A Little Yarn On The Side

  It’s hard to know what to say about a year so dominated by “pivoting” and toilet paper.  Two normal  months and bam,  I can’t stop touching my face, we all learned we weren’t washing our hands  correctly, and suddenly the hot tip of the day is which store currently has supplies of cleaning  products,  rice, and flour.  I had a “source” for hand sanitizer when it could not be obtained, but not one  for thin elastic for sewing masks for healthcare workers.  We went from, “ OMG, THAT WAS AN  EARTHQUAKE” at the end of March to “eh, I don’t think that aftershock was even a 4.2” later in the   summer.  And it really felt like a FAST change--in mid-March I accepted a new job and bought a new  pair of shoes to celebrate, and by the time I started just two weeks later, pants were pretty much  optional, let alone shoes.     We have been very lucky this year:  Andy is still working for a health in...

I am finally taking a whole week off! YAY!  I'm so burnt out by the new job, and by 2020 in general, so it's nice to get a break. We get to have a Christmas tree this year!  We had to make a few Charlie-adjustments, like clip-on lights instead of light strings, no breakable ornaments, and the tree skirt may or may not be found under the tree.  But at least the tree has ornaments this year--that's progress! Because it is just not safe or responsible to be around people outside our home, we had a pretty low-key Thanksgiving.  I roasted a turkey on Sunday so we'd have leftovers, and we went for a long walk today, wrapped gifts, and I finished part of Andy's Christmas gift: I used my favorite shirt pattern: but no matter WHAT the envelope says, this is not a three-hour shirt.  It took me four days.  And now, with just over one month to go in the year, I have eight projects to go. I did finish the front of the current sweater project, and have cast on the back, ...

What a ghastly year.  Besides the fires, hurricanes, earthquakes, and the pandemic, I am truly and utterly appalled by the realization that there are people who just don't care about others.  I just don't know what to say to people who are okay with those dying of coronavirus if they have "underlying conditions."  When did people become this awful?  215,000 deaths in the US now and I miss my "normal" life as much as anyone, but other people's lives matter.  I can't even believe this is debatable. The new job REALLY keeps me busy, and for a few weeks I was was so stressed out that even with drugs, I could only sleep about 4 hours a night, but it's gotten better.  Hopefully.  I work a lot of hours--sometimes 12-14 hour days, so some days off I just rest, but there has been some sewing.  We have new, "fun" masks, I have met the worst fabric ever made, which will hopefully become shirts for both of us without killing me.  The drape is truly...

Work is crazy-busy, but I did get a break yesterday and was able to finish a shirt I've been working on for me  I'm really excited about this one, because it's the first time I've done more for a shirt than embroider a pocket.  My old machine just made too many mistakes to risk more, but since I had extra fabric in case I had issues, I decided to add embroidery to the yoke and the cuffs: I know it's customary for the embroidery to be right-side up on the cuffs, but then my hummingbirds would be upside down to ME, so I decided as I would be the one seeing them most and it's MY shirt, they're upside down so they're right side up when I view the cuffs.  AND THE EMBROIDERY TURNED OUT PERFECTLY!!!  I'm so excited.  If it weren't crazy-hot, I'd wear this shirt today. I'm also making the same shirt for Andy, with just a bit of approved embroidery on the pocket.  I staggered the shirt steps just a bit between the two sizes so I would...

There has been crafting!  Like every red state that reopened quickly to save the economy, coronavirus is surging here, so we're both fortunate that our companies are both still having employees work from home (though I have to be out and about some for work) and we go out as little as possible. Our county FINALLY has a mask mandate, which is helping, but gyms and indoor dining are still allowed, so we're not exactly protecting our citizens as well as we could.   I made a new shirt, which is NOT made of plastic or vinyl, no matter how it looks. Venus has been helping me on my Irish Moss sweater, which is down to just seams and the collar, but I think I'm going to run out of yarn and this particular colorway is out of stock right now, so I've put it aside again.  As the dye lots will probably vary, the best place for the new yarn is the back of the collar, so I'll probably have to rip out what I've done so far, start over with the new yarn, then switch t...

The new job is going well, but busy.  Idaho had shut down, reopened, and after reopening bars, is having huge spikes in coronavirus.  Lots of Fox News followers here, so they flip between the virus being some worldwide hoax against them or Trump, masks either don't let oxygen through OR won't stop virus particles--the really idiotic going with both--and certainly, not following protocols.  Idaho has also had funnel clouds, an earthquake (with hundreds of aftershocks), flooding, and the mountains are getting snow today.  Our new term is "disaster exhaustion."  Thank heavens for crafting and kitties!

Idaho got it's first confirmed corona virus case Friday, and we're already at 9 confirmed cases with at least 37 people being monitored.  Most cases were from people bringing it in, though I think 4 cases are untraced and are all in a pretty small population base, so it in the population in general in some areas.  Being a state that loathes government, the governor is leaving everything to counties and cities. so things are uneven and confusing with some cities acting quickly to stop the spread and others still pretending it's a hoax, so I'm sure THAT will turn out well.  Andy's company and my new company have already sent everyone home to work, so it's nice to be part of organizations taking this seriously.  Meanwhile, Andy's Valentine's Day shirt is finished except for some hand stitching and buttons.  Clearly, not exactly on time.  I'm still on the Spicy Spiral marathon, and will be frantically finishing this one for a charity auction f...