Knitting the Blues

Double Edged Sword

This post is a vent. The ramblings of a drug and pain induced haze. That is your first warning.

This post will not be about knitting. That is your second warning. Well-and this-it won't be graphic, I promise, but I will be getting a little personal. There is your last warning. If you care only about knitting at the blues, surf on dear blog reader! Last Thursday I had a *spot* removed from my ovary. Honestly, I almost left it there. If not for some other problems earlier this year, I wouldn't have even known it was there. But in the process of taking care of the earlier problems it showed up on an ultrasound and remained there for four months, so it had to go. About 14 years ago I lost my other ovary when a similar *spot* was left untreated and grew, twisted with the Fallopian Tube, gangrened then ruptured. It was emergency surgery, huge incision, weeks and weeks of recovery. It was the memory of previous stuff that encouraged me to just take care of this right away. Surgery is different these days. I had a laparoscopic procedure. Six hours from my arrival at the hospital to my departure. The nurses, though very nice, were pushy broads, that is for sure. In pain and barely awake after general anesthesia they were dragging me out of bed, pushing me into the bathroom, telling me to pee (which I couldn't do), making me get dressed, asking me about my pain, ignoring my answers, telling my husband to get the car, and wheeling me to the door. Ummm.....did they not cut me open just a few hours ago? Don't rush me! Yeah, right! I barely got discharge instructions, or I was just too out of it to really hear them. The one thing I remember was, "You can return to work on Monday." Really? Monday? I was thinking that things were looking bright! A few days of discomfort and on my merry way. I mean, by Wednesday I should make Pilates and go for my six mile walk, right? Things have not been so rosy. For those of you who don't know, a laparoscopic procedure involves three small incisions, one to insert a camera so the surgeon can see where she is going and what needs to be done, one to remove the *spot* through, and one to inflate your (in this case) belly with air so the other organs can be moved around a little for better visibility. It is considered less invasive and to have a shorter recovery time. I was most worried about the gas pains after, because although as much of the air is removed as possible, there is some left that moves around for a day or two while it is working its way out. I was feeling okay until Saturday, when the incision underneath my belly button (where the camera went in) really started to hurt. Alot. I was warned that after the anesthesia really wears off, about the second day, that his can happen. Okay, fine. I broke down and took the percocet (actually, half. The stuff really sends me loopy, I try to avoid it.). Sunday I was feeling okay with just the ibuprofin, until I had a laughing fit and literally felt as though I had busted a gut. (No, really-I started to bleed a little, felt like I ripped my insides-ouch!) In tears I took another half a percocet to sleep. Now it is Monday. I was supposed to be able to go back to work today?! Give me a break! My pain is getting worse. I thought I was feeling okay, but when I decided to do a load of laundry (back to work, after all) the discomfort went right back up there. Am I not tough enough? Some kind of weakling? I call my doctor to get the scoop and find out that NEXT Monday is more like when I should feel like going back to work, not this one! Great. Now the best part is, my husband looked at the calendar, saw my scheduled surgery and worked his business trip around it by planning on leaving Friday. Really, FRIDAY!!!!! I think he thought it would be like D&C or a colonoscopy. On your feet the next day. After a little, well, discussion, he moved it to Saturday. Ummm... they would be cutting me open! Well, he was supposed to leave today, but after seeing my pain yesterday decided to cancel it altogether. He is a great guy, and comes around almost all the time of course, after talking to a co-worker that had the same surgery last year. OH-now he believes I should be laid up!). So, I can't laugh, cough, clear my throat, lay on my side, stand up straight..........but the worst part is, the pain is too distracting to knit through! And you should see what the percocet does to my gauge! My Cloverleaf Sock needed to be frogged big time after this. Unless the Jolly Green Giant is on my gift list. Hopefully tomorrow there will be some real knitting.

Meanwhile, the Koigu stash is ever-growing. The very nice postal person took pity on me and delivered a couple of get well packages for me, and I have won a few ebay skeins. I can't wait to get them! Luckily I have my socks and swatching for the Victoria Tank for the Lace Along to keep me busy. When I can knit. To avoid laughing I have been watching only dramas, and may have to start avoiding certain blogs. I am already afraid that the laughing fit and some coughing today may have split something-anyone out there know if this can happen?-I am really feeling it. If you are still here, thanks for letting me vent! This was not intended to be a pity party. I am so not the type. More a pissy party, cuz I am pi**ed about being laid up. Not the good patient type at all.

Oh-I may have some good news in a couple of days. Kind of silly good news, but check back! Thanks again for listening to me turn into a whiner! It doesn't happen often, promise!

Surfin' USA

This is the only kind of surfing for me these last couple of days. A surgical procedure has kept me off the road for my daily six miles, out of the gym for Pilates, out of my car for the usual taxi service and on the couch for some recuperation. You'd think having the opportunity to sit and knit and blog all day would be welcome. Oh how I just want to go out for a walk! And why is it when I am sitting around I crave real ice cream and french fries and foods I never eat otherwise? I am not burning off any of the fat and calories, just paddin' them on. I think it may be time for Chinese food. Or a Cowboy Burger from Applebees. I mean, I am not even craving good food, just low-brow fattening, heart-burn invoking, icky food! What would you be eating if you were sitting around, knitting and blogging? I am told that I will be back to normal in about a week. I am wondering if my doctor actually knows what normal is for me? Will I really be back in Pilates and hoofing it around my town? Oh-give me another Percocet and tell me again, I'll believe it!

So, what does a girl knit when she has nothing else to do? Her sock for the Six Sox Knitalong (see sidebar). A tip for anyone starting any project: best to wait until after the surgery. I started my sock on the way to the hospital, screwed up the knit one, purl one rib, had to tink back, then after working a couple of rows while waiting to be knocked out, realized I had twisted my stitches and was knitting a mobius rib. Ack! Ah, well, it kept me busy and was a novel distraction for the nurses. Why is it when I am knitting on anything I only run into people who could never do that! Come on! It is knitting! It isn't starting IVs, or drawing blood, or slicing and removing things! It's knitting! I am assuming that I could do their jobs if properly trained. When they easily insert that needle to draw blood, I don't say, "I could never do that!" Of course when it takes them five minutes to get that vein to flow into the tube, well then I might be a little better. I have tiny veins, I'll give them the benefit there. So-no progress pics on the socks, I am almost to the heel on the first one. Probably tomorrow. Along with the finished knit-for-hire.

Speaking of knit-for-hires: The Aurora 8 sweater, the one I knit my fingers to the bone on, joints in a jumble, never eating, bathing, or sleeping-somehow did not make it to TNNA last week. I tracked it and it says it was delivered and signed for, but the person it needed to get to never got it. It is lost in the world somewhere. Which means it needs to be re-knit if not found. My thoughts cannot be recorded here. Insert your own expletive.

Some of you may wonder why I did not start my Charlotte's Web instead of the sock. Well, I really would have, but I am still amassing a huge pile of Koigu in an attempt to see my vision come alive. Here is what I have so far. Oh go ahead and click on it to see the yumminess in more detail. You would think I have enough to get started wouldn't you? Some of this was given to me in trade for that red sweater I posted about a few weeks back. Thanks Anne! Some was purchased on a trip to Patternworks, some on ebay, I have ordered more, and am still hoping to find a few more colors to round out my collection. How many Charlotte's can I make do you think? I hope I find the combination I am looking for. I was inspired by the eastern horizon at sunset. That and just loving every skein of Koigu that I see. In case you haven't seen much Koigu and wonder what they mean about the dye lot differences take a look at this. Both are skeins of P217 in different dye lots. I could use these in the same Charlotte and it would look like a great gradual change in shade. I just may do that, who knows? Certainly not me, not yet. Just remember, when they say to purchase sufficient amounts in the same dye lot for your project, they really mean it. Any suggestions to my Charlotte will be considered. The first one or the third or fifth. I will have enough yarn that is for sure.

A final thought. Patternworks is having a big sale this weekend. I cannot get there myself, but everyone who does make it, please let me know if it was any good. And what you bought!

Summer, Summer, Summer......

It turns me upside down!

Father's Day saw the family at the beach, per Dad's request. Now, the rest of the family, even though we are beach lovers, thought it was a bit windy and cold for the beach, but since it was Dad's day we all happily went along. Thank Dad we did! It was a stunning beach day! Every year I forget about the Sand Sculpting Competition, but every year I manage to stumble upon it providentially. You should see the creations of these sculptors. You might have thought it was Mom's Day, what with the beach (my favorite place) and all the knitting I sat and did. My kids got along. It was actually an awesome weekend all around. My whole family spent most of the weekend together. We all snuggled in and watched a movie on Friday night, attended a graduation party together on Saturday, hit the beach, went for seafood and came home and watched another movie on Sunday. I can't remember the last time we have spent this much leisure time together. It's amazing how much you appreciate it when the kids are growing and living alot of their own lives. I love these days, but it makes me miss the days when they were little.

The observant blog reader may have noticed all of the knit alongs I have added to my sidebar. What in the heck am I thinking??!! First, the recent knit-for-hire is in the final stages (blocking body, second sleeve almost done). This baby will be on it's way by Thursday for sure! So, I have the Six Sox Along (forgive the missing links-please use the buttons on the sidebar, I am posting quickly!) that I haven't even started yet-I think I will cast on for that next. Then there is the Lace Along for which I will be making the Victoria Tank from the Summer Interweave Knits. Oh, and the Tea Party, because a girl can't have too many blue teasets around, especially if you collect them and you are turning thirteen this summer and your mom knits. I have fabric and pattern ready and waiting for the I Can Sew Too Along. Oh-and the Everday Cardi that I am working on. On top of all of that I am considering the Knit Kersti For Me knit along. I haven't joined yet. Somebody stop me! On top of all that, I have not officially joined a Charlotte's Web along, but I have joined the frenzy. There will be a whole post devoted to that madness. A mad search for the perfect combination of Koigu. How bored will all of you be? Don't get too bored with CW yet! Wait for me!

The point is......well, I don't know what the danged point is. I know that I better stop typing and get knitting fast!

Still Knitting After All These Days

I'd show the progress, but it is a knit-for-hire, and like it or not, I just find sharing it a bit uninspiring to me. The last one had some drama! Now that is blog-worthy stuff. No crazy fix-its on this one, no knitting my fingers raw. I'm really just endeavoring to wrap this baby up and move on to passionate, lustful, romantic, fall in love with knitting. A few have asked if it is difficult giving up something that I have put so much time and work into. Well, let me tell ya something..........ummm.........NO! First off, nobody ever sends me blue yarn. What the heck is with that? Are they afraid I'd keep it? Pack my bags in the middle of the night and slither off into hiding so I could keep the blue stuff? Jeesh! There are alot of us who would love to see the sweater in blue! Second, I am always knitting the things in sizes medium or large. Maybe that is calculated too. "She musn't knit anything in her size, she can't be trusted!" Third, more often than not, the projects are really quite, how shall I say it, deadly boring. I have done more stockinette stitch cardigans with a garter stitch border and collar than I can even count. Usually I have the tedious task of actually "designing" this bore with the 'new' yarn for the season. So, I get boring, non-blue, too big sweaters to knit. Am I sad to see them go? Take a guess. Once I had to knit a garter stitch rug on size 13 needles in bright green heavy cotton. OH. MY. GOLLY! Talk about your aching joints! It was a regular weight lifting session just to work on it. The upside to that was the workout! I was so buff I was invited to compete in this competition. I declined, but I would have won. You should know that after all that, Sue at Vermont Fiber Designs sends me more interesting stuff to work on. Just not blue.

Thank You Not So Secret Pal!

Michelle sent me one last gift to wrap up the Knitting Secret Pal party. She has been the best pal a girl could have. I got some yummies-chocolate and caramel kisses, the girls and I had them demolished in record time, and herbal mint tea. We have been brewing that with some decaf black tea and mint from the garden, pouring it all over ice and gulping it down. Okay-yes I have a garden with herbs in it. That is a story for another day. The mint had taken over and was just recently tamed by my gardener mom. Anyway, there is some equally delicious Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in my treasure. For some reason I first read the color to be Weather. It is Watercolor. My glasses must need some fine tuning. Or my brain. No comments on which, thank you very much! By far the best part of this package was the custom CD titled Knit Mix!-An eclectic mix of music to stitch by.........all puns intended. What a treasure! I have gotten the greatest kick out of these songs, some I had never heard before. Here is the list:

Tangled Up In Blue.....Bob Dylan
Wooly Bully.....Dr. Loco's Rockin' Jalapeno Band
I've Got the World On A String......Louis Armstrong
You Can't Pull the Wool Over My Eyes.....Benny Goodman and His Orchestra with Helen Ward
Undone (The Sweater Song)....Weezer
Cotton Wool.....Lamb
Rapture Of The Socks......Barb Ryman
Spinning Wheel......Blood, Sweat & Tears
The Sweater......Meryn Cadell
Tangled Up In Blue......Indigo Girls

If you do your family's laundry you must hear Rapture of the Socks. Ours cannot be the only household in America with a large laundry basket full of lonely single socks. I hear them singing, "Matchmaker, Matchmaker, make me a match, find me a find, catch me a catch....." So the Matchmaker sets to work, searching the house over to find suitable mates for lonely footwear. Shes ransacks, rummages and pillages. It starts innocently enough, but by the end of the maniacal matching session, the Matchmaker has a slightly crazed gleam in her eye. Then the family is then gathered together for the final matching ceremony-sock couple to feet. Above the whispers of concern for her mental health, the Matchmaker passes each newly paired couple around the family circle so that they may fulfill their destiny. It is at the end of this ritual, when after all the preparations and work, there is a pile of unclaimed socks, her daughters are in fits of laughter over her lost grip on reality, and her husband is dialing the local mental health hospital, the Matchmaker finally comes totally unglued. Socks fly everywhere, children run for safety, husband prepares the straight jacket........Oh, you're still reading. The Matchmaker needs a little rest to compose herself. And possibly a pitcher of gin and tonic. Any frazzled laundry mistresses out there want to join her?

The Longest Time

Oh, oh, oh, oh, For the longest time. Oh, oh, oh, For the longest....
I have not been updating my blog
But you see, I've hit a little jog
But I have missed you
I hope you're missing me too,
I haven't posted for the longest time!

Look closer!

Okay, so if you are among the tens of hundreds.....well.....maybe tens, who have wondered where I have been, you're lookin' at it! You'd think by now I would have learned my lesson on knit-for-hires. Apparently I am unlearnable. Every time I agree to a job I think, "This time will be different. This time I will knit on the project for a set amount of time each day. This time I will approach it as a real job that I go to. This time I will finish the sweater in advance of the due date and calmly mail it off to the designer. This time there will be no marathon (every waking and many of the sleeping minutes) knitting the week the thing is due. This time the piles of laundry and dishes will not be competing with Mt. Washington for highest peak in New Hampshire rights. This time my family won't be casting straws to decide which one of them will be sacrificed to make the tastiest meal. This time the run on ice at the corner store will be for the heat wave, not my aching hands. This time I will not cancel social engagements or doctor's appointments, leave excercise by the wayside, stop answering the phone, eating meals, getting up to go-you know-GO!, risk permanent clawed fingers, or have my husband asking around for the best divorce attorneys in the area. Nope! This time will be different."

This time was NOT different.

So. I should let you in on the details, becuase knitting is what you come here for, right? The photo of the above sweater is published here with the designer's permission, as it has not been photographed for publication just yet. It did however, make it to Ohio in time for the distributor's convention. Barely. Anyway, the yarn is Karabella Aurora 8. You must knit with this yarn! It is spongy and squishy and soft when knit up. Mmmmm, mmmmm, good! And as is usual with last minute deadlines, there was a major error to fix. Necessity being the mother of blah, blah, blah, I learned a new technique. Look at the lattice work in this photo. See it? Look again. How do you write deafening silence. No screaming, no tears, no hurling (though lunch was threatening to come up). Just stunned silence. For a minute. Then panic. Do I rip back? That's at least three hours of work. Three hours I don't have! Do I make the front the back so it isn't seen when hung up? That's two hours I don't have! This is where fear and resignation set in. A tiny voice in the back of my head is saying cut, cut, CUT, CUT! In the time it took me to talk myself into cutting that cable, I could have reknit the the thing. I decided (the designer's great idea) to try it out on my gauge swatch. That's it! Then I can decide if it will work or if additional sleep deprivation is in my future. With my handy Harmony Guide Knitting Techniques Vol. 1 and a Google search to Aven's site I took my sharpest scissors broke into a cold sweat and cut. Here's the thing. My first attempt was a success, so was my second. Everything was text book. So when I went to cut the actual sweater (the pic you just saw) I was filled with confidence and bravado. This is a cinch! Imagine the shock when I cut and saw some weird, out of place, strand of yarn going across the under part of the cable. That is why there are no more photos of the surgical procedure. I was too stunned to remember. Long story short: I cut again. Just cut it. What else could I do? Pulled everything to the back, kitchenered the stitches together, knotted off and wove in the ends and that was that. I am afraid that it is a bit more noticeable than the attempts on my swatch. The good news is: It is done and gone! And in her pajamas and unwashed hair, the girl from the blues was doing a happy dance!

Here's the scoop on the designer I knit this sweater for. She is a friend of mine, Sue McCain. Her company is Vermont Fiber Designs. There are some really attractive designs, the one pictured above will be part of the new fall line. The impressive thing (for me as a designer anyway) is the range of sizes. The patterns are written from XXS to 5X! There is alot of math in that work! Check it out, and I will remind you when there are new designs posted to the site.

There, you no longer have to see me jumping out of that blasted cake every time you check back to see if I am still alive. I have alot more to post about. There is all the stuff I am going to cast on for this week. There is my growing stash of Koigu for Charlotte's Web. Really, how many skeins does it take to make a Charlotte? I think I have gone a little overboard (with help from Anne ;)) so now the possibilities are paralyzing me. Oh, to have such problems. I am sure there is sadness for me somewhere! But for right now, you won't believe it, I have one more job to finish. You know that word that is two letters and means something negative? The one that means you won't do something? You know the one, it rhymes with go or so or mow. Toe, blow, foe, row, row, row your boat. I have trouble saying that word. Heck, I'm having trouble typing it. There must be a support group for me somewhere........

SURPRISE!

Yep, the day of the *big* reveal has come for anyone participating in the Knitting Secret Pal Program. I have had a blast getting to know Anne, who I hope found it a pleasure having me as her fairy-knit-gifter for these last couple of months, and sending her fun little things to surprise her. She works in a yarn store! I hope she will find her final surprises things she may not have every day access to. I also hope to hear from her soon. She lives in an area of the country that was hard hit by storms and tornadoes yesterday. Though she was travelling home, I hope she arrived safe and sound to things as she left them!

I feel so lucky to have been showered with wonderful giftees from Michelle! I really hope to get to know her better, as we have more than knitting in common. Back in the day (as my kids would say) I was a music (voice performance) major. Michelle has a Ph.D. in music, and I would love to know what she is doing with it! And Michelle, please, please, don't let it be flipping burgers under the golden arches! Unless of course that makes you happy, then I am all for it! From my quick jaunt through her blog I learned that Michelle is newish to knitting, and seems to be fitting in with the crowd quite nicely! You know-nice yarns, great projects, and multiple ones at that! You go girl! And Michelle, thank you so much for brightening up my days these last months. This has been so fun for me, and you have been really appreciated. Just ask my kids. Every time a brightly colored mailer showed up in the box, you could hear me squeeling with glee. You're the best!

A big round of applause goes out to our fearless (and probably very daft and naive) Sandy for organizing this soiree! What an inspired idea! As I surf around I see lots of happiness and joy, thanks to you!

In case you are wondering: Yes, they did indeed use my body as the model for the above animation. It was a gruelling day, jumping out of that cake over and over again so the artists could get it all down just right. My compensation for the work was, well, I got to eat the cake. So, next time you see me, I won't look quite like that anymore. It will take weeks and weeks of dieting and excercise to get that bod back, and the cake reminded me that I would rather eat the cake! Off to the gym!