A Little Yarn On The Side

Yesterday while doing my physical therapy exercises, I managed to do something that actually made me hurt in all sorts of new places, so aside from dealing with the humiliation of hurting myself WHILE doing the exercises designed to make me better, I got to spend another day pretty looped up on pain medication.  So: there is a finished hat (#4 of 12 for the year), and started another one.  I think even at my most loopy I can create vaguely head-shaped things provided they don't have to match anything, so until my back mellows out a bit, hats are my friend.  And, probably far more importantly, my political consulting hours are finished, and I have withdrawn from the campaign until (and if) I can get my back under control.  It was actually a tough decision, but I have now had to pop my hip back into place twice in the last week, so the deterioration of all that progress was happening too rapidly to ignore.  Until I'm fully healed, I just can't handle anythi...

Some of you might remember that I had a really good time with the Ravelympics two years ago.... And it's almost time for them again!!!!!!!!!! The mass cast-on is July 27, so I have some time to decide which events to enter.  As always, the event list cracks me up: afghan marathon afghans, blankets  baby dressage baby items: anything baby  bag-n-tote backstroke bags, totes, containers  balance beads beaded items  cable steeplechase cables of all kinds  cast-on trap shoot cast on mania  RULE: 1/3 into project (% yds) completed to qualify; projects can’t cross compete in other events charity rowing items for charity  colourwork crosscountry colourwork, fair-isle, cowl jump cowls, infinity scarves; things for neck joined in loop  double-knit boxing double knit technique  felted freestyle all things made then felted  frogging trampoline frogging projects  RULE: ...

If you haven't already seen it, this: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2111518/A-yarn-Olympic-proportions--Mystery-knitter-attaches-50-yard-long-scarf-featuring-woollen-athletes-pier.html is amazing.

I'm not sure what Andy would have normally chosen to do with a three-day weekend, but what he's doing is finishing the top shelf for the sewing room.  This will stretch across the tops of the other shelves and run the length of the entire wall.  I call it the "holy-cow-I-have-a-lot-of-stuff" shelf.  For another day, I am going to pretend that this will allow me to organize EVERYTHING crafting I own.  Then I'll have a paper-bag ready for the hyperventilation later...... My back is hurting less, and the drug episode is wearing off.  Because my back hurt again, I went back to full-strength pain pills.  Makes sense, doesn't it?  Well, I have always had a pretty rotten tolerance for any sort of drug, and with ALL the exercise and working out and weights and everything else, I discovered today that even with all the new muscle mass, I've lost 9 pounds this year alone.  Well, THAT will play all sorts of fun games with one's ability to absorb thing...

Wednesday I went to the gym and tried a new abs machine, and I could feel it straining my back so I didn't do a second set, but then I drove to my parents' for the evening, which I haven't done since I hurt my back because riding in a car has been so hard on me, and I thought I was handling it okay.  I was stiff, but okay.  I got up the next morning, drove back, very sore and stiff, but as usually happens, the REAL back pain didn't start until the middle of Thursday night.  Oh. My.  Now I can say that my back was not ready for that.  So, Finishing Friday was spent pretty thoroughly drugged, though while I was conscious I made ornaments!  I even did one more thread on that cross stitch--though to be on the safe side I kept with only working a straight line.  I don't know if it's my tendency to block out anything unpleasant or just because I probably wouldn't remember anyway, but I honestly did NOT remember the pain pills knocking me for such a loop...

I don't know whether anyone has noticed that reality and I are not always on close terms--I know I probably hide it pretty well.  After emptying the sewing room filled up most of the available space upstairs , I really do seem to have expected that ALL of the fabric, yarn, and books would fit neatly into the new shelves, once I got them back from Theo, of course.  I'm thinking I have underestimated the stash, or overestimated the shelves.  Oops.  Andy is going to get cranking on the shelf that will join the two and run all the way across the wall, which will help.  I, however, need to get cranking on some sewing. I was thrilled to have located my wrist pin cushion--I wear it so often that the little sewing I've tried to do while the sewing room has been packed up has generally led to at least two or three pin pricks in my wrist, which is a bit discouraging as it seems I don't jab them gently.  So, happy with my wrist protection, I thought I'd tackle...

And I am simply astounded. When I talked about "shelves" I didn't picture anything remotely this cool.  There will be lights in the top curvy part eventually, and then a shelf running across the top joining the two shelves, and the baseboards need to be added, but they are ready to be filled!  As soon as I stop admiring them, of course.

Ta-da!  Finished mittens: A finished scarf (sideways): Lots of progress on the mohair sweater--which I forgot to take pictures of--and, a new baby hat which obviously isn't a WIP but nobody's perfect. Please forgive the sideways photos.  We recently upgraded my Linux laptop, and the new photo manager takes photos that were ORIGINALLY the right way up, turns them, and then no matter how many times I edit them, they still come out wrong.  In general, I really like open source software, but when it has problems, they're whoppers.  So, until I find a different program, I'm stuck with crazy pictures.  Don't you just love technology?

It's May, and I think it's fair to say that I'm a bit behind on my 12 12s for the year.  So what am I doing?  Planning my challenge for next year.  Because I really, REALLY do not have a brain in my head.  See that "12s" list on the right?  See where it says "12 Christmas ornaments - 1 done?"  Notice how I'm already a bit behind there?  Well, next year my goal is make 365 ornaments .  Yeah--because I'm managing so well on 12.  It has a lot to do with this: which is my one lapse on the crafting-book ban.  I just love this book, and want to knit straight through it, which is fine.  It also has a lot to do with how much fun I had with the mitten ornaments last year, and what great gifts they made, and the fact that I was able to track down (and found in my stash) lots of glittery Christmas yarn just screaming to be used.  The BIG reason, however, is both to do something fun and to push myself to try new things.  For se...

My friends know me so well.  Gaidig has DARED me to finish the mohair sweater before starting the purple one, and I think we all know that I'm enough of a child to totally get into this , so I have been diligently wrestling with mohair.  And when I've needed a break.... I have been working on THE most pathetic WIP I have.  A pair of EZ's mitered mittens in colors I love that inexplicably were started in October and have been languishing as little more than a cuff for months.  They are now cruising along and THIS time I'm taking decent notes so I don't have to examine the first pair of mittens every 5 minutes to see what I need to be doing.  Honestly--7 months for a pair of mittens?????  That's insane.  In fact, almost as insane as.......... the cross stitch!  As a severe Type-A personality, once in a while I think it's good for me to do something on a vacation that isn't productive at all , and what fits the bill better than cross stitch?...