12 posts tagged “knitting”
Yes, I said "knitting injury." Who'd have thought that a pastime enjoyed by so many grandmas would be dangerous? Who knew you could actually get hurt and that there are safety precautions to keep in mind? Certainly not I.
Let me just say this right now. Do NOT, and I repeat, DO NOT put your knitting needles in your chair! I bet you're wondering what happened.
One Sunday morning, not long ago (last weekend), I was sitting on my mother's patio, knitting and enjoying the outdoors. Mom was in the kitchen making breakfast so I got up, set my knitting on my chair and went in to help. It's important to note that I was knitting a preemie hat on size 3 bamboo dpn's. I was in the process of shaping the crown, so the needles naturally formed a little tepee while resting in the chair. (Starting to get the picture yet?)
Breakfast was on the patio table, we were ready to eat. I flumped into my chair and immediately thought "what the hell kind of thorn hurts this much?" then flew out of the chair, yelling for Mom! That needle went FOUR INCHES into my butt! Mom tried three times to pull it out when I said that I was gonna faint, get it out NOW! She set her feet apart, gripped tightly and pulled with all her might. OMG, it was out! Mom told me later that if it hadn't come out right then, she would've called 911. Imagine it... paramedics arrive to see... well just imagine it. Then imagine what the ER would have been like. As it was, I had to go to urgent care for a tetnus shot, where they were greatly amused by the fact that I was still knitting with the same needles.
*Sigh* Everyone has gotten a good belly laugh out of this. My sister called twice to revel in the hilarity and Mom has been telling all her friends. Fine, Mom needs a good laugh right now, but that poke in the ass really hurt!
Remember: DO NOT put your knitting needles in a chair.
The Hat
The blessings I've received since my oldest daughter and her sons moved here are innumerable. One of the sweetest blessings was when Skylar's teddy bear sprung a few leaks and needed repairs. He's so pleased with "N'ya N'ya's" new scarf and socks. I recently discovered that Orion, my youngest grandson, did not have a bear or other lovey so I set out to make one just for him. I dropped by his house yesterday afternoon to give it to him but discovered that he was still napping. I placed it in the crib, right next to him so he'd find it when he woke up. His mother called later to tell me how delighted he was with his new bear, that his brothers couldn't take away from him. Yay!
The KAL or Knit Along is another blessing. My friend Mander is making a Survivor's Quilt (using the Barn Raising Quilt pattern) to make money for the American Cancer Society. The very cool thing about the quilt is that folks from all over are knitting the squares and sending them to Mander to put together. She's asked that we use purple sock yarn of our choice, and hasn't limited us to any one shade of purple. I can't wait to see the finished project. Here's a sample of my quilt squares:
I can't wait to tell my friend Tam about the blessings my sorority chapter (Beta Sigma Phi) and I have received as a result of a post she made to her blog many months ago. She posted about an interesting project where washcloths were being knitted/crocheted to be sent to a midwifery program. Upon graduation from the program, the women are given a 100% cotton, hand knit or crocheted cloth to be used for cleaning up the newborn babes. I am proud to say that my chapter has 107 cloths to send! I made 27 cloths and may make one more before sending the box off to Canada. Even numbers and all... and multiples of 10... may have to whip up 3 more before shipping. ;-)
My Washcloth Collection - click to see more pictures:
Knitting - enriches my life and hopefully the lives of a few people within my reach.
... 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 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:
Hmmm, I wonder if they'll fit Belle?
I'm a member of Beta Sigma Phi, a non-academic sorority with 200000 members in chapters around the world. Every chapter year, we select a service project or two and this year my chapter is working on washcloths to be sent to a midwifery program. They'll be sent through the Compassionate Warehouse program. These particular washcloths are for rural midwives as gifts upon the completion of their training, to be used when they deliver babies in these very impoverished areas.
Knitting dish/washcloths has proven to be valuable far beyond my original expectations. Not only have I learned many new stitches, I've been able to practice and perfect my knitting. I've learned to use dpn's (scary at first, even my family was worried!), have discovered that not all 100% cotton yarn is equal. *cough* Have also learned that while cone yarn is less expensive, it's BORING to work with after so many projects. Cloths are easy to transport in a small tote bag and easy to work on in small spaces (such as doctor's offices). They also attract a lot of interested onlookers, kids included! It's also a great feeling to be knitting along with my chapter sisters on something that will benefit women in need and their newborn babies.
Check out the pictures I have of my cloths:
Gee wiz, I've been busy today, updating my Ravelry page. I joined a group and have already been contacted and found a yarn shop in my area! What a miracle! I'm gonna enjoy networking with the ladies in my group.
Knitting, aint it an amazing thing?
Gee, it's been so long since I've had the time to post. I've been trying, honest, I really have! So what's been going on? What have I been up to?
Jaeden had his 5th birthday at the end of February. He loves Transformers and Spiderman so we incorporated both into the celebration. Here are a couple pics:
And here are some more: Jaeden's Birthday
I had *my* birthday, but I've already blogged about that. One thing I can add is that last night at our sorority meeting, my secret sister gave me a fabulous b-day gift! Check it out! Needle Arts Caddy with Accessory Pouches
My mother is moving... to a smaller house which means major amounts of down-sizing. I've had to be strong, but I've resisted adding her junk to mine. The one thing I did need was stuff for my backyard. One of the things she needed to cull down was her patio goodies so she gave me a ton of great stuff. I finally have a cute yard with the ability to make it even cuter!
A couple of my favorite photos:
Check out the rest: The Yard - so nice!
I've been busy knitting (as always) and just finished this washcloth. I made it with self striping yarn and think it's gorgeous!
Well, I thought I'd been busier than this... maybe it's that my life is pretty mundane. ;-)
Oh my goodness! I just checked my invite status on Ravelry and see that it might come soon!
- You signed up on January 21, 2008
- You are #91945 on the list.
- 415 people are ahead of you in line.
- 6618 people are behind you in line.
- 93% of the list has been invited so far
Once again, Monday has arrived and the new week is off and running. I saw Monster.com's Don't Fight Monday commercial last night, where the towns-people try to prevent the day from arriving by blocking it with matresses, umbrellas, dresser drawers, etc. At first, I thought "What the hell are they doing?" I expected an alien space ship or something equally scary to come over the horizon. That all those people are so miserable in their jobs that they'd try to stop the day from arriving... well, it's just sad.
My weekend was quiet, which is great because I didn't feel so hot. I had the little kiddies two days last week and true to form, I caught their germs. I swear, a sore throat is just miserable. You have to swallow, so you have to bear the pain. I mean, drooling isn't really a viable option. ;-) B and big sis R had a sleepover weekend at R's house. (I hear through the grapevine that there was a food fight! *gasp*)
Sheila is doing much better. I'm amazed at how quickly she's getting the hang of being blind. I led her around the living room and patio, showing her where things were, saying "bump" as we neared a piece of furniture. That seems to have helped her a lot because she's not bumping into things as much. Even when she does bump into something, it's with a lot less force than before. She knows where the walls are in the backyard. It was cool watching her this morning. She walked right out into the yard (without going along the wall as a guide), right up to the wall and stopped prior to hitting it with her nose. As if she could see it. I was impressed.
The Knit is on again, meaning that I hauled out the washcloth project again. My new Addi Turbo straight needles are awesome, I enjoy them so much! I'm working on a feather & fan cloth, in red. I may just keep it for my kitchen since the theme in there is cherries. It seems a bit garrish to send as a midwife's clean-up-cloth.
Last but certainly not least is this picture B took over the holidays. O is one cute baby!
