A Little Yarn On The Side

I am ending February having used: Yards of fabric:  1.75 Yards of yarn: 440 Skeins of yarn: 2 Whew!  It's hard to know what to do with all the space THAT cleared up.....................

Ever since one of the brilliant members of the Stashdown group designed the Cold Sheeping badges for us, I have been obsessed with them.  First it was getting the gold one-year badge.  Then the bright 15, 18, and 21 month badges were introduced, and I was a lost woman.  Then she introduced the PINK 2-year badge, and I have thought of little since.  And now she's said that there will be a THREE year badge....... The badges are like Alcoholics Anonymous--they are for consecutive days with NO yarn purchases at all.  Pre-badge, I always allowed myself to buy yarn to finish a project if I needed to, and I had done various "reward yarn" experiments, which were always pretty much a disaster.  I'd like to think that my stash has shrunk a great deal in the last 6.5 years, and I think it has, but I never had a full tally of ALL my yarn to begin with, and the "I'm-feeling-sorry-for-myself-over-the-back" binge was a WHOPPER, but now that the stash is all contained...

I think it might have been the horror at the very idea of going near Joann Fabrics, but yesterday I ended up with an upset stomach and spent most of the day resting.  I suppose some people might have put such time to good use and worked on the project with the biggest looming deadline, but I always have to be different.  I spent the day with a different mohair project!  It's a year and a half old now, and the pattern calls for 19 32-row pattern repeats, and yesterday I finished number 11.  Believe it or not, I can get extremely excited about checking off another set, so stomach issues aside, I had a pretty good day.  It's in the ostrich plume stitch pattern, so I could work on it without consulting the pattern on every row--unlike the new mohair pattern--so I listened to an audio book and knit for much of the day.  I broke my WIP-finishing streak, but I still want to finish them, and this would be a BIG one to finish.  And now it's more than 55% ...

I have my Great Decisions group this afternoon, and I could drop by Joanns on the way there to see if they have any more of these: which are the buttons I used on the floral jacket that I lost and the ones I wanted to use on the replacement.  They are fussy buttons that cannot be washed, which is the sort of button I am likely to end up having a dozen of.  But, no. And there isn't a chance that I have them stashed away somewhere because my button stash is one of the few things that is REALLY organized.  These are the normal buttons.  (Children's buttons have their own box)  They are sorted by size and are all machine washable.  I tried buying them with projects, but the buttons I think will work in the store never really do at home, so I switched to buying them when they're on sale and then sorting through to find what I like when the project is done.  Then there is the little box, which contains buttons that are hand-wash only or that canno...

If one finally finishes the buttonholes on a sewing WIP, then gets out not one, but two containers of buttons to look for the buttons one THOUGHT one already had, only to find one doesn't have any of them left, one still gets to count it as a Finished Project because going to a fabric store on a weekend is simply out of the question....................

*  Even a zipper I am not happy with is still going to function and if someone is close enough to my backside to see the errors in the zipper, I probably have bigger issues than whether my seams are straight. *  Just because the pattern designer puts in a zipper differently than I would, it doesn't make them "deranged" or "sadistic" and whether his or her parents were actually married is none of my business. * Some people consider hobbies as things that are "fun" and "relaxing."  For their own protection, I will avoid these foolish people when I have just inserted a zipper or frogged mohair. *  Even if it has never happened before, just because under-stitching is  actually easy to do on a project, it might not mean that I'm doing it wrong: *  Getting the idea to frame my favorite thread experience really WAS a good idea: * Measuring the piece of fabric BEFORE buying a frame would have been an even BETTER idea......... * ...

Yesterday I had a physical therapy appointment, and although I have explicit instructions to rest every-other day for the next two weeks, she was still really pleased with my progress.  And the fact that I'm starting to hurt most afternoons probably makes this a wise decision.  She also gave me a new exercise for strengthening some little muscles that don't seem to mingle much with the other muscles.  Standing near a wall or counter or something to balance, I'm to close my eyes, lift one foot off the ground just a bit (ankle height) and hold it.  She said closing one's eyes helps to work the muscles as so much of our balance is sight-based.  I thought this was a brilliant new addition, because my next stop was the post office, and having something constructive to do in line made my day. It seems that if a muscle is hard to get at--say, doesn't really get involved in walking or other exercises--it may strike some people that it could easily get overworked....

Yesterday I was out and about most of the morning, starting with a dental appointment followed by errands, and at about 1:30, my back hurt so I came home to rest.  Today I am trying to take it easy, but this is not helping.  So far I have managed to keep myself away from the garden, but I think I might need a break from walking today, and that's a problem.  It's supposed to rain this afternoon, and I am probably the only one around who is hoping for it. I'm much easier to control when it's icky and raining.  A solid month of icky weather while I get stronger would be ideal.  Since it was an unseasonably warm 57 degrees on Monday, I don't think it's going to happen, but one can hope.  Yesterday I did get some knitting in, and the scarf is now more than halfway done.  I'm dragging a bit on finishing sweaters right now, and I think it might have something to do with the back issues as well.  For well over a year now, I haven't been able to we...

Friday we had a truly delightful evening with two of our favorite people, then Saturday morning we decided to go out and about to look for an inexpensive desk for me to use in our back bedroom, which we are hoping to convert into a library/guest overflow/office for me and is currently a junk/boxes/disaster area.  Eventually, Andy will build some permanent furniture in there, but we had run across a fairly decent desk for $50 at a charity shop that had just been sold, and 7 years is a long time to not have a desk with drawers.  So it was such a novelty to be OUT and it gave us the chance to meet up with another one of our favorite people for lunch, so we ended up being out most of Saturday and had a wonderful time.  Being in the car was the hardest part of the week, and when we got home I still went for a walk around the neighborhood to loosen up the muscles, but mostly I was just exhausted.  Yesterday I went for another 3.5 mile walk, though a bit faster than last we...

I thought by now I might have become sort of interested in the Ravellenic games again, but I don't think it's going to happen.  The fun of it was the silliness and having uninterrupted knitting time.  Well, with the whole back saga, uninterrupted knitting time has really lost it's novelty and I can't quite find the silliness in it just yet.  Maybe next time. However, Valentine's Day is one of my favorite days on Ravelry, because they always have these wonderful old fashioned Valentine's people can send each other: I'm just old enough to remember Valentines a bit like this before they became a merchandising plug for cartoons, so it's a truly fun bit of nostalgia. So, while I've been staying off of Ravelry in general, I did log on this morning to send Valentines to all my knitting buddies.  However, I had forgotten that you have to send them to people one at a time, and having been a moderator for 6 years, this was going to take a VERY long time...

Tuesday after our Great Decisions group met, one of the members saw the knitting in my bag and asked about it.  As it turns out, she is a knitter as well, and has promised to bring a picture next week of a scarf she's knitting that will replicate her Scottish husband's clan tartan.  I can't even BEGIN to tell you how much I love this entire idea--especially since I'm not the one trying to figure out how to knit plaid.  I know where some of my ancestors are from, but the only tradition that I know of that has been kept is the oyster stew on Christmas eve from the Norwegian side, and no matter how obsessed with knitting one is, it's just hard to see seafood soup as inspiration--especially since I don't even care for it.  But it's always a thrill to find out that someone one knows is also a knitter.  I imagine the glimpse of needles or wool in a purse must be a lot like the secret whatever of the Masonic handshake, and I made a mental note that if this person h...

Two days in a row completely out of bed now, though my bedtime might be creeping up just a bit each night.  Yesterday I was out and about some, meeting my Great Decisions group in the afternoon and rummaging through some charity shops for a cheap but not too icky desk for the back bedroom, and just did a short walk at night to limber up the muscles without pushing them too hard.  Today I got up, maybe a little less enthusiastically than the previous two mornings, and took the cats to the vet for their annual check up and shots.  Since I've been hauling Theo around so much, I had bought a bigger carrier for him, so this was their first joint visit, and I can assure you that hauling around 35 pounds of cats is a lot of work no matter WHAT has been going on with one's back.  The room has pheromone mist for the cats, but they could really use a martini dispenser for the humans--or at least free chocolate.  After their ordeal, I brought the cats back home, grabbe...

I made it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I was out of bed for an entire day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Okay, I might have been in pajamas and curling up in bed around 8:00 pm, but that would never be that unusual for me in the winter--and I was REALLY tired.  7 weeks of bronchitis takes more out of one than I thought. I avoided pretty much everything I associate with illness and the last 2.5 years, so no Facebook, no Ravelry, no movies.  I didn't even knit until I had curled up in bed, and then I only did one row because I was too tired and was sound asleep well before 9:00 pm.  I tried to avoid our bedroom completely for the entire day, but it is the best spot for doing my physical therapy as the downstairs has hardwood floors.  Luckily, ever since Andy painted my sewing room and built me those beautiful shelves, I haven't really spent much time in there because I wasn't able to sit at all for so long, and so often the meds made me sick enough to be in bed most days.  So...

I am still not willing to say there was really anything good about 7 weeks of bronchitis, but I will concede that it gave me my first day totally free of any back pain in years.  By Christmas day, the sharp, grabbing pains that are the biggest danger to me had been gone for a few weeks, and the constant aching on days it snowed had finally stopped.  But there was a chronic ache in the small of my back that never stopped or let up, and I thought I might just have to live with.  It was still the farthest I'd gotten, but it was always there .  But after the first week or so of bronchitis, it had finally let up.  And, while the bronchitis was completely and utterly miserable, my back didn't lose ground or stiffen up, which my therapist was quite pleased to see. I was pleased too, and would have been pretty giddy about the ache going away if I hadn't still been sick and stuck mostly in bed anyway.  It's wonderful to make progress, but if you still don't feel wel...

In the morning, Theo needs half a capsule of his "de-stress" meds, and both morning and evening, he needs a capsule of the glucosamine blend which treats his peeing problems.  They are capsules, and the vet said that it was easy and cats loved it, so all I needed to do was sprinkle the powder on his food. I want to send Theo home with him for a weekend.  Because I am trying to give Theo wet food, he prefers dry.  He prefers his food in the new blue bowls because the disposable cat food containers I was using last fall are now no longer acceptable.  Leftover cans from the fridge must be left out to warm up slightly.  If I put the bowl too close to him, I'm too eager and obviously trying to poison him.  Seafood works best, except the expensive tilapia cat food, which neither cat will eat.  Beef is fine, but no chicken, though turkey is acceptable sometimes.  And it can't be pate--it has to be shreds or slices in gravy.  And sometimes for no...

What I can now tell you about the emotional roller-coaster of pain and pain medication is that you can't see it from the inside and no matter how odd or weird or trivial something really is and will seem to you after the fact, it's totally real at the time. Because of the burns this week, I went back on the pain meds this week, and having been off of them for a while, I had forgotten what they were like.  I have a TERRIBLE time with drugs, and have been known to cry over "Star Trek" on them--and not over William Shatner's acting.  This time, I got upset over something on a Ravelry board that was not a big deal at all, but at the time seemed HUGE.  I can only imagine that the other mods must have felt that they had ended up in the Twilight Zone.  Interestingly enough--and this is actually the point of this whole story--is that the person who responded with "chill" and "back off" was the one who could actually see what was happening and was t...

Or would be if it weren't 3:00 AM with me wide awake.  Between the valium and now almost 7 weeks of Nyquil, I may never sleep like a normal person again.  I'm feeling much better today, so I suspect I have let things get to me because of weird drug effects again.  I hate that.  There are SOOOOOOOO many things I'm excited about now that my back is finally really healing, but one of the biggies will be to know which emotions are mine and which come in pill or capsule form.  I was depressed yesterday morning, then feeling pretty chipper by afternoon, which is suspicious if one hasn't done something like start a new yarn project.  So, thanks everyone for all your kind thoughts, I am feeling so much better, and am even excited about the Ravellenics again.  Meet my entry for WIPS Dancing: Number 15 out of 55.  I think I'm on the 5 year plan with these things.  I had a quick wrap/cowl thing I'd planned to do for the Cross Cowling, but I have ...

I just went for the longest walk I've been on since December 26.  I remember that day because I was thinking how great I was feeling and was ready to try for longer walks, and the next day was smacked down by bronchitis.  And it doesn't hurt.  And my hands only hurt a bit.  I had physical therapy on Thursday, and because when you're trying to avoid touching things people who have met you before are bound to notice how weird you're being, I explained to her that I had burned both sides of both hands.  I can't say that I blame her a bit, but she did take a step back from me before asking if I was a bit accident-prone.  I do wonder about that myself.  Wednesday I was walking into our bedroom and managed to smack the back of one of my hands on the doorknob as I went past.  As I stopped getting taller sometime time during college, my hands have been in pretty much the same location for the last 20 years, and the door has been in the same location for...

Yesterday the Ravellenics (and the Olympics) kicked off, and I didn't do anything with either one.  The Olympics part isn't surprising--I never watch sports and haven't watched any of the Olympics in years.  But usually I do participate in the Ravellenics, but I just couldn't get interested.  I thought I would, because while I still needed a little Aleve, my hands were functional.  So functional, in fact, that I was able to shovel snow.  I have to work on my timing, I think.  Since it was the first day in almost 2 months that I could both breathe and not hurt, we celebrated by going out to lunch and running some errands.  So part of it was just not wanting to sit still.  But I think the larger part was that I was feeling very, very frustrated. For almost 6 years now, I have been a moderator on one of the most active groups on Ravelry, and have led one of the most active (if not THE most active) thread on there--the Cold Sheeping thread--since I ...

I probably manage to burn myself every canning season, but aside from sunburns, I've never had such a widespread burn and it's been years since I have had a sunburn, so I don't know how long mild burns hurt.  My hands hurt less today, but I was rather hoping they wouldn't hurt at all.  I managed to do a little crafting yesterday, getting a set of 6 lace icicles done.  I had time enough I could have made more, but hooping the stabilizer was pretty painful, and I couldn't bring myself to do it again.  One of my goals for the year is 12 threads on a needlework project that I believe I started in 2009 when I was laid up after surgery.  For a while I thought the project was doomed because I couldn't find the directions, but last week I found them with another project. My organizational skills might be next year's project.  It's a needlepoint kit, and I thought if I could prop the frame up I could start working on it, but I can't grip the needle ti...