The Baby Quest Begins

So today is my first day taking the Clomid at a higher dose.  I took the two pills this morning and I’m waiting for horrible side effects to kick in.  So far so good.  Last time I took Clomid (at 1/2 the current dose) I had some moodiness, lost my appetite almost completely and couldn’t sleep for more than an hour or so at a time for the entire five days.  I took it at night last time in hopes of avoiding some of the bitchier side effects.  I paid with sleep.  So we’ll see how this goes.

I’m really feeling anxious about this!  I want to have another baby so badly I can taste it.  Every time I see a baby on TV or a pregnant woman or someone shopping with a newborn I just want to bawl my eyes out.  I’m grateful that I have the wonderful child that I have and I know there are so many women who don’t even have the one who are going through what I am and even worse, but it doesn’t change the visceral reaction I have to seeing these things.

Having the world’s most hellacious period doesn’t help matters, I have to admit.  I was complaining last week about bleeding heavily for over 3 weeks; yeah, let’s go back to that.  This bleeding is MUCH heavier and the cramps are horrible.  It’s almost like VERY mini-labor.  My hip bones feel like they want to pop out…LOL  So I’m in bed (or on couch depending on the time of day) and I’m playing TV, computer, and knitting catch up.  I plan to (read: hope to) finish the Moderne Baby Blanket in the next day or so.  I have block #10 and the border left and I’m done.  Then I have the 2nd 1/2 of Anouk to finish for my friend Lisa’s new baby girl, Ainsley (isn’t that a beautiful name?)  I have to say that Anouk is one of the favorite projects that I’ve done lately.  I love the yarn – Cascade’s Pima Tencel – it’s so soft and the colors are so vibrant.  I’m using the same colors that are used in the pattern and I love it.  I’d like to make another one in the future using some softer colors as well.  I think it would make a pretty little tunic in pastels. We’ll see.

My 52 pair plunge seems to have plunged itself right down the toilet.  I haven’t even finished the first pair.  I’m getting ready to order the replacement needles that I need so that I can get back to work.

We’re getting ready to leave for a week in Pittsburgh tomorrow.  Wondering how that car ride will go with the cramps?  TJ has to work there and we don’t like being apart for a week if we don’t have to.  It’s fun to get a chance to take Jake to different states and for him to see different things.  Doesn’t look like we’ll have a lot of time this time around to go a museum or an aquarium, but I’m sure we’ll find something to do.  We’re staying at one of my favorite hotels: the Hampton Inn.  I gotta tell you that the beds at this hotel are to die for.  OMG…so comfortable.

Gotta run…Jake wants to play War.  It’s his new favorite card game and he’s pretty good at it.  It’s been great for helping him learn numbers and what number is bigger than what other number etc.  Later folks…

Loving the new Fertility Doctor

I had my appointment with the new Fertility Doctor yesterday.  I was so scared going in that I was going to get really bad news.  Not so much!!!  Yay!  We talked about the period that will not end – he said it was annovulatory bleeding and it could go on for a long time.  The solution to it, strange as it may seem, is to make me bleed more.  LOL  He’s given me a Rx for Provera to make me have a “real” period.  That will be followed by 5 days of Clomid, then 4 days of Estrogen and later 10+ days of Progesterone.  He tells me that this cocktail of meds is twice as effective as using Clomid alone.  He also doubled the dose of the Clomid this cycle. So I’m feeling optimistic for the first time in a long time about having another baby.  With my birthday coming up, I can’t think of a better present than a positive on a pregnancy test.  Here’s hoping…

Finished K’s Multi-Directional Scarf finally.  I started it in Feb. of ‘08 when I was in CA. for a visit.  I put it aside for a long time when I got home.  When I realized that I was leaving to go out there again in May of this year, I got it out and started working on it again.  I worked on it while I was out there and hoped to get it done while I was there to give to her, but I didn’t have the time I thought I would for knitting while I was out there, so I didn’t get to finish it before I came home.  Now that it’s done, I’m let down.  I really enjoyed the simplicity of the pattern; made for great TV  knitting.  So now I’m working full time on the Moderne Baby Blanket for my FIL’s girlfriend’s newest granddaughter.  More easy knitting, but as you get to the end parts, each section takes forever.  I’m almost done with block 9 of 10 blocks and then I just have the border to do and it will be off to the baby.  I need to hurry, though, b/c she was born in Feb. so if it’s not done soon, she’ll outgrow it…:)  My sock plunge is really suffering, but I’ve got to get these things done.  It’s my motivation to hurry so I can finish my Coriolis socks.

I’m having a problem with size five needles, though.  It’s like I’m cursed with these.  In the last six months I’ve managed to snap in half one each of two different sets of Harmony Option size 5 tips and one of the Harmony Straights size fives.  Of course all of my current projects: socks, baby blanket, shawl are all being done on fives.  ARGH!!!  Time for a Knit Picks order.

Back from Cali, knitting socks and staying off my feet…fun times!

Been awhile again since my last post.  I don’t know what it is, but I just can’t seem to find the time or the energy for the computer these days for some reason.  I can’t remember the last time I actually checked my email.  If anyone has sent me anything and I haven’t responded, sorry.  I’m more apt to see something you send me on Facebook or Twitter than I am in an email…LOL  Kind of sad, huh?!?!

So I went to California on June 9th and stayed for 3 weeks.  Seeing my mother is always so great for me; if you know me and my mother, though, you also know that it’s a hugely stressful time for both of us.  We are both very strong personalities and we tend to clash in a lot of ways.  There is so much love there, though, that the happy moments always far outweigh the stressful ones.  This trip was about going to see David Cook with my favorite family member in the world, Krista and taking Jake back to Sea World to actually touch the dolphins.  The rest was all up in the air.  Spending time with Krista is always one of my favorite things to do.  We have the sort of relationship where we don’t really have to be doing anything special, we just like to be together.  One of our favorite group activities is, believe it or not, just sitting around with coloring books and colored pencils and coloring.  We both have these stupidly expensive Disney Princess coloring books that have really high quality paper and we guard them jealously, not letting anyone (no, not even Jacob) color in them but us.  Kind of sick, really, but it’s really so much fun to just stop for an hour and do something so simple and so rooted in our childhoods.  Oddly enough,though, neither of us really color at all when we aren’t together.  Krista gave me another new hobby this trip, though.  The Lakers were playing in the NBA championships against the Orlando Magic and K is a HUGE Lakers fan.  So the first night we hung out together game 4 (I think) was on and she said she had to watch it.  Anyone that knows me well at all knows that I’m absolutely not a sports fan in any way, shape or form.  So we got out coloring books and I got out Mom’s laptop and settled in for what I thought would be a boring television event, but still time with K is so rare b/c of the distance, so any time at all is priceless to me.  About halfway through the game, though, I realized that I was watching the TV almost as much as I was reading posts on Ravelry.  By the last five minutes of the game I had put the laptop down and was watching the action raptly.  By the time the final game rolled around a few nights later, I was all about the game.  I cheered and I booed and I jumped up and down.  I was almost hoping the Lakers would lose so that there would be another game.  They didn’t lose, though, and the victory was amazing.  So now I’m a basketball fan. A Laker’s fan at that.  Looking very much forward to pre-season.  Of course, knowing me, it may not last.  We’ll see.  I was a “hockey fan” for awhile when the Wings won their first Stanley Cup in however many long, long years.  That lasted about half of the next season and then I got bored out of my skull with it all (I think I just committed a sacrilege as far as my mother – a RABID Wings fan – is concerned).

I finally got my own copy of New Pathways for Sock Knitters, so I can finish the second Spiraling Coriolis sock.  I’m about 2/3 of the way done with it, maybe a little less.  I got so excited about sock knitting that I joined the 52 Pair Plunge III @ Ravelry.  Of course I haven’t even finished pair #1 so I’m WAY behind…LOL  I think , though, that once I finish the WIPs that are outstanding gifts I owe to people (the Moderne Baby Blanket for Fran’s new granddaughter and the Anouk dress for Lisa’s new baby due any time now) I’ll throw myself a little more into sock knitting.  I’ve just ordered matching sets of fixed circs. from Knit Picks: one each of the Harmony and the Nickle plated in sizes 0-3 (which is actually 6 needles in each material b/c there are 2 different sizes of 1 and 2 b/c of the metric measurements) in the 24″ length.  I was going to just order the sizes in the Harmony wood in the 24″ and 32″ lengths so that I could differentiate easily when using 2 circs (which I really do like for socks) but I thought that the different materials for the tips would make the distinction even easier and I really have found that I like the nickle more than I thought I did.  I have the Options sets in both materials so if I need longer than 24″ needles I’ve got that covered as well.

I love shopping at Amazon, btw.  I just ordered and received the newest version of the Kindle; it was an early birthday gift from my mother.  LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!!  I’ve already got five or six books and several blogs on it.  So nice to have choices in such a slim and light container.  I always want to take something to read with me, but can’t ever decide what so I end up schlepping three or four hard cover books with me on vacations or when I know I’ll be bored for awhile.  Great for choice, but heavy as all hell.  This is much nicer!!  I also ordered a whole slew of knitting books:

• A Treasury of Knitting Patterns Volumes 1 & 2:  I’ve always wanted to have a great stitch dictionary collection and I like these the best so far.  I’m not big on designing things myself – I’m still too chicken to even play too much with changing elements in patterns that I’m following.  Just looking through these books, though, has inspired me a bit.  I found myself thinking ‘that would make a great cuff or edging on a sweater’ or ‘that would be a great cuff or leg pattern for a sock’.  It’s a step in the right direction.  I WILL get braver with my knitting before the end of year.  My goal is to design one thing, no matter how simple it is – maybe I’ll design the scarves I’m planning to make for TJ and Jake this year rather than following a pattern.
• Elizabeth Zimmerman’s  Knitting Workshop, Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Knitting Almanac and Knitting Without Tears:  I’ve  heard so many great things about E.Z. and I thought this would be a great time to “get to know her”.  I thought I ordered The Opinionated Knitter as well, but I guess not.  It’s something for the future.
• Lace Style:  You can never have too many lace knitting books
• A Gathering of Lace:  See above….love the lace knitting!!
• The Intentional Spinner, The Spinner’s Companion and Spin Control:  I’ve been spinning for a little more than a year and a half now and I still kind of feel like I’m working blind.  I can spin a decent yarn but I have very little control as to how it comes out.  I’m still not sure about the different kinds of drafting and how to do them.  I’m in love with spindle spinning, which I feel like I have a lot more control with, and I love my wheel, but I feel like I’m always playing catch up when I’m using the wheel.  I rarely, if ever, get the yarn that I expect to get from it.  I want to learn more and to get better.  I really need a spinning class to get me on the right track.  I need someone to teach me all these different “draws” and how they work and what I’m doing wrong…
• Teach Yourself Visually Hand-dyeing:  I love hand dyeing and another book on it can only be good.
• Sock Innovation:  I’m all about sock knitting these days and I’m a big fan of Cookie A.’s designs even though I’ve never knit one.  The chapters on design are really a big selling point for me.

• Toe Up:  This is the WendyKnits book.  I didn’t actually order this one, I bought it at Barnes N Noble while I was in CA.  I found I really like the toe up method of knitting socks and there are really cute patterns in this book.  I’m looking forward to knitting some of these for the “Plunge”

I’ve had a lot of time to look through my book and play with the Kindle in the last few weeks.  Here’s a big TMI warning if you don’t want to know more than you ever dreamed about my cycles and periods….

H

E

R

E

I

T

C

O

M

E

S

I’ve been undergoing the very beginning of fertility treatments since late March.  50 mg. of Clomid from days 3-7 of the cycle.  Only did one cycle and it didn’t work.  I got my period 50 days into the Clomid cycle and it started with spotting that lasted for almost 2 weeks, which was annoying but tolerable.  When I was out in CA the real period finally started and was heavy (which I expect) and irritating – it got bad the same day as the David Cook concert, of course – but it wasn’t unbearable.  Now that I’m three weeks into this period and I’m bleeding like a stuck pig half the time with HUGE clots and not bleeding at all the other half, I’m irritated.  It’s gotten to the point where I have to stay in bed or on the couch most of the time b/c any real activity or straining myself makes the bleeding horrible.  For example I got out of bed on the 4th to hang out at the bonfire in the yard b/c my mother-in-law and TJ’s Aunt Nancy were there.  Just sitting out there, walking around and playing with Jake a bit was the most I did and when I got back inside I ended up having to change my pajama bottoms twice in 30 minutes.  I’ve been feeling dizzy, foggy headed, crampy and just plain yucky since this started.  Saw the doctor today, had an ultra sound and am going to meet with a new fertility specialist tomorrow morning.  So nervous!!  I am terrified that I’m going to find out that I can’t have another baby and that would break my heart.  TJ and I are not necessarily in agreement about fertility treatments.  I’m all about doing whatever it takes to have another child and TJ isn’t sure if he’s on board for getting really into the infertility treatments.  He’s terrified by the though of higher level multiples and he’s afraid that my body won’t deal well with “forcing” pregnancy.  IVF is still a long way away, I hope, but he’s so against the thought and while it’s not my first choice for a way to have a baby, if it’s my only option, I’m totally on board with it.  This is going to be a long process, and it’s going to take a lot of talking and figuring out what is important to us and what our priorities when it comes to family are.  I’m scared!

96 Yards of Handspun lace/fingering weight

I just finally (I actually finished spinning and plying the yarn in December) skeined up and finished the singles that were left after spinning and plying my Girl Insane top.  The colors in the top were light to medium pinks, shades of grey to black, light to dark purples and white. (Don’t have a picture of the top, so here’s the link to the original listing in etsy: Girl Insane Top.  I split the colors into lights and darks, spun the singles fairly thin (I’m still terrible about figuring out things like what drafting method I used or how many twists per inch etc.) and then plied the two together.  It came out really pretty.  When I was through, I had just under 100 yards of singles left from the dark batch, so I skeined it and finished it tonight – it’s drying right now.  Pictures to follow once it’s dry and I get off my lazy ass and take the pics.

Any suggestions on what to do with just about 100 yards of light fingering to heavy lace singles?  I’m stumped, but this came out so pretty that I want to use it.  I thought about plying it with itself after it finishes drying, but then I’ll only have 50 or so yards and I know there’s not a lot I can do with that.  Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

The Coriolis socks are coming out beautifully.  I’m back on track after the frogging incident and I’m really enjoying these socks.  I’m going to buy the book (I’ve had it out of the library for two renewals now and I don’t want to keep it out of the hands of others who might want to read it) before I leave for CA (on Tuesday) and work on the last sock on the plane ride.  It seems like a good, portable project for the plane.  It’s either that or my Clapotis and that thing is pretty big and bulky for a plane ride at this point.

As for my two baby gift projects:  I’ve hit a wall with the Moderne Baby Blanket as the book is still packed up in a box somewhere in this house (I swear we’ll never be fully moved in) and I was able to find the pattern as a freebie through Ravelry, but it’s a scan of the book and doesn’t include the border, so until I find the book I’m kind of stuck.  I know I could just come up with my own border, but I’m just not feeling that creative with this one.  I draw a blank whenever I try to think of a good border pattern for this…again, suggestions are welcome and appreciated.  The Anouk pattern is coming along nicely.  The baby it’s for is due in July and I’ve got the first half done and am ready to start on the second.  The first went really quickly so I’m hoping the second will be as swift.  These are the only projects I plan to bring on the trip, along with some needlepoint that I’ve been working on for awhile on and off.  I figure if I don’t have many choices I can’t get caught up in “startitis” and might actually finish a few things on time…

Adventures in Sock Knitting

Sock knitting has been one of the things that I’ve always been most intrigued as well as most intimidated by since I learned to knit.  I’ve tried to knit a simple sock on a few occasions and have failed rather spectacularly.  I’ve always been terrified at the thought of a toe up sock – the top down was more than difficult enough for me.  So I got this New Pathways for Sock Knitters book out of the library a few months ago (I’ve renewed it twice now; I really need to buy my own copy) to check it out.  I was so impressed with the Coriolis sock that I was emboldened to try it even though I was sure I was going to fail just as horribly as I have in the past.  I did the practice sock since I hadn’t knit on 2 circs before and even though I’ve done several things with Magic Loop, I didn’t want to deviate from the instructions at all since I knew I was going to be intimidated enough to begin with.

I used Socks that Rock Medium Weight in the color Hot Flash which I bought as a gift for a friend (I was going to knit her something with it) that I never got around to doing.  I thought the color was WAY too pink and bright and I really didn’t like it much – until I wound it and realized that it was actually a gorgeous color.  I started a pair of Monkey socks with the yarn, but frogged it when I decided to try the Coriolis socks.  I decided to use the Spiraling Coriolis master pattern and got started.

What I’ve discovered is that toe-up socks are much easier for me than their top-down counterparts and that sock knitting is not the frightening concept that I thought it was.  It took me about two weeks of working a few hours a night to finish sock #1.  The biggest problem I had was binding off in a way that made the sock go over my foot.  After tearing out several different B.O. methods, I settled on Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Sewn Bind-off, and that worked for me.  I just finished the heel turn on the second sock (no “second sock syndrome” here) and I’m hoping to have the pair done before I leave in a few weeks for three weeks in CA with Jake, visiting my mother and going to the David Cook concert (which I’m so excited about I’m like a 14 year old teeny-bopper….mmmm….David Cook).

The thing that I found most intimidating was the short rows with the wrap and turn and then concealling the wraps as well.  I think I’ve finally mastered it, though, or at least it’s not so scary for me.  I think the heel turn is my favorite part of sock knitting; there’s something magical about it to me.  I simply love sock knitting and now I completely understand why there are people who are so obsessed with it.  I love having a project that is small enough to take anywhere, yet interesting enough to keep my mind occupied.

What I really need to do is to get back to spinning.  I look at my wheel every day and I never seem to find the time or energy to pull out fiber and spin.  I think I’ll take the wheel with me to CA.  I’m sure I’ll find time at Mom’s house to get some spinning done.  I have some great bamboo batts from Loop that are deep brown, scarlet red and amber colored bamboo in layers.  I have 15 oz. of it and I think I’d like to spin it to fingering weight in a 2 ply and then make a shawl for myself out of it.  We’ll see how that goes since I’ve never spun bamboo before.  Maybe I should grab some bamboo in a single color that I don’t love as much as these batts and give it a go first.  Any hints/tips on spinning bamboo would be appreciated.

Life keeps on going…

Lame title for a post, but I was kind of at a loss.  Melly is still holding on.  She’s having more and more trouble breathing, but the vet said that with death due to respiratory issues there is very rarely any pain for the animal and that there is no reason for us not to let her stay here at home with us until it’s over unless we wanted to bring her in for our convenience.  Just putting her in the box to take her to the vet has always been a trauma for her so it’s the last thing I want to do to her.  Just came back upstairs from checking on her and it seems like she’s doing worse today.  Her breathing is accentuated with little growly/purr-y sounds and she’s stopped eating and drinking completely.  So now I’m rethinking my keep her at home theory…this is really difficult, a lot more so than it was with Corky.  With Corky it was so clear that we had to do something to help him stop hurting, with Melly it’s not quite as clear.  TJ and I will have to have a long talk about this tonight and decide what is best for Melly.  At this point what’s best for me, us, whatever isn’t even an issue, I’m only concerned with making the right decision for Mel.  I’ll update as decisions are made or situations change.

The sucky ass economy has finally touched us personally.   TJ’s hours at work just got cut from 40 to 32.  It will be nice to have him at home more, but we’ll definitely feel the loss of the income.  Thank God it won’t be in a a way that effects things like where we live or heating  etc. but eating out is now a thing of the past and so is shopping etc.  That sounds really selfish, though.  There are so many people who are being effected in ways that are much worse than not being able to eat out or go shopping etc.

We did do some shopping this week – but it’s necessary shopping.   We bought a new bed.  YAY!!  Having the Sleep Number bed for the last few years has been like sleeping in hell.  I heard so many good things about it in terms of helping with back issues, and I guess that it did help my back, but it really sucked for my marriage.  We have the king sized one with the split mattress since we thought that there would be a vast difference in our “sleep numbers”.  Ironically, our numbers are almost the same.  The way the sleep number bed is set up, there is an air bladder surrounded by foam  in each of the mattresses and then there is another mattress that goes on top of the air bladder mattress.  It gives you the choice of latex foam (which is very plush and soft) or memory foam (which is a bit firmer and what I’m a sucker for).  You push the whole thing together and put a sheet over it.  Having a king sized bed was great, for a week or so.   While my back was in agony, none of the issues really reared their heads.  There was no way I was going to have sex while I couldn’t even move well on my own; even cuddling wasn’t something I wanted to do.  Once I started getting better, though, problems galore:  The only comfortable place to sleep is right in the middle of each mattress, on the air bladder part.  So there is foam and a space and more foam between me and TJ.  The space between the mattresses grows constantly and the only way for TJ and I to cuddle is for one of us to sleepin the “the crack” or to share the equivilant of a twin bed.  Neither is a viable choice, to be honest.  It really wasn’t until we went on vacation for Thanksgiving and stayed at hotels where we could actually sleep next to each other that I really realized how awful it was to have to sleep “alone” all this time.  When we got home and moved the bed to the new house, I felt so alone in bed.  We might as well have been sleeping in seperate twin beds ala Lucy and Ricky Ricardo.  So we gave in an dwent to Art Van this week and bought a new bed.  It’s a regular inner spring mattress with memory foam and latex foam in the pillow top.  We lay on it for about a half hour to make sure it was comfortable and Jake ran around the store (we were the only people in the store, so they didn’t seem to mind him).  We’re in process of picking out a bedroom set as well – we’ve lived without one since we left Lake City 2 years ago and I’m tired of it.  I want a “real” bedroom set; a real place to fold my sweaters and keep my underwear etc.  I want a “real” house.

On the knitting front:  I have three projects OTN right now (that’s not true exactly.  If you look at my WIP basket, I have A LOT Of projects OTN).  that have to be done ASAP.  The Moderne Baby Blanket is for a baby that’s going to be born tomorrow so I have to get that done as soon as I can.  I’ve also got TJ’s hat and scarf going.  All three things are time sensitive and all three things are boring as hell.  The things I HAVE to get done are all mindless knitting.  I have the Monkey socks (which were supposed to be the only thing I worked on until they were done; that went really well) but they aren’t time sensitive.  You would think that the mindless knitting would go fast since they’re mindless, but even though I don’t have to think about what I’m doing, I still have to do it and it still takes forever to do…ARGH!!!

Boring Day but a lot was accomplished.

I have a kitchen again!!!  YAY!  It’s not totally done, it still needs a new floor and cupboards/drawers etc. but the basics are in and working.  I have a single bowl sink with a removable faucet to help clean dishes.  The refrigerator is in the kitchen and running well.  The dishwaher, while looking kind of ugly without the counter top that one normally sees over it, is running well without leaking.  TJ and my FIL tell me that tomorrow night I should have my washer and dryer as well as sink basin down the basement fully functional.

My knitting has kind of taken a beating these last few days.  I did finish the Twist wrist warmer that was suppsed to complete the pair for my mother who now tells me she doesn’t know where the original is and can I please make yet another one.   G00d thing Malabrigo has a decent sized skein and this pattern doesn’t seem to use a ton of it. There’s enough left.

I ordered a bunch of Knit Picks Shine Sport last night to make the Moderne Baby Blanket from Mason/Dixon knitting.  I’m using the colors Blush, Silver Sage, Green Apple, and Willow.  All very lightish shades that I think the pink will stand out against, but not too much.  I didn’t want to do anything too traditionally girly.  I also ordered the yarn for the Anouk pattern from Knitty in the same brand and same colors that are reccomended.  It seemed like a rather non-traditional kind of gift and it will serve more than one purpose.  If it’s too big to be a dress for the new baby, the older girl who is three could probably wear it as a top for awhile first.  I love clothes like that, especially baby clothes, that can serve multi-purposes.  YAY!!

I’m planning a knit night here in the next month.  Going to look at a calendar now…brb…Maybe Feb. 3rd or 4th or else the 10th or 11th.  I’ll leave that up to the girls to decide.  Shelly said that she would attend and I couldn’t be more excited about that.  Maybe I can even convince Andrea to come down for a few days to be a part of things…we’ll see.  I’m not really sure what to serve, bring etc. to this thing.  I was thinking some pumpernicle and spinach dip b/c it’s always cool to eat the food container.  Definitely a selection of wines and some beers; a few mixies etc. along with juice, iced tea, coffee, tea, and soda.  That should keep everyone happy.  I’ll bake some bread and put out butter and I’ll leave the rest to chance.  I hope we have our love seat by then.  Otherwise we’ll be using the coffee table as well as the couches and recliners.  I just want everyone to be happy and to have a good time here.  I miss hanging out and knitting with the gang but feel like I’m a bit out of step with everyone.  ARGH!!!

I’ve picked the pattern for my CamelSpin yarn.  I can’t remember what it’s called, but it’s a VERY simple triangular shawl with eyelettes and that’s about it.  I wanted something that wasn’t too fussy nor too lacy and I want to feel the softeness all around me every time I wrap myself in it – which will be often.  Later, when I can afford to buy more, I’ll make myself a HUGE Clapotis style wrap for laying on the couch with…without the drops, of course.

That’s about it.  Nothing new to report except I might have to maim my child if he doesn’t stop asking to come and sleep next to me.  It’s been a real bitch getting him to sleep in his own bed these last few weeks.  We’ve moved his mattress right next to our blow up bed (we still have to get our bed unpacked and put back together) and that’s not good enough anymore.  Now it’s all about wanting to be right up against me while he sleeps.  UGH!!!  I adore him and I want to be with him all the time, of course, but how will I ever have another baby with him in the bed with us anytime we enter this room.  Babysitters are the key, I think.  Someone to watch him so we have time to work on baby #2…LOL

Home again, Home again…

So we’re back at our house now, the blue house if officially a thing of the past.  I ended up sleeping there last night as well; we figured out that there was a day or so more than we thought and I wasn’t going to watch TJ work himself to death going back and forth after midnight with the snow blowing and him being awake since 4 am.  So he came back here, Jake went to his Unkie and Katiebugs house and I stayed at the blue house so that if we were wrong, they wouldn’t be able to lock us out.  Needless to say, things went smoothly, no one came to change locks etc. and we’re all moved out.  It took some doing and a lot more time than we thought, but we also have a TON more stuff than I thought.  We have over 80 boxes in this house of different sizes.  There is almost nowhere to walk in the living room, we have to kind of manuever around things, pretty funny.  We have a plan to open and get through at least 2 boxes a day.  It will still take awhile that way, but we won’t feel overwhelmed and there is no rule saying we can’t open MORE boxes in a day.

On the knitting front:  Not much.  I’ve finished the thumb gusset on the Twist Wrist warmers.  Not much knitting last night, I watched the rest of season 2 of Dr. Who in bed and, I have to admit, reveled in the alone-ness and quietness of it all.  Even with the stress of having to move, it was nice to be all alone for one final night.  So I’m planning to finish that up in the next day or so.  Total side note:  I’m really LOVING this project on the DPN’s.  I think I’ll have to rethink my Magic Loop only policy for small things over a size U.S. 4 (I have all harmony or options interchangable needles right now, so anything under a size US 4 is not a possibility for me, unless I dig into the addis, so I guess I really could do M.L. with any size needle.  There is no point to this thought, but I’m not going to delete it…LOL).  I really do prefer the 5 needle method that I’m using with the Monkey socks over the 4 needle method that I’m using for the wirst warmers.  I know I could have easily added the extra needle and worked out the number of stitches for each, but I really wanted to be kind of mindless while I did this, so I didn’t bother.  The Malabrigo color is so pretty…I can’t remember the exact name of it, but Amore is in the name and it’s shades of red, mostly deep.  I think it might be possible to get two pairs of mitts out of the one skein, but it may be deceptive.  The ball still seems pretty big, but I think I’m going to have to rewind it through my fishing line measuring thing to find out how many yards I have left.  I’ll bet it’s a lot less than I think.

On the spinning front:  I haven’t done any.  LOL  The Girl Insane yarn is done, though (link to a picture in Ravelry to follow).  It’s been hanging in the bathroom since Sat. night, so it’s obviously dry.  Tomorrow I’ll measure the wpi and photograph skeins.  I’m excited to have my first spinning project of the year done!!  I have the feeling that it’s going to be a heavy sport or light worsted yearn.  I was hoping for something a bit finer, but it seems that I can only acheive seriously fine singles, or plied yarn for that matter, with my spindles.  Speaking of which, I really need to get a plying spindle sometime soon.  My next project is to navajo ply the singles for spirogyra and hope that I get the 13wpi I’m looking for.  The singles are about 28-30 wpi and I think I read that you should plan for twice or a little more wpi for the final wpi you’re looking for in a Navajo ply.  I hope I’m right.  Once that’s done, I still have the other half to pre-draft (as called for in the pattern instructions for the spinning portion), spin and ply before I start the mitts.  It will be my first planned fiber to finish project.  I have the camel/merino mitts that I’ve started knitting, but I didn’t have a plan for the fiber when I spun it.  Come to think of it, I need to take care of that as well…finishing the second mitt.  LOL

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the very last day we can be at the blue house…Tomorrow is so soon and there are still three rooms to pack up…argh!!  This tooth-ache has really been rather inconvenient.  I’m here alone for the last night, which is kind of fitting, I guess.  Jake is at Unky’s house playing and TJ went back to the new house b/c he has to work in the morning and it’s so much closer from there.

It seems like a lot to do, but the sorting is minimal, everything just needs to be boxed up here and I’ll go through all of it when we’re back at the new house.  I’m surprised at the number of boxes that have already come out of this house and the knowledge that there will be tons more after our bedroom w/bathroom and closet, Jake’s bedroom and the craft room are emptied.  It will definitely take at least 3 van trips (one of them will just be the bed, though, b/c it takes up the entirety of the back of the van.  While TJ moves the bed, I’ll work on packing the rest of the bedroom and the bathroom/closet.  Then I can work on Jake’s room and the craft room (which is mostly done) while TJ is dropping off that load.  It will all get done if I just get off my butt and do it.  I was going to do some packing tonight, but I was watching Dr. Who on Netflix Instant Watch feature (Netflix is the death of me when I find a show I really like on there.  I do love there watch instantly option, though) and I lost track of time.  I’m not going strictly in order, I keep jumping back from the Martha year to the Rose years (I much prefer David Tennent in the role).  I’ve already watched all of the Donna year that is this season.  Okay, I’m babbling about the show again.  This is how I always am when I discover a new show that I like.  When I finally discovered that I like House (about 6 months ago) I spent all my tv time downloading and watching episodes of the show.  I have all 96 episodes available through Amazon.com right now.  Pity on not big on re-watching shows unless I’ve forgotten all the key elements.  Not so with House yet.  Anyway…

I’m making real progress with the A Little Twist wrist warmers.  I’m through the wrist and have started the increasing for the thumb gusset.  If I could just stay away from “computer breaks” and watch TV on the computer (which I actually prefer to watching TV even with DVR lately) and knit, I could have finished the project by now and be back on the socks.

I’ve finally decided on my first garment knit.  I’m putting it out here so I don’t change my mind again.  It’s pretty, it doesn’t look super hard, but it does look like a lot of  hard work went into it, IMO.  The Bohus-Inspired Pullover from the book Knit So Fine.  When I first saw the pattern in the book I thought it was kind of cute, but it didn’t really strike my fancy.  I took a really good look at it tonight and how the color graduating like that is achieved, simple yet effective, and decided that it would be a great first sweater.  I read through the whole pattern and it convinced me.  I’m going to have to figure out what yarn I want to use and order some in the appropriate colors.  I have a few other things on my to knit list first, though.  For example,  I think the winter wear for Jake and TJ should be first on the list of “to knit”.  In fact, once the Malabrigo arrives, those projects will trump even the Monkey Socks b/c of need and time restraints.  You can always where STR made socks, but winter only lasts for a short while and I don’t want to see all that gorgeous, soft Malabrigo locked up for the winter before it even has a chance to shine.  I still have to pick patterns for the hats and scarves for the boys.  I’m not sure if I want to do something matching or give them each completely different hats and coats.  I know that I’m going to make the hats fairly simple…no big texture or color work involved there.  When it comes to the scarves, though, I was thinking that they needed something other than a plain garter stitch or stockinette stitch scarf.  I asked TJ if it would be okay if I found a cable pattern for his scarf and he was surprisingly not just accepting, but kind of seemed to really like the idea.  I’ll find something equally nice, and warm for little Jakie’s head as well.  Since Jake’s projects will be smaller, I think I’m going to also make him some little gloves to keep his hands warm and dry for a little while.

Reverse needle snobbery

This seems like a fairly simple statement, and I guess it is. I’ve had a kind of reverse needle snob thing happen to me tonight. When I first started teaching myself to knit, I bought the most inexpensive aluminum needles that Michael’s had to offer. When I realized that I was going to like knitting and want to continue at it, I went back and bought needles in every size in the assorted color metal (aluminum, I believe) kind. This was before I knew anything at all about the world of knitting; I was such a “babe in the woods” that I had spent the whole 15 years of my crocheting career thus far using the acrylic yarns that I could buy from Michael’s, Hobby Lobby, Meijer’s, Wal-Mart etc. I thought, when I discovered TLC Brand Amore (the boucle yarn in gorgeous colors that they have), that I had discovered the pinnacle of yarn. It was fuzzy, but not like those eyelash yarns that I saw there that scared me so much, and it was so soft and the skeins were 6 oz. (didn’t yet think in terms of yards). I had hit the fiber jackpot here. Okay, that was a bit of a tangent, and I still do really like that yarn for a quickly knitted or more likely crocheted (I still much prefer to get out the hooks than then needles when it’s a blanket that I’m going to be working on) blanket where you just work mindlessly back and forth until it’s as long as you want it. Back to my point, though…

Right after I managed to put together a few decent rows of knits and purls; my first scarf was barely off the needles, I decided that what I really wanted to do with my knitting was to knit socks. That seemed like the pinnacle of knitting to me. Who doesn’t want hand knitted socks? So I did sock knitting research and my next purchase were double pointed needles in the same multi-colored metal as the straights. I wasn’t even going to touch those crazy circular needles at this point. That happened when I bought the Denise set on Ebay (A descent into the madness that is an obsession with having the best working interchangeable set out there…I’m still waiting for the Addi set…again I digress). So now I have these needles and yet I somehow never try the sock knitting. The DPN’s, I find, are quite long and pointy and seem really frightening somehow. Nope, I think to myself, I don’t want to mess with those. Then I got the Denise set and I swore that I wasn’t going to mess with those DPN’s. I could learn 2 circs. or Magic Loop and I wouldn’t have to worry at all. Next I discovered the wonder that is bamboo needles instead of the metal ones. Hallelujah!! So much easier to work with – things stopped always sliding off. So I bought a huge mixed lot of bamboo needles on Ebay not long after I tried my first one. In the lot were a few pairs of bamboo DPNs. I put them aside until a project came up that I, for some reason, didn’t have the circs. to use; maybe it was something knitted on needles smaller than a U.S. size 4. I don’t know why I can’t remember what the project was. It’s driving me nuts…I’m sure I’ll wake up in the middle of the night (it is the middle of the night) and remember it…I’ll write it down. Anyway, I dug out the DPNs, screwed up my courage, did a bunch of reading of websites and went to Knitting Help a half a dozen times to watch it done, and then I finally cast on for that mystery project. Long story short, after some initial wrangling, swearing, throwing balls of yarn etc., I discovered that I really liked knitting on DPNs. For awhile I found small little things I could make using the DPNs, I knit a lot of hats and put the stitches on DPNs before they really needed to be b/c I’m a dork like that. J

Time moved on and I got better at different techniques, but I never did knit those socks. I tried on the DPNs once, but it was an unmitigated disaster. The pattern was Jaywalkers by Grumperina and I don’t remember exactly what happened, but it was bad. I moved on and used mostly Magic Loop if I had to do anything with a small circumference. I don’t think I ever really got over my fear of DPNs. I loved using them to end projects or even work in the middle, but I stayed away from small things that needed to start with a small number of stitches, or I used the long circular for them. I ordered the Knit Picks Harmony sock knitting DPN kit and I’m working on the Monkey socks, which has lessened my fear of both small DPNs and sock knitting, which is good. So I’m working on the second A Little Twist wrist warmer for my mother and I don’t have a cable with my Options sets that is long enough to Magic Loop that hasn’t had the cable come unattached from the little silver housing. No Magic Loop this time. So I dug out the old box I had put all my DPNs in during an organization kick; I wasn’t going to be using them, after all, so why not put them up? I grabbed the bamboo needles in the right size and got out the yarn. The biggest annoyance I had with the DPNs came rushing back to me: The yarn always “stuck” to the needles and I had to take the time to push everything along constantly. I worked through the first pattern repeat this way, knitting looser and looser until my gauge in just those 6 or 7 rows was crazy. I frogged the pathetic mess and went back to the box to look for a smoother set of needles but the only other thing I had in size 8 were those old, long, scary metal DPNs from ages ago. I don’ t think I’d even used them other than to practice learning circular knitting when I was still learning to knit. It was not a good experience, IIRC, and I wasn’t anxious to use them. The thought of going on with the bamboo needles, though, was too annoying, and I would never do something as normal as say, maybe I should work on the socks if this project is becoming such a nightmare. Work on the socks now and the wrist warmers when we get home where the rest of my knitting needles and notions are (we’re at the old house this week getting things packed up and cleaned before the foreclosure finishes going through and we’re locked out. It would suck to not have the rest of my clothes, books and most importantly yarn and fiber.) So I grabbed the needles and the yarn and cast on while watching TV. Guess what?! I LOVE THESE DPNs!!! The Malabrigo moves like butter over these needles and they are just long enough that the looser stitches from the beginning don’t constantly slide off. I do have to admit that I tried a little “cheat” for joining in a circle here: I knit the first three rows of the pattern flat and then joined in the round in the fourth row. We’ll see how that comes out before deciding if I’m going to do it again. It didn’t really alleviate the stress of joining, just b/c there’s already a little knitting there doesn’t stop it from trying to pull apart, leaving a ladder, at the joining point etc. Again, we’ll see how it comes out.

I’ve gone on WAY too long to just have told one little story re: DPN’s. I’m very chatty tonight, it seems. I think it’s the combination of pain meds. and penicillin for this tooth that needs to be pulled. Ah well, thanks for listening to me ramble. The move is coming along nicely. Not with much help from me, though, I’m afraid. I’ve been in mind altering, brain numbing pain on and off with this tooth ache. It’s the worst pain I’ve ever endured, childbirth excluded b/c that’s a class all to itself. We were planning to be done yesterday morning, but this has slowed things way down. I’m hoping to be able to accomplish a lot more tomorrow. I plan to work on the Twists (as I call them for short) for a little longer and watch and episode of Doctor Who before going to bed and will get back to the Monkey socks when I get home. The Twists will become my travelling pattern and stay with me at all times. I hope to have it cranked out before going back to CA in late March. If it’s not, I have a serious slow knitting problem. I just have to remember that I can’t start new projects until old ones are finished. The only knitting I’ve done in the last few days is related to the Twists. I swatched and then played with needles for two days and now I’m finally getting into really knitting them. So I’m off to warm up a Sloppy Joe from dinner for a snack and then get back to the good Doctor and Miss Martha Jones.