I just realized that my KnitMeter says "I haven't knit any this year".

Nooooooo!   I HAVE, honestly!  I just haven't updated my KnitMeter.

Between my moving into a larger apartment and helping Mom get moved in, we've been too busy to do lots of things we normally do on a regular basis.  My knitting even fell far behind, but I had to starting making time for it.  I'd forgotten how much knitting helps the arthritis in my hands until I began slacking off my knitting.

We're still working on getting Mom's house all cleared out and unpacking done at the apartment, so I'm not knitting nearly as much as usual.  But eventually all the cardboard boxes will be gone and the closets will all be neatly reorganized, and I can get back to the soothing clicking of knitting needles on a more regular basis.

In the meantime, I'll work on updating my KnitMeter so that it doesn't look quite so startling!!

Life Goes On

It's no exaggeration to say that there have been many changes in my life in the past couple of months.  After Daddy passed away, Mom decided that she didn't want the responsibility of keeping the house (not to mention the yard work that would be involved) and that she wanted to sell it and get herself a small apartment.

I told her that I thought it was a great idea, and we began watching ads for an apartment near me (for convenience's sake, since Mom doesn't drive).  One Sunday morning, she said that she had a proposition for me.  She wondered if I'd be interested in moving from my two-bedroom unit to a three-bedroom unit and sharing it with her.

Once again, a great idea.  Unbelievably, a three-bedroom unit came available very quickly, and I hurriedly decluttered, donated, packed and moved into it.  It was a long, difficult task; I learned that I could get sore in places I'd forgotten I HAD!

But I'm moved in now.  Unpacking is still happening, but I'm moved in.  Next we'll get Mom packed, sell the house, and get her moved in.

So, as you can imagine, I haven't had time to do much knitting in the past few weeks.  As a result, my hands became very stiff and sore.  I took last Saturday and did nothing but lay on the couch, watch TV, and knit dishcloths.  Dishcloths are very relaxing.  It did me a world of good; my hands loosened up, and my mind settled considerably.

Word to the wise:  No matter how busy your life becomes, make time for a bit o' knitting.  It's good for you!  :-)

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.

"Bigger on the Inside" Shawl is Finished!

Well....almost. *LOL* I've completed the knitting and now need to give it a bath and block it. I'm off from work the rest of this week and hope to find time to get it blocked while I'm off. Now, what's next? Sure, I have several UFOs I could finish, but what's the fun in that? I had an idea for a Christmas gift for a coworker the other day, and I think I may start that after blocking the shawl. Speaking of blocking, this will be the first item I've had to block since Tilly TabbyCat came to live at my place. This could get interesting! :-)

TARDIS Shawl Progress

I've made great progress on my "Bigger on the Inside" shawl. I'm five rows from the end of the TARDIS section; after that there's a fairly mindless two inch wide border of ribbing. Then I'll be ready to block it. I'm really looking to blocking it to see how it REALLY looks. Most of the shawl has been knit while watching episodes of Doctor Who. I started the shawl with the Ninth Doctor, went up through all the episodes currently available on Amazon Prime, then started through the classic episodes on Prime. The classic shows are campy and fun; I LOVE the low-budget special effects! I've also developed a nearly-50-years-too-late crush on Jamie McCrimmon (portrayed by Frazer Hines), a companion of the Second Doctor. It's been a fun experience, with only one glaring error so far. It's one that I'm sure I can repair, though, so I'm not worried about it. I don't think anyone but a knitter who has already knit this shawl would notice, and I don't know anyone locally who has knit it. :-) Well, lunch break is over, so back to work!

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!

August Already?

It's hard to believe how quickly the summer can get away from you! Especially when you start to think about holiday knitting. You see, hen you're a slow, easily-distracted knitter like myself, you have to start your holiday knitting early. I've got some of mine finished, believe it or not. Still have a few things to do, but not many. I stopped on my holiday knitting to make a "Regular Guy Beanie" for a young distant cousin of mine who was fascinated by my knitting during a recent family visit. Since I made a beanie for him, I also had to make one for his younger brother. Which meant that I needed to make something for their sister as well. Both beanies are completed, and I've finished about a mitten and a half. I should be able to finish those up this week. Speaking of mittens, have you discovered the Cloisonee pattern by the Yarn Harlot? It works up pretty quickly, and I love that it looks more complicated than it really is. :-) I'd started a "Bigger on the Inside" shawl for myself, but laid it aside to get these little "cousin projects" finished. Then I have another UFO that I promised a friend some time ago. I really need to finish that up before going back to my shawl. But I wanna work on my shawl. It has little TARDISes (TARDIi?) On it and is just the thing for a Whovian like myself. So many projects, so little time!