Got It!

Got it, read it, love it. I dunno how the Yarn Harlot keeps on doing it, but she amuses me no end. Her next book (which she finished, uhm, today) is already available for pre-order on Amazon if you're so inclined.

Mind Over Wee

I have been trying to be good. I have gone through some arguably serious mental and physical upheaval, and I have done it with (I think) remarkable good humor. I coped with going from semi-big-shot corporate-type to apartment-bound recluse without too much whining. I was a trooper when suddenly walking to the mail box was a big accomplishment, and while I am mourning my crowning glory of hair that I just got the way I liked it, I have not been screaming and crying in the streets.

But, there are some things I will not stand for. When my hands suddenly say, "you know what, all these funky chemicals are making our nerve connections screwy, so we're not going to listen to you anymore", chemotherapy has gone too far. I know that it is a necessary process and that I'll die without it, but damn it, I will not be a big lump of chemo-brained, neuopathy-plagued silly putty. I am going to go screaming and kicking into that good night, and when I come out of it I will do everything in my power to have my sanity and self-worth still attached.

And if that means that it takes me four screamingly frustrating hours to knit a wee sock, then bring it on.

Keychain Sock Pattern: Knit Picks Bare - Superwash Merino/Nylon Fingering Weight, Kool-Aid dyed by myself

I am exceptionally proud of this teeny sock. This made it in the post (yep, made it to the mailbox today!) for Elizabeth this morning. Check out her blog for some really fabulous colors; she's an amazing spinner. As for me, I'm going to try working on the bigger needles and get some more Clapotis done while I wait for all my en route deliveries to show up. Wee!

Status: Not Too Shabby

Hey Y'all, just a quickie post to let you know that I'm still kicking after my third (halfway done, whoo-hoo!) chemo treatment. I'm continuing to respond very well to all the goop they're pumping into me and, though the pills are growing larger and more numerous every day, it's okay because I'm going to survive this ordeal. Another quick thank you to my local and online little family (and you know who you are) that have helped me through so much of this so far and will hopefully not get too tired of my bitching before it is all over.

Stinker thanks you too; it's hard taking care of sicky mommy, expecially with all these "in her jammies all day" days.

Mail Call!

Making the transition to being gone most of the time and only coming home on weekends to being cooped up the the apartment all the freekin' time has been, well, a struggle. I have become remarkably dependant on the mail for fun and excitement, and, thanks in part to Etsy, I have not been too lacking in that department. Of course, Etsy can become quite an expensive habit, and it's always more fun when it's a surprise.

Case in point: look what the Yarn Yenta sent me:

Lots of yummy and tummy-soothing ginger goodies, a lovely hand-knit cloth from the lovely Tirzah. I'm thinking of a scarf out of the brightly colored yarn. What you can't see in the box is four boxes of Thin Mints which have mysteriously become three boxes overnight. I may have been partially (okay, primarily) responsible for the mystery, but dagnabit, I wanted cookies. All in all, totally worth putting pants on for.

Knit Picks was also kind enough to send me some mail yesterday: replacement cords for the one that pulled apart last month.

Things moved along very quickly once they responded to my initial email; they seem to have quite a backlog in online customer service, but I was willing to wait the couple weeks until they got around to me. It was absolutely no hassle, all they wanted to know was which size I needed replaced. All in all, good experience!

In the pursuit of more mail that doesn't involve PayPal, the Yarn Yenta gifted me with one more thing; the gift of Swap:

A teeny sock, a notecard, and a little bit of love is all it takes folks. Sign up before Thursday though, or you'll miss out on all the fun!

And since Stinker is not feeling all that photogenic today (we both have runny noses), I leave you with a picture of the in-progress Kyoto Clapotis made from my honeymoon yarn.

I won't wax poetic about it too long, but I'm absolutely loving the yarn and the pattern. I'm just hoping I can get it done before our first anniversary next month.

Rawhide!

I'm not quite sure how this all came about, but I have suddenly moved out of a hoarding-like-mad phase in my stash-management to a get-'em-up-move-'em-out phase. I want all of this yarn gone, out of my stash and off my conscience, ASAP.

Here's the thing though. Excepting the few balls of acrylic I gifted to my mother-in-law and a few skeins of sock yarn I have offered up to various give-aways and what-not, I don't want to destash by sending the yarn away. I want to knit all the yarn out of the stash, now now now now now. This effort has been somewhat hampered by my busy lifestyle of napping and eating, but the stash is being busted slowly but surely:

Knit Child's Raglan Cardigan size 4 years, 4 skeins of Bernat Haven in Honeysuckle

Yarn cost: $2.00. Getting said yarn out of the stash: Priceless. Haven sheds like Stinker in Spring; it may be the alpaca trying to escape the mostly acrylic content. Now I just have to figure out what to do with the other four skeins.

Snails and Slugs (Snail Version), Leftovers of Koigu KPPPM P814 and Mountain Colors Bearfoot, Juniper

This cute little stash-busting buddy from Mochimochi Land used up the very last of the never-ending Juniper I used for the HusBoy's Cable-Ribbed socks two Christmas' ago.

Stinker attacked it as soon as it was off the needles, but lost interest as soon as we grabbed the camera.

Feather and Fan Socks, Hill Country Yarns Sweet Feet, Raspberry Sorbet.

These socks aren't quite done, but I can tell that, once again, they're not for me. I've been starting all these socks and, by the end, I'm handing them off to someone else. No one's asking for them or holding a set of dpn's to my head, it's just this vibe that I'm getting. These are either for my visiting half-sister or Dad's girlfriend; only time will tell.

As for Stinker, she's just happy that Spring has sprung. May the shedding begin!

I Said "Semi"

Before chemotherapy, I would have five things to do in a day and the energy to complete six. Most days I would actually complete four and procrastinate on the fifth, but if that task needed doing it was physically possible. Now I am down to four or three things to do in a day, but only have enough oomph to get through two or three. Instead of taking a walk, knitting, paying bills, and blogging, most days I walk, knit, and nap. Today I paid bills and am blogging; we'll see if anything else gets done today...

I've done quite a bit of frogging in the last month or so; life is too short to work on something you don't love. I didn't love the Honeymoon Bolero anymore, so it has been frogged; the yarn will be repurposed as a Clapotis (lookout bandwagon, here I come) and my first Tit-Bit. The Rowan River Wrap was fun when I started, but after a while I just couldn't look at it anymore:

Logan River Wrap, Interweave Knits Winter 2007, Rowan Kid Classic in Frilly

Does anyone else remember biology class and looking at all those damn cell slides stained pink? I couldn't stand the idea that I was knitting something resembling my biopsy lab work, so the wrap went into the pond as well.

There has been felting as well as frogging in the Knitting Wounded tent. Check out my Boogas!

Booga Bag, Chocolate, Hush, Artic Pool Heather, and Coal Wool of the Andes

Booga Bag, Noro Kureyon (colorway unidentified)

The Noro Kureyon bag (bottom) is a little under-felted, but I decided that I was tired of working on it and it was felty enough. Why do I have such difficulties felting Noro? The top bag was made with my leftover Wool of the Andes and felted without much difficulty into a fine, sturdy fabric. Both were coveted by the HusBoy's aunts, so I have a feeling that more of these fun bags are in my future. Heck, I may even get to keep one eventually.

And, lastly, Stinker keeps falling asleep in front of the television.


It wouldn't be such a big deal if she didn't hog the remote.

Semi-Hiatus

I have tried to post in the last few weeks, honest. I've even sat down and uploaded some pictures for posts that never went anywhere a few times, but I've recently come to a realization:

I have nothing.

I have things, knitting and health-related, to report, but most of the time I just don't have the mental capacity/clarity/whatever to turn what's in my head into a post that makes any sense. Even now I'm starting to drift....

So the blog will be on a semi-hiatus while I try to concentrate on getting better and maybe knitting up some of my stash before some nice orderly has to spoon-feed me corn mush. I will pop in from time to time as the mood strikes, but I cannot promise anything regular for the time being. I will try to stay active on Ravelry and a few message boards and will make a point of commenting on the blogs I read. If anyone gets worried or just misses my sweet banter, please leave a comment or email me at lastinsiteATverizonDOTnet.

Cool Knitting Stuff Wednesdays - Stitch Markers

I am cheating and writing this post really late on Tuesday night and will post tomorrow. I'd like to tout the wonder and usefulness of the humble stitch marker. Stitch markers are quite simply items that go onto your needle between stitches to hold a place and mark the end of a row, pattern repeat, or when you've cast on 100 stitches and don't want to count them any more.

The truly fabulous thing about stitch markers, in my little book, is that there are so many shapes, colors, and styles that everyone can find a knitting decoration to bring them joy on every round. Stitch markers range from cheapy plastic rings and those dinky rubber bands that go on kids' braces to millefiori, glass work, and beads to name a few. My favorite stitch markers were a custom job from Etsy.com:

I'm such a egomaniac, but at least I know which shawl is mine. I particularly like shops that provide customized stitch markers; wouldn't it be more fun if you were purling 300 stitches across

E-C-A-L-D-I-P-O-O-T-S?

You can also get black sheep, flying pigs, and freshwater pearls, darn near anything you could desire.

As with most of my Cool Knitting Stuff entries, you can get stitch markers damn near anywhere and even make your own. My Etsy recommendations are shops that I've either dealt with or coveted deeply and heard good things from knitting acquaintances: Dragonlady Designs, Zero Markers, & See Jayne Knit Yarns. Go forth and purchase, my good people.

In other news, I will be extending my Wednesday repertoire to include yarn and book reviews because, frankly, I'm running out of cool gadgets to talk about. Of course, if anyone would like to send me something to review, I'm not above being bought trying new things.

I Didn't Forget...

Does anyone remember the What Would You Do To Your Becka contest? I do, though I admit I lost track of it momentarily. I am happy to report that Trek, as the only entrant in the contest, is our winner! Unfortunately, Stinker has already nosed the good stuff and has made Becka unavailable to anyone with allergies. Trek, please email me your address and if there's anything in particular that you'd like!

No Yarn Left Behind

I could not get to sleep last night, so I got some organizing done. Insomnia + Headlamp = Yarn Sortin' Fun! I won't flash my stash just now, but I will tell you that I have twenty-four pairs of future socks dancing around in my little plastic hutch. This does not include all my sock leavings, which is not a small collection.


As these sock yarns start new careers as toes, heels, or on to other folks making blankets or other projects, I have decided to start cataloging the yarns I have known and loved and to keep a bit for posterity in the form of teeny-tiny key chain socks, marked with brand, name, and color on a metal-edged key label.

Knit Picks Sock Garden "Zinnia", Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock "Tahoe", Mountain Colors Bearfoot "Juniper",

Koigu KPPPM "Orange F", and Knit Picks Gloss "Burgundy"

They are super cute and super fast to knit, and give me something to remember the socks that have gone on to friends and family, perhaps worn out in the heels. I'll also have something to grope on when I start buying yarn again and am overwhelmed with the choices available.

Stinker-rific Picture of the Day:

I'm not sure if she's sneezing or yawning, but it's damn cute either way. I have chemo tomorrow, so I can't guarantee a Cool Knitting Stuff Wednesday, but I'll certainly try. Happy knittings!