Year of Projects Update Week 13

  Follow my blog with Bloglovin

This week was lots of knitting but not much to show.  I started the 2nd Vancouver sock, and I am on the back of my son's gansey.  I have been combing and spinning my Friesen fleece and it WILL be done before September 30th (she said confidently). 

I have about three inches done on my Birdsong sweater and I can't wait to start the charts.  Maybe tonight?  Who knows. 

I do have one quick start and finish.  I was tired of my clothes pegs spilling all over the deck everytime I hung my laundry outside, so I knit up this cute little peg bag.  I used some Cascade fixation, held double and it is the perfect weight.  I cut a wooden hanger to size and Voila, no more spills!

Big Smile!

I also finished my Gnome.  I will post his finish picture next week - so no spoilers this week for those of you taking part in the KAL.  You can go to my Ravelry project page if you want to see him before next week. 

Mostly this week has been all about my ocean swimming which I blogged about here.  

It has been a good week.  My new medications have kicked in, and the cold water therapy is really amazing.  It has actually been a very good week. I haven't been able to say that for the past year. 

And my Hoya is blooming - first time since I repotted it in the spring.

Ta-Da!

If you want to see what other Yoppers are up to you can check out the right side of my blog for shortcuts to their posts. 

Yopping Update #37 - More wee little clothes

  Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Well all the pieces are knit for the mystery animal, and there was only one guess and it was incorrect.  Tee Hee.  Stay tuned as I am sure he will be all put together by next week. 

To avoid the dreaded sewing together and stuffing all the pieces I opted to make all his clothes instead.  

I only have one and a half shoes to finish and then I will begin the putting together part of the program. 

The best part of my week though was discovering this:

I went for a walk on Tuesday - I was very grumpy and didn't want to go for a walk.  As I past a cedar tree down by the creek I saw a hummingbird fly into the tree.  I decided to follow it and lo and behold there she was sitting in her little nest!  I was so excited as I have always wanted to see a hummingbird nest in nature (I did see many in the Arizona Desert Museum hummingbird sanctuary in 2018) - and now I have seen one in my own neighbourhood!  Needless to say every day since I have made sure my walks take me by that tree so I can peek in on her.  

Otherwise I have been slowly transcribing my parents's war letters, editting my second novel, and binge watching Peaky Blinders.  Such is the life of the retired. 

My son is coming for a visit on Thursday for a long weekend and so there will be some straightening up of the spare room in anticipation of his arrival - (mostly dh has to get all his 'projects' relocated to the basement - but probably they will end up in my craft room.)

Speaking of dh I did finally hem three pairs of jeans for him - something I had been meaning to do for a while.  I did a skookum job if I do say so myself.

I heard from the doctor about my echo results.  No significant change over the last year and really over the last two years so he has taken me off the medication since it is not making any difference anyways.  I am still in the LONG cue for a PETscan to rule out one last possibility as to why my heart is not pumping as it should.  In my humble opinion I have to wonder if that is just the way my heart has always functioned - but I will follow down this one last rabbit hole before it is all put to rest.  It does mean an echo every year but that isn't invasive and I am glad to be off the medication as it lowers my already low blood pressure so I do have to be careful getting up too fast from sitting or else I get quite dizzy. 

Okay, that's it for me.  Knitting and Hummingbird nests, and on my walks lots of signs of spring.  It is only seven days away, but who's counting.  Me!  That's who.

Yopping Update #24 - Learning new tricks

 

This has been a 'learn new skills' kinda week.  First of all I needed to repair my mitered sock yarn blanket.

About five years ago I finished this:

Last Monday I discovered a hole in one of the eight-hundred squares. 

I blame Otis (the cat)

Luckily I had favourited a  blog post via Ravelry on how to replace a square in the middle of the blanket so once I located the post the rest was fairly straightforward.  

hardest part was finding my woven in ends

 First I had to undo the damaged square from the blanket making sure to catch the live stitches on two sides of the square and pick up the correct number of stitches on the other two sides. 

Then I had to start knitting each row remembering on every other row to knit the last stitch in the row together with the side stitch from the adjacent square.  With me so far?

Ready to start

More than half way done

Ta-Da!

I say Ta-Da, but it took the best part of an afternoon to complete the repair. 

The second skill I learned was how to compensate for the 'jog' in the pattern when you are knitting fairisle in the round.  I wasn't happy with the first paw sock and so I looked up how to correct the jog for the second sock.  It took me a while to wrap my head around the instructions, and I did have to chart it out for myself but once I got going it was actually quite easy and I am very happy with the result.  

Can you see how the bottom and top of the right side of the pad looks wonky?

This is because when knitting in the round you are actually spiralling up as you knit so the end of the round is actually one row higher than the beginning of the round.  

Now it looks right. 

If you are interested in the technique you can check out this interweave article here. 

Otherwise this week I have been keeping up with my gnome KAL.  I am knitting two of them in different colour combinations and I am looking forward to sharing them with you once they are finished and allowed to be viewed. 

I am also keeping up with the gansey scarf KAL.  Wolhobby releases about 20 rows a day which is totally doable and for the most part easy tv knitting.  

In between as I have mentioned above I am knitting my 19th pair of socks.  I finished the first one on Thursday 

The pattern calls for an afterthought heel, but I did a fishlips kiss heel instead.  

I am making pretty good progress on sock #2.  I am glad I didn't knit these two at a time so I could fix the paws on the back of the sock.  No-one would notice, but I am glad I had an excuse to learn something new.

 

I have been walking everyday - and my new waterproof pants arrived which I took for a test run on Friday.  They work great so I am all set for the wintery rainy weather.  We got a little snow last night , and we had a little earlier in the week, but so far nothing to concern ourselves with. 

I did get my booster on Wednesday.  I went with my husband and took my form from the doctor explaining my immune compromised health condition.  The manager said it was the wrong form, but he was very kind and I think because I was tearing up and a wee bit shaky he gave the go ahead for me to get the jab.  I am so grateful. We both had a sore arm for a couple of days, but by Saturday the soreness had gone away. 

I got my Christmas cards in the mail last week as well, and have picked up a few stocking stuffers (when I pass a store on my walks and there aren't any line-ups) so I am feeling like any Christmas shopping frenzy is well in hand.  

Today is the third sunday of Advent and the animals have joined my advent wreath.  We are still having regular whatsapp chats with our granddaughter to open the wee advent knits.  

I saw this little gnome on one of my walks this past week.  There is always something that catches my eye to photograph.  

It is a gnomey kind of Christmas 

  I will leave you with this scene from my Friday walk.  I think it is something we all need, right?

  Oh, and this too.  

Can you spot the difference?  
Two of these things are not like the others!

A dear friend sent me two books this past week.  I am really enjoying these.  I had never heard of Clara Parkes, but they are enjoyable reads for knitters and other fibre lovers.  

I am reading the anthology about stashes right now - so funny, and oh so true. 

Have a great week dear Readers.  Take time to enjoy the season.  Take a walk or drive around your neighbourhood in the evening.  This year especially the Christmas lights seem like magic to me. 

Yopping Update #9 - Monogamous Knitting

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

 This week started out a bit rough - two days in bed with a migraine, but by Wednesday I was on the mend. 

We had quite a bit of excitement here on Tuesday evening.  I had finally gotten out of bed and was sitting on the couch when I noticed the apple tree outside my front window was waving in what I thought was a heavy wind.  It was 7:30 in the evening and when I went to the window I was surprised to see one very big bear in our apple tree!  Oh my goodness.  I video taped his antics for 10 minutes while we tried from inside the house to shoo him away.  My husband tried banging pots and pans, and turning on the alarm on both our cars - to no avail.  I was sure the tree wouldn't hold the bear's weight as it climbed higher and went out further on the branches.  He finally came down, and then lay down under the tree.  At this point I went out on the porch, and shooed him away.  Even though the apples are not yet fully ripe the next day my husband and I went out and picked about forty pounds of apples.  This is on top of the forty pounds we had picked when my son was here.  There are still some left too high up for us to reach, but I check every day to pick up any fallen apples.  

On the knitting front it has been all about the gansey.  I am determined to have this finished before the recipient gets home at the end of September.  I am almost at the point to start the underarm gusset and to split for the sleeves. 

I did manage to get for a swim on Thursday and this morning as well.  Despite masks being made mandatory again in indoor spaces the pool will be opening up without need for pre-booking on September 7th.  I will see how safe I feel.  It is also a day to day decision here with our Covid-19 numbers on the rise once again.  Our government is requiring a vaccine passport starting September 13 to attend any non-essential service such as theatres, indoor gyms/pools, restaurants, music venues, etc.  I have to admit I am glad for this and I hope this will get out daily numbers reducing once again.  

I have once again resurrected my novel.  I have applied for an ISBN number, and I am doing final edits (again) so I can upload it to Kindle as an ebook.  I have been working on a cover page this week - although I am in a steep learning curve with the picture editor to try and get the text correct.  My son-in-law has offered to help which is great.  I am also in a steep learning curve between Word and Google Docs and then I have to convert the finished manuscript into the format that Kindle wants.  My son has offered to help with that.  I am so fortunate to have people in my life to help me get over the hurdles that can often impede my progress.  So stay tuned.  Maybe by next month there will be a link to my self-published ebook. 

I will leave you today with a lovely photo of my daughter and grand-daughter inside a very cool cave near to where they live. 

Have a good week dear readers.  If there are bears, may they be gentle.  

Yopping Update #40 - still socks

 

Happy Easter.  It seems to always be a glorious sunny day on Easter Sunday and today is no exception so I am soon to be off for a walk and to also pickup some potting soil to plant the wildflower seeds my son sent me this past week. 

I finished the Scatterby socks and love them.  The first one I made a wee bit too long, and it was a wee bit too tight using the 2mm needles so I ordered some 2.25mm 9" circulars for the second sock and it fit much better.  

I also order another 2mm and 2.5mm 9"circular so I can knit two socks at a time which is my preferred method.  I forgot how much I love the fish lips kiss heel and I will definitely be using it more often with my future socks. It is so easy and the fit is superb.  It really hugs my heel. 

My friend Fitznstarts asked me to knit a sock with her so last night we both cast on Pole Dance. I do love socks with a different kinds of construction.  

I had to order sock yarn to get the free shipping on my needles and these two colours will be perfect for Pole Dance

It's a beginning

I did end up frogging my Practical Magic, and casting on with the 2nd colour first - I like it much better. 

The sweater of many colours has not got any attention this week.  

On the health front the good news is my cough is gone!!  Hooray, and as of yesterday I have stopped the steroid inhaler.  More good news - my hubby got his first vaccine last Tuesday!  I talked to my doctor and I do qualify to get mine sooner due to my medical condition, but I have to wait for the letter from the government.  She figure my age might come up before the letter gets to me, but either way I am hopeful to get my first vaccine before the end of the month. 

The not so good news is I got my third migraine in as many weeks on Friday - boo hiss. 

However, progress is progress and I did get out for a few nice walks earlier in the week.  Someone decorated the boulevard trees with Easter eggs, and it was a lovely sight on Wednesday. 

There was a very tragic incident at our local mall last Saturday and seven people were stabbed - one fatally.  The community has been coming together to heal and chalk drawings are everywhere to remind us of love and kindness. 

On Thursday I had a beautiful walk around a lake near my home

and, of course was treated to some glorious pictures of grand-daughter playing in the tidal pools. 

I hope all is well with all of you.  Things are looking up, and hey, Lent is over so I am back on facebook, instagram and enjoying my chocolate treats!

Yopping Update #39 - When in doubt knit socks

 

Well it has been a week.  And not in a good way.  

On Monday I went for a walk and was about 2 miles away from home when I got a migraine aura.  (Insert major curse word here).  I called my husband and he came and got me so the next 24 hours were spent medicating and sleeping and lying in a dark room.  Fun?  Not fun.  

On Tuesday I was so fed up with the cough, and lack of sleep that I decided to go get a CoVid test even though none of my doctors had suggested it.  It was negative.  So that was good. 

On the way to the Covid test I got a call from the hospital that they could do a repeat echocardiogram to see how my heart is beating since it has been a year since my last one.  They ask me all the questions about CoVid - cough...yes,  headache....yes, fatigue....yes, loss of smell or taste....no, but nothing tastes good, loss of appetite....yes.     Still no request from them for a CoVid test.  

So Wednesday morning I reported to hospital at 7:15am with negative CoVid test in hand (which they didn't seem to care about).  So early to be up and out, but at least no traffic despite the heavy rain that morning.  I was home by nine and back to bed for a few more hours sleep.  I will get the results on Tuesday.

On Thursday I called my GP and mostly cried on the phone to her about how crappy I was feeling.  She was sympathetic, but no real answers - just to keep on keeping on. 

Yesterday was very bad with the cough from 7am until about 4pm, when I finally fell asleep for a couple of hours.  Maybe I am over the hump (which I also said last week), but at least last night I slept from 12:30 until 10 with only a small coughing episode at 7am.  

Okay, whine over. 

Through it all I have found some solace in knitting.  Not a lot, but some.  The last clue came out for the Pescatarian Mystery sock and it was a 12 row pattern to be repeated twice on each sock before starting the toe.  I would do one repeat a day and then turn to more mindless knitting such as my Scatterby socks, or my Practical Magic Shawl.  

Last night I started the toe of the Pescatarian and did, in fact, run out of yarn but not to be deterred I continued so they would be finished.  I am quite pleased with them. 

I kinda like the speckled toe

I put off turning the heel of the Scatterby for a couple of days because it required a fish lips kiss heel which I hadn't done for some while.  I couldn't bear looking up and reading the pattern, but when I finally got to it I progressed through it quickly and successfully.  I am almost finished the leg and ready to start the cuff on the first Scatterby sock. 

the fish lips kiss heel does fit beautifully

I got the Practical Magic scarf/shawl up to starting the garter section.  I am going back and forth as to whether I like it or not - but the way my mood is I don't like much these days so I will continue to see if it grows on me.  

this might be frogged to become a sock - time will tell

So that has been my week.  Probably one of the lowest mental health wise.  I am just so tired of mri's, cat scans, echocardiograms, etc. etc. etc.  I am anxiously awaiting my turn for the CoVid vaccine but I think it will be at least another month if not longer for my turn to come up.  I actually qualify for getting ahead of my age group for medical reasons, but I have so many doctors I don't know who is responsible for reporting my situation to the government.  I do have a call into my GP for tomorrow to discuss this with her. 

I feel like all I am is an unwell person.  I feel like all I will be remembered for by friends and family are my health complaints.  I am just so tired of it all. 

On a more positive note a friend had a baby last Monday, a beautiful baby boy, and I went into my cedar chest and pulled out a baby blanket and sweater for him and dropped them off at her door on Tuesday.  She was very appreciative and I felt good about that. 

This week, and especially last night I was thinking a lot about how sock knitting is my salvation.  Despite how rotten I feel everyday I put on a snazzy pair of handknit socks - and after more than a year of living in my jeans and t-shirts - at least I can look at my feet and see some colour and fashion!

I also was thinking last night that even though I feel like I am not accomplishing much, or being very creative or helpful I can always turn the heel on a sock.  Sock knitting has always seemed more than magical to me - almost the philosophers' stone - turning something beautiful and useful from a ball of string. 

I wrote about the magic of sock knitting years ago.  You can read my musings here. 

I haven't been very present for either of my kids, or my husband, or my friends this past few weeks.  I just don't have the energy.  I am so glad they are not letting me slip away but checking in and cheering me on daily.  

My daughter recently regaled us with stories of my grand-daughter delighting in a giant puddle she found on their trip to the big city.  Apparently on-lookers were quite horrified my daughter and son-in-law allowed her the freedom to splash and carry on to her heart's content.  They are terrific parents. 

Wishing for all of us to find a moment of unapologetic joy in the coming weeks.

taken on my Friday walk

and my Amaryllis is re-blooming - so there is that.

Yopping Update #37 - Still Painting, but mostly coughing

 

It has been quite a week.  Mostly downs.  A couple of ups.  Life on life's terms.

I had the broncoscopy on Monday morning, and spent the rest of the day sleeping.  Tuesday I started coughing and I am still coughing as of Sunday night.  This makes sleeping for more than a couple of hours in a row difficult, but I am hopeful when the doctor calls tomorrow with the results he will have some solution to the cough/sleep problem.  Hope springs eternal.  

Speaking of Spring - I did get out for a walk every day except Monday (and today) and the flowers, mergansers, widgeons, and pussy willows are everywhere.  I even saw a cherry tree beginning to blossom yesterday.  Spring is Hope eternal. 

I finished clue two of the General's mystery sock knit - a very complicated cable pattern which required stitch markers every ten stitches and colour coding the chart to keep straight the eight different cable versions.  

The pattern recommended using three chart repeats on each leg, but I opted for two as the leg is almost seven inches which is long enough for me.  Apparently clue 3 is even more complicated so we shall see how I fare with it tomorrow. 

Since this is a mystery knit there will be no photos until the end of March. 

I did make quite a bit of progress on the sweater of many colours.  It is about 21 inches now, and only four more decreases until I start the armhole decreases.  

The clocks 'sprang' ahead during the night.  I finally fell into a more-or-less restful sleep at ten am this morning and slept until almost three this afternoon.  No walk for me today - just as well it was pretty cold and rainy out there. 

sign at nursing station Monday morning

I will leave you with this picture of pure joy.  I wish such joy for all of you this coming week.