I like to think of them as 'stigmata.' hee hee.) Under those three demure little band-aids, there are three puncture wounds all stitched up.

3) I can knit even though I can't really move my left arm that well--but I knew that BEFORE the surgery. Though I could not knit while the nerve block was still in effect--in fact I couldn't even hold up my arm. Or sit upright since I was still doped up.

4) I WILL KNIT-you just can't keep me DOWN! Even hyped up on hydrocodone or too much Aleve, I can manage an FO in one week!



Pattern: The ubiquitous Clapotis
Yarn: Madil Eden Print--100% Bamboo in "Spring," #037, 6.5 skeins
Yarn enabler: Webs, May 2008--it's a closeout, my friends!
Time I spent knitting this when I should have been laying flat on my back in a pain-killer induced haze: 1 week, May 31-June 7, 2008.
This is my third and, I think, final clapotis for myself. I have one in worsted weight wool/silk that is gigantic. I have another in Wollmeise sock yarn that is a bit small--more a scarf than stole/shawl. Now this one is just the right size and weight for spring and summer!
Knit on through all adversity, baby!

Monday, June 2, 2008

It girlz and boyz

I was tagged by the lovely Shameka for this meme, so you know I'll be coming after you, too!

1) What was I doing 10 years ago?

June 1998. I was teaching in a great private school, working on my masters degree, singing a lot professionally, living with my parents in Milwaukee, falling in love with all the wrong men (musicans....), and experiencing generally mild depression. Ya know--some good, some bad.

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):

Work out (yay--did it!)
Knit (yay-did it and will do again)
Get gas for my car
figure out how to lower my cholesterol without meds
make couscous

3) Snacks I enjoy: Cheetos (crunchy, puffy, paws, twists, baked...any kind), peanut butter, lemony hummus on crackers, Carb Smart fudge bars, popcorn, ice cream, chocolate. (Well, chocolate is a way of life, not a mere 'snack.')

4)Things I would do if I were a billionaire: Endow a music school. Pay-off my immediate families mortages. Buy a great house in New York City, an apt. in Paris, and a house in Maine. Endow UNICEF. Endow some scholarships for children I know who will want to go to college. I'm all about endowments--gifts that keep on giving.

5) Places I have lived: Milwaukee (WI) and its suburbs, Oak Park (IL), Oberlin (OH), Rochester (NY), and Brooklyn (NY), baby!

6) Six people I would like to tag are: Tony, Amy, Eliza, Anne-Marie, Sukyong, and Nicole.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

When there's nothing else I can do...

About a week or so ago, Anna, the 15-month old daughter of my musician-church-singing friends, had what turned out to be a malignant tumor removed from her brain. What can one say, do, or even think about such a thing?

It was bad enough when they told me that Anna had had an MRI. I had just had my first MRI for my shoulder--a loud and clanking, but open, MRI that I pretty much fell asleep in, only to wake when the technician told me the the various short segments were over and that I should move. How does a baby manage to have an MRI on her head?

Then I was told that she had had immediate brain surgery to remove the tumor they found. O God. I can't even imagine. There were stories--she was in ICU. She had pulled her IV out. She cried when anyone came in to futz with her stent. Her father had to hold her down while they took care of stitches. I can't fathom it.

Then the tumor is malignant.

Last Sunday when the priest told us during the service about Anna, our final hymn was "Joyful, Joyful Lord, we adore thee." You know, Beethoven's Ode to Joy--a hymn sung at our wedding. Well, this time, I could not sing it--just cried and processed down the aisle out of the church.

Anna is, thankfully, home now, but is facing monthly chemo treatments.

So, what can I do? Not much other than keeping Anna and her parents in my thoughts and prayers, and well, knit. Knit and hope that these little nothings will bring her and her parents a tiny bit of comfort in the months to come and know that I'm thinking of them.

Pattern: Adorabubble Sun Hat
Yarn: Sirdar Pure Cotton DK--about 90 yards.

Yarn enabler: Knit-a-Way, about 5 years ago.
Needles: Size 4 Knitpicks Harmony Circulars
Time I spent knitting this: a day.

Pattern: Cupcake Baby Hat

Pattern for the Flower: Crochet Picot Flower

Yarn: Sirdar Pure Cotton DK--about 65 yards.
Yarn enabler: Knit-a-Way, about 5 years ago.

Needles: Size 4 Knitpicks Harmony Circulars

Time I spent knitting this: a day.