Jan 1, 2008

There is a popular book about people you will meet in heaven. There are many times in my life when I wonder if “This” IS heaven, and we are wasting effort looking to a future that is now. From that idea came this list of people I met in 2007:

There was the couple in Buffalo who had moved from NE, who were very neighborly and friendly. From the woman I was reminded to open my heart to people’s good motives instead of their bad.

From the frail elderly male patient who was an absolute curmudgeon because he thought the Great Implosion was near and he was glad he would die before it happened. At the same time he wanted a woman president because “it takes a heart to stop a war”. Also, even though the world was going down the drain, he felt he had lived a good life because he had worked hard, raised 4 children who grew up to marry good people, and were raising good children of their own. Which is how change can be made in the world. From him I received a lesson in passion and hope.

From the 92 year young woman who had thrown the marriage license out the car window after going to the courthouse because she had doubts, and went on 67 years actively married to the chap, I learned about persistence and humour.

From a co-worker who was battling a terrible disease and narrowed down what was important to him, consequently providing peace and strength, I took away a sense of perspective.

From the internet blogger who was buffeted by triple tornadoes of a ruptured brain aneurysm, a mother unable to care for herself, and downsizing just as she was faced with 2 houses in a soft market (Mom’s and her own) I gained both a demonstration of intestinal fortitude and permission to eat ice cream for dinner.

From the assignment that gave me literal nightmares I learned a complex lesson in Selflessness, Selfishness, and Self Centeredness. There were two beautiful examples of women who would work until they dropped, help you with anything, and strived to act with integrity whether they liked you or not. There was one who did everything she could to get all that she could, even if she had to stab you to do it. Alternatively, there was one who did what she could to get out of things, but from a sense how things revolved around her not from a hardened heart. And many examples of the takers being rewarded from above while the givers were criticized and written up. From this group I learned which category I am, by discovering that I was willing to do anything to help those who would help me and didn’t give two figs about those who wouldn’t.

From the 37 year old child who attracted crap into her life and yet slid out of situations like a charmed devil I learned to forgive myself for mistakes I made when I was young and immature; and to be profoundly grateful that I outgrew that period of my life. I also felt pity for those people who lived and worked with me then. Yikes!

From a Shabbot Service I experienced a glimpse of inner peace. A moment where I felt with a certainty that had I died on the way home I could have let go of life. Not that I’m in a hurry.

From TAO I received demonstrations in patience, love, and being known better than my own eyes can see. And the gift of a future filled with laughter and hope.

Addiction

The First of the Twelve
-Or-
I just posted my Stash to Ravelry

I knew not what havoc I wreaked. Now I have the Awareness. G-d gives me the Strength, the Perseverance. Not even ONE skein of kitchen cotton. I swear. I understand now that I am powerless in the presence of yarn and how that need, nay, addiction has torn at the threads of my life and the people I care about. I did not realize how Knitting deprived my husband of power tools and my son of videogames, nor how many times they suffered from Pizza for dinner as I completed “just one more row.” I was seduced into thinking that having handmade gifts for Baby and Bridal showers was important. I understand now my error.

Unaware of the betrayal of environment, I blithely attended guild meetings, retreats, and Ravelry. No longer! I see how proximity led to inappropriate behaviours, such as Stashing, Starting new projects, and ultimately to UFOs. Just as I would guard my family from the influence of inappropriate friends, so shall I guard myself from “Mystery Stoles, “KALs”, Swaps and the annual bus ride to the fiber festival.

Fulfillment will be found in activities more appropriate than Knitting. I shall find, instead, Serenity in the cleared spaces of my home. Focus with renewed Clarity on vacuuming, dusting and tidying up after my Son. I shall feel the breeze of the dryer vent as I do my Husband’s laundry and be soothed. No longer will I sit in the stands at a game and knit, my Energy will be focused on the complexities of endless waiting in cars and doctor offices, and in this focus I will find Patience.

At this moment to I promise to form a Shetland Spider Web of Support to help me when I waver. I will call out for Help. I will reach out to hands that will pull me from temptations. I will look to other when my own Strength wavers.

What do you mean insurance won’t cover Addiction Therapy? Hell, I’ll meet you at the Yarn Store.

Sanity Saver

In a blatant rip off from Chelle I am posting my Sanity Saver:

Super Sticky Post it Notes. They are great for charted knitting or for complex instruction marking. One sticky went through the November Muse shawl and the Lopi Cardigan. It is currently marking the chart for Ene's Scarf. Yes, the same sticky. Yes, with line by line moving. See why it's a Sanity Saver?

Word of warning: should you buy the pack with more than one pad in it, do not leave the extra one unguarded in a desk drawer where your husband will treat these expensive gems as the usual cheap note jotters, because if said person were to leave one attached to a wood desk for an extended period of time, it will pull the varnish off. So put these away with your lace charted books, or tuck it in with the complex sock patterns. Do NOT stick to items that may be easily marred such as leather, your dash, or the cat. I do put my charts in a cheap sheet protector and use the sticky on the outside because it will pull colour off the photocopy. This makes reknitting or matching pairs difficult and makes the sticky not as (sticky that is.)

Whew!

So I crawled into Knitty Couture on a powerful mix of frustration, exhaustion and grievance. They totally understood when I said I just came to be soothed by the colours and even offered to let me swatch some cashmere since I had no knitting with me. (The fact that I was knitless tells you the level of my distress.) After sitting awhile - no I did not cry, (it was close though). And maybe eating a cranberry pistachio biscotti and a chocolate pretzel I felt much better.

This is my birthday gift to myself. I also picked up a book that will remain unnamed and unpriced in case TAO reads this. This treasure will NOT be schlepped around the country. It will be treated reverently and stored carefully at home to be read as one reads the Siddur.
The yarn is Claudia Silk Lace 20/2 in Woodland Moss. 1100 yds. And I've already cast on an ambitious project. The project was confusing and I was glad to see other peoples notes about it on Ravelry.

As previously noted here is the right front of Lillian. I had cast on the sleeve and knit about 24 rows when I found another errata in the pattern and had to rip it back. This project may sit in a closet when it's done.

There probably will be little knitting and little posting in the next few weeks. I am wrapping up an assignment and faced with a complex schedule which includes among other things being scheduled to work 60 hours and take 4 days of call the last week of the assignment, including the night before I have to turn in the keys to the apartment in a move out condition. I have a day off 9 days before I have to be moved out but it's too cold to load my car that far in advance. So I am decidedly fretful.

Since I may not be actually knitting I plan to think about knitting while schlepping stuff down 2 flights of stairs. This includes mapping out my Stash Knit Down 2008 that I joined in Ravelry and my Socks from Stash KAL. Neither of these are diets they are about enjoying what you already have and work well with my travelling lifestyle since I can pack the projects. The snag I run into with that method though, is I'll decide the project, pack it, and then after I've knit some of it decide it's wrong and go hareing off looking for a different project to use with it. Which works only if I pack some extra patterns.

On a brighter note, the poor TAO called on Monday after a harrowing and expensive day (new garage doors and a plumber are involved). Later that evening I read a passage by Dorothy L. Sayers to wit: "I'm only trying to tell you, in the nicest possible manner, that provided I were with you, I shouldn't greatly mind being deaf, dumb, halt, blind and imbecile, afflicted with shingles and whooping-cough, in an open boat without clothes or food, with a thunderstorm coming on. But you're being painfully stupid about it." Yeah, that sums it up. Good to have that in your life.

BTW - Unlike most canvas totes that are very narrow and rectangular on the bottom, the Elizabeth Zimmermann one is almost square and consequently more useful for yarn in my mind. If you are going to order from SchoolHouse Press add one for yourself, or if you go by Knitty Couture make sure to look at it.

I hope everyone has a Peace-filled and Merry Christmas. (Ps. Please send some Divinity)

Oatmeal

Personally I think this stuff looks like oatmeal. But the ladies at the lunch table assure me that they like the colour and would love to give it a home.
It's knit from my stash with one complete ball and most of a second (partial) ball of Furz. Not as a serious bbrrr-cold-outside-scarf, but as a toss-around-the-neck to ward off indoor drafts scarf. It is buttery soft and delectable to the skin.

I now have more neck to cover. After all this careful growing out of the hair, which I have to pin up to work, and when I wear it down I look like Sigmund the sea monster. I was on my physical therapy roller today, and yes, you see this coming, rolled right onto my hair. So as I lay there with 150lbs holding me to the floor I decided this was the last straw. Into the bathroom with the scissors, out of the bathroom minus 5 inches. Much better. Still long enough to pull up for work, but short enough it won't get stuck under my purse strap.

I have finished the right front of Lillian, but it's not blocked yet. So that leaves the sleeves and sewing up. But I am in the start-itis stage right now. Sigh. And it's time to start packing again. Actually not really packing, but paring down, eating the pantry, figuring out the next trips projects and books, etc etc. Also, TAO got me a Terabyte My Book for my birthday, so I am trying to organise my back up files and such. This is rather messy because my backup files are on two 250GB drives with some duplicates. Another opportunity to focus on Enough.

I did sign up for the online weight loss thingy. And they are currently running an incentive whereby if you lose 5 lbs or more they will pay $5 per pound. Yarn money! Craftlilly asked about the veggie testing. It doesn't include potatos,corn, onions, cucumbers, tomatos, peppers, or starches. Think salad bar, greens, cruciferious. Think free point foods with high B vitamin, high water, high fiber. Yeah. Hard to think svelte when salad sits like a rock in your stomach. I am glad to say I have had salad almost every day for lunch at work and no problems. All in my mind? Maybe, but I can live with mind power.

Fem Shui

Yes, you read that right - I am calling upon y'all for some Fem Shui.Fem Shui sounds better than Girl Power, or other glossy magazine crap.
(This is not knitting related).

After the vacation Photo of Pregnant Belly, I took a good hard look in the mirror. Okay. Not so bad, but for health and loathing-of-shopping sake I should lose some weight. So I am thinking about joining an online weightloss group. (that pesky travel thing again). And...I found one that you pay $108.00 for the first 90 days. Wait, wait...

For every day you log in and fill out your exercise/eating log during the initial 90 days, they refund a $1.00 at the end. Since I am a parsimonious person I thought this would be good. In my quest to recoup Yarn Money compliance would be high. And with compliance would come Awareness, and you know the rest of that thought, eh?

Please share what's working for you and why. Thank you.

BTW - I went to a Doctor of Oriental Medicine and had all my supplements and meds allergy tested. Very interesting. Then the next time we did food testing. I learned oodles. Now I am being treated for the foods that don't metabolise well. Examples included wheat, soy, whey, egg whites, and the weirdest...Vegetables. So we started the first sessions with vegetables and I have done so well with eating salads and other things that I always wanted to "like" but just never stomached well. I asked the Doc "Vegetables, who's allergic to vegetables?" She said "apparently enough people that they include it in the test kit." Gotta love it.

The second socklette

So here it is, the second of those cute little Cat Bordhi socks.



Accessorized with a little shawl collar sweater. Made in Knitpicks Bare Sock Yarn for easy washablity. In a neutral colour for the unknown gender. I really wanted to knit it in Red but wasn't certain how weird the parents were about Girl/Boy dressing.

Oh the Fugl-ility of it all.

Yeah, that was cheesy. : )


So I popped Mikado in this weekend and sat down to wrestle this bohemoth into submission. (the sweater, not the machine. The machine is a lovely little lady who always performs perfectly.)
Eventually it got to this part, and then the zipper insertion attempts began. As of today, the zipper is in, and only the handstitching of the insertion is left. Only a few weeks late. But The Adored One can wear it next time I go home.