A Little Yarn On The Side

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...