Blockages

I spent most of June in and out of the hospital. I'm just fine, but, as turns out, my dad was not. What seemed as though was going to be a routine cardiac catheterization (with the possibility of angioplasty) ended up resulting in major bypass surgery.

This was a shock, as my father seems to be a fit and active man. Apparently he's been having (and ignoring) chest pains for at least a year. He's also been only occasionally checking his blood sugar and taking his diabetes meds. And he decided that an herbal alternative to his cholesterol medications would be a fine substitute, though didn't have his blood levels re-checked to make sure it was working.

Anyway, this was all shocking for me, who thought he was taking care of himself.
His arteries were 95-99% blocked in five places. The surgeon said he shouldn't have been alive, let alone mobile.

He came through the surgery well, I took him home a week later and spent another week settling him in and arranging his care before returning home myself.

All this would have been bad enough, but was made exponentially worse by the behavior of some of his close friends. It's not worth going into here, but let's just say it's very frustrating when educated adults act like jealous, petty children. I expected more.

While sitting in hospital waiting rooms, I had time to work on and finish the Clapotis. It's a blend of reds and pinks, fitting for a cardiac unit. I'm happy with it - the color and size are perfect. The yarn was a little hard to work with, as the 100% wool didn't like to be dropped, and I had to pick at each stitch to get them to unravel.

I had time a couple of weeks ago to block both the Clapotis and the Print O' the Wave Stole, which has been finished for months. The Stole is my favorite thing I've made up to now. I look at it and realize how much time and work went into this one thing. I didn't really notice while I was making it, but in hindsight, it was an extremely time and labor intensive project. But so beautiful!

Berkley's Fish

No, I'm not at all obsessive...

A List

I ran across this list, and I guess it's appearing in lots of blogs.

So here's my 2 cents:

Key: Bold=done, Italics=Will Do, Normal=Probably Not (though never say never)

Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting (does it count if you do it unintentionally?)
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with bananafiber yarn
Modular Knitting
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Baby items
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dying with plant colours
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies...)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars
Olympic knitting
Knitting with someone elses handspun yarn
Knitting with dpns
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Steeks
Knitting art (Isn't all knitting art?)
Knitting two socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars simultaneously
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac
Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with selfpatterning/selfstriping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Baby items
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mits/armwarmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

It's interesting to see how much I've actually done, and in a relatively short timespan. Now I just need to actually update the blog to reflect what I've been doing...

Oh Baby!

My friend and co-worker Allison is very pregnant. It's not that she's overdue, or even terribly close to her due date, it's that her belly is HUGE! It is almost larger than the (petite) rest of her body. We threw her a baby shower at the office last week, and for her present I made a hat and booties. Both are heavily modified from patterns in order to use fingering weight yarn as opposed to the worsted called for. The specs are below:


Both are made from Claudia's Hand Painted Yarn, Fingering Merino in colorway "Carousel"

Bonnet
Pattern: Hello Yarn's Top Down Bonnet, without the ears or face
Comments: I really like this pattern. I made some modifications, as there was no chance I was going to get gauge with the fingering yarn. Other than sizing, however I followed the pattern and am really happy with how it came out and am planning on making more for gifts.

Booties
Pattern: fabulousyarn.com's Dreambaby Booties
Comments: I had to modify this pattern for the fingering yarn as well, I also used stockinette stitch on the lower part in stead of garter stitch. I also used simple braids for the ties, instead of an i-cord. I am also happy with this pattern, and anticipate making many more bonnet/booties sets for future babies.

I'm a Copycat, It's a Birthday Present

When I saw this, I knew I had to make one. This happened to coincide nicely with the nearing of my dad's birthday. Now, wool scarves may not be the best things in May, but it will be a nice piece of hanging art until October rolls around.

My photos are nowhere near the quality of Jared's, ever, and these are no exception - I shot them in a rush to get out the door to go to my dad's party. They pictures are not very representative of the actual colors, but they should give you an idea.

Please ignore the random stuff on the floor. I've been sick, I need to clean.

Pattern: brooklyntweed's Noro Scarf

Yarn: Noro Silk Garden, 2 x #047, 2 x #211? (I'll check the band when I get a chance)

Needles: Size 7 Inox Circulars

Comments: This pattern is great. It's simple, elegant and interesting. I am, however, conflicted about the yarn. While the colors can be amazing, the yarn has a ton of non-fiber stuff in it (twigs, threads, etc.). This seems to be a relatively common problem, and makes the yarn less fun to work with and kind of itchy. Overall I'm really happy with how it turned out. It took about two weeks of evening knitting, is a little over 7 feet long, and 5-6 inches wide. The ribbing looks like stockinette, and makes the scarf thicker and reversible. Slipping the first and last stitches of the second row of each stripe hides the non-working yarn on the side, and makes a nice edge. The changing colors are fun - I found myself getting all excited for the next big change, and it helped to get through the more boring spots. I may eventually make another for a gift - next time I may choose a second yarn with more of the bright colors, without the darker intervals.

Yards of Stripey Fun