Happy New Year January 3, 2011

Read

I picked up a copy of The Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver this weekend and am pretty engrossed in at page 26. Absurdistan was too absurd so my plan was to read The Prodigal Summer and The Moonstone basically in tandem but I now can see that Kingsolver has won this round and I won’t be picking up anything else until I’ve finished that.

Knit

I updated my Ravelry project page with some works in process and with my completed Citron.T

The knitting circle gathered last Wednesday. The plan was to go to our local yarn shop, buy some yarn, go out for Thai, and then hit our favorite tea house for some knitting. Once we got to the shop, though, we started having such a wonderful time we just stayed there and had crappy Papa John’s pizza and beverages and shopped and talked and laughed a whole lot. We met some women who were there for knitting night and got lots of good help from the staff. I have to say that Wednesday night was perfection. I had such a good time with my favorite girls.

My friend C brought lots of finished objects to share with the group. One item was an adorable hat called the Brattleboro Hat (Ravelry link) from a book called New England Knits. It is the cutest hat I’ve ever seen. I tried it on and I loved the way it felt. The girls all agreed that I needed to have that hat. C gave it to me. It’s such a cute hat – I can’t tell you. C also gave us each the yarn and pattern for a shawl which changes colors section by section. More about that in a moment….

My friend K and I swapped Christmas presents and she gave me a hank of the most luscious local alpaca yarn there can be. It feels so soft and looks like it will be a breeze to work with. I haven’t decided yet what to make from it but I’m leaning toward a skinny scarf so I can have the fabric close to my skin.

With having a five day break from work I was able to work on:

1. The ribbed scarf for my boss’s wife. It is now over halfway and I have used one entire hank of yarn (250 yds of Shepherd’s Wool) so far.
2. A new Citron in blue Malabrigo yarn. I wanted to try out a worsted weight Citron and this one is flying right along. I bought four hanks of yarn but I think I will only use two for this project. The rest I’ll use for something else.
3. The color changing shawl mentioned above. I was determined to get it to the first color change by the time I went to bed last night and I did pull that off! Tonight I can knit the lace row and then go back to stockinette to the next color change. I am going to wear this shawl all of the time.

Live

I went to the doctor last Wednesday and got my meds tinkered with again. I am now sleeping again and my mood is, if anything, neutral. I am pretty numb. The only time that bothers me is when I feel like I should be excited or happy about something but I can’t quite get there. I think sticking with this regimen might work for me.

Five days off from work was wonderful. I really enjoyed the days feeling so long and spending so much time with the boys. Today I’m back at work and not ready to be here. I don’t think anyone here is ready to be here. I haven’t gotten much done but neither has anyone else.

I’m looking forward to knitting circle tonight and to Friday coming at the end of the week.

Happy New Year!

 

 

At What Point Does a Pile of Fresh Starts Go Stale? December 28, 2010

Hi there! It’s me again. Let’s see…. since last post…. Oh, who cares. I was absent and now I’m back and sincerely hoping to make bloggy journaling a serious pursuit in the new year. And look at me getting an early start. Cuz that’s how I roll.

Here goes nothing….

On Twitter my handle is @readknitlive and I plan to approach each blog post using those three categories.

Read

I have been struggling with reading lately. My concentration is not what it should be. Twitter eats up a great deal of reading time as do my rss feeds. Knitting has taken a lot of reading time, too. My goal for the new year is to read 31 books (20+11 for 2011).

I just finished reading Room by Emma Donoghue for my book club meeting in January. I can’t say much here because book club rule #1 is: Thou Shalt Not Pre-Discuss The Book. I’ll just say that it’s a fast read and I don’t not recommend it. (That double negative is in there to throw you off the scent. “What does she mean by that?”)

The kidlet pulled Absurdistan by Gary Shteyngart for my next read. My poor husband was about to lob a book at my head because all I could say for three days was some mumbling about not having anything to read/not knowing what to read/not liking any books ever/wasting my degree. He kept pulling choices for me and I kept making faces at him and how he continues to live with me is really beyond my comprehension. Then the kidlet stepped in and grabs this book and thrusts it into my hands and I think, I think he might have nailed it. I’ve read the prologue so far and liked it.

So, 20+11 for 2011 here we come!

Knit

Knitting is insane right now. I have a scarf going for my boss’s wife, a scarf for her best friend, a scarf for the kidlet in Harry Potter colors, a scarf for my husband in a luscious charcoal gray, a wrap for me, a baby blanket for a baby that arrives on January 18th (YIPE!). I’m losing my mind in the pile of projects. I am off work for the next five days and will be spending as much of that time knitting and reading as I can to have some finished objects. I mainly want to finish the scarf for my boss’s wife because it is gorgeous in a pale baby pink Shepherds Wool yarn.

Live

Living is interesting. My doctor had to cut my crazy meds because they were keeping me awake at night and insomnia and crazy do not play well together. The cut in the meds, though, has me feeling low and isolated and convinced everyone hates me. When I feel as though everyone hates me I turn inward and become more isolated and afraid of the phone, meetings, gatherings. At that point I become more convinced that everyone hates me because I am letting them down by not showing up for things or answering the phone when they call. And then I withdraw a little bit more. So, yeah, I’m feeling a bit alone right now and I’m feeling down and I’m frustrated because it certainly seems as though I’m on enough medication that I should be feeling much better but I’m not with just one of three meds cut in half. How crazy am I? I also had a manic night the week before Christmas when a light switched and I COULD NOT STOP. My OCD impulses were heightened and it was so exhausting. It only lasted one day. I could frankly use one more day like that over my upcoming vacation so I can get some of the things done that I want to get done but likely won’t.

I feel, because this is public, that I need to say clearly that social media is my safe place. I have friends here who are friends in real life and friends who are friends only in my cyber-life but they, you, are all heroes to me as you give me this room and Twitter on which I can screech out my feelings without being shot down. I love you all for allowing me to be the introverted social media extrovert I am.

 

Ribbed Scarf July 23, 2010

Worked on my ribbed scarf last night and completed a full 12 inches of knitting in pretty short time. I have big hopes of finishing it up tonight.

A couple of notes to me:

1) This is the scarf where I mastered the art of purling backward. Fortunately/unfortunately I have now mastered the art of purling correctly. This makes going back to the wrong way difficult.

2) It is MUCH harder to knit into a twisted purl stitch. MUCH harder. It’s certainly easier to purl correctly on the front end.

3) I was making this scarf for a coworker friend and generally adorable human being but the scarf is full of flaws and I would feel badly about giving it to anyone. 😦

4) #3 means I get to keep it for myself. 🙂

5) I think I might just use this same pattern for my husband’s winter scarf. It works up quickly and beautifully and this time I can not twist my purl stitches.

That’s all for today! TGIFFAICCUOK (Thank goodness it’s finally Friay and I can catch up on knitting.)

FO! July 22, 2010

I’ve been a little bit quiet here because knitting and crocheting take time and I don’t always have progress to share.

Last night I finished the scarf I mentioned in my last post. My friend K gave me the guidelines (not really a pattern) on how to make the scarf and the combination of that with Patons Angora Bamboo yarn in a luscious green worked out so beautifully. Every time I pulled the scarf-in-progress out of my bag my knitting buds would ooooh and aaaahh over it. I used two skeins of the yarn (160 yds total) and size 15 needles. This was such a quick scarf I can really see making them for gifts.

I will take decent photos of the scarf this weekend and post some.

In other news…. I am 90% finished with the last square for the collaborative baby blanket mentioned in the last post. I may still have one more square to make but my poor friend C still hasn’t gotten her furniture from her recent (well, not so recent!) move and the grid and pattern are with her furniture. At any rate, I’ll finish my 7th square tonight and weave in the ends on all 7 to get that marked off the list.

The goal for this weekend is to finish stuff so I’ll also work on the ribbed scarf that has been going on for… I don’t even know…. And hopefully also finish the drop-stitch scarf which is at least 2/3 complete now. That will lighten my knitting bag by a few projects and make me feel a bit more on top of things.

Which is good because….

A dear friend is pregnant!!! I’ve purchased some Caron Simply Soft in lavender and am going to try my hand at this pattern with it. I need to knock some thing off the list, though, first, and keep in mind that she is not due until January so I have a few minutes!

The blanket for my cousin is really coming along. I need to work on it some this weekend, too. The problem lately has really been the heat! It’s not fun knitting with a blanket on your lap when it’s 98 degrees outside. But I am quickly running out of time on that project and need to just put my head down and knock it out.

Holiday Weekends Make For Good Knitting July 6, 2010

I decided to forego the KAL. It’s too far over my head. I hate that I spent for yarn that I probably wouldn’t have bought otherwise but I know it will find a home.

This weekend I worked on the third of eight squares for the blanket four of us are making together. I’ve completed my garter square and my stockinette square (with straight purl stitches thankyouverymuch) and now one of two checkerboard squares. It seems like my progress is in line with the other ladies’. I’m a little worried that my checkerboard square is not as polished as the others will be but hopefully it’s okay. I can probably make another one if necessary.

I worked on the blanket for my cousin, too. I’ll admit to being pretty bored with it at this point but that’s to be expected. I’m about halfway through the tenth stripe of sixteen total stripes. It looks amazing and is very soft. I think she’s going to love it.

I made a bookmark for my friend, S, since I hadn’t had time to make something for her before her birthday. I was able to give it to her on Saturday and when I saw her on Sunday she had already starting using it. I think that’s the best: when handmade gifts are used and enjoyed.

I worked on the drop stitch scarf some more. It’s officially halfway to completion now unless I decide to make it extra-extra long. I love it, too.

Then I went to Hobby Lobby on Saturday because I felt I deserved a treat for all of the stomach issues I’ve been having. I bought some angora and bamboo blend yarn and started working away on yet another scarf which I adore so far. I need more yarn, though, so I have to get back out to HL soon before they sell out of that dye lot. I’m worried because it was on clearance.

All-in-all, while the only FO I have to show for my efforts is the bookmark I feel good about my progress on things.*

Before I go… I have to share that I did KIP last week. I had a CT scan last Thursday and while my sweetie sat with me while I drank the poison before the test I worked on the drop stitch scarf. A lady was in the room with us for a bit and was watching me. She complimented the knitting and the colors (maybe a bit more about the color than the knitting but WHATEVER). It was a great little exchange and maybe sparked her to join the cult of knitting.

* I realized after I hit publish that I also finished the stockinette square and worked the checkerboard square from start to finish so I was underselling myself! Not too shabby!

Holy Crap on a Cracker! ~or~ What Have I Gotten Myself Into? June 22, 2010

First of all, OMG, there will be photos.

So, my friend K stumbled across a Mystery Knit on Ravelry and talking our knitting circle in participating. I am beginning to seriously wonder what I was thinking. Let’s see: sock yarn, size 5 needles or SMALLER, and then, and THEN, COLORWORK! COLOR-FREAKING-WORK! Until last week I was making my purl stitches backward and now I’m supposed to learn color stranding. Holy hell! I am so screwed.

Anyway… On the the better news….

Here’s my Twisted Purl Washcloth:

Here is a crocheted washcloth:

When we left for Orlando last Thursday I was all fired up about working on the UK blanket for my cousin and I did accomplish a lot. Check out where the stitch marker is…. I did everything to the right of that stitch marker on the trip. It’s about 1/3 of the way to completion (minus the border) and I think it looks great. I just have to devote my life to it for a few weeks to knock it out.

And here is the drop-stitch scarf in progress:

And, finally, the ribbed scarf in progress. And apparently all of the purl stitches in it are twisted so I have to continue making it with twisted purls while still remembering how to purl properly. Gah!

That’s all for today even though there is lots more to share – like the baby blankets that my knitting group is going to make in squares and piece together. Fun!

Pre-Vacation Project List June 15, 2010

Yup. It’s another post that is just a list with no pictures. I promise pictures after I get back from vacation next week. Here’s what’s making the trip to Orlando:

1) The blanket for my cousin is going to be great “car knitting” on the drive to and from Orlando. I should be able to make enormous progress on it.

2) I am also taking the drop-stitch scarf along which I love, love, love more with every pattern repeat.

3) My friend C made this AMAZING scarf with her Ulmo from Stitches South. She cast on and knit it lengthwise in a great ribbed pattern. The scarf hangs…. well, it’s just flippin’ dreamy. So I am in the middle of doing a long-tail cast on for this one. It’s a b*tch and I may try the easier cast on tonight that my friend K showed me last night. We’ll see. Whatever happens I MUST copy this scarf.

4) I have bookmark supplies in my purse. That’s going to be my standard purse-knitting since it takes up so little space and will result in awesome little Christmas gifts.

5) I’ll take some cotton into the parks for standing-in-line knitting though I’m wondering if it won’t be too hot and sticky to knit. Better safe than sorry, though.

Everything else is staying home. I think I’m being overly ambitious as it is. YA’ THINK?? (And don’t forget that I’m taking two books, too… )

I am just so excited about being in the car with my boys for so long. We have such fun and laugh all of the time. And then… the kiddo’s face when we first enter the Magic Kingdom…. I tear up just thinking about it.

See ya’ll next week…. MWAH!

Knitting Update June 11, 2010

1. I totally frogged the knitted UK blanket for my cousin. That much garter stitch was making me crazy mainly because I was so bored I kept dropping stitches and not finding them for days. I also hated the fact that the blanket was not reversible. That was driving me crazy. So now I’m crocheting it and even though it’s still boring it’s fast and it’s reversible so that will work out fine. This is going to be my go-to project during the drive to Disney next week.
2. I have not touched the wrap for my friend K in weeks. I know she can’t wear it for months so it’s being pushed to the back-burner. I think it will only take 3-4 hours to finish.
3. The flower scarf hasn’t moved along either. I made one gorgeous pink flower and then haven’t touched the rest. It will happen when it happens. Right now my problem is that the pink I have does not go with the blues I have and I really don’t want to buy more yarn until I’ve used what I have. I’m toying with making the scarf in all pink. I love pink.
4. I frogged the Fantasy Shawl completely because I hate it, hate it, hate it now. I don’t know if it was the repeated combination of bad yarn and the wrong size hook or what but that’s just not going to happen. Let us never speak of it again.
5. The bookmark was finished and given to my sweet 9-year-old friend who squealed and hugged me. She’s so wonderful. And the bookmark looked great – my best ever.
6. My hair stylist very sadly lost her baby so the baby blanket is gone.
7. The ribbed scarf is something I pull out about once a week and work on. It’s hardly a rush project even though I swear the friend I’m making it for would wear a scarf in hell because she is ALWAYS cold. It’s halfway to completion and when I pick it up now it moves much faster. For one thing, I replaced the straight needles I was using with Bryspun circular needles. That makes me love the scarf again. I’m learning over and over that the right yarn + the right needles + the right pattern is what makes knit or crochet fun instead of frustrating. It’s a trifecta. Now that I have the right needles the scarf feels and looks so much better to me and I can’t wait to finish it up.
8. Since a few projects have fallen off the list I have added in a couple more. The first is a bunch of wash cloths/dishcloths which will help flesh out some presents during the holidays. I’ve completed two so far and they are fabulous. One is crocheted (SO EASY) and one is knitted. I was so proud of how well it knit up for me. I used a variegated Peaches n’ Creme yarn (which looked so ugly in the ball I have no idea why I bought it to begin with but looks GORGEOUS knitted up!) and Addi needles and it just worked for me. Very happy. I’ll be taking some cotton and needles to Disney to work on some in line when I get antsy.
9. At Stitches South I bought an INSANE amount of Araucania Ulmo cotton yarn. So did my friend, C.  So, we swapped ten out of twenty hanks a piece so that we have two different color schemes in about 1200 yards (!!!) a piece. All of that is to say that I’m about a third of the way through a drop-stitch scarf in the more pastel of the colors. I love the yarn and the needles. I’m not dying over the colors but it is very “beachy” and I do think I’ll either get some use out of it or figure out someone to give it to.
10. Same yarn, different project. I’m going to gather yarn and hook today to make a crocheted market bag out of the bright color Ulmo. That will be interesting because the Ulmo is super fun to knit (never splits, slides along the needles but not too much, easy to read my stitches) so if I have problems crocheting it I have a knit pattern to fall back on.

So many projects going and in my mind. It’s lots of fun and I’m enjoying the challenge. I think having the knit dishcloth and the knit scarf coming along is reassuring me that I CAN KNIT. That feels sooo good. My knitting girls are all so good at what they do but they’ve also been doing it for at least three years. I have to cut myself some slack. That’s a common theme for me…. 🙂

Mental Exhaustion June 10, 2010

I can be a bit of a whiner sometimes. “I don’t feel good.” “This was the CRAZIEST day!” “You’re stupid.” You know…

But I’ve been holding back on some stuff lately and it’s got to come out somewhere.

My job is great. I love it. I like what I do and I love most of the people I work with and for. I feel pretty lucky. On the other hand, it is a constant battle to keep everything moving the way it should. Operations is all about multi-tasking and I’m good with that until the interruptions start to feel like I’m being sprayed with bullets. Then I crumble inside.

My home is great. My family – my two fellas – are the best. My husband and I have a healthy and warm marriage filled with long talks and hand-holding. We have romance, passion and friendship. My son is perfection. He is amazing – the best kid ever. On the other hand, home has its responsibilities like bills and cleaning and laundry and bills and the yard and bills and drive here and drive there and sometimes it gets to be a lot – especially on top of work.

My friends are amazing. I love them. There isn’t really a downside to that part except that being with friends means less time with my family.

My past is awful – muddy, murky, horrific. I have PTSD and OCD and am on pretty good meds. The meds help me keep the three sectors of my life in order and to a level of control that keeps me feeling only slightly crazy.

Lately, and I don’t know if this is a meds problem or not, I have been slipping down a rabbit hole. I am having random symptoms that I looked up online this morning and which all pointed to: You are fucking nuts, you loon. Okay, really what they said what: OH MY GOD, CALM DOWN! And everyone knows that having the Internet yell at you is very calming.

I am possessing and living the following symptoms:

Trouble concentrating, fatigue, headaches, muscle tension, muscle aches, difficulty swallowing, trembling, twitching, irritability, sweating, nausea, lightheadedness, having to go to the bathroom frequently, feeling out of breath, and hot flashes.

The biggest indicator that I am not doing well right now is loss of appetite. I usually only lose my appetite when someone dies.

I’m worried… And that doesn’t help…

Monday Update May 17, 2010

This weekend was a really tough one knitting-wise. I was just stuck on everything and dropping stitches and ripping, ripping, ripping. I came *THIS CLOSE* to hanging up the knitting needles and sticking with crochet. But then I saw a little glimmer of light in the distance when I got to a lace pattern and it actually made sense! I did the YO’s backwards but I figured that out on about the third repeat and felt like I was really getting the rest. I’m going to try again…. The second light came on when I realized that I’m expecting to learn how to fix things and how to do more complex things from my knitting friends. Well, I only see them once a week so that’s not really going to work. This is when I need to lean more on books and You Tube videos for guidance. (Like the one I watched to clarify the YO!)

Last night I started working on a scarf pattern and I’m about twenty or so rows into it. Simple pattern but more complex than garter or stockinette which is where I have been getting stuck. It is flying along and I love it. The Sugar Rush Jacquard yarn in blue is working beautifully.

I need to take some pictures of some things soon and get them posted….