YOP Update - Back and Forth

 

 

Hi everyone.  Well, it's been another week of bopping around like a ping pong ball from project to project.  Recently, I won a skein of yarn from the Great Outdoors KAL hosted by Knitting Butterflies and it arrived in the post this week.  It's very lovely and dyed by a fellow Minnesotan, but not quite my colors so I decided to knit it into a hat to donate for my friend Amy's Charity Group.  The yarn is a soft and squishy superwash merino so very well suited to a Chemo hat.  I choose a Martina Behm hat pattern that I've knit before that's garter stitch based to help me practice my new picking technique.

Speaking of new techniques, I also learned a trick at my retreat to do away with the ladders I get when I knit socks with double pointed needles.  You simply wrap or pick the yarn up having it cross over your needle in the opposite direction.  Normally I pick the yarn up from below to cross over ontop the needle.  So instead, on that first stitch of each needle I pick up the yarn from above to cross over going downwards.  This helps because it makes a shorter length of yarn in the stitch.  Does that make sense?  It also puts that first stitch on the needle twisted so you need to knit that stitch through the back loop to correct it's position.  As you can see I am only slightly into this sock so I can't say for certain how its working yet, but I'm excited to hopefully solve this long standing problem of mine.  

But, since socks are not on my year of projects list I felt I should get back to one of those projects and picked up the Dudester Scarf again.  This knitting project is the bane of my existence.  The pattern is super duper simple and yet I find myself making mistakes and having to perpetually tink back and re-knit.  I'm not sure what the hang up is but after an hour or so of frustration I decided to cast on for another project.  You see I have yet another scarf to knit for Christmas for yet another of my friend Anna's friends (as an aside don't ever make knitting commitments to others while under the influence of alcohol.  You feel good and magnanimous and forget that scarves aren't like cowls and take forever to knit.)  I was going to knit this pattern, but in the essence of time I chose this simpler one instead.  I'm knitting it with Zealana's Kauri worsted weight yarn and I really like the look; the possum hair makes a beautiful halo.  But, after purchasing this yarn it dawned on me that they kill the possums to get their hair and even though they are an incredible pest problem in New Zealand it does bother me so as I probably will not buy this yarn again. 

That's my knitting progress for this week.  I'm hoping the next one will have more focus and maybe a completed object - ah time will tell.  If you want to check out the other Year of Project participants you can find them here.  I'll leave you this week with a photo of my son and husband at the MN Renaissance Festival.  We're waiting for the jousting to begin and Sam is showing off his purchase of a dragon that can wrap around your neck or wrist to keep you company.  It was a wonderful day.

Loss, Illness and Hats

I have been absent from this space at first because I left for a trip to visit a friend, then because I was getting ready for a craft fair and lastly because of a large loss.  We lost a wonderful neighbor whom we known for over 18 years to suicide.  She was a woman who always had time for a chat and a chuckle and was the glue that held our little city block together.  Up and down our alley way she would walk and check in on people working in their yards or tease the kids riding their bikes.  She didn't mind the neighborhood children filching her delicious raspberries out of her garden and was always generous sharing plants and her love of gardening.  I still can't believe she's gone and keep expecting to see her in her yard weeding or watering as I pass by on my way somewhere.  It hurts to know she was suffering and none of us knew she needed our help.  It was a total shock to us all.

To deal with my sadness I've turned to knitting hats for cancer patients who have lost their hair to chemo therapy.  I just have this need to give comfort and help someone since I can no longer help my neighbor.  My friend Amy lost her mom to cancer a couple of years ago, and to deal with her grief she organized a group called Team Yarn to knit chemo caps.   She then personally distributes them all over the Twin Cities metro area here in MN.  Sadly, their is a large need for these hats as many people come here from all over for treatment.  It's really helped her process the loss of her mother.  I have knit hats for her here and there over the last 2 years for fun and to support her, but now I am knitting in earnest.  In fact, I've gone through my entire stash and scraps of yarn and knit up everything that is soft enough for a chemo cap.  I'm up to a dozen so far, knitting about one hat per day.

I have the time for all this knitting because a week after the news of my neighbor I had an onset of Vertigo that landed me in the hospital.  Vertigo is extreme dizziness that then causes nausea and vomiting.  After a lot of tests the doctors told me it was brought on my an inflammation in my inner ear and that I just have to wait it out until it goes away in some 2 - 6 weeks.  Now, I'm much better than I was in the hospital and the nausea has past, but I'm still dizzy and I can't drive.  The first week my husband stayed home and took care of me as I couldn't walk around that well, but this week I'm on my own and am managing ok.  Except now, my son contracted Strep Throat and is out of commission as well.  Thus, my poor husband is working his regular job, caring for us, doing all the driving to Doctor appointments, washing dishes, cooking, laundry and cleaning.  And what's amazing is he does it all with a smile.  We may be down and out, but I sure feel very lucky.

Joining in with Andrea for Fiber Arts Friday.