That's Tendonitis and Agitation for those of you with other thoughts.
Both my wrists, hands and thumbs are giving me trouble. Two years ago I ended up in a wrist brace on the right and getting a needle in my left palm for "trigger finger." Knitting needs to be classified as a sport. I keep getting these sports injuries from it. I had a second needle in my left palm a year later. The doctor says next time it will be "snip, snip, cured." Another year has passed and the trouble is beginning again. I say no "snip, snip" for me!
Anyway, I've been at my wits end even without the tendonitis. I'm agitated. I'm fairly vibrating with agitation and don't know why. My houses must not be in the right order. There is a full moon. Maybe that's it. My house I live in is quite a mess of clutter and disorganization. Maybe that's it. Whatever, I'm not knitting for a few days, my own prescription for my hands and wrists. I've bought two new support gloves with wrist bands to wear a few hours every day. Blueberry Waffles (socks), Flirty Skirt (lace), Rose Hearts Shawl (lace) and Basics, Basics, Basics (TKGA) are on hold.
For the agitation, I'm chillin'. I'm freeing my mind and making lists. Lists always bring order and calm. However, not knitting brings an increase to my agitation level so I am starting some calming knitting, easy on the tendons, my fave--plain stockinette socks! I hate it when my spouse doesn't follow doctor's orders and here I am already going against the prescribed few days rest from knitting. Hey, wait a minute! I prescribed that. I'm not a doctor--I'm a knitter! So I will just cut back on the knitting for a few days and wear the support gloves for some therapeutic knitting.
The therapeutic knitting will be done using the new Noro Sock recently added to my stash. I'd wound one ball onto a cone for knitting on my Circular Sock Machine (CSM) and it was such a bad language inducing process resulting in many breaks in the yarn, I've decided to hand knit it. That way I can manage the breaks and there will be no knots in the socks. It would be an ordeal trying to knit on the CSM with yarn knotted at all those breaks. I wouldn't catch them all and the socks would end up with one or two knots in them. I hate when that happens!
No pictures today. My hands hurt! Let the plain stockinette knitting begin.
Bona Fide Knitter
Friday, January 25, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Pottstown Knit Out--Not
I didn't go. I paid my money and I didn't go. I have no excuse. I just didn't go. There will be no pictures of the alpaca for my blog this year. For flavor, check my blog archive for last year's festivities, January 20, 2007. Oh well, maybe next year.
However, the good news is I have been given special dispensation by the guru of the Rule of Three to expand to a Rule of Four and start the Rose Hearts Shawl. Now if only I could settle on a yarn.
You saw the dark red. I started the KAL yesterday (on time) with the dark red. Let me tell you right here and now that the provisional cast on is not my friend! I had to do one once before for double knitting--disaster! This pattern calls for a crochet cast on with waste yarn and knitting into the back of two out of four chains. I did it, but it was not my friend. Undaunted I completed the first 10 rows and decided I'm not too happy with the yarn. Even though I'm using the rather pointy KnitPicks needles, I'm getting split stitches if I'm not really careful.
Wonder of wonders another Knit Picks order arrived in the afternoon and it contained some lace weight yarn (I'm working with sport weight.) in PURPLE. Hmmmm, . . . maybe I'll go down a needle size and start over. Okay, you know it. I've already frogged the 10 rows I did and am winding purple yarn cakes.
Bona Fide Knitter
However, the good news is I have been given special dispensation by the guru of the Rule of Three to expand to a Rule of Four and start the Rose Hearts Shawl. Now if only I could settle on a yarn.
You saw the dark red. I started the KAL yesterday (on time) with the dark red. Let me tell you right here and now that the provisional cast on is not my friend! I had to do one once before for double knitting--disaster! This pattern calls for a crochet cast on with waste yarn and knitting into the back of two out of four chains. I did it, but it was not my friend. Undaunted I completed the first 10 rows and decided I'm not too happy with the yarn. Even though I'm using the rather pointy KnitPicks needles, I'm getting split stitches if I'm not really careful.
Wonder of wonders another Knit Picks order arrived in the afternoon and it contained some lace weight yarn (I'm working with sport weight.) in PURPLE. Hmmmm, . . . maybe I'll go down a needle size and start over. Okay, you know it. I've already frogged the 10 rows I did and am winding purple yarn cakes.
Bona Fide Knitter
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Fish or Cut Bait
I am floundering. Which goes well with the title of this post. I got a KnitPick order the other day and can't for the life of me remember what the dark red yarn was for.
It is not to be. Vivian Hoxbro will have to wait. I will stick to my modified Rule of Threes. Uh-oh! The Rose Hearts Shawl KAL starts January 18. What to do? What to do?
Bona Fide Knitter
I took the picture on the floor in a little ray of sunshine hoping it would light a bulb in my head. The yarn is Andean Treasure, 100% Baby Alpaca. The color is Embers. I vaguely remember wondering would four balls be enough for the pattern. It's sport weight and four balls give me 440 yards. Could it be for the Rose Hearts Shawl KAL? But I already bought yarn for that in lace weight. But I was considering doing it first in DK weight knowing my penchant for a short attention span when it comes to pattern knitting. Talking this out here on my blog I have come up with the answer to the dark red yarn question I'm afraid. Afraid because why in the world did I want this color for the shawl?!!!
And how much more red am I going to buy? I have two huge cones--one for socks and one for a lace top--and a bag of 10 worsted weight wool bought from Webs at Stitches East 2006 for goodness sake! They are various shades of red, but red nonetheless. Am I channeling my guru the Scalett Knitter? If so I wish I could channel her productivity. I really need to fish. I've already cut too much bait.
I've taken the white lace socks off my project list in Ravelry. I just do not enjoy doing those socks. Is it the yarn? Wildfoote splits like crazy using 000 needles. That must be it because the pattern was not giving me any trouble. I moved on to the Blueberry Waffle socks which are coming along, but require more concentration on my part than they should. Ach du liber himmel! What is wrong with me? I am floundering.
On Saturday I am signed up to attend the Pottstown Knit Out. I am hoping for the shot in the arm I need. I'm not where I had planned to be in my projects. The Flirty Skirt was supposed to be finished by now so that after my class in shadow knitting in Pottstown I could comfortably start the Vivian Hoxbro jacket.
It is not to be. Vivian Hoxbro will have to wait. I will stick to my modified Rule of Threes. Uh-oh! The Rose Hearts Shawl KAL starts January 18. What to do? What to do? Answer: Fish and stop floundering!
Observation: My bait (stash) runneth over!
Bona Fide Knitter
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Houses
I am thinking houses. Yesterday I sold the family home, the house purchased, according to the deed, by "a widow and a singlewoman" who were my grandmother and my aunt. My grandmother, my mother and lastly my aunt (who later married and was widowed) are all gone now and yesterday I sold the house I grew up in. It's been a traumatic four months and my knitting has both saved me and suffered. Now I'm thinking of knitting houses.
Not to worry. I haven't forgotten The Rule of Threes. I am still working my Blueberry Waffles (socks), the flirty lace skirt is at my feet. I have not felt settled enough to pick it up again yet. The third project, Lesson One of Basics, Basics, Basics is at my elbow and I've purchased the office supplies necessary to label and tag and bag each swatch. Presentation might count. But my mind has turned to houses. I want to knit houses. Not yet. I have to finish the skirt or Lesson One first. But a girl can dream, can't she?
So I'm researching house knitting patterns. I woke up with Kaffe Fassett's house pattern in my mind's eye. In his Knits Again there are a shoulder bag and a vest using his house patterns.
Not to worry. I haven't forgotten The Rule of Threes. I am still working my Blueberry Waffles (socks), the flirty lace skirt is at my feet. I have not felt settled enough to pick it up again yet. The third project, Lesson One of Basics, Basics, Basics is at my elbow and I've purchased the office supplies necessary to label and tag and bag each swatch. Presentation might count. But my mind has turned to houses. I want to knit houses. Not yet. I have to finish the skirt or Lesson One first. But a girl can dream, can't she?
So I'm researching house knitting patterns. I woke up with Kaffe Fassett's house pattern in my mind's eye. In his Knits Again there are a shoulder bag and a vest using his house patterns.
There are many other house patterns for knitting and another that comes to mind is . . . actually my mind just went blank. I realized what I was thinking of are all the house quilting patterns I have. That's a hobby for another day. I Googled and I checked Ravelry and found some wild and crazy things, but nothing to further stir my creative juices. Do you know of any house patterns? No knitted houses, tea cozy cottages or gingerbreads, please.
Bona Fide Knitter
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Happy Knit Year
and Happy New Year as well.
I've come to grips with my UFOs. I think some are destined to remain unfinished and I've decided to move on. I am back to an adaptation of my knitting guru's Rule of Threes. It works so well for her, but she is very prolific and can finish items lickety split before her fingers itch to start something else as mine often do. Also I am not a fast knitter.
I used to be a slow knitter. Now I am not. I guess I'm sort of medium, whatever that means. Anyway, at my speed, knitting daily, I get a lot done in what seems like not a whole lot of time. My problem of late has been being able to knit daily. Right this minute I have not knit by hand in over a week. The last few rounds knit were on the Blueberry Waffle sock. And then I had to unknit them. My brain was absent and I could not keep even that simple pattern straight in my head. Did I just knit 2 or were they purls? Should they have been knits? Am I on a knit 2, purl 2 round or an all knit round? Even the 2x2 ribbing suffered due to my absent brain syndrome. Normally a perfectionist, I left the blips in the ribbing to remind me of how out of sync I was in December 2007. No one will be able to see them. (If you have pulled up my pants leg and are that close to my lower calf, you need to back . . . . . . . up!) But I'll know they're there. I'm hoping the second sock will be perfect from beginning to end as life gets smoother in 2008.
Okay, I have Blueberry Waffles on the sock needles, the "flirty skirt" is ripped back and ready to go forward once again as my current project, and today I start TKGA's Basics, Basics, Basics. Those are my three current projects, no UFOs to muddy the waters. With Essential yarn in solid colors from KnitPicks coned and ready to knit on the Circular Sock Machine (CSM), I shall begin 2008 in knit harmony--Rule of Threes in place for hand knitting and a sock machine set up for diversion. I can do this!
Bona Fide Knitter
I've come to grips with my UFOs. I think some are destined to remain unfinished and I've decided to move on. I am back to an adaptation of my knitting guru's Rule of Threes. It works so well for her, but she is very prolific and can finish items lickety split before her fingers itch to start something else as mine often do. Also I am not a fast knitter.
I used to be a slow knitter. Now I am not. I guess I'm sort of medium, whatever that means. Anyway, at my speed, knitting daily, I get a lot done in what seems like not a whole lot of time. My problem of late has been being able to knit daily. Right this minute I have not knit by hand in over a week. The last few rounds knit were on the Blueberry Waffle sock. And then I had to unknit them. My brain was absent and I could not keep even that simple pattern straight in my head. Did I just knit 2 or were they purls? Should they have been knits? Am I on a knit 2, purl 2 round or an all knit round? Even the 2x2 ribbing suffered due to my absent brain syndrome. Normally a perfectionist, I left the blips in the ribbing to remind me of how out of sync I was in December 2007. No one will be able to see them. (If you have pulled up my pants leg and are that close to my lower calf, you need to back . . . . . . . up!) But I'll know they're there. I'm hoping the second sock will be perfect from beginning to end as life gets smoother in 2008.
Okay, I have Blueberry Waffles on the sock needles, the "flirty skirt" is ripped back and ready to go forward once again as my current project, and today I start TKGA's Basics, Basics, Basics. Those are my three current projects, no UFOs to muddy the waters. With Essential yarn in solid colors from KnitPicks coned and ready to knit on the Circular Sock Machine (CSM), I shall begin 2008 in knit harmony--Rule of Threes in place for hand knitting and a sock machine set up for diversion. I can do this!
Bona Fide Knitter
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