lazy list blogging is my favorite!
so yeah, I'm going to do a list blog entry again. Next time I won't take the easy way out, though I love it this way!
1. It's really nice to work on fast internet for a change. I don't remember if I've mentioned it before or not, but at home I work on a broadband card because we are just out of reach for broadband internet (like we had at the house) or DSL. And right after we moved last year, in desperation I used dial-up for awhile until we had the 2 macbooks then I decided I needed a broadband card! So, it works well for the most part but right now I'm on campus using their wifi and so I'm reminded how much better that can be. As a result, it changed my plans just a bit because I was going to start with updating Flickr a little more but realized I should take advantage of the fast internet and blog.
2. Sock knitting - I finished my Mom's socks and they are pretty. Now for the embarrassing part. I seriously considered not showing anymore pictures and just quietly mentioning that they were done because of this. I knit them wrong, entirely wrong and not just these, but the other pair of 'Embossed Leaves' that I knit as well. I feel so stupid even though it makes sense to me how I made the mistake I made. I always do everything I can to avoid knitting from charts for a couple of reasons but mainly because I'm blind and can hardly see the symbols and the graphs start to run together (even if blown up) and I just respond better to memorizing the knitting shorthand written out (and in my normal obsessive state, I check the chart knitting over and over and ...) and so now, the chart has bitten me in the ass for hiding from it!
I knit the pattern reading the lines, from right to left, left to right, right to left and so on. Like I said, since I always avoid charts, I didn't know that when knitting in the round you only read the chart right to left unless otherwise mentioned since you are in fact, always on the right side. This makes sense to me after thinking about it, I mean how hard is that right? But, since discovering this mistake (the very day I completed the socks and was so pleased with them!), I've looked at several patterns and noticed that nobody really offers that information for those who might not know, like me. I discovered it when I was reading through the Pomatomus pattern and Cookie A. is very helpful in mentioning that. The only other place I read anything about it, as I searched for proof to soothe myself that I wasn't just overlooking it EVERYWHERE, was in Knitting Vintage Socks, I think - I think. I'll double check this when I get home, but I don't think it was in Favorite Socks and they are the only two books (because I was looking for sock knitting books) I looked at and then tons of magazine patterns and some online patterns. In addition to that being embarrassing - more embarrassing is that I can barely tell when I look at the socks. Seriously, I am so blind even with my glasses! I think part of what makes it hard to tell is the variegated yarn and this was also the case with the first pair, but if I stare long enough I can tell.
So now, what do I do? I mean, they are done and they are beautiful lace socks but I think they are not Embossed Leaves. So, what now? I'm considering ripping the entire pair to do again because that was the point of this pretty yarn that I chose but like I said, they are pretty and my Mom will still like them.
Other sock knitting going on, Red Hat socks - I typed red hot twice before getting red hat ...
This is the second socks of this pair. The yarn is, I think, Sock Memories or something similar from Knit Picks - it's older, I don't think they have the same line anymore. I'm knitting them on US #2's. This second sock has been ripped out twice because of ladders. The combination of the yarn and needles doesn't really respond well to my ladder preventing tricks. Actually the yarn and needles aren't a great combination, a little squeaky. But, I was concerned that if I switched there might be a noticeable gauge difference from the first sock. Still, I may switch needles, especially with needing to rip out again. This time I'm ripping because I made the leg 2 to 3 inches longer than on the first sock. It didn't seem like it when I was comparing before I started the heel flap but oh well. They still knit up quickly. They are a gift for DB's mom who does the Red Hat thing. It seemed like there was more about knitting but now I can't think of anything.
3. This weekend is a wool themed event, more about the history and textile use than sheep and yarn inspired. Still, DB and I may do that this weekend. And Sunday, there is another local political event that I'm going to. It will be to see someone I've already seen, but I'm excited all the same.
4. Today is Candie kitty's 5th birthday! I give the kitties tuna or some other special treat (actually, often) especially on birthdays and anniversaries (when they came to live with us) and tell them it's their special day all day. So they probably think I'm their crazy cat person-mama! Anyway, Candie is our only baby that we know for a fact what day she was born on so it's fun. I was trying to get pictures of her to put up for her birthday but my camera battery was deader than I thought so that's for later.
5. School stuff is stressful, too stressful for me right now I decided - actually a few weeks back I decided but couldn't figure out what, if anything, to say here about it. Last term in itself was unbelievable but then I got it in my head that I could complete 17 hours, then 13, now none even though I was going crazy with the 6 hours last term. I'm not just talking about stress like the worrying about what needs to get done and staying caught up - though the staying caught up on reading is a problem too, what with the not reading much anymore and having the attention span of a fly. Because they have a short attention span, right? I think so. Anyway, beyond that normal stress I mean physical stress also. I had a major cold/sinus infection, maybe the flu I don't know, twice in four months which is unlike me. I started having problems with my hair - thinning a lot and losing about 3 times as much, in handfuls, as I usually do (and I already lose more than what seems normal in a day). I found that part of that was that I was anemic - that has to be associated to problems I have with the PCOS which is okay at the moment. After going through lots of details and hair counts, my dermatologist thought the hair loss was stress that matched things going on a while back. So, through all of that the school stuff was not helping anything improve. Also, for years now, I have gotten these little bumps on my hands when I'm stressed out - they aren't hives. Anyway, I found some information about them online recently and apparently they are 'under the surface' all the time, but anxiety and stress do bring them to the surface. And they itch like crazy and burn and sting. But, they weren't something I really got often as in weekly until this last two terms of school. And the problem with going to the doctor to see if anything can be done about them is that one minute they're all over the place and maybe an hour later they're down to one or gone - or still there two days later. There's no telling. And last, there is the stomach problems and headaches that I've had for a long time, but all acting up more and more this year. The headaches especially, I had gone years without them and they've slowly crept back into my life the last couple of years - not to mention the anxiety attacks creeping back in too. So there you have it, probably much more than you wanted to know about my health!
So, I guess that's it for now. I'm going to sort out more pictures, I just have about a half hour before DB gets out of class. Then we're going thrift shopping, yay! Actually, I'm just looking for one thing but we both love browsing through the thrift shops. Happy Weekend!
