Happy End of The Year!

I for one am so glad this year is finally ending. It's really tested what little strength I have in a lot of ways. The journey is never over until it's over, but I totally want to dig my heels in for a respite about now. There have been so many blessings I'm thankful for, Many MANY! But honestly, this year has sucked in so many ways too. That's life, we gotta do our best and try to go on. Don't mind my babbling. I'm just exhausted beyond measure right now. Just please 2011, please be better.

I did want to update the last of my 2010 Knitting on the blog though. I didn't knit as much this year but I sort of remember enjoying most of it anyway. The fibro and auto-immune issues have put some obstacles in my path over and over again (ow, ow, OWWW! Bad part of the year for SURE!), but I just can't stop doing what I love. (And now spinning is added to the fun! One good part of last year!)

Feather & Fan Fingerless Gloves By Kollage
Knit Picks Essential Kettle Dyed Sock Yarn in Bordeaux
Size 1 needles.
Ugh! What a LOVE/HATE relationship these were!! I started them sometime in the spring I think. They went to CA with me in May, (they travelled well at least.) I've carried them around to several knitting meetings, they sat in my bag for MONTHS, it felt like it was time to get them done. Around November I begrudgingly took them out and set out to finish them once and for all. This is a super EASY pattern, I just didn't dig it I guess. I love the finished result, I just didn't enjoy making them. Then on glove #2 things went a bit haywire, my stitch count got off, my thumb was too long, then too short...you know, knitting CRAZINESS! But, I took deep breaths, tinked when necessary, fudged when necessary, and got them done. Yay me!

My Last Beech Wood Cowl (for awhile anyway).
Cascade 220 Superwash Paints in a purple colorway (couldn't get it right on camera to save my life).
Size 6 needle.

**EDITING POST BECAUSE I REALIZED I HADN'T POSTED THE OTHER COWLS! Fibro Fog Brain! :P

Here are my other Beech Wood's:

Yarn: Madenlinetosh Vintage

Yarn: Mountain Colors Weavers Wool Quarters In Wild Raspberry

Madelinetosh Vintage

What can I say, I made four in a very short span (my aching thumbs do protest quite loudly now). I do love this pattern. Simple yet so pretty when worn. My daughters look great in these, I see a couple more in my future (at some point.) With my thumb (hand, wrist) pain lately it seems like all that sock yarn in the stash is going to get to rest a LONG while, it's sport or worsted for now until this pain lets up.
Weekly NO Knitting Breaks = NO FUN!

I did also whip these up for an Aunt of mine:

Just a basic hat and fingerless mitts made out of Plymouth Boku Yarn. Not the softest stuff, but I do love the colors! I used two skeins for these.

And one of my last knits (Oops! Crochet!!) of 2010:

Pattern: Square Shell Coasters made for my swap partner Mary Jane.
Yarn: Lion Brand Vanna's Glamour
This yarn was hard on my hands, not soft as I would've liked but they're just coasters so it worked. I would never use this for something next to the skin though.

My yarny New Years plan is to try (once again) to knit from the stash as much as possible. This grasshopper has played and it's time to get to work and rebuild & save again. Besides the closet is seeming to overwhelm me again, I wonder if it's time to let some of that acrylic go - or try a different kind of storage?... in any case, I hope to make a dent in what's already there. (And take a bunch to our knitting group yarn swap).  Next year feels like a de-cluttering kind of year. I just hope my legs will hold me up long enough and my arms will cooperate.

Happy New Year and many blessings out to my fellow bloggers and knitting buddy's. Many thanks too for all your prayers for my FIL and family. He's still in ICU, we know he's very ill, but we continue to pray and love him. ♥

Do-Overs and Spinning

Wish they were for real when it comes to living a year over again. 

Overall, we've had many blessings this year, but it's definitely had major challenges as well. Being a grown up sure isn't what we think when we're young. 

Our latest challenge has been my FIL recently becoming ill with lung cancer and is now going back and forth to the hospital for various reasons. He had his first chemo treatment recently, but has been in for pain in his chest, swelling, possible pneumonia, and now he has a fever.  It's hard to explain to your children that someone they love so very much may not be with us a whole lot longer but that we have to continue to pray for them no matter what. Around the holidays it's even tougher. 

But we're holding onto hope. Always gotta hold on. And Pray.

I figure it's also time to document my spinning for this year. Next year I hope I see some progress and growth. What I don't want is yarn that looks like something I can buy at a LYS that's manufactured. I totally want the barber pole effect in a nice soft lofty yarn and many colors! 

I'm loving my little Ashford Joy wheel, she spins wonderfully when I get my groove going, it's just THAT part isn't as consistent yet! I know I need to practice more, my legs and fingers haven't been as cooperative as I'd like. Sometimes after I spin for a bit my legs feel like jello, weak as a new born calf. This auto-immune thing I have seems to have weakness in my arms and legs as a regular symptom anymore. It really stinks. But, I do enjoy it when I get some good spinning time in. It's just a price I have to pay to do what I love.

Here's my first round: 

Frabjous Fibers - Hand Dyed Blue Faced Leicester Top - Cabbage Rose colorway - 4 oz. (Bought at LYS).  I did this around summer time I believe and since I don't keep track of things very well I can't remember my approximate yardage on this one. I'll need to remeasure. I believe it was around 160 yds.

OMgosh, it was so hard to get the colors in the picture accurate on this one. But I love just looking at it. I'll never knit it up since it's my first, it holds a special place in my heart. It's thick, thin, and badly plyed (I didn't realize how tired I'd get doing that - should've saved it for a day when I had more energy and less overall pain.) But I love it. 

Here's my second: 

Yarnadoodles BFL Combed Top - Tea Time colorway - 4 oz

I finished this one recently and tried to take my time with the plying this go around, but still, it has it's 

thick and thin spun spots that make it individual. 

I managed around 232 yards this time. It's funny, but I just like to pet and look at my own skeins. It makes me smile. I doubt I'll knit this up anytime soon either. I just love it. 

I did try navajo plying on some Louet Coopworth I spun when I first got my wheel. That was fun, but I still need a LOT of practice in that department too. My Joy is weighted so the "spin back" happens when I forget where my feet are on the treadles. I'm not crazy about that, but it's getting easier with practice. It was really evident in this type of plying as I had to keep rearranging my hands and the fibers every now and then. 

I don't know what I'd do without my knitting or spinning. It's my sanity in these tough days. I'm waiting on some more fiber to spin that I ordered from Etsy (my own Christmas present). I can't wait. I just hope my legs hold up. I may need to look into an electric spinner one day....

Happy Spinning and Knitting! And please, if possible, keep good thoughts for my FIL and our family. 

Catching Up

I've been a really slow knitter this year as well as a really slow blogger. Seems I can spend time on Ravelry daydreaming everyday and watching what everyone else is up to - but marking my own progress hasn't been as exciting as it used to be, here or there. Maybe it's because I'm not really knitting anything super duper outlandishly special, but basic necessities, gifts, and simple things.

Here we go with my Simple Parade:

Patterns: Waffle Hat & Noro Fingerless Mitts 
Yarn: Bernat Mosaic in Spectrum Colorway
This yarn is a bit softer than Noro (and machine washable). People have complained of it pulling apart easily but I didn't have that problem at all, just one knot which happens to the best of them. I knit the mitts pretty tightly too so if it was weak, I would've known it. (Maybe there was a bad batch out there). These are for my Auntie for Christmas. She's awesomely Knit-Worthy, she uses everything down to the last thread! ;O)

Next:

Pattern: Hats From The Heart
Yarn: Berroco Jasper
Size 8 needles.
A great Ravelry Buddy sent me this yarn awhile back because I was admiring her hats. I started it (barely cast on) and it promptly got put in (one of) my UFO bags for the longest time. Now that my hubby is golfing come cold weather or not (he has a driving range near his work) I want him to at least be WARM out there. This project was perfect. The Berroco is very soft but I'm going to have to be careful with the care of it. I can see that it will pill quickly since it's loosely spun. Kind of like Malabrigo Worsted.

Onto:

Patterns: Oops. I'm not sure.
I made these for a friend who's expecting a new Grandbaby in the family and I can't remember what patterns I used. I got them done early even though we weren't going to send them out until closer to the due date, I just hate waiting on things for too long or I'll forget.
Yarn: Bernat Cotton Tots - One skein did both projects. I went with a neutral color since we don't know if it's a boy or girl.

Next:

Pattern: Plain Basic Socks (My Favorite)
64 Cast On - Size 1 Magic Loop
Yarn: Knit One Crochet Too Ty-Dy Sock "Crock-O-Dye"
I made these for my Freezing Cold Cousin in Montana. I really enjoyed knitting with this yarn, it's really soft and has a great feel. I may get some for me one day since I have another coupon for my LYS. She wears a lot of black and browns, neutral shades, so I wanted to go crazy with color and look what I ended up picking out? It just shouted at me that it was HER though. Too funny! I must knit her some PINK socks soon.

And:

Scarves for The Special Olympics 2011 to send in for my state. These aren't due until mid January, but again, I'm crazy about deadlines. I hate them. If I know it has to be done, I get it done ASAP. I only managed to get two done, I actually had to return two skeins because I just couldn't cope with using the Red Heart again. Until they've been washed a few times they're stiff as a board, it's just too hard on my hands and I've been having enough trouble with hand pain recently, it's just not good to push things when you hurt that bad. Although I'd love to do more, I figure two is better than none.  

There has been some simple Christmas Knitting that's been done and I wish I could've done more but I can't post those right now. At least I know I'll be back blogging before the year ends - I hope! 

Happy Knitting! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Too many Blessings to count this year but here's a few:

My Mom getting through another cancer surgery. 

My Husband still doing more than I could imagine because of my health issues 

and never once complaining.

My family pulling together to get each other through tough times.

My friends being there to listen and care.

Wishing everyone a peaceful and happy day. 

Whiskers On Wednesday

Yep, yep, yep,

Time for a nap.

ZZZZZzzzzzzzz
Sasha & Sophie

Whiskers On Wednesday (and some Knitting!)

No Kitties. Just ONE of the things that's left in their wake. Just about every morning. What do those cats do all night?

Some knitting has been done recently:

Pattern: Petunia Socks By Jeanne Cotter (My blog buddy)
Yarn: Joann's Sensations Bamboo & Ewe
Mods: All I changed was to use size 1 needles and add stitches to compensate.
This pattern looks great in a hand-dyed yarn like she used, I've slowly swayed to more striped or solids over time but I think they came out nice. Comfy yarn as well, has a decent softness to it.

Pattern: My Plain socks. 64 st cast on.
Yarn: Paton's Kroy Jacquards in Fern Rose colorway.
Size 1 needles
These are the socks that gave me a major reality check. I was so excited to be on a roll with socks once again that I over-did it trying to get these done. I think the combo of very small needles, being out of practice for a few months, and wanting to keep going, gave me Repetitive Stress Injury. My doctor thinks there's some slight carpal tunnel in the mix as well. All I can say (besides a few bad words) is OWWW!

You just can't ignore pain. If it hurts in the slightest - STOP!!!! My thumb/hand/wrist hurt so bad, I can't say how panicked I was thinking of all the yarn in my closet. I can NOT knit when I want to, but to HAVE TO stop, geez, that's TOUGH! I took a week off (staring longingly at my knitting), and now have to take frequent breaks.  I HOPE I've learned my lesson. I never thought my hands would quit on me. Never. Don't take things for granted, take care of yourself.

Note: This yarn is tough as iron too, that may have been part of the problem. It's also slightly itchy but will probably wear forever. Not a favorite of mine needless to say.

Pattern: My Basic Socks. 64 st cast on.
Yarn: Knit One Crochet too Ty Dy Socks
Colorway: 1713
Size 1 needles.
These are for my Mom's Birthday coming up soon. This yarn was a tad splitty when casting on, but after that it was fine for the most part. And soft?? VERY! I got these done with LOTS of breaks and little pain so I see another pair working it's way to my needles very soon. I've got the "sock-bug" once again.

My picture taking/editing abilities need major work as well. Happy Knitting! And Happy WOW!

My Blog Is Not Forgotten

Yet. And I hope to revive it once again.

I've posted before about how sad it makes me when bloggers I enjoy "disappear" or "retire. I have so many I read on google reader but it's still sad when they're gone.  I totally understand how it is tho. Time gets away from you, life just gets more (insert: challenging, crazy, busy, scary, etc.). That's how it's been for me (again, I seem to have more blog crisis's than average.)

My gallbladder problems are still not resolved because all those expensive tests they put me through say it's perfectly fine. Yet my constant pain says: "what the ??" It could be stress related, I've tried to calm down about my Mom's health issues, but seriously, they've taken their toll on me. That finally dawned on me when all the tests were saying things look "okay". Except for a small hiatal hernia, my insides look okay. This added to my already existing fibro pain and anxiety really sucks frankly. Thankfully, my Mom's health is looking up (again), so I'm really trying to just chill a bit. My mind says to do one thing, but my body responds in other ways I guess.

Despite the terrible fatigue (why do GB attacks have to happen in the middle of the night?) and pain (oh, lots of pain), I've still been knitting and practicing my spinning. Some things are for a Christmas swap I'm in so I can't post those for a bit. (Yes, I'm very early, but that's probably part of my GB issues too!). As usual, when I don't feel good, I wonder WHY I keep knitting when it's driving me so batty.  Then something gets done and I'm a very happy knitter again.

My Mitered Baby Blanket
Yarn: Bernat Baby Jacquards - Florals

I got the instructions from a really nice knitter on Ravelry, KnitWeir (Donna). She made this up herself and was kind enough to share her notes with me because I was totally besotted with her blankets.
Pink. Pink. Pink. Little Rosebuds. = LOVE.

I love the way her blankets look almost like a quilt. The squares were easier than I thought they'd be, I whizzed through them. But the simple garter stitch border about killed me. I had to rip and re-do about 5 THOUSAND times. So much that I finally had to ditch the old yarn I was using and start a new ball. That alone proved how bad I'm feeling these days. But, I hung in there and FINALLY got her done! Love it. I'm saving it for a grandbaby of mine one day. (WAYYYY in the future!).

Christmas knitting is always so stressful for me, it's a self-imposed heck I put myself through because I'm too picky and too indecisive. I spend so much time figuring out WHAT to make, then I knit it and am not in love with it, etc. It's a never ending drama for my crazy head, so I'm TRYING to just let it go this year (breathe, don't panic). Whatever I do happen to make (out of sheer luck) I'm trying to keep it SIMPLE because frankly that's all I can handle. When a simple garter stitch border can kick your a$$ets, it's time to knit to RELAX, not to put the pressure on.

I'm so good at thinking logically, but DOING is a whole other story! I've scraped about 4 Christmas things already. Oy.

I also managed to get these done quickly:

Maine Morning Mitts
Yarn: Hobby Lobby I Love This Yarn (Cranberry?)
Needles: Size 6
I love this colorway, it just makes me happy, sort of fall like and Christmas-y. And Rose-Bud-y too! I do love my roses. Hobby Lobby's yarns are so soft and squishy, love these so much.

Some simple mitts for my cousin:

I made her a pair of black ones for work out of Caron Simply Soft a few years ago. Well, they're pretty pilly now and obviously very loved, so I found a new yarn and made her an extra pair for work.

Yarn: Deborah Norville Everyday Soft Worsted
(This yarn is new, I found it at Joanne's and it's supposed to be Anti-Pilling. We'll see how they hold up for her. I hope better than the CSS.)
Pattern: Noro Fingerless Mitts 
I used size 5 needles and these came out a bit loose. I like using size 4's for this pattern normally so they're more snug. (Brain Fog Strikes Again).

I made a scarf too but don't have pictures of it yet. I'm just behind on everything anymore, even my picture taking!  Someday I'll get to that and the Christmas stuff. One thing is for sure: Knitting has caused many of my headaches, but brought me peace as well during this rough year. Many Thanks to my friends and blog buddies for your good thoughts and comments and still hanging with me here! (((hugs)))