World-Changing Events....At Least In My World

Where do I begin?  I guess the best place is with the reason I've been away so long.  On December 14, 2013, my Dad, age 80, succumbed to an aggressive case of lymphoma.

He'd been unwell for over a year due to degenerative disc issues and rheumatoid arthritis.  Anemia caused him to be hospitalized for a few days in November, followed by three weeks in rehab to try to build his strength.  But we didn't learn until the evening of December 12 that he was truly ill.  Two days later he was gone.

So, I'm healing....knitting helped me through long hours in the hospital and rehab center.  It steadied my nerves as we made final arrangements.  It centered my thoughts during late-night discussions with my Mom about nearly everything imaginable.

It provided stability during the most unstable period of my life.

Did knitting make everything all better?  Of course not.  But it provided a valuable source of calm in my decidedly unsettled world.

The TARDIS Shawl Adventure

Fall is in the air in my little corner of the world....there's a nip in the morning, warm sunny afternoons, and cool crisp evenings. I love Fall, and always have loved it. I love the look in the autumn sky after the August haze lifts. I love watching the trees for that first hint of color. I love being able to sit comfortably on my deck in the evenings after work, knitting until it gets too dark to see. *Happy Fall Dance* A lot of my knitting time in the past couple of weeks has been in waiting rooms (Daddy's having some back issues), so it's mostly been relegated to what I refer to as my "Waiting Room Socks". I always keep a pair of "plain vanilla" socks on needles in a little bag that's easily carried into waiting rooms. The pattern is so simple that I don't need to carry it with me (except for a little 3 x 5 cheat sheet that I still use when I turn the heel to be sure I don't make a mess), and it's a great conversation starter. At home, though, I'm working on my "Bigger On The Inside" shawl, because I want to have it finished by the Doctor Who 50th anniversary celebration on November 23. I've now completed the Time Vortex Lace section and have completed 8 of 41 rows in the TARDIS section. The yarn is as close to TARDIS blue as I could get, and so far I'm very happy with my progress. As with most shawls, I won't really know how it looks until it's completed and blocked. I'm anxious to see how it finishes up!

For the Wombat

 

My adorable grandson (AKA "Wombat") is coming to visit me at the end of the month, and I'm so excited!  I've knit a blanket for him, and these two toys have now been added to his stash.

 

The ball is the "Little Ball" pattern from the OddKnit website.  There are so many interesting things there!  I want to knit the eyeballs sometime before Halloween.  *LOL*  The pattern is written for DK yarn, but I used bulky, making it a larger ball.  It's about the size of a softball, which should be fine.

 

The caterpillar is the Cuddly Caterpillar pattern on the Lion Brand Yarn site.  Both were fun knits, and time well spent.

 

I'm battling a vile sinus infection and finally had to go to the doctor today to get antibiotics.  I don't like taking antibiotics; but I like sinus infections even less.  *sigh*

 

The weather here is rainy and gray.....this is expected to change to snow overnight, so we'll see what happens.  The doctor said I shouldn't go back to work until Thursday, so I might get in some knitting time tomorrow even if it doesn't snow.  :-)

 

Be well, fellow knitsters, and may Spring come soon!!

Knitting In High Stress Situations

Tuesday my Dad had back surgery.  Now this is not an uncommon occurance in the world.  Most men the same age as my Dad (79 last November) have had several hospital visits in their time.  But this was his very first hospital stay.

So, we were all understandably a bit on edge.  The repair that was planned involved two tiny incisions, and the surgeon was the same one who did my back repair a few years ago and did a great job with me.  That helped, of course.

The procedure went beautifully, and Dad did well.  But the surgical schedule was backed up badly on Tuesday.  He waited several hours longer than expected before surgery; he didn't go into the operating room until nearly six hours after we arrived at the hospital.  Then, because his procedure was finished so late he had to stay the night.  (He'd expected to go home after surgery.)

Needless to say, Mom and I spent a LOT of time in the waiting room with family and friends that day.  And it was slow going getting him released from the hospital the following day; we didn't get him home until 2:00 p.m.!

What kept me sane during all this waiting, wondering, and worrying?  My beloved sticks and string!  I didn't dare work on anything more complicated than "plain vanilla" socks, but keeping my hands busy kept me calm and collected.  I actually believe that Mom was able to deal with the situation better because I was calm.

It wasn't an experience I want to go through again soon, but Daddy's doing well, and I'm thankful for that.

I feel sorry for people who have to go through that without knitting in their hands!

Saturday At Last!

It's been a fairly exasperating, exhausting week; I'm always happy to see the weekend roll around, but it's particularly welcome this week!  I've been battling some sinus issues and a high level of stress at the office, so I found myself more tired than usual last night.  I actually fell asleep in the recliner and awoke at 4:00 a.m. with a vile migraine and a fever blister.  *ick*

I took migraine medication and treated my achy lip and started in on my SMHD (Saturday Morning Household Drudgery).  My energy level is suffering today, so I haven't finished my To-Do list.  But I had to take a break anyway.  I think it's time for a "Knittin', Netflix, and Nappin'" session.  *LOL*

Since I completed my mittens, I've been working a little on a couple of pairs of socks from my UFO pile.  One of them is a pair of plain vanilla socks that I've already turned the heel on and am working my way up the calf.  The other is a pair of Michigan Lake Shore socks that I'd laid asie just after starting the heel flap.  Today I want to complete the heel on those and start up the leg.  I wanted to have a couple of projects up to the "fairly mindless knitting" stage because my Dad's having back surgery Tuesday and I'll need something to knit in the waiting room that won't require me to pay a lot of attention.  Knitting is CRUCIAL to my ability to wait patiently in a situation like that.

I'm also waiting for a delivery from WEBS of yarn I've ordered to knit a blanket for my grandson.  He's coming to visit me in a few weeks, and I want him to have a blankie from me when he arrives.  *happy excited dance*

Well, time for a bit o' knittin' and a wee nap.  Have a great weekend!

Knitting in Waiting Rooms

This morning I had to run by the lab on my way to work to have some blood drawn for my regular checkup next week.  Like a lot of knitters, I keep a "go bag" near the front door with a small knitting project to take along when I leave the apartment.

My current "go bag" project is a pair of plain vanilla socks (3:1 rib, toe up, slipped stitch heel) that I can knit without looking at a pattern.  (Well, except for the heel....I always carry a cheat sheet on an index card that gives instructions for my favorite heel!)

When I arrived at the lab, I checked in with the receptionist and settled into a chair in the waiting room.  I pulled my knitting from my little bag and began knitting happily.  Within a few minutes, the waiting room began to fill with other patients.  I noticed they began to fidgit and sigh heavily after a few minutes more.  I continued to knit, comforted by the repetitive motion, the light click of the needles, and the feel of wool in my hands.

Later, as I was driving to the office, I realized that I no longer mind waiting for appointments.  In fact, if I get called in earlier than my appointed time I'm mildly disappointed.  I feel as though I've been robbed of a bit of knitting time.

Last May I slipped while hiking and broke my leg.  Mom still tells the story that when she and Daddy took me to the local Urgent Care center, I knitted while waiting to be examined.  She was stunned that I could concentrate enough to knit while in that much pain.

She's not a knitter, so she doesn't understand that knitting was probably the only reason I was able to bear the pain as well as I did.

How does knitting work this magic?  I can't speak for others, of course, but as for myself I believe it helps me center my thoughts.  As I knit and purl I feel a sense of calm serenity.  In fact, it's not unusual for me to doze off while knitting in my recliner at home.

Sure hope that never happens in a waiting room!  *LOL*

A Strange Few Weeks

It's difficult to believe that it's been nearly two months since I've posted to my blog!  Time seems to get away from me lately.  In my defense, it HAS been an unusually busy time.

Things at the office are still very hectic; still lots of issues with the latest version of the dreadful comuputer system that was inflicted on us last year.  The first of May proved to be unusually busy; it was a time of preparing for all the additional duties our department must perform in the summer (our busiest season).  We also were gearing up for a statewide gathering of our counterparts which involved a good bit of preparation.  In addition to this flurry of activity, I had a week of annual leave scheduled for May 14 - 18.

My plans were to head for a local campground on Monday the 14th, set up camp, and relax and knit all week long.  My week of leave began with a deluge of rain as I arrived at the campground.  Determined not to be swayed from my week of camping, I proceeded to set up the tent in the rain.  Luckily, as I drove the last tent stake, the sun popped through the clouds.





I enjoyed a wonderful afternoon...the cicadas were in full song, the temperature was just perfect, and the campground was nearly empty.  A gentle rain fell that evening, making it perfect sleeping weather.  I awoke Tuesday morning refreshed, relaxed, and ready for my day.





The park ranger came by that morning to see how I'd fared through the night.  I mentioned that I'd seen some cyclists and hikers going by the campsite and asked if there was a trail just past the brush at the edge of the site.  He told me there were lots of trails in the park and provided me with a great map of them.  I laughed and told him that now I had no excuse to lie in my lounge and knit all day.

It was threatening rain later in the afternoon, so I decided if I was going to go hiking, I'd better go preety quickly.  I changed into jeans and sturdy shoes, grabbed my cellphone, the whistle I always wear around my neck when camping (in case I need to signal for help....I laughingly call it my "bear whistle"), my camera, and a bottle of water.

I studied the map and chose a trail marked "easy" that ran from an area further down in the campground to the picnic area.  It was only 1/2 mile long from the point it left the campground road and ran down by the creek.  It should be a nice little walk.

And it was.....the trail had washed a little from the rain the day before, but roots were easily seen and avoided.  I saw tracks, but little wildlife.  The only actual creatures I remember seeing were a millipede, a lovely orange lizard, and a cicada.  At one point the trail veers away from the creek to go around a large tree.  There's a very steep incline, and as the path passes the tree, the path has an equally steep decline back toward the creek.

I made the incline quite well, but when I reached the apex I lost my balance and fell, twisting my ankle.  To make a long story short (too late!!) I had no cell service and wound up walking out on a painfully swollen ankle to the park ranger's check-in station, which was about a half-mile from where I fell.  He very kindly gave me a ride back to my campsite.

I phoned my parents, and after a trip to the local Urgent Care I learned that I hadn't only twisted my ankle, I'd broken my leg!  It's a spiral fracture of the fibula, just above the ankle.  All things considered, I was very, very lucky.  I'm in an Aircast and on crutches, but at least I can remove the cast for showers and I don't have to wear it to bed.





At this point, I'm really tired of having to wrap my Ace bandages (two of them) and put the cast on each morning, and I REALLY tired of walking on crutches.  I had no idea how much WORK it is to walk on crutches!  But I keep telling myself it could have been so much worse and trying to be grateful for small mercies.

Because I'm so slow in getting around, it takes me much longer to do anyting than usual.  This tends to cut into my knitting time.  Funny, isn't it?  You'd think with a broken leg I'd have TONS more knitting time, but it hasn't worked out that way!

I did manage to find time to knit myself a cast cover, and am about 2/3 finished with a second one.  Which reminds me that I should wrap up this entry and get back to work on it.  :-)





So, knitsters, I hope your month has been much less eventful than mine!  Have a great weekend.

Best Laid Plans

I was on leave last week....a whole week away from the office!  I was so glad to have some time for doing just what I wanted to do for a change!

It didn't work out quite like I'd planned.

On Day One (Saturday) I did some laundry and household drudgery with (naturally) some knitting tossed in here and there.

On Day Two (Sunday) I went to visit my parents.  Mom had an upper respiratory thing going on which was distressing, but otherwise it was a good day.

On Day Three (Monday) I went to a local park and spent a lovely day exploring their nature center and walking the lakeside trail, snapping digital photos of beautiful fall color.

On Day Four (Tuesday) I woke up sick.  Can you believe it?  I'd caught Mom's cold.  Is my luck crappy or what??

So here's the good news:  Mom's much better, and I was well enough to return to work today.  And my brief illness caused me to have to stay in the apartment and rest.  Which I needed.  REALLY needed.

One day I didn't feel well enough to knit, but the other days were filled with mugs of hot tea, an Alka-Seltzer Cold medication buzz, and lots of yarn.

All in all, not a bad week.  :-)

A Week.....A WHOLE WEEK!!

Once upon a time there was a knitter known on the internet as Cricket54.  Cricket was a fairly new knitter fumbling her way through learning how to knit with help from friends and the wonderful informative sites she found online.  She had some problems in 2009 due to a back injury and gives knitting full credit for helping her keep her sanity during the long wait for surgery that fixed the problem.

This year, knitting saved her sanity again (except for the fact that she's suddenly begun to post her blog in the third person for no apparent reason....*ROTF*) by helping her deal with an extremely stressful year at the office.

Okay, back to first person.  I'm ON VACATION THIS WEEK!!  *happy joyous dance*  With any kind of luck whatsoever the most strenuous thing I'm going to do is knit and drink copious amounts of coffee (my drug of choice).  I have several different projects on needles at the moment and hope to make some progress this week.  I'm not putting any pressure on myself about it, though.  Nothing has to be finished this week.  NOTHING.  I plan to knit while relaxing, and if I get tired, I'll quit.

This is my week to chill out and recharge my batteries.  My motto for the week:  "The dustbunnies have waited this long, they can wait a few days longer!!"

Hope your week is as restful as I plan for mine to be, dear knitterly friends!

Sunday Evening

I've been battling a virus all weekend, not desperately ill, but just feeling crummy. I've felt too guilty to gripe, though, since so many folks on the coast have been dealing with a hurricane and my biggest problem has been a low-grade fever and achy joints.

So this evening I'm contenting myself with watching "Julie and Julia" on Lifetime, sipping iced coffee (yum!) and knitting a market bag. I started the market bag last weekend as a Christmas gift for one of my co-workers and have been working on it off and on during the past week. Just a row here and there. Amazingly enough, I think I'll finish it before bedtime tonight. I'm now working on the top band just before starting the handle.

This is the third of these market bags I've made; it's a great pattern, pretty easy knitting, and makes a neat gift. If you're on Ravelry.com (and if you're not, you SHOULD be!!) you can click here to see the Grrlfriend Market Bag. It's a free download, and you can knit it up from just about any kind of yarn you have on hand. I knit the first two from a cotton/linen blend of yarn I had, and I'm making this one from the same type of cotton yarn I use for dishcloths. It's working up really nicely....I'm very pleased!

And so, friends, back to "Julie and Julia", my iced coffee, and my market bag, all of which are patiently waiting for me to finish this blog post. :-)

Have a great evening, everyone!

Knitting Socks: Sanity Saver!

Last weekend was a particularly rough one. Friday evening my dear little 70-plus aunt took a particularly nasty fall; she broke her nose and wound up being airlifted from her home (about two hours driving-time away from me) to the hospital only 3 miles from my apartment. I'll get to the important part first: she lost a frightening amount of blood (she's on blood thinner), she's terribly bruised and awfully sore, but she's back home now and the doctors say she's going to be okay, thank goodness!

Oddly enough, fate had prepared me better than normally. My little car was full of gas, I had plenty of cash on hand (well....plenty for me, anyway), and my Kindle was in my purse. As I ran out the door to try to beat the helicopter to the hospital, I grabbed a partially-knitted pair of socks from the basket beside my recliner and dropped them into my purse.

Because the socks I threw into my bag were my favorite "plain vanilla" socks, I was able to stand outside the trauma room while waiting for procedures to be done and knit away. (Knit 3, purl 1 on top of the foot, plain knit on the sole.) Round and round, over and over. The repetition helped center me, and I was able to be calm and reassuring when I spoke with my aunt.

Circumstances were such that she had to be transferred to another hospital; I stayed with her all night and until late Saturday afternoon. Knitting helped keep me awake and available at a moment's notice each time she needed anything. It had been YEARS since I'd pulled an "all-nighter", and knitting those plain socks was unbelievably helpful. As I told a nurse in the wee hours of the morning Saturday, knitting is cheaper than therapy. Not to mention the fact that you get some pretty interesting socks in the deal!

I'm strongly considering keeping a project bag in the car from now on, just in case of an emergency. As much as I love my Kindle (in fact, I keep tons of knitting patterns on it), reading wouldn't have been an option during a lot of the situations we dealt with over the weekend. I could knit and carry on conversations with my parents, nurses, and doctors. In fact, the knitting actually started several conversations with people, as it always does when I'm knitting in public.

If you've never knitted in public, please try it sometime. Not only is it fun and productive, you meet lots of interesting folks who are either:

1. knitters,
2. crocheters,
3. would-be knitters or crocheters,
   
4. folks with friends or relatives who are knitters or crocheters, or
   
5. folks with memories of mothers or grandmothers who were knitters or crocheters.

And so, fellow knitsters, I leave you with this advice: Knitting is therapeutic, cheap, and non-fattening. Who can ask for anything more?

Dragonfly Again

When I cast on my next pair of summer socks, I decided to do another pair of Dragonfly socks. Why? Several reasons, really. The first reason is that I really enjoyed knitting the last pair. Secondly, they knit up more quickly than the other summer socks I've knit. Reason three is that I've memorized the pattern and won't have to look at it while knitting them up.

On top of all those practical reasons, I wanted a pair of predominantly blue socks and had a skein of Sockotta's "Snow Queen" in the stash. I think the Dragonfly will look lovely in that blue, white, and purply yarn.

I worked on them while in the waiting room at the dermatologist yesterday (yet another addition to my "medical team"...*rolling eyes*). When I got back home from the doctor I cast on a doggie sweater for Haley, one of four Yorkies that belong to some friends of mine. In April 2009 I knit a sweater for each of the Yorkies, but Haley outgrew hers! I couldn't allow her to be the only one of the four without her very own hand-knit sweater, so I cast on another for her. It'll be just like the first one, but a bit bigger around.

Don't worry, Haley. I completely understand how needing a sweater to be a little bigger around can happen. :-)

Dragonfly Continues

I lost most of my three-day weekend to a vile sinus headache (yuck!) so I've not made much progress on my Dragonfly socks since my last post. I've turned the heels and am currently decreasing the gusset, so they're coming along at least. It's funny, while I was in the recliner Saturday listening to the pounding inside my own head I kept thinking, "Oh, man, I could be halfway up the leg of my socks by now." *LOL* I guess that's when you know you're knitting too much!

Knitting Injury

I guess I'm now officially a knitter....I've suffered my first knitting injury. Last night I was watching Arrested Development on Netflix and knitting happily along on my Swan Song socks when I poked the tip of my right size 1 needle into the tip of my left index finger. Not deeply enough to bleed, but enough to hurt. Dang it.

I'm the first to admit that I put a lot of undue stress on the tip of my left index finger because of the way I hold my needles. I can remember when my Granny (Daddy's mother) once tried to teach me to knit that she kept telling me "You're holding it wrong." I finally said, "I don't have enough hands to learn to knit" and she switched to trying to teach me to crochet. I guess she figured I would be less dangerous with one pointy metal object than with two.

When I was recently knitting in the presence of my 99-year-old great-aunt, she too told me, "You're holding it wrong." I just smiled and said, "I know, but it works for me." And it does. But it does involve my brushing the tip of my right needle over the tip of my left index finger repeatedly.

I think a solution to this would be to simply wear a band-aid on the tip of my left finger while knitting. I'll try that when I settle down with sticks and string tonight. Any suggestions about a better solution would be greatly appreciated. :-)

Happy Friday, everyone!

Finally Friday!

It's been a crazy busy week; I love having time off from work, but always have to pay for it when I go back to the office!

But, because I had three different medical appointments this week (all follow-up things, thank goodness), I had some productive knitting time in waiting rooms. Sometimes you really have to dig for that silver lining, y'know? *LOL*

All my knitting time was on socks, so I'll post a bit about that on my 10,000 Hours of Knitting Socks blog (see link at the right).

Happy Friday, everyone!

Hot Water Bottle Cozy

I finished knitting my hot water bottle cozy this afternoon. It looks like a little turtleneck sweater! I look forward to filling it with hot water when I get ready for bed tonight and tucking it under the covers next to my chilly toes.

I've been fighting off a cold the past few days, and it finally caught up with me this morning. Just a cold. But we all know what a cold can do for you. Chills, slight fever, mild headache, sniffly, snuffly.....BLEAH. I was happy to have my bottle cozy to work on, since it's an easy pattern that doesn't require a lot of headwork.

Even with the crummy cold, it's been a pretty good Saturday. :-)

Back In The Groove

As I was saying in my last post, I've been dragging a bit lately, not being very productive at anything, not even my knitting. I began to wonder if I'd started associating knitting with pain, since I'd used knitting to preserve my sanity last year while waiting for back surgery.

Thankfully, my productivity is a bit better now. The weather is still icky (flurrying right now, in fact....big fluffy lazy flakes), but I'm able to pick up my Diagonal Lace socks and knit contentedly on them while listening to an audiobook or a KnitPicks podcast.

Had I told you I can listen to KnitPicks podcasts through my TiVo? That's a pretty neat TiVo feature. I'm not sure how I ever managed to keep up with any television series before TiVo. I never seem to be able to watch broadcast television when it's actually broadcast anymore.

Back to my knitting....today it occurred to me that it might help to toss in a charity item, so today I'm casting on a knit hat to be donated to a local charity that provides blankets and warm clothing to homeless individuals in our community.

I'm going to use the "Regular Guy Beanie" pattern on Ravelry. I'll keep you posted.

I'm baaaaaaaack.....

Sorry I've been away so long. I had spinal surgery on November 17th and am just now getting caught up on home e-mail and blogging and such!!

The good news is that because I've been spending a lot of time in my recliner during recovery, I've finished my Christmas "stealth" knitting! I'll post more about that later in case anyone who might be receiving any of my knitted items is reading this blog. *LOL*

I guess I'm not officially finished with my Christmas knitting, since I realized I needed to knit two more holiday dishcloths. I got those started last night, though, and should get them finished in the next evening or two. I knit them two at a time, so they go really quickly.

Speaking of which, I guess I'd better hit the recliner and get back at them. :-) Happy holidays, everyone!

Vacations Zip Right Along

I've been on vacation this week, but have hardly been able to knit at all, dang it! I managed to get some knitting done while waiting to have some medical tests run Tuesday, and while waiting to have my car serviced Wednesday. But not much. *sigh* I've deliberately planned to do NOTHING Saturday and hope to spend all day with my audiobook and my knitting!

I have to tell you , though, that between diagnostic tests Tuesday I had time to run into the only local yarn shop in my hometown and found it to be just delightful. I've had wonderful luck so far buying yarn on the internet, but it's a wonderful treat to be able to FEEL the yarn before buying it. I didn't have much time to shop, but assured the owner (a very nice lady) that I'd certainly be back!

Okay, I'm off now to fix myself a bite of breakfast and knit just a few rows on my newest pair of socks before heading out to enjoy my last weekday of vacation. *sniffle, sob*

Oh Goodie, Goodie, Goodie!!

Yesterday I received a shipment from KnitPicks that included Wendy D. Johnson's wonderful book Socks from the Toe Up. I can hardly wait to start knitting from it! I need to finish up the simple ribbed socks I'm working on, but I'll probably go ahead and cast on a pair from the book. After all, it's September and I'll need socks soon. (Okay, that's my excuse...*LOL*)

I also ordered some sock yarn....addicted, you know. My excuse here is that they had their Stroll Tweed Sock Yarn ON SALE. And I need some new gray socks to go with a beautiful gray sweater that Mom and Dad gave me. And one of the colors ON SALE was "Ash". So I needed it, right? RIGHT?

I also ordered a couple of balls of their Stroll Multi Sock Yarn in "Turtle"....ON SALE...LAST CHANCE...and I have a new pair of green slacks that they will look just great with. And it was only $2.99 a ball. So I needed it, too. Really. I did.

I also ordered some natural bare marino wool because I want to try something I've never tried before.....KoolAid dyeing!! This will either be a lot of fun or one huge mess. *LOL*

Fun, fun, fun! And as I say often, knitting is cheaper than therapy.

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday afternoon. My appointment was at 1:55, but the doctor was delayed by an emergency surgery. When I arrived, folks who had 11:45 appointments hadn't been seen yet. Did I panic? Nope. I just whipped out my little knitting bag with my Magic Loop socks and entertained myself and various other patients for the next couple of hours. *LOL* I didn't get to see the doctor until about 4:30, but I told myself, "Hey, more knitting time." I was tired when I finally left the doctor's office, but not upset at all. Therapy, I'm tellin' ya.

And now I have the next week off from work. Ahhhhhhhhhh. Nothing special planned, only a few things to take care of. I'm hoping for a couple of cozy afternoons in the recliner with MeggieDog and a lap full of knitting. :-)