Update

I’m sorry I’ve been so quiet lately. Work stress, child rearing and a recent car accident has put my blogging life on hold. There is lots to tell and updates will soon be coming.

Trainspotting

As I have said…and shown…before, I have a serious fiber addiction.

I try to play with fiber in one way or another for at least an hour a day. I have for the last 3 1/2 years.  The only time I don’t have a string or fluff around me is when I’m sick in bed…trashy TV is always my best medicine.

Well, I binged on wool this weekend. I was snowed in Friday and Saturday. I  avoided housework like the plague while my son amused himself with new toys in his room most of the time, so I had nothing else to do but play with my toys. I spun a little yarn, finished knitting socks, and then did some crochet work on a joint project my Snb is making.

I haven’t crocheted more than a seam in years. Hooking uses your hands in different ways then knitting. If you haven’t done it in a while it can be straining on your fingers and wrists. I crocheted for hours! Even when my hands started to cramp I just stretched them quickly and continued. Single crochet stitch…over and over and over.

Sunday my hands were sore…but the determined dumbass that I am decided to keep crocheting  the project at work. What was i supposed to do? You can’t expect me to actually do my job?!?  The  pain got worse so I decided to take a fiber break for the rest of the night. My husband and I grabbed the Wiimotes and played a few games of Mario. When we got bored with that we switched to Guitar Hero.  Two songs into the game my wrists and arms were cramping so bad I couldn’t even strum. My fingers and joints were so inflamed we had to struggle to take my wedding ring off. I couldn’t change the channel on the TV without stabbing pain to my forearms. All I could do was try to keep my hand as still as possible as I cried.

Obviously I have overdone it! I need to take a serious fiber hiatus. Granted, a “serious” break from my favorite hobby…hell my only hobby…is right now, in my hopeful, deluded mind, a week. I am hopeful that will be long enough for everything to heal. Unfortunately. the part of my brain that actually accepts reality thinks it will be longer. Then I’ll have to ease my way back to everything again.

It’s only been a few hours but withdrawal is hard! I think the pain last night caused some wacked out dreams. Not dead baby walking on the ceiling wacked out…but really freaking strange by my standard. One of them had me wake up with my fists clenched and adrenaline pumping because I was ready for a street rumble. Another had me directing an Skinamax movie with Stewie and Brian from Family Guy as the producers. Yes it was all animated, even me, I’m a hot 2-dimensional drawing. Very different from my usual and prefered, dream of being new girl working for Torchwood or Team Bartowski dreams. My dorkyness knows no bounds!

This morning, while getting ready,  it was weird not to pick out today’s WIP. I feel like I’m missing something I need. Like the panic that sets in when you realize you’ve forgotten your wallet or cell phone halfway on the drive to work.  I don’t have any idea what I’ll do when I get home. I use a netbook there and the small keyboard is not going to help my situation. I guess this is a way to practice taking things slow for a change. I’m a very lazy person, but my brain is always at warp speed so I need multiple things to entertain it. I’m always multitasking my thoughts. Maybe this is the universe’s way of telling me to enjoy the scenery. Although I do have a feeling my husband will have to nail the door to my yarn room shut once the cold sweats start in a couple of days.

Slippers Of Patience

Remember these Fuzzy Feet slippers I made for my Dad for his belated birthday present?

So they’ve become a longer story then the ”I knit these”  post they were before…

I am built like an amazon warrior compared to my parents. My Mom is a size 6 and my Dad and her share jeans. He’s a small framed man. Add that fact to a (now known) misunderstanding to a conversation a few weeks before I started working on the slippers, and I was under the impression my Dad’s feet were smaller than mine. I’m a size women’s 10 so that’s not an impossibility.

So for a few weeks I worked hard on these slippers. They’re bulky and boring so I wasn’t into making them much. When they looked right I quickly bound off and felted them. When they were done I checked the size. they were tight on my boat feet so they should fit the old man.

He got them on Giftmas and loved them. He didn’t try them.

New Years Day I went over and he asked me how to stretch the slippers. Apparently he’s a men’s size 13! Oops! They only way those would fit him is if he removed a few toes. I looked at his feet. they resembled Sideshow Bob compared to the rest of him . Now my mom has a lovely new pair of slippers and I have to start casting on another pair of bulky, boring slippers.

9pm that night my mother calls me. It’s very unlikely for her to call that late so I thought it was an emergency and called back right away. “OMG Honey! You have to teach me to make these slippers!” She was 100% serious. I have to teach her to knit these slippers…but 1st I have to teach her to knit. All she wants to knit is Fuzzy Feet…no interest in learning anything else.

Now the next bulky, boring and even longer in length pair I need to make for my father have to be made even slower as I teach my mother how to knit them too. Slippers are a virtue.

10 on Tuesday: LSG11ty Knitting

Well I have 11.

As stated in a earlier post, LSG is having an 11 in 2011 challenge. The rules are fluid and up to the challengee own makings. But the jist is finishing 11 fiber related things in 2011. Making 11 things in a year is not difficult. In fact I’m going to split my challenge into categories. 11 knitted items, 11 socks (I know they are knitting but socks are really their own phenomenon), 11 needle felted items, and attempting to spin 11 different thing (this does not have to be finished yarns, I just want to get used to spinning).

So lets start with knitting. My stash is filled with yarn for things I’ve wanted to make for years. So, looking at my queue here’s the very changeable plan.

1. February Lady Sweater
2. Brompton
3. Icelandic Star Cardigan
4. Finish Gytha
5. Finish the Hobby Dragon
6. Another pair of Slippers for Dad. UGH!
7. Character Hoodie for the boy
8. Wonderful Wallaby for the boy
9. Knucks for the husband
10. Tilted Duster
11. Marvelous Mitts

All in all, not a bad list. Like I said, it can change depending on my mood but they are goals. Maybe a little hopeful on the amount of full sweaters I want done but not out of reach.

I’m back!

Man, between an ear infection, Giftmas, a toddler’s ear infection, overtime at work and New Years real-life commitments has been non-stop.

So 1st let me start by wishing everyone a belated Happy Universal Holidays. (yeah, stole that from DisneyXD)

The Giftmas gifts I was killing myself working on were well recieved…especially the Fornicating Deer hat.  I took the last week on a knitting hiatus. my hand were sore from all the binge knitting. I even decided on Dec. 22 my husband’s grandmother need a pair of socks so I whipped out a pair with worsted weight in 3 days. I think they were still damp from blocking when I wrapped them. I wish I had pictures of all the knitting and gifts and festivities but to be honest, I was to damn busy, tired and stressed to even remember to take out the camera.

The new year gives me opportunities for more adventures. I don’t do resolutions…I make plans…resolutions are made to be broken, plans are made to be changed. Right now I plan on staying Cold Sheep until Rhinebeck. I want to take more time to learn to spin. maybe get a wheel in October. i plan to start a self-imposed sock yarn club for myself because I spend too much time and energy trying to decide what I want to knit next. I’m also not going to cast anything new on until I finish the WIPs from 2010. I also joined LSG 11 in 2011 challenge.  The goal is to 11 fiber related items in 2011. Since this is LSG the rules are fluid so there’s no real pressure.

What are your fiber plans for the new year?

Neglected

Oh my poor little blog. I’m afraid I’ve neglected you for the past couple of weeks. I still have some last minute Giftmas knitting to finish and then I will make it up to you. I promise.

10 on Tuesday: Winter

OK so it’s not officially Winter until the 21st but it is cold. Really cold. I hate cold. My ideal world has a steady temperature of 72degs year round-cool enough for a hoodie, warm enough for flip-flops. Unfortunately no matter what my ideal world’s temp is I live in this world, more specifically, I live in Connecticut, and have not yet learned to will the weather to my liking. So my 10 on Tuesday is think of good things about winter. Kinda taking a Fake It ‘Till You Make It approach to get me through the next few months.

Here goes. 10 good things about winter.

1. Snowmen. I can’t help but smile when I see them in front yards while driving.
2. Ugg boots. I know they are ugly as sin but they are so comfy.
3. Soup. I know I can eat it any time of the year but it seriously it’s soooo better when you’re a little chilly.
4. Blankets. All my granny square afghans my Mom has made me over the years can finally do their job.
5. Knits. I do get a chance to show off all those hats, gloves and scarves off. It’s nice to remember they have a practical use.
6. Knitting. I don’t mind knitting big heavy things as much. Making a coat-length sweater in bulky wool isn’t appealing to work on when I need to crank the A/C to do it.
7. Ummm???? TV news storm coverage.(yeah, I know,  I’m reaching here) In the Northeast snow is nothing, but if it happens to spread a little too down south or pile on more than 4 inches the news declares it is the “Storm of the Century”, complete with terrifying dum dum dummmm theme music and a bold graphic. Bonus if they use  B-roll of cars skidding on ice.
8. Christmas Lights. It may not last the entire winter but I love those twinkle lights. There’s a beach in our area that does a huge light display. I hate to admit it but it does look better when the ground is snow-covered.
9. Flannel PJs. I have acquired quite a collection throughout the years.  I love the pajama sets with obnoxious prints; Russian nesting dolls, trailer-park flamingos, sock monkeys, neon owls.
10. Jebus! There’s still one more! 3 months. I really can’t think of anything else good about winter except for the fact that it doesn’t last forever. By this time in March I’ll know that spring is just around the corner. I won’t have to dress like an Eskimo, make sure I have survival gear in my car for short drives or  shovel that white crap off of everything.

Help me out Interwebz….what’s you’re favorite thing about winter?