A Little Yarn On The Side

So, I figured out what to do about the mohair, decided how to adapt the monster hat to work with my yarn, and... am working on the socks instead.  Part of it has been because I had a bit of a setback with back/hip problem after Tuesday's physical therapy and I don't care how experienced you may be at knitting--if you're taking pain pills or muscle relaxers, stockinette is your friend.  I'm happy to say that I have been yanked back into position and now just ache rather than hurt.  This is progress.  Speaking of progress, want to see how the musical stockings look now that they're up and being filled? I love how it all turned out! Well, except for the part where the cool "washable" music ribbon I found to make the stocking loops with faded almost completely when the stockings were washed.   That part irritates me to no end.  But the overall effect is still nice.  And I have learned to not waste my money on printed ribbon ever again, so there i...

The yarn that matches beads I already have, gets to be beaded scarves.  Those that don't get to be hats.  See how easy decisions are when one has spent their allowance on yarn? I wish I had some brilliant amount of knitting to show off, but I do not.  Yesterday I wrapped gifts and even got a few sent off.  I'm still not entirely off pain medication--but generally down to one Aleve every 24 hours, instead of 4--but I'm slow and I get worn out pretty fast, and I think I was asleep by 9:00 last night.  So, not much knitting.  BUT, there have been two new ideas: 1.  Get the remainder of my stash photographed for Ravelry.  I think it's all on there, but there is a lot of yarn that didn't have photographs, and it's really easy to not pay attention to those yarns.  So, every time I'm ready to add photos to the blog, I go photograph a few missing yarns.  Interestingly, one of my friends on Ravelry wanted to know if I had robbed a yarn stor...

So, the big monster beret was supposed to look like this , or rather "sort of" as I'm using a totally different yarn because no matter how tempting the idea of angora was, I just couldn't see giving everyone hats in baby pink or baby blue.  With a slight bit of editing, I think I can make the pattern work with the mohair, or I could make mohair scarves.  Idahoans don't wear hats as often as they do on the east coast, I think, as we really don't walk anywhere in the winter.  Maybe one more hat and then some scarves? Do you guys get more use out of hats or scarves?  And, I'm thinking of adding beads to the scarves, which I don't think I can do to the hats.

The mohair hat ended up, well.... really freakin' huge.  And did I check gauge?  Of course not, because I am a slow, slow learner.  It still works as a hat, but it's now a beret rather than the tam I was hoping for.  As it's mohair, it's easier to change expectations than change the hat, but I think in future hats, I will be casting on far fewer stitches for the band.  My back continues to improve, though instead of leaving Friday's physical therapy session full of spunk and energy like I did on Monday, I was so exhausted that I actually came home and fell asleep--then slept another 10 hours that night, and might have made it to 12 if Theo had thought that appropriate.  I have been resting a lot this weekend, which has resulted in the long-promised new sweater finally being cast on and currently resembles some sort of purple ramen-noodley mess that will hopefully be straightened out with some very severe blocking, and because I seem to love frustrat...

The new bribery plan:  I only get to play with the new yarn if I behave myself and don't "overdo" The GOOD news is:  I feel a lot better after only one physical therapy session The BAD news is:  Being me, and having been severely restricted in movement for over two weeks now......well, it was probably just a foregone conclusion that I would be a complete idiot at the first sign of recovery.  I'm probably lucky I didn't do anything completely insane, like cartwheels through the house. I don't think I did anything that would involve a set-back or the need to take those darn Valium pills, but I will be resting for a while and behaving myself for the rest of the day.  And if I DO behave myself, I get to play with this: This is one of the new gift hats I ordered yarn for.  I'm thinking that I might end up getting two hats per ball instead of one...which means I have a LOT more knitting ahead of me than I thought.  I'm enjoying it, though you can t...

Meet finished project number 111: which is what ALL the fashionable oatmeal containers are wearing this season.  What about project 110, you ask?  Shhhh--it's a secret.  It is Christmas, after all. I have finished 111 projects!!!! I am not yet willing to concede that there is anything good about throwing one's back out, but I will admit that it gives one lots of knitting time.  And speaking of, guess what arrived yesterday? And the timing couldn't have been better.  Between the pain, the pain pills and all their side effects, Thursday's set-back, and the fact that I can never accept that things don't just heal quickly because I want them to, I have been a bit low the last couple days.  Being able to bribe myself with new yarn is helping--especially since it will be a while before I'll be able to sit enough to sew again.  I'm sure I'll be much more cheerful Monday evening once I've been to physical therapy and have learned what I can do to...

This has been my view much of the last 2 weeks: Theo has been quite a good get-well kitty, though I think he's a bit relieved to see me making enough progress that he feels he can leave my side--or my chest--for a while.   And I'm quite relieved that Andy headed him off with the live mouse get-well gift he found the other day.  Kitty nursing has a few drawbacks. I had a bit of a set back yesterday so there were pain pills AND valium (though not at the same time, obviously), but after they wore off a bit I was able to finish project number 109: and of course, I have immediately cast on another project.  This will be a new hat with a doubled-over band, which explains the teal yarn used as waste yarn.  I'm almost there!  And some pictures of past projects that haven't been on here yet.  The latest chemo cap: and the red hat: It's really a pretty cute hat, especially for a free pattern .  I saw the spine specialist yesterday, a...