Which Way to Knit

 I went to my knitting group today. I have to admit that the last half hour of knitting, I was getting very tired. I had been working on a right handed knitting project, when for no apparent reason I started knitting left handed. Then back to right handed. Then left.  Then right. Then left. Then something did not look right or was that left.  

I was knitting on 16 inch circular needles with double stranded yarn.  So I tinked a few stitches and thought I had corrected the problem. This happened 4 more times. Then I decided to tink back until everything looked right no matter how many rows had to go.  It turns out that it was exactly 3 rows.  

For those of you that do not knit, tinking which is knit spelled backwards with an “ing” for grammar.  It is not a very difficult task. However when you add one or more extra yarns it becomes a mini nightmare.  I had 180 stitches of nightmare.  

How am I going to solve this problem you might ask.  It is very simple. I have made markers to remind me whether a project is right handed or left-handed.  So I am going around the house to all my works in progress and mark them all. This way I will always stop at no more of one row of tinking. At the very worst I will have to stop assembling dog pillows to make more of these markers.  

Also I think I should stop knitting when I get tired. Just sit back and enjoy the talk.  No tinking involved.  

I would also love to hear how other people have solved this problem.  

Then it might just be nap time.  

Getting More Organized

 The best thing that I have found about getting more organized is that it has been taking me less time to find things.  Right now I am knitting a 2 of 3 Shawl Study.  I remembered that I had an extra 1/2 skein of the gray linen yarn that I can add to the shawl to make it a double. It took less than 5 minutes to find the rest of the ball of yarn and make sure it was the right yarn.  It was. Fantastic   

Following in that direction I sent off a 15 pound box yarn to another knitter.  I know the yarn is going to a good home and will be used and appreciated.  It is the equivalent of sending off a whole tub of yarn.  If you are a knitter with stash beyond your lifetime it is time to occasionally find another knitter who would appreciate the yarn.  I am sure that your spouse, children would love it leaving the house. The other knitter will really like some yarn that would have not been possible any other way.  Also don’t accept payment for it. Just have the other knitter pay it forward by donating a finished scarf or 2 to the charity or their choice.  

TTFN

The Snail is Ahead by a Whole Lap

 I am still in the very long process of healing from the March 1st medical emergency.  It’s has been a slow and bumpy journey. The things I still need to learn is how to sit quietly and rest. By far this is the hardest task I have ever had to accomplish. Also it’s ok if it takes me more than one day to accomplish a chore.  I did not have the energy last month to fold towels so I took my own advice to a new extreme.  In case you have forgotten my favorite laundry quote is “Laundry is like fine wine. No laundry shall be folded before its time.” So I went a month without folding bth towels. Guess what? No one complained about the wrinkles in the towels.  They still work well when hung on the towel rack.  I might just do that again this month. 

I also got new book in the mail that I pre ordered. Advocate by Eddie Ahn.  It is the very first graphic novel that I have ever read.  So far I am 66 pages into the book.  I am impressed by Mr. Ahn’s original art work. His ability to overcome adversity seems to be something I could learn from this book.  I do have an affinity for audio books so I can read while knitting.  I do believe this book needs to be a spiney version.  I am really enjoying it.  The quality of the paper and ink make it very easy to read with my dyslexia. I also tend not to read when exhaustion has set in.  That is why I have not finished the book yet. 

Well it is getting late and I have 1 activity tomorrow.  So I do need my rest.  

The Finished Bathroom

 So sorry it took so long to get the final pictures out. I have been dealing with the aftermath of March 1st.  Yes, it still is hanging around.  I am still tired and tending to over do it. Which results in more naps and down time..

So here is the final finished version of our new bathroom. I just love the new handles too, they don’t catch my clothing.

New Things

 We started getting new things in pretty quickly and the quality was so much better than the big box stores.  The cabinets, mirror frame with mirror and the medicine cabinet were all handcrafted by an artisan in Tucson that our contractor Tony knows.  I like using local when ever I can.  By the way if you live in the Tucson area and want Tony’s number just let me know and I will get it to you.  

The first step in rebuilding was putting in the new vanity.  Some of the other parts are in the wheelchair accessible shower that we put in for Eric.  So this bathroom has had smaller projects to make it more useful for us. Now it’s all about making it pretty for me. 

As you can see we were able to reuse the vanity top which saved us both time and money.  We were able to get the finish on the new vanity to match the tone of the marble.  We also did not charge out the tile because it was still in really good shape and is the expensive anti slip tile.  

More to come tomorrow   

Where Did the 1980’s Go

 Our house was built in the mid 1980’s. As a result our house has a very distinct 1980’s vibe.  We have been slowly chipping away at the 1980’s.  This bathroom is one of the last vestiges of the 1980’s in our house. So let’s see what happened next. 

We have an empty room with walls that are waiting to be patched up.  The light fixture will be the last to go.  The plumbing still needs to be updated.  Although I am the cause of a sight delay in the middle of the job.  

What’s Happening?

What is Tony doing to the sink? Any ideas yet?

 

Can You Solve a Mystery?

 What does me cleaning out my knitting room? Taking out 3 bags of trash. Putting things away. Cleaning up the clutter that is not art related.  Have to do with the picture in this blog? 

 Come back tomorrow for more clues.  

A Mixed Day

 Things got kind of strange this afternoon.  The cup that I stored my first pair of Apple Air Pods showed up this afternoon in the iRobot storage area.  There was a lot of dust in the cup and faded marks where the Air Pods were.  The Air Pods were no where to be found.  

The question remains how did the dish made its way from my knitting table in the den to the robot storage area?  A mystery still surrounds what happened to the Air Pods.  

I am starting to feel better.  I still don’t know my limits. We made a lovely soup today.  It left me tired even though John did all the chopping.  All I did was add things to the pot and stir.  Next time I will bring in a stool to do more sitting.  

I did finish one end of a pounder scarf, because I a changing colors after the next skein of blue. I am 47.5 inch done out of 74 inches. 

A Funny Thing Happened

 Well you all remember the sweater that was borrowed without permission.  That it came back to me smelling like Fabreze and cigarettes. With stretch marks on the seams. 

The story continues with me washing it in a hot water bath of Dawn with a hot water rinse then hanging to dry.  I treated the sweater like it was raw fiber.  No agitation or wringing. Just squeezing the water out. Then letting it drip dry.  Well the cigarette smell was gone.  Thank goodness.  Now it just smelled like Dawn dish soap.  

The next wash was a cold water wash in Soak Wash with some mild agitation.  Followed by cold water rinses. I did 2 rinses just to make sure.  Followed by hanging in the garage to dry.  

Well today I needed a light sweater. So I went to the garage to check the smell of the wool sweater.  It smell perfectly fine and free of order.  So I put it on.  It had shrunk 2 sizes, which was fine because I have lost so much weight since I bought it  for Teri’s wedding weekend.  The seams sealed themselves back to no visible damage. I was very lucky that the sweater did not felt. I do believe that this was do to carefully handling it during the hot water wash phase. The sleeves hit tight at my wrist like when I first bought the sweater.  When John came home he said the sweater looked great.  It now fit perfectly.  

So I guess good things can come back from a complete disaster.  Although I still say the sweater was stolen and not borrowed.  Borrowed implies that they had asked for my permission to borrow my sweater.  It would not have been given since it was my only everyday and dressy sweater.  I don’t find it necessary to keep a lot of sweaters on hand because I don’t use them much.  

So now I have two everyday/ dressy sweaters.  I really hope that this does not make me a clothes horse.  

A Comparison of Knitting

 The only way I can tell if I am knitting a project right handed or left handed is the little stitch markers with the L or R.  So I guess it does not matter that I have 2 different knitting styles. What matters is that I can increase the amount of time that I get to knit every day.  

I know that the scarf is in garter stitch and the pounder scarf is in stockinette. However in my humble opinion the quality is the same in both scarfs.  The quality is the only thing that matters.  

The New Normal

 Today was my new version of a rest day. It was time to recover and rest from a busy week. I had 3 activities outside of the house since Monday.  This did not use to be considered a busy week for me, however since March 1st this is my new and hopefully temporary normal.  Spaced throughout the day I managed to bring the clothes from the clothes line and get them to the right closets.  Fold 2 loads of laundry, 1 load separated by an hours rest and then the second load.  No I did not get all the clothes put away.  

My major accomplishment was finishing the last of Fibber McGee’s closet. Now when the closet door is opened nothing falls out. No need to get out of the way of falling objects.  Although John did remind me that I still have a slew of UFO’s to finish so that when my sewing room becomes the guest room a closet will be available.  The point is well taken. I can’t start anything new until the closet is empty of knitting projects.  No that does not include the cones of yarn on the shelf.  Just the project bags on hangers in the closet.  Thank goodness. 

I had lots of mandatory rest time. My body was pretty much in charge of that.  So I listened to music and tried to relax and not think about what needed to be done or what I wanted to do with my day.  I personally find this really very hard.  I am used to being in motion until I sit down for a minute or 2 and wake up a few hours later.  This is the same but not the same now.  I can’t clean or move for hours at a time. I am literally living my life by the Zenning 5 minutes at a time book.  This is a book I highly encourage everyone to read.  I have found it extremely useful.  

Recovered Sweater - Speechless

 The sweater that went missing at the December Old Pueblo Knitting Guild meeting was returned to me today. The person who took it, turned it back in as a lost sweater. Yes, it was in one of my baskets with a couple of things on top of it when it was taken.  Everything that was on top of it came home fine in December.  

The sweater reeks of Fabreze, which means that the person who borrowed it without permission smoked in it. They were trying to cover their tracks. Like me the non smoker me,  isn’t going to notice.  The sweater was also damaged. She was a bit heavier than me and the seams took a beating. She just needed a sweater for when she was in town. I am so sorry that was my only winter sweater, because you took it without permission I had to go buy a new one. Not to mention going over my day and tearing everything apart looking for it for days. If your finances were tight you could have gone to Goodwill or any to her resale shop. If your finances were that tight, why did you travel hundreds of miles to winter in Tucson? Also since you can afford cigarettes, you can afford to shop at Goodwill. All it would take to buy a sweater at Goodwill is to just give up buying 4 packages of cigarettes.  Hey, you’re a knitter right? So why did you not take yarn from the guild stash and knit yourself one?

If I knew who you were, I would bill you for the new sweater that I had to buy because you took mine.  I don’t know how you were raised. If you went to church that should have been covered under thou shall not steal. If you went to private or public school anywhere in the world, that would have been covered every year you went to school. That is a detention offense in many schools. 

I am absolutely speechless. I know that I have ranted about this incident. What I really need to know is how do you justify your actions? 

Right now I am washing the sweater in dawn soap hoping the nicotine washes out of the sweater. It did not work , the sweater still reeks of nicotine. I will let it dry and then take it to the dry cleaners to see if they can remove the horrendous odor of nicotine. I should bill you for that too. If that does not work I want you to know that you absolutely ruined one of my favorite winter wardrobe choices.  

I will never understand some people.  

Driving Today

 Don’t get me wrong I love driving.  I started driving at 15 1/2 with a learners permit.  Got my 1st drivers license at 16. I did a lot of driving and carpooling before I even left home.  Except for the odd ball driver on the road, I found driving to be very relaxing.  I loved the journey, no matter how short.  The sense of freedom.  

Something changed at the in mid February when my arm started giving me trouble.  It got worse at the beginning of March when driving became tiring even for short drives.  Not that I have done an exceptional amount of driving since Covid19 hit. My now 4 year old car has not even cracked 12,000 m8les yet.  Think about that for a minute.  The average driver drives 12,000 miles a year in the United States.  I am barely driving 3,000 miles a year.  I hope that this means that my car will last longer.  

Take today for instance.  I drove across town to go to the doctor's office.  The drive left me tired enough that I was actually short of breath when walking and talking   Don’t worry, the doctor said it would happen during the recovery period.  That’s what all the resting is supposed to help.  The drive home was uneventful.  I was exhausted by the time I got home.  I was still too exhausted after dinner to even knit or play computer games.  By the way John made an excellent dinner tonight. After dinner I just put my feet up and idly watched television.  I really do hope that I can sleep tonight.  I really need some rest.  I need some activity in my life, even if it is sitting and reading. 

I am really looking forward to my body healing enough so that I don’t get so tired just driving.  

In 5

 My new working criteria is five minutes of working an hour or so of rest or more. This seems to be what my body likes right now. With this in mind, I am slowly tackling the closet. We nicknamed Fibber McGee and Molly‘s closet. I Have already moved the lot of stuff out of there. Some stuff was thrown out some stuff was charity and you might even find some stuff on eBay.

To give my hands a break, I have some projects that I’m knitting left-handed and some projects that I’m knitting right handed. To keep track of the projects, I am marking the projects with special stitch markers with either an R for right handed knitting or an L for left-handed knitting. I made a dozen today six of each, but I think I should’ve made a few more. Hopefully I can catch up with some UFOs while I’m resting And won’t need as many. Below are the little stitch markers before assembly.  

I over did today.

 I learned today that no matter how good I feel, over doing any activity can lead to jaw pain and a very long unscheduled nap.  It also leads to more consequences like not being able to knit at night. My hands were just too tired tonight to do anything. So tomorrow I plan to slow down again.

I have very big aspirations for tomorrow. Doing one load of laundry and having John help me put back a Closet that I tore apart. Doing some paperwork. Just maybe making some stitch markers or knitting. 

For tonight all I want to do is sleep.  Wish me luck.  

The New “Busy Day”

 I had a very productive day. I managed to get 3 things off my to do list.  Found out that a restaurant that we have not been to in a score of years had some really good food and lots of options for me.  We will be going back.  

Yes I am still tired.  I took another nap today.  I seem to have lots of energy right afterwards, but it does not last long.  

I would also like to thank Vicky and Michael from Grandma’s Spinning Wheel for being gracious enough to move me to a weaving class in December. I know that I will not be able to do a full day of weaving at this point in time.  Your kindness is very much appreciated by us right now.  I must have made someone’s day who was on the waiting list.  

The Snail Won the Race Today.

 I am not regaining energy as fast as I thought I would.  After just 1 hour sitting and knitting with friends today I was exhausted.  I spent the entire afternoon binge watching television or sleeping. I normally reserve television watching for the evening.  I am following doctor’s advice not to over tax myself. It is harder than I thought. I thought it would be really, really hard.  

My plans after knitting with friends, I would just sit at the computer to type and edit new patterns. Not to taxing, not an energy drain. I did not work on a single pattern. Oh well, there is always a few weeks from now.  

The Calm After The Storm

 Yesterday after talking to the 3rd doctor in 2 days, I finally have my head wrapped around last weekend.  Partly be cause I finally had a definite answer. Be cause of it I am less anxious and can get on with the very slow recovery process.  We are talking months not days. 

I am designing a new shawl.  I will play catch up on a lot of UFO’s, one project at a time.  I will catch up with getting patterns listed.  I do have one question for you though. If I open an Etsy store for my patterns would you use it if you currently do not use Ravelry?  

I also have another question.  Does anyone else knit both right and left handed. If so do you have a different knitting style for each hand? The knitting nerd in me is curious.  

TTFN.  It’s rest time again.  

A Slow Down

 Right now I am going through a medically mandated slow down.  I am going to rest as much as possible. I am going to be honest, this is not going to be easy for me.  However, the more I rest, hopefully it will allow my body to heal faster.  To that end I started writing a new pattern tonight. It is a light weight summer shawl.  

I have frogged it once.  Made some major changes.  Now I like it much better.  When I have a bit more energy I will work on getting other patterns out the door.  

Slowly Getting Thins Done

 Today I managed to fix a whole lot of broken jewelry. My hands are finally feeling better. I changed out earring wires to something more this century for a few pairs that I bought in the 1970’s and 80’s.  New wires just gave them a slightly more modern look.  I fixed a couple of chains, to fix a couple of necklaces.  I am even good enough now to manage the smallest jump rings.  I also unknotted 2 out of 3 chains.  Unknotting chains is a lot like untangling yarn, who would have guessed that.  

Tomorrow energy permitting I will start on a small pile of stitch markers for me.  I have some earring singles, charms and beads to turn into stitch markers.  Not that I need anymore stitch markers.  If I lose a stitch marker a day it would be at least a year before I would run out of stitch markers.  But I like to try new things and make my knitting pretty.  I think of stitch markers as jewelry for knitting.   

I managed to make 3 out of 4 post hospital doctor’s appointments / calls before breakfast.  The last call was put in after lunch.  I got very tired just sitting at the computer looking things up.  The hospital worker said I should start to have more energy by Wednesday. I also binged watched 3 hours of The Crown on Netflix while adding 2 inches to a pounder scarf.  

Below is a picture of the jewelry repairs that I made today.