MommaGoose’s Nest

The Harry Bear, that is.  A co-worker had given me two skeins of Berroco Chinchilla, about 2 or 3 years ago.  It's a lovely yarn, but somewhat novelty-ish and I had no idea (other than yet another scarf that I don't need) what to use it for.  Then I hit on the Harry Bear and that's all I needed to spur me onto another project and something new.  I just love him!

I got hooked on the pattern and started another bear, before I finished the first one! AND, I actually bought more (non-natural fiber, no less) yarn! Youngest grandson doesn’t have a bear, so Grammy had to knit one up right away!

The 2nd bear is much smaller than the first, even though I double stranded the yarn. He’s going to be very soft!

Harry:

Harry Bear.3

Harry Bear.Orion.1

Harry Bear.Orion.2

And the great news about the additional purchase of yarn is: Somehow, the skein had fallen apart and was a tangled mess.  Naturally, I asked about a discount since I'd be spending time unraveling and rolling a ball.  I got the yarn for .65!!  That's 65 CENTS!  I can prove it!

Cheap Yarn

testing... I want a nice automatic font.

I like it, the green looks nice on ravelry, the "blooms" are nice and I don't have to fiddle with the font.  I hate ariel.

&$%!*$%! Vox is giving me FITS over this post (and so many others)! Seriously, what's up with the "stop running this script?" message EVERYTIME I try to post a picture? This is so rediculous, I may actually give serious thought to a site that is easier to use AND allows comments from non-members. This post was supposed to be good news, thanks, Vox for taking the wind out of my sails!

Same old-same old... how many times have I seen that #%$! error message?  I cannot post about my beautiful socks,

I WAS happy, not so much now.

Are these itty bitty hats not the cutest?  My daughter's friend is expecting a baby, he'll need to keep his little head warm.

Eyelet Baby Hat 2

Diamond Baby Hat

Heart Baby Hat

Striped Baby Hat

Ribbed Baby Hat

Bunnies in Hats.2

... to the drugs your doctor prescribes for ADHD.  As you already know, I'm working on a lovely pair of socks.  Embossed Leaves made with TOFUtsies yarn by South West Trading Company.  I know I can't stay focused on things and that I struggle sometimes with where I am in a pattern -- as in "what row am in on, again?"  Right after Wonder-Doc prescribed the Adderall, I told her that it made an amazing difference, very notably in my knitting.  The problem?  That one pill is outside my regular med routine and I almost always forget to take it.  Poor excuse, I know.

So last night I was working on my second sock (YAY!), humming right along.  Twisted rib for 18 rows then woo hoo, I was 4 rows into the pattern.  Something was amiss.  Never afraid to unknit, I started going backwards.  OMG, what a freaking disaster!  Imagine four dpns, the beginning of a sock suspended underneath.  Unknit one needle, no errors.  Unknit second needle, WTF?!?  It was twisted rib!  Unknit third needle, some whacky combination of twisted rib and k1tb, s1wyf!  It was like this through all 4 pattern rows!  Talk about unfocused and lost in the quagmire of the pattern!

All is well with the sock, I'm even several rows farther along than when I had to start ripping.  But I need you, dear readers, to bear witness to the fact that I'm taking my medicine this morning.  See me reaching for the bottle that sits in clear view on my desk?  EVERY day, and I still forget to take it?  Pardon me, I digress (so what's new?).  A quick pop in the mouth followed by a swig of club soda and I'm good to go.  For today. 

Perhaps a sticky note on my monitor to remind me in the morning.  Yeah, we all know about the zillion sticky notes that go unnoticed after a few days.  Maybe a sticky note that plays music?  Do they make those?  Stay tuned for further developments (aka: the next time I get freaking lost in my pattern).

Peace, out and power to The Knit! 

The good news is that I didn't have a heart attack.  The bad news is that I do have pneumonia.  I should back up a bit and fill in some missing information. 

All last week, my shoulders, back and neck were VERY sore.  I thought I had a stiff neck, but as the week went on, I also felt sick and had chest pain.  Saturday morning, I said to my husband, "wouldn't it be evil if after 10 years of working online from home that knitting gave me carpal tunnel?"  Ha ha, yes, that would be more than evil!  Also more than evil would be after 18 months of carrying Orion around, I suddenly couldn't lift him anymore.

Sunday night brought sheer misery.  Couldn't breathe, couldn't move, couldn't sleep.  I (who avoids going to doctors) told hubby that I had to go in the morning.  Doctor: "Where is your pain?"  Me: "Shoulders, back, neck and chest."  Doctor: "You have chest pain?"  Me: "Yes, I have pain in my chest, it's hard to breathe."

Long story short: Anyone who is my age that says the words "chest pain" will find themselves admitted to the hospital for a coronary workup.  Which is what happened to me.  Let me just say for the record that a stress test is no fun and is a very involved experience.  It's a good thing the morphine made me sleep through most of it.  (Hell, morphine itself is a good thing ;-))  I slept through all but the part where they gave me some medicine I can't remember the name of, that increased my heart rate to the point I couldn't even speak.  Anyway, I passed the coronary tests. 

The Epiphanies

• While trying to sleep Sunday night (read: 4am, absurd pain, cannot breathe, blah, blah, blah), it suddenly occured to me that the "M1 (make one)" stitch I'd done on my sock the day before was wrong.  If I changed it to what I now understood to be the correct way, it would change everything.  Not only would that one stitch change the way the whole foot looked, frogging back to that point would give me the opportunity to adjust a couple other things that were bothering me.  It's AMAZING what a difference those adjustments have made!
• The Knit must prevail.  Did you know that it is possible to knit with one of those clothespin type things on the end of your index finger?  You know those things that measure your oxygen saturation rate?  It took some practice, but I made it work.
• People who do not knit are almost always impressed with what seems magical to them.  In other words, a sock forming off the ends of dpns is pure magic.  Even well-educated medical professionals "admired" me!
• Knitting while stoned out of your gourd on morphine is not the best way to stay the course on your pattern.
• On the other hand, knitting while sick is a terrific distraction.

 

Last week's dishcloth pattern is complete.  As soon as I take a picture, I'll frog it and make this one instead:
Lacy 4 Leaf Clover Dishcloth

The Embossed Leaves socks are coming along very nicely.  TOFUtsies by South West Trading Company is an amazing yarn.  I LOVE the cotton and the "Chitin" (a fiber made from shrimp and crab shells) is an extra bonus.  It's a little odd and makes me giggle just a little.  I can't wait until they're finished!

Sorry, no pictures this time.  The batteries in my camera are out of juice, but then I'm feeling a bit out of juice myself these days.

Peace out and power to The Knit!

Oh, here's a pic!  My Belle:

Belle

That's the kind of post this is going to be... one sweet thing and one sour thing.

The sour first.  GRRRRRRRRR! #!*%$&! I am so pissed off at this supposedly easy dishcloth pattern that I could scream!  All has gone just nifty-roo until this afternoon.  I knit the same freaking three rows three times and still had an error.  One would expect the same error three times but noooo, not me.  Three different errors!  I just ripped it all out.  Yeah, I'm the boss, you just wait and see if that washcloth screws with me again.

Now the sweet.  I finally finished the two baby sweaters!  WOOOOO HOOOO!!!  After how many years?  I'm seriously considering framing the Pixie Cables sweater.

Pixie Cables Baby Sweater

1 comment

Elfin Stripes Baby Sweater

Elfin Stripes Baby Sweater

Orion models, proving that even
the largest sweater is too small.

Lion Boucle

The Berroco Chinchilla will become at least one (probably two) Harry Bears.  The one yarn I almost hate to use, and am this close to being ashamed of admitting that I have it, is the Red Heart Super Saver in white.  That's some nasty yarn, right there!  What was I thinking when I bought that stuff?

Speaking of "what was I thinking when I bought that stuff?" -- I find it incredibly sad that the blanket I knitted many years ago, that is very near and dear to my heart for reasons I won't go into, is made of man-made fiber that is itchy, scratchy and stiff.  I so wish I'd made that blanket with natural fiber yarn.  But that was a million years ago, back when I was more stupid than I am now.

So what about those hibernating sweaters I mentioned in the post title?  My stash busting exercize includes finishing two baby sweaters that will never fit the intended recipients.  I'm intimidated at the prospect of sewing the seams together, which is the exact point I stopped knitting on each sweater.  Must do some internet research on seaming so I can get these pretty things finished.  What I'll do with them, I have no clue.  Maybe the babies' mum will want to have them for their scrapbooks, even though they'll never wear them.  Nah, that's just silly.  Here are the sweaters:

Pixie Cables Baby Sweater

Elfin Stripes Baby Sweater

Hmmm, I wonder if they'll fit Belle?