New Meds

The thought of summer free time sustained me through many months of the last academic year but I was deluding myself. I thought. I just thought. That is where I made my mistake. I made it by thinking that I could actually think about a time when there was not some drama lama invading my consciousness.

Yes I have felt like I was falling falling.

Since April I have been on new meds as the recent skin issues have acerbated something I have had for over 20 years.  My spoonieness has been confirmed for the last 9 years when I started to limit my actions due to my condition.  But right now I have not had any action or activity in my life as I have had several quacks (medical professionals) play around with my medication regime. It has been so bad I have not been able to work. Shock horror me not lerking in the workplace how will the library not fall down. A great side effect is that I have been seeing lovely things in my induced granny naps. Things like this blue hippo. I would not mind if I saw him again in the flesh as it would mean either I was in Paris or New York. Either place for a short visit would be nice..

Dreaming really odd things!

The side effects of new meds is I dont feel like I am getting much of anything done in life from the list:

• housework (optional of course), 
• university work (not optional they pay the bills), 
• work pdp (must maintain certification to maintain paycheck thus not optional), 
• children (they never stop being demanding), 
• knitting (to many things to do and not enough time), 
• family commitments (not meeting them so yet again I am in the dog house again with the family)
• associations (not being a very good executive member)
• doctors ( struggling to get to appointments and do everything they ask)

ZZZZZZZZ  sorry I am supposed to get something done.  I  think I will just turn over and have another 20 minutes. when I wake up I might even knit a row which I will probably have to rip out later.

Startitis Part 2 2011

To try and combat the startitis I thought I would work on an old project which has been waiting for a skein or two to finish it off. During that bush turkey impersonation of trying to find something to cast on with, I found the two skeins I had been looking for and so I did some garter stitch knitting. I stuffed it up. I stuffed up garter stitch how the heck I did it I just do not know.  I should of known that I needed to walk away from the knitting as I stuffed up some lace which required me to do some wrip wrup wripping back. oh NO!  It was not just a tink but a frog and recaston job which only did about 6 times before someone else in the house (the dearly beloved husband) suggested I look for something less complicated what about that stuff that goes back and forth and it is all the same stitch (aka garter stitch).  I swapped and still managed to stuff up my knitting.

Red Buttersoft DK

I probably need a good cuppa tea and some scones with jam and cream. The Red Buttersoft project is a cardigan that I started in Scotland last year with another pattern. When I had finished the whole lot and blocked it up there I did not like so it was frogged.  I love the wool but the old pattern just was lacking.  So I changed to another pattern which is a one piece knit across the body that produces a seamless short sleeved cardigan. I had got so far and then I could not find the final two skeins.  I had got as far as almost all the back done. This short sleeved cardigan is designed just to keep your kidneys warm when working in a slightly chilli library. I think the red is lovely as it is semi solid so there is movement in the colour.  I just have to get my knitting mojo into action and finish it.  Now that I have the skeins found that is more likely to happen.. I also have a project that I have to finish for the end of the month for daughter before she goes back to school in September. I have a bit of work to do and I have still got a case of startitis. The count so far is four different weights of lace, 3 sock patterns, a hat, mitts and everything else in the workbasket which has not been finished for the last 12 months. 

Startitis or Olympic standard Nana Napping

Since Monday all I have seemed to do knitting wise is cast on and cast on repeatedly.  Yes the symptoms are in for a case of startitis.  The differential diagnosis process has led me to believe that this condition had struck again.

Symptoms:

• more sets of needles spread around the preferred seating location along with paper patterns, needle rolls, project bags and sssh! swatches.
• more pdf files on the desktop of the laptop which is located on the left arm of the preferred seating location  also known as mother's couch in this household.
• all the sides round the couch have work baskets that been dragged out from their lounge room hiding places and are creating a trip hazard for the rest of the family.
• a worried dog looking over the pile of headhog frames (what else to do you call dpns when there is a sock cast on them).  The dog is worried cause he is thinking how the heck to I get to my food bowl and will she kill me I walk out with one of her projects around my neck or leg again.
• repeated mutterings of "german long tailed stretchy cast on, turkish twisted cast on, garter tab cast on".
• although the knitter concerned has short hair she has a dpn holding her fringe up off her face as this hair has been twisted up out of the way as it was annoying her.
• The knitter is muttering about a lost dpn which she had just a minute ago and can not find anywhere totally forgetting about the one that is holding up her fringe.
• a number of half completed projects which show absolutely no further progression even though one or two of them only need seaming or two french knots so they could cross over from works in progress to completed objects.  As the two simple french knots have not been done it is definitely not finishitis.

Mutley on the other couch

The causes of this condition.

Now the causes of startitis is pretty well unknown as it seems to randomly strike but this week's dose I am blaming on the new medication regime. Yes really. I am. The pain quack, the blessed Saint Anesthete, is trying to find me the new optimum dosage for my fibromyalgia and I have been having a new cocktail combination in my dorsett box. I don't remember much of Wednesday day between 10am and 6pm. Not much at all and I had to tink back my knitting. As one of key knitting commentators whom I actually pay attention to says "Good friends dont let friends knit drunk". Ms Pearl-Mcphee (aka the Yarn Harlot) advises it is never a good thing and I so agree to the point where I want to amend this advice phrase to "Good friends dont let friends knit drunk or as high as a kite".

These are not the needles I am looking for.

So of the side effects of the new medication combinations beside complete out of body moments is bouts of confusion. Did I or did I not cast something on from my never ending ravelry queue and extensive xmas list? No I have not got any lace on the go at the moment totally forgetting about the three projects I have cast on in the last 24 hours. As I have fallen asleep yet again I have dropped another newly started project onto the floor and out of my line of sight.  Where are all my needles?  Confusion is reigning the couch.

I think I am going to apply to compete in the granny napping world championship and then the Olympics as I believe I am starting to get into the elite sports standard.  Do you think the Australian or Republic of Ireland Olympic committees would consider this lump for the nana napping events? I could do the sprint as I am getting under the 1 minute time splits. This is where you take medication with a cuppa and go to sleep before you have a chance to pour the rest the cuppa down your gullet or even return the mug a level surface. Side effect is the potential to spill hot liquid down your front but I could also do the hurdles too. The ability to take medication, fall asleep holding your mug upright and not spill any hot liquid on yourself. Some days I stumble but that is where my fencing jacket aka duna (translation: douvet) comes in handy as it help to protect my skin from liquid burns but I normally end up washing it and its cover a couple of times a week. Why yes my couch (mother's couch) is set up as a day bed and I routinely have a duna around me even in Summer?  We are talking the English summer here it gets terribly wet and cold. I probably would not be selected as I expect that I would fail the drug testing mainly due to the steroids I take to keep breathing.  Cherio now I am off to take my constitutional siesta. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Thinking of Autumn

Today's socks are definitely at touch of autumn in their colouring. They are the well loved pattern called Nutkin. Originally they were going to be for me but then halfway though the middle of the first sock I acknowledged that they were going to be a little tight on me. As the next person in the house who they could fit had gone to bed I could not finish the first sock off that evening as I needed to check the length of the foot.

I should learn to read the pattern introduction properly as it did warn me that the foot was 8 inch diameter. She jumped at the thought of this pair of socks being for her incredibly long foot. I am a 8.5 to 9 (27cm to 27.5 cm) shoe depending on the style while daughter come in starting at 9.5 (28 cm). She has skinny ankles and long thin feet where I have a very very good grip on the ground. I am 9.5 inches round the ball.

That is a long foot as the legs are 4inches.

Daughter has been wearing the round the house unblocked and I have finally managed to get a photo on them. There are little flicks of colour in the brown but she loves brown so it is a win win. There was just a little bit of crispness in the morning that indicates that autumn is on its way. While I have to get some more sock knitting done I also have to do some lace knitting cause I am getting WAY bored can you tell I am channelling some teenager lingo. Off to go an rattle round in the stash and look at patterns on ravelry.

Zig Zag socks

So that is another pair of socks down.  I really did not like the colour changes in the Zig Zag. Now have half a ball of it but I will be good and use it. I have a test knit and it is the right weight. I don't think the colour change will be supportive for the cables in the pattern but why not have a test knit to prove that variegated yarns are not suitable for the pattern. I could be completely wrong but it somehow I don't think I will be.

The stash down is continuing as I am now looking at what yarn we have left and what I can use it for. I also need to get some items done for the autumn. My God woman England is the middle of the warmest three days of the year and you are already thinking about autumn.... I  know I know but you have to be prepared. I am also planning to catch up with my A-Z knitting but I need another knitting project which is not 2.50 mm needles.

Stash Down 2011

This year I have been doing a bit of a stash down attempt. Basically I looked at my Coal bunker and thought that i should reduce the amount of items I have in it.  I have fabrics that are 20 years old sitting there waiting to do something about it.  I want to get the shelves down considerably so I am not overflowing.  Some of the stash has been shared with a local charity shop as I was honest with self that I was never going to use it at all.  Part of my stash includes fabrics stashed by my grandmother.  Nothing like inheriting stash.

So far this year everything has been knitted, sewed or crocheted from the stash. I have mainly only done minor purchases such as lining for daughter Carnaby skirt and buttons. These purchases have not ended up as stash but rather helped the stash to enter into the wonderful world of being finished projects. The one yarn purchase I have done this year was some crochet thread so I could do a surprise project for the daughter.  This project is currently on the back burner since daughter is on holidays so I can not seem to get anything done without her putting her sticky beak in.

After the tour de fleece I have a lot handspun which I will be using for projects but when I sorted out the coal bunker I noticed I still had a lot of hand spun which I had not found a use for.  So as part of the stash down I want use up my hand spun as much as possible.  The Moorlit fleece which is a now a nice yarn will need to get a decent photo before I knit it up into a cardi for hubby. This will be his Christmas pressie this year.  I still have the 500gms of BFL in a Mocha which I will have to work out what I am going to use it for.  There Shetland braid from Wonkyknitter which I had in the stash which was spun and then knitted into a Haurni shawl.  I have blocked it but I will need to re block it as I wont ask the children what happened.  We have reached August and I have not done a major yarn purchase it is amazing.  

Sock yarn wise I am almost getting to the bare cupboard situation. Currently I am knitting some socks in some King Cole Zig Zag that I had in the stash which I had regretted purchasing. The stash down attitude has helped me to use this yarn cause I had in the past gone meh, not that keen to use.  The yarn has too short of yarn colour change and I am not enamoured with it.  Additionally I don't think the yarn is particularly sympathetic to the pattern and it would have probably better knit in a plain coloured yarn. As I am knitting my H pattern in the yarn which is top down design I a suddenly hit upon a solution. Don't make the socks for me.  Make them for someone who will like the colours.  Simples! My sock foot is suddenly shorted from a size 8.5 to a tiddly 3.5.  Sanity back in check and the feeling of absolute relief when I get the first sock done.   But I still have a second sock to finish.  Must knit this second sock now to brake the chance of a large hiatus or the dreaded second sock syndrome.